Cecile knew how to read. Her ‘parents’ taught everyone in the ‘house’ to read and write.
Sion was the fastest learner, She couldn’t read difficult books as fluently as Sion.
But like her other siblings, she could read and write simple words and numbers without errors.
She examined all the notices posted in the market square. She then went to a mansion that was looking for maids aged between 12 and 25.
The person who greeted her late at night was an elderly lady.
The elderly lady seated her and began to ask her questions.
“How old are you?”
“…I’m twelve.”
“Have you ever worked as a maid before?”
“…No, but I can work hard. Really.”
Cecile hesitated before adding,
“I have nowhere else to go…”
The elderly lady studied Cecile’s face for a moment before speaking.
“Rest in the bedroom tonight, and start working tomorrow morning.”
In the three-story mansion lived an elderly couple, their adopted daughter, a gardener, a cook, and two maids besides Cecile.
Cecile was mainly responsible for cleaning the third floor.
The work wasn’t difficult. It was tiring but simple.
She started her work every day as soon as the sun rose. By the time the sunset approached, she had finished all her tasks for the day.
At twilight,
After finishing mopping, Cecile stood in the third-floor hallway and stared blankly out the window.
She looked at the reddish sky and then sat down on the spot, covering her face with her hands.
She missed her parents.
She was curious about her siblings’ situations and worried about Sion.
She wanted to go home.
Her tears didn’t stop flowing for a long time.
It had been a year since Cecile started working as a maid at the mansion owned by an elderly couple.
Cecile, who was now 13 years old, received some money and a day off, which was not included in her regular pay.
“Don’t come back until evening. It’s an order. At your age, you should know how to spend the whole day playing.”
The elderly lady, Cecile’s employer, sent her out of the mansion early in the morning.
Confused and lost after being sent out of the mansion, Cecile didn’t know what to do until sunset.
She stood blankly by the roadside near the mansion.
Suddenly, the promise she had made with Sion came back to her mind.
‘Never come back home. Never. Do you understand? Promise me.’
A promise made with a pinky swear…
But how long is a promise usually valid?
Cecile hesitated and slowly moved towards the place where she could take a carriage.
It was quite some time after sunset when Cecile returned to the mansion.
The elderly lady, who saw Cecile come back late at night, remarked,
“I thought you went home.”
Facing the elderly lady, Cecile tightly grasped the hem of her skirt with both hands.
Home…
Soon, Cecile bit her lips hard to keep herself from bursting into tears.
She had been there. To the place that was home.
No, to the place that was definitely home.
To the place where home used to be…
Cecile, after a moment of silence, spoke to the elderly lady.
“I have a question.”
“What is it?”
“I want to build a grave…”
“…”
“And because of the fire, the destroyed house needs to be cleared away too…”
“…”
“And I also want to hold a funeral… How much money would I need?”
“I’ll have someone come to the mansion tomorrow.”
“No, it’s alright. Not right now…”
“Don’t worry about the money. I’ll lend it to you.”
Cecile blinked and looked closely at the elderly lady’s face.
Her vision blurred. Cecile bowed deeply.
“…Thank you. I will definitely work hard to repay you.”
Cecile cleared the remains of the ‘home’ destroyed by the fire and built a grave for her family in its place.
Before making the coffin, she conducted a proper funeral ceremony.
It took her a full two years to repay all the money she had borrowed from the elderly lady.
She was now 15 years old.
Recently, Cecile began saving her salary for another purpose.
The grave she had made two years ago contained a total of seven remains.
There was one missing.
Her family, excluding herself, consisted of eight members.
One of them must still be alive. She hoped desperately that one was still alive.
Cecile wanted to know the whereabouts of the remaining member of her family.
After some investigation, Cecile learned that there was an “Information Guild” in the capital that sold information like a commodity for a fee.
She had planned to use their services, but she had heard that the cost was quite high, so she had started saving up money.
“Cecile!”
One day, while Cecile was immersed in her duties as a maid, the adopted daughter of the mansion’s owners approached her with a lively gait.
“Are you busy this evening?”
Cecile, who was wiping the glass window in the corridor on the third floor, momentarily set down the cleaning rag and looked down at the slightly shorter girl.
The young adopted daughter of the owners was named Dorothy, and she was two years younger than Cecile.
“No, I’m not busy.”
“Then let’s go see a play together!”
“A play?”
“Yeah. I got some tickets. I just asked my mom to go with me, but she said she’s too busy today. She told me to go with you instead.”
“…”
“Will you come?”
“What time does the play start?”
Cecile watched a play for the first time in her life.
The play was… just okay.
It wasn’t so captivating that she lost track of time, but it wasn’t so dull that she wondered why anyone would pay to see it.
After watching the play, Cecile returned to the mansion in the same state as usual.
However, Dorothy’s reaction was quite different from Cecile’s.
Dorothy, who had been beaming with excitement since leaving the theater, blurted out a declaration as soon as they arrived at the mansion.
“I’m going to become a theater actress!”
Cecile was slightly surprised but soon accepted it in stride.
It was possible, after all. More importantly, Dorothy’s declaration had nothing to do with Cecile.
“Cecile, help me out.”
… She hadn’t anticipated this.
“Yes?”
“I’m going to start practicing my acting from today. And to practice acting, I need a partner.”
“Wait, you mean…”
“Yes, I want you to be my acting partner! Come here!”
Cecile, in dazed, was unwittingly led to Dorothy’s bedroom by the enthusiastic and newly inspired Dorothy.
Incidentally, the mansion’s owner left Dorothy alone as she dragged Cecile along. The elderly couple was generally lenient with their only adopted daughter, especially in their old age.
“Alright, Cecile. We’re lovers who must part ways soon because of our family’s opposition.”
Dorothy stood in front of Cecile, who was standing in the middle of her room, and spoke with a serious expression.
“I’ll play the female role. Let’s begin.”
“…Okay.”
“Ahem. Oh, Cecilio!”
“…”
“I don’t want to part from you. You are my eternal love.”
“I don’t want to part from you either.”
“No, Cecile! You’re doing it all wrong!”
“Yes?”
“This isn’t a reading session. Don’t just read it like a book! It’s too awkward and stiff.”
“…”
“Try to speak more naturally, like the real Cecilio.”
“But I don’t know what the real Cecilio is like.”
“Oh, you’re so frustrating! Cecilio is just a name. I mean, pretend to be a man who loves a woman convincingly.”
A man who loves a woman, pretending…
Cecile reflected on the play she had seen today. It featured a man who was hopelessly in love with his partner.
After a moment, Cecile spoke up.
“Got it. I’ll try to act like Cecilio.”
Cecile had an unexpected talent.
“Are you Cecile?”
“Are you saying I’m good at acting?”
“It’s not that you’re good at acting; it’s that you can imitate other people.”
“Isn’t that the same thing?”
“Isn’t it different?”
“Anyway, show us! Yes, try imitating Dorothy!”
On the day Dorothy first discovered Cecile’s talent, she had Cecile try all sorts of things.
Try this role from the play; try that role; try to imitate Mom and Dad; try to speak and act like the gardener…
Cecile did them all, and a few days later, she started receiving visitors at the mansion.
“It’s not just for showing off. I’ll pay for the performance.”
