Chapter 11
“Come quickly!”
The maid walking ahead turned back and urged Roze to hurry. Roze struggled to follow behind her and apologized.
“I’m sorry… I’m not feeling very well…”
“That’s none of my concern, is it? Just hurry up.”
The maid cut Roze off mid-sentence and responded coldly. Then, as if she didn’t care whether Roze followed her or not, she strode ahead with loud, stomping footsteps that echoed down the hall—her irritation clear.
“Why do I have to do this kind of thing? Escorting some woman who’s not even a noble to her room. So what if she got lucky and saved the young lady?”
Her voice echoed down the hallway, as if she intended for Roze to hear every word. But Roze showed no reaction to her words. She didn’t seem hurt or embarrassed by them.
In fact, Roze was holding back the overwhelming emotions surging within her. Just being allowed to stay near Flitta—her own child—was enough to leave her breathless with gratitude. She had no space left in her heart to be offended.
It was then that the annoyed maid came to a stop.
“This is the room you’ll be using.”
She jerked her chin toward the door. Roze’s eyes followed the gesture toward the indicated room. At the same time, the maid’s voice rang out again.
“There should be a maid uniform inside. Get changed and wait here.”
“Um, before I change, I was hoping to wash up first…”
Roze glanced at the maid while speaking. Since she had fallen into the lake, a faint fishy smell lingered on her body. The maid seemed to notice too—she wrinkled her nose and grumbled with a sigh.
“You sure are demanding. Think you’re someone special or something…”
The maid gave Roze a sidelong glance, then pointed to the stairs next to the room.
“Go down those stairs and outside the building. And don’t think you have time to take your sweet time washing up. Rinse off quickly, come back, change clothes, and wait. The head maid will be here soon.”
“Thank y—”
Roze tried to thank her despite the harsh tone, but the maid turned her back as if she had no interest in hearing it. Roze watched her retreating figure for a moment, then gave a faint, bitter smile and opened the door.
“Ahem. Cough.”
As soon as the door opened, Roze instinctively coughed. A thick layer of dust had been disturbed and filled the air.
She covered her mouth with her hand and walked over to the window to let in some air. But opening it wasn’t as easy as she’d hoped. The latch was badly rusted, as if no one had used it in years.
“Ugh…”
She gritted her teeth and struggled with the lock, but soon gave up and sat down on the bed, gasping for air before letting out a dry laugh.
“All this… just from trying to open a window…”
It was absurd. Anyone watching might rethink hiring her as a maid after seeing this. She couldn’t even open a window without getting winded.
No—technically, she hadn’t even managed to open it.
“…Maybe I should find an apothecary.”
She didn’t have enough money left to see a proper healer. Not that a healer could cure her illness anyway.
Still, it seemed wiser to at least find an apothecary—someone who could mix up a tonic to help with her strength. Even if it couldn’t cure her, something to restore her stamina might help her survive.
“Otherwise… at this rate, I’ll get kicked out in no time.”
Roze steadied her breathing and muttered to herself.
If there was one thing she wished for right now, it was this—just to stay near her child, near him, for a little while longer.
She used to think it would be enough just to see them from afar, but now that she had the chance to stay close to the ones she loved, desire had begun to bloom.
The desire to be with them just a little longer.
“…”
Roze raised her eyes and looked out the window. She could see the servants hurrying about. Everyone seemed busy preparing for the memorial ceremony. Of course, since she wasn’t officially a servant of this estate but a maid assigned to the Grand Duke’s household, she didn’t have any duties here.
“Still, I shouldn’t just sit here like this.”
People already disliked her and viewed her as an outsider. The last thing she needed was to give the impression that she was lazy, too.
She shook her head and stood up. A maid uniform was hanging from a hook beside the bed.
‘First, I need to wash up.’
Murmuring her to-do list to herself, Roze picked up a towel and stepped outside.
The staircase the maid had shown her seemed rarely used. On her way out of the building, she didn’t encounter a single person. It seemed her room was located in one of the most remote parts of the building.
But Roze didn’t mind. It was only temporary—just until the end of the memorial ceremony.
‘No, even if it were worse than this, I’d be fine.’
If she could stay near the man and child she loved, she could sleep on a pile of hay in a stable. Even if she had to lie on a hard road, she would do it gladly.
…She was ready to endure anything.
“No matter how great her contribution was in saving the young lady, isn’t it a bit much to entrust someone with an unknown background to care for her? I’m starting to think His Grace is being too careless.”
The nanny fanned herself briskly as she spoke with displeasure. But the head maid didn’t agree. Instead, she remained silent for a moment before speaking slowly.
“Well. His Grace made this decision. Neither you nor I are in any position to oppose his will. It is only proper to obey. Especially after such an unfortunate incident… We’ve lost the right to even face him.”
“Ah, of course! I wasn’t trying to question His Grace’s decision. It’s just…”
The nanny bit her lip nervously and trailed off. The head maid lifted a teacup and took a sip before frowning slightly at the nanny.
‘You failed to keep the young lady safe. You should be keeping quiet…’
Suppressing a sarcastic snort, the head maid looked away.
It was still hard to believe. She shook her head, recalling the news she had heard upon arriving at the royal cemetery.
The young lady had fallen into the lake while wandering alone.
There were plenty of servants assigned to care for the young lady and His Grace. How had no one noticed a small child leaving the building and approaching a deep lake?
As the head maid of the Grand Duke’s household, she had always taken pride in her strictness. She expected the same from the other staff. But this—this was a disgrace.
Because of one ridiculous mistake, they had almost lost the only blood heir of the Grand Duke.
‘I should’ve come earlier.’
She clicked her tongue, frowning again. She had arrived late because she’d stayed behind to assign tasks to the remaining servants at the mansion—necessary, since there was no lady of the house to handle such matters.
Still, regret gnawed at her. Just then, there was a knock at the door. The nanny turned toward the sound.
“It must be that maid.”
The head maid spoke calmly. The nanny glanced at her in confusion but quickly caught her meaning and widened her eyes.
“I figured I should check her out myself. If it turns out to be unacceptable, I’ll have to report it to His Grace. Come in.”
The head maid added, then called out to the person waiting outside the door.
The gazes directed at her were icy cold. Roze quietly folded her hands and lowered her eyes. After a moment, one of the women studying her from head to toe spoke up.
“You said your name is Roze?”
“Yes.”
“And you’re… from where? Oh, wait. Says here you don’t know. An orphan with no known origin, wandering from place to place… Tsk.”
The head maid clicked her tongue as she scanned Roze’s file. It was a loud, pointed sound—she clearly disapproved.
The same went for the woman beside her, the nanny. She picked up the document the head maid had set down and gave a dry chuckle.
“She’s an orphan with unknown origins, and we’re going to assign her to the young lady’s care? Absolutely not. Head maid, I strongly suggest you reconsider and speak to His Grace.”
“…Hmm.”
“You said yourself you’d bring it up if necessary.”
The nanny pushed insistently. Roze, who had been standing silently, flinched and raised her head in alarm. Her green eyes trembled with unease.
‘Am I… going to be kicked out? Will I be unable to stay by Flitta’s side?’
