Chapter 488 - 170: Aoto Squad Assault! The Pursuit in the Settlement! [6800]_2

Chapter 488: Chapter 170: Aoto Squad Assault! The Pursuit in the Settlement! [6800]_2

——Fine.

Aoto raised his hand to rub the back of his neck.

——Just think of it as a mosquito bite.

After all, that Gerard is Elodie’s private tutor, and for the sake of Anthony, Elodie, and their relationship, Aoto was embarrassed to argue too much with this guy.

Moreover, Aoto’s heart isn’t narrow enough to get angry over someone’s disdainful glance.

Just considering Gerard’s look as a mosquito bite, Aoto quickly dispelled the gloom in his heart.

"Mr. Tachibana, the tea has been brewed. Should I take it to the study now, or should I wait a while before delivering it?"

Surprise immediately surfaced in Aoto’s eyes.

——Who’s speaking...?

This female voice that suddenly sounded behind Aoto had a strange accent, with many words poorly pronounced.

Overwhelmed by astonishment, Aoto hurriedly turned around, looking behind him.

Behind Aoto was only one person — Miss Leroy, standing with her hands crossed in front of her, respectfully in place.

"Miss Leroy..." Aoto blurted with wide eyes, "So you can speak Japanese?"

Leroy nodded gently, smiled thinly, and then spoke awkwardly:

"I can barely communicate, not as fluently or accurately as the miss."

This was the first time Aoto heard Leroy speak Japanese.

Before this, Aoto had only heard Leroy speak French, so he naturally assumed Leroy didn’t know any Japanese.

At this moment, Leroy softly repeated the question she had asked earlier:

"Mr. Tachibana, should I take the tea to the study now, or wait a bit before delivering it?"

Aoto slowly came to his senses from the surprise of "Leroy can speak Japanese."

"Take it now." Aoto answered without hesitation, "Thank you."

"You’re welcome." Leroy slightly bowed, "This is all what I should do."

With that, Leroy turned and walked towards the kitchen.

Aoto watched Leroy’s receding figure for a few moments, exhaling a long breath.

——I should check on how things are going with Saito and the others in the study...

With this thought in mind, Aoto straightened his clothes, then stride briskly towards the nearby staircase.

However, just then, a sudden thank you, like a chain, arrested Aoto’s foot which had already touched the staircase step.

"...Mr. Tachibana, thank you very much for playing with the young miss earlier."

"Hmm?" Aoto paused, then looked in confusion at Leroy who suddenly thanked him.

Turning his gaze to Leroy, Aoto noticed the young maid with a beautiful face looking at him with a grateful smile.

When Aoto’s gaze fell on her, Leroy lowered her head, bent her body, and bowed to Aoto from afar.

"The young miss...she has been lonely ever since moving to Edo."

"Surrounded by strangers and an unfamiliar environment."

"There’s no nearby child of her age to play with her."

"Sir and I are busy every day, so we have little time to accompany the young miss."

"Only Miss Kinoshita visits her from time to time to play."

As she spoke, the corners of Leroy’s mouth drooped slightly...this subtle change in expression added a hint of bittersweetness to her face.

"If I’m not mistaken...the young miss asked you herself to spar with her, right?"

"The young miss has always loved the thrusting swordsmanship."

"But since leaving France and moving to Japan, she rarely finds anyone who has the time, ability, and willingness to spar with her."

"Having a rare match of swords with someone today...she must be overjoyed."

Under Aoto’s composed eyebrows, his gaze flickered slightly.

For a moment, he suddenly recalled what Elodie said to him before their sparring match—

(I haven’t sparred with anyone in a while...I almost forgot what it feels like to spar with someone or something other than the air.)

The scenes of sparring with Elodie flashed rapidly through Aoto’s mind.

It was only then that Aoto realized—during the spar, Elodie was always smiling happily.

Even though her sword couldn’t hit Aoto at all, she was still grinning joyfully.

It was as if just being able to raise a sword and spar was something truly worth celebrating...

Now Aoto understood why Elodie had abruptly asked him to spar with her.

No other peers nearby, her grandpa and the maid are too busy every day, only Mukiwa occasionally visits her...just from Leroy’s descriptions, Aoto’s mind had already painted a picture of "a lonely blonde girl practicing her favorite swordsmanship with nothing but air every day."

Pressing his lips together, unsure how to react, Aoto looked upstairs in the direction of Elodie’s room with a complex expression...

Elodie’s room was on the top third floor, and being still on the first floor, Aoto couldn’t even see the door to her room.

However, from lifting his gaze, Aoto saw something else—

Thunk thunk thunk thunk thunk thunk...

From the top floor came a series of hurried footsteps.