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Chapter: 15
The knight froze on the spot, standing rigid.
Miliana let out a sigh of relief inwardly. She had been worried about what would happen if he continued to pursue them, but thankfully it seemed he had understood her warning.
The brief sense of victory quickly faded, and she felt gloomy as she reflected on whether this was simply what it meant to be a young master.
He’s just like the ugly duckling from the fairy tales.
A beautiful swan—yet to the ducks, nothing more than a strange, different creature.
That was exactly the young master’s situation. Because he was slightly different from the majority, everyone bullied and disliked him. No one knew that he might one day become a great Transcendent. And this was only her first day—yet she had already witnessed so much unfairness. That meant the young master endured this kind of treatment every single day.
Miliana slapped her cheeks lightly.
“It’ll be fine once the curse is lifted! Fewer people will be afraid of the young master. And if he spends more time with His Grace the Grand Duke, surely more people will naturally come to acknowledge him, right?”
She praised her own plan as flawless.
She had anticipated strong resistance from the knight, but there was a reason she had insisted on the garden.
If we take a walk, he’ll get thirsty. Then I can give him water or tea and secretly mix in the medicine.
She hurried toward the kitchen.
A perfect plan!
“Uncle Mild!”
“Oh, Miliana! You did well earlier. The young master walking all the way to the dining hall himself—thanks to you!”
Not all the servants in this vast mansion disliked him. Thinking back, Aunt Melin had worried about the young master as well. Mild patted Miliana’s shoulder and asked,
“So, what brings you here?”
“I’m planning a picnic in the garden with the young master. Could I ask you to prepare some sandwiches for when we get hungry?”
“Of course. Shall I show off my skills?”
He rolled up his sleeves and instructed those nearby to prepare the sandwich ingredients, and they immediately got to work.
“By the way, he must really like you. I never dreamed you’d become his dedicated maid.”
“Neither did I.”
“What surprised me even more was His Grace appointing you personally. The Grand Duke doesn’t express it well, but he cherishes the young master deeply. I just don’t understand why so many people fail to see that…”
He shook his head, clicking his tongue in regret. Miliana nodded vigorously in agreement, her eyes sparkling.
“Exactly!”
“It used to be almost fifty-fifty, but after what happened to the Grand Duchess… well, maybe it couldn’t be helped.”
Miliana fell silent as she watched Mild mutter bitterly to himself.
Erpilsy, the former Grand Duchess, had lived here for five years. How must people have felt learning that someone they knew was a witch? And if she had been targeting the Grand Ducal household…
Those who had once cared for her might have distanced themselves from Heos even more out of betrayal.
“Still, thanks to you, the young master’s mood has improved a lot. That’s a relief.”
Humming to himself, Mild worked diligently on the sandwiches. Though it was a simple task, he insisted on making them himself since they were for Heos.
Miliana scratched her cheek shyly, then cautiously asked what she had been wondering.
“I heard His Grace eats simple meals in his office… Is that true? Does he rarely come down to the dining hall? Or does he usually come late?”
By the time Miliana had been hired as a maid, Kaiden had already left for the capital. She knew nothing about his daily life in the Grand Ducal residence.
She even pulled out a small notebook, determined to find out his eating habits—her resolve to seat the two of them together was unmistakable.
“Sometimes he doesn’t come at all. Other times, he comes late. My job is to prepare nutritious, delicious meals, but he only values convenience and refuses to eat proper food…”
Mild grumbled. He clearly took pride in his profession.
Convenience? What does that mean?
She wanted to hear more, but the sandwiches were already finished. Mild handed her the basket neatly stacked with sandwiches.
“I’ll be counting on you tomorrow too. Make sure you bring him to the dining hall.”
“Yes, of course!”
Miliana felt pleased knowing there were others besides herself who cared about Heos.
“Young master, I’ve brought the sandwiches!”
【 Let’s Get Closer! 】
Heos and Miliana stepped out into the garden. The beautifully manicured grounds lifted one’s spirits just by looking at them. A large fountain stood at the center, its cascading water sparkling as it splashed below.
“What do you think? Doesn’t the scent of flowers smell nice?”
“…I think it does.”
Smiling brightly, Miliana searched for a spot to lay out the mat. There were benches nearby, but she deliberately chose the grass.
She liked the feeling of sitting atop the softly rustling lawn. The spot slightly to the right of the garden offered a clear view of the fountain, with a large tree behind it—perfect for leaning against while reading.
The knights still frowned in displeasure, but Miliana paid them no mind.
