Chapter 18: Words of Gratitude
The sunlight poured in warmly.
The midday sun, shimmering like golden waves, filtered through the window, brightly illuminating the bedroom.
Inside, Deborah was busily moving about.
“For the time being, you’ll be in charge of tidying the bedding in each bedroom.”
“This is all thanks to His Grace’s consideration, so keep that gratitude deeply in your heart.”
“…”
Deborah’s hands, which had been arranging the sheets, paused for a moment.
That day, the day she made an unforgivable mistake.
Even as her thoughts froze, she had a premonition that everything was over in that moment.
Spilling food on the dress of an esteemed guest visiting the ducal estate was a grave error that could not be excused by any means.
“Has your mood improved now, ma’am?”
The situation was resolved thanks to the duke’s cool-headed intervention, but that didn’t erase the responsibility she had to bear.
The fear of punishment, or worse, being sacked and thrown out of the estate, gripped her heart tightly.
With her mind blank, wondering where she could possibly go if she left this place, the door opened with a clatter, and Mrs. Charlotte entered.
Deborah, waiting in Mrs. Charlotte’s private office, flinched and hurriedly turned her head.
As expected, it was Mrs. Charlotte, the room’s occupant, who opened the door, but strangely, she wasn’t alone.
A middle-aged man carrying a brown leather bag entered, a stranger whose profession was immediately apparent from his appearance.
With a puzzled expression, Deborah’s eyes darted as the two approached her.
“Let’s see your hand.”
Though she hesitated briefly, Deborah soon extended her hand as the doctor instructed.
As he unwrapped the makeshift bandage and examined her palm, the doctor’s brow furrowed immediately.
He clicked his tongue.
“Goodness, how foolish. This must have been quite painful.”
His scolding tone made her face flush with embarrassment.
When he poured a clear liquid from his bag onto the wound, white foam bubbled up like soap suds.
A sharp, cutting pain caused cold sweat to trickle down her forehead.
She clenched her teeth to endure it, but a faint groan escaped her lips in the end.
A moment later, as the bubbling subsided, he sprinkled white powder over the wound.
Carefully inspecting her swollen wrist, the doctor tightly wrapped it with a bandage.
“Keep the wound on your palm dry until it heals, and avoid straining the inflamed wrist for a few days.”
After completing the treatment, the doctor directed his instructions to Mrs. Charlotte rather than Deborah.
She nodded in acknowledgment and once again politely expressed her gratitude to the doctor, who had rushed over late in the evening.
“Of course, Robin helped with all his effort, but it was entirely His Grace’s consideration that rescinded the order to dismiss you and called for a doctor tonight.”
After the doctor left the room, Mrs. Charlotte turned to face Deborah. Her expression looked profoundly stern.
As she calmly laid out the matters going forward, she added that no master would show such consideration for a mere servant, especially a low-ranking maid.
Deborah could only nod silently, taking to heart the instruction to engrave gratitude in her heart.
When all was done and she returned to the attic, Hanna, who had been waiting, unleashed a lengthy, terrifying scolding.
“You’re lucky, you know that? When I heard about it, my heart…”
Hanna, stroking her chest as if she thought Deborah would be sacked on the spot, was right—it was truly fortunate.
No, upon reflection, it was almost bizarrely so.
To commit such a massive mistake and not only escape punishment but receive treatment from a visiting doctor and be excused from heavy labor for the time being?
The fear of being thrown out, which had consumed her just moments before, felt like a lie.
That night, Deborah tossed and turned for a long while without reason.
It wasn’t just because of Hannah’s snoring, which echoed repeatedly in the quiet night.
“It was entirely His Grace’s consideration that rescinded the order to dismiss you and called for a doctor tonight.”
Mrs. Charlotte’s words kept circling in her mind, making sleep impossible.
‘If I see him next time… I should thank him properly, right?’
The thought suddenly occurred to her amid her musings.
But she quickly shook her head.
Perhaps because of the poor impression she left at their first meeting, she was well aware that his gaze toward her was far from friendly.
