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Chapter 1
“Heidi Dalton… here it is.”
The head maid, lifting her thin glasses with a finger, tapped the end of the ledger.
“320 Arcne in total, including your special allowance. Check if it’s correct.”
“It’s fine. Would someone like you ever make a mistake with something like this?”
Heidi smiled brightly, showing her white teeth, and slid the heavy pouch of wages aside.
“Please do it like always.”
“You mean send everything home again? Without keeping anything aside?”
“Yes, Head Maid.”
Adjusting her stiff apron starched with heavy starch, Heidi shrugged.
“I don’t really have anything to spend it on. Food, shelter, clothing—it’s all taken care of. And my lady would be inconvenienced without me.”
At that, the head maid—who had been buried in her ledger all along—shifted her gaze to Heidi.
Messily tied hair.
A plain, dull maid uniform with no decoration.
Clear skin with no trace of makeup.
A girl who clearly had no interest in dressing herself up.
And yet, Heidi was strikingly beautiful. So much so that just looking at her seemed to brighten the surroundings.
Her bright golden hair, falling to her waist, always shimmered with a healthy sheen, and her small, delicate face was arranged like a finely crafted porcelain doll.
Most striking of all were her vivid purple eyes—a rare color, one even considered a symbol of the royal Panter bloodline.
“So they say it’s not unheard of… but no matter how many times I see it, it shines like a jewel.”
The head maid sighed briefly after studying Heidi’s face.
“The other maids are all talking about flower viewing and boat rides like it’s a festival. You look like a sheltered noble daughter who’s never done a day of hard work, yet you’re obsessed with working.”
Heidi smiled with her eyes half-closed.
“I enjoy being with my lady more. It’s not really tiring.”
“Still, go home at least once. Everton isn’t that far from here, right? Hmm?”
“Yes, I will.”
After bowing politely, Heidi left the head maid’s room.
She walked down the long corridor of the mansion, her footsteps echoing—step, step—until she suddenly stopped in front of a large window.
Warm sunlight poured through the glass like a tide.
The weather is really nice.
Leaning against the window frame, Heidi looked down at the endless garden.
The estate of the Marquis House of Heizen Marquess Family, one of the most prestigious families in the kingdom.
True to its reputation, the Heizen estate was enormous—so vast that it would take half a day to walk through the entire garden.
Looking at the flowers blooming beautifully with the breath of spring, Heidi muttered indifferently.
“Is flower viewing even anything special? It’s all flowers just by looking out the window.”
Even so, she wasn’t truly uninterested in going out and having fun.
How could she not think that way? Just yesterday, she had listened for hours to her neighbor Janine excitedly talking about her boat ride with her boyfriend.
But such leisure was not permitted to Heidi.
Mom’s medicine keeps getting more expensive… Should I take on more sewing work?
She had a family to support.
For someone who had only just become an adult a year ago, carrying the entire burden of a household was overwhelming.
But she never once complained.
She simply worked day and night, tightening her belt as much as possible.
At least I can do something. I should be grateful.
At that moment, hurried footsteps came from behind her.
“Heidi!”
She turned around, and a letter was suddenly thrust in front of her. A maid, out of breath from running, bent over and spoke.
“Go see the young lady immediately.”
Heidi’s eyes widened.
“Why? What happened?”
The maid shrugged.
“She refuses to apply her medicine because she says it smells awful. Go and persuade her. And deliver this letter while you’re at it. Please, okay?”
Whenever there was business with Eloise Heizen—the only younger sister of the Marquis of Heizen—the servants always called for Heidi.
Because she was the only one who could soothe the sensitive Eloise.
Heidi took the letter and hurried toward Eloise’s room. Even from the hallway, Eloise’s sharp voice echoed loudly.
“Everyone, get out. Stop bothering me!”
When Heidi carefully opened the door, the maids inside—looking helpless and flustered—turned toward her at once.
Please, do something.
