Except the pain Elena had braced for never arrived. Instead she landed on something soft.
She froze, and even nuzzled lightly against the softness she was resting on.
Was this heaven?
She opened her eyes slowly. In front of her was the open cupboard, the same tea packets still inside it.
She turned her head and found Lilith. Her own head was resting against Lilith's chest, and that soft sensation...
"Comfortable?"
Lilith spoke with a smile, but there was something else hidden inside that smile.
"C-comfortable."
It came out of Elena's mouth before any part of her brain had been involved.
The moment she realized what she had said, she scrambled up and put a few steps between them.
"Th-that is, I didn't do it on purpose."
Elena apologized in a small voice, though the meek attitude lasted exactly one sentence.
"Besides, if you hadn't startled me out of nowhere I wouldn't have fallen, so it isn't my fault!"
She said it with total conviction.
Lilith was still smiling, only now the smile had turned considerably more terrifying.
"Oh? Is that so. Then, my little maid, could you tell me what you were doing just now~?"
She closed in on Elena step by step, and Elena was forced back step by step.
Was this scene starting to feel a little familiar?
"Ngh!"
Only when Elena had nowhere left to retreat did she huddle into the corner, working desperately on what to answer.
Stupid brain, think, quickly! How did she find out so fast!
And can this old hag teleport? Why does she always turn up out of nowhere!
Elena was mid-brainstorm, but Lilith had no intention of letting her off, looking down at her where she huddled in the corner.
"Well~? Were you planning to poison me, perhaps?"
"Eep! D-don't go slandering an honest person!"
Elena shot back on reflex.
"Which eye of yours saw me poisoning anything?! I was just... just cleaning. Yes, cleaning!"
She explained frantically, her voice getting louder and louder, apparently under the impression that volume alone could bluff her way through.
"Oh? Is that so~"
Lilith was all suspicion.
"If you don't believe me then search me! Where on my body could I possibly be hiding poison right now!"
Elena stood up abruptly and flung her arms wide, exposing her body in that shameful maid outfit completely.
This had only just occurred to her: the poison was not on her, so the poisoning charge did not stand at all!
On top of that, these clothes were the ones Lilith had given her, and there was nowhere in them to hide anything.
So this round was hers!
Lilith obliged her, and after looking her over wore an expression of disappointment — but very quickly Lilith was smiling again.
"There really is nowhere on you to hide it... But there is still one place I haven't checked~"
Lilith pressed in against Elena all at once, her right leg braced between Elena's, pinning her against the wall once again.
Then Lilith slid her hand under Elena's skirt, stroking lightly upward along her thigh, all the way to the top of it.
And finally stopped at Elena's most important place.
"I hear some assassins hide things here~ We really ought to check properly~"
"Ngh! W-wait!"
Elena, thoroughly frightened, grabbed at the hand Lilith had reached down there.
"I-I'm still a vir... so, so there's no way I'd hide anything down there..."
Faced with a genuine threat, Elena went weak, her cheeks flushing faintly, a thread of pleading in her voice.
"Pfft... hahaha~ So cute~"
Looking at Elena in that meek state, Lilith laughed again, and this time out loud.
"All right. Since my little maid says so, I'll believe you one more time."
Lilith let go and let Elena off once again.
"Do be careful when you're cleaning next time. We wouldn't want another accidental fall~"
With that Lilith walked over beneath the tea cupboard, reached up and took a packet down with no effort at all, and then boiled water and brewed tea with practiced ease.
Elena, still weak-kneed with fright in the corner, finally recovered, and stood quietly to one side watching every step of Lilith's brewing closely.
Lilith, naturally, noticed Elena watching.
"What is it? Do you want to learn?"
"Tch, I do not! Who'd want to learn something like that."
Elena snapped back out of habit and turned to leave.
But Lilith merely reached out, caught the back collar of Elena's maid outfit without effort, and hauled her back.
"Don't go~ You'll learn whether you want to or not. You're a maid, aren't you? Brewing tea is going to be part of your job from now on."
"You! Let go of me! I don't want to!"
Elena struggled, but it plainly did nothing, and in the end she had to give up struggling.
"Want to or not, you will. Maids who don't listen get punished~"
Lilith grinned wickedly.
"Eep! I'll learn... I'll learn it, all right!"
At the two words "get punished," Elena went straight into fight-or-flight and was forced into agreeing.
"Good girl~"
Lilith set Elena down, and ruffled her hair while she was at it.
Elena did not dare resist and could only let Lilith do as she liked.
After that she settled in and learned the art of brewing tea from Lilith in earnest.
The temperature, the ratio of leaves to water, the steeping time — steps that looked perfectly simple turned out to be enormously fiddly in practice.
Lilith's standards were exceptionally high, too. A degree too hot or too cold would not do, and neither would the water: a drop too much or too little was unacceptable!
Elena was sure she was being deliberately difficult. Who could possibly control it that precisely!
But however unhappy Elena was, she did not dare say so, and could only try again and again.
This round of hands-on instruction from Lilith went on for a very long time; it was nearly afternoon by the end.
After Elena had wasted goodness knows how many tea leaves, she finally brewed a cup that satisfied Lilith.
The liquor was clear and bright, faintly red in color; just looking at it, you would think this cup was perfect!
Lilith lifted the cup and took a small sip, and a satisfied smile appeared on her face.
"Mm. This one is good. Brew to this standard from now on~"
"Haaah... finally!"
Hearing that, Elena at last let out her breath and collapsed onto the floor, the picture of a burden lifted.
"All right, don't lie on the floor. The floor is cold."
Seeing Elena in this undignified state, Lilith put a hand to her forehead and hauled her up once again.
"Ngh! Can't you let me rest for a bit! You've been torturing me for ages!"
Elena wailed, dangling from Lilith's grip in midair like a puddle of soft mud.
"All right, all right. As a reward for learning to brew a decent cup of tea, you may rest first."
Lilith gave in, scooped Elena up, and set her down on the living-room sofa.
"There. Rest here a while. I'm going to cook — is there anything you'd like to eat?"
At Lilith's words Elena snapped instantly awake. She shot upright and stared at Lilith in disbelief.
She was going to cook for her? Seriously? This old hag? Cooking?
For a moment Elena began to wonder whether the Lilith in front of her had been possessed by something strange.
But on second thought — this old hag was definitely trying to mess with her, exactly like she had with the tea!
Right, that had to be it! Heh heh, I've seen through your plan!
The corners of Elena's mouth curled up slightly, and she spoke.
"As long as it's something humans can eat!"