Leo's mansion is huge!
No wonder, since it's a count's house.
You, a maid? I bet you'll only make more work for them.
What do you mean by that?
Why did you even come along, anyway, Professor?
To keep an eye on you
and make sure you don't embarrass yourself in high society.
I won't embarrass myself!
I need to make money!
Besides, I've always wanted to work as a maid!
A fancy mansion and a cute outfit...
A world of elegance and splendor...
I can't wait!
Is it really all that?
Pardon me!
It's heavy!
H-Hello—
Welcome to the Regulus household, Miss Spica!
Aren't you going in?
No way!
There's no way those were maids!
I must be at the wrong mansion!
They did say "the Regulus household."
My, Spica.
Why a lion?!
Will it eat me if I try to run?!
Where might you be off to?
L-Leo!
There, there. Calm down, Biceps.
What kind of name is that?
I told you to cool it.
Did you not hear me?
Did she just shush the lion? Scary...
Now, let's get you to work.
Please go get changed.
I'm not sure I'll get out of here alive.
An actual maid outfit!
It's so cute!
The sleeves are a little loose.
Are they?
Yes.
In the Regulus household, if you can flex your arms...
and blow your sleeves off, you've earned your place here!
Not happening.
Certainly not with those twiggy arms.
Can she even accomplish anything as a maid?
Did you always need so much muscle to be a maid?
You were all scrawny at first, too.
My lady!
Good morning!
At ease.
Yes, ma'am!
I don't remember maid greetings being like this.
You're looking good, Spica.
You'll gain muscle in no time once you start work.
I'd rather not.
I'm looking forward to work today, Leo.
Nay!
When you're wearing that uniform, you will call me Lady Leo.
I can't allow you to set a bad example for the other servants.
U-Understood! I'm sorry, Lady Leo!
So, what should I do?
I'll have you be my attendant.
Please help with preparations for the ball tomorrow.
Yes, ma'am!
All right!
I'll do anything it takes to buy that Herbarium Book!
First off, training!
Cleaning the room.
Heavy!
It weighs ten kilograms.
It doubles as weight training. Two birds with one stone!
That's such a dumb-person idea!
Oh, it's evening already.
I need to go feed them dinner.
Come with me to the garden, Spica.
The garden?!
Well, Spica?
Isn't this a fantastic garden?!
G-Garden?
Or a savanna?!
Hey, Spica.
This place is great.
They treat me like royalty just for being an animal.
I was wondering where he'd gone!
He's fitting right in!
Why do you have so many animals?
I wanted to be around animals all the time, so I had it made for me.
Wow.
These kids are basically family to me.
I never knew Leo had such a gentle smile.
Maybe this is the source of Leo's strength.
Leo Magic is beast magic that lets you transform into any animal.
And the better you understand the animal, the stronger it becomes.
It's just like her.
This is so comforting!
It's the same as how understanding plants makes Virgo Magic stronger.
So this is what Professor Pegasus was talking about.
I need to spend even more time with plants.
Everyone, good work today.
Father is out on a voyage, so a word from me in his place...
Yes, ma'am!
Tomorrow is my high society debut.
High society debut?
Noblewomen make their debut at social events when they're sixteen.
They're treated as full-grown ladies.
In other words, tomorrow is Leo's first ball.
Oh... So it's an important event.
I ask for your full commitment to make tomorrow a success.
Yes, ma'am!
Dismissed!
Leo's the same age as me,
but she's managing all these people at home.
She's a proper lady.
I got to learn all sorts of new things about Leo today.
DAY 2 OF MAID LIFE
On my second day of maid life,
I was swamped with work first thing in the morning.
Cleaning around the mansion, waking Lady Leo up,
helping her get dressed, feeding the animals, preparing lunch,
and the post-lunch workout...
I never knew making money would be so grueling.
I'm so grateful to my parents.
Spica, my father is returning. We're going to greet him.
Okay.
What's your father like, Lady Leo?
Father is a kind, elegant gentleman.
Her father must be a fantastic man.
A caveman!
Father!
"Father"?!
Welcome home!
Thank you for greeting me.
Where's the gentleman?!
How was your audience with the queen?
I'll never get used to those stuffy situations.
I'd rather be running through the fields as naked as the day I was born.
That's why he showed up like that?!
Say, who is she?
