Chapter 03
The people who entered the mansion were two men wearing academy uniforms.
One was a man with long red hair falling to his waist, neatly tied to one side, and the other was a boy with short black hair.
They entered at a distance from each other.
Those must be the young masters. They’re probably brothers, but it’s strange how they don’t look alike at all.
I examined the appearances of the Leofrum young masters. One of them would be the young master I had to serve, right?
Finding the one I had to serve was easy. Their heights were drastically different. The smaller one was clearly the second young master.
I stared intently at the black-haired boy, whom I assumed to be the second young master.
If he attends the academy, that means he should be at least somewhat grown, right? But the boy had a very youthful face.
He was so short that his head didn’t even reach the first young master’s shoulder.
“…?”
The boy’s purple eyes turned toward me. Ah, was I staring too much? I missed my chance to look away and ended up locking eyes with him.
The boy frowned briefly, then immediately turned his gaze away. He looked completely uninterested in me.
He looks really ill-tempered. I was starting to regret accepting the offer to become a personal maid so readily.
“Welcome back, Odin. Lu.”
The Duke greeted them with a smile.
“Weren’t you tired on the way here?”
“I was tired.”
“Lu.”
At the boy’s blunt reply, the man standing beside him shot Lu a warning look. So the little one is Lu. Then the one next to him must be Odin.
Ignoring Odin’s cue, Lu spoke irritably to the Duke.
“I’m sticky from sweat. Can’t I go change clothes quickly?”
“Of course. You must be hungry too, so change first and then let’s go eat.”
Despite Lu’s rough attitude, the Duke spoke with a gentle smile.
“Oh, right. Boys, these are the personal maids you’ll be spending the vacation with.”
As if he’d just remembered, the Duke called out to us. Dereksha and I exchanged glances, then walked toward where the young masters were standing.
Lu didn’t even look at me. Even though he’d clearly heard we were personal maids, he showed absolutely no interest.
At least greet us. I wanted to glare at Lu resentfully, but reminding myself that he was a noble, I held it in.
“…Dereksha?”
Just as I was cursing Lu in my head, a voice came from beside me. I turned my head toward it. Odin was staring at Dereksha with shocked eyes.
What? Do they know each other?
I glanced at Dereksha. She didn’t say anything, only lowered her head deeply. She even clenched the hem of her skirt tightly with trembling hands.
“Monica.”
“Yes.”
The Duke called the head maid’s name. Monica, who was standing nearby, turned her head as if telling us to follow.
I kept looking at Dereksha in confusion. I couldn’t understand why someone who’d been so confident suddenly looked so frightened.
“Since you were assigned as personal maids suddenly right before the young masters arrived, I’ll be the one to guide you to the rooms. Starting today, main-house maid training will begin, so if you get confused about the rooms later, ask the other maids for help.”
“Yeah. I won’t get confused. Never.”
Lu replied dismissively, waving his hand.
Wow, he’s really annoying. Now I understood what Dereksha meant by telling me to keep my eyes down. I couldn’t do that anymore now that I’d become a personal maid, though.
Even though they were brothers, the difference was striking. Unlike Odin, who insisted on carrying his own luggage, Lu naturally handed all his things to me.
It was work I had to do anyway, but since Odin was so considerate, the comparison was unavoidable.
As a result, I was walking with both hands full of heavy luggage while Dereksha walked beside me empty-handed. She asked, “Want help?” but since this was something I’d have to endure anyway, I decided to toughen up early and refused her kindness.
“This is Young Master Lu’s room. Young Master Odin’s room is a bit farther—”
“Yeah, go.”
Lu cut Monica off and slipped straight into the room. I instinctively checked Monica’s expression, but she simply bowed politely toward Lu’s back as he entered.
Instead, Odin, who was standing beside us, glared ominously at Lu’s door.
“Lily, you’ll be working here for a month, so memorize the location.”
“Yes, thank you, Monica.”
After greeting the head maid, I followed Lu into the room.
As expected of a young master with a reputation for cleanliness, even though the room must have been empty until recently, there wasn’t a speck of dust.
Lu had already taken off his vest and was left wearing only his shirt. Just like Monica said, he must run hot, because he kept fanning himself with his hand.
I set the luggage down by the door and looked at Lu. When I was a detached-wing maid, I just had to clean. But what exactly does a personal maid do?
As I slowly blinked and stared at him, Lu noticed my gaze and snapped irritably.
“What are you staring at?”
Ah, yes… I forgot again about keeping my eyes down. I quietly lowered my gaze to the floor.
“Aren’t you going to bring me clothes to change into?”
