Chapter 13
“It’s Me, Me!”
Anette was extremely excited.
Lucas, who had no idea what kind of scene was playing in her head, placed her on the large sofa in front of the fireplace.
“Dry yourself.”
Lucas handed her a large towel and started drying himself with another one.
‘If he’s going to dry off anyway, he should just take his shirt off. That would be a much better view.’
Anette stared at him, waiting for him to remove his wet shirt, while she wiped her own body and hair.
After drying himself off, Lucas skillfully lit a fire in the fireplace.
Warmth spread through the room instantly.
“Why were you standing out in that cold rain?”
His voice sounded irritated for some reason. Anette didn’t understand.
I was the one getting soaked in the rain, so why was he the one making a fuss?
Does he like me?
“It wasn’t cold…”
It was true.
Since she bathed in freezing water every day, rainwater felt lukewarm to her. It was pleasant.
“Not cold?”
Lucas’s expression twisted. To him, the raindrops felt ice-cold.
As a child, he remembered rain feeling warm, but now it was so cold it chilled him to the bone.
His blue eyes flickered, reflecting the fire’s glow.
Looking into those deep blue eyes made Anette’s mouth feel dry.
“You might catch a cold, so warm up with hot water.”
“I suppose.”
“You go first.”
“Huh?”
Anette flinched and stared at him in shock.
Did he just tell me to wash?
Really? Are we going to do this? Together?
She wanted to ask him straight out.
‘Are you going to give your first time to me?’
No, that sounds weird.
How should I ask?
Anette swallowed hard, unable to say the words out loud.
Lucas gestured with his chin toward the bathroom in his room.
Oh wow, he’s serious.
Hesitantly, she walked toward the bathroom.
Lucas handed her a clean tunic to change into.
While washing, Anette wrestled with her thoughts.
Is it okay to sleep with someone I’m not even dating?
Yeah. It seemed okay.
She had already decided he was too rude to like.
But he was handsome, so maybe that didn’t matter.
This might be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
When else would she get a chance with such a gorgeous man?
It’s not like I’ll wear out from doing it once…
Anette had a goal of dating at least five men before getting married.
And since people said compatibility in bed was important, she needed to try it before marriage.
Determined, Anette washed herself thoroughly.
The hot water felt amazing.
When she stepped out, she saw Lucas taking off his wet shirt.
Their eyes met in midair.
Her heart pounded as if it might explode.
Anette took a deep breath and slowly walked toward the fireplace.
Lucas guided her to sit on the dry part of the sofa and then headed into the bathroom himself.
“…Ugh, this is driving me crazy.”
She was so nervous she felt like throwing up.
Sitting in front of the warm fire, Anette’s imagination ran wild.
It wasn’t long, but it felt like an eternity to her.
Contrary to her expectations, Lucas came out fully dressed in fresh clothes.
Wait, isn’t he supposed to come out without clothes on?
He went in undressed… why is he coming out dressed?
Anette stared at him blankly.
Droplets of water dripped from his wet black hair.
After roughly drying his hair with a new towel, he walked toward her.
It’s happening.
Lucas plopped down beside her.
Anette panicked.
He’ll kiss me first—how was I supposed to move my tongue again?
She racked her brain, trying to recall what she had read online.
“My mother was a commoner.”
“Huh?”
She was just remembering a technique when Lucas suddenly spoke.
Anette turned toward him, still tense.
“She was a maid, like you.”
“…”
“My father loved her, married her, and they had me.”
“Oh, I see.”
Why is he talking about this all of a sudden?
Is this normal pillow talk?
Anette listened quietly.
“But my mother died of illness when I was young. I inherited the Roienthal name, but I was left with nothing.”
“…”
“My father remarried a noblewoman to secure the duchy’s succession, and once she gave birth to a son, he had his heir.”
Anette nodded.
In this world, if your parents had different social statuses, you could only inherit the lower one.
That meant Lucas had no right to inherit the duchy.
“After my mother died, everyone treated me as a nuisance. I was useless. My father wouldn’t even look at me because I reminded him of her.”