Just as she had expected, Heos leaned against the tree and silently read his book. Miliana sat quietly on the mat. A gentle breeze passed between them.
Whenever she spotted a butterfly or a wandering cat, she would excitedly point it out, calling it cute or fascinating, drawing Heos’s attention. It was Miliana, not Heos, who seemed like the excited child.
Then she suddenly realized—
There were hardly any people around. This was the garden right in front of the main building; servants should have been passing through, yet it was strangely quiet.
Are they deliberately avoiding this place…?
The knight’s earlier words came back to her.
If you behave like that, it’ll cause serious trouble later…
Miliana watched Heos as he read without moving. From this angle, he looked just like a powerless child.
“Young master, since we’re out here, how about doing something other than reading? Would you like to look at the flowers? There are so many beautiful ones in the garden.”
She stood up and began walking around.
She gathered flowers blooming in the carefully tended garden, soon cradling an armful of them. Their fragrance made her hum softly.
Miliana showed the colorful flowers to Heos.
“What do you think? Aren’t they pretty? Though I suppose they’re less beautiful than your flowers, young master.”
Among the vines covering the annex, there had been a lush rose in bloom. She had only seen it once, but it had felt both terrifying and beautiful.
“You think my flowers are beautiful?”
Heos asked in a surprised voice.
“Of course. I don’t lie.”
Except about being a witch, that is.
“I know. That you don’t lie…”
Such a confident tone?
“They matched your eye color perfectly, so I thought they suited you very well.”
“You’re the first person who’s ever said those flowers were pretty…”
People focused on the thorny vines instead, calling them dangerous and frightening. Heos stopped turning the page and fiddled with the edge of the paper.
“…Do you like flowers?”
“Yes! Doesn’t just looking at beautiful things make you feel better?”
“My mother liked flowers too. Especially roses.”
Miliana was momentarily startled by Heos mentioning Erpilsy for the first time, but she smiled and replied. To him, she was truly his mother.
“I’m sure she liked them because they were the same color as your eyes.”
“…I like them too. Because they’re the same color as my mother’s eyes.”
As if picturing a cherished memory, a gentle smile touched Heos’s lips. Miliana’s heart ached for no reason.
She was the one who cursed you, though…
Yet to him, she was his mother—the only person who had shown him affection in a place where he had nowhere to belong. Watching Heos grow wistful in his memories, Miliana forced herself to speak brightly.
“Could you show me?”
“Huh?”
“…Ha…”
The knight’s heavy sigh echoed again. Heos flinched slightly, and Miliana shot the knight a sharp glare before gently reassuring Heos.
“You used your power skillfully just a moment ago.”
It was obvious Heos rarely used his abilities. Most people branded him as someone who would inevitably go berserk if he did, so he must have come to dislike using them.
Or perhaps they resented him for possessing powers like Kaiden’s—unacknowledged, yet flamboyant as a Transcendent, berserk included.
Miliana smiled brightly to dispel Heos’s fear.
This, too, is a path toward the future.
One step at a time. As much as she could.
The decisive reason Heos had grown distant from others was his berserk episodes.
If he could learn to control his power, if the fear surrounding berserk states disappeared, he could grow closer to the other servants.
They would no longer ostracize him. The tragedy that awaited in the future could be prevented.
Aether was a part of one’s body—the energy flowing within. It could even be called another “self.” If Heos feared going berserk, his aether would only rage more wildly.
Miliana had once been the same.
“…Earlier was just luck. I might go berserk.”
Heos said in a small, hesitant voice.
“Berserk? What does it usually feel like when that happens?”
“My heart races… I can’t control my emotions well… and my vision gets blurry…”
“And now?”
“…It’s not like that.”
“Right? Young master, if you’re afraid of berserk states, you mustn’t fear your own power even more. It’s your power. To learn how to use it well—ugh…!”
The knight could no longer stand by. He grabbed Miliana’s shoulder and forced her down.
“Did you not hear the young master say he might go berserk? It seems you’re the one arguing back against his words. I knew it—leaving the young master in the hands of a newly hired maid was a mistake.”
Apparently grinding his teeth over her earlier words, he deliberately threw them back at her. But Miliana didn’t back down.
“Forcing him to go berserk? That’s not what I’m doing! I just don’t want the young master to be so afraid of his own power!”
“Do you not understand that it is a power that must be feared? The young master cannot control his abilities. Telling him to use them is no different from telling him to go berserk!”
Seeing the knight’s shameless expression as if he had won, Miliana’s shoulder throbbed with pain—but she shouted back anyway.
