Chapter 5
Penelope gazed at herself in the mirror and murmured softly.
The shabby little girl from a month ago was gone. The once skinny arms and legs had filled out, and her pale cheeks now carried a healthy, rosy flush.
Yet, in her sparkling eyes lingered a faint shadow of worry.
Even for a noble, living this easily doesn’t make sense. Shouldn’t I be doing something?
Penelope’s previous life had been nothing but effort and struggle. To earn her daily bread—to survive—she had to keep moving constantly.
For someone like her, the idea of a life with “privileges without any obligations” was unimaginable.
No one had told her to do anything so far, so she had rested in peace. But if that continued for too long, the situation might change.
If I just laze around like this, I’ll become useless and be thrown out of the duke’s house in no time!
Penelope jumped to her feet. She threw the door open and dashed out.
“Young Lady? What’s the matter?”
Anna, the maid, widened her eyes in surprise at Penelope’s sudden appearance.
In the Calix estate, where people’s expressions barely changed at all, this reaction was almost akin to shock.
In a spirited voice, Penelope said,
“Um. Well… Don’t I have something to do? I don’t like just eating and playing all day. You’re always busy, Anna. If there’s anything that needs to be done, I want to help.”
The moment she spoke with genuine goodwill, a sharp pang shot through her chest.
But since it only lasted an instant, Penelope just tilted her head slightly and waited for Anna’s reply.
“What suddenly made you think of that?”
Anna’s expression turned grim for a moment, then smoothed over.
“Which bast— I mean, who could have said something that made you think this way, Young Lady?”
“Hmm.”
But Penelope, deep in thought, missed Anna’s fleeting change in expression.
“It’s just… my own thought. I guess doing nothing at all doesn’t suit me. It makes me feel restless.”
“I see.”
“Mm-hm.”
Anna lowered her gaze for a moment in thought, then spoke.
“Then I’ll tell the butler and ask the Master if there’s anything you could do.”
Penelope’s eyes widened.
“Is it okay to trouble the Duke over something about me?”
“He’s your father now, Young Lady. Why would it trouble him?”
Are noble parents kind?
Penelope recalled her birth parents, who had always yelled, “Stop bothering me!” whenever she came to them with a problem, and felt astonished.
“Wow.”
“The Duke is not a cold-hearted man,” Anna said, taking Penelope’s small hand in hers. Her face remained expressionless, but her touch was very gentle.
It was a kindness from an adult she had rarely experienced in her childhood. Penelope’s expression softened instantly.
“You must be quite bored, Young Lady. The weather is nice today—how about a walk in the garden?”
She even suggested having snacks under the gazebo in the center of the garden. It was an irresistible temptation.
To enjoy the beautiful garden while eating delicious treats?
For a moment, Penelope forgot her worries and smiled brightly at Anna’s suggestion.
“Yeah! Let’s go! You come with me, too!”
Anna followed behind Penelope’s skipping figure, her steps so quiet that they made no sound at all.
Once they were gone, a cluster of shadows emerged in the corner of the room they had just left.
“It was supposed to be my turn next… If the Young Lady had come out just five minutes later, the person walking with her would have been me…”
They were the maids of the Calix estate.
With expressionless faces, they quickly huddled together and whispered.
“Hailey, you could never act sly like Anna. If the Young Lady had asked you a question, you’d have stammered and hurt her feelings instead.”
“And you think you’re so great? You’re the one who put a real sword in her toy box! What if she had hurt herself while playing with it?”
“N-no! It wasn’t that dangerous! It was small and cute, made for children. It would’ve suited her perfectly!”
Though no blood was shed, their fierce exchange was like a duel between knights. Truly, nothing was ordinary in the Calix estate.
“Anyway, now we know why the Young Lady has been looking gloomy lately.”
“Don’t most kids her age love doing nothing but playing?”
“She must have matured early. I heard she grew up in a poor household.”
A silence passed between them as they recalled the sight of Penelope’s frail body a month ago.
At first, they had been uneasy about having to serve a ragged child as their Young Lady. But that feeling vanished the moment they bathed her.
Penelope was a rare sight in the cold, austere Calix household—kind and cheerful.
Within an hour of meeting her, all the maids had been utterly charmed.
And once she was cleaned up—she was so lovely!
They had thought her scrawny and pitiful, but after washing away the grime and dressing her in fine clothes, her charm shone through.
Her once-chapped lips now looked as fresh as if they held juice, and her pale cheeks, warmed by the bath, resembled ripe apples.
