Chapter 35
“I thought about tidying up the weeds in the garden alone or maybe cleaning up the barn by myself, or taking out all the dishes and washing them, etc., since they said my workload is increasing.”
“Don’t you like it?”
When I didn’t respond, Laches, who was walking ahead of me, turned his head slightly and asked.
“Well… it’s not so much a punishment as it is closer to a promotion. The personal maids of nobles are considered senior maids, and they need to fulfill their years of service…”
“Punishment? By whom? Me?”
Of course, wasn’t it obvious? Since I can’t punish Laches myself.
Naturally nodding, Laches tilted his head slightly.
“I’ve never said I’m punishing you.”
“But it’s clear that my workload is increasing…”
“Yeah, Since you became my personal maid, your workload must be increasing. You have to come running when I call.”
It was all true, I naturally thought that Laches would punish me.
Because…
“So are you refusing my offer to become my personal maid?”
Because I’ve never been fully accepted by anyone as I am.
No matter how many times I regress, my life has always been intertwined with my father, Dettor and Delia.
I’ve always been the one abandoned, discarded, or left alone.
But could this time be different?
“…Okay.”
Yeah, It’s better this way.
If that man is really someone who could kill me, it would be easier to investigate him up close.
As I looked at Laches and replied calmly, he stared at me blankly for a moment.
He looked so blank that I almost doubted my answer.
“Your Grace?”
After calling out to Laches for a while with no response, he finally snapped out of it.
“…Ah.”
With a short sigh, he glanced to the side.
“Oh, right. …What were we talking about?”
“You becoming the personal maid of Your Grace…”
“Ah Right, That’s it. …Then let’s do that. That’s all for the instructions, so go rest now. I’ll send some ointment, so apply it.”
“Huh? Rest?”
“Yeah. …So go rest now. Got it?”
“Rest, you said?”
“Yeah, I mean it this time. Go and rest. Alright?”
Suddenly, Laches swiftly moved away as if someone had urgently called him, leaving me puzzled by his abrupt departure. I tilted my head, watching his retreating figure, reminiscent of someone struck by a sudden urgency.
“Is he telling me to rest instead of working suddenly? Is he implying that because we’ll be busier from tomorrow?” I wondered aloud.
It seemed like Laches’ protectiveness towards me had been gradually increasing. “Is it since I spilled the coffee?” I pondered, recalling the incident when he was bleeding. Even I, if I witnessed someone bleeding, would worry for a while.
I turned around and first checked on Creamy and Cheese.
After feeding them their fill, taking them for a walk, and playing with them vigorously, I even gave them a thorough bath. Although Laches told me to rest, I couldn’t afford to. If I rested, Creamy and Cheese wouldn’t eat their food properly, nor would they get to play as much as they liked.
After finishing all my tasks, I skipped dinner and went straight to find Celly.
“Leah!”
As I strolled through the corridor, Celly’s voice calling out to me from behind reached my ears. She came rushing out of her bedroom as soon as she spotted me.
“Leah!”
Celly rushed towards me and embraced me tightly.
“You shouldn’t run around in the corridor like that, You might get into trouble.”
“Is that the problem? Are you… are you okay?”
Celly released me from her embrace and carefully examined me from head to toe. Thankfully, there were no visible marks or bruises on my neck or wrists.
“I’m okay.”
“You promised you wouldn’t do anything risky! I heard Cedric got disowned by the Hilros family and even faced punishment. Was it because of you?”
“Well… I didn’t know…”
“Don’t try to hide it! There are people who saw you heading to the annex where the Hilros Lord resides!”
Tears welled up in Celly’s eyes.
“You almost put yourself in danger. Do you know how terrifying it is to provoke the nobles? Just one word from those people could mean certain death for us! Who would protect us?”
“I didn’t do anything risky…”
“Meeting the Hilros Lord isn’t risky? Leah! You should avoid the nobles, not seek them out!”
Celly hugged me tightly, shocked.
I decided to keep quiet about summoning the Hilros Lord directly here, as I feared Celly might collapse in tears if she knew it was me.
“He forgave my debts, I don’t owe anything anymore…”
“That’s good.”
“Thank you, Leah. It’s all thanks to you.”
Celly hugged me tightly, her voice choked with emotion.
“You’ve done so much for me, Leah. You’ve been on my side like this for the first time. Thank you for saving me, Leah.”
Instead of replying, I raised my hand to comfort Celly as she cried on my shoulder.
“You’re the first one to ever do something like this for me, Leah. You’re the first one to become my ally. Thank you for saving me, Leah.”
I made a vow to myself to reveal the truth about being Nirielle Nadiel and the frightening noble Celly fears at a later time, recalling how the maids treated me when I was in the Nirielle family, and decided to postpone the revelation for the future.
“The warmth of human touch…”
I gently comforted the crying cely, closing my eyes softly.
From the next day onward, I worked as Laches’ personal maid.
I thought I would have to start with morning bed-making as her personal maid, but there was no need for that, they said.
They simply said that if she needed me, I should come running regardless of the reason.
“After all, aren’t all the maids in the castle supposed to run to Laches’ call…?”
I couldn’t figure out what was different, but I wasn’t someone who could dare to voice an opinion at the moment.
“I’ll just do as I’m told.”
I thought there would be a strong backlash against me becoming the personal maid of the lord of this castle, Viscount Biollante, just shortly after arriving, but surprisingly, there was no one expressing dissatisfaction.
