Some of the maids questioned the decision, clearly unwilling to accept it.
“Really… is the trainee taking that position?”
“Yes. Master Callius requested it, and His Grace gave his permission as well.”
Melissa answered firmly, and the maids dared not utter another word.
“Lizzy is no longer a temporary maid. She is an official maid dedicated to serving the young master. You will all treat her with the respect due to a peer.”
There was an undercurrent of deeper meaning in Melissa’s words, likely because she was well aware that the other maids had been looking down on me.
Then she turned to me.
“Now that it has come to this, Lizzy, it is time to move your quarters. The room you have been using was temporary and far too small.”
She handed me a new key, telling me she had assigned me a room close to Callius’s.
Then she pressed a firm warning upon me.
“You understand what this means, Lizzy. Any careless misstep will reflect directly upon the young master.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Her voice was graver than ever, and I bowed my head respectfully.
“Very well, that concludes this morning’s gathering. Dismissed—everyone back to work!”
The stir caused by the sudden announcement subsided.
At her brisk order, the maids dispersed back to their duties in orderly fashion.
“Ugh, so annoying! I feel like my arms are going to fall off!”
Mary threw down her washing paddle in frustration.
After a full day of laundry, every inch of her body ached with deep exhaustion.
Dorothy was no better off, staring miserably at her blistered hands.
“Look at my hands! They’re getting uglier by the day!”
The other maids at the washhouse heard their grumbling and clicked their tongues.
Though Mary and Dorothy bristled at being treated like nuisances, there was nothing they could do; word of their banishment to the laundry had already spread throughout the estate.
A few weeks ago, they had tried to persuade Callius to take them back, only to receive a caning from the Head Maid.
‘I will not show leniency a second time!’
Those words still echoed in their heads, and the welts on their calves had yet to fade.
“How could Master Callius do this? We served him faithfully for two whole years!”
Yet he had brushed aside all their effort and cast them out without a second thought.
“It’s all because of that blind girl!”
Mary bit her lip harshly, her eyes glaring as though Lizzy Swan were standing right before her.
“That wench must have driven a wedge between us!”
What had sparked their sudden fury was the shocking news that had reached them just recently.
‘Have you heard? Lizzy Swan became the young master’s personal maid!’
‘What are you going to do now? You’re like puppets whose strings were cut!’
Blood rushed to Mary’s and Dorothy’s heads. They had whispered all day, ignoring the jeers around them.
“No matter how I look at it, this isn’t fair. We have to get Lizzy Swan kicked out of the estate if we want any peace.”
Mary bit her nails as she whispered, and Dorothy asked quietly,
“How do you plan on doing that?”
They put their heads together, but no clever idea came to mind, especially since they hardly ever crossed paths with Lizzy in the laundry now.
Just then, someone walked past them—Callius’s servant, Brandon.
Mary and Dorothy instantly scowled. They had heard rumors about how close Brandon was to Lizzy Swan.
‘Wait, hold on.’
Mary stared at Brandon with resentful eyes, then a sudden smirk spread across her face.
“Wait. I just had a good idea.”
Ever since the Duke of Rivannion visited Callius, a great deal had changed.
First, my rank rose from temporary maid, and with it, my room changed too.
My old quarters had been cramped like a storage closet, barely large enough for a mattress, but this new one was spacious, complete with a window and ample room. I was thoroughly delighted.
‘A ducal household really is something else, giving a maid her own private room.’
Another great boon was the steady supply of mana stones.
Even though the Duchy owned mana stone mines, low-grade stones were brought in regularly despite the long distance.
The quantity was not enough to illuminate the entire estate, but it was plenty to light Callius’s pitch-black room, which made work far easier for the new staff.
“Is the young master doing better now? He used to get so angry whenever the windows were opened.”
“Haven’t you heard? He still forbids drawing the curtains or lighting candles.”
“Right, and he said the only light permitted is what comes from these strange stones.”
“What kind of stone is this anyway? I’ve never seen one before.”
Curious maids gathered around the mana stone, gazing at it in wonder.
Thanks to the return of the maids responsible for cleaning and drawing bathwater, my own workload grew considerably lighter.
Yet Callius insisted on using the stones only when strictly necessary, meaning I was still the only one attending to him in his room—which felt rather odd.
“The stones are only temporary, and my condition hasn’t healed. I need to train myself to move efficiently in the dark in case of an emergency.”
His resolve and stubbornness never ceased to amaze me.
In the original novel, he had endured agony just to go out and train, so perhaps this was only natural for him.
“Well, if that is what you think best, Master… but it seems such a pity to waste the stones after they were brought from so far away.”
The faint glow continued to leak from the low-grade stone without any way to turn it off, so letting it sit felt like pure waste.
“…Bring it over for a bit, then.”
Having finished his meal, Callius set his cup aside and spoke.
“Oh, what are you doing now?”
He insisted on staying in the dark, yet there was only one occasion when he allowed the mana stone in his room.
“Ah, you’re going to read, aren’t you?”
The moment I brought in the glass jar holding the mana stone, he picked up his book.
From then on, he spent most of his time reading.
‘Ah… looks like I’ll just have to stave off boredom on my own.’
Whenever Callius read, I had nothing to do except sit there weaving baskets, which was dreadfully dull…
“…Must you yawn with your mouth gaping that wide?”
Realizing my mistake, I snapped my mouth shut in embarrassment.
“Why are you looking at me? Just read your book.”
“How could I not look when you yawn so loudly it demands attention?”
I scratched my head sheepishly.
I had grown so used to living with him in the dark that it had become a habit to yawn carelessly in front of him, forgetting his eyes could see now whenever he spoke…
“Ah, sorry. I assumed you couldn’t see, so I just acted without thinking…”
“What? So you’ve been behaving like this all along just because you thought I couldn’t see?”
Well, yes. I did pull faces at you back then, didn’t I?
