TMOWM~05

 Chapter 5

I waited until everyone had completely dispersed before quickly heading up to the attic. A maid who had been waiting in front of the attic handed me the key and told me to keep an eye on things, then left.

“Ugh. What is that smell?”

The moment I opened the door, a horrible stench rushed out, making me pinch my nose as I stepped inside.

What the hell is this? It was truly unbearable.

The attic was swarming with bugs, and mouse droppings were scattered everywhere. Hardly any sunlight made its way in, and mold crept along the damp walls.

And in the middle of all that, Hider was curled up.

I really needed to go back down and grab some cleaning supplies.

But I couldn’t leave Hider alone like that. I cautiously approached him and tapped his shoulder.

Hider lifted his head and looked at me.

His face was pale, and his eyes were red.

I knelt down in front of him.

“Have you been crying? Why? I said I’d be back soon! Are you hurt? No, was it because they yelled at you earlier? You shouldn’t let that bother you… or maybe it’s just that this room is so dirty! Honestly, I think so too…”

“Lani…”

Hider shed a tear. When I looked surprised, he cautiously reached out and held my hand.

“…I thought you might not come back.”

His tear-soaked voice cracked. With his youthful face stained with sadness, Hider slowly continued.

“This place is scary… and dark… and filthy. So I thought, even if you didn’t come back, I couldn’t blame you.”

“As if I’d do that? Where would I go, leaving you behind?”

Hider stared at me with reddened eyes.

“You’re not going to leave me, right?”

“I promise. For real.”

Only then did Hider stop crying.

“Keep your promise.”

Looking at his softly murmuring face, my heart ached. I was genuinely upset.

Look at his face—how could anyone be cruel to a child like this?

Using my clean sleeve, I gently wiped the tear-streaked face of Hider.

“I’ll keep my promise, so don’t cry anymore.”

“Okay.”

Seriously, who could ever bully a kid like this?

The frustration bubbled up inside me.

At first, I only started being nice to Hider as a kind of investment for my own comfortable future. But now, I seemed to have genuinely grown fond of him.

Seeing him cling to me with such a pitiful expression tore at my heart.

As much as he was starting to open his heart to me, I was opening mine to him too.

“Ugh, why are they always wearing such expensive, fancy clothes?”

Unlike my baby, who was basically having a ‘prisoncation’ in the attic, Carte and Sornia sparkled in their luxury clothes, and it honestly made me feel a little… defeated.

Carte and Sornia were the children of the Duchess. Carte was a year older than Hider, and Sornia was two years younger—but just like the saying goes, ‘peas in a pod,’ they were just as rude and arrogant as their mother.

Honestly, those fancy clothes would look way better on our Hider.

The Duchess, who had kicked Hider out to the attic, was now enjoying a pleasant time in the garden with Carte and Sornia.

I clung to the window, watching them, feeling like I might explode.

System, what are you even doing?

Why can’t I do that kind of thing? I’m the all-rounder maid, aren’t I?

I lazily pulled up the system screen and started scrolling through it.

[Role: Maid who bullies the male lead and gets gruesomely killed (update in progress)
Skills: [Stealth Technique v.1], [Farming Skill v.2], [Detoxification v.2], [Blade of the Wind v.3], [Master of Acting v.2]…]

Why am I still the maid who gets gruesomely killed? When is this update going to finish?

I tapped on [Thread Follows the Needle v.3] in the skill list.

With this skill, I could at least make clothes that fit Hider properly. I could make him new socks instead of the torn-up ones he wore.

At v.1, I could make socks. At v.2, pants. And at v.3, I could finally make tops.

Pouting, I poked the screen with my finger.

“I just want to make something a bit nicer-looking.”

Then, suddenly, the screen slid over and a skill details window popped up.

[Skill: Thread Follows the Needle
v4. High-Quality Sock Production
v5. High-Quality Tailored Clothing Production]

Wait, what?

Why didn’t anyone tell me this kind of skill existed?!

So can I check other skills’ future upgrades too?

Honestly, I’d been neglecting skill training. I mean, even at level 1, you could still use a skill, right?

So I’d been focusing on the farming skill while somewhat ignoring the rest. Farming directly translated to money, after all.

But just farming wasn’t enough to take proper care of Hider.

I swallowed hard.

“How did I level up again…?”

At first, I felt bad seeing him wear those torn-up socks, so I sewed them up.

Then I realized I could actually make socks, so I worked hard at that. Seriously, why did his socks get holes in them so often?

Even when I patched them up perfectly, they’d somehow be torn again the next day. It had to be a conspiracy by someone in this mansion. There were plenty of people eager to score points with the Duchess by tormenting Hider.

Anyway, while sewing, patching, and tailoring those cursed socks, I earned enough skill points to level up.

That’s how I got to this point…

“I have no choice. Time to get a side hustle.”

Hider stared at Lani with a bewildered expression.

For the past week, Hider had been experiencing things in the attic he’d never even dreamed of before.

In fact, he was eating and living better than he had before being locked away. The bedding had somehow been replaced with a luxurious goose-down comforter, and the once-empty fireplace had been properly installed within a day.

That wasn’t all.

The once moldy and bug-infested attic had been completely transformed.

He was getting proper meals, too. Lani brought him fresh fruit, juicy meat, perfectly boiled shrimp, well-roasted potatoes, and delicately cooked fish.

There didn’t seem to be any special technique or cooking magic involved—everything was just properly cooked. But this was still the highest quality meal Hider had ever tasted.

‘Did she gain some powerful backing?’

If not, maybe the Duchess was giving him a final act of mercy before killing him. Dozens of thoughts flashed through his mind.

Hider glanced at the wall.

“Young Master, even if it’s nothing else, you must keep reading. They say books teach you about the world, after all.”

The wall now resembled a proper study. Lani had brought over wooden planks and built it herself.

The shelves were now filled with expensive books Hider had never even touched before.

And now, she was bringing in what looked like a massive pile of sewing materials.

“….”

When Lani noticed Hider watching her, she gave him a wide smile.

“Please don’t mind me, Young Master! Just carry on with what you were doing!”

Hider closed the book he had been reading.

Whether Lani had been bribed, or this was just some luxurious send-off before death, he was still grateful.

Thanks to her, he was enjoying the most peaceful days of his life.

He could finally read books in peace.

When Lani stepped out, he could even sneak in some sword practice that he’d picked up by watching others.

No one was bullying or bothering him anymore.

But… was all that bullying now directed at Lani instead? The amount of sewing supplies she brought in seemed suspiciously excessive.

“…Don’t tell me. Is someone bullying you now, Lani?”

“Huh?”

Lani widened her eyes, looking surprised, then quickly waved her hands like it was nonsense.

“No way!”

“You’re lying. If not, then why do you have all those sewing materials? It looks like you’ve brought every piece of work in the whole mansion.”

“Oh, this?”

Lani paused, thinking hard. How could she explain this? That she needed to grind her skill? That she had to do this in order to make high-quality clothes for the Young Master?

Hmm. None of those seemed like proper explanations—even if they were true.