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Chapter 19
“You! How dare you betray me?!”
Furious, Keshi tried to attack Buddy. Terrified, Buddy squeezed her eyes shut.
“Edel, restrain her.”
I ordered without even raising an eyebrow. Edel grabbed Keshi’s arm firmly as she tried to lunge.
“Let go! Let go of me! I’ll tell everything! Buddy, you’re actually—!”
As Keshi shouted, I signaled to Edel. Though she hesitated at first, Edel spun Keshi around and slapped her.
Slap! Slap! Slap!
The harsh sound made the entire kitchen freeze.
“Enough.”
With that, Edel stopped. Loyal as always, she held onto Keshi tightly, showing no emotion.
“You don’t need a knife to kill someone. Words alone can do just as much harm. Do you understand that?”
I said to Keshi, who looked at me in shock, her face wet with tears.
“Burning the tea leaves was a mistake. But covering it up was intentional.”
I looked down as I spoke. The kitchen staff held their breath. The cold air must have stung against her slapped cheeks.
“You’ll pay for the burned tea leaves in your own name. No regrets, right?”
“B-but, but…!”
Keshi sobbed loudly, her pale face twisting with tears.
People are selfish—they make light of the harm they cause but feel the pain of their own suffering deeply. That can’t be an excuse.
“A careless tongue can doom you to a lifetime of debt. How sad…”
Though I sounded sympathetic, my eyes were cold.
“I’ll tell Father myself—”
I didn’t really plan to, but I mentioned Baron Rotten on purpose since he was the master of the house. Suddenly—
“…Debt.”
Hesitantly, Buddy stepped forward, gripping her skirt tightly.
“People like us, commoners, could never pay off a debt alone. If I could help, even a little…”
Thud!
When I looked at her with a blank face, Buddy dropped to her knees and begged.
“Please, don’t forgive me for interfering…”
“You want to take on part of Keshi’s debt? Even after suffering under debt yourself?”
“…”
“You went into debt to get a fake ID, didn’t you? Born in the slums—you needed a new name to work in a noble house.”
Before Keshi could expose her, I revealed it first.
‘If I say it first, even if people talk, Buddy can keep her job.’
Sometimes, secrets that seem dangerous aren’t so bad, at least in front of power.
“How… how did you know…?”
Buddy cried in despair, thinking everything was over.
It was natural for everyone to be shocked. Buddy probably never told anyone.
“There’s nothing I don’t know—at least in this house.”
Snap.
I opened my fan and covered my mouth. I couldn’t show a smile.
“How interesting. You’d help Keshi, even after what she did to you?”
What I needed was a loyal follower—someone not swayed by their own interests.
“What should I do…”
Still hiding my face behind the fan, I looked down with an unreadable gaze.
“Buddy, will you take all of Keshi’s debt on yourself? Do you agree to this?”
Edel let go of Keshi’s arm. Keshi collapsed to her knees, dazed.
“…Yes. It was all Buddy’s fault anyway.”
As expected, Keshi chose herself over Buddy’s sacrifice.
It wasn’t surprising—just a little disappointing.
“Keshi will pay her own debt. She’ll leave the house without a letter of reference, and all kitchen staff salaries will be reduced by 10% for three months.”
Keshi silently sobbed. The staff were surprised by the quick decision, but nobody objected.
‘They all must have known—no one would trust expensive tea to a brand-new maid.’
Keshi was a kitchen veteran, and everyone else had just looked the other way. No one protested the fair punishment.
“From now on, Buddy gets no pay as a kitchen maid. She hid her background to get this job.”
Buddy stopped breathing, despair flashing across her face.
“Responsibility always comes with a price.”
Buddy’s choice to take on Keshi’s debt was foolish.
But her obedience, even under harsh treatment from her master…
‘That’s what I like about her.’
In the silent kitchen, I spoke quietly.
“Buddy, I’m making you my personal attendant.”
Everyone was shocked by my words.
“…M-miss?”
Buddy’s voice shook as she stared at me in disbelief.
“From now on, I’ll pay your wages out of my own pocket—not the Rotten family’s. You’ll work for me.”
“B-but, how could I…”
Tears welled up in Buddy’s eyes, but this time, it was from relief and happiness.
“I don’t care where my maid is from. I’ll take care of your debt, too.”
Snap. I closed my fan and looked around the kitchen.
“If anyone speaks badly about Buddy’s background, be ready to leave the house.”
“Yes, miss.”
Jeffrey bowed deeply, apologizing for not managing the kitchen well. The other staff quickly followed.
“We understand, miss.”
“We’re sorry, miss…”
The frightened staff all bowed in turn.
I approached Buddy and leaned down. She slowly looked up at my gesture.
“Miss… Lady Solia…”
Tears of gratitude spilled down her cheeks, and one dropped onto my palm.
“…I’ll never, ever forget this grace… never, ever…”
Buddy cried and smiled at the same time. Like a chick who sees its savior as a mother.
I gently brushed her tears away and said,
“Buddy, work for me.”
“Yes, I’ll serve you. I’ll live only for you.”
Buddy wept with joy.
“My whole world will be you, miss.”
I took her hand willingly.
“I accept.”
As everyone held their breath, Buddy carefully held my hand.
Her tear-stained lips softly touched the back of my hand.
“You’ll burn everything—those you love, and those who love you.”
Suddenly, I remembered hearing that once.
When Yuchae-hwa ran away from home to work part-time, she was happy with her first taste of freedom, but the world felt so heavy she could barely breathe. She spent her savings on a tarot reading just out of whim.
“Run from love, avoid warmth. Only by staying alone can you protect yourself and those who care for you.”
“You’ll reach a position no one can touch, but you’ll burn everything and vanish, leaving only ashes behind. Those who hate you will turn to white ash. Those who love you will either become black ash or die trying to protect you.”
“That’s fine. I don’t have anyone like that now. I don’t plan to, either.”
At the time, she thought the fortune teller just wanted her to come back and pay again.
A year later, the tarot shop was gone.
‘Why am I remembering that card now, in this moment?’
She didn’t know why she was thinking of the “knight kissing the king’s hand” card now. Buddy’s bow was just the greeting of a young maid to her mistress.
Solia felt unstable.
If she tripped, there were more people waiting to stomp on her than help her up.
‘If I ran away and abandoned Noah, I wouldn’t have to face those enemies.’
One wrong step would lead straight to disaster.
Bow your head, and you’re trampled.
Act proud, and your neck will snap.
And yet, Buddy looked at me like I was her sun—even if I was just a sun hanging low in the sky.
“I’m nothing to you now, but if I die, you’ll cry as much as I am today.”
Why? Why was she so sure of that future—why would she devote her whole life to me?
“That’s my dream. To live and devote everything to you, miss.”
What do you get in return? I couldn’t ask.
Buddy swore her soul to me.
Did she know?
The closer you get to the sun, the more your wings burn, and you’re bound to fall.
“I accept. I wonder if you’ll say the same in four years.”
Buddy slowly nodded. Still hiccuping, she just smiled.
“Ask me again in four years, miss. Even if I’m dying, I won’t forget today.”
…Because I’ll never forget.
Buddy pressed her face into my hand, weeping.
In that moment, it felt like only she and I existed in the world.
