Episode 5
She’s been waiting to see Martin again ever since, but facing him seems more difficult than she thought it would be.
However, meeting him ignited a small fire in Rin’s heart. A flutter and excitement she never felt when she was with Minos.
She couldn’t quite put her finger on what it was.
It felt like butterflies fluttering, tickling, and pulsing in her chest. I had never felt this before. My heart kept pounding yet when I saw a man of similar size, my heart started beating faster.
“What’s wrong?”
Lin put her hand on her chest and muttered to herself. It seemed like her heart was breaking.
“Rin!”
Elizabeth’s shrill voice pierced her ears. Her shoulders jerked up in surprise, and when she looked toward the source of the sound, she saw Elizabeth’s face furrowed in a fierce frown.
She hurried to the young lady’s side. She clasped her hands together politely, bowed her head, and was about to open her mouth to speak when Elizabeth slapped her across the cheek.
Despite her delicate appearance, Elizabeth’s slap was quite firm. It was strong enough to turn Rin’s face to the side.
Elizabeth’s face was filled with displeasure when she realized her slap was not enough to calm herself.
“I’ve called you out several times.”
“…I’m sorry. Lady.”
Kneeling in front of Elizabeth, Rin clutched her head to the floor. For some unknown reason, lying flat on her back was the best way to calm Elizabeth’s temper.
It had been nearly a month since she had begun serving Elizabeth, and she had gotten a feel for the young lady’s personality.
The noble Lady Elizabeth was a little more irritable and nervous than Besty, and her moods were often up and down.
At first, I was worried about how to match her moods, but there was only one answer. I had to agree with her.
“What was I thinking? You’re so frustrating.”
This time, she was pretty angry, and even though she was lying flat on her back, her anger didn’t go away. I tried to think of a good line, but I couldn’t think of any.
“I’m sorry, miss.”
Elizabeth’s voice softened a bit at her apology as if her anger had subsided. Elizabeth took a deep breath, letting the question spill out in a long, drawn-out gasp.
“What is the homework Mr. Luther gave you this time?”
“The founding of the Trona Empire.”
“Oh. Why do I even need to know that? You go to the library and find a book.”
Elizabeth leaned back on the couch in a graceful motion. She picked up the fan she’d been holding on the table and nodded at her. Rin quickly approached, took the fan from her, and began to fan herself.
“…Which book?”
“Why is she acting so stupid today? What do you think, a history book? Do you need another slap to wake up?”
Elizabeth’s voice sharpened as she bit her lower lip and replied in a careful, polite voice so as not to offend the young lady.
Elizabeth gave her the letter as soon as she began to serve her.
Elizabeth thought it was lovely of the lady to teach her to read when she was only a maid, but it didn’t take long for her to realize why.
Once she had the letters, it was up to Da Lin to prepare for all the lessons and do her homework, which she would neatly organize and Elizabeth would copy down.
It was better that way than facing Mrs. Luther’s scolding for not doing her homework. And now the library errand was her favorite.
It gave her a chance to get away from Elizabeth, if only for a little while. Besides, the library’s distinctive smell of paper put her in a good mood. Still fanning herself, she replied politely.
“No, miss. I’ll be right back.”
“Organize it so I can turn it in when you get back.”
“…Yes, ma’am. Okay.”
“I have to be quick, I’m so tired today, and Mrs. Luthor is giving me homework for something or other, oh, it’s annoying.”
Elizabeth grumbled as she nervously fidgeted with the fan in her hand.
Lynn turned on her heel and stalked out of the room. A long sigh escaped Lin’s lips as the door closed behind her. Everything was better than living in the inn, except for the beating.
She could recognize characters she’d never recognized before, and she was able to sit in on the young lady’s classes, even though she was only a child.
He found the lessons fascinating, but she hated to study. The only thing she loved was dancing.
“It’s more fun to learn new things than to dance.”
Lin muttered softly as she walked into the library. The smell of her favorite paper wafted past her nostrils as she opened the door. Standing in the doorway, she looked around at the books lining the shelves and said to herself.
“Where are the history books?”
The library of the Duke of Irufus was a magnificent one, comparable to that of the imperial palace.
