Chapter 10
A strange sense of unease welled up inside me, and I took a step back. I didn’t know why, but seeing the cosmetics made me feel like I had to run.
Forcing a smile, I spoke to Miss Able.
“Miss… I just remembered, I have something Lord Lu asked me to do, so I should go check on it.”
“Anna. Close the door and leave.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Miss Able lightly brushed off my words. Soon, the personal maid called Anna quickly closed the door and left. Now, only Miss Able and I were left in the room.
Miss Able smiled brightly again and tapped the chair.
“Sit here, Lily!”
I looked at Miss Able and the cosmetics with blurry eyes. She even pulled out the chair herself and beckoned me to sit.
I sat down as instructed… but the makeup looked even more overwhelming up close. I marveled at how many cosmetics there were in the room of a mere ten-year-old young lady.
“…What are you going to do?”
Miss Able’s voice was full of anticipation.
“I’m going to put makeup on pretty Lily!”
“Why…?”
“Well, there’s this person named Demian~ he’s leaving today, right? It’d be nice to send him off looking pretty!”
“Why…?”
Even as we talked, my confusion only grew. I couldn’t connect why Demian leaving had anything to do with me getting makeup done.
Ah… could it be that she thinks I like Demian? After the ball, the other maids had come rushing to ask who the young master was that I had been carried around by.
Maybe Able saw that scene too; my heart fluttered nervously.
I decided to clear up the misunderstanding first and said firmly,
“I think there’s some misunderstanding. I don’t have any relationship with Demian.”
“Yes, not yet! Relationships can always change, you know.”
Miss Able giggled and began applying makeup on my face.
sigh… I didn’t know what to do… It seemed Miss Able was hoping for some ordinary love story between a maid and a young noble, and I wondered if I should tell her that Demian had been rejected by Lu yesterday.
Miss Able, still excited, continued spreading something across my face. In the mirror, my face gradually turned whiter.
My skin was already pale, but the makeup made me look almost ghostly. As the makeup grew more extreme, I cautiously spoke up.
“Miss… I think you’re applying too much…”
“I’m going to do your lips next, shh!”
“….”
I gave up and closed my eyes.
After a long while, Miss Able’s hand, which had been applying makeup continuously, paused. Was it done? Half-asleep and drowsy, I opened my eyes.
In the mirror sat a person I’d never seen before. I opened my eyes wide and stared at my reflection.
“Is… this… me…?”
I muttered a line worthy of a drama and touched my own face. Miss Able stood beside me and quietly put down the cosmetics, her face full of guilt.
“I’m still young… my hands don’t move the way I want them to.”
Miss Able muttered like an old soul and stared at the floor.
My face was a complete disaster. It was stark white, and the red lipstick was crooked, giving me a ghostly appearance. Fortunately, the eye makeup was unfinished, so it didn’t look too different from usual.
“I really thought it would turn out well… If I were just five years older, my hands would have followed properly…”
She continued mumbling, burying her hands in her face. I hadn’t expected much to begin with, so I wasn’t too shocked. I was slightly amazed that even such a pretty face could be ruined.
I thought a face this beautiful could still look nice with a mess of makeup, but apparently, one could ruin it with skill.
While I admired myself in the mirror, the door suddenly swung open.
“Hey, the book I lent you… haha.”
Lord Lu entered without permission, and as soon as our eyes met, he burst into laughter. Holding the doorknob, he bent over, chuckling.
Why did he suddenly come here?
“Don’t laugh!”
“Stop bothering the others… ah, my stomach hurts.”
Miss Able shouted, unable to tolerate it. Judging by Lu’s words, it seemed she had also done makeup for the other maids. Able must be naturally skilled.
Lu kept chuckling, then lifted his head to look at my face again, and eventually sat down, laughing hard.
“It’s nice to see you enjoying yourself.”
A young master’s happiness was just like a maid’s. I wiped under my nose with a warmed heart. Miss Able, angry, stomped and finally slapped Lu’s back.
“Lily, quickly remove the makeup!”
I shrugged.
“Why remove it after Miss Able went to all this trouble? I’ll remove it after I see Demian off.”
“You’re going to see him off looking like that?!”
Miss Able was horrified. Why was she surprised at what she caused? I nodded and passed by the still-laughing Lu.
“I need to leave now to get there on time. I’ll go ahead.”
“Hey, I’m coming too.”
