“Jack, here you are!”
Standing in front of the knights quarters, she saw Jack looking around and waving his hand.
“Lia! what’s the matter?”
“You don’t have to jump like that…”
Seeing that he was breathing heavily, it seemed that he had heard that I had called and came out in a hurry.
‘You conveyed my words properly.’
To be honest, she was worried that he would be ignored like the other servants when she asked the servant to call Jack, but it was fortunate. Well, it might be difficult for the servants to treat her carelessly. After a fight with the squire who harassed Jack in the dukedom in the past, every time she stopped by the gymnasium, she felt a strange look of fear and longing.
“Did you wait a long time?”
“Huh?”
“I thought you were lying when you said you came. It’s the first time you’ve come to see me.”
“…Was it?”
As she tilted her head, Jack said bluntly.
“It was.”
She was surprised to see a glimpse of sadness in Jack’s hard expression.
“So what happened? if…”
“Now, here!”
She handed over the round medicine bottle that she was holding tightly in her hand in case she lost it.
“It’s an effective ointment. Small abrasions heal within a day, and they say it works for large cuts as well.”
“…”
“Of course, when you train, you inevitably get hurt, but still…”
Jack just stared at her with the pain kite she handed him by hand. Seeing that, she felt embarrassed for nothing, so she started talking about anything.
“This is really good. It was a transaction made by Viscount Bardot, the family’s personal physician. He said that next time he would make medicine that is good for restoring the body’s energy and growth.”
She asked the viscount for an ointment, remembering the scar on Jack’s hand she saw last time. The viscount, surprised to think she was hurt, said he would give it to a friend who had joined the knights, so he nodded his head and took care of the ointment. He added that he would see for himself the next time they come together and pack medicine that is good for bones and muscles. She was going to visit Splesia soon to hear more about it, so she thought it would be nice if Jack could come too.
“Do you think I still look that weak?”
“Huh?”
“No. Because you are weak.”
Jack’s reaction, which she thought would be grateful, was very strange.
‘Are you weak? What the hell are you talking about?’
Jack grew taller and stronger than when he was in nursery school. Besides, she heard rumors that he was improving his skills at a terrifying rate, but he was weak.
“Thank you anyway. I will use the medicine well.”
Then Jack continued, not paying attention to her pouty expression.
“Let’s go. I’ll take you to the servant’s quarters.”
“…”
She let out a short sigh.
“I don’t need to take you. I can go alone.”
“Go with me lates.”
“I’m really fine.”
“…”
She firmly refused, but Jack looked at her with a look that had a lot to say and soon began to take the lead. She even gave him a present, but he didn’t show any sign of joy, and instead seemed to be in a bad mood. Besides, seeing Jack sighing while looking at her halfway through, she felt bad too.
“Jack. What do you have to say?”
When she came near the hostel, she couldn’t stand it any longer and asked. Then Jack opened his mouth as if he had been waiting.
“Aren’t you being fooled again?”
“What?”
Again, it was an incomprehensible word. As she narrowed her eyes, Jack clicked his tongue as if he knew. She felt even worse.
“What are you talking about? You seem to be treating me like an idiot.”
Uncharacteristically for her, she asked back, and she saw Jack hesitate.
“I am not like that… yes, that’s right. Sorry.”
Jack, who was in denial for a while, quickly admitted his mistake and apologized to her. It was a little embarrassing to be angry when he came out so obediently.
“So why are you like that? Tell me more about what’s going on.”
At her question, Jack closed his mouth again and stared at her with a dark expression. The longer the silence, the worse she felt again. Seeing her eyes narrowing, Jack hurriedly said,
“Are you doing well these days?”
“Huh? What?”
“People…”
It was only when she saw Jack stutter that she knew roughly what he was trying to say. He must have heard the servants whispering about her.
“It’s fine. I’m fine.”
“But… Aren’t you being bullied? Either give all the work to you, or call them out separately and scold them.”
“There is no such thing. Seriously, what are you looking at me for!”
Jack’s expression of genuine concern made her laugh out loud. There was none of the bullying Jack was talking about. On the contrary, it’s a problem with completely ignoring it. But Jack had a face as if he were looking at an ignorant fool.
