Chapter: 10
“Did you say it was a shame to throw away the dessert? What do you mean by that?”
…Wasn’t that why you called for me?
Carefully, I confessed that I had been eating the desserts meant for the young master instead.
“Did Ricardo say he would throw the dessert away if he didn’t eat it?”
Only now did something occur to me—something I hadn’t had the presence of mind to think about earlier because I’d been afraid I might be kicked out on the spot.
If I said he was going to throw away perfectly fine desserts, the young master would probably get scolded.
I hurriedly corrected myself.
“No! He didn’t say that much! He just told me to clear them away. I was the one who thought that’s what would happen.”
When I rushed to explain, I heard Lady Lianne let out a faint laugh.
If she was laughing… did that mean I wasn’t being thrown out?
“Were the desserts good?”
“…Yes. They were really delicious.”
“I’m glad.”
“Um… you weren’t calling me to scold me?”
Lady Lianne laughed softly again, then spoke kindly.
“If you want, you can go to the kitchen and ask anytime.”
“R-Really? Even though I’m just a maid… is it really okay for me to eat something that precious…?”
I was so shocked my eyes went wide.
I’d never bought desserts myself, so I didn’t know much, but I did know that the sugar and cream that went into them were very expensive.
“It seems Lisa didn’t tell you. Maids who work in the annex receive various benefits.”
“Ah, like employee benefits?”
I asked, recalling something I’d overheard back when I worked at a restaurant.
“That’s right. Since you’re Ricardo’s personal maid, these are Hamilton household benefits just for you. So feel free to enjoy the desserts as much as you like.”
As expected of a grand ducal house— even the employee benefits were on another level.
I nodded vigorously, repeating “Yes, yes.”
All this time, I’d felt uneasy, like I was a bad person stealing a child’s snacks. Thanks to this, my heart finally felt lighter.
“Thank you!”
Once the tension melted away, a silly grin spread across my face.
Ah—get a grip. I’m still in front of Lady Lianne!
I straightened my expression again and asked cautiously.
“Then… what did you call me here for?”
“I wanted to ask whether there’s been anything difficult for you, staying by Ricardo’s side.”
If we were talking about difficult things, there were plenty.
On the very first day, a pillow and a clock had come flying at me. The next day, the young master wouldn’t open his door, so I’d had to enter through the balcony.
And how many times had he pulled the bell cord by now?
As I remembered the sound of the bell ringing the moment I reached my room, and the prickly, ill-tempered face I’d seen every time I ran to his room, my brow furrowed.
“As for difficult things…”
I wondered where to start, then decided not to say anything after all.
I didn’t like tattling, and I didn’t want the young master to be scolded.
Besides, it wasn’t all hardship.
“He’s a bit prickly, but the young master is actually very kind. There are tough moments when I’m with him, but there are more enjoyable ones, so I’m fine.”
“That child is kind? In what way did you feel that?”
“When I told him I couldn’t read, he said he’d teach me.”
“Ricardo did?”
“Yes. And when I asked if we could study under the window where the sunlight comes in, he allowed me to open it. When I told him I didn’t get to eat many tasty things when I was little, he started sharing his desserts with me after that.”
Lady Lianne was silent for a while.
Did I talk too much on my own?
I rolled my eyes anxiously. That brief silence felt unusually long to me.
“To think he had such a side… He always acts like a child in front of me, so I never knew.”
“The young master is still young. No matter how mature a child is, in front of their mother they end up acting spoiled without realizing it. And since he doesn’t get to see you often, it’s even more so—”
I suddenly came to my senses and clamped my mouth shut.
Lady Lianne had been so easygoing with me that I’d spoken as if I were talking to the parents of children back in the village.
“It’s all right. Speak freely. I’m glad I got to learn about a side of him I didn’t know, thanks to you.”
Her gentle voice put me at ease.
At the same time, something came to mind.
From time to time, the young master would look toward the main house through the open window. Even though it was hidden by thick trees and walls, so he couldn’t possibly see it.
