<Episode 4>
“What nonsense are you talking about?”
Adele’s eyebrows went up in a steep slope. She looked as if she’d heard something absurd.
“Please, head maid.”
Ashlyn tried to remain as calm as possible. Adele took a good look at Ashlyn’s face – she knew that the child in front of her wouldn’t be so stubborn without a reason.
“Let me hear why.”
Adele put down the teacup in her hand.
“If your reason for leaving the house is reasonable, then of course, I’ll write you a letter of recommendation.”
She offered Ashlyn a seat with a gesture of her chin. Ashlyn obediently took the seat opposite her.
“A few days ago, I received a letter from my brother, who I’d lost contact with for a long while.”
“Your brother?”
“Yes. He’s currently staying in the capital and wants me to come live with him.”
“…….”
“I wish to go to the capital, head maid.”
Adele glanced at Ashlyn’s face. The wrinkles slightly raised between her smooth brows and her shaking deep blue eyes were telling her that she meant it.
Adele turned to the teacup. A deep sigh ensued.
“Well…I didn’t know you had a brother, but I’m glad you found your family. I understand your situation.”
“Then…”
“But not now.”
“Ma’am!”
The head maid’s stern eyes turned to Ashlyn. Ashlyn bit her lips. Adele, who read the misery on her face, opened her mouth as if she were comforting her.
“A month. Just hang on for a month. There’s lots of work to do around the mansion, don’t you know? It’s not just the main building – the spring renovations and cleaning are also coming up.”
“A month is too long. I…”
“Ashlyn Rosebell, do you still remember when you came to see me at night three months ago?”
“…….”
“I gave you an opportunity that others would not have back then. If you have any gratitude towards me for that, please bear with me for a month longer.”
Ashlyn clasped her hands down the table.
It was indeed true that she’d been indebted to the head maid three months ago. She could say nothing to that.
“Head Maid, the chief butler is looking for you.”
A voice came from somewhere. Adele didn’t look away from Ashlyn for a while even after that before she rose up from her seat to leave.
“You’re a smart girl, so I think you’ll understand what I’m saying.”
“……”
“Won’t you?”
But Ashlyn, with her eyes fixed on the table, made no reply in the end.
* * *
“Oh, Ashlyn.”
“Sophia.”
On the way back from meeting the head maid, she met Sophia, her fellow maid. Her short red bobbed hair was fluttering in the wind.
“Why do you look so down?”
“It’s just…it’s nothing.”
Ashlyn didn’t bother giving her an answer, instead, she asked her a question.
“Where are you going?”
“I’m going to the laundry room. Ever since the knights came back, clothes are practically flooding in.”
Sophia shook her head in a sigh.
Three days after the duke returned, the knights also returned. Naturally, the number of jobs increased as people had re-filled the once empty mansion.
Suddenly, she remembered the time when she’d encountered the duke in front of the abandoned fountain. He’d come running and covered a distance that took even experienced knights three days to cross in just one day.
Ashlyn violently shook her head. She didn’t want to think about the dude anymore.
“I’ll come with you.”
“To the laundry room?”
“Yes.”
Sophia titled her head in suspicion.
“Are you done with your work?”
“Yes, so I’ll help you.”
Sophia smiled broadly, saying, “If that’s the case, you’re always welcome.”
‘It’s best to do some exercise when your mind is filled with complicated things.’
Ashlyn strode without hesitation.
“Phew, look at this pile.”
Sophia murmured.
Even at first glance, you could see the amount of work piled up in the laundry room. Ashlyn began working right away. A servant filled a very large wooden barrel with water. Sophia dunked a piece of cloth in the water and started rubbing it with her hands.
Both of them had a good knack for this, so the pile of laundry began to quickly shrink.
The freshness of the soap filled the air and gave it a refreshing feel, since it’d been smelling like a gutter earlier.
“Oh Ashlyn, you saved my life.”
“I’m glad I was able to help.”
“Mhm, but ugh, my hands really sting.”
Sophia wryly breathed into her hands.
Laundry in the middle of winter was a war against one’s freezing fingertips. Ashlyn also pulled out her from the water hand and blew on them. She could see the freezing, red fingers clearly.
Suddenly, she remembered going to the lake in the middle of winter. There was once a time when she’d thoughtlessly reached out to touch the water by the side of the lake where thin ice was beginning to form.
“Your highness! Why would you dip your hands into that cold water in this freezing winter?! You there, prepare a furnace!”
Ashlyn smiled bitterly. At the time, she was wearing thick gloves. The maid had made such a big fuss just because the ends of her gloves had gotten a little wet.
That was a long time ago.
“Ashlyn, Ashlyn.”
When she realised someone was shaking her, Ashlyn snapped back to reality.
“What?”
“Well…”
Sophia pointed her finger behind Ashlyn. Ashlyn turned around to face the entrance to the laundry room.
One end of her mouth rolled up at an angle.
“A fool is coming.”
An unwelcome guest was approaching. Ashlyn soaked the laundry and got up. The man who approached her was similar in height to Ashlyn, so she was satisfied with the fact that she didn’t have to look up to him.
“Ashlyn.”
He habitually scanned Ashlyn from head to toe. It was a very unpleasant gesture.
“It’s been a while since we last saw each other.”
“Jason Barron.”
“Why would you call me that? Like I mentioned, between us, you can just call me Jay.”
