Chapter 2
# 2
2. The Baron family’s Crazy Master (2)
Thankfully, my choice was right, as she spoke to me.
“I’m late with my introduction. I’m Isabella, and I manage the female servants in this mansion. You’ll be seeing me the second most while you work here.”
“Um, who’s first?”
“Why, the master you’ll be serving, of course.”
It was what the old gentleman had said earlier. I didn’t know what I was hired to do when I came here. My Father, blinded by money, didn’t even think to ask, and I, who had to follow anyway, didn’t bother to wonder. Whatever it was, even if it was something terrible, I would have had to follow.
“What should I call you, ma’am?”
“Just call me Isabella.”
“Yes, Isabella.”
I etched her name in my mind. Then, realizing I was late, I continued.
“I’m late with my introduction. I’m Paula.”
“Yes, Paula. What can you do?”
“I can do simple housework like cleaning and laundry. I can also do a little accounting, and I can write a bit. You need to know the basics to do accounting.”
“I see.”
Isabella was indifferent as she said that. Her reaction made me anxious. What if she thought I was useless? What if she told me to go back home? I was afraid of being kicked out.
Isabella was walking quite fast ahead of me. I quickly stepped forward, afraid of losing her.
Following Isabella, we turned corners and arrived in front of a door. Just then, the door opened, and a young woman rushed out, stopping and bowing when she saw Isabella. The brown-haired woman who followed her also stopped abruptly with a surprised expression and nodded.
“I, Isabella.”
“I told you not to run.”
“I’m sorry. I’m really sorry.”
“Be careful next time.”
Their cautious gazes shifted from Isabella to me, standing behind her. Just as I was about to meet their eyes, Isabella moved to the side, blocking my view. Then, she ordered them to quickly return to their areas.
I followed them with my eyes as they hurried away. Meanwhile, Isabella opened the door and called someone.
“Lenika.”
“Yes, Isabella.”
A tall woman with a mature aura approached. Isabella pushed my back to bring me forward.
“Do you have any clothes that would fit this child?”
Lenika’s eyes scanned me. She seemed to ponder for a moment before nodding.
“She’s small. It won’t be a perfect fit, but I think I have something that will do.”
“That’s a relief. There’s no need to be perfectly formal.”
“Yes, which department is she in?”
“She’ll be in charge of the master from now on.”
Lenika’s eyes widened as if it were an unexpected answer. Her surprised gaze scanned me again. I grew more nervous at her reaction and swallowed hard several times.
After a moment, Lenika, now composed, said she understood and went back inside.
Soon, Lenika came out with a black dress and held it up to my body. She brought out the same black dress in different sizes as if gauging the fit, then handed one of them to me. A white apron and undershorts were included.
“The hair…”
Lenika frowned at the long bangs covering my face. I parted my lips, the only part of my face not covered. Isabella glanced at me for a moment, said it was fine, and started walking again. I waddled after her.
Isabella walked down the hallway again. I kept looking around. People working in the rooms with open doors, at the corners, and in one corner caught my eye as I walked. People walking from the opposite direction bowed deeply when they saw Isabella.
A slightly loud noise echoed around me. Then, the noise gradually subsided, and silence flowed again. Tap, tap, tap. The regular and steady footsteps broke the silence. I gripped the handle of my bag tightly and glanced at Isabella.
“Paula, how much were you told before coming here?”
“I only heard that I was being hired.”
“Then you didn’t get a detailed explanation.”
“No.”
I nodded as I answered. Isabella’s pace was still faster than a moderate speed.
“This is the mansion of the prestigious Bellunita family. And Paula, from now on, you will be in charge of all the duties of serving Vincent Bellunita, the master of this mansion.”
“Um, all the duties… am I doing it alone?”
“That’s right.”
I lost my words for a moment. As I followed her down the hallway, I saw quite a few servants. The coachman who brought me here, the well-maintained garden’s gardener, the stable’s groom, women and men in the same uniform. I could tell without seeing that there were probably more servants than that.
But I have to serve the master alone? If he’s the master, isn’t he a great person?
I wondered if I should ask this or not. Then, I parted my lips.
“Um, is there really no one else?”
“No. If you need anything, tell me right away.”
“Can I do it alone? He’s the master.”
In the end, I blurted out something I didn’t want to say. Then, Isabella stopped walking abruptly. I bumped into her back and stopped as well.
Isabella, who turned around to look at me, still had no expression on her face.
“Paula. Listen carefully. You will be the only one serving the master from now on, and there will be no additional staff. If you don’t like that, I advise you to leave the mansion as it is. The same goes if you’re not confident. If you complain later, you will not be able to avoid punishment.”
Isabella warned calmly. If you don’t think you can do it, leave now. At that heavy warning, I pressed my trembling lips tightly.
And I realized. I must never complain again.
I bowed deeply.
