Chapter 008
While delivering the food, I planned to meet the Duke and ask him to allow me to work as a maid.
“Oh….”
Delphia flinched. She scratched her head as if troubled.
“Hmm. Lady Irina, that is….”
“Why not?”
An unexpected supporter for Irina appeared. It was Rio. Delphia turned in her seat and frowned.
“Hey, you!”
“Lady Irina is a guest, so he might react differently to her than to us. And is my Lord the type to harm a civilian?”
“That’s not what I meant.”
Delphia cleared her throat. Her face showed she was thinking deeply about something.
“Delphia.”
I couldn’t miss this great opportunity. Wasn’t this a chance to show my usefulness not only to Delphia and Rio, but also to the Duke?
“I can do a good job.”
“See? She says she can do a good job.”
Delphia, looking back and forth between Irina and Rio, shook her head as if giving in.
“Fine. However, Lady Irina doesn’t know the layout of the mansion yet, so I’ll go with her—”
“I’ll go.”
This time, Delphia’s words were cut off. Delphia looked at Rio, who was standing behind her, as if she were seeing a ghost.
“What’s wrong with you? You’re not the type to show kindness like this.”
“Because you’re busy.”
Rio shrugged. Then he set down the tray he was eating from and grabbed Delphia’s arms. He gripped her and lifted her up.
“Doesn’t our Lady Delphia Baraton have other things to do today?”
“Huh? What do I have?”
“What, did you forget? You said you’d process the report and submit it to the Duke by the end of the day.”
“Aaah!”
Delphia turned pale. It seemed she had completely forgotten. Rio clicked his tongue.
“Isn’t it urgent?”
“It’s urgent! It’s really urgent! That’s true, but….”
Delphia’s eyebrows knitted together. She looked at Irina, appearing worried about leaving her alone.
“Don’t worry about me.”
Irina blushed and laughed.
“Actually, I didn’t sleep well last night. I was going to ask if it was okay for me to go to my room and sleep today.”
It was a lie. As soon as I went up, I planned to clean the room perfectly until there wasn’t a speck of dust.
“Ah, well, I can’t refuse then. Please do this favor for me.”
Delphia had just been successfully deceived.
With a long sigh, Delphia shook her head.
“However, please leave the food in front of the door and come out after knocking. There is no need to go inside.”
Then would there even be a reason to bring the food? If he didn’t hear the knock clearly, the food would just get cold. Although I had doubts in my head, I nodded obediently.
“And you, stop arguing with Miss Irina!”
“When did I start an argument?”
“You say you won’t, but your personality will.”
“…….”
Rio’s face became grim as he held Delphia. Realizing this was the right moment to escape, Delphia stuffed the remaining bread from the tray into her mouth.
“Gyeong-nyeong-gyeong! (Then we’re done!)”
She fled faster than light. Rio sighed as he watched Delphia bolt out of the dining room. Then he turned and looked at Irina.
“Shall we finish eating first?”
“Oh… right, right!”
Irina answered quickly and swallowed the rest of her food. He then looked at Irina with calm eyes.
“Then, let’s go.”
“Yes.”
Irina jumped up and ran to pick up the tray set with the Duke’s meal. But Rio was a step ahead. He turned, carrying the tray lightly with his long arms.
“Let’s go now.”
“Well, I…”
“No.”
Rio left the dining room. Irina followed him with quick steps.
‘He’s fast.’
The pace was so quick that it was difficult to keep up.
“Lady Leonid.”
When Rio, who had been walking for a while, spoke, Irina was huffing behind him.
“…Why are you standing back there?”
“You’re too fast, Mr. Rio.”
“You should have said something then.”
“I didn’t even have time to open my mouth.”
“I see.”
When Irina looked at Rio, he looked away and continued walking. The two began walking down the long hallway again. This time, he seemed to match Irina’s speed, and Irina felt comfortable.
After walking like that for a while, Rio suddenly spoke.
“Do you have any questions about Count Leonid and his wife?”
“Pardon?”
Irina turned her head and looked at Rio.
“I asked if you have any questions about Lady Leonid’s parents.”
Irina lowered her head at Rio’s words. She answered hesitantly.
“No, not really….”
“I see. I was being rude.”
Rio nodded slightly and turned his gaze forward.
“Actually, in case you were curious, you could ask me. I heard the Duke wasn’t able to tell the story properly yesterday.”
“…Were they good people?”
“Yes.”
There was no hesitation in his voice.
“They were very good people. They fought until the end for the Duke and the knights of the Winifred family.”
I see, they were very good people.
