IFBD 11

Chapter 11

Valley’s first day at the Biterad estate passed in an instant because she spent it catching up on sleep.

It was because she had not slept properly for several days, driven only by her determination to pass Wayne’s test.

Maybe because the room was larger and warmer than the Fria Tine estate, her body did not feel heavy even after using so much magic over the past few days.

“Maybe I’ve gotten a little stronger these past few days…!”

Valley happily got out of bed and stretched her body. Out of habit, she brushed her light green hair back with one hand and quietly looked toward the door.

Then, realizing no one would come in, the corners of her lips slowly dropped.

At the Fria Tine estate, Edel had always come to wake her with a bright smile.

‘Miss Valley! Good morning again today. Shall I open the curtains first so you can enjoy the sunlight you like so much?’

Thinking that she would not hear that cheerful voice for a while made her feel lonely, but it also strengthened her determination.

Imagining the day she would pass the second test and meet Edel again, she lightly folded the blanket. Then she personally opened the large window to let fresh air in.

Knock knock.

Hearing a knock, she opened the door to greet the visitor.

Kanna and another maid were standing there together carrying trays.

“Good morn—”

Before Valley could finish greeting them brightly, Kanna walked past her and entered the room without even listening.

Thinking maybe her voice had been too quiet again, Valley awkwardly played with her fingertips.

Thankfully, the other maid slightly bowed her head to greet Valley. But she nervously glanced at Kanna as if carefully watching her mood.

Kanna walked to the center of the bedroom and carelessly dropped a brown paper bag onto the table. The other maid quickly followed and carefully placed the tray down.

“Here is water for washing, breakfast, and the paper and pencils you requested.”

“Thank you for preparing them so quickly.”

Valley walked toward the table to check the paper. Just before she could reach for it, Kanna pressed down on the opening of the bag faster than her.

“Before you look at them, let me give you one piece of advice.”

Kanna’s raised eyes narrowed even more sharply. For some reason, Valley thought her expression looked similar to Rina when she used to bully her.

“You came here as His Grace’s guest, but you’re only staying temporarily and will leave soon anyway, right?”

“…That could happen.”

“So I didn’t buy too much on purpose. After all, this is all paid for with His Grace’s money.”

“……”

“Well, I don’t know what amazing thing you plan to do, but please use them sparingly.”

It felt exactly like being scolded like a careless child.

Valley quietly pulled back the hand she had awkwardly stretched toward the paper.

“I only asked because I was told to request anything I needed….”

“I said I would try my best to prepare things, not that you should become greedy.”

Right now, Valley was in an awkward position where she was neither truly an insider nor an outsider. She felt a little wronged, but she also knew she should avoid causing trouble with the employees for now, so she nodded.

“I’ll use them carefully….”

“I’d appreciate that. Ah, and His Grace asked me to give you this as well.”

Kanna told the maid to bring in a small box that had been left outside the door. The maid placed the box beside Valley.

“What is this?”

“Clothes. His Grace said you probably don’t have enough belongings, so you should wear these for now.”

Valley covered her mouth with both hands, touched by Wayne’s thoughtful care. She had thought he would not care whether she brought anything or not.

“Oh my, I never expected him to give me clothes…. Please tell him I’m truly grateful.”

“…I will. Then we’ll be leaving now.”

Kanna stared at Valley until the very end before leaving the bedroom. The other maid secretly greeted Valley again before following after her.

Now alone, Valley first tried washing herself before changing clothes.

“Ah, it’s cold…!”

Just touching the water with her fingertips made her shoulders tremble from how icy it was.

Edel had always warmed the water for her, so Valley had never imagined it would be cold. But she was not in a position to complain about hot or cold water, so she quietly endured it and washed her face and hands.

Then, with sparkling eyes full of expectation, she checked the clothes.

Inside the box were three wrinkled dresses.

One was white with yellow patterns, another was neat beige, and the last was a blue-green color slightly darker than Valley’s hair.

Unlike the custom dresses that tightly squeezed her waist and made it hard to breathe, these were clothes she could move around comfortably in.

And since the fabric looked clean, they even seemed like brand-new clothes that had never been worn before.

“I can even wear these comfortably while planting flowers in the garden… huh?”

While checking the shoulder part of one dress, she noticed something strange.

Confused, she quickly spread all three dresses out on the bed.

