The once-closed door that allowed passage in and out of the room violently ruptured open.
Swinging haphazardly from its hinges, the door slammed into the wall with a loud crunch.
Liana flinched sporadically, like a cat brought to water, in contrast to Rue's mellow reaction—he appeared unbothered by the loud din.
Rue curiously shifted his head toward the now–open doorway.
"Color me surprised, to think my disciple would be such a naughty character," carried out the amused—audacious, yet all too familiar tone of a certain brass pink-haired woman, as she ambled in.
Taking several steps into the room, Livia suddenly stopped, her gaze shifting to the wall adjacent to her.
A jagged circular hole—large enough for two men to walk through simultaneously—had now taken residence in the wall.
This hole was, of course, the collateral fruit of Rue and Liana's skirmish.
"Damn… I liked that wall," Livia silently sighed, with an undercut of amusement.
A second of deafening silence passed as Liana and Rue tensely waited for her reaction.
'Is this some sort of sick joke from fate! Of all literal times, LIVIAN! Just happened to come now!' Liana mentally grimaced, damning the world through her thoughts.
Sure, the maid had said she was willing to accept any punishment for her actions, but… in truth, that had been more recited idealism than an actual creed she held faith in.
However, the maid would never convey the truth of her feelings to another soul, out of her persistent fear of reprimand.
Her feelings and thoughts were taboo.
A mere maid didn't have the right to challenge the status quo.
"First you assault my sister, then you harass my dear maid, and now you destroy my property," Livia stated in a calm, matter-of-fact tone. She threw her gaze over her shoulder, spotting her startled, flush-faced attendant and her annoyingly calm disciple seated at a respectable proximity from one another.
Sigh…
Tch.
She clicked her tongue, her pink locks bouncing slightly.
"Damn it my disciple,"
"Can't you at least pretend to look a tad bit scared whenever I try to call you out or act threatening?!"
"Think of your master's pride, you inconsiderate bastard," she grumbled begrudgingly.
Rue blinked in shock as he heard Livia's lighthearted, laid-back—most surprisingly, comfortable—teasing tone.
Why was she being so informal?
Rue was confused and didn't know how to respond to her casualness, so he said the first thing that came to mind.
"Master if I may ask? What's there to be scared of?" Rue asked.
Rue had decided he wanted a better grasp of his master's elusive personality.
What made her tick?
What did she think?
How did she think?
So he asked this rather presumptuous question.
It was a calculated conundrum.
For future reference, he wanted to test the limits of this so-called master-disciple relationship.
When was crossing a certain hierarchical boundary too much?
Where was the line?
What caught her fancy?
And oppositely—what was too little?
Livia scratched her chin, clearly not expecting such a question.
"There's no need to be so polite Rue, you can speak informally" she said sincerely.
"You're my first disciple—and hopefully only—so you're an exception. I already get enough pleasantries from everyone, and frankly, that's already annoying enough."
"I'm one more 'master,' 'madam,' or 'lady' away from blowing a gasket and pulling my hair out," she vented.
Rue nodded.
"Noted, Livia," he said, testing the name on his tongue.
"Good boy," she teased
"You're picking it up," she added with a smile and a nod.
Livia now stood in front of the two, her hands resting on her waist, her features taking on an expression that lacked her notorious sass.
Liana's expression now fit the proper doctrine, since she was in the presence of her master, her features were cold & stoic—detached from visible emotions. Her emotional volatility from earlier had vanished completely under her master's presence.
Noticing her attendants' professional air, she sighed.
"Liana, why are you so stiff all of a sudden?"
"From what I saw at the end of that little fight, you seemed lively and human before I came. Now you look so robotic and professional."
"Is it because I'm here? Am I the problem now?" she said with a smirk.
The maid's jaw dropped as her face paled.
"Wha-what… NO! No, Miss Livian, I don't think like that!" Liana frantically stuttered out, trying to dispel the misunderstanding.
She had to diffuse this!
"I'm just fucking with you," Livian said.
"However," Livian added, her tone now serious, "Stop acting so damn formal. You know I hate it."
"I'll try my best, ma'am—" she paused.
"I mean, Livia!" she corrected quickly.
Watching the small back-and-forth between the two, Rue out of habit, scratched the back of his head, habitually conflicted as he watched the dynamic between maid and master.
'Why is she so laid back?' he questioned
In all my life, I've never seen such an unsnobby, relaxed, legitimate heir to a major household.
It was weird, yet at the same time refreshing—but mostly weird.
"Livian, why are you so nonchalant?" Rue asked, noticing a natural pause opening in the conversation.
"Huh? Oh, that…" She shrugged in response.
"No real reason I guess. It's just the fact I find it annoying, nothing more nothing less. I mean, I have a name—it's Livia. Use it!" She exclaimed in a detested manner.
The way she said it, made it seem like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
~~~
~~~
~~~
The room buzzed with the sound of idle chatter.
Rue bounced questions off Livia, with broad topics ranging to vague events throughout the world or simple questions that specified personal curiosities about herself.
She gladly answered them.
Occasionally they veered into random tangents.
Liana, during the great majority of the discussion, remained as silent as a church mouse, speaking only when addressed or asked a question.
Some habits die hard.
After several minutes, Livia suddenly snapped back into focus.
"Holy shoot, I got sidetracked from the actual reason I came here."
"It was a good conversation, nonetheless, but—
With a snap of her fingers, a large silver translucent rectangular panel materialized before Rue.
At the center of the silver panel was the image of a green-haired, crimson-eyed man clad in white regal garments.
"He's challenging you to a duel," Livia announced.
"And the stakes are your current discipleship under me."
"And you're going to accept it."