Chapter: 16
The young master, who had been unable to look me in the eye the entire time, was staring straight at me now—only at that moment.
“Thank you, Young Master.”
I smiled brightly as I expressed my gratitude.
Even if it was just words, I was thankful.
I could feel that he truly cared about me.
“But I don’t want you and Madam to fight because of me. So I’ll make sure I don’t get fired!”
Still, I had to protect my job.
I tried to stand up to end the conversation, but it seemed that didn’t work—his gaze toward me grew sharp.
Sweating nervously, I sat back down.
“Y-Young Master……”
“What.”
“I haven’t even eaten yet!”
When I spoke as pitifully as I could, his tone softened slightly.
“Fine. I get it.”
Was he finally going to tell me I could leave?
My expectation was crushed in an instant.
“I’ll tell Lisa to prepare your meal as well, so wait quietly.”
“What? Young Master, wait—!”
Before I could stop him, the bell cord was already pulled.
I screamed internally.
What kind of noble young master orders the head maid to prepare a maid’s meal? It’s nice that he’s kind, but this is too much!
After hearing the whole story, Lady Lisa checked my knee and gasped.
“Oh my goodness. Your knee is terribly swollen. It must have hurt so much……”
“N-no, it’s okay! It just looks bad—it doesn’t hurt that much! I’m really fine!”
Without even looking at me, the young master snapped irritably,
“What do you mean ‘fine’?”
“Young Master, I really am fine!”
“If you say you’re fine one more time—”
“If I say it one more time, what will you do?”
“I’ll cut your pay.”
“That’s cruel!”
I work so hard—how could he threaten my wages?
A tyrant! A stingy young master!
As if he could read my thoughts, he suddenly turned and glared at me.
“You were just badmouthing me in your head, weren’t you?”
“N-no! I wasn’t! How could I dare insult you!”
“That’s the exact face of someone who got caught thinking something nasty.”
“W-what’s wrong with my face?”
What kind of face is “a face caught thinking something nasty,” anyway?
As I carefully tried to manage my expression, Lady Lisa covered her mouth and chuckled softly.
“Miss Mary, please rest until your knee heals.”
“…Yes.”
Even Lady Lisa was telling me to rest.
I replied gloomily.
On the other hand, the young master looked smug.
“I’ll attend to the young master for the time being, so Mary, go back to your room and rest well.”
The young master, who had been nodding in satisfaction, suddenly jumped in shock.
“What? Wait—why send her to her room? She can rest here.”
“How could Mary rest comfortably with you watching her? Do you want to become a cruel master who won’t even let an injured maid rest properly?”
“Well, that’s not—”
This time, the young master looked dejected.
And as for me—
“Your wages will continue to be paid during your rest, so don’t worry about that.”
Thanks to Lady Lisa’s warm consideration, I finally felt relieved.
A paid vacation just for injuring my knee a little—Hamilton servants’ benefits are amazing!
Getting paid leave was great and all, but—
“I’m bored!”
I wasn’t used to spending time doing nothing. Staying quietly in my room made me restless.
Suddenly, I remembered something I used to hear often while working at Uncle Homan’s shop.
“Mary, I told you to rest.”
“Huh? I am resting.”
“Wrapping candy isn’t resting.”
“Ah, I’m just doing this on the side. Sitting still is boring, you know? Hehe.”
“You’re a workaholic.”
“I’m not a workaholic—I’m just diligent!”
Sorry for always denying it, Uncle Homan. I think I really am a workaholic.
I can’t stand this.
Just as I stood up to at least clean the room—
Knock, knock.
There was a knock on the door.
When I opened it, soft brown hair greeted me.
“Young Master!”
Maybe because I was so bored, his visit felt more welcome than usual.
At this point, I felt like I could happily do any errand.
“Do you have something for me to do? No—wait, why didn’t you pull the bell cord and come yourself?”
“I can’t order a patient around.”
“It’s just a bruise on my knee—calling me a patient is too much! I’m really fine. I rested a bit and it doesn’t hurt at all anymore.”
“Just rest quietly. And here—put this on your injury.”
He handed me something with a curt tone.
The moment I saw the luxurious container, I knew.
“Isn’t this really expensive ointment?”
It was the same ointment Aunt Emma bought when my older brother hurt his leg after bullying a village girl and tripping on his own.
When I tried to use it for myself back then, she scolded me, saying I had no idea how expensive it was.
“It’s not that expensive, so use it generously. I was going to call a doctor, originally.”
“What?!”
“Lisa said it wasn’t necessary……”
I silently thanked Lady Lisa with all my heart.
“She’s right. Calling a doctor for something like this would be excessive.”
“……”
His lips puffed out in displeasure.
Uh-oh. He must already be sulking because things didn’t go his way. I should fix this quickly.
“But thank you. I’m really happy knowing how much you care about me.”
“…Don’t misunderstand! You need to recover so you can work again—that’s all!”
“Yes, I’ll recover quickly and return to your side.”
The moment I finished speaking, I heard his breathing grow rough.
“…You—you keep—!”
“Yes?”
“Why do you talk like that?!”
“Like what? I just meant I want to get better quickly because I miss being with you…… Don’t you miss me, Young Master?”
After days of doing nothing, I really missed the busy past when I ran around carrying out his orders.
“W-who would miss someone like you—no, I mean, you.”
I lowered my head sadly.
“I’m sorry. I was just excited because I was happy you came to see me.”
“……”
“Thank you for the ointment. I’ll apply it right away!”
As I lifted my skirt slightly to reach my knee, the young master clamped his mouth shut and quickly turned away.
The noisy room fell silent.
Not long after closing the door, I felt restless again.
Maybe I really am a workaholic—getting paid leave, yet still wanting to hurry back to his side.
Spending time alone in the quiet room felt a little… just a little lonely.
…I take that back about being lonely.
After delivering the ointment, the young master came knocking whenever he had a spare moment.
“I just came to check if you applied the medicine. N-not that you need to show me.”
He’d say he was checking my recovery, then leave without even looking at my injury.
Then—
“Eat some cake.”
Only minutes later, he returned with cake.
“And I thought you might choke if you only eat cake, so drink this too.”
Next came milk.
And eventually—
“I was feeling stuffy staying inside, so I came out for a bit and stopped by.”
At this point, he was barely even pretending.
“Young Master, how long are you going to keep coming here?!”
“I’m walking around freely in my own estate. Is there a problem?”
“No… well… yes, there is a problem!”
“What problem?”
He lifted his chin smugly, as if daring me to explain.
I spoke gently.
“If the head maid finds out you keep coming here, she might scold me later.”
“Why?”
“Um… because it might look like I’m making you do things for me.”
“You? Making me work?”
He asked in disbelief, one corner of his lips lifting.
“I mean, figuratively. And you don’t like leaving your room, right? I don’t want you forcing yourself to do something you dislike because of me.”
“It’s not forcing myself. It’s because you—”
He suddenly trailed off, hesitating.
What did I do to him?
If I pressed him, he’d probably clam up even more, so I waited quietly.
After a long moment, he turned away and muttered grumpily,
“I never said I disliked it.”
“…What?”
“Did I ever say I hated leaving my room?”
“No… you didn’t.”
Now that I thought about it, that was true. I’d just assumed it because he stayed inside all the time.
So that wasn’t it.
“I’m sorry. I misunderstood.”
“As long as you know.”
I expected to be scolded for jumping to conclusions, but he let it go without much comment.
After that, the young master continued visiting my room under all sorts of flimsy excuses.
Thanks to him knocking whenever he got the chance, my peaceful rest was ruined—but at least, I wasn’t lonely anymore.
