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Episode
“Excuse me for a moment.”
I grabbed Young Master Ricardo’s stiff little hands. I wanted to show him that my hands weren’t going to do anything harmful.
Now, all I had to do was shake the chair so the candy would fall off the backrest…
Thunk!
The hard tip of his shoe smacked right into my knee.
“Ah!”
Pain shot through my knee, and I collapsed backward, landing hard on my butt.
“Ouch…”
It hurt so badly my eyes watered. The pain cut right through me.
“I told you not to touch me!”
I wasn’t expecting an apology, of course. But to kick me like a ball and then get mad—really?
“I’m sorry for touching you without permission, Young Master. But there was no need to kick me so hard! You could really hurt someone.”
Ricardo flinched at my calm words. He looked unsure, fumbling with his lips, not knowing what to say.
Finally, a small voice came out.
“Mi…”
“Mi?”
“Whether a lowly maid gets hurt or not, it’s not like I care.”
He snapped at me, then quickly looked away.
His pale green eyes were all over the place, but I could tell he didn’t mean it.
Why is it so hard for him to just say he’s sorry?
I dusted off my uniform and stood up.
“Yes, Young Master. I’m a maid. But I’m a human too. I feel pain if I fall, and words hurt me too if you say something mean.”
“…So you want an apology?”
He said it sharply. I shook my head lightly.
“No. A forced, half-hearted apology doesn’t mean anything.”
I already knew he felt sorry. Kids are honest. You can’t hide your feelings, and lies show instantly. Ricardo was the same.
His lips drooped, and his green eyes were heavy with guilt.
He avoided my gaze and fidgeted with his hands. Every action showed discomfort.
‘But saying he’s sorry out loud must be so hard for him.’
If I forced a fake apology now, he’d just keep his pride next time. Better not push it.
“When you truly feel sorry, then apologize properly,” I said.
Ricardo hesitated, then closed his eyes tight and said,
“I did say I was sorry, but you refused! Don’t say later that I didn’t!”
I smiled lightly and nodded.
“Okay, okay. Now, I’ll show you the magic I wanted to show earlier.”
Ricardo rolled his eyes and shook his head.
“No need. Don’t touch me.”
“Why are you so against me touching you?”
“Young Master?”
His expression darkened. He pouted and scrunched his face, muttering in a small voice,
“…It’s dirty.”
“What? Dirty? No, Young Master, my hands are clean. Nails trimmed and everything.”
I held out my hands to show him.
“Who said it’s dirty?”
“Not you… me. I said it’s dirty.”
“Wait, Young Master, why…?”
I stopped mid-sentence. Right, I hadn’t helped him wash yet.
“Sorry, I was going to help you wash after the medicine…” I hurriedly explained.
His gloomy expression changed to shocked disbelief.
“What nonsense! Why would you wash me?!”
“Of course, because I’m your maid.”
“You idiot! You’re a girl, and I’m a boy!”
“Ah, don’t worry. I would never see you as a boy.”
If I saw a four-year-old little kid as a boy, that’d be a crime.
“…What?”
“I’ve taken care of kids your age before. I bathed them, dressed them… So you’re just like a little kid to me, not a boy.
I can help with bathing or clothes all I want.”
I explained as carefully as possible to clear the misunderstanding.
Ricardo’s face only grew grumpier.
“So… I’m like your little brother?”
“No! Not at all. You’re Ricardo.”
He still shot me a sharp glare, then sighed.
“I don’t need help with bathing. I can do it myself. Clothes too.”
“Really? But… I thought nobles usually had maids to help them.”
“I don’t need that. And…”
He took a deep breath and spoke, still frowning.
“Since you saw my face, you know… I’m dirty.”
I tilted my head and looked at him carefully.
Unlike some little kids I used to care for, he looked clean even in the morning. I hadn’t even brought water for his face yet, but his skin was soft and neat.
“I don’t get it. There’s no sleep crust, no drool…”
“…Not that.”
“Really?”
I asked honestly, and he irritably tapped his cheek.
“This isn’t just about my face. My body’s worse.”
Now I understand why he kept calling himself dirty.
‘Throwing the clock, pushing me… It’s all because of that.’
My heart ached.
What must this little guy have gone through to think it’s normal to believe he’s dirty?
“You’re not dirty at all. It’s just… that you’ve been hurt.”
He let out a self-deprecating laugh, very unlike a child.
“It doesn’t matter. To others, I just look dirty and gross anyway.”
“No, not at all…”
“Not at all. Everyone else said the same. No one thought you were gross or scary…”
He remembered past incidents, shut his eyes tight, and his hands trembled.
“You said that, but when people touched me, they acted like they’d touched something filthy. They washed their hands, wore gloves…”
His voice trembled as if holding back tears. He glared at me with wary, watery green eyes.
“You were the same. You stared at me because my face is weird, right?”
“No! I only looked at you because…”
I stopped. I remembered Lisa’s warning.
Never talk about the Young Master’s appearance.
I bit my tongue. I couldn’t risk saying something wrong and getting fired.
But then I saw Ricardo’s face, almost about to cry.
Like a small, scared animal abandoned by everyone, unable to trust anyone. I couldn’t just stay quiet.
“You’re pretty, Young Master.”
“…Pretty? Are you teasing me?”
“No. Really. Your brown hair looks soft, like freshly baked bread, and your eyes sparkle like jewels—just like a prince in a storybook.”
He looked at me suspiciously.
“Don’t lie. No prince with a face like that would have something so dirty.”
“There is! In a fairy tale I read, there’s a prince cursed by a witch and covered with cursed marks.”
“…Really?”
I was lying. Maybe I’d read a similar story once. Still, I had to say it for him to believe me.
“Yes, really. If you don’t believe me, I’ll bring the book during your vacation.”
He asked in a softer voice, a little eased.
“So… what happened to the prince?”
I grinned.
“The prince met a princess, the curse was lifted, and they lived happily ever after.”
Of course, a happy ending!