She had heard from Muriel that it contained most of the books circulating in the Trona Empire, save for the forbidden ones.
Since entering the duchy, she had a wish. If she ever had a day off, she wanted to spend it in the library, reading all day, uninterrupted.
“Will such a day ever come?”
Lin smiled bitterly and looked at the bookshelves. The librarian had done a good job organizing the library, so it was easy to find the books she needed.
“Will these do?”
She shook her head as she pulled out three books, worried that Elizabeth would be annoyed if she took the wrong one.
If she didn’t do her homework, Elizabeth would scold her, and she’d have to earn Mrs. Luther’s spanking. The spanking was fine. The problem was after I got back to my room.
Elizabeth, embarrassed by my behavior, threw whatever she could get her hands on at her standing still.
A pillow or cushion was fine, but a teacup, like the last time, was not. She could get hurt, and cleaning up would be a pain.
“This should fit.”
“What?”
A voice came from above my head. She hadn’t even realized it was there, but the suddenness of the sound startled her enough to make her knees buckle.
The voice belonged to Martin. If he hadn’t caught her, she would have dropped all the books she was holding and fell on her face in a ridiculous heap.
“…Thank you. Master.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you.”
“No.”
Her cheeks flushed bright red at his apology, and she shook her head from side to side. Her heart pounded in her chest as she caught Martin’s warm gaze.
Unsure of where to look, she lowered her head and looked at the tip of her shoe.
“What is it? The founding of Trona?”
“Yes. The lady asked me to come get it.”
“She sends you on such an errand? It should be your homework to find the right book. You’re a bad student.”
“Don’t tell the lady, Master.”
At her plea, Martin nodded reassuringly.
“Yes. I will. But not with those three volumes, Mrs. Luther is quite picky.”
“Oh….”
A look of disappointment crossed her face at Martin’s words. It was almost creepy.
“Do you want me to help you?”
“You mean you?”
“Yep. It’s my homework, too. I know what Mrs. Luthor wants.”
“Really?”
Lynn asked, smiling brightly, and Martin smiled his best smile and stroked her hair. The hat seemed to heat up under his touch.
“Yes. It’s hard. By the way.”
“Go ahead.”
“Why don’t you take your hat off from now on?”
“My hat?”
Puzzled, she put her hand to her hat and narrowed her eyes. Then Martin smiled again, this time prettily as if he didn’t mean it in a bad way.
“Yes. I like your hair. It’s pretty.”
“…What?”
“Haven’t you ever heard it said that your hair is pretty because it shines like the Milky Way?”
“…….”
I had never heard that before. My mother had told me many times that people might not like me if they knew that I, a lowly girl, had the same hair color as the royal family.
When I was younger, a few times my hair had accidentally slipped out of my hat, and the neighborhood kids would pull it out or cut it off.
Minos would help, but it could only do so much. So I had to be extra careful to hide my hair. So it was the first time I’d ever been told that my hair was a beautiful color.
And now it was jagged because Vesti had cut it roughly. Still, Martin said it was beautiful. Her heart began to beat so fast she thought it would explode.
“If you don’t like it, you can’t do it. It’s a shame.”
When she didn’t answer, he turned and looked at the bookshelves. His brow narrowed beautifully as he concentrated on finding something.
The compliment from the beautiful woman gave her an inexplicable boost of courage. After a moment’s hesitation, she spoke impulsively.
“…I’ll take it off, Master.”
He stopped reaching for the bookshelf at her response and turned his head, looking into her blue eyes and chuckling softly.
“Good idea, it’s a bad thing to hide pretty things. Oh, here you go. You should take a look at this book.
“Thanks.”
“Next time, show me your pretty hair.”
He handed her the book and smiled once more, his eyes narrowing. Rin watched the beautiful boy walk away with blank eyes for a moment. Her heart leaped at the unexpected encounter.
“I hope I see you again.”
She vowed to keep her hat off then, just like Martin had said. But out of habit, it wasn’t easy. Eventually, she decided to echo his words by putting her hat on less carefully than before.
Me encanta! Llevo tiempo buscándola! Gracias!!!