On the other side of Joshua, a young girl was lying on a dirty, trampled bed, sleeping soundly.
She was Joshua’s twin sister, Selmia Jenner Kereiton.
“She has a fever, so don’t wake her.”
“Oh…….”
Eugenia looked at the girl for a moment with a pitying glance before Joshua spoke again, bluntly.
“What are you doing standing up? Sit down.”
She regained her composure and shook her head gently at the boy.
“No. How dare I.”
Eugenia wasn’t sure what Joshua was going to say, but she was going to listen, and then she was going to get the hell out of there and say goodbye to the twins forever.
She felt sorry for them, of course, but there was nothing she could do about it.
‘At midnight, Eileen, the tutor, will come and take them away…….’
Recalling the original story, Eugenia tried to ignore the uncomfortable feeling that had sprung up inside her.
Joshua, on the other hand, it seemed really awkward that she was rejecting his words so strongly.
His face crumpled into a frown, he spoke up once more.
“I told you, sit down. Why won’t you listen? Do you think I’m funny?”
‘No! You’re not funny!’
‘If you were funny, I wouldn’t be following you right now!’
Eugenia let out a strong inner cry, swallowed hard, and replied with a dignified attitude.
“How dare I belittle you……. I will sit down as you commanded, so please take your rage away.”
Eugenia sits down across from him in an awkward position, and Joshua clicks his tongue slightly.
“Why are you taking up so much space if you’re just going to sit there??”
Me, me!
She was just doing what He told her to do! She was not going to get away with it!
‘At least he has the right look, just like in the novel. I might be even more angry with him if he didn’t have that genuine face..’
Eugenia, who had been glancing at him without Joshua’s knowledge, pursed her lips in disapproval.
“Eugenia, I’m going to be blunt.”
Oh, she already knows the word ‘straight to the point’ at her age?
“I see you’re different.”
Eugenia nodded in admiration.
Joshua spoke up, his face tense.
“I’m well aware that you hate us.”
Wow, first words.
‘What the hell am I supposed to say in this situation?’
If She says no, they won’t believe her after what she’s done so far…….
If She says, “Yes,” it’s going to make Joshua look even worse.
‘Oh, it’s hard, it’s hard, God, why do you put me through this!’
Eugenia rolled her eyes with an awkward smile, then managed to get the words out.
“Not as much as you said just now…but…”
She stammered out an excuse of her own, but apparently it didn’t work on him.
Joshua snorted, “Whew!” as if to say something so ridiculous in front of anyone.
Eugenia understood that things were about to go wrong as his patience snapped.
It was unacceptable to her, but she had no choice but to endure it.
He was the son of a fallen noble, and she was a commoner.
So it was in many ways better for her to keep her mouth shut, no matter how frustrated she was.
“I’m strong, I’m strong, I’m strong, I’m strong.”
After chanting a soothing spell to herself, she smiled at Joshua.
She tried to straighten her brow, which kept crinkling unwillingly, but it wasn’t easy.
Eventually, Eugenia decided to distract herself with the idea of straightening her expression naturally.
“Wow, you glow in the dark.”
Joshua’s hair was the color of a summer sky, and his deep golden eyes were divine and beautiful, leaving her speechless.
“If you had wings, you’d look like one of those baby angles in the paintings on the temple ceiling.”
Joshua looked absolutely stunning.
She stared at him for a moment, mesmerized.
‘If he’s this pretty, how much prettier must Selmia be?’
She had the urge to get up close and take a look.
“Hold on, hold on.”
It was only when she finally tore her gaze away from the girl that she looked back at Joshua.
Eugenia locked eyes with him, who was looking at her in a very disapproving way.
“Why, what is it?”
“I know you’re a commoner and not used to noble manners.”
The boy’s voice was stern, and he began to criticize Eugenia’s manner.
“But I thought you knew that when someone is speaking, it’s a matter of politeness to listen attentively.”
‘Oh, really! What a cranky old man!’
