Chapter 12

Leana had fallen asleep, exhausted from the journey.

Elena checked on the child once more and then stepped out of the room.

Madame Greta said she had already finished speaking with Hazel and had prepared a new room for Elena.

Elena and Leana had been given a room.

Hazel had also said she needed to rest and had gone to sleep.

Elena tried to sort out this situation once more.

Maxim was a prince.

And Maxim had asked Hazel to help Elena find a suitable governess position.

But Hazel, without even telling Maxim, had brought them here to this mansion.

From Maxim’s perspective, it was a bolt from the blue.

Unable to contain her anxiety, Elena shot up from her seat.

Madame Greta was waiting for Elena as she came rushing out of the room.

“Gah! Madame Greta…!”

No wonder Hazel had so earnestly instructed her to look after Elena well.

So this was why.

“Where are you going?”

“I-I’m going to see Maxim. Do you know where he is right now?”

“Ah, he should be in his office about now. Shall I guide you?”

Madame Greta said willingly.

Hazel had said Elena was “a proper child unlike the young people of today,” and now she understood why.

Her clear eyes, like rippling water, sparkled with purity.

“I would be grateful if you would, Madame Greta.”

“Follow me.”

As Elena walked, there was not even the slightest sound of dragging feet.

Only the soft rustle of her dress filled the corridor.

That was not all.

Her upright posture, and even the neatness of her knock.

Madame Greta smiled with a pleased face.

“Who is it?”

“It’s me, Elena.”

“…Come in.”

Instead of the hesitating Elena, Madame Greta opened the door for her.

Pushing Elena gently on the back, Madame Greta said.

“He won’t bite. He may look like that, but he has many gentle sides. He’s kind, and tender too.”

Where exactly? Elena barely suppressed the urge to ask.

The door closed behind her.

“Sit.”

Maxim, already seated on the sofa, offered her the seat across from him.

Elena swallowed and sat down there.

“What brings you here.”

“…I—I… I thought I should apologize for being rude.”

Elena mustered all her courage.

A pretty flush rose on her white face.

Elena swallowed.

These were words she had rehearsed over and over as she walked down the corridor.

‘Don’t make a mistake.’

Things could not get any worse.

“First, I would like to apologize for all the rudeness I have shown you, Your Highness the Prince. Even though I did not know Your Highness’s identity, I should not have behaved so impertinently…”

“That’s enough. Call me Maxim as before.”

Maxim said with a furrowed brow.

[Your Highness the Prince…!]

That title, which someone had called out persistently, was a word that triggered anger and headaches in Maxim.

Elena flinched.

“C-call you Maxim?”

“Yes. That’s all you need. Or ‘Your Grace the Duke’… No. Just call me Maxim.”

Calling him “Your Grace the Duke” now would be ridiculous too.

Elena calmly nodded.

“Yes, Maxim. I’ll do as you wish.”

Of course, she nearly let slip that if he had told her in advance, she would not have made such mistakes, but she held it in.

Maxim had already been through a great deal because of her.

There was no need to say such things.

“And I’m sorry for coming to see you so recklessly today.”

Maxim tilted his head.

Elena was apologizing for something even Hazel had not apologized for.

In truth, if anyone should apologize today, it should have been Hazel.

Hazel was the one who knew the contact information but did not reach out. Hazel was the one who brought someone who knew nothing to her own house. Hazel was the one attaching Elena to him because of that ridiculous superstition.

Everything was thanks to that lofty and precious daughter of the Emperor—so why was Elena the one apologizing?

Maxim clicked his tongue.

“You don’t need to apologize for that. No, you don’t need to apologize for that either.”

“But…”

“The one who caused the trouble is my aunt, not you. So there’s no need to apologize.”

“Then may I at least thank you?”

Elena asked with wide eyes.

If she should not apologize—

“Thank you for accepting me like this, thank you for letting me stay in the same mansion… and thank you for saving me so many times. And thank you for delivering my message to Lady Hazel.”

“…You have a lot to be thankful for.”

It felt as if he had heard a year’s worth of gratitude in one sitting.

It was rare for the indifferent and cold Maxim to do something for someone.

Maxim was the kind of person who believed the best way to live was to avoid harming or inconveniencing one another.

“I truly am grateful.”

Elena smiled brightly.

“Maxim is truly a good person.”

Anyone overhearing that would have fallen over backward.

Maxim stared at Elena with a peculiar look.

What exactly did she know about him to judge him a good person?

Seeing her beam innocently like that made him a little worried.

How was she going to survive in Andres with that kind of naivety?

Honestly, Maxim had no reason to receive her gratitude.

He was providing the place, but the financial matters would be handled by Hazel.

He could picture her right now, clutching her head and writing a letter to Rebunto.

It was no problem for him to lend Hazel money, but it was just a small spite.

And yet, seeing Elena apologize like this somehow softened his heart.

The truth was, it was hard to feel hostility toward Elena, who smiled so well and was simply white like a blank sheet of paper.

“Come to think of it… I haven’t even given you a proper greeting. Have you been well?”

Have you been well.

“Of course…”

I’ve been well.

Maxim’s mouth clamped shut before he could say it.

It was because Camellia, who had come by not long ago to hurl curses and leave, came to mind.

She had said he should never be happy, that she was the one who suited his unhappiness.

According to her, he should not have been well.

Maxim clamped his mouth shut.

Fortunately, Elena, not sensing anything strange, chattered on.

“I’ve been well in my own way. When I thought about running away from home, I was scared and afraid, but… thanks to finding the courage, here I am. Somehow I feel like everything is going to work out.”

“…”

“Perhaps it’s because I’ve met so many good people. Maxim, I think meeting you on Kress Bridge was truly my fortune.”

“…I’m glad.”

It was unfamiliar to hear someone call the same Maxim a stroke of fortune.

They were utterly opposite people—Elena and Camellia.

Maxim swallowed a sigh.

“What do you plan to do once you earn money from the governess work?”

Maxim changed the subject.

“The first thing I want to do is find the best doctor. Leana is very ill. But even with medicine, there’s been no improvement.”

Elena wore a sorrowful expression.

“So I want to take her to a good doctor and have her examined. If Leana could get better, how wonderful would that be?”

“…Is that the only reason you want to earn money?”

“Hmm, I’d also like to prepare a home for Leana and me to live in. It can be small, but I’d like it to be warm. And not leak when it rains.”

Elena’s dream was small and modest.

“I looked into it, and they say Andres pays governesses well. Perhaps I could achieve my dream quickly.”

“And after that, what do you plan to do?”

“Um… I haven’t really thought about after that. I think studying would be nice too…”

Elena tilted her head.

“My life has been too overwhelming to think about the distant future. I’ll tell you if I ever think of something.”

“…I support your dream.”

By then, perhaps Hazel would have given up her absurd imagination.

Elena talked about various other things before returning.

Who knew she was such a talkative woman.

Maxim leaned back on the sofa, feeling somehow tired.

His body was heavy like water-soaked cotton.

Elena was completely different from the young ladies Maxim had dealt with before.

Noble like a deer, white like snow. And a person like a textbook of upright living.

She was even brave.

According to her, if she had not had courage, she would not have been able to come find him that day.

‘…A good person.’

Am I really a good person?

Some woman who hurled curses and insults behind his back comes to mind.

Why on earth did that woman hate him so much?

Enough to do such things to his face.

Maxim bit the tip of his tongue.