Chapter 17

Chapter 17

For reference, I was told that the fourth floor of the main building was a private area exclusively used by the direct family of the Decarean household.

‘It seems they truly accepted Mother and me as members of the Decarean family.’

I thought as I looked around the room that had been assigned to me.

My room, which overlooked a backyard in full bloom, was brightly decorated, but it did not look like a child’s room.

That was because all the furniture, including the bed and desk, had been designed for adults.

“My name is Dorothy Sika.”

The maid who had been taking such good care of me since we were in the dining room earlier formally introduced herself.

“Starting today, I will be your personal maid, Young Lady. I will work hard to serve you so that you never lack for anything!”

Dorothy was a girl with dark brown hair and blue eyes. No matter how much I tried to add to her age, she still looked to be in her late teens.

It seemed they had assigned me the youngest maid in the entire mansion.

‘Then what will happen to Anya? I should ask Uncle about it later.’

Anya’s main occupation was as the vice-guild leader, and although she had temporarily taken on the role of my maid to protect me, I felt a little sad at the thought of being separated from her.

I suppose I had grown attached to her in that short time.

“For quite some time, there hasn’t been a Young Lady staying at the ducal residence. So, there isn’t a room prepared specifically for a young lady. Still, everyone is working hard to prepare everything you need as quickly as possible.”

“Thank you!”

I gave Dorothy a bright smile.

At present, I knew absolutely nothing about the Duke of Decarean’s family.

What the duke’s personality was like, the political circumstances surrounding the ducal family, or what had happened between the Duke of Decarean and Klaus.

‘For now, I think it’s important to mend the rift between the two of them.’

It was a necessary step for Mother and me to live smoothly at the ducal residence.

To do that, I needed to win over someone who could provide me with reliable information.

My personal maid, Dorothy, who spent the most time with me, or the other servants.

Going even further, I thought it might be a good idea to win over the Duke of Decarean himself, the final boss of sorts in this mansion.

“Unnie, you know!”

“……Unnie?”

Dorothy gave an awkward smile, as though she were troubled. I fidgeted with my fingers and watched her reaction.

“Can I call you Unnie? I think we could become friends more quickly that way. It’s nice to be close, right?”

“Hmm, then please call me that only when it’s just the two of us, and when other people are around, just call me by my name. All right? Ah, and when it’s just the two of us, you can speak comfortably, too!”

“Okay, Unnie! By the way, how long have you worked here?”

Dorothy blinked once again, as though she had heard something strange.

“I was just curious because it doesn’t seem like we’re that far apart in age!”

“Ah! So that’s what you were curious about.”

When I quickly added that, Dorothy fortunately explained without any particular suspicion.

“I’m nineteen years old this year. Other than me, there are no young maids in the Decarean ducal household. People say that His Grace the Duke of Decarean is a cold-blooded man without blood or tears, but he isn’t that frightening!”

Perhaps worried that I might misunderstand, Dorothy continued to explain herself.

“Of course, he is taciturn, and there are many times when you can’t tell what he’s thinking, but he is actually a warm person!”

She suddenly drooped her shoulders like a child and added dejectedly,

“If Madam were still here, His Grace would not have become as cold as he is now. Before Madam passed away, he still had a human side to him.”

“Have you ever seen the Duchess?”

I had clearly been told that the Duchess of Decarean had died before I was even born.

If so, wouldn’t Dorothy have been around my age back then?

As if she had read my question, Dorothy answered in detail.

“I forgot to mention this. My mother was Madam’s personal maid. She said she had served Madam since she was the daughter of a marquess. Because of that, I practically grew up in the ducal residence.”

“Ah-ha?”

“Madam treated me like her own daughter. She was warm and kind, but at the same time, she had a surprisingly firm side to her, so neither the master nor the young master could ever go against her.”

I quietly listened to Dorothy’s words.

“If Madam had been here in the first place, the young master would not have left like that, but……”

Dorothy, who had been muttering as though upset, belatedly seemed to come to her senses and smiled sheepishly.

