During the process of entertaining Ronald.
The maid exhibited no flaws in her professional skills.
Her posture while pouring tea, the tone she used when asking Ronald about his needs, and even her movements while standing in the room—
According to Ronald’s understanding, she perfectly met the requirements of this world’s etiquette.
However, beyond that,
other matters seemed rather dull.
Although she wouldn’t ignore any of Ronald’s questions, the maid did nothing beyond basic services and simply stayed quietly in the room, watching Ronald as if to guard against him possibly doing something inappropriate.
Being watched by Patricia’s maid ,
Ronald could somewhat guess her thoughts.
Therefore, while sipping the tea in front of him, he leisurely surveyed the room he was in.
According to the maid’s explanation,
this was Patricia’s reception room.
The roughly forty-square-meter space was furnished with two sofas and a low table for placing tea in the middle. Besides that, there were only two potted plants placed by the window, with no other decorative items.
Simple, clean, unpretentious.
Quite similar to the first impression Patricia gave.
And through the open window, Ronald could faintly hear the sound of clashing blades coming from downstairs. That was probably the training ground Patricia had mentioned earlier, belonging to Nicholas’ private training facility.
Listening to the sounds, Ronald thoughtfully asked,
"Does Patricia usually train a lot?"
The maid’s face took on a proud expression:
"Miss is our strongest swordsman!"
"When she’s not involved in social activities or studying, she spends almost half her time honing her swordsmanship. Such efforts cannot be compared to those who are content with their current status!"
Seeing the maid’s proud demeanor and tone, Ronald naturally smiled and nodded:
"True to her reputation..."
And indeed, it was so.
Among the various individuals Ronald had encountered since he had arrived, if one didn’t consider other aspects and discussed only combat skills,
Patricia was likely the strongest.
Her lightning-fast combat style and flawless swordplay were not something an ordinary person could handle after acquiring magical abilities.
In such an atmosphere, where they conversed briefly once in a while,
twenty minutes had passed, and Ronald heard footsteps coming from outside the reception room.
Soon, Patricia pushed the door open and walked in.
"Ronald, sorry to have kept you waiting."
How should one put it...
Among all the girls Ronald had encountered, Patricia was definitely the first to take just twenty minutes to bathe, change, and then appear in front of him.
Even though it was so rushed, the young girl in front of him showed no signs of haste or flaws in her appearance.
Her platinum blonde hair was still tied back.
But the clothes she wore had been changed to a loose long dress.
After greeting and sitting on the sofa opposite Ronald, Patricia then waved to the maid:
"Marita, you can leave now."
"Remember to tell the others at home not to disturb me and my friend."
The maid cast a final glance at Ronald, then left the reception room, closing the door gently behind her.
Once only Patricia and Ronald were left in the room.
Patricia then said with an apologetic tone,
"Ronald, I understand Fred’s personality well and can probably guess what he did. As his sister, I’m truly sorry."
"It’s fine." Ronald smiled, shaking his head to indicate Patricia need not worry about it, "Young boys are like that, and besides, you’re his beloved sister."
Watching Ronald respond seriously, Patricia nodded slightly before asking curiously,
"I actually still have quite a few questions about the earlier matter."
"Could you tell me if it’s convenient for you?"
Ronald generously replied,
"The situation is actually a bit complex."
"It all started with the Berengwich incident..."
Following that, Ronald explained the general course of events to Patricia.
Besides some potentially dangerous information and Eloise’s complex background, he didn’t consciously conceal much.
And when Patricia heard about the death of the original text’s holder,
This exceptionally skilled Swordsman couldn’t help but show a trace of emotion.
"So there were such developments after all..."
"Ronald, you’ve gone through a lot too."
Ronald gave a bitter smile and shrugged his shoulders, his expression growing serious,
"At first, I didn’t expect these things to happen."
"And regarding the ’Nine Commandments’, I have a very troubling question."
Patricia sipped her tea, quickly realizing a contradiction in the whole affair,
"Are you talking about the initial invitation you received?"
"That’s right," Ronald confirmed Patricia’s guess before continuing, "If the organization was truly unified, I should not have received that encrypted letter initially."
"So I suspect there might be some internal conflicts within the organization."
Listening to Ronald’s words, Patricia also furrowed her brows.
But as she gently set down her teacup, the girl started to comfort Ronald first,
"Ronald, I think maybe you shouldn’t focus too much on that aspect."
"After all, the ’Nine Commandments’ is a large organization, and such invitations can easily have flaws. You might just have encountered one by chance."
"Thanks for the comfort."
Ronald of course saw what Patricia meant.
After nodding in thanks, he continued to answer seriously,
"I have thought about that too, but since it’s a dangerous opponent, I think it’s better to deal with it seriously."
Patricia responded in agreement,
"Being cautious is always right."
While the two were exchanging courtesies, someone politely knocked three times on the reception room door.
Immediately, the maid who had left earlier asked from outside the door:
"Miss, dinner is ready."
"Will you be coming down to dine?"
"You go ahead first, we’ll be right down!" Hearing the call from outside, Patricia promptly got up from the sofa, then made a gesture Ronald had never seen before, but which was clearly an invitation.
"Ronald, would you mind joining me for dinner?"
Ronald also got up with a smile, then responded,
"Then I shall respectfully accept."