Now that she looked carefully, every dress had one damaged area.

The sleeves, skirt hems, and shoulders had all been cut halfway through. Judging from the clean edges, they were not torn but deliberately cut with scissors.

“…Well, there’s no reason they would give someone like me, who’s only under consideration, good clothes.”

She felt embarrassed for mistakenly believing they had actually bought her new clothes, and her face quickly grew hot.

It looked like the dresses would need repairs before she could wear them, so she folded them neatly. Then she checked the paper and pencils she had requested.

There were only five thick sheets of paper, each about the length of one of her arms across. And since there were only two pencils, she would have to save them carefully.

“…I should use them wisely.”

Valley carefully placed them on the bedside table before sitting down to eat breakfast.

She picked up the spoon and took a large bite of potato soup.

“Ugh….”

The moment she swallowed it, nausea rose in her throat.

The potatoes were undercooked, and the soup was cold and clumped together horribly.

It seemed they had taken it off the stove before it even finished cooking.

Valley covered her mouth and barely managed to swallow before putting down the wooden spoon.

No matter where I go, I’m still someone who gets cold soup….

A life without welcome had been normal at the Fria Tine estate. She had believed that once she escaped that place, the world would at least become a little warmer.

But she could not help feeling bitter at the same cold treatment.

“I’ll endure it while thinking about Edel….”

Valley focused only on the thought of the weekend arriving quickly so she could meet Edel again.

After lunchtime.

Kanna deliberately volunteered for outside errands and spent a long time wandering outside before returning to the estate.

When she headed to the servant lounge at the far end of the third floor, the maids had been chatting happily but suddenly became quiet after seeing her.

“What? Were you talking badly about me?”

She walked up to the youngest and most timid maid and questioned her.

“N-no. We were talking about His Grace’s guest.”

“What about her?”

“She came here a little while ago.”

“Why?”

“To repair her clothes.”

Kanna’s forehead wrinkled deeply.

“She asked us to sew her clothes for her?”

“No, she repaired them herself.”

“What?”

“Her hands moved so fast. It was surprising.”

The youngest maid’s eyes sparkled as she added more.

“There were three dresses, but it didn’t even take thirty minutes.”

“And the repairs were so neat that it looked like the dresses were originally made that way.”

“Right. And the way she focused while sewing—it looked almost like a painting.”

As the other maids also praised Valley one after another, Kanna’s expression grew even colder.

“You idiots. Any maid can do that much.”

“…Kanna, you can’t.”

“What did you say?!”

“A-ah, nothing…. I didn’t say anything….”

“Hmph, it’s not even that impressive, so why are all of you making such a fuss? Get your minds straight. That woman definitely came here aiming for His Grace’s wealth, so we need to drive her out.”

Even as Kanna warned them, none of the maids reacted strongly.

“Are you all listening to me?!”

“Ah, okay….”

“While she stays here, let’s make her do everything by herself. Then she’ll quickly get tired and leave the estate. You’ll all do as I say, right?”

“…Y-yes, we will.”

After the short conversation ended, Kanna angrily headed toward the servants’ dormitory. The moment she entered her room, she changed into a light purple dress with a tulip design.

While tying the ribbon around her waist, her roommate entered the room.

“Wait, did you really steal that?”

“Steal? Don’t say it like that. I simply didn’t give this dress to that woman.”

“I heard you even cut the clothes on purpose before giving them to her. What if His Grace finds out…?”

“I’m completely confident. In fact, I’m going to wear this dress and go see His Grace myself.”

“What?!”

The maid looked horrified and tried to stop Kanna.

“Don’t do that. You’ll really get into trouble….”

“Why should that girl receive clothes from His Grace? And not even maid uniforms, but expensive dresses like this.”

“That’s because she’s a guest. He said she’ll stay for about a month, so he’s simply showing consideration.”

“Then why did she suddenly appear and start receiving kindness from my His Grace?!”

Kanna suddenly raised her voice.

After seeing her reaction, the maid could no longer continue stopping her.

Whenever another maid in the estate even showed the slightest feelings toward Wayne, Kanna would immediately target and torment her until those feelings disappeared.

“If His Grace finds out you hid the dress, he might start disliking you.”

“Don’t worry. I already have a plan.”

Fully changed into the dress, Kanna thought about Valley and raised one corner of her lips in a mocking smile.