**Chapter 244: This is... a Very Normal Book!**

**Chapter 244: This is... a Very Normal Book!**

I don't know why, but every time I come to the Training Ground, I get this absurd feeling. The Training Ground, which should have complemented the shady, green Front Yard, has been occupied by a Cylindrical Unknown Building shaped like a Space Mobile Fortress ever since I moved in. It was clearly designed for sheer size and spaciousness, as if just to hold more things, taking up 90% of the entire Training Ground's area. It's a bizarre building with absolutely no aesthetic appeal. How can I even describe this jarring feeling? I felt as speechless as if I had suddenly found a Gundam-shaped Terracotta Warrior while visiting the Terracotta Army.

If the original Villa design deserved a perfect score, the appearance of this bizarre Mobile Fortress-like building would deduct at least 90 points. That's why, whenever I stroll in the yard, I avoid turning towards the Training Ground. Every time I leave, I try not to look back, and every time I return, I keep my head down.

There was even one time I went to Ryan's Home, and he asked, "Is there a big Chimney behind your place?" While I knew 1% of that was just his old-man teasing, it at least showed that it had become famous in the nearby Residential Area.

"Knock, knock—"

This was my first time here. Knocking on the wooden door, I noticed that compared to the giant "Mobile Fortress," the door, which was the only Entrance, was tiny. It looked tailor-made for Morrissa's petite figure. Did she not plan on growing any taller? And the entire House only had one small window on the Second Floor, strictly enclosed by iron bars. Anyone who didn't know better would think this was a Prison Cell for Servants, and that I was abusing my own Handmaiden.

I waited for a bit, and seeing no response, I tried pushing the door – and it opened. Oh dear, that's not good. How can you not lock the door at night? Don't you know there are Creepy Uncles lurking around here at night? You're supposed to be the Flower of Lut Gholein, after all. Shaking my head, I pushed open the thick, heavy Ironwood Door and ducked my head and squeezed inside.

Tall, narrow, many.

The moment I stepped inside, my eyes couldn't take it all in. Inside and outside the door felt like two completely different worlds. Rows upon rows of Bookshelves, exuding a sense of oppression, lined up from the Doorway to both sides. Only a narrow path, barely wide enough for a Person to pass, was left between the Bookshelves. Standing in this confined Space, looking up at the four or five meter high Bookshelves that reached straight to the Rooftop, it felt as though even my view was bending along with this House.

The Bookshelves were undoubtedly filled with all sorts of Books. The Air was permeated with a unique scent, a mix of beast hide, paper, and wood, the kind only found in old Libraries steeped in history. Coupled with the narrow view that felt like it was pressing directly on my eyes, it subtly gave one a suffocating feeling. If I had to stay in this Place, I'd definitely have a mental breakdown within three days.

Squeezing sideways with difficulty, constantly weaving back and forth between the Bookshelves, I muttered to myself, wondering if my poor sense of direction would get me Lost here. If I had to open a Portal to Escape because of this, I'd never be able to hold my head up again in this Life.

Fortunately, the Villa's Training Ground wasn't very large, making this strange circular Building far less inscrutable than the Forgotten Tower in the Black Marsh. After wandering for a while, I successfully found the Second Floor Entrance – a simple wooden Stairs, fittingly petite just like the Three-No Princess. After stepping up the Stairs, a wooden door again blocked the way ahead. A gentle push, and the door was still unlocked.

I told you, your sense of caution needs to be stronger! Even though you have the Strength of a Mercenary, what if the night attacker is a Creepy Uncle with the Strength of a Classed Adventurer? Like me, for example... *cough, cough*... Of course, that absolutely wasn't me accidentally blurting it out. I'm not a Lolicon; I was just giving a purely innocent example, mhm mhm...!!

Although the Second Floor still had many Bookshelves, it wasn't as cramped as the First Floor. The view was relatively spacious. The iron bars by the window were open, and a cool breeze gently rustled the beautiful curtains. It felt quite pleasant and relaxing. Honestly, when I saw the First Floor, I was a little worried her personality might have been twisted.