“Oh…”
“So, I ran away from my home.”
“…”
So that’s why he’s like this…
Anette nodded, understanding now why his personality was so awful.
It made sense.
“But when I see you, something feels different.”
“What?”
“I used to get irritated whenever I saw maids because they reminded me of my mother.”
“…”
“But with you… with you, it’s…”
She didn’t need him to finish the sentence.
Anette reached out and placed a finger on his lips.
No more words were necessary.
“Let’s go to bed.”
“What?”
“Let’s sleep.”
Lucas frowned.
Does she want to sleep at a time like this?
But he was feeling a little tired.
It seemed like Anette just wanted him to sleep like his mother used to.
Lucas obediently followed her to bed, lay down, and closed his eyes.
Anette was utterly confused.
What the… what is happening right now?
She stared at Lucas lying in bed.
Soon, his breathing became slow and even.
Is he sleeping?
This bastard. He fell asleep?!
Lucas looked completely at peace.
Anette scowled as she had just swallowed something bitter.
“…Damn eunuch.”
Even though she cursed him, her actions were gentle.
She carefully pulled the blanket up to his neck and left the room.
The hallway was quiet.
The eerie feeling of being watched from yesterday was gone.
It seemed everyone was still in the chapel, offering prayers.
Anette trudged back to her room.
She thought about the laundry she hadn’t finished but felt too exhausted.
She had already washed in warm water, so she just wanted to rest.
Besides, the other maids were probably skipping work today too.
Anette flopped onto her bed.
Ugh, I got my hopes up for nothing.
I should’ve at least pulled down his pants to check the size.
Muttering curses under her breath, she dozed off.
Anette woke up just before sunrise.
She had gone to sleep in the afternoon but still slept for a long time.
All the exhaustion and stress she had built up seemed to have disappeared.
The rain had stopped, and the air felt fresh.
The only thing that didn’t feel fresh was her mood.
Lucas, you bastard. Let’s see if I treat you like a person from now on.
She worried that she might have inconvenienced the other maids by sleeping so much, but it turned out she didn’t have to.
As she walked to the dining hall, Lucy told her that nobody had gotten much work done yesterday.
The sweet, rare rain had kept everyone distracted.
Anette sat down with her food, her expression dark.
“Wow, bread again.”
Yesterday, today, and tomorrow—always bread.
She dipped the dry bread into her soup, convincing herself it was delicious.
‘I’m not tired of it. It’s delicious. I’ve always loved bread…’
Her gloomy face was understandable.
But oddly, Lucy’s expression was dark too.
Lucy loved bread.
Something was wrong.
“Lucy, why do you look so upset? Did something happen?”
“How did you know?”
Lucy had tried to hide it, but Anette was too sharp.
“I can tell just by looking. What happened?”
Lucy hesitated, then suddenly buried her face in her hands and started crying.
What the—?!
“Why, why are you crying, Lucy? Did someone bully you?”
Who the hell was it?
Anette was in the perfect mood to beat someone up.
Lucy was her first friend here.
She had been a rival at first, but now there was no need to compete.
They were just friends now.
She soothed the crying Lucy and listened to her story.
“It’s… you know Asil, right?”
“Who?”
“What?! You don’t know Asil? The nicest, most handsome servant who works outside?”
Anette had no idea.
She pretended to remember.
“Ohhh, that Asil!”
“I was… kind of seeing him.”
“Wow?”
I was the only one without a boyfriend…
“But… sob”
Lucy started crying again.
Anette patted her back and glanced around.
Luckily, there weren’t many people around.
“Then what? Did he cheat on you?”
“No! Asil isn’t that kind of guy!”
Must be nice.
Anette sighed and patted her friend’s back.
“Then what’s wrong? Another girl trying to steal him?”
“No… actually…”
“Actually?”
“For the past few days, Pierre has been threatening me.”
“Pierre? Who’s that?”
“The cook in the kitchen! You remember? Short and mean-looking…”
Oh. Anette vaguely remembered.
A creepy-looking guy she had always found suspicious.
Threatening her?
