IDWP 15

Chapter: 15

“At least she must be reporting to Pellion, right?”

Aside from caring about my safety, Pellion showed no particular reaction to me, as if he had no feelings toward me at all—even when I was in a difficult situation.

“It’s a situation I created myself, so it’s not that bothersome… I guess it doesn’t matter.”

Still, experiencing something like this right in front of me was slightly unpleasant.

“Shall we bet on how long you’ll last? I’ll say three days, 1,000 gold.”

“I’ll go 2,000 gold.”

“Ah! How can we bet if we only pick the same side!”

Those laughing next to me kicked over a bucket of water as they passed.

The clean floor became soaked with dirty water.

“Ah, you should’ve put it on one side properly.”

“Yeah, you should’ve cleaned it up properly.”

“Sorry, I don’t have time to help.”

“We’re too busy to help, so clean it up yourself!”

Seeing a situation like this triggered memories I didn’t want to recall.

Ugh, it seemed I was getting stressed.

“Magic would definitely make this easier.”

As I tried to mop up the water again, someone approached and slipped something into my hands.

“Sorry about our kids. This should make things a bit easier.”

It was a woman wearing a gown similar to those who had just tipped over the bucket.

“She looks a bit older.”

“If you stick this where you want to clean, it will get clean.”

She whispered an apology, handed me a round sticker, and left.

“Not everyone is bad, I guess.”

Hmm, there are people willing to help too.

Compared to the Grand Duke’s residence, this was nothing.

I had been struggling because there were too many windows to finish today, so this was a relief.

“Windows, be clean.”

I attached the sticker to the window with a small wish.

Then, from behind, a voice shouted, “No!”

Before I could turn around,

Crackle…

A strange sound came from above.

I looked up, only to hear a shout not far away, “Don’t look up!”

At the same moment, crash! A large sound rang out, and shards of broken glass rained down like a storm.

Startled, I shut my eyes and raised my arms to shield my head.

“Damn, is this some kind of harassment too?”

The person who gave me the sticker didn’t seem bad, but I had been too naive.

“Let’s just say scars are the price of foolishly trusting someone.”

Yet, no matter how long I waited, the pain I expected never came.

Curiously, I opened my eyes and saw shards of glass scattered across the floor, leaving a circular empty space around me.

“What…?”

I looked around, thinking someone had helped, but no one was there.

I could have sworn someone had stopped me, but perhaps fatigue made me hallucinate.

“Tiring.”

I dismissed it as a nasty prank—not meant to hurt—and exhaled in relief.

At the same time, I worried about how much the stingy Tower Lord would demand for window repair.

“How much will I have to pay for this?”

Thinking of the cold Grand Duke’s household—full of obvious neglect, mockery, workplace harassment, and no one you could trust—this was bearable. Yet, nothing ever seemed easy.

I swept up the glass with a broom, took out the trash for a moment, and when I returned, the window was intact.

“Huh.”

I tapped it lightly to make sure, and it felt cold and solid—definitely glass.

“Did it repair itself? The Tower is amazing.”

I had planned to clean other floors, but my body and mind were so shocked that my legs wobbled.

I had almost reached my limit, so this was actually good.

Having come this far, it was time to move to the next step.

I gathered my cleaning tools and returned to my room.

“It’s here again.”

Every day, after finishing my cleaning tasks, a paper bag would be placed outside my door—and today was no exception.

At first, I opened it cautiously, suspiciously. Inside was a lunchbox from the Tower cafeteria.

The anonymous lunches continued not just for a day but had persisted for a week.

“Thanks for keeping me from going hungry… but still.”

I couldn’t shake the suspicion that something might have been done to this lunch because of the sticker earlier.

After some thought, I pushed the bag aside and opened the door.

As usual, the cool room welcomed me.

I exhaled deeply and sat on the edge of the bed.

In truth, this was the hardest time to endure.

When I used my body, I could focus on work and forget loneliness and pain for a while, but being alone in the room brought unnecessary memories to the surface.

“I need to sleep better for tomorrow.”

I ignored my growling stomach, washed thoroughly with warm water, put on fresh pajamas, and lay down.

I planned to take a break from work tomorrow.

Thinking I could finally rest my mind, I closed my eyes.

Or at least, I thought I did.

“Hey! How do you expect to work for the Grand Duke’s household moving that slowly!”

“Just getting older doesn’t make you better! Don’t you see me as your senior? Huh, glaring at me? Get out!”

“Do you really think you deserve to eat? How can your ego be this inflated? Get lost!”

“You can wash your own clothes, can’t you? Are we your servants?”

“As a servant, you think you can read a book!”

“Do you really have time to enjoy a snack? Don’t you see the work waiting? Are you insane?”

“Because of you, we’re being harassed too! Stop pretending you don’t know!”

Multiple people in maid uniforms appeared, hurling verbal abuse.

The cold words, insults, and overt hatred made me shrink in fear, curling up and trembling.

Then, a warm voice broke through.

“Don’t worry, Ophelia. You’re not alone. I’m here.”

I looked up to see Elodie in a maid uniform, smiling kindly.

Before I could respond, her outfit suddenly transformed into a dazzling dress.

With a gorgeous, beautiful yet sorrowful face, she spoke through tears.

“Sorry for not being sorry?”

I awoke with a jolt, my body burning in pain.

“Hah!”

I wiped the sweat from my brow and sat up in bed.

A damn nightmare.

“Did I overestimate myself?”

Even though I’d experienced it before, the pain of harassment didn’t fade easily.

“There’s no going back to sleep now.”

After the nightmare, sleep had completely fled.

I hastily put on a coat and carefully left the room.

“I’ve never left my room at this hour.”

Walking quietly down the empty corridor, I could feel the Tower’s stillness.

There might be someone watching, but I didn’t care. I just wanted to feel the air.

Where should I go? I wandered without a specific destination.

“Walking like this isn’t so bad.”

Few people would be awake at this hour, and having worked cleaning tasks the past few days, I knew the Tower’s layout well.

Somewhere uninterrupted, somewhere open enough to breathe freely.

“Ah, I know the place.”

The Sky Garden, an outdoor garden on the upper floors of the Tower where Tower residents rested—normally I couldn’t enter.

I headed there as if possessed, and, as expected, it was empty.

I sat on a bench and exhaled deeply.

Maybe it was the scent of the plants, or simply being in a more open space, but it was easier to breathe.

“Until I completely finish my revenge, I have to endure everything. I have to overcome this.”

I tried to hypnotize myself not to weaken, when rustling sounds reached my ears.

Startled, I looked up and saw a familiar figure in the darkness.

“Leonard?”

He stared at me with wide eyes and let out a heavy sigh.

“What is it?”

Then, like last time, he plopped down next to me.

“Wasn’t he mad at me?”

Since disappearing quietly in anger after the previous incident, he had ignored me. Why was he acting this way now?

“Ah, maybe he has to report to Pellion?”

“Are you really following me?”

I asked as if I knew nothing. He clicked his tongue.

“And if I am?”

“Huh?”

Caught off guard by his unexpected honesty, he asked in turn,

“Why are you here at this hour?”