Chapter 02

“First of all, you already know your hair is bright blonde… And of course, you know your eyes are a pale green, right? Your nose is small and nicely shaped, and your lips are red and full. Ah, your ears are unusual? The tips are slightly pointed. Were they always like that since birth?”

Tilda touched the tip of my ear and examined my face more closely before speaking.

“Hm… At this rate, you’re actually quite pretty.”

At her final verdict, I smiled happily. At the same time, I felt disappointed that I couldn’t see my own face.

And truthfully, there was another face I was even more curious about.

“…Tilda, then… what does Young Master Kallios look like?”

“Young Master Kallios? Hey, was that what you were really curious about all along?”

Tilda asked teasingly.

Yes, I’m incredibly curious!

I answered inwardly while hiding my eager expression.

I’d possessed a character inside a novel, yet couldn’t admire the male lead’s appearance—Tilda would never understand the tragedy of that.

“Well, I guess not knowing what the young master you serve looks like would be frustrating.”

Saying that, Tilda began describing Kallios for me.

“Hmm… The young master resembles the master very much—he inherited his moon-white silver hair and blue eyes. And they say his beauty takes after the late madam.”

“Ooh.”

“And…”

Tilda paused briefly, as if considering her next words. Unable to bear the wait, I interrupted.

“Are his eyes sharp-looking by any chance? Does he have a defined jawline? And a handsome forehead too?”

“…How did you pick out only the young master’s exact features? As if you’ve seen him yourself?”

Tilda asked in surprise.

“I just guessed.”

Instead of saying I knew from the novel, I brushed it off.

“Well, I suppose our young master’s looks have always been famous. You probably heard about them somewhere.”

Tilda replied without suspicion.

“Besides, he’s only fifteen years old, but unbelievably intelligent. You could already feel the dignity of a future duke from him.”

Her voice brimmed with pride for the master she served.

“So in a way, there were times he gave off an aura that made him hard to approach. Though, nobles are often like that…”

Hmm, hard to approach? Like an icy prince?

Perfect!

I freely let my imagination run wild, comparing Tilda’s description with the original novel’s portrayal.

Even without seeing him, one thing was certain—despite the original story not having begun yet, Kallios’s beauty had already reached its final form.

“He was definitely that kind of person, but…”

Suddenly, sadness filled Tilda’s voice.

“For some reason, he won’t take a single step outside his room anymore… Every time the young master’s shouting echoes through the mansion, my heart drops. I really can’t believe a person could change this much in only half a year.”

Tilda clicked her tongue.

The madness disease had another name: ‘the devil’s curse,’ because one of its traits was unbearable pain whenever exposed to light.

Naturally, nothing good would come from people learning that the young duke had contracted such an ominous illness.

So the duke kept it a strict secret. Other than the butler and head maid, none of the servants knew about the disease.

He had hidden the truth even from me, despite bringing me in to care for Kallios.

Furthermore, my contract contained clauses like these:

First: Do not ask about the young duke’s condition.

Second: Do not ask why lights must not be turned on.

Third: Never reveal anything heard inside the young duke’s bedroom.

Because of this, most servants, unaware of the circumstances, simply found the young duke’s sudden transformation strange.

“Ah… How long is he going to keep locking himself in his room like that? He isn’t going to stay that way forever… right?”

Tilda ended with a question spoken almost to herself.

As someone who had read the original novel, the answer was:

No, he wouldn’t.

It took time, but Kallios eventually came outside.

It was thanks to years of gradually training himself to endure the pain.

Though calling it “training” was generous—it was essentially forcing himself to withstand agony through sheer willpower.

After enduring that suffering, when he turned twenty, Kallios was finally able to stand beneath the sun.

But his happiness at returning to the outside world was short-lived.

He discovered that the father he trusted had long since abandoned hope for his recovery—and had even brought another heir to the mansion to replace him.

Consumed by betrayal and rage, Kallios ultimately killed his father and claimed the title of duke for himself.

Later, unable to defy the emperor’s order that he continue the family line, he entered a political marriage with the daughter of a marquis.

That bride was none other than the female lead:

Helene.

Because Kallios had locked away his heart completely, their married life seemed doomed from the start.

But this world was, after all, a romance novel.

Blessed by divine grace and awakened as a saintess, Helene cured Kallios’s madness disease—an illness no method had ever been able to heal.

Then, through her warmth and lovable nature, she melted Kallios’s frozen heart, and the two eventually became a genuine married couple.

…That was the plot of the original novel, .

So although Kallios was currently trapped inside his room, unable to move freely…

A happy ending awaited him—where he would meet the heroine, discover true love, and finally escape his illness.

“Anyway, did that satisfy your curiosity a little?”

At Tilda’s question, I snapped out of my thoughts.

“Yes, thanks to you.”

“Then get up now. If we sit around too long, people will start glaring.”

Tilda stood while putting the remaining cloths into a basket.

Then she added in a scolding tone:

“You need to pay more attention from now on, okay? Don’t go fainting after getting hit by flying flower vases.”

“Yes, I’ll keep that in mind.”

Of course, staying alert wouldn’t magically let me dodge flower vases being hurled at random.

I swallowed those words and followed Tilda out of the break room.

* * *

The next day.

I deeply regretted not reporting the other maids’ negligence to the head maid earlier.

Mary and Dorothy, who said they’d prepare the bathwater and come back, had suddenly disappeared without a trace.

How bold. Are they openly planning to dump all their work on me now?

They probably knew I’d only recently arrived and, being blind, would have difficulty finding another job.

They must have assumed I wouldn’t dare report them to the head maid and risk conflict with the others.

Standing alone in the hallway, I let out a deep sigh.

I still haven’t memorized the mansion’s layout well enough to go looking for them carelessly.

Eventually, I gave up waiting and headed toward the young duke’s room.

Knock, knock.

After knocking, I quietly opened the door and stepped inside.

Even with someone entering, Kallios made no sign of acknowledgment. Nor did he leave his bed.

But today, even alone, I had to make sure he got up.

Today was his bath day.

Last week, insisting on bathing by himself without anyone’s help, he had fallen onto the floor.

After suffering fairly severe bruises, he’d remained in bed ever since without washing.

“Um… Young Master.”

I approached the bed and called softly.

“Your bathwater has been prepared.”

Surely he wouldn’t throw something again just because I spoke to him?

Tense, I waited for Kallios’s response.

Then something unexpected happened.

A rustling sound came from the bed—

and the young duke obediently sat up.