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Chapter 05
Even though many years had passed, the former duchess still had a proud, domineering expression, and an air of arrogance clung to her.
Because of her, Anne had become the public enemy of the Benton household.
A mere maid who dared to sit in the position of the mistress—an ignorant, presumptuous woman who didn’t know her place.
A wicked, desire-driven woman trying to swallow the family whole by bearing the duke’s child.
All she had ever wanted was to marry the man she loved and live together peacefully, but in this place, Anne was always treated that way.
Only Gray Benton remained unaware of that fact.
Yet because he was a man who had once held her hand so tenderly even after she lost her child, Anne believed in him and waited.
She intended to endure quietly, avoiding conflict, until she earned recognition from the former duchess and the Benton household servants.
But Gray’s affection fell away before Anne’s patience did.
She heard he was constantly approached at parties she did not attend. Rumors said there wasn’t just one woman he was secretly meeting.
And the former duchess never failed to deliver such rumors to Anne.
There were dozens of times she wanted to lash out at her in front of her face, but she endured each time, remembering how Gray still cherished the former duchess’s approval while never acknowledging Anne.
The lady of the house had once been generous when Anne was still a maid. She had been a kind mistress who readily accepted small requests and favors from servants.
But looking back, Anne realized that kindness had only been possible because she had been in a position where she could never challenge her authority.
The former duchess isolated Anne completely while keeping Gray’s eyes and ears shut.
When Anne, devastated after losing her child, was barely holding herself together, the duchess would hold her hand only in front of Gray, pretending to worry about her.
But even with such obvious hypocrisy, Gray never noticed a thing.
Because Gray Benton no longer felt the same way about Anne.
He had changed. Naturally, Anne’s position changed as well.
Anne Fero’s life became miserable not when she was struggling in poverty, but after the man she loved turned away from her.
Even now, her final moments were as vivid as yesterday.
Lying in bed, wasting away, she had died miserably in the thirtieth winter of her life.
She was now at the tail end of seventeen.
Her younger brother would come, and if she endured another year or so, Gray would enter the capital’s knight academy and no longer visit the main estate often.
By then, Jamie would be able to read and begin working on his own, and he would be fine even without her in the ducal residence.
Anne set a deadline in her mind.
“So you’re saying you want to recommend your younger sibling?”
Anne seized the opportunity she had been waiting for.
After the duchess’s tea time ended and while the servants were cleaning up, Anne cautiously spoke.
Gray Benton was still of noble blood and required education, and also needed a servant.
But because he was so disliked by the former duchess, no properly trained servants wanted to step forward.
This was Anne’s chance.
Rather than letting her brother face death out of sight, she would rather see him with her own eyes even if something unfortunate happened.
“Yes. He is quicker and smarter than I am. If given a chance, he will be very useful. Please allow it.”
Thanks to Anne’s accumulated sincerity and trust, the duchess nodded lightly.
“Very well.”
It was done. Anne clenched her fist and deeply bowed in gratitude.
After finishing her duties with a light heart, Anne returned to her quarters and immediately took out pen and paper.
“Anne, you can read now?”
Cassie asked, watching Anne hold a pen.
“I’ve been studying for a while. I read every day before bed.”
Worried it would look strange if she suddenly started writing fluently, Anne pulled out a book she had hidden under her pillow as an excuse.
The ducal library was accessible even to servants. Of course, only a limited selection of books could be borrowed by maids, but hardly anyone used them anyway.
“You’re so relaxed.”
“Relaxed? You need to learn to read if you want to survive later.”
“Trying to become a head maid or something? Don’t be ridiculous.”
“And why not? What can’t I do?”
Anne and Cassie bickered, casually changing the subject.
A servant studying? Unless one was exceptionally talented, it was difficult to rise beyond one’s birth status.
So most people didn’t even consider learning.
But through her past life, Anne remembered how much wider the world became after she learned to read.
