Chapter : 10
As I stepped out of the bedroom, I ran into Lady Sophia.
When she saw my messy appearance, she rushed toward me.
“My goodness! My goodness! In the end… Are you alright? Are you hurt anywhere?”
“I will probably have some bruises, but I am not seriously hurt.”
“Phew. The Grand Madam has a strong temper. She was not like this before. She used to be the most fair and kind elder.”
“I believe that.”
That must be why the old servants in the mansion still serve her, remembering those days and not leaving.
“You worked hard today. Did she take her medicine?”
“Yes. She just took it.”
That was my final task for today.
Lady Sophia looked at me with surprise.
“Was it not difficult to take care of her? This may be rude to say, but you seem used to it.”
“It is my first time caring for a dementia patient, but I have taken care of someone before.”
That was one of the reasons I bravely took this job.
I had taken care of Roela before.
Roela had been sick since childhood. She needed special medicine to recover, and it was not easy to make.
I volunteered to be her friend and helped make the medicine.
I thought it was a good chance to become the childhood friend and benefactor of the heroine.
When Roela was young, she was very sensitive and sharp.
Anyway, I do have some experience.
“Thank you very much. I added double pay to today’s wage. Please accept it without burden. And I hope you will come again tomorrow.”
“Yes, Lady Sophia!”
I answered brightly.
Double pay! It felt like all of today’s hardships disappeared.
Waiting for someone.
That feeling was truly unfamiliar.
Kaisa walked back and forth in front of the house.
Milena was later than he expected. He wanted to go pick her up, but he could not.
This was not Luikaron, but Cyern. There were limits to what Kaisa could do as he pleased.
He was just a common-born mercenary, and the place where Milena worked was the Keister Count’s mansion.
“Ha…”
He sighed. He had never felt such helplessness or endless waiting before. All he could do was wait anxiously. Even this moment felt strange.
Kaisa was staring at the dark road, his leg shaking slightly.
Then, at the end of the alley, he saw a familiar figure.
Without realizing it, he called her with a smile.
“Milena!”
“Ah.”
Milena saw him and quickened her steps. She waved at him brightly.
The closer she came, the brighter her face became—while Kaisa’s expression slowly hardened.
He quickly walked to her and grabbed her shoulders.
“Who did this?”
“What?”
“Who made you look like this?”
“Ah.”
Milena, who had looked surprised, burst into laughter.
Now that she thought about it, she really did look terrible.
She had struggled with the Grand Madam all day. Her hair was messy, and even the seams of her clothes were torn.
After seeing that, Lady Sophia even gave her extra compensation.
“The Grand Madam with dementia.”
“What?”
“They said she used to be a knight. She is really strong. I could not win against her with strength.”
“So this appearance is because—”
“Yes. The Grand Madam did it. She is so stubborn. But if you coax her gently, she listens. She is like a child, and in some ways… even cute.”
“Looking like this…”
Kaisa bit his lip hard.
Of course, he knew taking care of a patient would not be easy.
He had heard rumors. But he never imagined it would be this bad.
Back in Luikaron, Milena had always been a gentle and elegant noble lady. Her clothes were always neat, and she never caused trouble for others.
Her constant beautiful smile and her softly styled curly hair made her stand out.
He could never have imagined Milena walking around like this.
But now, as if her appearance did not matter at all, she smiled brightly and held out an envelope.
“Today they gave me special pay. I think they did it on purpose. Maybe they were afraid I would not come back tomorrow. It is about two and a half times the promised amount.”
“Milena, quit right now.”
“What?”
Milena’s eyes widened.
“I do not think this is work you should do while getting hurt like this.”
“It is not that serious.”
“It is.”
“But what can we do? If things go well, we might be able to contact Luikaron directly.”
“You know there is no exchange between the two empires.”
“Still, maybe there is a way? There are stories that in the distant past, Luikaron and Cyern were like brothers. Before the era of the Monster Sea.”
“That is…”
“And they say the Count rules this sea. Maybe we can find out about the smuggler’s ship. Maybe we can make it sail sooner.”
Kaisa pressed his lips together.
He wanted to stop her, but he had no reason strong enough.
The things Milena wanted were not things he could solve right now.
“But I do have one request, Grand Duke.”
“…A request?”
“Please teach me self-defense. And how to dodge sudden attacks. I cannot just keep getting hit like today. At least I should be able to avoid it.”
Kaisa’s eyes lit up.
Maybe there was at least something he could do for her.
He nodded firmly.
It might be the only thing he could do for Milena, but it was better than just waiting.
“I will do my best.”
“Good. But first, let’s eat dinner!”
Kaisa and Milena nodded together.
Rayban Keister noticed the change when a strange atmosphere began to spread in the Count’s mansion.
Strange… or perhaps not?
Since the Grand Madam developed dementia, the mansion had always been heavy and gloomy. But now there was a different kind of energy.
It was an unbelievable change.
It was not that the Grand Madam’s condition had improved.
She was still very ill.
Rayban, who visited her every day, knew that better than anyone.
Her blurry eyes that could not recognize him. Her voice that forgot his name.
Those things were clear every day.
The warm eyes that used to look at him, the gentle voice that called his name—after losing all of that, Rayban’s life felt empty.
Then what had changed?
“Lady Sophia. The atmosphere of the mansion feels different. In a good way. Has something happened?”
“Ah, Count.”
Sophia smiled warmly.
This change was all because of Milena.
Only Milena.
It had only been a week since she arrived, yet even Rayban could feel the difference.
There were no more maids who unwillingly went to serve the Grand Madam. There were no more screams from her room.
Milena did not force medicine on her or try to make her do things she hated.
She simply waited, persuaded, and talked to her until the Grand Madam chose to act on her own.
She did not mind acting as the late Scarlet.
Now, after one week, the Grand Madam followed Milena, calling her Scarlet.
Because of that, the atmosphere of the mansion became brighter. The servants who were freed from serving the Grand Madam also looked happier.
“A new maid has arrived.”