Morrissa's Lair was right in the center of the Second Floor Room, surrounded by circles of round Bookshelves, as if she deliberately placed herself in a sea of Books. Only when I saw that luxurious and comfortable white soft Bed did I remember her past Identity as a Princess. This Bed was probably one of the few daily necessities she brought directly from the Imperial Palace.

Besides that, there was only an antique-looking Gold-Inlaid Wooden Cabinet by the Bed. On it sat a small cup, a stack of white paper, a pen holder with over a dozen quill pens of various sizes, and a bright magic lamp. It looked exactly like the setup of a poor scholar or writer from the revolution era. It was so simple it didn't resemble a Princess's room at all; no, even a Handmaiden from a small family would probably have it better.

At this moment, our Little Princess was sinking her Body into the soft Bed, lying prone on the Pillow, engrossed in a Book of unknown Name. She had changed out of her usual fitted snow-white Robe with a bun hairstyle and veil, and put on slightly thin, delicate floral pajamas. Her beautiful black long hair was spread across the Bed, and her alluring fair calves were propped up high. She looked completely without Wariness, not even noticing my footsteps, which I hadn't deliberately hidden. I really don't know how she passed the Mercenary Test. Was it because she's a Princess that even God gave her a pass?

I originally wanted to play a little trick on her to make her understand the dangers of the world, but seeing those calves constantly kicking fiercely at the Bed, I immediately realized her Mood was definitely not as calm as she appeared. She was probably still simmering with Anger from Sister Sha'erna's recent teasing.

So, I just walked up, leaned down, and reached out to rub her Little Head back and forth.

"Reading a Book, are we, our Little Princess Highness?"

Turning back, she showed an aggrieved expression, completely different from her usual Face, which rarely showed any emotion. Most striking were her normally bright yellow eyes, as large as a cartoon character's; they were now red like a rabbit's. For the Three-No Princess, who wasn't good at showing emotions, to display such obvious emotion outwardly, it seemed Sister Sha'erna's actions hadn't just annoyed her, but had driven her to the point of gritting her teeth.

"It's nothing."

After glancing at me, she immediately turned her head back and ignored me, but her Gaze was clearly no longer on the Book. She looked like she was saying, "I'm super~ super Angry right now. Hurry up and comfort me~ Use every method to flatter me and make me happy!!"

Huh, comforting someone? That's not something I'm good at. Although I could instantly think of dozens of methods in my heart, when it came to actually speaking up, I didn't know where to start.

So, I could only keep rubbing her Little Head, trying my best to gently stroke it repeatedly. However, unexpectedly, this seemed more effective than any words of comfort. Her expression was gradually returning to indifference, and her bright red pupils dimmed again, losing their vibrancy—don't misunderstand, this is her most normal appearance.

Although her Emotion slowly calmed down, she still kept tilting her head and leaning in, like a kitten that liked being petted, rubbing against my hand as I stroked her. Just then, she suddenly turned her head and looked at me suspiciously.

"Huh—... Stupid... Master...? When... did you get here...?"

"..."

Let's estimate. It's been about twenty minutes since I stepped through the Entrance, and about eight minutes since I got to the Second Floor (don't ask me why it took twelve minutes to find the Stairs to the Second Floor in a House less than two hundred square meters. I won't tell anyone). Fine, let's ignore that. After all, your sense of caution is weak. It's understandable you didn't discover me approaching. But it's been a full six minutes since our first dialogue, and for over five of those minutes, my hand has been on your Head...

After listing all that data, I actually just want to ask one thing—what exactly are your reaction nerves made of? Are they insulators?

For some reason, I suddenly had the impulse to pull her soft face cheeks sideways, like I would with Little Ghost when she's being mischievous. Considering our Relationship wasn't quite that close yet, I inhaled, exhaled, repeated three times, and finally managed to suppress it.

Huh—?

Calming down, I suddenly realized that just now, the Little Loli seemed to have subtly added some prefix before my title. Was it my illusion?