Eugenia straightened her posture, barely resisting the urge to curl her lip again.
“Yes, Master. I apologize, and I will listen from now on.”
Joshua’s face crumpled even further.
The boy pursed his lips, unsure of what to say, until he began to poke Eugenia in the face.
“You’ve been bothering me for a while now.”
“Yes, Master, what is it?”
“Come on, come on, what’s wrong with your tone?”
“What’s wrong with my tone?”
When Eugenia shook her head in confusion, Joshua spoke up in frustration.
“That’s not how you’re supposed to talk to me!”
‘Was it?’
She just chose a tone of voice that would be appropriate for a superior in this caste system.
Eugenia shrugged her shoulders once with her naturally virtuous face and opened her mouth.
“Master, you didn’t call me here to criticize my way of speaking, did you?”
“Oh, no.”
Joshua coughed briefly.
“Just speak normally, it’s weird and gives me the creeps.”
He tried to look stern, but in Eugenia’s eyes, he just looked cute.
“Well, I suppose I can just say it in a modern way, right?”
She was starting to feel her brain go numb from this odd way of speaking.
Eugenia quickly corrected her tone.
“I see, Master.”
“That’s better. Anyway, Eugenia.”
“Eugenia.”
“Yes, Master.”
Joshua swallowed hard and spoke in a very low voice.
“I want you to be our guardian.”
“……Yes?”
Eugenia’s eyes widened in shock.
“Master, what did you just say, did you say guardian……? My ears aren’t wrong, are they, now?”
Eugenia had a confused look on her face.
She wished and wished and wished that she could say please, no, but Joshua was so sincere that he nodded his head and spoke again, more forcefully.
“You didn’t hear me wrong, I said I wanted you to be my protector, me and Selmia, our protector.”
Joshua held his breath, as if Eugenia was watching him.
The tension in his shoulders and neck was clear even in this darkness.
Joshua’s mouth felt dry, so he quickly licked his lower lip.
Eugenia watched the boy’s behavior with a mixture of amusement and disbelief.
“I’m a commoner, and you know that better than anyone, don’t you?”
“Yes, I do. I do.”
With those short words, Joshua shut his mouth like a clam again.
It was clear from his behavior that he had no intention of backing down.
Eugenia finally closed her eyes tightly and pressed her thumb firmly against her temple.
“Hah……. Master, why would you say that to me?”
The boy paused at her tone.
Joshua was a proud boy.
So when Eugenia spoke to him like this, he would normally have gotten very angry and stormed off, pretending he didn’t hear her, pretending it never happened.
Joshua, on the other hand, was the kind of person who didn’t want to say the slightest thing that he was disappointed in anyone.
“…….”
But this time was different.
Despite Eugenia’s unfriendly behavior and words, he merely pursed his lips and didn’t react at all.
Like a child waiting to be disposed of, he waited impatiently for Eugenia to give him the answer he wanted.
“How desperate.”
How desperate he must be to rely on a helpless maid like her.
Eugenia felt a pang of pity.
‘But I mustn’t let your feelings get the best of me.’
She would have been more than happy to help if she had been disguised as a leading noblewoman, as in the other novels.
‘But I’m a maid.’
She had no more influence than an ant’s poop.
So she played it cautiously.
When Eugenia continued to give no answer, Joshua, the impatient one, spoke up.
“You were going to run away anyway.”
The desperation in his voice sent a shiver down Eugenia’s spine.
As Joshua had pointed out, she had planned to run away from this Marquis of Kereiton tonight.
“No?”
“He…… is, but.”
“So you’re taking me and Sheri with you on your escape. At this rate, we’ll end up being brought to the royal court of the Duchy and forced to become ‘Marquesses of Kereiton’ as some kind of honor.”
Eugenia scrunched up her face in embarrassment.
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Translator Note:
This chapter was translated by Gon. Next post will be released on February, 25.
If you like my work please support Gon on Coffee.
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