“I was worried that I wouldn’t have time to take care of Cream and Cheese if I got too busy with work…”
But for days, Laches didn’t call me.
Since anyone who wanted to call me or assign me tasks had to get Laches’ permission first, I ended up having more free time than usual.
“If there’s work to be done, she’ll call me.”
She might be busy punishing Cedric recently.
Cedric had been stripped of all his titles and powers for his misdeeds.
There were testimonies from within the northern knighthood of factional fighting and various unreasonable tasks he had imposed.
Laches decided to exile Cedric from the north and take measures to ensure he could never hold a sword again.
It wasn’t clear what measures had been taken, but one could imagine vaguely.
“…And he probably won’t survive anyway.”
Some argued that the punishment Cedric received was too lenient. Along with that, the once cruel and inconsiderate Viscount Biollante was praised for his mercy.
Those who didn’t know that Hyllos requested that he handle the final punishment and begged to just let him live believed firmly that Laeches had truly become generous.
“…Well, as long as he carries a good image, it’s fine.”
I soon stopped caring and immersed myself in my work.
It was a warm afternoon under the sun.
I was under a big tree with Cream and Cheese.
“Cream.”
As I smiled and petted him, Cream perked up his ears.
“Are you shedding?”
I smiled faintly as I looked at the pile of fur next to me and the fur still stuck on the brush.
Despite brushing continuously, the fur kept coming out endlessly.
“Mew.”
Cream answered softly, then lay back down, closing his eyes with his front paws on his chin.
It seemed like he enjoyed being brushed and petted.
“Alright then, As long as you’re happy.”
I smiled and continued to pet Cream. Watching Cheese happily bounding around, chasing after the thin fur flying in the air, I couldn’t help.
“By the way, why hasn’t Persor responded?”
It’s been days since I sent the letter, and even considering the time it takes to receive it and send a reply, there should have been plenty of time.
“Could it be that Persor is ignoring me because they don’t want to deal with Selie’s siblings?”
No, Persor who clearly knows who I am, wouldn’t become that kind of person. They’d come running to help if I needed it.
“Leah!”
As I groomed Creamy’s fur, I also tried to organize my thoughts, when Celly came running from afar.
Ever since I drove Cedric away, Selly had been extremely protective and caring towards me.
“Master is looking for you.”
“Master?”
“Yes, The Duke wants to show you something. He said to summon you to the waiting room. If he finds you, he’ll call you to the waiting room, so I’m letting Leah know.”
The Duke wants to show me something?
This was the first time he had sought me out since assigning me as a dedicated maid. I hesitated for a moment before getting up to tidy my clothes.
“If I knew you were looking for me, I wouldn’t have been sitting on the ground…”
I sat on the ground thinking he wouldn’t look for me today, and as a result, my clothes got wrinkled and dirty. Not only that, but Creamy’s fur covered my work clothes as I brushed him.
“I’ll take Creamy and Cheese for the rest of the walk. You go quickly!”
Even so, Celly approached Creamy and Cheese affectionately. While others were cautious around Creamy and Cheese, Selie got along with them quite well.
“Can I ask you a favor, Celly?”
“Of course! I’m glad to take a break from work for a while! It’s been quite busy lately.”
“Then I’ll ask.”
After petting Creamy and Cheese, I changed my direction.
I went into the main building and headed towards the waiting room used by Laches.
“Why did he call me to the waiting room instead of the study?”
At this time, he’s usually working in the study or the office. Why did he call me to the waiting room? What could he possibly want to show me there?
I quickened my pace with a puzzled expression. As I reached the waiting room and knocked on the door, Laches’s voice from inside instructed me to come in.
“Your Grace, excuse me for intruding.”
With proper etiquette, I opened the door to find Laches sitting on the sofa. He wasn’t alone.
Sitting opposite Laches on the sofa was a man. He had his back turned, so I could only see his back, but oddly enough, he seemed very familiar.
“I heard you were looking for me… If you have guests, should I come back next time?”
“No, there’s no need. You know him too.”
Know him too?
My gaze shifted to the back of the man sitting firmly.
Why does he look so familiar? Why on earth?
“It’s been a while since we met, are you not even going to say hello?”
laches asked with a wicked smile, addressing the man sitting across from him.
It seemed like the man was replying, but his words were barely audible, like the buzzing of a fly.
“You seem so frustrated, Then let me introduce you properly.”
lachess wiped away his smile in an instant and stood up expressionlessly from the couch. Then, he grabbed the man’s arm and forcefully helped him up from the couch across from us.
“Huh?”
The man hesitated as he stood up, then soon turned towards me.
And our familiar eyes met.
“Haha, it’s been, been a long time. Le… Leah”
The man awkwardly greeted me, the recipient of the letter I sent, Persor.
Am I seeing things right now? I blinked several times, but Pesol didn’t disappear.
“It’s been a while, hasn’t it? For both of you.”
lachess tapped Persor’s shoulder, tilting his head slightly as he stared at me intently, as if trying to gauge my reaction.
“I prepared a surprise gift for your promotion. Since we’re distant acquaintances and I even wrote a recommendation letter for you, I thought you might want to see me.”
I looked at Persor with incredulous eyes, and he just smiled awkwardly.
‘Persor, why are you here?’
Instead of receiving a reply to the letter I sent, the person himself arrived in the north.
