“You.”
The Young Master’s eyes widened in shock. At the same moment, the door I was holding was ripped clean off its hinges. Since the Young Master’s door was twice the size of a standard one, its weight was considerable. I threw strength into my left hand to stop the door from tilting. The side I was gripping crushed inward under my fingers. Moving as carefully as possible, I leaned the door against the wall.
“Whew.”
A sigh of relief escaped me involuntarily. Fortunately, I’d managed to avoid breaking it completely. Between this and the front door, the hinges connecting the doors seemed to have grown weak, likely because the manor was so old.
“I’m so glad you’re safe, Young Master.”
“You… your hand—”
The Young Master pointed at me. I looked down to see that I was holding the doorknob, which must have come off at some point. When did this… I quickly hid it behind my back.
“I’m perfectly fine, Young Master.”
“How are you fine?”
“Because you aren’t hurt.”
“How shameless. You caused all that chaos just to avoid bumping into me?”
The Young Master gestured toward the broken door with his chin. I apologized immediately.
“I am so sorry. I will definitely fix it so it’s as good as new.”
“Do you have any idea what happens when that door is opened—ah, you said you don’t know how to read.”
The Young Master’s expressionless brow furrowed.
“Then you couldn’t have read the manual either?”
“No… the butler did give it to me, but…”
“You met the butler?”
“Yes. I ran into him at the entrance on his way out after saying goodbye to you for his retirement.”
“After sunrise?”
“No, just as it was beginning to rise.”
“…….”
“Young Master?”
“By any chance, did the butler tell you to bathe before meeting me?”
“Yes. He told me that since you are sensitive to cleanliness, I must always wash thoroughly before seeing you, such as before bringing up late-night snacks.”
“And you said there was nothing but a bathrobe in the wardrobe.”
“Yes.”
The Young Master’s jaw tightened.
“That insane bastard. What on earth is he instigating?”
“Pardon?”
“It’s nothing. It’s just been a while since I’ve seen someone break the rules the moment they arrived.”
“Did I break the rules?”
“Yes. You woke me up without permission, and you broke the manor’s property.”
At those words, my gaze froze and drifted toward the broken door.
“Is there a rule in the manual that says I’m not allowed to repair the door?”
Surely it wasn’t some master artisan’s work that made it impossible to fix with ordinary tools?
“To be precise, the instruction is: Do not move or damage the manor’s belongings.”
“Ah, if that’s the case, then thank goodn—actually, no, it’s not.”
Cold sweat beaded on my forehead as I recalled my recent actions. Sensing my suspicious behavior, the Young Master narrowed his eyes.
“Speak.”
“Yes, Young Master. As soon as I met the butler, I broke the front door; I moved a ceramic piece that I thought would make a good vase; and I moved the bathtub in the bathroom a little bit… over.”
“Impressive.”
He meant it. To break three rules upon arrival—he had no idea how many curses she might have triggered.
“I am so sorry. It wasn’t intentional. If you teach me the rules, I will follow them faithfully from now on.”
“It doesn’t look like there will be a ‘from now on’ for you.”
“Are you… going to kick me out?”
I frantically grabbed the Young Master. His hand flinched in my grip. His bloodless, pale hand was as cold as porcelain.
My Young Master has poor circulation in his hands and feet.
Suddenly, I thought of my younger sibling who had been frail.
Should I try knitting again after all this time?
I added another task to my mental to-do list and cleared my thoughts.
“I was wrong, Young Master. If you teach me anything, I’ll work really hard. I won’t be lazy. Please just don’t cast me out.”
“Get off me.”
“Young Master, please.”
“Don’t beg in that state. It makes the picture look weird.”
I suddenly looked down, realized my attire, and pulled my robe shut. Sighing, the Young Master tossed the duvet from the bed at me.
“Cover yourself.”
“Th-thank you, Young Master!”
