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Chapter 4
“I’m sorry.”
El lowered her head deeply.
“Stop saying you’re sorry.”
“I… I can’t read that text.”
“At all?”
Caron asked again, as if he had just heard something unbelievable.
“…Yes.”
El’s face looked like it might burst from shame.
It was humiliating.
She had lived her whole life only thinking about whether she could survive or not, so this kind of feeling was foreign to her.
“You’re about to explode just because of something like that?”
“…What?”
El felt like a complete fool.
Caron, who had been watching her quietly, unfolded his crossed legs and leaned forward casually.
His large hand brushed lightly against El’s cheek.
“You’re burning up.”
Startled, El jerked back and quickly pressed her own hand against her cheek. It really was hot, as if it might burst.
While she was still flustered, his pale, slender hand snatched the papers she was holding.
“You’ll be receiving thirty gold coins every month from now on. Use them wisely.”
“…What?”
“Can’t you tell? I’m reading it out loud for you. Focus.”
But why would someone so high and noble even bother reading it for her?
El shrank her shoulders.
She could never repay him. No matter how hard she tried, no matter how long she lived, she would never be able to return everything he had given her.
Bathing for the first time in warm water inside a grand, palace-like tub, wearing a clean dress instead of rags, sleeping under a warm blanket on a soft bed, and even being given a name—El—instead of just Number 8.
All of it had been given to her by him.
They were things so unattainable that even if she sold her soul, she could never have gained them.
“I’ll have to hire you a private tutor.”
“A… a tutor?”
“You need to learn the basics. You have to know how to read if you’re going to sign contracts.”
Caron dropped the words carelessly and set the papers down on the table.
“I’ve… never learned anything before.”
“That doesn’t matter.”
Could she even learn?
All El had ever done was survive by instinct.
Sneaking into kitchens to steal food right before it spoiled, figuring out how to get beaten with less pain, enduring long days of hunger, or secretly tending to friends’ wounds after the director’s harsh beatings—those were the only skills she knew.
“Do you think I’ll be able to?”
“It’s not about whether you can. It’s about the fact that you must.”
Caron leaned back in his chair and stared silently at El’s face. Even when she nervously averted her eyes, his unwavering gaze followed her.
“Is there… something wrong with me?”
“Today the dressing room will be filled. Tomorrow, your furniture will be replaced.”
“……”
“El. Why do you think I brought you here?”
“Uh… because you felt sorry for me?”
“I’m not a philanthropist.”
“Then why…?”
“Learn to read first. Once you do, you’ll understand little by little. For now, you may go rest.”
Caron exhaled softly and closed his eyes, as if he no longer wanted to speak.
El quickly bowed and left, glancing at him nervously.
Even after she walked out, Caron didn’t open his eyes.
Leaving the office, El followed the maid who was waiting outside back to her room.
She looked around quietly.
The room was still dazzling and extravagant.
Strangely, she felt like she was a cockroach scuttling down the orphanage corridor again.
How could someone like her step into such a place? Just existing here felt like a crime.
But if it was this kind of crime, she would gladly accept it.
“Young lady, could you take a look at this for a moment?”
“Ah, yes, right away!”
Startled by the maid’s words, El hurried over.
Her habit of moving frantically, shaped by life at the orphanage, was hard to shake off.
When she entered the dressing room, she instantly covered her mouth with both hands and stepped back in shock.
Why would clothes even need their own room? El couldn’t understand.
In a world where some people didn’t even have a house to live in, there was a whole room just for clothes.
And inside, there were three or four maids working to manage them.
“The master said all of this belongs to you, miss!”
“Isn’t it beautiful?”
The maids spoke cheerfully, genuinely happy for her. But El didn’t smile.
In her world, colors were mostly yellowish, gray, or brown. Occasionally, a reddish tint from brick walls.
“…His tastes are really… flashy.”
Pink here, pink there. Everywhere was pink.
El, who had never seen such vivid colors, felt dizzy just looking at them.
Soft pink, bright pink, elegant pink—so many shades.
But why only pink dresses? What could his intention be?
“Would you like to try one on? The dress you’re wearing now was just a spare we had—it doesn’t fit you properly.”
At those words, El snapped out of her daze. She slipped into a modest light-pink dress.
It fit her perfectly, as if it had been made for her.
Staring at herself in the mirror, El tilted her head.
“But wait…”
How could the noble duke possibly know a woman’s measurements after meeting her for the first time yesterday and then have a dress made by today?
“Pardon?”
One of the maids blinked in surprise. El quickly shook her head and swallowed her question.
It wasn’t wise to pry into the thoughts of such high-ranking people. That was a quick way to shorten your life.
All she wanted was for this dream-like life to last just a little longer.
“Oh, no, nothing. The clothes are just so… extravagant. No, they’re beautiful. Really beautiful.”
“Right? Pink dye is very rare, so the master must have put great thought into this.”
Too much thought, perhaps—there aren’t any other colors at all.
“Are these… expensive?”
“That one right in front of you costs about as much as a maid’s yearly salary.”
The maid who had been attending El the closest since her arrival answered flatly.
El stared at her for a moment, then glanced around the wardrobes.
Spotting a cabinet filled with jewelry, she peered inside and picked up one piece.
“Are all of these really mine? Not just lent to me?”
The maid, perhaps sensing El’s disbelief and unease, replied softly to reassure her.
“Of course. They all belong to you, miss. Even if you burned them all, the master wouldn’t say a word. They’re yours.”
“……”
After a brief hesitation, El held out the jewelry to the maid.
“Would it be all right if I gave this to you as a gift?”
The maid looked startled, glancing between El and the item.
Seeing El’s calm expression, she realized her assumption had been wrong.
El hadn’t asked out of confusion—she had asked because she wanted to give it away.
“I was only doing my job, miss. I can’t accept this.”
The maid refused firmly, turning her gaze aside. But El persisted, pushing the jewelry toward her again.
“You helped me change, guided me to the dining hall, and kept this room spotless. I know you’ve been giving your best.”
“……”
That wasn’t all.
When everyone else had hesitated to touch the filthy, smelly girl, this maid had stepped forward without hesitation.
Her touch had always been gentle, careful. Especially when brushing against the old, darkened scars on El’s body—then she had been even more careful.
They didn’t hurt anymore, but El had noticed.
“Thank you. Maybe you thought you were just doing your duty, but to me, it meant a lot.”
“Young lady, please mind your words.”
“Then… will you accept it?”
The maid stared at her, sighed softly, and finally took the jewelry.
“…I’ll use it well. Thank you.”
El’s face bloomed with a bright smile, like a flower opening.
“Thank you! I was worried you might refuse…”
“…Miss, you should be cautious of people who act friendly to you in this place.”
“I know.”
“…?”
The maid blinked in surprise, her eyes full of questions.
El looked so bright, innocent, harmless.
“People who’ve been hurt become more sensitive, you see. I’m very sensitive to people’s eyes, hands, and words. I can tell whether someone is being genuine with me or not.”
Maybe, just maybe… this young lady smiling in front of her wasn’t as naïve as she seemed.
In fact, she might even be sharp.
Even dazzled by the splendor of the mansion, she still remembered exactly which maid had helped her change clothes.
“…Even so, please be careful.”
“I will.”
After the maid left, El shook her head as she looked around the dressing room, overflowing with pink.
What is he really thinking?
There was no way of knowing the true intentions of people so high above.
(To be continued…)