Each time, loneliness and melancholy would well up in his eyes.
‘At ten years old, he should be showered with love in his parents’ arms.’
I hesitated. Was it really all right for me to say something like this to my lady?
Lady Lianne was the mistress of this estate, and I was just a maid who’d arrived not long ago. I knew it was presumptuous.
But… strangely enough, I felt like Lady Lianne would listen to me.
For the young master’s sake, I gathered my courage.
“Um… my lady. You had him live alone in the annex because you were afraid he’d be hurt by others, right?”
“That’s right.”
Lady Lianne nodded lightly.
I asked carefully.
“Was that what the young master wanted as well?”
No answer came for a while.
“If it was a decision you made on your own, then how about having a conversation with him sometime? He doesn’t say it outright, but there are moments when he looks lonely…”
Had I said something I shouldn’t have?
This time, my heart really began pounding, thinking I might finally get scolded. Fidgeting with my fingers in my anxiety, I waited for Lady Lianne to say something—anything.
“Thank you for telling me. I had forgotten something important.”
Phew.
I relaxed at her benevolent voice.
Lady Lianne really was a good person.
“I’ll go to the annex this evening. Will you go back and tell Ricardo that I’d like to have dinner with him?”
She was coming right away? I was startled by her decisiveness.
But what she said next surprised me even more.
“Mary, you should come to the dining room as well.”
“M-Me too?”
“Yes. I heard from Lisa. She said that since you arrived, Ricardo has been eating well. Stay by his side so he can eat comfortably.”
Me, joining Lady Lianne and the young master for their private dinner?
From what I’d learned, maids weren’t supposed to sit at the same table as their masters…
Was this also an employee benefit? No—if it was, wasn’t this way too much…?
That evening.
There truly was a place set for me in the dining room. Seeing the table filled with all kinds of food made my mouth water automatically.
“Sit down.”
“Y-Yes!”
I hesitantly took the seat beside the young master.
“Ricky, have you been well all this time?”
Lady Lianne was still wearing her black veil. Unlike when she was in her room, however, this one was relatively thin and slightly translucent.
Thanks to that, I could see the gentle curve of her lips as they lifted in a smile.
“Yes. I hope Mother has been well, too.”
Goodness. Was this really the young master I knew?
Lady Lianne said he acted like a child, but that wasn’t true at all.
If anything, he seemed far more mature than when it was just the two of us.
“I have. I’m glad to hear you’ve been well.”
After that brief exchange, the two of them began eating as if accustomed to it, in an awkward silence.
…That’s it?
As I sat there nervously, the young master shot me a glance.
“What are you doing? Aren’t you eating?”
The adult-like air from earlier was gone—this was the sharp-tongued young master I knew.
“Oh! I am! Of course I’m eating.”
I picked up my fork and knife to cut the thick steak in front of me.
To think the day would come when I’d eat such a hefty steak.
I’d never cut meat with a knife before in my life. Trying not to draw attention, I darted my eyes around, watching how Lady Lianne and the young master did it.
‘Hold the knife like this, and the fork like this…’
I tried to imitate them as closely as possible, but it didn’t go the way I wanted.
Screeech—
In the end, the sound of my knife scraping loudly against the plate rang out.
Like the mangled meat, my heart felt completely torn to shreds.
Watching Mary’s face crumple, Lianne realized something.
‘I made a mistake.’
By the rules, it was unthinkable for a maid like Mary to dine at this table. But this time, she had made an exception.
Because Lisa had told her that ever since Mary arrived, Ricardo had become noticeably brighter.
Unlike any servant she’d seen before, Mary genuinely cared for Ricardo. Lianne wanted to express her gratitude for that kindness.
Her grateful feelings had come first, and she hadn’t considered the fact that this seat would inevitably be uncomfortable for Mary.
Just as Lianne was about to call a servant to have the meat cut up and brought back, Ricardo let out a sigh and said curtly,
“Are you trying to cut the plate instead of the meat?”
