“Young Master, I am terribly sorry, but would it be alright if I speak from outside the door?”
As I made my cautious request, an immediate sense of discomfort radiated from inside the room.
“How insolent. You are a mere maid, yet you dare to defy your master’s orders?”
“I apologize, Young Master. I truly wish to greet you face-to-face as well. However, my current appearance is so unseemly that I fear I would cause you great offense. That is why I am imploring you.”
I flopped down and knelt before the door.
“I am sincerely sorry that I can only offer my greetings this way. I will remain kneeling on the floor in reflection while you speak.”
Having encountered all walks of life during my month at the Lord’s castle, I knew that powerful people—regardless of how much power they actually held—loathed having their authority undermined. If such a thing happened out of necessity, the only answer was to prostrate oneself and apologize. If I tried to save face for no reason, I’d likely be whipped for high treason.
Besides, if this was a Young Master from a noble family who was too sickly to even leave the house, how sensitive must his temperament be?
“And if I insist on seeing your face right this instant?”
What should I do?
“I could perhaps show just my face through a crack in the door… should we try that?”
“Are you mocking me?”
“No, I am entirely serious.”
I had tried to convey that I wasn’t joking, but my voice came out far too firm. I scrambled to make an excuse.
“Young Master, I look so wretched right now that I am truly sorry to even think of showing myself to you. I really have no other choice.”
“Ha! Just how wretched is it? Unless you’ve rolled in a field of dung or are standing there naked, know that there will be no forgiveness.”
“H-how did you know?”
“What?”
For a moment, the Young Master, who had been mocking me from behind the closed door, sounded a bit flustered.
“You rolled in a field of dung?”
“No, the second one.”
“…….”
“Young Master?”
“Are you… a man?”
“No.”
“And yet you say it’s the second one?”
“Yes.”
“…….”
The Young Master seemed at a loss for words. I waited patiently for his voice to return.
“Why did you come to wake me looking like that?”
Oh, boy. I spoke up quickly before he could develop any further, more serious misunderstandings.
“After arriving at the manor, my appearance was so filthy that I washed up before seeing you… but the only thing I had to change into was a bathrobe.”
As I mentioned the “bathrobe” in a tiny, crawling voice, I heard a creak from inside the room. it sounded like a bed frame groaning.
“What happened to your luggage?”
“I didn’t bring any luggage.”
“I find that hard to believe. Did you not hear that once you set foot in this manor, you cannot leave?”
Even people who have completely cut themselves off from the world usually have one or two items they are attached to. Even when going to a prison-like place where exit is impossible, no one comes without a single cherished possession.
I realized what part the Young Master was suspicious of.
‘He’s angry, but he’s still listening to my story.’
I was grateful just for the fact that we were communicating. Therefore, this was the most important moment.
‘I have to explain the situation honestly, without exaggeration.’
I calmed my breathing.
“I was nearly kidnapped before coming to the manor, and the carriage from the capital arrived immediately after the culprit was caught.”
I explained the events at the estate in as much detail as possible.
“—And so, I arrived at the manor just as the sun was rising today. Given the circumstances, I didn’t have the luxury of packing any bags.”
The Young Master, who had been listening quietly to my story, spoke up with a hint of interest.
“You’re quite the storyteller.”
“Thank you for listening to the end.”
“So you rushed here without even seeing the butler and his son meet their ends.”
“Pardon?”
“I understand the situation. But why did you seek me out in that state? You could have used the magic paper to have clothes delivered first.”
“I am an ignorant girl from a background of country serfs, so I do not know how to read or write.”
“Not at all?”
“Well… I can only read and write my own name.”
The Young Master was silent for a long time before venting a mysterious rage toward someone.
“Do these bastards think I’m some kind of philanthropist? They threw a nineteen-year-old child who knows nothing but her own name into the maw?”
Suddenly, a loud thud—the sound of something breaking—rang out from inside the room.
“Young Master, are you alright?!”
I tried to scramble up in a hurry, but my legs had gone numb, and I collapsed back down.
“Ah, ugh.”
Whether the sound of my stumbling was too clear, the Young Master let out a sigh.
“You… did you perhaps come here to ask me to teach you how to read?”
“W-will you teach me? If you do, I will study very hard!”
“You didn’t come here to ask me to write the delivery list for you, did you?”
“How did you know?!”
“…….”
“Young Master?”
After a long silence, a cold voice returned.
“Get out.”
“Young Master….”
“Do not make me say it twice.”
He seemed very angry. From his perspective, it was an understandable reaction, so I couldn’t make any more excuses. If anything, I was just grateful that the conversation ended safely without escalating to something extreme like a whipping.
‘I’ll greet him again once his temper cools down.’
“I understand. I shall take my leave now, Young Master.”
After finishing my greeting, I tried to stand up, but I flopped right back down. This wasn’t good. I tried to put strength into my legs again.
I failed.
Beyond just being numb, the legs I had been kneeling on were now stinging. I pounded my fist against the soles of my feet to stop the cramps. Tears pricked my eyes, but I couldn’t very well scream in pain here.
“Ugh…”
I swallowed my groans with all my might. Just as I was pounding my feet even faster with my fists, the door in front of me swung wide open.
Surprised, I looked up. Standing behind the half-opened door was the Young Master.
The boy, with an angelic face, had brilliant blonde hair and eyes as blue as the sea. As I had guessed from his youthful voice, he appeared to be around fourteen or fifteen years old.
He was so beautiful. So—
The Young Master. This person is my Young Master. My master. My everything.
The moment I saw him, it felt as if every single cell in my body was telling me to serve this person.
‘Wait, why did I think that?’
I quickly shook my head.
“It really is a bathrobe.”
Did he want to verify if my words were true? Dressed in a light shirt, the Young Master spoke in a pale, expressionless voice. However, a hint of embarrassment that he couldn’t quite hide lingered at the end of his words.
I thought about how I must look in his eyes and forced strength into my legs. It was a superhuman power that made me forget the pain.
“I am sorry, Young Master! I will quickly, quickly disappear—”
My shout of pure embarrassment didn’t make it to the end. In an instant, my legs, which were wobbling like a newborn animal, lost their balance.
As the Young Master’s figure grew closer, I squeezed my eyes shut.
‘No, get a grip!’
I imagined what a lethal weapon my body weight would become in a collision with a patient. It would be a disaster if we collided and fell, and the Young Master hit his head.
Snapping my eyes open, I put every ounce of strength I had into my big toes and pulled my upper body back. Simultaneously, my body—its center of gravity shifting rapidly—spun about half a turn and headed straight for the half-open door.
I reached out like a hawk snatching its prey.
Thud! My shoulder hit the heavy door, and my hands, which had been flailing in the air, grabbed the doorknob and the side of the open door respectively. Using my barely functioning legs as supports, I fortunately managed to avoid an unsightly fall.
“T-thank goodness… Thank goodness, Young Master. You aren’t hurt, are you?”
When I turned my head, I saw the Young Master’s arm stretched out, as if he had tried to catch me as I fell. Though his words were prickly, he was a kind-hearted person.
Just as a wave of emotion washed over me…
Creeeeeak—!
A somehow familiar sound reached my ears.
