Chapter 13
I paused, wiping the window, lost in thought. I had considered Demian as the candidate for the secondary male lead, but I wasn’t sure.
In the original story, the male lead often had conflicts with the secondary male lead. Demian didn’t have the temperament to get into fights, so I couldn’t be certain he was the one.
As I pondered, someone else came to mind. Someone who constantly argued with Young Master Odin—and who was arriving tomorrow.
I thought of Lou and hesitated. Could he be the one? But then I shook my head firmly. Lou’s gentle appearance didn’t fit the role of a villain.
Demian, at least, had a commanding height, giving him some presence. Lou, on the other hand, had already crossed paths countless times with Deriksha but never once showed her the slightest interest. Despite seeing her multiple times a day, he and Deriksha had never spoken alone. So he had never even occurred to me as a candidate.
That left only Demian. If it wasn’t him, who else could be the secondary male lead? A third character? Someone appearing later?
“…Could it be His Highness, the Prince?”
The thought struck me so suddenly that I flung the mop I was holding across the room.
Deriksha’s eyes widened in surprise. She clearly wondered what I was doing.
“Wait, did you just read my mind?!”
I exclaimed in shock, and Deriksha sighed heavily, resigned.
“I don’t know what nonsense you’re talking about, but I was just saying that a member of the royal family would attend this ball. Please get a grip, Lily.”
I had lost track of her explanation while thinking about the secondary male lead. My mind wandered again.
“The royal family will attend?”
“This ball’s a big event. It’s to celebrate Young Master Odin’s graduation and coming-of-age ceremony. That’s probably why they’re attending.”
I didn’t know much beyond that.
Deriksha resumed cleaning, and as she spoke, a sudden thought crossed my mind.
A young duke and the prince. What a perfect combination for rivals!
I stamped my feet, astonished at my own oversight. Why hadn’t I realized this before? The prince might be royal, but since the elder princess was set to inherit the throne, his actual power wasn’t overwhelming.
More importantly, Odin and the Prince were friends. Everything was perfect for a fair rivalry.
I cautiously asked Deriksha:
“Does His Highness, the Prince, have a fiancée?”
“Huh? I don’t think so. If they unify with the Dern Empire, maybe he’ll be engaged to a noble from that empire.”
The Dern Empire was right next to the Sharond Empire. The heiress of Sharond and the heir of Dern were already engaged, so the unification would happen in a few years.
If the prince were to be engaged to a noble from the Dern Empire, then the original story’s villainess would surely be her.
As I pulled on this thread, memories of the original story poured back. All the month-long worries over the secondary male lead suddenly made sense.
Feeling refreshed, I flung open the window. The cold winter wind brushed my cheek.
“Hey! Snow’s coming in! Close the window!”
Deriksha shouted, but I ignored her.
While enjoying the wind, I suddenly thought of the friend who had given up attending the ball because of my misunderstanding.
“Deriksha, I’m going to step out of work for a bit!”
“What?”
Deriksha looked at me, puzzled, brushing snow from her hair. I dashed toward the dormitory.
Now that I was certain Demian wasn’t the secondary male lead, I had to send him a letter, along with travel money, urging him to attend the ball.
Yes, this is exactly why I work!
Although I prioritized Deriksha, Demian was also important to me. Giving him a month’s wage felt like nothing.
I ran and wrote the letter in one go. The ball would last three days, so even if he couldn’t arrive on the first day, he could make it later.
Finally, I had figured out the secondary male lead. During the ball, my only task was to keep Deriksha away from the prince.
I sealed the letter to Demian. For some reason, I began looking forward to the ball.
BANG BANG BANG!
I woke from a deep sleep to the sound of someone knocking at the dorm door.
I took a while to get out of bed, still wrapped in blankets, and opened the door half-asleep. Standing there was someone with messy black hair and an angry—but still somehow cute—face. His purple eyes seemed to burn into me.
“Why haven’t you replied?!”
Lou blurted out, as if meeting after three months required no preamble.
I yawned, leaning my head against the doorframe.
“And, isn’t your personal maid supposed to meet you? You didn’t even come out when going to the Academy last time!”
“You’ve grown taller, Young Master.”
“…Really?”
His angry expression brightened, but then he quickly frowned again.
“Everyone else is working, so why are you still sleeping? Have you finally been fired?”
“If I were fired, I wouldn’t even be here. I’m on sick leave.”
After the tension of finding the secondary male lead, I felt a slight fever coming on. This morning, while staggering through the halls, the Duke had found me and sent me straight to the dormitory. Truly a kind employer.
Lou flinched at the mention of sick leave, clearly surprised I could be ill.
“Didn’t the Duke or Monica tell you?”
“No… I ran straight here as soon as I arrived.”
I remembered him coming down from the carriage and laughing quietly to myself.
“Are you in much pain?”
“Yes… almost dying.”
Of course, I lied. After sleeping soundly, I felt much better. The sun was already low in the sky.
“How long are you resting?”
“Today, obviously.”
“If you’re sick, shouldn’t you rest more?”
“There’s a ball coming up. No time to rest…”
I smoothed my messy hair as Lou frowned and then asked suddenly:
“Do you like cake?”
I blinked.
“You can eat it all.”
Lou poured tea into a cup and pushed it toward me. Expensive-looking cakes filled the table. I stared at him, still in my pajamas, wondering how I got into this situation.
“Stop staring and eat.”
“Why are you giving me this…?”
“Sweets help you recover faster when you’re sick.”
I had no reason to refuse. I picked the closest cream cake and ate. Soft cake and sweet cream melted in my mouth.
“I got all these from a famous dessert shop near the Academy.”
“Then why are you giving them to me?”
“Don’t you want them?”
“No.”
I ate the cream cake quickly and grabbed some cheesecake next. Mid-bite, I noticed Lou resting his chin on his hand, watching me.
“Aren’t you going to eat any?”
“Go ahead. Eat plenty.”
He smiled softly, unusually kind. I felt embarrassed.
“By the way… why didn’t you reply to the letter?”
Lou asked, feigning irritation. I realized I had forgotten it while busy worrying about the secondary male lead.
I quietly ate, thinking, sending him a letter and he hadn’t even read it. My mistake.
“Next time, reply properly.”
“Again?”
“What else is there to do?”
Lou spoke naturally. I hesitated. Did he really expect me to write every time?
“I don’t really have anything to say.”
“….”
He frowned but eventually seemed satisfied. I nodded. Sending letters like I would to a friend—that was simple enough.
As we chatted and finished the fifth cake, the door suddenly opened. Both of us froze.
“…Ah.”
It was Young Master Odin. He glanced between Lou and me, then said quietly:
“…I’ll come back in a bit.”
“At least knock next time!”
He ignored Lou and left, shutting the door. I wiped my face with a hand, exhausted.
Even as a maid dining with the young master was shocking, here I was eating cake wrapped in blankets. I must have looked absurd.
“I’ll be going…”
“Since you’ve been seen, finish it all first.”
Lou said shamelessly, but I shook my head. Too much cake had made my stomach heavy.
“Do you want me to see you out?”
“No. I want to get back before anyone else notices.”
I bowed slightly and left, hearing a faint laugh from Lou behind me.
