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Chapter 5
“Hello, Young Lady.”
Around the time the figure of the Duke of Werner disappeared from sight, a maid greeted Sylvia.
“My name is Melody Gwen. I will be serving you from now on. It is truly an honor to meet you.”
“It’s nice to meet you too. Um, would it be alright if I call you Gwen?”
“You may call me Melody. And please speak comfortably with me.”
“I’m not really used to speaking casually, so… I think this is more comfortable for me right now.”
“Then whenever you become comfortable later, please speak casually to me at that time.”
“Yes. I’ll do that.”
“I think it would be best if you washed up before resting. Shall I prepare the bathwater?”
“A bath? Then could I trouble you for that?”
“Yes, please rest while you wait. I’ll prepare everything quickly and return. If you need help or if any problem comes up, please pull this cord beside the bed to ring the bell.”
“Yes. Thank you, Melody.”
After politely bowing to Sylvia, Melody soon left the bedroom.
Only then was Sylvia finally able to look around the bedroom comfortably.
She had thought this earlier too, but everything inside this bedroom was beautiful and looked unbelievably expensive.
Yet strangely, everything matched perfectly together.
It seemed they had put special care into the interior design.
“The only thing that doesn’t belong here is me.”
After quietly mocking herself, Sylvia threw herself onto the bed.
“Wow… even the bed is amazing.”
It looked expensive and huge, and apparently it truly was worth the price.
She could clearly feel the mattress properly supporting her body.
The only beds Sylvia had ever used before were rough ones stuffed with straw.
So whenever she woke up, her body would ache and she would feel even more tired than before sleeping.
But on this bed, it felt like she could fall into a sweet sleep and wake up completely refreshed.
Sylvia even took off her shoes, climbed fully onto the bed, and rolled around on it for quite some time.
Even to herself, being in a place like this still did not feel real at all.
At first, she had said she would stay here for only three months.
But if she became used to the comfort of this bed and the luxury of the estate during that time, she felt like she might never want to return to the slums again.
The fact that she already felt reluctant made that clear enough.
At the same time, however, guilt toward Vivian rose in one corner of her heart.
Because the person who should have originally enjoyed all of this comfort was Vivian herself.
Sylvia took a deep breath before slowly letting it out.
Just three months.
Sylvia decided that within that time, once it was confirmed that she was not Vivian, she would leave this place immediately.
‘But while I stay here… I’ll rest comfortably for a little while.’
Speaking silently in her heart to Vivian, wherever she might be, Sylvia quietly closed her eyes.
Perhaps because the bed wrapped around her body so softly, exhaustion came rushing over her like waves.
“…Young Lady, Young Lady!”
Hearing a voice pulling her from her hazy sleep, Sylvia barely managed to open her heavy eyes.
Then she checked who had woken her.
“Melody?”
“Yes, Young Lady. Are you awake? You must be tired, but wouldn’t it be better to wake up, wash, and eat dinner before sleeping again?”
She had only just woken up, yet Melody’s bright and pleasant voice naturally lifted Sylvia’s mood, causing her to smile softly.
“Is the bath already prepared?”
“Yes. You only need to come.”
“I only meant to lie down for a moment, but I ended up falling asleep.”
“You must have been very tired.”
“That too, but honestly, the bed was incredible. I feel like if I fell asleep there and never woke up again, I wouldn’t even regret it.”
“If the Duke heard that, he would feel very sad.”
“Ah, would he?”
While chatting as she followed Melody, Sylvia finally realized she had made a mistake and laughed awkwardly.
She had only meant to express how wonderful the bed was, but it was not exactly an appropriate thing to say in the Werner Ducal Estate.
Especially when these people believed she was Vivian Werner, who had disappeared ten years ago.
After not walking very far through the hallway, they arrived at the bathroom.
Before entering the bath, Sylvia first went to the dressing room to remove her clothes.
“I will assist you, Young Lady.”
“No, it’s alright! They’re only clothes. I can take them off myself.”
As Melody tried to help her, Sylvia hurriedly refused.
No matter what, it still felt awkward to leave something like this to another person.
“You do not need to feel so burdened. You will need to grow accustomed to it from now on.”
Melody spoke with a gentle smile, causing Sylvia to hesitate.
Thinking about it carefully, perhaps it really was right for her to follow the customs of this place.
Still, being helped while undressing was embarrassing, so it was difficult for her to do as Melody said.
“Th-then just this once, I’ll change by myself.”
“Yes, understood.”
Without insisting further, Melody stepped back.
Quietly relieved, Sylvia slowly changed clothes and entered the bathroom through the connected passage from the dressing room.
It reminded her strongly of her days living in the orphanage.
Back then, it had been impossible for her to imagine bathing alone.
Water itself had been precious, and there were neither the conditions nor the situation for everyone to bathe one by one.
Unlike back then, the bathwater here was warm. It felt as though all the exhaustion in her body was slowly melting away.
Then suddenly, the maids approached her and stretched out their hands.
“W-What are you doing?”
Startled, Sylvia widened her eyes and quickly stepped back.
The maids looked at Sylvia with confused expressions.
One of them carefully stepped forward and spoke.
“We were going to help wash you… Is there something making you uncomfortable?”
Instead, they seemed more surprised and stumbled over their words.
“I-I can wash myself just fine.”
“Um, Young Lady.”
When Sylvia shyly refused their hands, Melody softly called out to her.
Perhaps to reassure Sylvia, a faint smile rested on Melody’s face.
“Could you trust us and leave yourself to us just this once? If you feel uncomfortable midway, we will stop immediately.”
“J-just once?”
“Yes!”
Sylvia hesitated as she looked around.
It was embarrassing, but if it was only this once, perhaps she could endure it.
And since they promised to stop if she became uncomfortable, she thought it might be alright.
After a short inner struggle, Sylvia finally relaxed the tension in her body.
“Th-then…”
“Thank you for trusting us, Young Lady.”
Once Sylvia gave permission, the maids carefully began assisting her with the bath.
It was the first time she had ever entrusted her body to someone else’s hands, but perhaps because the maids were all experienced professionals, it did not feel uncomfortable at all unlike what Sylvia had expected.
“How is it? It’s not too unpleasant, right?”
“Yes.”
Sylvia shyly nodded her head.
They washed her hair with oil carrying a sweet lily fragrance and bathed her body with warm water.
By the time she left the bath, she felt even more relaxed and sleepy than when she had first woken up.
Clothes for her to change into had already been prepared in the dressing room.
Since they were not the clothes Sylvia had arrived in, it seemed they had prepared them beforehand.
Still, the design was much simpler than she expected.
The question that rose in her mind was answered only after arriving at the next room.
“Where is this?”
“This is the massage room.”
“The massage room?”
“Yes. Please come over here and lie down.”
“O-Okay.”
‘Do nobles always go through all these steps after bathing?’
Feeling awkward, Sylvia blinked while lying where Melody guided her.
Then another maid entered and slowly began massaging Sylvia’s body.
She had thought it would not be anything special, but surprisingly—
The gentle hands loosening her stiff muscles made it feel as though all the exhaustion she had accumulated until now was melting away.
“Wow! This feels amazing. This must really be heaven.”
The feeling was so wonderful that she could not help but exclaim in admiration.
“You praise us too highly. We hardly know what to do with ourselves.”
The maids answered gently.
“I’m not just saying that. I really mean it.”
Even more than when she had first laid on the bed, Sylvia felt happiest at this very moment.
