“Um, Master, I have something to ask.”
“What is it?”
“That…”
Mia hesitated for a moment, then lowered her head. It seemed like she was about to make a difficult request.
“Never mind. I was going to ask something unnecessary.”
Isaac carefully observed Mia’s reaction. What was she going to ask? Why does she have that expression? As these thoughts crossed his mind, something flashed through his head.
“Is it about the money?”
“Huh?” Mia looked at him, confused, as if she had no idea what he was talking about.
Isaac continued calmly. “You seem worried about the debt. The 70 gold I gave to the loan sharks, just forget about it—it was a gift from me.” After all, 70 gold wasn’t a big deal to him.
Mia, who had been confused, finally seemed to understand the situation and spoke in a surprised voice. “Really? I don’t have to pay it back?”
“Yes.”
At that, Mia’s face brightened a little. Isaac’s lips curled up slightly. Maybe he should forgive the 150 gold she still owed. Wouldn’t that make her even happier? But he quickly abandoned that thought. If he canceled her debt, what decision would she make afterward? Would she continue working at the estate? Or would she quit? And what if she ended up following Raphael?
The mere thought of that made him grip his pen tighter. The desire to forgive her debt vanished in an instant. Keeping her by his side was more important than seeing her smile.
“But you’ll still need to pay back the 150 gold you originally owed.”
“Ah, yes, I understand.”
Mia looked a bit disappointed, but Isaac pretended not to notice.
“Well then, I’ll take my leave, Master.”
“Alright.”
After Mia left, Isaac was alone again, but his mind was filled with many thoughts. Why do I want to see that woman smile? Why do I want her to be happy? Why do I want to keep her by my side? Why, why… Just as these unanswered questions swirled in his head, there was another knock at the door.
Before Isaac could respond, the door swung open. Only one person would do something like that.
“Isaac. Looks like you’re busy?”
It was Raphael. Isaac held back a sigh as he looked at him. Raphael was holding a bottle of wine and two wine glasses.
“How about a drink? I’ve got some good wine.”
“…Alright, Raphael.”
Isaac pushed aside the papers he had been working on and sat on the sofa. Raphael poured the dark red wine and lightly clinked his glass with Isaac’s. The wine had a strong sour taste and was astringent. It wasn’t Isaac’s favorite, but it didn’t matter. What mattered was Raphael’s intention.
“You’ve been up to something interesting.” Raphael smiled, his eyes twinkling.
Isaac wanted to deny it, but there was no point in doing so in front of Raphael, so he spoke honestly. “I just didn’t want any disturbances inside the estate.”
“You’re not being honest, Isaac. You could just say it’s because you care about Mia.”
Isaac remained silent, staring into the crimson liquid in his glass.
Raphael swirled his glass lightly and brought it to his lips. “Having someone to care for is nice. But be careful, Isaac.”
“What do you mean?”
Raphael met Isaac’s eyes and smiled knowingly, a hint of darkness in his expression. “The more precious something is, the more enjoyable it is to take it away.”
Isaac didn’t respond, and Raphael, not expecting one, simply continued to smile.
For some reason, Isaac felt a tightness in his chest. He couldn’t understand why, at that moment, Mia’s face kept appearing in his mind.
7. And Then There Were None
Today, the weather was particularly nice. The morning sun had touched my cheek as I woke up, but I spent a long time sitting in the lounge, lost in thought. As I sat there, a few of the other servants approached me cautiously.
“Mia, I heard your father passed away. I’m so sorry.”
“May he rest in peace. I’m sure he’s in a better place.”
“…Yes. Thank you.”
As I listened to their words of condolence, I reflected on the events of the past few days. After my father’s funeral, I visited the loan sharks’ office. It was already closed, and after asking around, I found out that the two men who worked there had both died of heart attacks.
…It must have been Isaac’s doing. I didn’t have any concrete evidence, but I was certain, and that certainty led to another question. Why did he help me? And why did he forgive my 70 gold debt? Was it because his feelings for me had grown? It was all too complicated to make sense of.
No, I need to focus on working. Isaac may have forgiven 70 gold, but I still had 150 gold to pay off. That alone was depressing, but at least it wasn’t 220 gold! With that positive thought in mind, I headed to Raphael’s room to get to work.
“Oh, Mia. Did you have a good rest?”
Raphael greeted me with a gentle smile, and I bowed my head.
“Yes, Lord Raphael. The meal is ready, so you can head downstairs.”
“Ah, I’ll pass on. I was about to head out.”
I should have known, given how dressed up he was. It was a relief that once Raphael left, I’d have some time to myself.
Raphael stood up, leaning on the elegant cane used by noblemen, and smiled at me. “Mia, do you still have that dress I bought you last time?”
“Ah, yes. I still have it.”
“Why don’t you change into it and come along? Let’s go to a party together.”
Again? I wasn’t really up for another party… What if people looked down on me for being a commoner, like last time?
As I hesitated, Raphael watched me closely and asked, “Do you not want to go?”
“Well… I was treated poorly last time because I’m a commoner.”
“Oh, don’t worry about that. The party tonight is a masquerade.”
Oh, a masquerade ball? If I could hide my identity, then maybe it wouldn’t be so bad. And it felt awkward to keep declining Raphael’s invitations.
“Alright. I’ll change into the dress.”
After bowing my head, I headed to Isaac’s office. I needed to borrow the dress and accessories he had stored from last time. After knocking and getting Isaac’s permission, I stepped inside.
“What is it?”
As soon as Isaac saw me, his voice was emotionless. It didn’t sound like someone who had committed murder for my sake.
“I’m going to a party with Lord Raphael, so I came to borrow the dress and accessories Master took last time.”
“…A party?”
For the first time, there was emotion in Isaac’s voice. He sounded a little surprised, maybe even displeased. But he quickly concealed his reaction and stood up.
“I stored them in the dressing room. Follow me.”
Isaac led the way to the dressing room. Inside were mostly men’s suits, making the dress hanging among them stand out even more.
“Get changed. I’ll send a maid to help you.”
“Oh, no! I can manage on my own.”
Most of the servants didn’t like me much already, and if I asked one of them to help me dress, it would only make things worse.
Isaac looked at me for a moment and then nodded. “Alright. Take your time.” He then left without complaint.
Good, now I can get ready… After struggling a bit to put on the dress and all the accessories, I stepped out of the dressing room.
“Are you done?”
Ah, he scared me!
Isaac was leaning against the wall opposite the door, watching me. Didn’t he leave? Has he been waiting here this whole time?
I nodded, slightly flustered. “Yes, I’m done.”
He stared at me intently as if studying me. Why was he looking at me like that?
[Isaac’s affection has increased by 3]
[Current Isaac’s affection: 4]
What? His affection went up? I was startled by the sudden message.
Why did it increase? Could it be… because I look pretty?
As I wondered about this, Isaac turned away. “Have a good time.”
“…Yes, Master.”
After receiving his farewell, I returned to Raphael. He looked at me with the same gentle smile as before.
“You look beautiful, Mia.”
[Raphael’s affection has increased by 5.]
[Current affection: 55]
…Just how pretty am I exactly? And since when has Raphael’s affection been at 50? When did it even increase that much?
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Raphael isn’t the thing she made a deal with in the night manor, right…?