Chapter 8
“Then I will taste it first. Most poisons don’t work on me anyway.”
Theodore gave up speaking and nodded with a hollow expression. Claire promptly sat down on the chair opposite him and picked up a fork.
It does look delicious, honestly.
While she debated what to try first—or rather, what to “test”—Theodore quietly studied the back of her hand holding the fork.
Seeing her hands covered in scars left him with a strange feeling.
He was about to speak carefully to Claire when—
“Ghk!”
Claire, who had just put a piece of salmon into her mouth, suddenly froze mid-motion.
“What’s wrong?! Don’t tell me it’s poisoned?!”
Theodore’s face went pale at her sudden reaction. He jumped up in panic, about to rush toward her, but Claire quickly held out her palm to stop him.
“Claire?”
“It’s delicious.”
“…What?”
“It’s extremely delicious.”
Claire’s eyes sparkled as she chewed the salmon.
Theodore stared at her in disbelief. But Claire, already completely absorbed in the taste, seemed half out of her mind.
“Have you never eaten salmon before?”
“No. There weren’t any rivers near where I lived that had fish like this.”
It was a heavenly taste imprinted in the genes of a bear.
As a quarter-blood, she couldn’t fully transform into a beast, but she barely restrained the urge for animal ears to pop out on her head.
I absolutely cannot let anyone find out I’m a beastkin here.
Claire, intoxicated by the crispy, oily fish, looked more excited than she had since arriving at the estate.
Her lips curled up in satisfaction, her eyes softened, and Theodore struggled to suppress a laugh without realizing it.
“Hmm. Then you can finish it all.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. I wasn’t planning to eat fish today anyway.”
A windfall.
Claire’s mood improved instantly at the unexpected generosity.
All that hard work as a diligent maid paid off.
Once she stopped working as a maid, she decided she would eat nothing but this salmon until she went into winter hibernation.
Completely focused on the salmon, Claire didn’t even notice that Theodore had called her by her first name for the first time.
She happily finished her meal, savoring the crispy salmon skin.
Salmon. It was really delicious.
While putting on her sleepwear, Claire recalled the taste.
Savory yet rich with buttery flavor, the flesh bursting with umami, and the crisp skin packed with concentrated richness. Barely holding back her saliva, she lay down on the bed.
A small room containing only a worn wooden wardrobe, a bed, and a tiny nightstand.
It was far more modest than the servants’ quarters, but Claire actually liked this isolated little room away from the others.
“No one can see me here. It’s so comfortable.”
She let out a lazy yawn and buried her face in the pillow.
Just then—
You… are the new maid assigned to my brother?
As her consciousness drifted, Isabella’s sharp voice suddenly echoed in her mind.
A small girl limping down the corridor in shoes that didn’t fit her feet. Claire suddenly sat up.
“Are they feeding her properly over there?”
A rational concern filled her thoughts.
The count’s household was the kind of place that would even starve the heir, Theodore, out of petty revenge for a garden incident. Would such a cold place properly feed Isabella?
There’s no way they would.
An image flashed in her mind of a small red-furred raccoon cub collapsing from hunger. Their first meeting had been unpleasant, but after Claire treated her injured foot, she remembered the girl’s flushed, youthful face.
“…This is bothering me.”
She had planned to leave this estate at the beginning of winter. So she tried not to grow attached to anything she couldn’t take responsibility for.
But the faint blue eyes so similar to Theodore’s kept lingering in her mind.
First: always honor contracts. Trust is everything.
Claire recalled Angela’s first rule of proper service: her contract was to “serve Theodore Voltier without causing him discomfort.”
Without discomfort… then wouldn’t neglecting his sister also count as discomfort?
Would Theodore, who seemed as emotionally fragile as he was physically frail, really want his little sister starving somewhere?
If I want to be a proper maid, there’s no helping it. I’ll just check on the young lady tomorrow.
Having made up her mind, Claire lay back down and went to sleep.
“I’ll be going now.”
After finishing her walk in the garden with Theodore and confirming that he had gone to rest, Claire quietly slipped out of his bedroom.
Normally she would have returned to her room and waited until he woke up, but she had something to do today, so she moved quickly.
I wonder if the young lady has eaten lunch.
Isabella’s room was on the third floor of the annex, not the main building where Theodore stayed.
If Claire, a maid assigned to Theodore in the main building, were caught entering the annex, the head butler and head maid would not let her off easily.
That is, if she got caught.
“Then I’ll just go through the window.”
Avoiding the servants’ eyes, Claire approached the annex and carefully examined its structure.
Unlike the main building, which was open and surrounded by flowerbeds, the annex had a more traditional, dignified atmosphere with tall old trees surrounding it. The large trees provided plenty of cover, making it easy to slip in unnoticed.
That tree… perfect height.
She looked up at one of the large trees closest to the annex wall. The distance between the tree and the terrace was about six meters.
A perfect distance for her to jump.
Climbing the tree with ease, Claire concealed herself among the dense leaves and observed the interior.
The room with the terrace she had chosen appeared to be an unused reception room.
Lucky.
Pushing off from the tree, Claire landed lightly on the terrace. Despite the distance, her landing made no sound.
Inside, she moved silently into the third-floor corridor of the annex.
All she had to do now was find Isabella and confirm she was safe.
But which room is hers?
Claire tilted her head in thought.
Unlike Theodore’s room, which could be identified by its distinct design and color, all the doors on the third floor of the annex looked identical.
I can’t open them one by one…
She considered returning to the terrace to listen for clues when—
“Do you understand?!”
A sharp, harsh voice rang out from inside one of the rooms. Heavy footsteps followed, as if someone was about to storm out.
Startled, Claire quickly slipped back into the reception room and peeked through a crack in the door.
“Young ladies must be able to do even this much without difficulty. Otherwise, you’ll be treated as half-wits. And one half-wit in this family is more than enough!”
Bang—!
The door swung open violently, and a middle-aged woman stepped out. Unable to hide her irritation, she stomped loudly down the corridor and descended the stairs.
Who is that?
Claire had never seen her in the main building. As she tracked the woman with her eyes, she suddenly sensed another presence in the corridor.
She carefully opened the reception door just enough to see—
Isabella stood there.
Her face was completely distorted.
The young lady.
Her face, red like her hair, was filled with frustration and sorrow.
Holding her skirt tightly, she stood frozen, eyes wide open as if trying desperately not to cry.
The sight was so pitiful that Claire unconsciously burst out of the room and stepped into the corridor.
“Are you alright, young lady?”
“Y-you, you you!”
Startled by Claire’s sudden appearance, Isabella quickly regained her composure and rubbed her eyes harshly with her sleeve.
The fragile expression from moments ago was gone. Now she glared sharply, scowling.
“What are you doing here?! You’re my brother’s maid!”
Her tone was fierce, but to Claire it sounded like the threat of a small raccoon cub. No—after seeing her tears, she actually seemed even less threatening.
Claire sighed briefly and knelt down to meet Isabella’s eye level. Startled, Isabella stepped back, then immediately thrust her chin forward again as if to prove she wasn’t scared.
Ignoring it, Claire spoke.
“Have you eaten, young lady?”
“…What?”
“Lunch. Did you eat it?”
Beastkin bears had far more sensitive senses than humans.
Even though only a short time had passed since lunchtime, Claire had already noticed that Isabella’s body carried almost no scent of food.
Especially compared to the servant who had just passed by, who clearly smelled of a full meal.
“It’s none of your business.”
Isabella’s reply came cold and sharp.
Then she frowned even deeper, as if annoyed at herself for even answering.
