Chapter 23
At my question, the kitchen maid jumped in surprise and turned around.
Limping toward her, I took a silver spoon out of her bag.
“This belongs to the Duke of Calypso. Why are you stealing it?”
Her name was Marie, if I remembered correctly. Her face turned pale as she gasped.
“L-Lady… this is…”
Did she think it was okay to steal just because the Duke of Calypso paid little attention to household affairs?
No. Stealing, in itself, is never acceptable.
“Marie. If you don’t want to be handed over to the police bureau, you’d better speak only the truth. Why did you steal?”
“P-please have mercy, My Lady!”
Marie dropped to her knees. Going to the police bureau wouldn’t end with just a fine.
It wasn’t just anything—this was expensive silverware.
“Please, anything but the police!”
“Is the salary the Duke gives you not enough?”
“No, no! It’s not that.”
“Then why did you try to steal? Actually, it would be better if you tell me now—what else have you taken?”
“I swear—this is the first time! My Lady, please, I beg you. Don’t tell the Duke. I’m begging like this!”
Her attitude made my eyes narrow.
Why would she continue working here even after being caught stealing?
As if predicting my curiosity, Marie began to explain herself.
“After I die, my poor grandson will be left all alone. That thought… I just couldn’t bear it.”
“Die? You may be old, but you’re not so old you should be preparing a funeral.”
“I have an illness. They say I don’t have long left…”
“What about the boy’s parents?”
“My daughter died giving birth to him. My son-in-law abandoned the child and ran off overseas.”
“Even so, stealing is—”
Marie cut me off and continued her excuse.
“He’s only ten. In today’s world, if he ends up in an orphanage, he could be sold as a slave. But he’s far too young to survive alone once I die.”
“…”
“I had no bad intentions. I just wanted to scrape together enough money to entrust him to some distant relatives. At least then, he wouldn’t be sold as a slave…”
“…”
“So please, I beg you. Until the day I die, I’ll work myself to the bone to save money for my grandson. Just please don’t report me to the police bureau. If I get taken away, what’ll happen to him? My Lady… please…”
A pounding headache came on. Her story was pitiful, and the thought of a child being left all alone at such a young age was even more heartbreaking.
“You know how it is. If he goes to an orphanage, he’ll be lucky to get a single bowl of gruel a day. And even then, they often end up being sold off.”
“Get up, Marie.”
“My Lady, please. I’m begging you like this…”
“I said I won’t say anything. Now get up.”
I grasped Marie’s wrinkled hands and helped her stand.
Only then did I see how her body had thinned, bones visible under the dark, dying skin.
It didn’t seem like she was lying about being terminally ill.
“Are you in pain? It must be hard to work.”
“It hurts, but I can manage! As long as I can still work, don’t worry about me!”
She looked afraid that admitting her illness would get her fired.
I wanted to ask what her illness was, how bad it had gotten, but I kept my mouth shut.
“Are those distant relatives trustworthy?”
“They’re my cousin’s step-cousins.”
“Oh dear. That’s basically a stranger!”
A sigh escaped me before I could stop it.
I wanted to help Marie, but I had neither money nor power. There was nothing I could do.
“I just figured, rather than an orphanage, it’s better if he stays with someone, even if it’s not ideal…”
“I’ll pretend I didn’t see what happened today, so don’t worry. But you’d better put the silverware back where it belongs.”
“Thank you! Truly, thank you so much!”
“It’s nothing.”
“My Lady, could you also keep it a secret from the Duke that I’m sick?”
“I’ll keep that a secret too. But if your condition worsens…”
I wanted to say she could come find me—but unlike when I was at the House of Count Estarion, I now had no power at all.
I had no money, no status, and no authority.
It was frustrating not being able to help someone so pitiable.
‘If she’s terminally ill, the pain must be unimaginable.’
If only there was medicine to ease the pain—but the ones available on the market had little effect.
The only thing that might help would be the pain-relieving potions sold at the temple.
“Marie. Forget about today and just finish up in the kitchen.”
“Y-Yes! Thank you. Truly, thank you.”
I sighed again. A ten-year-old boy I had never even seen weighed heavily on my mind.
Wasn’t there anything I could do to help?
While searching the kitchen to return the silverware, one object caught my eye.
“What’s this…”
Noticing my gaze on the newspaper, Marie hurriedly shoved the stack into the fireplace.
“This is today’s paper. Why is it here?”
Sophie had said newspapers wouldn’t be delivered for a while due to some issue.
Yet several days’ worth were neatly stacked here in the kitchen.
“T-That’s…”
“Marie. Just tell me the truth.”
“The Duke ordered us to make sure the newspaper didn’t reach your eyes, My Lady. So we used them as fire starters…”
One paper that hadn’t been burned yet held an article about the Crown Prince’s upcoming visit in two weeks.
Rather than nostalgia or longing, I was filled with anger for not being able to return the humiliation I’d suffered.
I crumpled the remaining newspapers and shoved them into the fire.
“Just like I turned a blind eye to your theft, I’d appreciate it if you did the same for me discovering the newspaper.”
“Yes! Of course, don’t worry!”
“In that case, I’d like to help out. Let’s finish this together.”
“W-What? Oh no, there’s no need for that, My Lady!”
“Work goes faster when two people do it.”
And so, I began helping with the unfamiliar kitchen chores.
I couldn’t bear to let someone so ill handle everything alone.
‘I want to do something—anything—quickly.’
I didn’t mind teaching Sir Aiden, who knew nothing.
In fact, the money I earned from it was decent considering the workload.
But every time I saw the scars from torture still lingering on my body, I grew impatient with the desire to return what I had suffered.
“My Lady?”
While I was lost in thought, the kitchen door opened and Sophie appeared.
“There you are. Why are you working, My Lady?”
“When your head is full, doing something helps clear it.”
“Marie, how could you let the Lady help with chores?”
“Don’t scold her. I volunteered. What about you, Sophie—why are you here?”
“I thought you might be unwell, so I came to bring you something.”
“Thank you for your concern.”
“You must be tired. Please go rest in your room. I’ll bring you something to eat.”
“I’ll take something on my way back.”
I took some of the leftover dinner and returned to my room.
For the sake of my body, I forced myself to eat, then started organizing my bag.
If I stayed still, I would just get angrier and feel more wronged. So I kept busy.
While rummaging through the bottom of my bag, I came across a stack of documents.
‘It’s about time I heard from Helaise.’
These documents were practically all I had left.
They were results of my own labor, not property of the House of Count Estarion.
After checking the papers, something unexpected fell out from underneath.
“This is…”
It was the scarf the Crown Prince had given me. That day in the rain, to keep the stains from spreading in front of Sienna…
