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~Chapter 8~
Lily had seen Il Dexter before.
“You’re the one who opened the door for me when I came to the castle yesterday, right? We didn’t get to introduce ourselves. I’m Lily—nice to meet you.”
He was also the man who tried to stop Blake from taking her to the bathroom.
“It wasn’t really the best time to introduce ourselves, haha.”
And actually, Il already knew Lily from before.
Il Dexter’s pale face showed he was one of the few pure Imperials in the winter castle.
When he lived in the capital, his father sold jewels to nobles.
So of course he would recognize the most beautiful woman in high society.
‘Yesterday it was late, and she had on a hat and scarf, so I didn’t notice…’
Now that he saw her clearly, she really was extremely beautiful.
But Il didn’t have time to blush.
The maids were standing by the wall, looking scary.
“While Mr. Dexter does the treatment, let’s make a plan to teach our master a lesson.”
“Yeah!”
Even after Lily told them the whole story, the maids were still angry.
Since Blake was hiding and scared Lily, it was his fault, they said.
“But how? Lily said we shouldn’t attack the master.”
Honestly, they couldn’t fight Blake head-on.
Not because the maids were weak—
But because Blake was their master, and he was strong enough to beat them all without getting tired.
“How about we just glare at him all day?”
Il pretended not to hear their plan, and put his hand on Lily’s ankle. A light sparkled.
Lily was impressed.
“Oh, you’re a sorcerer!”
“Not good enough to be called that, really. My skill doesn’t matter much. But I’m the only one in the winter castle who can use magic, so it helps me get promoted. Well, now I’m not the only one here.”
Il was now the only person in the castle who knew Lily was a sorcerer too.
Because he was from the capital.
Of course, Il also thought Blake knew about Lily’s magic—
but he was wrong.
“You’re really good at cutting bandages too.”
“I studied medicine in college. If you ever need anything in the castle, call me. I’ve learned all kinds of things.”
Only in the capital were there big colleges with medicine.
Lily wondered why he left the capital for this far-off place.
Between pure Imperials and Uffus people, there was usually a big wall in their hearts.
“All done, Miss Lily. Just don’t run around for a week and you’ll be fine. …What is it now?”
The maids were poking Il with scary eyes.
“Mr. Dexter, help out someone in the same boat as you.”
“Don’t talk like a gangster! What is it?”
“Try to get the master to eat breakfast in the dining room today. We’ll glare at him while he eats.”
“Don’t mess up my promotion, please.”
“You care about promotion, but is that more important than your life?”
Il could see there was no way out, so he just sighed and nodded.
Blake was in his office.
His day started by running into Lily at the stable at dawn. After that, he worked through all the papers from around the estate.
‘Is it about time for breakfast?’
He put down his quill. Il Dexter was standing there.
“Il, I’ll eat here. Tell the cook to bring something simple.”
“Um… Sir, why don’t you eat in the dining room today? It’s been a while.”
Il remembered the maids’ plan and tried to hide how nervous he was.
Blake raised an eyebrow.
Everyone knew he’d eaten alone in his room ever since his father died five years ago.
“…The annual banquet is coming soon. Everyone will be busy, so I should get through these papers first.”
“I know, but it’s good to eat well too. If I want a promotion, you need to live a long, healthy life!”
Blake frowned hard.
Why was Il acting so strange?
He was always talking about promotions, so he didn’t seem sick.
But usually Il would just bring him a meal with no questions.
Blake felt suspicious, so he decided to go to the dining room.
There was a small room in the castle for the duke’s meals.
It was always winter, but this room at least had warm sunlight.
By the fireplace was a stack of wood, and in the center, a long table for eight people.
Blake was the only Uffus family member left, so of course he expected the dining room to be empty.
But as soon as he walked in, he locked eyes with Lily, sitting across the table.
“…”
If he really were a wolf, he would have shown his teeth and growled.
It had barely been any time since they promised not to meet!
Lily saw his sharp stare and smiled. She teased him in a playful voice.
“Just so you know, I didn’t plan this. I did tell you I liked you a few hours ago, but still.”
“Then whose idea was this?”
The culprits appeared—the fierce maids!
“And for the record, I did try to stop them.”
Lily gave an awkward smile.
Il Dexter, following behind Blake, added in his head: ‘Me too. Please don’t ruin my promotion for this.’
Il hurried out.
Then the maids stomped in, ready to carry out their plan.
They started with appetizers.
“Here’s your appetizer, Miss Lily.”
They put several glasses in front of Lily—champagne, dried fruits, even a finger bowl to clean her hands.
Blake sat at the far end, looking annoyed.
“Appetizer? Really?”
In the winter castle, meals were simple. All the food was brought out at once and everyone ate their fill.
Formal courses were just for showing off in the capital.
“Why are you acting like it’s a fancy party?”
“It’s because Miss Lily brought warm spring wind to the castle, sir.”
The maids answered with straight faces, but said ‘master’ with a strong accent.
“This is for you, master.”
They set a dish like Lily’s in front of Blake.
But something was odd.
Lily’s finger bowl had water and a lemon slice.
Blake’s had… just a whole lemon, with no water.
Blake looked at the lemon and laughed under his breath.
How was he supposed to wash his hands with just a lemon?
“What kind of joke is this?”
The maids turned away and pretended not to hear. Instead, they smiled sweetly at Lily.
“Do you need anything else, Miss?”
“No, but… Mr. Blake seems to be calling you.”
Blake called out again.
“Good. At least someone remembers me. Hey, you.”
“…”
“Those maids of mine—all falling for an outsider. Can’t one of you look at me?”
“…”
“Ugh, come on.”
Blake waved his right hand in the air, like, ‘What are you all doing?’
But this was just the beginning.
The maids’ plan was simple.
If they messed with the master during breakfast, maybe he’d treat Lily more gently after that.
“Gloria. Giana! …Am I dead or something?”
Blake sounded scary when he was angry.
If they were outside, all the wild animals would have run away.
But the maids just flexed their muscles and stayed silent.
“Fine, whatever.”
Blake shrugged his big shoulders and spoke to Lily.
“If I’m a ghost, there’s nothing I can do. But I haven’t made a will yet. Miss, want to inherit my money? I’ve got quite a lot.”
“You’re so humble, for the master of the dukedom with most of the magic resources.”
“Correction: I have a LOT.”
Blake shook his lemon in the air. He called for the maids five more times.
Nothing worked, so he finally mumbled,
“As your master, I order you—at least bring Il Dexter. I’ll write his firing letter.”
Finally, one maid answered.
“What can we do to you? You scared Miss Lily so badly she hurt her leg, and you didn’t even take care of her. Left her to walk home alone!”
“Thanks for the honest explanation. Now I know why you’re doing this.”
After more arguing and fuss, Lily tried to calm everyone down.
“Okay, let’s all stop now…”
But Blake and the maids just shouted louder, veins showing on their foreheads. No one seemed to hear Lily’s gentle voice.
“…Mr. Blake? Giana? Hello?”
Her kind voice was almost drowned out in all the noise.
