Chapter 09
The ball had begun. I had been given forced leave and barred from entering the ballroom, but once the ball actually started, no one stopped me from sneaking in. Thanks to that, I was able to watch the ball while wearing my maid uniform.
Honestly, I had planned to rest in my room since I was full, but I had no choice if I wanted to bring Demian out, who would otherwise stay cooped up in the room unless I dragged him along.
“I… I can’t face Mr. Lu. I’ll just go back to the room…”
Demian clung to my back, muttering incessantly. Since Demian was completely out of it, I poured all the attention normally reserved for Lu—dressing him, fixing his hair—onto Demian.
Even while doing that, I was filled with worry because his mind was still elsewhere.
“Demian… I mean, Young Master. You came all this way with expensive money, so you should at least network a little.”
“I’m not interested in women who aren’t Emily…”
“Who said anything about getting a girlfriend? I said make friends—friends!”
I sighed deeply. I shouldn’t have dragged him out. I regretted taking Demian to the festival a few hours ago.
But no matter how annoying it was, I couldn’t just let the poor baron’s young master, who had come all this way spending so much money, leave like this.
I dragged the clinging Demian to the corner of the ballroom. If some other noble saw this, it would leave a strange impression.
“Young Master, if you keep this up, weird rumors will start.”
Sniffle…
“Snap out of it.”
“Ugh…”
“Hey, you.”
In a moment of frustration, I even committed a blasphemy, but Demian still couldn’t come to his senses. What am I supposed to do with him…? I glanced around and noticed a few maids, not nobles, giving us side glances.
I took a deep breath and placed both hands on Demian’s shoulders.
“Snap out of it, Demian.”
Startled by my sudden casual tone, Demian looked at me with wide eyes. Seeing his teary eyes made my conscience prick, but I continued.
“This is your debut social event, and the baron must have spent an entire month’s income on you. How do you think he’d feel if you act like this?”
“He’d be upset…”
“Right. He would be upset. So what should your friend Demian do? Is it right to just keep crying like this?”
“No…”
Demian stopped crying.
Thank goodness—I didn’t have to mention that Grandpa Mangtae would come get him if he kept crying.
“All right, stop crying and grab a wine glass to mingle with the nobles. The saying that ‘half the work is done if you stay still’ only applies to commoners; nobles will just trample over you if you do nothing. You know that too, Demian, right?”
“Yeah…”
“Good, that’s my friend. Go on. I can’t bear to see my friend fail. Go and make all the nobles notice your looks.”
“Lily…”
Just as I calmed him down, tears started welling up in Demian’s eyes again.
What now, why is he crying again?
“You think of me as a friend!”
Unbelievable.
I pushed the emotional Demian into the middle of the ballroom and ran off to the terrace.
I had given him courage; now it was up to him to act. I grabbed the terrace railing and let out a deep sigh.
“Where have you been? Oh, there you are.”
A very familiar face appeared as the terrace curtains were drawn aside. I hadn’t seen him for just a day, yet it felt so good to see him.
I flopped into the arms of the person who came in.
“Derixha… I’m so exhausted.”
“What did you do all morning?”
Derixha frowned at my sloppy approach but held me quietly.
“They were whispering that you wandered around hugging a nobleman, so I came looking for you. But it seems it was just nonsense.”
“Yeah, that was nonsense.”
It was just a rumor among the maids, and since Demian kept his head down, it would disappear quickly.
After stepping away from Derixha, I leaned against the railing. The night air felt so clear.
“I guess I rely on you more than I thought, Derixha.”
“Really? I don’t.”
Even that cold remark felt comforting. I lifted my head to the night sky.
The stars had taken the place of the sun, and the sky was breathtaking. It matched the ball perfectly.
“The nobles are so lucky.”
I blamed the stars for that thought. Derixha came up beside me, holding the railing, and looked at the sky too. I expected him to scold me for nonsense, but unexpectedly, he said,
“Yeah… the nobles are lucky.”
Derixha kept gazing at the sky, his eyes full of emotion.
After admiring the sky with Derixha for a while, I went back inside alone. Our brief break was over, and the maids had to return to work.
Slow music now played in the ballroom, and noble couples were facing each other, dancing.
Derixha suddenly stopped.
“Derixha?”
I looked at him with a puzzled expression. He was staring intently at one spot.
Following his gaze, I saw Young Master Odin laughing and dancing with a noble lady.