Reading their desperate eyes, Heidi let out a short sigh.
She waved them out and approached the bedside.
“Lady Eloise, everyone’s gone.”
“……”
“Milady.”
Only then did Eloise slowly pull down the blanket covering her head.
In the dim room despite the midday sun, the thin silhouette of a woman was revealed. She brushed back her messy hair and spoke in a sulky voice.
“I don’t want to apply the medicine. I’m tired. It’s fine to skip a day, isn’t it?”
“No, that won’t do. Please get up.”
Heidi shook her head firmly and gently helped her sit up.
“It’ll be quick. I’ll apply it so gently you won’t even notice. You know how fast my hands are, right? It’ll be done in no time.”
With soothing words, Heidi pulled the curtains halfway open.
Sunlight pushed away some of the darkness, revealing the room more clearly.
It was a neat and orderly bedroom—but strangely plain for the only daughter of one of the wealthiest noble families in the kingdom.
The large arched windows were all covered with dark curtains, and there wasn’t even a vanity table.
Not even a mirror—nothing with a reflective surface at all.
There was a reason for such an unusual room.
“Was the dryness uncomfortable?”
“…A little itchy.”
“If the smell bothers you, should I bring some flowers? If we fill the room with their scent, it might cover the herbal smell. There are so many blooming outside.”
Rustle, rustle.
Heidi carefully lifted Eloise’s clothing and began spreading the ointment.
The skin beneath the thin nightwear was not smooth.
Unlike her pale, flawless forehead, the rest of her body was covered in red, uneven scars.
The right side of Eloise Heizen bore clear marks of a fire from three years ago.
Just looking at it brought back the memory of that horrific incident.
Since then, talk of fire or scars had become strictly taboo among the servants, and even making eye contact with Eloise was done cautiously.
Even when Eloise screamed, cursed, threw objects, or drove the maids out daily, no one dared to stop her.
No one realized it only made her lonelier.
Until Heidi appeared.
“Lady, please stop.”
“What does someone like you know!”
“If doing that helps you feel better, then do as you like—but it must also be painful for you. Please don’t do it for your own sake.”
A single line from an inexperienced new maid caused chaos in the mansion.
“How dare she say that? Does she want to be thrown out immediately?”
But for some reason, Eloise did not dismiss Heidi.
Of course, she made life extremely difficult for her.
But Heidi endured it all with her naturally cheerful and diligent personality.
And so a year passed.
Eloise slowly opened her heart to Heidi. She stopped lashing out at innocent people and stopped breaking things in rage.
“It’s done. You did well holding still.”
Heidi said brightly after finishing the application.
Eloise, pouting, suddenly noticed the letter placed on the bedside.
“What’s that? Is it yours?”
Heidi shook her head.
“No, it’s addressed to you.”
“To me? A letter from my brother?”
Eloise quickly tore open the envelope. As she read the short letter with excitement building on her face, she suddenly shouted loudly:
“Heidi! My brother says he’s coming back in a few days—and he’s going to stay for a while!”
Meanwhile, at that same time.
The only family member of Eloise, Desion Carlos Heizen, was in a private audience with the king.
“Because of health reasons?”
“Yes.”
“Is it a disease that cannot be treated in the capital?”
Desion nodded expressionlessly.
“What better treatment is there than resting in fresh air? As a lord, I have already been away from my domain for too long. I intend to stay there for the time being.”
“……”
The king narrowed his eyes and studied Desion’s composed face.
Black hair, slightly sun-kissed skin.
Broad shoulders and a lean, well-trained body.
Even his red eyes, glowing sharply even in shadow.
No matter how he looked at it, he did not seem like a man who needed rest due to illness.
“…Very well. If that is your decision.”
The king stroked his beard with a thin hand.
“I had hoped you might once again become Anastasia’s teacher… It is a pity.”
Anastasia
At the mention of that name, Desion’s expression stiffened.