She resolved to teach not only herself but also her younger brother, to give him a new path in life.
After sending a letter to her aunt’s house, Anne’s duties also included serving Gray Benton’s meals.
Three meals a day and two tea times—it consumed much of her time.
Anne tried reporting Gray’s personal requests to the head maid, subtly asking to delegate them, but it was useless.
“I told you not to be too kind from the start. Anne, you’re too soft-hearted for your own good.”
Because of this, the head maid had often pushed unwanted work onto her before, only to immediately refuse when Anne tried to pass on difficult tasks.
Still, even that attitude helped Anne avoid falling out of favor with the household.
It showed how precarious Gray Benton’s position currently was.
“Don’t look at him unnecessarily, and don’t approach him first. But if he requests something, you must follow it strictly. You must not treat anyone of the Benton family carelessly.”
The duchess often expressed displeasure whenever Gray was noticed, and both the butler and head maid quickly spread this to the lower servants.
As a result, Gray Benton was destined to spend lonely, difficult years until he left for the knight academy.
Neither the duke nor the young lord disliked him, but they had no affection to spare either.
Even servants did not take care of him, so unless directly involved like Anne, there was no one to look after him.
“Lunch is served.”
Young Gray was naturally excluded from the family dining table.
The duke and young lord did not dare call him due to the duchess’s mood.
A tray containing bread, soup, salad, and steak was placed on Gray Benton’s table.
Anne silently counted the days until Jamie’s arrival, hoping there would be no further contact between herself and Gray during this uncomfortable period.
“You brought yours too, right?”
“That… is difficult, young master.”
Anne replied while setting a plate in front of Gray, then stepped back.
But he stood up and grabbed her hand.
“Sit, Anne.”
“I’m really fine. I’m not even hungry!”
Gray pulled out the opposite chair and forced her to sit.
Then he cut his steak in half, moved part of it onto the salad plate, and moved half of the salad onto the steak plate.
He also placed the soup and bread between them.
“From now on, if you don’t bring your own food, I’ll assume it’s all yours.”
He cut the steak on Anne’s plate into bite-sized pieces, then placed the fork and plate back in front of her.
Gray held his spoon and knife and smiled.
“Now, let’s eat.”
He stopped with his teeth showing in a bright smile.
Anne reluctantly picked up her fork and ate the meat as he waited.
Only then did Gray begin eating his bread dipped in soup.
One of his cheeks puffed out as he chewed.
When their eyes met, his red pupils narrowed like folded paper.
He resembled the duke, but he was growing into an even more beautiful young man, still with a hint of baby fat in his cheeks.
There was no need to impose future resentment onto him, but Anne couldn’t shake her discomfort.
“Anne. Before coming here, our house was even smaller than this room. Bread and thin soup were our meals. If I had grown up under my mother, I would’ve been no different from you.”
The meal Anne had brought Gray was nothing more than a perfunctory arrangement.
She could have provided richer food and more elaborate dishes, but she hadn’t bothered.
“Even so, this is a feast.”
Yet Gray was genuinely pleased with it.
Anne couldn’t bring herself to argue and looked away.
“Try the bread too. It’s good.”
Before the awkward silence could settle, Gray tore off a piece of bread and offered it to her.
Anne stopped picking at her steak and awkwardly accepted it.
It stuck in her throat, dry and difficult to swallow.
“If you’re thirsty, want juice?”
He offered his glass so naturally that Anne shook her head.
“I’m fine.”
She coughed and drank water to recover.
“How about you?”
“Me?”
“Why did you come here? I came here to accompany the young lord under the condition that my mother receives treatment. Anne, how did you end up here?”
Gray led the conversation even during their meal, filling the silence.
It was already exhausting just sitting through the time, and being forced into conversation with one’s master was difficult for a mere maid.
“…I was recommended by my aunt, who raised me after my parents passed away, saying there was a good job here.”
She cut the explanation short.
Anne didn’t want memories forming with Gray.