Irina’s head dropped further. She bit her lower lip. The patterns carved into the marble floor became clearer.
“You don’t look well, Lady Leonid.”
“Actually.”
Irina spoke, her eyes still fixed on the floor.
“I still hate them a little.”
“What do you mean?”
Rio frowned.
“Does Lady Leonid hate her parents?”
“That’s just it.”
Irina continued her slow steps.
“My parents are good people, no matter how you look at them. I heard from Delphia this morning that they loved me, worried about me, and prepared an emergency plan when they left. Yes, the bad guy in this story is the man Delphia told me about this morning, Viscount Ventrin. A very bad man who broke his promise to my parents and abandoned me. However, even though I clearly know who the bad person is, I keep blaming my parents. Why did they have to go? Why couldn’t they just live with me? Whether there was a war or not, why did they have to fight? They should have just stayed with me. If they had, I would have grown up normally and my parents wouldn’t have died.”
Irina’s delicate voice was laced with tears.
“…Lady Leonid.”
“My parents were war heroes, and Rio is also a good person, so they must have been truly good people to you. So I shouldn’t blame them.”
Irina lowered her gaze. It seemed as if she was crying, and as the tears reached her throat, her voice became increasingly shaky.
“I still feel resentful toward them.”
How bright and precious were the things I lost because of my parents’ choice. I came here and found out—soft beds, a dust-free room, and delicious meals. Above all, I would have received love instead of pain for a long time. Instead of memories I want to erase, there would be more memories I don’t want to forget. I would have been truly happy.
“I’m very bad, aren’t I?”
Irina raised her head, smiled, and rubbed her eyes.
“I’m really bad.”
“No, My Lady is not bad.”
Irina removed her hand, which was almost pressing against her eyes again, and stared at Rio.
“Everyone would think that way.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes.”
Rio chuckled foolishly. It was the same expression Irina had just made.
“I thought so too.”
“Rio too…?”
“Yes.”
Rio nodded lightly.
“I hated my parents too. I knew why they made that choice, but I resented that choice.”
“I see….”
“So I left the palace and came to Duke Winifred’s house.”
As Rio spoke, he laughed, perhaps because he found it funny.
“My parents probably flipped out as soon as they found out I left.”
Irina blinked at that laughter. In the meantime, we reached the end of the hallway.
“This is the room the Duke uses.”
As if he had stopped laughing, Rio returned to a dull expression and pointed to a specific spot.
“Oh, yes.”
Irina quickly returned to reality. The Duke’s room is here. I have to remember that. Next time, I planned to bring him a meal myself.
“Just as Delphia said in the dining room, leave the food in front of the door and knock. After that, go—”
“Rio! Hey, Riooooooo!”
Rio’s long explanation stopped abruptly. As I turned my head to follow the urgent voice, I saw a man running from afar.
“What happened?”
Rio furrowed his brows as he looked at the man who reached him in an instant.
“Well, huff, I need you to come to the training hall immediately.”
The man wiped sweat from the tip of his chin and continued.
“Layton caused an accident again…”
“Again?”
Rio’s voice became sharper.
“Another accident after this morning’s?”
“Don’t be too angry. That guy is reflecting on his actions too. But I think you should come right away.”
“…….”
Hesitation appeared on Rio’s face. It seemed very urgent, so he had to go immediately. It would be difficult to leave Irina alone.
“It’s okay to go.”
Irina reached out and snatched the tray Rio was holding.
“After I knock, I’ll leave the food at the door and come back. That’s all, right?”
“Yes, but….”
“Don’t worry, just go!”
Irina pushed Rio’s back. Then she smiled brightly.
“I can do this too. I’ve been working at the inn for a long time.”
“…Then, please, Lady Irina.”
“Yes. Don’t worry.”
Irina tightened her grip and pushed Rio back a few more times, and he reluctantly took a step forward. Then, the man who had bowed silently toward me vanished in an instant.
“Haaaah.”
After catching her breath, Irina knocked on the Duke’s door.
Knock, knock, knock.
There was no answer. She knocked again, but it was the same.
“Maybe he’s not in the room.”
Irina tilted her head and lifted the silver dome. There was a large piece of meat in the bowl, ready to eat.
“This will go bad when it gets cold.”
Regardless of the quality of the meat, it becomes tough once it cools down. In the past, there were times I had to swallow meat I ate because I couldn’t finish chewing it. Because the meat was so tough.
‘And there is something I must say.’
Isn’t there another reason I should meet the Duke in person?
“Well, I must be brave.”
Irina took another breath and raised her voice in her own way.
“Duke, excuse me!”
She opened the door.