I-I'm Spica.
She's my friend.
I'm having her work as a temporary maid.
Well, well.
I thank you for being good to Leo.
H-HUGE...
H-Huge...
I'm Alterf Wolf.
Call me Lord Alterf.
Today is my daughter's debut into high society.
She must be nervous.
Please be there for her.
He's tough-looking, but he really cares about his daughter.
Oh, yeah. What about your mother?
Mother passed away two years ago.
Unlike us, she was frail.
S-Sorry.
No, it's fine.
I have plenty of family.
I'm not lonely.
Leo's so strong.
All right, Leo, why don't we greet our subjects before your debut?
Indeed!
Subjects?
Now, Leo Magic!
Follow us, Spica.
Here we go!
We're running?!
It's the lord!
The lord's here!
Hello, all! I trust you've been well?
Your clothes are torn again, my lord.
The cloth can't withstand the wind pressure when I run.
He's quite popular with his subjects.
I-Is this whole village within the Regulus domain?
Yes.
My father, a count, was given this land by the queen to lord over.
It's part of his job to manage the land so that the subjects can live in peace.
The Regulus family domain happens to be the biggest in Aradia.
Huh, wow!
And you're going to inherit all of it eventually?
Precisely.
After she graduates from the academy, Leo will inherit this domain.
Lady Leo will make for a good lord!
She's pretty, cheerful, and sweet-hearted.
I am indeed!
Praise me more!
Wow. She has no humility whatsoever.
I'll work hard to become more like the father I respect so much.
Leo's so amazing.
She's so mature, even though we're the same age.
Do you think so?
What an impressive ball.
Look, Lady Megahot is here!
So is Sir Honchoman.
Quite the cast of characters.
Yes. I'm grateful that they came to celebrate my daughter's débutante.
Where is Leo?
You'll find Lady Leo at...
What do you think?
You look fantastic, Lady Leo!
Thanks.
Wait...
Right?!
I'm gonna be the center of attention!
By the way, Spica...
Yes?
I must leave to make a quick turd deposit.
My lady, that doesn't make it polite!
Also, you should have gone before you put on your dress!
My apologies.
I had no idea...
Hurry up and find her!
What about the garden?
She's not there!
...of the turmoil that Leo was going through.
Leo's taking a while.
This is bad!
Lady Leo is missing! She's nowhere in the mansion!
Leo is?
Where has she gone?
She's nowhere to be found.
The ball's about to begin.
This event is being held for her.
The Regulus family's reputation could take a hit if she's absent.
We must find her!
Y-Yes!
Leo... Why?
I've gone and done it now.
Even Father will be furious with me this time.
He had the dress prepared for this day.
And I practiced dancing.
All so that I could become a proper lady and inherit the household.
But I blew it.
It wouldn't have come to this if only I had the courage to reveal how I felt.
Mother...
What am I to do?
I knew you'd be in the garden.
How did you know I was here?
No one else could find me.
I just had a hunch Lady Leo would be with the lions.
I'm glad I found you.
Let's go back.
The ball's about to start.
I'd rather not return.
Why not?
The ball is my debut into high society.
It's effectively a declaration that I'm going to be the lord of this land someday.
That would be the end of my dream.
Your dream?
I know it's wrong.
I can't be acting so selfish at the last minute.
I feel genuine remorse for causing everyone so much grief.
But I couldn't lie to myself.
That's why I won't attend the ball.
Don't bother trying to drag me back!
Gotcha, Leo!
Let's run away together until the ball's over!
Wh-Wh-Wh-Wh-Wh-Wha?!
Is Leo still missing?
S-Sir, you see...
She fled from the mansion?!
Are you all right?
Sorry.
I don't think they'll find us this far away, though.
You're right.
But are you sure about this?
If you run away from the mansion with me, you'll also be...
Yeah!
It's fine.
Let's get scolded together once the ball's over.
Why would you do that for me?
I mean, I'm your servant second and your friend first.
If you have a dream, I want to help you pursue it.
You're kind, aren't you?
Would you listen to my dream?
You'd be the second person to hear it.
The second?
My mother was the one who inspired me.
She loved animals and took me to the zoo often.
Mother, did you know that it's the female lions that do the hunting?
You're so knowledgeable.
You're like a scholar.
Also, lions mate fifty times a day.
M-Mate...