“I’m sorry. I’ll be careful next time.”
Fortunately, Isabella didn’t say anything more and turned back around. I straightened up and followed her closely.
“If you are careful in everything you do, there will be no difficult tasks.”
“Yes.”
With my answer, there were no more words.
After a while, a door appeared. It was smaller than the door I used when entering this mansion. Is there a door in the back too? I followed Isabella through the door and out of the mansion. Then, on one side, a wide and lush garden unfolded, its end nowhere in sight.
Wow, I couldn’t help but exclaim. I had seen it fleetingly from the carriage, but seeing it properly, the well-kept garden was so beautiful.
I was absentmindedly captivated by the sight when I found Isabella walking alone and belatedly came to my senses, hurrying after her.
I was curious about where she was going, but since she didn’t say anything, I had no choice but to follow silently. I felt like I would only hear worse things if I asked unnecessarily.
Isabella was heading to the back of the mansion. A small mansion in the distance came into view. That must be our destination.
It was a daunting distance that seemed a little tiring to walk all the way. So, she led me in a different direction, not the road. It was a forest next to the mansion.
I followed Isabella, pushing through the bushes, and came out of the forest when my legs were numb. Before I knew it, I had arrived in front of the mansion.
No, how? I was surprised and looked back at the bushes I had just come out of. Is it like a shortcut? Then, I looked at the mansion in front of me again, and this place, whether it was a Separate Residence, was smaller than the mansion I had seen earlier. But to my eyes, both mansions looked equally large and splendid.
As I entered, I felt an even quieter atmosphere than before. The large mansion had fewer signs of people compared to the number of people I saw, but here, it was so eerie that I couldn’t even tell if people lived here, let alone signs of life.
“Only a minimum number of servants stay here.”
Ah, so it wasn’t a misunderstanding. I nodded in response.
Isabella walked to the end of the hallway and went up the stairs.
“Breakfast will be prepared at 6 a.m., lunch at 12 p.m. noon, and dinner at 6 p.m. You will receive the meals from the kitchen at the appointed times and bring them to the master, and dessert will be served at lunchtime, so you should take care of that then. And pay special attention to maintaining cleanliness. You must change the bed sheets every morning, and the same goes for the clothes. Collect all the laundry from the previous day at once and bring it to the back door of the Separate Residence every morning.”
“Yes.”
“Basic supplies are prepared here, but if there are any other necessary items, tell me. I will prepare them as much as possible. The same goes for difficult tasks.”
“Yes.”
“For reference, all tasks must be completed at once. Don’t try to go back and finish what you couldn’t do at once. The master is sensitive to such things, so you must be as careful as possible. You must act as if you are not there.”
“I understand.”
I nodded repeatedly, engraving her words in my mind. Act like I’m not there, it was the easiest thing for me.
After climbing the stairs again, I passed through the hallway and stopped in front of the very last room.
“Finally, I have one more thing to ask.”
Before opening the door, Isabella turned to look at me again. I stole a glance at the door over her shoulder and stepped back.
“From now on, you must keep everything you see and hear to yourself. Be careful even with the slightest word, and don’t react to anything you see or hear. Don’t even listen to it. If you blurt out something unnecessarily, it won’t end with just being punished. Do you understand?”
It was an unexpected remark. But that, too, was as easy for me as breathing.
“Yes, I will keep that in mind.”
When I answered firmly, Isabella turned around and slowly knocked on the door. Knock, knock, knock. Then, she waited for the master’s call, but no sound came from inside the room. As if accustomed to this reaction, Isabella knocked on the door again.
Knock, knock, knock.
“I’m coming in, master.”
Still, no permission to enter was heard, but Isabella skillfully turned the doorknob. Creak—darkness flowed out through the opened door.
The room, completely soaked in darkness, was so dark that I couldn’t see an inch ahead. Moreover, the air was chilly, and there was a strange smell.
I grabbed my nose and frowned. Then, I quickly straightened my face. I was told not to react. I glanced at Isabella, and fortunately, she wasn’t looking at me. I lowered my hand and held my breath as much as possible.
But the moment Isabella took a step into the room.
Crash!
“Gasp!”
Something that flew in an instant collided with the wall and broke.
I instinctively covered my head with both arms and crouched down. Then, as if there were no more objects flying, the surroundings became quiet again. Only then did I carefully open my closed eyes. Unlike me, Isabella was still standing in the same position as before, without moving. Next to her shoes were shattered pieces of glass scattered around. It was a broken glass.
I looked at the glass shards with wide eyes and then looked up at Isabella again. When she moved another step, something popped out of the darkness again and collided with the wall. Thud! It was a pillow that fell with a dull sound.
What is this? I straightened up from my crouched position and looked around the room. The room was still pitch black, but in the meantime, my eyes, accustomed to the darkness, caught a blurry shape.
