“And who said I’m embarrassed?”
Callius snapped angrily from the pitch darkness.
“It’s simply that you disgust me!”
“I disgust you?”
“Yes! I can’t see a single thing, yet you act as if you see everything as clear as day!”
What bizarre nonsense was he spouting now?
“Young Master, as I told you before, I cannot see.”
“I know that. And yet, it still infuriates me.”
It seemed I had landed firmly in his bad books.
“Still, wouldn’t it be a bother if I kept stepping in and out the entire time? Won’t it tire you out as well if you have to call me every time you need something?”
Callius fell silent for a moment, as though pondering, before speaking again.
“…Then go stand over there and face the wall. And don’t you dare turn around.”
“What? As if I’m being punished or something…”
I murmured under my breath in protest, but Callius remained unyielding.
As a mere maid, I had no choice but to obey his order.
And so I ended up standing against the wall, facing it, awaiting his commands.
How miserable.
Even if I was trapped in the body of a seventeen-year-old girl, I had been a full-fledged adult before reincarnating.
And now, here I was, unable to defy the word of a boy two years younger than me!
On days like this, when stress piled high, nothing beats spicy food… Even with a new body, I simply couldn’t forget those fiery crimson dishes.
‘Ah, I want spicy rice cakes… I want seasoned grilled chicken… I want kimchi stew…!’
At the thought of them, a sharp, spicy tang seemed to sting the tip of my tongue, and I unconsciously swallowed my saliva.
Perhaps I had gotten too carried away in my daydreaming…
“Slurp… hehe…”
A suspicious little chuckle slipped from my lips before I could stop it.
At the very same moment, the sound of splashing water abruptly ceased.
Oh no.
“You…”
Callius’s sharp voice came slicing through the empty air.
“What on earth was that disgusting laugh just now?”
“That’s because—”
“Get out.”
“Young Master, it’s not what you think—”
“Get out this instant!”
With his piercing scream, something slammed hard against the wall.
The sound was dull and soft…
No doubt about it, that was the bar of soap.
“My Lord, wait a second! It isn’t like that!”
I hastily shook my head and waved my hands in the air, though Callius couldn’t see me in the first place.
Following the soap, a brush came flying toward me.
“Get out! I said get out!”
Dodging the airborne projectiles, I bolted out of the bathroom.
My Lord, it’s a misunderstanding!
A misunderstanding!
Knock, knock.
“Young Master, are you finished with your bath?”
I cracked the door open slightly and asked.
No answer came; only warm steam laced with the scent of soap drifted out.
“May I come back in?”
I stepped cautiously into the bathroom.
“The soap won’t come flying at me again… will it?”
I raised my arm like a makeshift shield just in case.
Callius, however, whom I had assumed was still soaking in the tub, had already climbed out and was in the middle of getting dressed.
The quiet rustle of his neatly pressed garments softly filled the bathroom.
A faint groan accompanied the rustling, sounding as though he was struggling to guide his limbs into the sleeves and trousers.
“Shall I help you?”
“No need. Back off.”
He snapped back instantly, his tone carrying a sharp warning that he wouldn’t let it slide if I took even a single step closer.
Having no other choice, I stepped back and stood at a distance, waiting for him to finish.
After a lengthy battle with his clothes, Callius finally managed to put them on by himself.
Though there was no telling whether he had worn them properly or inside out.
“If you’re finished, shall we return to your room?”
Stepping forward, I extended my arm toward him.
“Would you like to hold onto my arm on the way back?”
“The cane.”
…Naturally.
Smiling bitterly, I offered the tip of the cane to his side.
“Here you are.”
The moment we returned to the room, Callius headed straight for the bed.
The rustle of the bedding shifting sounded distinctly in the quiet room.
His breathing was steady and even.
A gentle scent of soap lingered in the air.
I couldn’t see him, but I knew.
Unlike his usual tense and guarded state, Callius seemed calmer now, even if only a little.
If ever there was a chance to grow closer to this prickly feral cat, this might just be the moment.
“Young Master, shall I bring you a light refreshment?”
“No need. Get out.”
…Looks like I miscalculated.
I gave a sheepish shrug and slipped out of the room.
It was fine.
Another opportunity would present itself later.
Having completed bath duty—unquestionably one of the most grueling tasks of all—I headed down to the servants' break room.
“Who do you think you are to dare lie to me?!”
I froze in my tracks.
The thunderous scream echoing from inside was enough to make my heart skip a beat.
There was no mistaking it.
It was the voice of the Head Maid, Melissa.
The longest-serving maid in the household of the Duke of Rivannion,
she possessed a strict, terrifying demeanor entirely befitting her station.
And when she was furious, it was best not to let her catch sight of you.
I was about to quietly slip away when another voice caught my step.
“We didn’t lie, ma’am!”
“We really were cleaning! Please believe us!”
To my surprise, the ones being scolded were Mary and Dorothy, the two who had vanished without a word earlier.
I stepped closer to the door and strained my ears.
“We just cleaned the annex two days ago! What sort of ridiculous excuse is that?!”
Ah, so they had been hiding out in the annex and got caught.
I shook my head in silence.
Melissa continued to berate them in blazing fury.
“Your duty is to keep the Young Master’s quarters spotless at all times!
How dare you abandon your posts without permission?!”
“But… the Young Master won’t cooperate with us in the first place!”
Mary wailed, her tone thick with resentment.
“Every time we go in, he screams at us to get out and even throws things!”
“It’s true! A heavy water bottle nearly hit my head yesterday! I could have died!”
Dorothy chimed in with deep self-pity.
“He wouldn’t have done so without a reason! Did you two draw back the curtains or open the window again?”
Faced with her sharp question, Mary and Dorothy were struck dumb.
“You useless things…!”
Melissa growled, having quickly put two and two together.
“Didn’t I tell you time and time again that the room is only to be aired out when the Young Master isn’t inside?!”
“B-But the Young Master never leaves the room! Not by a single step! We waited so long, we had no choice but to open them just a crack…”
“And why aren’t we allowed to draw the curtains in front of him anyway?”
The two asked with an air of innocence.
Under the Duke’s orders, Melissa was forbidden from disclosing the truth of his condition, so she swiftly changed the subject.
“Enough! I entrusted this task to you counting on your experience, and all you’ve done is cause chaos! Then who cleaned the Young Master’s room yesterday?”
“Th-That…”
“Perhaps… Lizzy Swan…”
“Lizzy Swan? So you dumped all the work on one person and slunk away? And today you were loafing around in the annex?”
“It’s not like that… It’s unfair to us too, ma’am!”
Mary burst out in an indignant cry.
“Lizzy is just a contractor, so why should she have the same duties we do? What’s wrong with passing some tasks to the rookie? Why does she get treated like someone special?!”
Melissa let out a sharp sigh.
“Because that is the very work specified in her contract!”
“Still…”
“Enough! Hiring Lizzy was a decision made by His Grace himself. Do you dare object to his judgment?”
