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Chapter 13
Honestly, a rogue like Ethan is better!
“Steward, I can’t go to the empire. I have personal reasons. I have a younger sibling I need to take care of. If someone really has to go… I’ll recommend Mari.”
“Mari?”
I could never set foot in the empire. Even though my hair was dyed brown now, I could be recognized at any moment. Nocturne would surely know it was me.
The meals we had were meager for the Crown Prince, and the clothes I wore—who knew what the emperor thought of them?
Perhaps someone had already spoken ill of me to the emperor. Moreover, Nocturne had been forced to eat two bowls of pig’s stomach stew, which he hated!
Having taken care of the empire’s Crown Prince in such a way, if I went there, my head might be chopped off immediately.
“Mari worked with me. If she had cleaned alone, she couldn’t have maintained the square so well. So if a cleaner must be sent to the empire, I recommend Mari.”
“I understand. If that’s your wish, Miss Anna, we’ll send Mari. Thank you, Miss Anna.”
I hurriedly left the office, worried William might change his mind.
Mari would certainly be happy—she was always curious about the wider world.
As I walked down the hallway relieved, someone suddenly grabbed me from behind, covering my mouth with one hand so I couldn’t scream.
This! There’s only one person in the Grand Ducal Castle capable of such rudeness.
Ethan Fiordin, the Grand Prince.
Today’s my lucky day. I would somehow teach this misbehaving rogue a lesson.
I struggled, dragged along, trying to figure out where Ethan intended to take me.
The steward’s office was on the first floor, so it seemed he wanted to take me back to my room on the second floor.
Did this idiot really think he could quietly drag me up the stairs? Pathetic.
I needed to give him a hint that I could be taken to the unused servants’ quarters instead.
I trembled, pleading as pitifully as I could.
“Your Highness! Please let me go! There’s n-no one in the room at the end of this hallway! It’s really scary! Please! Huh?”
I shrank my shoulders, worried my act might be discovered. Thankfully, oblivious Ethan was so focused on his mission that he noticed nothing.
He pressed his displeased face against the back of my neck and said,
“So you shouldn’t have refused when I hired you as my personal maid, Anna.”
Ethan swung open the servants’ quarters door without hesitation, slammed it behind him, and shoved me onto the bed.
‘Ah, so predictable.’
“Eek! It’s scary! Let me go!”
Seeing my distressed expression, Ethan twisted his lips into a cruelly satisfied smile.
Yes, enjoy this while you can, you rogue. Soon I’ll make you cry and snuffle.
I stretched my hand toward a wooden bucket near the door. The water inside spilled onto the coat hanging on the wall.
The coat became soaking wet, and I lifted it into the air.
Its limp weight was eerily ghost-like, which made me smirk.
Trembling with a scared expression, I pointed the coat toward Ethan.
“Ah, a-a-aagh! A g-ghost!”
Ethan roughly loosened his cuffs and looked at me as if telling me not to lie.
“W-what? Oh, my clothes!”
I cried out, overacting. I was shrinking into my own ruse—thankfully, Ethan was clueless.
My exaggerated expression made Ethan tense.
I slowly lowered the coat over his head. Cold droplets dripped onto his forehead; he shrank from the chill, his face frozen in fear.
I continued lowering the coat until it fully covered his head.
A tremendous scream erupted from within. Ethan struggled desperately to free his face from the drenched coat.
Suddenly, his movements ceased, and his body slumped over me.
What? Did he faint? Really?
I squeaked and pushed him aside, barely escaping. I couldn’t stop laughing.
I had to stifle my laughter, shoulders shaking, to avoid waking him.
From that day, Ethan’s ghost scare persisted for a while. He called priests claiming the castle was haunted and avoided the first-floor servants’ quarters.
Whenever he encountered me from afar, his face would blanch, and he’d retreat in fear.
‘A trauma, perhaps?’
Every time I saw Ethan’s pale face scurrying away, I laughed.
With Ethan no longer bothering me, I could work happily.
“Anna! How could the Grand Prince lose interest in you? He never gives up once he’s set his mind on something.”
The other maids remarked in wonder—previously, the rogue had pestered any pretty maid working alone.
“What’s your secret? He doesn’t appear on the first floor anymore, so work’s much easier.”
Yet after a month of no incidents, Ethan began pursuing Bessie instead.
It seemed he had only lost interest in me.
To help Bessie guard against him, I subtly shared the ghost trick. Bessie applied it immediately.
Even a shadow would make Ethan throw things in terror, creating chaos.
Rumors about the Grand Prince spread quickly: he was finally going crazy.
The Duke, already fed up with Ethan’s antics, sent him to a monastery to learn restraint.
Since no ghosts appeared there, Ethan would learn to live quietly and practice asceticism.
Once Ethan was sent away, the Grand Ducal Castle finally became peaceful.
“Mari, tomorrow you leave for the empire.”
Mari’s face glowed with excitement as she packed her things over the weekend.
“Did you tell Grandma?”
“Yes. I told her I was scouted by the empire and would go, promising to make a lot of money and pamper her. She just asked me to wait a little. It would have been nice if I could go with her.”
Grandma decided to stay in the duchy for now. She didn’t want Mari to carry any burden before starting her new job.
So I suggested Mari buy the house where I used to live. I would take care of Brown and Grandma until Mari succeeded and could bring them along.
Mari thanked me, calling me the best friend in the world.
Though I had acted to survive rather than purely for her, I couldn’t feel entirely happy. I had tricked her in a way.
“…Anna, thank you. I’ll do well.”
It felt as if Mari knew my true feelings.
“You know how precious you are to me, right?”
“Thanks, Mari. Just do as you’ve been doing. Write me letters.”
The next morning, Mari departed early for the empire. Encouraged by her, Brown and I moved into her house.
Her absence left a big gap.
Still, after the ghost incident, I had grown much closer to the other maids. Though I thought of Mari while working, I knew “no news is good news,” and waited until Mari sent letters.