How am I supposed to know where they are?
I lifted my head again and answered boldly.
“I haven’t learned that yet.”
Lu looked at me with a baffled expression. A short silence followed. He stared at me for a moment before speaking.
“…How long have you been working here?”
“One week.”
I answered, blinking. I really hadn’t learned anything, so what did he expect me to do?
I worried belatedly that he might complain to the Duke and get me fired for insubordination, but it was the Duke who’d assigned me—someone who knew nothing—to Lu in the first place. Surely I wouldn’t be fired on the first day.
And the Duke, who seemed so kind, didn’t strike me as the kind of evil employer who’d do that.
Most of all, the young master in front of me hadn’t even gone through puberty yet. No matter the difference in status, a little kid wasn’t scary.
“Why would they assign a one-week-old maid instead of all the experienced main-house maids…?”
“I’m good at my job.”
I replied to Lu’s muttering, which was almost like talking to himself. He let out a hollow laugh and stood up.
Is he going to hit me? Am I about to get hit by someone smaller than me?
Contrary to my expectations, Lu simply passed by me and went into what looked like a dressing room.
Is he going to change by himself without any attendance? Maybe because he’s lived at the academy, he’s surprisingly independent. A typical noble would’ve called another maid.
While I wasted time interpreting the ceiling patterns, Lu came out after changing.
It took a while—apparently he’d even finished bathing on his own. Bathing without any assistance at all? Are academy nobles usually like this?
Curious, I stared at Lu as he buttoned his shirt, then quietly stepped closer. Pointing at the towel placed in front of the mirror, I spoke.
“Shall I help dry your hair?”
“Yeah.”
I began drying Lu’s hair with the towel. The Duke had red hair, and both Miss Abel and Young Master Odin had red hair as well, so it was strange that Lu alone had pitch-black hair.
His eyes were also a dark violet, unlike the bright golden eyes of the rest of the family.
Come to think of it, I’ve never seen the Duchess.
With all the servants gathered to welcome the young masters back, the Duchess hadn’t shown even a strand of hair.
I’d heard in passing that unlike the sharp-featured Duke and Odin, Lu and Miss Abel—who both looked rounder and gentler—resembled the Duchess.
Everyone in the House of Leofrum was beautiful, so my curiosity about the Duchess naturally grew. Now that I’d be living in the main house, I’d probably run into her eventually, right?
“Hey, stop it. You’re going to pull all my hair out.”
Lost in thought, I must’ve moved my arms too mechanically. Lu snatched the towel from my hands irritably and threw it toward the bed.
I’m the one who’ll have to pick that up anyway, so why bother snatching it just to throw it?
“May I come in, Young Master Lu?”
“Come in.”
Monica’s voice was followed by the door opening. Dereksha stood politely behind her.
“It’s time for maid training, so I believe I’ll need to take Lily—”
“Take her.”
That habit of cutting people off is really annoying.
I bowed lightly to Lu and followed behind Monica. I was already starting to miss the detached wing.
“So, how is it?”
“I love it.”
Dereksha and I were getting ready for bed in our newly assigned main-house quarters. As she brushed her hair in front of the mirror, her bright expression showed that she truly meant it.
“Of course you do. It’s Young Master Odin.”
I’d only seen him briefly, but he’d been overflowing with kindness. I spoke almost with a sigh of envy. Dereksha froze mid-brush and looked at me in shock.
“How did you know?”
“…Know what?”
I tilted my head at the sudden question. Dereksha’s face had turned bright red.
How did I know Odin was kind? It was obvious at a glance, wasn’t it?
“How did you know I like Young Master Odin? Is it that obvious?!”
Dereksha covered her flushed face with both hands and asked me.
That’s not what I meant at all. After rolling my eyes, I decided to just gloss over the situation.
“Um… I’m just really perceptive.”
“Don’t tell anyone!”
I don’t even have anyone to tell…
I swallowed the rest of my words, not wanting to hurt myself further. Still, having a crush on someone who would one day inherit a ducal title… Dereksha’s love looked long and difficult, especially since she was a commoner.
Noticing my worried look, Dereksha smiled softly.
“I’ve just liked him quietly. I don’t even dream of it coming true. When I become an adult, I’ll meet a suitable man and get married.”
We’d only spent one day together, but this timid side of Dereksha felt unfamiliar.
What is love, anyway, that it changes people so much? I let out a small sigh.
“It’ll work out, Dekilla.”
“…You’re doing that on purpose, aren’t you?”
Reassured by Dereksha returning to her usual expression, I lay down on the bedding.