The few chance encounters they’d had all pointed to that.
The moment she recalled his sharp eyebrows crumpling, Deborah’s expression visibly drooped.
That’s when it happened.
*Click—*
The sound of the door opening instinctively drew her head toward it.
Her golden eyes widened, and a short “Ah” escaped her lips.
“…”
“…”
The person entering the room and the one holding the bedding, frozen in place, were both so startled that neither spoke for a while.
She had heard that encounters with the master’s family in this vast estate were extremely rare, so how did they keep running into each other like this?
And so many times in such a short period.
Amid her confusion, these thoughts raced through her mind.
As if time had stopped, a suffocating silence lingered for a long while.
Surprisingly, it was Deborah who broke the silence.
“I… was tidying the bedding.”
Though no one had asked, the words came out because the situation felt so unbearably awkward.
It was as if she were preemptively explaining herself to clear any potential misunderstanding.
Yet, the other party still showed no reaction.
The silence continued.
Just as she began to wonder if he hadn’t heard her due to the distance, he suddenly moved.
Deborah flinched in panic as he quickly approached her.
Startled and stepping back, the distance between them shrank to a single step.
Deborah instinctively shut her eyes tightly.
“…”
But even after a long moment, the surroundings remained quiet.
As if all noise had vanished, a faint rustling sound tickled her ears amidst the silent stillness.
The sound of fabric brushing.
Deborah’s chocolate-colored eyelashes slowly lifted.
But what met her eyes was an empty view.
“…”
It was only natural to be puzzled when the person who had been there moments ago vanished.
Her gaze naturally shifted around the room.
Her golden eyes, slowly searching, suddenly widened as they caught something.
She might have even gasped audibly in her shock.
A bare torso stood before her.
But the surprise lasted only a moment.
Forgetting to look away, Deborah’s gaze was captivated by the sight.
A broad chest with finely sculpted muscles, sturdy, thick shoulders, and a slender waist in contrast.
Bathed in the sunlight streaming through the window, the sight was breathtaking enough to elicit admiration from anyone, regardless of gender.
It was as if a skilled artisan had created a masterpiece after countless failures and trials over time.
Had she stared too long?
The man, who had been changing his shirt, slowly turned his gaze toward her.
Clear blue eyes, like glass marbles, landed on Deborah’s dazed face.
“Aren’t you leaving?”
His slightly furrowed brow startled Deborah, who hurriedly bowed her head and turned around in a fluster.
Pressing her flushed face with the back of her hand, she took a step forward but stopped in her tracks soon after.
Her lips, hesitating as if debating whether to speak, finally moved as if she had made up her mind.
“Thank you…”
Her voice was so soft it could barely be heard by the person standing behind her.
She didn’t know when, but she had wanted to properly express her gratitude for that day if given the chance.
Not like this, with her back turned.
But given the situation, she couldn’t bring herself to face him, so this was her way of conveying her thanks.
She worried it might be taken as offensive, but fortunately, it didn’t seem to be.
Feeling a sense of relief, her heart calmed somewhat.
This time, her words carried a bit more strength.
“For calling the doctor that day…”
The wound that had kept her awake with excruciating pain was now slowly healing.
Deborah fidgeted with her bandaged wrist, continuing after a brief pause.
“And for letting me stay here… I wanted to say thank you for everything.”
As her words ended, a strange silence filled the bedroom.
She hadn’t expected any particular reaction.
He was the master of this grand estate, a noble duke.
The fact that he listened to the words of a mere housemaid without interrupting was more than enough.
Feeling lighter, she was about to take a step forward when—*bang*—the bedroom door suddenly opened.
“What, why are you walking so fast—huh?”
Robin, grumbling as he entered, widened his eyes upon seeing Deborah.
“Deborah! What are you… doing here?”
Deborah, standing awkwardly, and the duke behind her, shirtless.
Robin’s expression grew increasingly grave as he took in the strange scene.
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By Anna 💓