"It's nothing. I just came up to take a look, that's all."

I answered, suppressing the many questions in my heart. I leaned closer, curious to see what kind of Book she was reading, so engrossed that she didn't even Notice me getting so close.

Morrissa didn't seem to mind me seeing what she was reading. She moved aside and slapped the Book on the bedside table shut, revealing the Cover.

With her movement, a faint yet distinct Jasmine fragrance wafted towards me. Women are like flowers, and beautiful women have their own unique floral scent. The ancient saying, "recognize a beauty by her scent," isn't without reason.

But unfortunately, my Mood right now had absolutely no desire to savor this unique scent, which was completely different from Sarah's but equally alluring. Because I saw a familiar Cover again—the kind where the entire Cover is filled with writing.

"Can't you read something a little more normal?" At this moment, no words could describe the utterly defeated expression on my Face.

"Normal... Book?" Morrissa murmured confusedly, seemingly not understanding. "This is a very Normal Book."

She emphasized by holding up the Book's Cover in front of me, pointing at the Book Title on it, her tone completely serious.

"Normal, my ass! It's another one of those stories about young and strong Viscounts and Handmaidens, and sexy and alluring Countesses and Knights, isn't it?" I snatched the Book from her hand.

"Huh—?" I actually guessed wrong. Was she really reading a serious Book? I read the Book Title out word by word.

"'Defending Your Haven: How to Drive Away Annoying Guests - Handmaiden Advanced Chapter—'"

Normal, my ass!!!

I glared at Morrissa. She seemed to look back at me, also a little confused. We just kept staring at each other, eye to eye...

"Alright, you win."

Rubbing my itching eye sockets, I weakly yielded. I was wrong to have a staring contest with the Three-No Princess; I was truly mistaken, even my anus must have grown in the wrong position.

"There should be more, right? Hand them over." I held out my other hand, wearing an expression that said, "You know what to do."

Sure enough, hearing that, Morrissa didn't hesitate at all and pulled out another very similar Book from under the Pillow.

"'Stabilizing Your Position: How to Get Rid of the Newbie Title - Handmaiden Beginner Chapter.'"

Look, the Beginner Chapter is so serious! Why did the Advanced Chapter go down such a weird path? These two Books definitely aren't by the same author, right? Definitely!

I was instantly greatly pleased. I put the Advanced Chapter away and returned the Beginner Chapter to Morrissa. "That's more like it! Only Books like this can be called normal. Also, things like doctrine, scripture, or some travelogues and biographies, those are what count as normal Books!"

"But..." Morrissa still looked at me, confused, pointing at the many Bookshelves around her.

"I finished reading all these Books two years ago."

"Then read them again," I replied grumpily.

"I've memorized all of them in my head, so there's no need."

"..." Damn Child Prodigy, I hate geniuses.

"Anyway, try to read more normal Books from now on, or your personality will get worse and worse." Without waiting to see if Morrissa, who was tilting her head in thought, understood my words, I leaned down, placed my large hand on her Head, and rubbed it a few more times.

"One more thing, make sure you remember this: starting tomorrow, don't make Sister Sha'erna angry anymore, okay? You must be able to feel it; with Older Sister's strength, if she wanted to kill you, I wouldn't be able to prevent it in time. Don't joke around with your life, alright?"

After saying that, I naturally flicked her forehead lightly and turned to leave.

"..."

Stroking the spot that had been flicked, Morrissa froze motionless for a long while, her head lost in thought. After a long time, she suddenly jumped off the Bed with her bare feet. Her petite figure climbed up the Stairs nimbly like a squirrel, pulled out a Book very similar to the previous two from the top of the Bookshelves, then lightly jumped down and scurried back onto the Bed barefoot, hugging the Book.

"Consider it... conscience... comforting me... ... It's a bit early, but I'll read... after the Ultimate Chapter..." Her pink mouth murmured some vague words. Morrissa pulled out the Book she was holding. The Book Title on the Cover was none other than—

(end of chapter)