🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter 12
The longer the head maid’s deliberation dragged on, the busier I became.
Since there were no other maids, I was practically managing Kalios’s residence all by myself.
That was why I desperately hoped more staff would be assigned soon.
“Young Master, aren’t you uncomfortable? Should I go ask Head Maid Melissa to send another maid more quickly?”
“What for? Melissa will choose someone suitable on her own.”
Kalios, unaware of my inner thoughts, sounded relaxed—almost careless.
“I think… having only you would be enough for me.”
“…Pardon?”
“It’s nothing. More importantly, I think all the flowers have wilted. The scent has weakened. Could you bring fresh ones?”
What?
I’d only just brought those flowers. There was no way they had already wilted.
…This jerk isn’t making me run pointless errands like a trained dog, is he?
I narrowed my eyes and glared toward where Kalios was.
The faint tenderness I’d felt for him earlier had completely disappeared.
“What are you doing? Why are you just standing there hesitating?”
“…I’ll go.”
Even if that was what he was doing, how could I possibly win against someone that stubborn?
Swallowing my frustration, I quietly turned around with the flowers in my arms.
* * *
The next day.
I was on my way to Kalios’s residence to begin another day of work when I stopped in the hallway at a sound nearby.
Along with loud thudding noises, someone was groaning in the darkness.
It definitely sounded like a man who had lost his way.
I turned toward the sound and asked,
“Who’s there?”
As I approached, the person heard my cane and called out in an oddly relieved voice.
“Ah, it’s the maid from before! The one serving Young Master Kalios!”
The moment I heard his voice, I recognized him too.
It was Brandon—the attendant who had come some time ago to deliver a letter from the academy to Kalios.
“I came because there’s news for the Young Master! But… why is it so dark here again?”
he asked in confusion.
“The Young Master is practicing moving around in darkness. Recently he ordered even this corridor to be darkened.”
As Kalios became more skilled at walking in the dark, he wanted to move around a wider area.
So not only the usual hallway, but even the corridor leading to the central staircase had all its windows boarded up.
Because of that, he could move around much more freely.
Of course, for someone like Brandon—who entered without knowing anything—the darkness would feel like a maze.
“Ah, I thought…”
Brandon sounded relieved.
“I wondered if the Young Master’s condition had worsened and he was shutting himself away from people.”
“…Shutting himself away from people?”
At his words, I suddenly remembered how indifferent Kalios had seemed whenever I mentioned wanting new maids to arrive soon.
No way.
Surely he wasn’t already trying to close off his heart and isolate himself from others like in the original story.
“Anyway, what was this important news?”
Pushing aside my unease, I asked Brandon.
“Ah, well… A few days ago, after hearing he might be expelled, the Young Master seemed very devastated. I felt terrible too.”
He continued in a worried voice.
“So I wondered if there was another way and contacted the academy. I asked whether attendance could be recognized even without physically attending classes.”
The next moment, a hint of hope entered Brandon’s voice.
“And they told me there is one way!”
“What method?”
“They said that if he submits an alternative report every semester and passes the evaluation standards, it will count as attendance!”
“…Really?”
I asked again, surprised by the unexpected possibility.
“Yes! Well… apparently only a handful of students have ever met those requirements and graduated that way… but still, the possibility exists.”
“That’s good news! That’s such a relief!”
“Yes… it is…”
But Brandon trailed off and suddenly sighed.
“At first I was overjoyed too. I thought hope had appeared for the Young Master. But after thinking more about it…”
His voice darkened.
“…it’s useless.”
“Why?”
“Well, think about it. The Young Master spends all day in complete darkness. How could he possibly write reports in an environment like that?”
Ah…
Brandon paused briefly before sighing again.
“That’s why I wasn’t even sure whether I should tell him this. I worried it might only disappoint him…”
“Then I’ll tell him instead.”
“Oh—would you really?”
His voice brightened immediately.
He looked secretly pleased to pass such a burdensome task onto me.
“Then I’ll leave it to you!”
* * *
“Maybe because I’ve been moving around more these days, I think I’m sleeping much better than before.”
When I entered the room, Kalios spoke in an unusually good mood.
“Really? That’s great.”
I nodded along, but Brandon’s words from earlier wouldn’t leave my mind.
Unable to shake the uneasy feeling lingering inside me, I cautiously asked:
“Still… it’s good that your range of movement has expanded, but I’m worried new maids might struggle to adapt.”
At my words, the sound of Kalios lightly swinging his arm stopped.
Soon he answered casually:
“They probably will. But it’s not like I need to consider every detail of their circumstances.”
“…”
That was true, but…
Hearing his answer made me slightly anxious.
In the original story, he was deeply hurt by people turning away from him and eventually closed off his heart.
I had decided to help Kalios precisely because I didn’t want that to happen.
After hesitating, I finally chose to ask directly.
“Young Master… are you perhaps uncomfortable with new servants coming here?”
Silence settled over the room.
Had I been too blunt?
Soon, a faint sigh came from him.
“It’s not that. It’s just…”
Kalios sat heavily on the bed and continued:
“You’ll need more help eventually, so I don’t mind hiring more people. But… are you really okay with it?”
“…Me?”
Why was this suddenly about me?
“I mean, are you okay working with other maids? You’re only a temporary employee, and…”
He hesitated and failed to finish.
But even that was enough for me to understand what worried him.
Not long ago, girls like Mary and Dorothy had picked fights with me and caused trouble.
“…What? Was it because of me?”
Realizing the reason left me oddly deflated.
I gave a weak laugh and tried to ease the tense atmosphere.
“Oh, come on. I’m sure Head Maid Melissa will choose suitable people.”
“That may be true… but if anything uncomfortable happens, tell me. Honestly, having only you around doesn’t inconvenience me much.”
“But having only one maid serving a young duke sounds ridiculous.”
“What’s ridiculous about it? I said that’s how I want it.”
Kalios ended the conversation as if refusing further argument.
“……”
I grew serious again.
Objectively, there wasn’t much wrong with what Kalios said.
Unlike what I feared, he didn’t seem to be avoiding or rejecting people.
If anything, it was fortunate that he felt comfortable around me.
But if he ended up settling into a life trapped in darkness…
Then what happens to the original story?
The future where he inherits the dukedom and Helena cures his illness?
Had my interference unintentionally blocked his path instead?
…No.
Kalios needed something—anything—that would pull him back out into the world again.