“I talked about something unnecessary. Anyway, what I mean is that both the master and the young master are good people, so you don’t have to be afraid.”

Perhaps Dorothy could become an even more useful source of information than I had expected.

I pretended to ask innocently, like a little child who was simply curious.

“Mm, but earlier, I saw Uncle Klaus and the duke getting angry at each other, and it was so scary. Did Uncle and the duke fight?”

“Rather than fighting……”

“Uncle said he was coming home for the first time in a long while, too! Why hasn’t he come until now? I’d be sad if I couldn’t see my mother for that long!”

“I’m not sure. I don’t know much about that either. I was very young when the young master left the estate. It was ten years ago, so I was nine years old. About the same age as you, right?”

“Mm-hmm, that’s right.”

Dorothy smiled awkwardly and slightly avoided my gaze.

‘So she does know something.’

Still, even if the other person was just a child, she was a servant of a great ducal family. It seemed like she knew better than to recklessly reveal anything.

For now, I decided to back off here. I would gradually find out as time passed.

“Hey, Dorothy. There’s something I need.”

“Yes, just tell me what you need.”

Perhaps relieved that the subject had changed, she smiled brightly.

“Could you bring me some paper and a pen?”

“Are you going to draw?”

“No, I’m going to practice writing!”

“If that’s what you need, there’s something better than paper. I’ll bring it right away.”

What Dorothy brought after practically running out of the room was a handwriting practice kit that was apparently popular among the capital’s aristocrats these days.

The kit, said to have been invented by some eccentric mage, looked no different from ordinary writing implements at first glance.

The only components were a thin slate and a glass nib. The only thing that was slightly different was that there was a tiny button in the lower-right corner of the paper.

“Do you know how to use it? Shall I teach you?”

“I know! Grandpa bought some for me before.”

Before I had even fully learned how to write, Grandpa had bought me several of these supposedly expensive magical devices.

“You just write like this here and press this to erase it, right?”

When I wrote the alphabet on the paper with the pen, black letters appeared as though they had been written in ink. And as soon as I pressed the red button, the writing disappeared completely.

It was a tool made for children and students who used dozens of sheets of paper every day. It was also more portable than paper and ink.

‘Besides, I like that I can erase whatever I wrote completely without leaving a trace.’

I never expected to receive something like this.

Perhaps because it reminded me of my late grandfather for no reason, the tip of my nose suddenly stung.

To keep myself from crying, I took the handwriting practice kit and flopped onto the bed instead of the large table.

“Unnie, you can go out without worrying about me! I’m sleepy, so I think I’ll fall asleep soon. It’s almost naptime!”

“All right. Then I’ll stay outside so I don’t disturb you. If you need anything, just pull the cord beside the bed at any time.”

“Okay!”

The moment Dorothy left the room, tears began to fall.

“I miss Grandpa.”

As soon as the funeral ended, Uncle Pascal made that outrageous declaration, so Mother and I never even had the chance to pull ourselves together while reminiscing about Grandpa.

Until then, I had tried not to think about Grandpa because I was focused on protecting Arno and Mother.

But once everything had finally been settled, thoughts of Grandpa came rushing into my mind like a turbulent wave.

‘He really doted on me.’

From Grandpa’s perspective, it would have been understandable for him to resent me for ruining the life of his beloved daughter. If it weren’t for me, he could have arranged for Mother to marry into another family.

But Grandpa never showed any sign of that and gave me his love without reservation.

I didn’t know what his unspoken feelings had truly been like, but to me, Grandpa was like a sturdy old tree.

When the scorching sunlight beat down, he gave me cool shade, and when heavy rain poured, he became my umbrella.

‘I knew we couldn’t be together forever, but it happened far too suddenly.’

It was an accident no one could have predicted. The wheel, which had been perfectly fine, had to break precisely when we were passing near the coastal cliff. Because of that, the carriage plunged downward.

Fortunately, the physician said that Grandpa must have died instantly, without feeling any pain.

But those words brought us no comfort. We had never imagined Grandpa’s death at all.