And then, those eyes.
Her green eyes sparkled like emeralds, perfectly matching her lively reddish hair.
The maids, who had spent years or even decades serving only the grim male masters of the Calix estate, had little experience with women or children.
The only children they saw were the occasional distant relatives—little nobles who visited a few times a year.
But those children acted as if they were “the future Duke of Calix” and were unbearably arrogant. Rather than cute, they were irritating.
To such maids, Penelope’s presence was nothing short of a shock.
Dignified yet humble, cute yet well-mannered, and lively on top of it all!
“The Master should visit her more often. It would be so much better.”
“Yes. These days, the Young Lady grows cuter by the day.”
“I’ll suggest arranging a meal with her the next time I report in.”
“Then we’ll need an outfit worthy of the occasion.”
“Yes. The most perfect dress for the Young Lady.”
The maids carried on an intense, passionate discussion—still with utterly expressionless faces.
Their talk ended only when the stern head maid arrived.
“How long do you plan to chatter and laugh?”
Of course, they hadn’t so much as cracked a smile. But that hardly mattered.
“Break time’s over. Back to your duties.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
The maids scattered immediately to their tasks.
Hailey was about to do the same, but the head maid’s firm grip on her shoulder stopped her.
“What is it?”
When Hailey asked, the head maid spoke gravely.
“So, what was that about the Young Lady just now? Tell me in detail.”
Hailey’s face brightened.
“Well, it’s like this…!”
“This is strange. My ear is so itchy.”
Was someone talking bad about her?
Penelope scratched her ear hard, then hopped down from her chair.
“Are you tired, Young Lady? Should we go back?”
“No, I’m fine. I’m not tired at all. We just walked a little and ate something tasty. In a garden like this, I could play all day!”
Her energetic reply almost made Anna smile.
Anna quickly turned her head, stiffening her lips. Showing her expression now might not be wise.
Perhaps misunderstanding, Penelope drooped her brows.
“Anna? Are you tired? Should we go in?”
“No, not at all.”
“It’s okay. On hard days, you should rest. If you force yourself to work, you’ll just get worse the next day. I know.”
A memory seemed to stir, and Penelope felt a throb in her chest again.
Since Penelope kept asking with concern, Anna had no choice but to excuse herself for a while.
“I’m really fine, Young Lady.”
“Really?”
“Would it be all right if I brought some picture books from your playroom? The weather is nice, and reading in the sunlight will make you feel even better.”
Anna spoke in one breath and hurried off.
Penelope waved to her retreating figure.
“Oh? Oh, okay! Anna, be careful on your way back, all right? Watch out for stones so you don’t trip.”
As soon as she called out warmly, a sharp pain seized her chest again.
Why is this happening all of a sudden?
She pressed a hand to her chest. Her heart was beating steadily, thump-thump.
“Was it my imagination?”
But this was already the third time today.
Tilting her head, she watched Anna’s back fade into the distance. She decided she would tell Anna about the pain when she came back.
Health was important, after all!
…But then everyone would probably worry a lot, huh?
Penelope shook her head, imagining the commotion that would follow.
Anyway, everyone here is just too kind.
People could smile and still say cruel things or do bad deeds. She had seen plenty of such people in her past life.
Con artists. Swindlers.
That’s why she liked the servants of this house with their blunt expressions. What mattered was not their faces but their actions—and by her judgment, their conduct was all proper and kind.
I’ll make some flower rings while I wait for Anna.
Penelope stepped out of the gazebo and began picking small blossoms one by one. She’d already gotten permission from the gardener, so she had nothing to worry about.
By the time she had made several tiny flower rings—
“This one’s for Anna, this one’s for Hailey… I’ll give one to all the maids. They’re all such good people!”
The moment she said that, her chest tightened sharply, and her breath caught. Her knees buckled, and the flower stems slipped from her hands.
“Huh? W-wha—?”
Her vision tilted, and she felt the soft touch of grass against her face. She had collapsed onto the lawn.
What’s happening?
She couldn’t muster any strength in her limbs. Her heart throbbed painfully with every beat.
“S-someone… h-help…”
She was struggling to move when a faint voice reached her from far away.
“…pe.”
“…Penelope.”
A voice both unfamiliar and familiar.
Penelope tried to force her closing eyes open, but it was difficult.
I feel dizzy.
Her consciousness grew fainter, and the voice in her head became clearer.
And then—
“Penelope. Child from the future. If you wish to live, come to me.”
With that, Penelope’s awareness was swallowed by complete darkness.