Leo!
By the way, Mother, what is "mating"?
I-I wonder...
Mother...
I want to become a scholar of animals!
That's a fantastic dream.
A scholar?!
Yeah!
I want to live in the savannas and jungles
to study how they fit into their ecologies and stuff.
I want to use the magic I learn at Diana to protect lots of animals!
That's awesome!
Right?
But as the only daughter of a count,
I'll have to inherit the household someday.
I look up to my father, and I love the subjects.
So I gave up on my dream once.
But you couldn't entirely give up.
Right.
My mother passed away two years ago.
I couldn't accept that fact.
I wandered aimlessly every day trying to distract myself from the sadness.
I felt like I might find Mother somewhere.
Leo...
Father couldn't stand to see me like that, so he built this garden for me.
Where did these animals come from?
Oh, I adopted them from a zoo that shut down.
The ones from the zoo I went to with Mother...
Are you trying to cheer me up?
They were the ones that got me back on my feet.
That's when I became determined to do work that would let me repay the animals.
In that case, maybe she should stop running away.
Leo, are you going to talk to your father
about your dream of becoming a scholar after the ball?
I've thought about telling him a lot, but I could never do it.
It's his duty as a count to have me take over.
And it's his dream, too.
I'd disappoint him.
He'll oppose it. He might even disown me.
That thought terrifies me.
I used to fight with my parents a lot, too.
Mom wanted me to take over the orchard,
but I wanted to become a magician.
I'm sure I disappointed her,
but I'm at Diana now because I managed to confront her with my wishes.
You confronted her with your wishes?
Wh-What was that?!
Father!
Why don't you tell me what this is all about, Leo?
W-W-W-We've been caught!
I apologize.
I've caused a commotion and tarnished the Regulus name.
I have no need for empty apologies!
Spica...
You've given me the courage I need.
I'm done running away.
I'll confront him with my wishes.
It isn't like me to be so squeamish, anyway!
Yeah!
There's something I'd like to tell you, Father.
Good.
Leo Magic: Tiger Lady!
Wha?
Father, I...
cannot inherit the household!
Physically confront him?!
What of the Regulus family?
Of the domain that we've fiercely protected for generations?
Do you not care?!
They're dear to me, too!
Which is why I'd given up on my dream at one point!
But I can't bring myself to betray my own wishes.
I want to become a scholar of animals!
I want to make the dream I promised Mother
a reality!
The biggest dad-daughter fight of all mammalia!
This is my honest wish.
You've become strong, Leo.
I surrender.
Father...
Leo won!
You should have told me sooner that you had a dream, you fool.
My wife said something to me a long time ago:
that if you ever had a dream, I needed to hear you out.
Mother said that?
To be honest, I would rather see the title and domain
go to you and not some other noble.
But that's my dream, not yours.
Live your own life.
What matters most is that you're happy.
Father...
I'm so sorry.
Thank you, Father.
You worked up the courage to tell me.
How could I not oblige?
Now, the ball's almost over.
I'll need to go apologize to our guests.
I-I'll apologize, too!
What a wonderful father.
Man, I missed out on the feast.
Sheesh.
Thank you, Spica.
It was reassuring to hear you say you'd run away with me.
It made me feel like I actually had someone on my side.
I'm happy I hired you.
I'm glad I could be useful.
Also, you're steaming like crazy!
I'm fine.
Spica, once we're back at the house, would you wait in the hall?
Uh, sure...
It's so big.
A ball here would have been so beautiful.
Leo brought you here to clean, remember?
Thanks for waiting.
Leo... wait...
Did you get thinner?
I used too much of my Leo Magic.
I consume my energy along with my magic power.
It makes me shrivel up temporarily.
S-Stop staring at me when I'm so skinny. It's embarrassing.
I actually prefer this!
Now, Spica, let's dance.
Dance? Me?!
I put in the practice. I feel like dancing a bit.
But I'm really bad at dancing!
I was worried about how this might turn out.
Glad to see they're having fun.
Even being the son of Diana Academy's
vice principal and having good grades, I still have problems.
Yay! I bought a Herbarium Book!
Perfect.
Would you mind hearing me out?
Next episode...
EPISODE 15 ASTRAEA'S TROUBLES HERBARIUM BOOK
"Astrea's Troubles"...
...and "Herbarium Book."