“Are you really okay? Jack, have you forgotten who it was that saved you from those cocky squire?”
She smiled and slapped Jack on the shoulder. Then he waved his hand, saying not to worry, and ran straight into the dorm. It was because she was so grateful that he was so worried about her as a friend at the moment, and her nose grew cold from the emotion of tears.
‘I’m really fine.’
However… The day after she confidently told Jack, she wasn’t okay anymore.
* * *
Charleuk.
The water that fell from the stairs soaked her clothes and even her body. A musty smell came up, like water from washing a mop. As she was standing there, she heard giggling from above. When she looked up, the maids on the stairs quickly disappeared.
“…Seriously, this is too much.”
She clenched her fists and gritted her teeth. This blatant bullying started not too long ago. Rather, it was to the point where she felt grateful for the time she quietly ignored it.
‘Somehow, it seems like this has been happening since Jack started looking for me.’
Maybe she was still worried, Jack came to visit her every day.
‘The eyes of the servants who saw me and Jack together seemed somehow colder than before, but I didn’t think it was a big deal…’
She was grateful that he cared about her for a while, but she felt a little resentful of the popular Jack.
“Ha, it’s just someone else’s fault.”
But she soon made up her mind and shook her head. In fact, when she thought about it, it wasn’t like there wasn’t this kind of atmosphere from the time they were ignoring her. Once to meet Viscount Bardo, and once to go to the library in the annex, where there were herbs and magic books. It was because when she visited the annex twice like this, she heard other servants gossiping about why she was not working properly and playing around. Admittedly, since she was also a paid maid, they weren’t wrong, but she hadn’t been to the annex since then. Anyway, the librarian only directed her to children’s books, not specialized books, so she couldn’t find the knowledge she was looking for. Anyway, she asked the senior maid to assign work to me as well, and unlike before, when she was passive, she assigned me daily tasks as if she had waited. It was difficult to face the Duchess, Diana, and Allen in a clever way. When it turned out like this, it seemed that Jack’s words were indeed true. Then there’s this low-level bullying. Of course, it wasn’t that she didn’t think about asking an adult for help when the bullying, which she thought was funny, got worse. No matter how much the mind was an adult, the body was a child. And torturing a child like this was crossing the line. But her troubles were short-lived in less than a day.
A few days ago, she found the Duke and Duchess returning home late from a party at the imperial palace, and she happened to overhear their conversation.
<I expected it, but it’s really hard. I don’t know why everyone goes around talking like that. To be honest, I feel like I’m the only one who has become a fool, and I’m upset because I think I’m a ignorant person.>
<If you want to go down to the manor right now, you can do that. Don’t overdo it.>
<No, I do not want. I am your wife and the mother of your children. I will definitely do it.>
The Duchess’s words instantly brought her to her senses. In the meantime, she thought she had adjusted well to life in the capital and was doing well. Because she only saw her bright side. But no. How on earth could she forget that the Duchess might die soon? She felt contempt for herself for being ungrateful.
‘In the midst of that, I thought I was going to help the duchess because I was having a hard time.’
Of course, it would be the best way for the Duke’s family to inform the duchy of the nasty servants who were harassing her, as she did with Sid Valerie, but it was hard outside the house, so she couldn’t make it loud inside the house because of her. So, she tried to be patient.
‘If I put up with it even coming out this far, I’ll be a real fool.’
Very quietly, as she made up her mind to punish her bullies, she immediately realized that this was not her immediate problem.
“Ha. It was my last outfit.”
It was time for Diana’s class to end, and it was time to wipe the stench from her body. After rushing to the dorm and taking a shower, she looked at the empty closet and sighed. All of the maid uniforms she had already been given were dirty and washed, so she had no choice but to take out the clothes she was wearing at the castle and put them on.
“Yes, what is the importance of clothes? I just need to be confident.”
Looking at this outfit, it was obvious that the servants would gossip behind her back, but that didn’t mean she could walk around naked. Instead, it was the time when she was heading towards the main building, wearing the small apron she had been wearing at the Duke’s Castle and comforting herself.
“Uh? Lucio, is that your sister?”
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Translator Note:
Sorry for any problem during the migration ^^,
Hello there! This is RJR. I hope you liked it <3
Next post will be released on August, 19.
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