Nikolaus, although he may be considered 'inferior' to Christov in many ways, still was an able soldier- one of which ways being that he was very observant. He may not have the eyes of an Ayrian, but he had the eyes of a goddamn hawk and though he turned a blind eye to his own shortcomings, it was rare that he'd miss the fault of another's. So naturally, he took notice to how Christov pointedly made himself at ease instead of getting straight to work like he should have done.
There was a brief moment that he considered whether or not it was worth it to lay off for a little while before easing into to bigger and better things- after all, if he shoved things on the guy too quickly, he may give up and choose that death was a better end than humiliation... not to mention, if he broke the guy too soon, then that would mean less fun down the line.
But then again, who the hell cared? If Christov was going to bitch about Nikolaus sparing his life, then the bastard deserved to be dead... plus, if he proved to be of no more amusement, then Nikolaus could easily toss him to the authorities and have the pleasure of watching the execution. For now, he'd shake of that small display of defiance simply because- well, he'd get his revenge soon enough.
"I'm used to my maids working in uniform," he replied, pretending to not notice the other's reluctance of servitude. "Your new clothes are in the closet. Whenever you are here, I expect for you to change into them." Easier said than done. Inside the closet was- well, a typical woman's maid uniform: apron, frills, and all.