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Chapter 3
The inside of the annex was a mess, but the outside wasn’t any better.
If she tried to clean it all alone, it would take months, maybe longer.
But Grace wasn’t just any ordinary maid.
She was a tenth-life, max-level maid.
Cleaning was practically the first thing she did whenever she opened her eyes, so of course, it had become second nature to her.
Looking over the filthy corridor, Grace began cleaning with confidence.
She swept and wiped away dust, hauled useless junk outside, and handled everything step by step.
Cough, cough—
Every time she touched something, clouds of dust burst out, covering her from head to toe, but she worked tirelessly.
Even the dirty footprints stained deep into the floor, she scrubbed clean. After hours of hard work, at least the hallway was sparkling.
“Good.”
Finally straightening her back, Grace smiled with satisfaction.
Seeing the sun sinking outside, she washed up quickly to shake off the dust.
But then came the problem—no matter how long she waited, the maid assigned to deliver meals never came.
She waited more than thirty minutes, but there was no sign of anyone.
“Hah, I expected this, but still—it’s awful.”
The world of nobles was ruled by survival of the fittest.
Even among the servants, everyone knew that although Livanu carried the surname Foret, he was considered nothing more than a bottom-dweller.
They all knew there was no punishment for neglecting him.
“When someone is treated this poorly, of course he ends up being discarded without mercy.”
Later, when Livanu left the Foret family without a shred of regret and refused to have anything to do with them, Grace could understand why.
Grumbling to herself, she decided waiting was pointless and went directly to the kitchen.
The annex was quite a distance away, so she hurried her steps. As expected, by the time she arrived, the meal distribution had mostly finished, and the staff were cleaning up.
“Hello!”
Grace greeted them brightly.
“Who are you?”
Ignoring the servants tidying up, she addressed the head cook directly. The cook looked at her curiously.
“I’m a new maid here.”
“Oh, really? Then why are you in the kitchen?”
“The meal for my assignment still hasn’t been delivered.”
“That’s strange. Where are you assigned?”
“The west annex!”
“…That place…”
The cook’s expression grew odd as realization hit—it was where Livanu lived.
“Today was my first day,” Grace added, smiling innocently as though she knew nothing.
The cook sighed and nodded, looking at her with a pitying gaze before handing her some leftover food.
“Thank you. But… isn’t the annex supposed to receive assigned meals?”
“Well, technically yes.”
“But nothing came.”
“You really don’t know anything, do you?”
“What is it I should know?”
“That’s where… Young Master Livanu stays.”
The cook said it as if it explained everything. Because it was Livanu, meals weren’t delivered.
“Sure, assignments are given, but no one bothers. Nobody cares if he’s left without, and the previous maids hardly paid attention either. You’re the first one who’s actually come here in person.”
Truly the worst.
Even now, the kitchen staff stared at Grace as though she were some strange creature.
Still, she kept smiling, thanking the cook for the food.
As she turned to leave, the cook added one last piece of advice:
“If I were you, I’d quit quickly.”
“…Excuse me?”
“Recently, maids have been assigned to him again, but not a single one lasted over a month. Every one of them quit afterward—for one reason or another.”
“They… quit?”
“Yes. You seem bright and diligent, so take this as a warning.”
At that moment, another maid rushed over and all but shoved Grace out of the kitchen.
As she was practically kicked out, the maid shouted after her:
“Don’t you dare come into the kitchen again!”
“…What?”
“You’ll spread that skin disease! Stay away!”
“W-wait, that’s not…”
Grace tried to protest, but the maid only shook her hands as though brushing off filth and told her to get lost.
Grace had planned to come again if food wasn’t delivered, but now it seemed she would be thrown out on sight.
Holding the basket of food, Grace let out a bitter laugh.
She had known things would be bad in the annex, but she hadn’t imagined it would be this bad.
In fact, it seemed serving Livanu might be harder than serving any other master.
Petty politics and subtle schemes in noble households would have been preferable to this—being shunned by every servant in the duke’s estate.
She began to understand why the previous maid had even tried bribing her to take the annex assignment.
At least she had managed to get food. On her way back, she stopped by the physician’s quarters and collected Livanu’s medicine.
Since he was Livanu’s attending doctor, it wasn’t difficult to obtain. Of course, he didn’t seem very invested in Livanu’s condition—just handed out medicine regularly.
“Young Master Livanu! I’m back!”
Cough, cough.
When Grace entered with a bright smile, Livanu was curled under a thin blanket, coughing.
“Are you cold?”
At her question, Livanu pressed his lips tightly shut and eyed her warily, as though denying he had been coughing at all.
“Should I light the fireplace?”
“…The fireplace?”
His brows twitched. A glance at it showed thick dust everywhere, untouched for ages. Just stirring it would probably release a storm of dust.
“I guess it’ll need cleaning first,” Grace said with an awkward smile.
To clean that chimney, he’d have to leave the room for a while.
“Cleaning…?”
“More importantly, please eat this.”
“…What is it?”
“What do you think? Dinner and medicine.”
“…Dinner… was served?”
“Of course!”
Grace held out the basket.
It was only leftover bread and some juice, but Livanu’s eyes widened in shock, as though he had never seen such food.
Just bread, and yet he looked astonished. He must not have been eating properly at all.
What had he even been surviving on until now?
Grace herself was stunned.
“Should I set it on the table, or do you want to eat here?”
“…Here.”
Clearly reluctant to move, he shifted his legs awkwardly. Grace nodded and quickly arranged the tray on the bed.
The bread was a little cold but still soft enough to tear.
Gulp.
Grace heard him swallow hard.
Suppressing a smile, she poured juice into a cup and handed it over first.
It was simple fruit juice, but after one sip, he drank greedily, then began tearing into the bread ravenously.
He must have been starving.
Chomp, chomp—
Gulp.
He ate so hungrily it was hard to believe he was a duke’s son.
“Ugh—cough, cough!”
He choked, and Grace quickly patted his back, but even as he coughed, he kept stuffing bread into his mouth.
“Young Master, no one’s going to take it away. Please eat slowly.”
Then it happened.
Livanu gagged and suddenly vomited.
“…Urgh. S-sorry.”
“It’s fine. I’ll clean it up right away.”
“…I didn’t mean to eat so fast, it’s just…”
Seeing him flustered made Grace’s heart ache.
It wasn’t that he lacked table manners—he simply lost control after finally tasting real food again.
But his stomach couldn’t handle it. Clearly, he had been empty for far too long.
Watching him, Grace felt determined—at the very least, she would make sure he ate properly from now on.
After tidying up, Grace even gave him her own share, claiming it was just leftovers. She knew he wouldn’t accept it otherwise.
“Good thing there was extra. Please, take your time.”
This time, he ate more calmly, and thankfully didn’t vomit again.
When he finished, he held the tray tightly, his eyes darting with embarrassment.
Despite his somewhat grotesque appearance, the way he acted was almost cute, making Grace laugh softly.
“Here, I’ll take that.”
“…Okay.”
“Now, please take your medicine.”
“Okay.”
He drank the bitter medicine with ease, far more accustomed to that than to food.
Grace frowned slightly—it must be awful, but his face showed no discomfort at all.
“Here, have this too.”
She rummaged through her pocket and popped a small candy into his mouth.
It wasn’t fancy sugar candy nobles ate, just cheap syrup hardened into a sweet, but it was enough to chase away the bitterness.
Startled by the sudden sweetness, Livanu jerked back, then froze, staring blankly at Grace.