No wonder Derixha felt envious.
I grabbed his arm and pulled him away. It wasn’t just Derixha who would feel upset watching this. He quickly turned away and followed me.
We didn’t stand in the middle of the ballroom. That was another world entirely.
Leaving the gloomy Derixha to rest, I busied myself carrying stacks of empty plates back to the kitchen. The kitchen was already full of maids washing dishes and chefs cooking.
“Lily.”
While carrying freshly baked desserts to the ballroom, someone tugged at my skirt. I frowned and glanced to the side in surprise.
Miss Able stood there in a splendid dress, her expression dark.
“Is something wrong?”
“Um… did you go to the festival with Mr. Lu?”
I had come in quietly without being noticed, so how did she know?
Startled, I almost dropped the plate I was holding. I whispered just enough to be unheard by anyone nearby.
“How did you know?”
“Huh? Oh, Mr. Lu told me.”
She had gone and told everyone herself, then. I glanced at Lu, who was standing in one corner of the ballroom eating cake.
“Was it just the two of you?”
I shook my head at Miss Able’s question. No point hiding it now; Lu had already confessed first, so she wouldn’t scold me later for telling her.
“There was one more person.”
“Derixha?”
Miss Able’s expression seemed to brighten at the mention.
Why mention Derixha all of a sudden? Even though he was close to me, he wasn’t the type to sneak out of the mansion for fun. I was curious but answered anyway.
“No, it was Mr. Demian.”
“Who?”
“Demian Olivier, the young master of the baronial family in the eastern territory. He wanted to see the festival, so we went together.”
Miss Able made a subtle expression at the unfamiliar name. I thought it would be good if the two of them at least got acquainted.
I looked for Demian to introduce them, but he was already surrounded by noble ladies, looking flustered.
Good job, kid.
“Why? Is something wrong?”
It was the same expression Miss Able had worn when she saw me on the first day.
She had acted cheerful since then, but now with that same worried look, I felt concerned.
However, she waved her hand with a smile.
“No! Nothing. But you must be tired, right? Want to run away with me?”
Why do these siblings like running away so much? I was grateful for her concern but shook my head.
“No, if I leave, the other maids will have it harder. You should go play with your friends too.”
“I want to be with you, Lily…”
Miss Able hugged me and looked up pitifully. Her gentle eyes were so much like Lu’s that I wondered if this was how he would have looked younger.
I softened and gave a helpless smile. Even though it was my leave period, leaving now felt awkward.
“Sorry. I’ll play as much as you want tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow?”
Her suddenly bright face brought a wave of worry.
“Really? I can do whatever I want?”
“Uh… what kind of things?”
“Secret!”
Miss Able giggled and ran off to the other side. I felt relieved seeing her cheerful again, though I worried what she might do.
But seeing her bright smile actually put me at ease.
Surely, she wouldn’t do anything strange.
“Ugh…”
“Ahh…”
“I feel like I’m dying…”
The maids trudging past like a horde of zombies groaned endlessly. Poor things. They were probably the same ones washing dishes at the ball yesterday; standing all day and moving only their arms would make their muscles ache terribly.
“Seeing everyone this exhausted makes me feel the same. It was like this the day after the training camp too.”
Watching the staggered maids brought back memories from my past life, and I laughed.
I expected them to ask about the training camp, but no one said anything, so I glanced at Derixha. He was staring off into space, completely lost in thought.
“Hmph.”
“Ah!”
I clapped my hands right in front of him to help him snap out of it. Derixha jumped in shock and glared at me as if to kill me.
“Why have you been spacing out since yesterday?”
“Just…”
Derixha yawned and rubbed his neck. He had been dazed since the ball ended. Specifically, since seeing Young Master Odin dance with a noble lady.
He must have been too distracted to sleep well.
“Oh, Lily. Miss Able was looking for you.”
“Me?”
A maid filling a vase with water stopped me and pointed at my face.
“Yes. Miss Able said to tell you to come to her room.”
“Hm… okay, thanks.”
It must have been about yesterday. I had taken dazed Derixha to the kitchen and then headed to Miss Able’s room.
Her room was next to Lu’s, so it was easy to find.
“Miss, I came because you called—”
The moment I entered, her personal maid stopped me, and I froze in place.
“You’re here?”
Behind Miss Able’s bright voice, countless cosmetics were displayed neatly on her vanity.
