CDGMS 11

CHAPTER 11

The sound I heard was nothing like the weak cries from before.

I quickly turned my head—

The once-weak horses were stretching out their necks, gobbling up the fresh feed in Kelpie and Shiker’s arms.

The two monsters, caught off guard, were being pushed around by the excited horses. The feed was stacked so high that their bodies wobbled under the weight.

“Wait… the horses… they like the new feed?”

And not just a little. They loved it.

‘Seriously? Nobody thought to change their feed all this time?’

The horses neighed loudly, as if to answer my thought, chomping away happily.

‘These poor things… it’s like animal abuse.’

I crossed my arms and kept watching, but Shiker looked like he couldn’t hold it in anymore.

The usually calm black horse-head monster was trembling. His face even turned slightly red.

Finally, he stomped his foot on the ground.

“You despicable creatures.”

The stable shook violently. His voice no longer sounded like his.

At first, it was like a man in his twenties. Then, like a man in his fifties. Then, like a little girl.

In the end—it was as if many voices overlapped at once.

“What do you even know…!”

“Eek!”

But the voice wasn’t the problem.

I dropped the report in my hand, covering my mouth in shock.

Because with that stomp—

Dust from the stable ceiling came raining down.

“Oh no… what is this mess, Shiker?!”

I grabbed his shoulders and shook him. He blinked back at me with his usual clueless eyes.

I’d never worked in a stable before—not in my past life, not even at Baron Armond’s house. I thought feeding, cleaning the floor, and clearing manure was all there was.

But no. The real problem was above us.

The ceiling was full of thick, ancient dust. No wonder the animals looked half-dead.

My head throbbed. Even squinting to soften the shock, the sight was horrible.

At least there weren’t cobwebs. But the dust was so bad my eyes watered.

“Kelpie, Shiker.”

I gestured. They awkwardly set down the feed and shuffled toward me.

I couldn’t really blame them. Just like me, they probably never realized.

It didn’t matter. Now we knew. Now we could fix it.

“First of all, the horses… they’ve regained some strength, right?”

“…Yes.”

I pointed at the fallen dust, then at the ceiling, smiling as kindly as I could.

“Then you know what comes next, don’t you?”

All afternoon, I waited eagerly for my shift cleaning the Duke’s office.

He often checked on the horses through the window. He must have seen how lively they were this morning.

‘When I go in, he’ll definitely mention it!’

…Or so I thought.

Ten minutes. Twenty minutes. An hour.

He just sat there, calmly reading a book. Not even glancing at me.

‘Why isn’t he saying anything?’

At the very least, something like, “So it was the feed after all,” would have been nice.

And someone who loved horses that much… wouldn’t they go outside and see them for themselves?

The garden was enormous. Even without leaving the mansion grounds, he could take a look.

“Shasha.”

“Yes?!”

Finally!

I turned my head eagerly.

“If you have something to say, then say it.”

‘H-He knew? Even though I was trying to sneak glances while wiping the window?’

I forced a grin.

“Well… the horses, um, they’ve regained their strength.”

“I see.”

“Yes.”

“…”

“…”

The silence was broken only by the sound of a page turning.

‘Huh? I thought he’d be happier than this…’

Maybe I got too excited. My shoulders slumped.

Forget it. I clenched the rag in my hand.

“…What do you like, my lord?”

His hand froze.

For the first time today, his red eyes shifted toward me.

But his answer was—

“Why would that matter to you?”

My heart clenched.

The look on his face, the tone in his voice…

It was exactly like those tragic monster dukes from romance novels, the ones who thought:

“No one could ever love a monster like me. Don’t pretend to care.”

I bit my lip hard, fighting back the sting in my eyes.

What should I say?

‘I just want to know because I care about you’—no, that would hurt him more.

‘I’m your maid, so I should know what you like’—ugh, that sounded greedy, like I wanted more pay.

“…Forget it. That was careless of me.”

He stared at me for a long time. Finally, his eyebrows twitched, and he went back to his book.

I forced a smile and returned to wiping the window.

‘Great. Now I probably ruined it. We feel even more distant.’

But it was too late to back out now.

He’d already asked me—

“Are you not afraid of me?”

I couldn’t stop thinking about it.

‘I just want him to be less gloomy. To have even a little joy.’

Sure, people would call me nosy. But anyone who saw his face—and the meals he provided, and the insane wages—would definitely want to stay loyal forever.

I sighed.

‘But what can I even do…’

The glass was so clear now that I could see the outer garden.

“Eh?”

I froze.

Eki was there, scrubbing with a cold, expressionless face.

I’d never seen her look like that before. Even the nearby monsters flinched away, avoiding her path.

‘Something must have happened. She looks… scary.’

Then it hit me.

‘Wait, why did I even bother asking the Duke? Eki’s right here! She’s human, my roommate, and she’s been here way longer than me!’

“Eki!”

“Shasha!”

We met in the dining hall, running to each other with open arms.

We didn’t call each other’s names outside the dorms, but our eyes said it all.

“I missed you!”

“Me too!”

We hugged tightly. Sure, we saw each other every night in the dorm, but meeting during work felt different.

Ever since I started cleaning the Duke’s office and bedroom, our duties had been split. Even our meal times rarely matched.

Finally, today, we got to share lunch.

“Your doll looks fine.”

“Of course. You’re the one who sewed this pocket for me.”

Eki proudly showed the small pocket I had stitched into her maid uniform—so she could always carry her beloved doll.

So cute.

“Oh! I got our food early. Sit here!”

“Thanks.”

She had grown so much. No longer shy, she even saved food for me. Sometimes it felt like the monsters were the ones wary of her.

‘Ha! That must be the power of being my roommate.’

I smirked at the monsters sneaking glances at us but looking away quickly whenever we noticed.

‘Good. Fear me all you want. And don’t mess with Eki.’

I sat right beside her and cut into today’s lunch: perfectly grilled beef steak.

While eating, I asked the question that had been burning in my mind.

“Eki, did something upset you today?”