🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter 07
“If you don’t like what Mom made, should I buy something from outside?”
“Ah, just leave me alone!”
Crash!
The first time in my life that I threw something at my mother, I couldn’t see what expression she made.
I could only guess how she felt from the startled sound of her breath.
Quietly, she closed my bedroom door and left. Then, late at night, she came back in.
Without saying a word, she started cleaning up the things scattered across the floor.
Hidden beneath my blanket, I listened to those sounds for a long time.
No tears came from my eyes that had already lost their light.
Only a corner of my heart throbbed with a pain too overwhelming to describe.
The next day, for some reason, I stepped out of my room again for the first time in six months.
And I began learning everything all over again.
How to walk.
How to read.
How to write.
Things I thought I’d never be able to do on my own again.
Surprisingly, a world experienced through hearing, taste, smell, and touch—without sight—was just as colorful as the world I used to see.
It wasn’t a dull world where nothing could be felt.
As years passed, I gradually returned to my old life.
And just as I was beginning to blend back into the world again…
I was hit by a truck and transmigrated.
The second accident of my life.
Honestly, it took me several months just to realize I had transmigrated.
Because Lizzy Swan—the girl whose body I entered—was a seventeen-year-old who had lost her eyesight in an accident, just like me.
Facts other people could grasp at a glance, I had to hear, touch, and experience for myself.
By the time I had spent months understanding and speaking an unfamiliar language, while wondering why I never heard televisions or cars…
Only then did I realize I had ended up in someone else’s body.
At that time, Lizzy Swan had lost both her mother—her only family—and her eyesight in an accident.
Fortunately, her aunt and uncle sincerely cared for their pitiful niece who had nowhere else to go.
‘If it weren’t for those two, maybe I wouldn’t have survived in this world.’
With their help, I learned things like weaving reed baskets and started earning a living.
Then one day, my aunt rushed home from the village saying she had incredible news.
A ducal household in a neighboring territory was looking for maids.
But the condition was unusually specific.
“They’re looking for someone who can work even in an environment where nothing can be seen. Lizzy! Aren’t you perfect for that condition?”
“I mean… that’s true, but what kind of requirement is that? Which ducal house?”
“The House of Levanion!”
“Levanion…?”
The House of Levaniion…
Transmigration…
Someone able to work in complete darkness…
At last, the pieces fit together.
I finally realized which novel this world belonged to.
But unlike the transmigrators in stories, I didn’t have time to worry about whether interfering would change the original plot.
Making a living was more important.
The salary offered by a ducal household would obviously be far higher than selling woven reed baskets, so I came without hesitation.
And then I met Kalios.
* * *
“…Is this punishment for throwing something at Mom back then?”
I muttered while listening to the crunch of glass shards beneath my feet.
The room Kalios had wrecked during one of his emotional outbursts was a complete mess again.
I had painstakingly cleaned it all by myself just a few days ago, and now it looked like this once more.
I let out a deep sigh.
As if unaware of my feelings, Kalios slept quietly, his breathing shallow.
Careful not to wake him, I searched for a broom and began sweeping up the broken glass.
‘He merely lost consciousness for a moment.’
An hour earlier, after examining the collapsed Kalios, the doctor had given only that brief explanation.
There was no special treatment either.
He merely said:
‘Make sure the young master can rest in a stable environment.’
Then he left.
Once even the doctor had gone, I was the only one remaining at Kalios’s side again.
“Young master, are you awake now?”
The boy who had slept the entire time finally regained consciousness around noon the next day.
“How does your body feel?”
“……”
No answer came from Kalios.
It was as though he had returned to how he used to be.
The young duke who lay around listlessly and never responded no matter how often he was called.
“You’re hungry, right? Should I bring food?”
“……”
“Is there anything you want to eat? If I tell the kitchen, they’ll make it right away.”
“…I’m not eating.”
“Why? You need food to regain your strength.”
“…I said I’m not eating.”
“I’ll just go downstairs and—”
“I said I’m not eating!”
Something suddenly flew past my face.
The object struck the wall before dropping onto the floor.
“……”
The only sound in the room was whatever it was rolling across the ground.
“…Alright then. I’ll bring food later.”
Quietly, I stood and walked toward where the object had fallen.
Touching it, I realized it was a drinking cup.
Thankfully it hadn’t broken, but water had spilled everywhere, leaving the floor wet.
I fetched a rag and began wiping it up.
Jeez… the work just keeps piling up.
“…Did it hit you?”
At the voice breaking the silence, I lifted my head.
Seriously? Are you checking to make sure?
“Why? If it didn’t hit me, are you planning to throw it again?”
“……”
“Honestly, you know your personality is ridiculously difficult, right? I’m starting to think I should ask for double wages.”
Even after I said something incredibly insolent for a maid, Kalios didn’t reply.
A moment later, I heard rustling as he lay back down.
Then, in a barely audible voice, he said:
“Then you should go somewhere else too. There’s no reason for you to keep staying here.”
I stopped wiping and stood up.
“What do you mean?”
“Sticking around me won’t get you anything. You’ve seen it yourself. I’m someone who can’t do anything anymore.”
…Seriously.
Does he think I’m here expecting something grand?
I’m here because of the paycheck.
Feeling a little hurt, I answered:
“If I leave, then what? Who’ll take care of you?”
“……”
“How will you get around? Who’ll bring your meals? What, are you planning to starve to death?”
Kalios, who had silently listened, finally let out a deep sigh.
“…Living like this, I’d rather die.”
…What?
You little brat.
At those words—spoken as though he’d already given up on everything—I unconsciously clenched my apron.
Of course, I know a happy ending awaits him.
And I know it’s ridiculous for someone like me, an extra in this story, to be saddened by every word he says.
I know that…
But still…
“Young master, you can’t give up like this!”
Maybe it was because he looked too much like my past self.
“What would you know?”
Kalios replied coldly.
“Of course I don’t know anything. I can’t perfectly understand how you feel. But I do know your life doesn’t end here.”
The day I lost my sight, I thought my life was completely over too.
But look at me now.
Not only did my life not end—I got dropped into a strange world and I’m still living just fine, even serving a brat like you.
“…You can walk without seeing, eat, even change clothes. With training, you can do it.”
So…
Don’t give up either.
I swallowed those final words.
Hoping my sincerity would reach him.
After a long silence, Kalios finally spoke, his voice cracked and worn.
“There’s no point. I won’t be able to do it anyway.”
“You can.”
“I can’t.”
“You can, young master. You can.”
Slowly, I reached out—
And for the first time, I took hold of Kalios’s hand.