I beamed at the Young Master’s unexpected kindness. It seemed he felt a bit sorry for me. Even pity is a form of interest. I decided to hold onto the “Young Master lifeline” as tightly as I could. I wrapped myself in the duvet until only my face was peeking out. I probably looked bizarre, like a piece of kimbap without the seaweed, but it was better than being half-naked.
“Young Master, may I start begging again now?”
The Young Master, who was about to sit on the edge of the bed, wobbled slightly.
“What on earth are you—”
Just then, a loud rumble echoed from the Young Master’s stomach.
“Are you hungry, Young Master?”
Seeing an opportunity, I jumped on it immediately.
“I’m so sorry. It’s mealtime, so of course you’d be hungry. In fact, I was worried because there weren’t any proper ingredients in the kitchen. Shall we order something delicious with the magic paper?”
I held out the magic paper and pen I had brought in my robe pocket.
“Simply unbelievable.”
The Young Master let out a hollow laugh, having seen right through my scheme to achieve my goal.
“You really want me to write it?”
“Please, help me, Young Master. At this rate, we’ll both starve to death.”
“Ha.”
As if finding the situation absurd, the Young Master took the pen and magic paper and tilted his head.
“Start calling it out.”
“Emergency request! The four best menu items from the capital’s finest restaurant! Steak cooked medium-rare!”
Lest the Young Master change his mind, I poured the words out like rapid-fire. I heard a faint snort from beside me. Looking up, I saw the Young Master covering his mouth with one hand.
“Young Master?”
“Heh—cough, cough—what?”
He was clearly trying to cover his laughter with a cough. My Young Master is quite shy. He could just laugh comfortably if he wanted to.
“If we’re going to eat, we should eat something delicious. This is my first time in the capital, so I’m really looking forward to the famous restaurants. You don’t dislike steak, do you, Young Master?”
“Meat is always right.”
“As expected of our Young Master!”
“When did we ever become a ‘we’ or ‘ours’?”
“Oh, I should have asked about the doneness first. Is medium-rare alright with you?”
The Young Master stared at me for a moment, his lips curving into a smirk.
“I’m sure there were warnings from the servants in the manual, weren’t there? Telling you not to give me bloody meat. Though an ignoramus like you couldn’t have read it.”
It was a blatant mockery. At those words, my expression stiffened as I recalled the state of the kitchen.
“Is it because you’re too sick to eat it?”
I checked to see if I had suggested a food he couldn’t digest. But the answer that came back was exactly what I expected.
“No. It’s just that people never gave it to me.”
These people, seriously! I wanted to go find Eren—who had bragged about going on a carefree train trip—and give him a piece of my mind.
“Why are you angry?”
“Of course I’m angry! They’re bad people! High-quality protein is essential for a teenager’s growth!”
“Teenager?”
“If you want to get healthy, you have to eat meat. And to think he claimed to have spent his whole life focused only on nursing you. Was that butler out of his mind?”
Seeing me more worked up than when I was explaining the kidnapping, the Young Master looked surprised.
“Well, it’s certain that he wasn’t sane.”
Fuming, I pointed at the magic paper.
“Young Master, order everything you want to eat! Let’s raid every famous restaurant in the capital while we’re at it!”
The Young Master gazed at me blankly.
“It’s not even your money.”
“W-well, that’s true… but it’s more important that you eat good food and recover your health.”
I wonder how many people actually think that way? No, do they even exist?
“I’ll work even harder to make up for the money spent. I’ll work like an ox. So from now on, eat everything you want, Young Master. Except for things that are bad for your health.”
…It seems there is at least one ignoramus.
‘Well, even this probably isn’t sincere.’
A heart that truly cares for another wasn’t something humans were capable of in the first place. Before, and even before that, servants had cared for and served him in their own ways. This ignoramus in front of him would be no different.
“Call out the rest. Including what you want to eat.”
Since today would likely be the last supper anyway, he figured he could show this much kindness to someone who would soon be dead.
