Chapter : 10
“Th-this room is for me?”
Valley turned toward Piru with a shocked face after he guided her there.
“Is it too small?”
“N-no. It’s too big. It’s too much for me to use alone….”
Compared to the bedroom Valley used in the Fria Tine estate, this room was twice—no, three times bigger.
Even the furniture was perfectly cleaned without a speck of dust.
“His Grace said that since you are not an official employee of the estate yet, but someone under consideration, you should be treated as a guest.”
“I’m fine with using a smaller room….”
“This room was specially prepared for you. If you refuse it, should I understand that as going against His Grace’s wishes?”
Piru was clearly smiling gently as he spoke, but to Valley, it felt like he was politely drawing a line.
“That’s not what I meant…. Please tell the Duke that I sincerely thank him for giving me such a large room. And also for the ice pack.”
“I will. If you need anything from now on, you may tell the maid assigned to assist you.”
“You’re even assigning a maid to me?”
“Yes. His Grace ordered us to properly serve our guest, so one of the maids from our estate will take care of you, Miss Valley.”
Piru completely believed that Valley was truly a maid because she had appeared wearing a maid uniform.
“Thank you for taking care of me.”
“It’s nothing. We all simply move according to His Grace’s orders.”
His tone and expression clearly meant that if Wayne withdrew his orders, all of this treatment would disappear as well.
“Since the explanation is finished, let me introduce myself. I am Piru Patro, aide to Duke Wayne Biterad.”
“Ah, I’m Fr… no, Valley.”
It was the first time she introduced herself without using her family name. Strangely, the awkward feeling did not bother her.
“Hmm, Miss Valley?”
Piru, who had been speaking softly the whole time, suddenly stopped smiling when he called her name.
When he smiled, his face looked harmless and gentle, but once the smile disappeared, his fox-like features became quite sharp.
“As His Grace’s aide, I hold considerable authority in this estate.”
“You are his aide, so of course you do.”
“Even if you are His Grace’s guest, I can still throw you out whenever I want.”
Piru walked firmly toward Valley until he stood right in front of her.
“So you must make sure that nothing happens that could damage His Grace’s honor.”
His eyes were filled with nothing but loyalty toward Wayne. Valley looked into his gaze and smiled in admiration.
“You’re amazing.”
“…Pardon?”
Piru’s guard weakened slightly at the unexpected compliment.
“An aide is someone who completely trusts and devotes themselves to their master, right?”
“…That’s true.”
“But it’s also a position where it’s difficult to earn enough trust to prove you would never betray them. The fact that you achieved that is truly impressive.”
Piru relaxed even more and grinned before quickly trying to regain his composure.
“Ahem, do I really look that reliable?”
“Yes. Even when problems arise, you think of the Duke first. You seemed like the perfect example of an aide.”
It was a sincere compliment. At the Fria Tine estate, employees changed often. Not only the maids, but even the aides and butlers frequently quit.
Very few people could endure her parents’ and Rina’s personalities.
Compared to the employees in her own estate, their attitudes were completely different, and Valley truly felt that she had come to the Biterad estate.
“The Duke must trust Aide Piru very deeply as well.”
“Ahem, well, His Grace does trust me greatly. We’ve been together since childhood, so naturally our trust is different.”
Piru had never even heard such compliments from Wayne himself, so hearing them from Valley made his guard soften without him realizing it.
“You’re someone this estate absolutely cannot do without.”
“Haha, exactly right. If you need anything in the future, tell the maid—or dependable me.”
“Thank you for caring for me.”
“It’s really nothing. Then please rest comfortably.”
Piru left the room with a bright smile and even closed the door behind him, but then suddenly stopped.
“Wait… didn’t I treat her too naturally like she was my superior?”
Only then did Piru realize his behavior and stare back at the closed door.
Valley had clearly been wearing a maid uniform. Yet somehow, the way she handled an aide had felt extremely natural. Shocked, Piru covered his mouth with his hand.
“Could it be she won His Grace’s heart this way?”
Until now, Wayne had shown absolutely no interest in women. But suddenly, a maid claiming she had a promise with him appeared, and now he was even ordering everyone to treat her like a guest for an entire month.
‘Give her the largest and best empty room.’
‘To that extent?’
‘She may leave after a month, so until then, she is a guest. Tell the others to treat her with proper respect as well.’
There had never been anyone Wayne treated this well. Piru was happy that Wayne had finally become interested in a woman, but the fact that she was a maid made things extremely complicated.
“Still, except for His Grace’s incurable illness, there’s nothing lacking about him…. Of course, I was shocked by how pretty that maid was. But the difference in status is just too big….”
Piru continued imagining all sorts of things on his own as he walked farther away from Valley’s room.
Now alone, Valley properly looked around the bedroom.
“This room is far too large compared to the luggage I brought.”
She had only brought one small bag, so she had already finished unpacking. Since she had secretly run away, she could not bring much anyway, though she never really owned much to begin with.
Thinking that she would live here from now on, she felt freedom for the first time and threw herself onto the bed.
As she stared at the unfamiliar red ceiling instead of the blue one that had felt like a prison, a bright smile slowly spread across her face.
Now she no longer had to endure her parents’ violence or Rina’s mocking words.
“…This feels really nice.”
Valley had never once felt comfortable even in her own bedroom, so it was strange to her that the unfamiliar Biterad estate already felt cozy and safe.
As she relaxed on the bed, Edel’s face suddenly appeared in her mind.
The moment she thought of her, worry heavily filled her heart.
She was also worried that her connection with Battery should have ended, yet might continue somehow.
As the heavy anxiety slowly filled her thoughts, she quickly shook her head to chase it away.
“No, we promised to meet at the inn in one week. If I do well here, I can bring Edel too. I have to succeed.”
What mattered now was becoming an official employee instead of someone under consideration.
She had finally received a chance to do the work she truly wanted, something she had wished for so desperately, so she had no intention of losing it meaninglessly.
Just as she strengthened her determination and sat up from the bed—
Knock knock.
Suddenly, she heard a knock on the door.
“Who is it?”
“I’m Kanna, the maid.”
It seemed to be the maid assigned to her.
“Come in.”
“……”
“You can come in.”
“……”
Even after receiving permission, the door did not open. Thinking maybe the maid’s hands were full and she could not open it herself, Valley went and opened the door first.
“Hello.”
Kanna stood there with yellow hair tied into twin braids, both of her hands completely empty.
“I didn’t hear permission to enter, so I kept waiting.”
“Ah, maybe my voice was too quiet. I did tell you to come in.”
“Hmm, I see.”
Kanna smiled gently and entered the room. But somehow, Valley felt like only her mouth was smiling.
“I heard that although you came as His Grace’s guest, you’ll begin taking care of the garden tomorrow.”
“That’s right.”
“If you need anything, please tell me. I’ll do my best to prepare it for you.”
“Then first, could I get some paper and pencils for sketching?”
She already knew the size of the estate garden from visiting countless times in her previous life. She wanted to immediately start sketching landscaping ideas, so she needed paper and pencils.
“I’ll inform the maid who is going out to buy supplies tomorrow.”
“Thank you. Ah, and….”
“Then rest well.”
Before Valley could finish speaking, Kanna quickly turned around and left the room.
Thinking her voice had probably been too quiet again, Valley awkwardly blinked at the closed door and spoke softly to herself.
“…Please take care of me.”
Outside the door, unable to hear those words at all, Kanna glared fiercely at Valley’s room.
“She’s just another maid, yet she dares to act like His Grace’s guest… don’t make me laugh.”
