Chapter 12 …
Leana had fallen asleep, exhausted from the journey. Elena checked on the child one more time before stepping out of the room. Madam Greta told her that she had already finished speaking with Hazel and had prepared a new room for Elena.
Elena and Leana now had a room of their own.
Hazel had also said she would take a short rest and had gone to sleep. Elena took a moment to整理the situation in her head.
Maxim was a prince.
And Maxim had asked Hazel to find Elena a suitable position as a governess. But without telling Maxim, Hazel had brought Elena and Leana here instead.
For Maxim, this was like a bolt from the blue.
Unable to contain her anxiety, Elena shot up from her seat.
Madam Greta was waiting for her outside the room.
“Ah! Madam Greta…!”
Hazel had been very insistent that Greta keep an eye on Elena, and now Elena understood why.
“Where are you going?”
“I—I want to speak to Maxim. Do you know where he is right now?”
“Oh, he should be in his office around this time. Shall I take you to him?”
Greta replied cheerfully. Hazel had called her “a proper young lady, unlike most these days,” and Elena could see why. Her clear, shining eyes sparkled with pure sincerity.
“I’d appreciate that, Madam Greta.”
“Follow me.”
As Elena walked, not even the usual sound of shoes scraping against the floor could be heard—only the soft rustling of her dress filled the hallway.
And it wasn’t just that.
Her upright posture, the proper way she knocked on the door—everything about her was composed. Greta smiled warmly.
“Who is it?”
“It’s me, Elena.”
“…Come in.”
Greta opened the door for the hesitant Elena and gave her a gentle push on the back.
“He won’t bite. He may not look it, but he has a kind side. He’s good and quite soft-hearted too.”
Where exactly? Elena wanted to ask but held back. The door closed behind her.
“Have a seat.”
Maxim was already sitting on the sofa and gestured to the seat across from him. Elena swallowed nervously and sat down.
“What is it?”
“Um… I thought I should come and apologize for my rudeness.”
Elena summoned all her courage. A pretty blush spread across her pale face. She swallowed again. These were words she had rehearsed countless times while walking down the hallway.
Don’t mess this up.
She couldn’t afford to make things worse.
“First, I want to apologize for the disrespect I’ve shown you, Your Highness. Even though I didn’t know your status, I shouldn’t have behaved so informally…”
“That’s enough. Just call me Maxim, like before,” Maxim said with a frown.
[Your Highness…!]
That was the title someone had persistently used with him, a word that only triggered anger and headaches in Maxim. Elena flinched.
“C-call you Maxim?”
“Yes. That’s all. Or Duke… No. Just Maxim.”
Calling him “Your Grace” now would be even more awkward. Elena nodded calmly.
“All right, Maxim. I’ll do as you wish.”
She almost remarked that she wouldn’t have made that mistake if he’d told her earlier, but she held her tongue. He’d already been through a lot because of her—there was no need to add more.
“And I’m sorry for showing up here so suddenly today.”
Maxim tilted his head slightly. Elena was apologizing for something even Hazel hadn’t bothered to. In truth, it was Hazel who should have been apologizing today.
Hazel knew how to reach him but didn’t.
It was Hazel who brought someone who knew nothing into his house.
It was Hazel again who, because of that ridiculous superstition, attached Elena to him.
All of it was thanks to the illustrious and precious daughter of the Emperor—so why was Elena apologizing?
Maxim clicked his tongue.
“There’s no need to apologize for that. Actually, you don’t need to apologize for the earlier thing either.”
“But…”
“It was my aunt who caused all this, not you. So you don’t need to say sorry.”
“Then… may I at least thank you?”
Elena’s eyes widened. If she couldn’t apologize, then—
“I want to thank you for accepting us here, for allowing us to stay under the same roof… and for saving us several times. And also for delivering my message to Madam Hazel.”
“…You have a lot to be thankful for.”
It felt like he was hearing a year’s worth of gratitude all at once. For someone as indifferent and cold as Maxim, doing things for others was rare. His ideal way of life was to avoid causing trouble to anyone and to keep others from troubling him.
“But I truly mean it,” Elena said with a bright smile.
“Maxim, you’re a really good person.”
Anyone else hearing that would have fallen over in shock.
Maxim stared at her with a peculiar look. What did she even know about him to call him a good person? Seeing her innocent, radiant smile made him slightly uneasy.
With that kind of naïveté, how will she survive in Andres?
Honestly, Maxim didn’t think he deserved any thanks. He provided a place, yes—but Hazel would handle all the financial matters. By now, she was probably clutching her head and drafting a letter to Lebunto.
Lending Hazel money wasn’t a problem. He was just being a little petty.
And yet, seeing Elena apologize like this softened him somehow. She had an easy smile, and there was something blank and pure about her, like a clean white canvas. It was hard to hold any animosity toward someone like that.
“Come to think of it… I never asked the basics. How have you been?”
How have I been?
“Of course, I’ve—”
been fine, he was about to say when his lips pressed shut. He remembered Camellia, who had come not long ago to curse him. She’d told him never to be happy—that misfortune suited him.
If her words were true, then he shouldn’t have been doing well at all.
Maxim fell silent.
Fortunately, Elena didn’t notice and continued to chatter brightly.
“I’ve been doing okay too. It was scary and frightening when I thought about running away from home… but thanks to my courage, I’m here now. I just have this feeling that everything will work out somehow.”
“…”
“Maybe it’s because I’ve met so many good people. Maxim, I think it was such a stroke of luck that I met you on the Kress Bridge.”
“…I’m glad to hear that.”
To hear someone call meeting him “luck” was… strange. Elena and Camellia were such complete opposites.
Maxim let out a quiet sigh.
“What will you do with the money once you start working as a governess?” he asked, changing the subject.
“The first thing I want to do is find the best doctor. Leana is very sick, and the medicine hasn’t helped much,” Elena said with a sorrowful expression.
“I want to take her to a good doctor. If she could get better, that would be wonderful.”
“…And besides that, why else are you working?”
“Well, I’d like to get a small house for Leana and me. It doesn’t have to be big—just warm and cozy, and not leaking when it rains.”
Elena’s dreams were small and modest.
“I heard Andres pays governesses well. Maybe I can achieve that dream sooner than I thought.”
“And after that? What do you plan to do then?”
“Hmm… I haven’t thought that far ahead. Maybe I’ll study…?”
Elena tilted her head.
“My life’s been too overwhelming to think that far into the future. When I do come up with something, I’ll let you know.”
“…I’ll support your dreams.”
By then, maybe Hazel would also stop indulging in her wild fantasies. Elena continued to talk about various things before leaving. Maxim hadn’t expected her to be so talkative.
Feeling oddly tired, he leaned back into the sofa.
His body felt heavy, like a soaked cotton ball. Elena was utterly different from the noble ladies he’d dealt with until now. She was graceful like a deer, pure as snow, and upright as if taken straight from a moral textbook.
And on top of that, she was brave. She had said herself that if she hadn’t been, she wouldn’t have come to find him that day.
…A good person, huh.
Was he really a good person? He thought of the woman who had hurled curses at his back. Why had she hated him so much?
Hated him enough to say it to his face.
Maxim bit the tip of his tongue.
