The day after the punishment ended, Elena could not get out of bed at all, thanks to how intense it had been, and was forced to lie there the whole day.
Lilith duly went from mistress to Elena's nurse for the day, and looked after her very well indeed.
Even though she was the sole culprit behind Elena being unable to get up.
Still, thanks to Lilith's care it took only that one day for Elena to come back at full HP, and her tongue, which had gone soft, was sharp again.
Even so, that night's punishment had left an indelible shadow on her heart.
Every time she thought back to it — the way she had abased herself calling Lilith "Master" — she wanted to find a crack in the ground and crawl into it.
She had even considered giving up the assassination altogether and finding some way to escape this place immediately.
But she felt that running away like that would be far too humiliating; she would be laughed to death when she got back to the Organization.
And so, even knowing full well that Lilith was overwhelmingly strong — too strong for her to beat — she still could not give up!
The most important reason, though, was simply that she had thought about running and it was flatly impossible. Lilith was not about to let a little maid she had only just caught slip away.
At the first hint of it, Lilith would probably seize her again and put her through another thorough punishment.
And she had no desire to endure anything that terrifying again for a good while yet.
***
The next morning, a fully revived Elena shot upright out of bed.
There was still some soreness left in her body, but it no longer interfered with moving at all.
Today! Today was the first day she had decided to be a proper maid.
Why would Elena make a decision like that?
First, Elena needed to look after her body. If she failed again, it would not be the kind of thing a single day in bed would fix.
Second, to lower Lilith's guard. Last time she had been in far too much of a hurry, which was exactly why she had lost so completely.
And the last reason was that she was out of ideas. She could not think of a single method that would work on that old hag Lilith.
Setting some kind of trap? Lilith would spot something like that instantly!
So biding her time was the best option available.
Besides, Lilith had been rather good to her. She was only a maid, and yet Lilith had been willing to look after her for a whole day, which had won her over more than a little.
Not that she wanted to admit that.
"Mm~ haah..."
Elena stretched, got out of bed, and changed with practiced ease into the maid outfit she had gotten used to by now.
Standing in front of the mirror, she looked at herself and could not help sighing over it.
"Haah... I wanted to be a killer and here I am a maid instead. I might be the most humiliating killer in the whole world."
She sighed, straightened the hem a little, and then left the mirror and pushed the bedroom door open.
As luck would have it, Lilith was reaching out to open it at that exact moment, and the two of them miraculously found themselves eye to eye.
The air went silent for a moment.
In the end it was Lilith who broke the awkward scene.
"So Elena's awake. Did you rest well? Does it still hurt?"
There was concern in Lilith's words — real, genuine concern.
"I'm fine now, and... th-thank you."
Elena turned her face away halfway through, and the thank-you at the end came out incredibly quietly.
Lilith heard it, but put on a face that suggested she had not.
"Hm? What was that you just said?"
Elena's cheeks flushed instantly, and it took her a moment to steel herself before she could speak again.
"Thank you...!"
"Pfft..."
Lilith laughed at how adorable Elena looked with her face red, and simply gave up the pretense, reaching out to rest her right hand on Elena's head and ruffle it gently.
"Good girl~ It's only what a Master ought to do~"
"You...! Tch, I should never be nice to you!"
Realizing she had been teased, Elena batted Lilith's hand away in a huff and glared right back at her.
"All right, all right. Your Master did come to find you about something, you know."
"Something? What could you possibly have to discuss — how you're going to punish me?"
Elena said it sourly; she did not for a moment believe that whatever Lilith called business would be anything good.
"Oh~? Could it be that my little maid is actually looking forward to being punished by her Master~?"
"Wh-who's looking forward to it! You pervert! You sadist! You rapist!"
Elena fired straight back, her little face red with fury.
"Hm?"
The amusement vanished from Lilith's face, and her expression turned abruptly cold.
"Eep! I-I'm sorry... Master."
Elena caught Lilith's expression, her body gave a sudden jolt, and she dropped her head and apologized obediently on reflex.
"That's more like it~"
Lilith reached out and ruffled Elena's head again, the smile back on her face.
"Now then, to business. I have work in town over the next few days. Would you like to come along?"
"In town?"
Elena raised her head slightly, puzzled.
"Yes. I am a lord, whatever else. Is it so strange for a domain to have a little town in it?"
Lilith countered.
"Ah, I suppose that's true..."
She had a point, and Elena did not seem to have any way to argue with it.
Besides, Elena had not taken any normal route infiltrating this estate; she had come straight across the forest.
Because she believed that as a killer, the fewer people who saw her the better, and so... she had had absolutely no idea this domain even had a town.
"So? What do you say. Will you come with your Master?"
Lilith looked at Elena and asked again.
"Then — can I not go?"
Elena asked it cautiously. She did not think Lilith would agree, but it was worth asking.
"You may~"
"Eh?"
Lilith's answer left her frozen for a moment.
She agreed just like that? Was this really that old hag Lilith? Had somebody taken over her body?
"However!"
Lilith suddenly pushed Elena back into the room and pinned her to the bed before Elena could react at all.
"To keep my little maid from running away, you'll have to be tied up nicely for the whole time your Master is gone~"
She laid her right hand against Elena's cheek.
"And kept hungry the entire time, right up until your Master comes home~"
At that, Elena shrank back without meaning to. Never mind having nothing to eat — being tied up for several days alone would be more than she could bear.
Never mind that Lilith would certainly not stop at merely tying her up.
At the thought, Elena shook her head frantically.
"Don't...! I-I'll come with you, all right!"
Under Lilith's assault, Elena was defeated instantly.
"Mm-hm~ That's a good girl~ Then go and change, and we'll be off~"
"...Change?"
Elena asked it without thinking. What other clothes did she even have to change into?
"Of course. Or did you intend to let other people see you in that maid outfit?"
Lilith tilted Elena's chin up, her voice turning forceful.
"And even if you wanted to, I would never allow anyone else to see you dressed like that~"