Should I raise you too?

Wait, could I have been exposed too? Alyssa panicked.

She posed as the daughter of a wealthy merchant in the archipelago, but in reality, she was an adventurer, a superhuman, a vengeful spirit, and a schemer plotting to shake the foundations of the kingdom.

Of these, only the adventurers' identities can barely be made public; the rest, once discovered, will face retaliation from the kingdom.

Should we just run away? Revenge is important, but life is more precious. We can always come back in ten years.

After carefully reviewing the contents of "Simon's Log," Alyssa comforted herself, thinking that apart from the time she maliciously disturbed Simon's slacking off, she had not met Simon again, so she should not have been exposed.

I need to be more careful in the future and try to avoid meeting him. If we do meet, I need to read Simon's diary word by word to make sure I haven't given anything away.

After thinking everything through, Elisa looked at the head maid who was waiting for her instructions.

Where was I?

Oh, about Charles and Noël, the head maid said she hadn't found out.

Fortunately, she didn't notice, otherwise, if she had dealt with the matter, Simon wouldn't have harbored resentment over the bad breakfast and, in a fit of anger, hadn't brought down the butler.

This is equivalent to a junior employee killing their department manager in a fit of anger because the afternoon tea was not good.

Elisa shook her head knowingly and advised, "Pay more attention to details."

Maria was startled and immediately began to reflect.

The young lady wouldn't say this for no reason. Could it be that she found out about Charles from Noël and then discovered the butler's affair?

It's like a detective's work—seeing the big picture from small details, and understanding the profound from the subtle. Besides, the young lady clearly hasn't met with Noel or Charles!

The young lady from the archipelago is no ordinary person either. I heard it's quite chaotic there. I actually underestimated her before.

The head maid was filled with deep remorse.

"Go down and finish things today." Elisa maintained her expert demeanor.

"Yes." The head maid respectfully withdrew from the dining room.

Chapter 8: What's with increasing the maid's affection level?

As the butler and his party packed up and left, Simon was standing guard in the foyer and their eyes met.

He leaned forward and gave a brief farewell to the butler, Sheldon.

Sheldon was taken aback. The servants were all avoiding him for fear of being implicated, yet Simon actually bowed to him.

He took off his hat and bowed to Simon as well: "Thank you."

Sheldon's companions behind him also paid their respects to Simon, marveling at the noble character of their former colleague and regretting that they hadn't been able to get Simon involved in the embezzlement.

Unbeknownst to them, the one who reported them to the young lady, leading to their dismissal, was none other than Simon, standing right in front of them.

Simon accepted their thanks without hesitation and watched them leave the manor.

This case involved a total of 7 servants: 5 male servants and 2 female servants. With all 7 of them gone, the house suddenly became much emptier.

Head Maid Maria announced Elisa's decision, promoting Simon to First Class Male Servant, who would then be in charge of the remaining ordinary male servants.

“You can move to any of the available servants’ bedrooms,” Maria explained simply. “You need to start preparing for the salon. Select two ordinary male servants to participate, and the rest will be done by the maids.”

Now they can move to the sunny side, and they even have some more ordinary male servants at their beck and call. Simon gave this operation a perfect score.

“In addition,” Maria hesitated for a moment, “starting today, you will come to the butler’s office every day to work with me in charge of the manor’s purchases, including the expenses for this salon.”

"Shall I join the purchasing?" Simon began to doubt Miss Elisa's mental state.

I'm the kind of person who can lie about donating three times the amount!

It must have been Maria's own initiative to decentralize power and prevent corruption from recurring.

Simon agreed.

"Please come to the butler's office after lunch." Maria turned and left.

The butler's room after the meal was not for work, but for a snack. In addition to the main meal, high-ranking servants could also enjoy refreshments.

A first-class male servant is not considered a high-ranking servant; only a personal male servant and a butler are. Is this because a male servant must be included in the leadership, and I am the only first-class male servant?

Before even asking about the salary, the head maid had completely forgotten to mention the most important thing.

……

Simon accepted Maria's invitation to co-manage the estate's expenses with her.

Elisa's eyes widened as she looked at "Simon's Journal".

What?! This guy who can embezzle 4 out of 6 shillings is actually going to control the estate's expenses?!

She vaguely saw her gold coins grow wings and fly one by one into Simon's pocket.

Why would Maria make such a request? Is it a way of demonstrating her loyalty? Or an indication that she's accepting supervision?

This is really unnecessary! And you should have chosen a better person to supervise you! You're inviting trouble!

Elisa wanted to summon Maria to remove Simon from financial control, but couldn't find a suitable reason.

She shouldn't just not object, she should express approval... How can she possibly approve of that!

Miss Elisa paced back and forth in the bedroom and realized that the problem was not serious.

That male servant is just a supervisor; the purchasing power is still in Maria's hands. He can't get any money out of me!

After a while, I'll pretend to be very satisfied with Maria's work, promote her to housekeeper, show my trust in her, let her have all the power, kick Simon out, and the problem will be solved!

The gold pound is safe! Elisa was relieved.

She continued reading "Simon's Journal".

Simon got a promotion and a raise, and he's in a good mood.

How delightful! My annual salary has increased from £16 to £30, almost doubling!

That's all money I earned by risking my life! Elisa felt a pang of heartache.

She comforted herself, thinking that since she was going to hire servants anyway, she might as well let Simon make the money instead of someone else.

Speaking of which, now that I've promoted you and given you a raise, you should definitely increase my intimacy level with you!

Can I reach level 20 right away? And then unlock a new ability for me! Elisa wished.

Simon's affection for Maria has increased.

It did rise... wait, whose rose? What the heck is Maria?!

Elisa clenched her fist.

I'll give you a promotion and a raise, and you'll increase the head maid's favorability?

Give me my money back! Give me back that £14!

Elisa glared fiercely at the screen, wondering if she should sneak into the servant's room that night and teach the male servant a lesson.

She suppressed the thought with reason.

It's normal for the head maid's favorability to increase, since in the servants' eyes, I've never spoken to Simon. It was Maria who recommended Simon to deliver the letter, and it was Maria who said she wanted to promote a male servant.

This actually proves how well I disguised myself; even Simon couldn't detect that it was I, the young lady, who was manipulating things behind the scenes!

Moreover, I don't care about the mere intimacy level with a male servant. Even if it increases by 8 or 9 points, I won't care!

Elisa gave a soft hum, sat down on the sofa, and picked up the newspaper to read.

Simon enjoyed dessert in the butler's room; the warm sunshine and delicious treats soothed his heart, which had been worn down by work.

"Intimacy +3"

Up!

Elisa picked up the newspaper and jumped up from the sofa.

The personal maid, who was pouring tea, looked up and looked at the young lady who had suddenly jumped up with a puzzled expression.

"My back is a little sore." Elisa pretended to rub her back to cover up her rudeness.

After performing a set of exercises to relieve her back pain, she sat back on the sofa, reopened the newspaper, and placed the light screen in the middle of the newspaper.

This feeling is like secretly reading a novel during class.

Elisa felt a mix of guilt and excitement.

She rolled her eyes, glanced at her personal maid, and continued watching the light screen.

"Intimacy Level: 20"

I've reached level 20! Where's my new feature?!

Note: Reaching an intimacy level of 30 will unlock the next feature.

What?! It costs 30!

Only 10 left, almost there.

Elisa waited a while, wondering what other features might appear next.

Can you hear what the male servant is thinking? Can you control the male servant's body?

This time it's unlocked at level 30, what about the next time?