Ashlyn smiled softly at Jason. His face flushed slightly.
“Just tell me what the hell you want, Jason.”
Jason’s face slightly hardened when she purposely emphasized his name.
“Oh, that’s cold. Well, it’s fine if you don’t wanna beat around the bush.”
Jason smiled and stroked his chin.
“So have you thought of an answer?”
“For what?”
“What do you mean for what? I proposed to you. That’s what for.”
“Whaaat? Proposed?”
A cry sprang from Sophia who’d been silent until now. She threw the soap into the water and jumped to her feet.
“Oh, that.”
Ashlyn murmured with a small smile. Jason raised his chin satisfactorily, probably because he’d interpreted that smile in a way of his own.
“I looked into the house in front of the eastern forest. It’s an abandoned house, but it’s still something beyond what you could ever hope to have.”
He had already assumed that she accepted the proposal. Ashlyn kept listening quietly.
“As I said back then, I wish for you to continue working as much as you want. It’s not fair if I’m the only one who gets work, right?”
“…….”
“Of course, I’ll help you with the housework as well. I’m not like ordinary men who can’t respect their wives. Ah, but I always have my breakfast first. It would be nice to have around five children, so it’s bustling around the house.”
“Oh goodness.”
Sophia couldn’t resist and let out a snarky laugh. Jason’s eyes rolled slightly toward Sophia and then hit Ashlyn again.
“So when would be a good date? Spring would be better, but if you want, I don’t mind this winter.”
“Jason Barron.”
“I told you to call me Jay. What?”
“How much longer must I keep listening to your delusions?”
“…what?”
Jason frowned. With her back upright, Ashlyn continued without changing her expression.
“I didn’t get the chance to say this the other day since you threw a flower at mee and ran away.”
She looked down at Jason with her eyes colder than the northern wind.
“Don’t get all excited by yourself. Get lost.”
The face in front of her slowly turned red. Ashlyn smirked. It was very worth seeing him standing with his mouth stupidly gaped open.
It was funny. Jason’s expression, this whole situation. It was then she realised way. She wanted to tell this to him too.
‘Do not presumptuously assume my feelings.’
She might’ve been defeated, but that didn’t mean she’d ever given up her pride.
‘Please stop messing around with me.’
So she’d never accept him.
The gallant Jason said something, but Ashlyn didn’t bother to listen. She was sick and tired of her situation.
Only one thought filled her head.
‘I’ll leave this mansion at any cost.’
By any means necessary.
* * *
Sophia put firewood in the furnace in the middle of their room. Soon, the interior heated up warmly. She took off her gown and slipped into her bed.
“Jason doesn’t have enough work to do in the garden these days, so he must be too idle.” muttered Sophia, peeping only her eyes out from under the thick cotton blanket. Ashlyn took her eyes off the letters and glanced at her.
“How dare he propose to you.”
Sophia looked genuinely fed up. Ashlyne smirked at her.
“But that felt really good, you know, earlier when you said all that to him. This isn’t the first time he tried to seduce one of the maids…”
“Really?”
“Yes, last year, it was Helen. In fact, it was his fault that Helen had to leave like that…”
Sophia’s voice died down as she seemed to get lost in thoughts. The two were silent for a moment.
The last news she’d heard about Helen was that she was found working in a brothel. That was how the lives of the maids who left their respective employers without a letter of recommendation and couldn’t find work ended up.
Sophia coughed as if she were trying to drive out the awkward air.
“Anyway, it was funny because he ran away with his tail between his legs, but be careful.”
“Be careful?”
“I mean Jason. Even if he looks like a loser, once he gets angry, he goes crazy.”
Ashlyn narrowed her brows.
“Why do we keep such a troublesome gardener?”
“Well, I heard he’s a relative of some long-time servant.”
A laugh broke out of me. The way they used people here was hilarious.
Ashlyn shook her head.
“Anyways, I think it’s better for you to not go near the garden for a while.”
“Then I’ll do that.”
When she answered calmly, Sophia finally stopped her look of worry.
“I’ll go to bed now, what about you?”
“After I read this.”
Ashlyn turned to the newsletter in her hand. The clearly printed characters were visible to her even in the okay-ish light.
“What’s the point of reading a newsletter from a week ago? It’s not the right date, nor is it funny.”
“It’s just a hobby of mine.”
Reading before bed was Ashlyn’s only hobby and habit. Of course, this was from her previous life as an Imperial Princess. The habit imprinted on the soul was hard to get rid of, so she satisfied her urge by reading newspapers from past dates.
A book was hard to get, so this alone was a good thing.
“You are truly an unusual thing…well, good night. Thank you for your help today again, Ashlyn.”
“Good night.”
Sophia tossed and then turned to the wall.
Ashlyn adjusted the lamp’s light to make it as dark as possible and leaned forward to the fullest extent.
The letters pressed onto the paper seemed to dance under the dim light. Ashlyn watched them dance for a long while.
* * *
The day dawned. A new rumour began to circulate among the servants of the Laperion Duchy. It was a very typical scandal.
- Ashlyn Rosebell and Jason Barron, they…
- It’s like the combination of beauty and the beast.
Someone whispered so.
– Hey, at least the beast was a cursed prince. Jason is just…
That was the objection that usually followed these statements.
This novel will be updated each Friday from next week ♡