Lu followed with a face full of laughter, as if he didn’t want to miss the funny sight, staring at my face all the way.
We left the room, leaving a dumbfounded Miss Able behind.
“You’re really going like that?”
“It’s fun. Demian has been gloomy since he got rejected by Lord Lu, so I thought I’d cheer him up a little.”
“Yeah, make him laugh. He kept looking at me all dreamy at the ball yesterday, it was really overwhelming.”
Even though he said he wasn’t confident about his looks, he had been staring the whole time. Poor Demian.
As we walked, we soon reached the entrance. Many had attended the ball, and the line of carriages stretched far.
I searched for Demian among the crowd.
“There he is.”
Lu immediately pointed him out. At the same time, Demian, who had been scanning the crowd, noticed us and waved. He had a luggage bag in hand, ready to board a carriage.
He handed the bag to a servant beside him and ran toward us. As he approached me, he smiled brightly and said,
“Lily! You’ve done makeup? You look beautiful!”
Was he serious?
I came to cheer him up, but he complimented me instead. I thought he was mocking me at first, but there was no trace of deceit on his face, so I accepted it sincerely.
Lu glanced subtly at me, his expression sour.
“Did your vision get affected by yesterday’s shock?”
Lu said what I wanted to say. Demian noticed Lu and his expression subtly changed. He patted Lu’s shoulder to ease the mood.
“You’ll see plenty of faces like this in social life. Forget about Emily quickly.”
“Yeah… I’m fine now…”
Though he said he was fine, his expression was still gloomy. That dreamy gaze at Lu during the ball matched this expression perfectly.
Demian, who had been depressed, seemed to make a decision and lifted his head to stand in front of Lu.
After a slight hesitation, he spoke decisively.
“Next time, I want to spend time with you, Lu, not Emily.”
Oh my, isn’t that a confession?
I watched them with intrigued eyes. Demian’s cheeks were flushed, creating a scene that could easily be misinterpreted.
After a brief silence, Lu laughed, looking at Demian.
“Alright.”
Demian’s expression brightened at Lu’s response. Unsure whether I should leave the strange pair alone, I hesitated, when suddenly Demian turned to me and opened his arms.
Not understanding, I tilted my head, and he smiled with his eyes and hugged me. I stood dumbfounded in his embrace. Beside me, his gentle voice spoke.
“Lily, let’s meet again next time. Thanks for today, it was fun.”
Even at the end, his words were kind. I smiled and hugged him back.
I stayed there until the carriage carrying Demian became just a dot in the distance. I thought it would be a brief encounter, but I’d grown attached.
Feeling unexpectedly touched, I wiped my eyes. White cuffs were smudged with makeup.
“Oh, right…”
Demian had been so calm I’d forgotten. I glanced around and felt everyone’s eyes on me. People were openly laughing at me.
“Lord, it’s embarrassing, let’s go inside quickly.”
“Good, so you know embarrassment too. I thought you were too bold to realize it.”
I didn’t usually mind the stares, but dozens of people staring right at me made me feel shy. My appearance was indeed ridiculous.
I took Lu and walked quickly into the building. Only then could I catch my breath.
“By the way, help me pack some luggage.”
Lu said suddenly, and I frowned.
“What luggage?”
“You are the personal maid, right…?”
It sounded important. I racked my brain while walking. As we neared Lu’s room, I remembered and clapped my hands.
“You’re returning to the academy tomorrow, right?”
“Wow, you remembered quickly.”
The one-month vacation had already passed. How soon we had to prepare for another farewell after just parting from Demian.
Fortunately, I wasn’t as sad as I was with Demian. After all, we’d see each other again in three months, so no need to be overly sad.
“Well… take care.”
“Isn’t that too halfhearted?”
“We’ll see each other again anyway.”
Lu gave a bewildered look at my confident reply.
“Who else would hire you as a personal maid?”
“I wouldn’t let them?”
“…Right.”
As expected. Anyone who had seen my cleaning skills once couldn’t trust another maid with the room. Lu grumbled as he opened the door. The room I cleaned that morning still shone brightly.
He glanced at me and casually spoke,
“I’ll leave at dawn tomorrow. You can come to see me off if you want.”
“Eh, dawn isn’t my working hours. The maids on duty then go see people off, right?”
Lu frowned. Looking at me incredulously, he opened his mouth.
“You really have no sense…?”
I nodded. I heard Lu’s deep sigh but ignored it and continued packing.
