‘I-it should be fine, right?’
I only managed to breathe a sigh of relief after repeatedly checking the curtain’s condition.
Today’s work as a personal maid was overhauling the reception room.
I replaced everything—the curtains, the carpet, even a single flower in the vase—with new ones.
Alone.
“What kind of personal maid is like this!”
The tasks I was given were all things that made me wonder ‘is this really necessary?’, and the person who gave them would vanish suddenly and then appear like a ghost just as the work was about to finish.
And without fail, he murmured “again.”
‘Sigh……. If I were really a girl with a crush on the Grand Duke, I’d have definitely fallen out of love by now.’
Was this what the Grand Duke of Pellium was aiming for?
Making someone lose feelings even with that eerily beautiful face?
‘Then it’s a great success, Your Highness.’
I grumbled inwardly without stopping, but my hands never paused.
According to my intuition, honed by long part-time work experience, it was about time the master of the house barged in.
Click—
‘See.’
I neatly tied the curtain I was holding and quickly turned around.
Sure enough.
The Grand Duke’s red eyes, now familiar, were scanning the entire reception room.
“Hmm…….”
Now, well, I don’t even feel nervous.
He’ll probably shout ‘again’ like that again.
I obediently bowed my head and waited for the Grand Duke’s words.
“It’s fine. You may go now.”
“Yes, do it aga—”
Wait.
What did he just say?
I unconsciously raised my head and looked at the Grand Duke.
Then he said again in a nonchalant tone.
“I said there’s nothing to redo, so you may go.”
Early leaving……!
Suddenly, a halo shone behind the Grand Duke.
It wasn’t just my imagination; today his golden hair really sparkled like the’ sun.
Overwthelmed with emotion, I covered my mouth.
hearThe Grand Duke, who it had been watching, suddenly wore.
a gentle smile and spoke.
……..“What, do you want to stay with me longer?”
The halo went out.
Startled, I bowed and left the reception room.
It was faster than ever before.
Pfft, I thought I heard a deflating laugh from behind…… but let’s just pretend I didn.
“Hmmm~.”
Ah, how long has it been since I returned to the dormitory before sunset!
My steps grew light and a hum escaped me on its own.
Having been tormented by the cryptic Grand Duke these past few days, clocking out hadn’t felt like clocking out at all.
‘I still don’t understand what’s inside his head, but…….’
Still, today I felt a bit acknowledged.
Well, it’s not like I’m bad at work.
With all the part-time experience I built up in my past life.
At most part-time jobs, I was always called the ace.
I tried to hide my twitching lips and quickened my steps toward the annex.
That was when.
“Lilian—!”
Huh?
At the familiar voice, I turned my head, and someone was running toward me from over there, their maid uniform fluttering.
It was a welcome face.
“Anna!”
I smiled brightly and waved my hand.
But for some reason, Anna’s expression……?
Thud.
While I was thinking that, Anna, who had already come right up to me, grabbed my shoulders.
Then she scanned me from head to toe with her eyes.
‘W-what is it?’
Bewildered, I just blinked.
What on earth was this situation?
Whether I cared or not, having finished her own inspection, she jerked her head up.
“You!”
“H-huh?”
“Are you all right? Nothing happened, right?”
Intimidated by her combative gaze, I nodded without thinking.
Only then did Anna relax her fierce eyes.
Then she poured out a jumbled stream of words.
“No, I haven’t seen even a glimpse of you for days!
When I asked the other maids, they said you kept doing strange things!
Really, you…… why did you have to get singled out by His Highness the Grand Duke……!”
She shook my shoulders wildly and complained.
At first listen, it sounded like she was scolding Lilian, but the sincerity within was different.
‘She was worried about me.’
When I first woke in Lilian’s body, when I heard Ivy’s snide remarks, and now too.
Anna cherished ‘Lilian’ more than I had thought.
I don’t know the reason, but…….
“I’m sorry, Anna. Thank you for worrying about me.”
Having someone who worries about you is truly something to be grateful for.
Of course, this affection is probably for the original owner of the body, not me.
Thanks to that, even I, who possessed this body, was receiving help, so it was right to express my gratitude.
“Ahem! As long as nothing’s wrong, it’s fine.”
Having actually heard my answer, Anna avoided my gaze as if embarrassed.
That figure was so like a girl her age that a laugh escaped me without realizing it.
Anna’s cheeks slowly flushed.
“Ah, right!”
As if something had occurred to her, Anna changed the subject.
Then she rummaged through her apron pocket and held out a handkerchief.
“This is yours, right? I saw it yesterday—it had fallen in the back garden of the annex.”
A sky-blue handkerchief with Lilian’s name crookedly embroidered on it.
Since it was something ‘I’ had never seen before, it was probably dropped by the original owner of this body, ‘Lilian.’
I thought nothing of it and took the handkerchief.
In that moment.
‘……!!’
Buried memories flashed by like fragments.
Tremble.
Fragmentary, short memories, like pieces of a photo pieced together.
But unlike usual, Lilian’s body trembled finely.
It was an instinctive reaction etched into this body.
‘This is—’
Poison.
And a very familiar one to Lilian, at that.
* * *
I don’t know how I made it back to my room.
‘What’s wrong?’
At Anna’s puzzled voice, I finally shook my head and hid the handkerchief.
Then I dragged Anna to my room, saying I had something to give her.
‘Anna, drink this.’
‘Suddenly?’
‘……I-it’s good for your body!’
It wasn’t a lie.
Because for Anna, who might have been weakly poisoned by it, it would serve as good medicine.
‘Though just carrying it for a day doesn’t seem like it would be a deadly poison that puts your life at risk…….’
Still, you never know.
Since it poisons through the respiratory system, it could be a fatal poison for Anna, whose respiratory system is weak.
I washed even the hand that had touched the handkerchief thoroughly before sending her back.
‘It’s a relief I remembered the location of the antidote just in time.’
Among the memories that surfaced when I received the handkerchief from Anna was one about this antidote.
It seemed that coming into contact with a familiar poison had stimulated all the related memories.
‘Thanks to that, I also ended up learning what this handkerchief means.’
I put on the white gloves I used when working.
Then, I carefully took out the handkerchief from my apron pocket.
It was a bit wrinkled from being shoved in hastily earlier, but there didn’t seem to be any particular problem.
The problem was me.
“Hnngh…….”
A sigh like a sob escaped me.
Because from now on, I had to check this dangerous object.
With my own hands!
‘How did Lilian endure something like this…….’
I’d heard in my past life that I was pretty tough, but Lilian was on another level.
‘She literally drank and swallowed poison!’
In the memories, she consumed countless poisons every day.
And writhed in agony.
It looked like training to build resistance to poison, but the most horrifying fact of all was—
‘Hngh, kuh……!’
That the Lilian in the memories was so young.
She must have been about ten at most?
Of course, there were memories of her older too, but the memory of her pouring poison down with young hands was seared into my mind too vividly.
‘That means…….’
Lilian had been raised as someone’s tool from a young age.
I bit my lip without realizing it.
Having recalled memories like that, it was unavoidable.
At least, if I had any conscience.
‘Yes, let’s start by checking first.’
Having finally finished making up my mind, I strode toward the window.
And threw the window open.
