Chapter 5
No matter how she thought about it, this room was just too cold.
Cleaning out the fireplace now would kick up far too much dust, so that was out of the question. Still, she had to find some way to make the space at least a little warmer.
Grace decided she should look through the discarded items in the courtyard to see if there was anything usable.
He had only just fallen asleep, so it would take hours before he woke up again.
When she stepped outside, a mountain of trash and old things came into view.
Since she couldn’t light a fire inside without first cleaning the chimney, it would be great if she could find something like a stove.
Grace rolled up her sleeves.
Most of it looked like junk, but there might be something useful hidden in there.
“Hah. Even if he is a duke’s son, living by digging through trash just to survive… how terrible.”
How miserable could things get?
She couldn’t even imagine how Rivanu had lived before this.
After rummaging through heaps of garbage for several hours, Grace finally found it.
“Got it!!!”
It was a small lamp—one that would light up if filled with oil.
Of course, there wasn’t a single drop of oil left in it, and the lamp was rusted and worn.
It even gave off some strange, foul odor.
Still, she grinned ear to ear, because if she cleaned it up, it would be usable again.
Since they couldn’t go outside, it wouldn’t be easy to get lamp oil, but Grace already had a plan.
“Hehe.”
For now, her top priority was to wash this smelly lamp clean and set it out to dry.
“Hello!”
“…Uh…?”
Grace had gone to see the maid who had paid her to take over Rivanu’s care.
She was only a month into her service as a maid, but since she was older in real life, Grace had decent social skills for show and got along fairly well with many of the others.
Of course, once they heard she was assigned to Rivanu, they had asked her to move out of the dorms. Still, because they’d said it with such guilty expressions, she knew they’d at least grant her a small favor if she asked.
But more than those who had kicked her out, the maid who had dumped the job on her would definitely feel indebted.
“You remember me, right?”
“Yeah. Um…”
The maid looked at her with a troubled expression, her eyes darting nervously.
She had been in charge of menial chores before passing Rivanu onto Grace, and now looked much more relaxed.
“I have a small request. Could you get me just a little lamp oil?”
“Oil?”
“Yes. If I go, I’ll probably be turned away at the door. But if you say it’s for work and put a little in here…”
At the mention of being turned away, the maid’s shoulders twitched noticeably. Then she replied,
“Alright, I’ll do it.”
“If you need, I can pay you a little.”
If Grace had asked for a large bottle, it might’ve been troublesome. But since it was just a small one, the maid shook her head with a bright smile.
“No need for money. But… are you managing alright with him?”
“Yes!”
“Really? He’s not… tormenting you or anything?”
“Not at all.”
The maid’s face softened, relieved that Grace seemed to be doing better than expected.
“But it is a little… lonely.”
“Ah…”
Lonely, she said—but both of them knew it was really because the other maids were subtly ostracizing her.
Grace went on to recount the whole story about what had happened in the kitchen. The maid, who had just started to relax, grew gloomy again.
Of course, this was all part of Grace’s plan.
She never knew when she might need this maid’s help again. If she let the maid’s guilt fade away, she might refuse next time.
The unsuspecting, naïve maid looked stricken and finally said,
“If you ever need help again, please come to me.”
“Really…? Everyone else avoids me…”
“Of course! I’ll definitely help you!”
“Thank you so much!”
“No, I should be thanking you.”
The maid shook her head firmly, then hurried away to fetch the oil and returned not long after.
It was only a small bottle, but enough to keep a lamp burning for several days.
It seemed to be quite a nasty cold—Rivanu was bedridden for several days straight. But Grace cared for him with all her heart.
“…Oh?”
About three days later, Rivanu finally sat up, casually accepted the meal Grace brought, and took a seat at the table.
Grace blinked in surprise—this was the first time he had gotten out of bed before she prompted him.
“Has your fever gone down? May I check your forehead?”
“It’s gone…”
He didn’t avoid her touch and even leaned forward, so Grace placed her hand against his forehead.
Yes, the fever had broken.
Grace smiled in relief and murmured, “Thank goodness.”
“I also baked some bread. Should I bring it? Do you think you can eat it?”
She had only brought soup today, worried he might still be unwell.
But Rivanu shook his head firmly and picked up his spoon.
“This is enough…”
“Alright. But just in case, you should keep taking your medicine for today.”
“…Okay.”
After being sick, he seemed noticeably more docile.
It wasn’t that he had decided to be nice—he simply didn’t know how to respond to genuine kindness.
With people who disliked or shunned him, he could behave however he pleased and they’d leave on their own. But Grace was different, and that left him unsettled.
He even finished the bowl of soup without complaint. And though Grace bustled about the room, he didn’t snap at her.
He simply sat quietly, watching her.
At first, he had been visibly uncomfortable with everything she did. But now, after eating well and taking his medicine properly, his pain seemed greatly reduced—though the itching still lingered.
“I think we should air out the room a little. I can smell some of the oil.”
Grace, moving briskly around the room, spoke as she stood by the window.
“Mm.”
Rivanu nodded.
Creeeeak—
The window, which must never have been opened before, let out a loud groan as it swung open. Dust rained down, making Grace cough violently.
Rivanu shot up in alarm.
“Did you catch my cold?”
“No, no! It’s just the dust.”
“…Ah, dust.”
“My lord.”
“…Hm?”
“May I clean the room?”
“Clean?”
“Yes. There’s a lot of dust, and since it’s cold, I’ll need to tidy the fireplace before lighting it.”
“…Alright. Go ahead.”
The answer came without a moment’s hesitation.
Grace smiled at how easily he agreed.
She had worried he would be difficult, but after his illness, he seemed a little different.
At this rate, winning him over to her side would be as easy as pie.
“That’s a relief. I also cleaned up the room next door so you can stay there for a while.”
“…Next door?”
This annex might have been used just for dumping trash now, but it was once part of the duke’s estate. Of course, there were plenty of rooms.
The problem was, they were filthy and unusable.
Even this one had only been chosen because it was the least dirty. The others were practically wrecked.
Rivanu, who had lived in this annex for a long time, knew that well. So when she said she had cleaned it, he couldn’t help but be surprised.
“Yes! Would you like to see it?”
Expecting it to be only marginally better, Rivanu rose without much thought.
But the moment he opened the door, his eyes flew wide in shock.
“What… is this place?”
From the hallway itself, the floor gleamed as though polished. For a moment, he wondered if this really was the same annex he had lived in.
“You cleaned all this yourself?”
“It was too dirty to leave as it was.”
Grace answered matter-of-factly, as if making this once-filthy corridor shine like new was nothing.
Rivanu was struck speechless.
“…Let’s see the room.”
“But the bed inside will need to be moved.”
“Who’s going to move it?”
“I will.”
Blinking innocently, Grace said this as if it were the most natural thing.
Rivanu glanced at her thin wrists.
Her frame was small, her hands tiny.
Even with help, moving a bed would be difficult. Yet she was brimming with confidence—it was bewildering.
“Don’t worry. I’m strong!”
“…How old are you?”
“Me? Fifteen. How about you, my lord?”
“I… also.”
Fifteen years old. But since neither of them ate properly, both were much smaller than their peers.
Grace, however, didn’t see her own condition clearly. Hearing that Rivanu was the same age as her, she gasped in delight.
“We’re the same age?!”
“…Why are you reacting like that?”
Rivanu looked at her in disbelief.
“Why? Did I say something wrong again…?”
It was like two messy dogs covered in dirt staring at each other in bewilderment, each thinking the other ridiculous.
