I Became a Maid to the Exiled Young Lord

Before Cordelia returned to the Obenhart villa with a stack of books and dictionaries needed for studying the imperial language, Gideon asked her:

“Do you think you’ll be able to manage well there?”

Gideon’s question was vague. It wasn’t clear whether he was concerned about the unfamiliar environment, the young master with his troubling rumors, or perhaps the burden of having to work alone away from her mother.

However, Cordelia had decided to become a maid for the Obenhart family with all these conditions in mind.

The more unfamiliar and busy the work, the better it was for her, and the farther she was from her mother, the more at ease she felt.

No matter where she went, there would always be people who insulted her for being Therion, so it was impossible to forget Therion completely, but it would be enough if she could think about it a little less.

Cordelia had to live for her father, who had shielded her foolish self and perished in her place, and for her mother, who couldn’t resent her and only whispered love.

Extending the life they had protected with all their might was Cordelia’s only atonement and responsibility.

While her parents gave Cordelia life, they also tormented her.

Every day, she witnessed her father’s death and began her day with her mother’s bright greeting despite her previous wailing.

Cordelia found each day terribly painful, but she thought it was unavoidable.

Then, one day, as she was barely enduring such a life, fate appeared and instantly colored her world.

While looking at Catherine, who addressed her in the incomprehensible imperial language, Cordelia suddenly heard her father’s voice whispering in her ear:

“The happiest person in your life should be yourself.”

That single sentence, thrown into her black and white daily life, stirred Cordelia’s heart anew.

Cordelia decided to momentarily turn her eyes away from the past to find happiness that would sustain her life.

At the starting point of her steps, just taken away from her mother’s embrace, Cordelia met Caspian, and looking at his clouded eyes that resembled her own, she was convinced.

That her choice was not wrong. Cordelia’s journey had to begin here.

Instead of giving Gideon a lengthy answer, Cordelia nodded slowly but firmly.

* * *

Cordelia, with her hair tied up tightly, dusted off her apron. After checking her appearance in the mirror, she reached toward the desk.

The white rose placed in a glass vase looked fresh in the sunlight. Cordelia tapped the petals as if greeting them and left the room.

Her steps were light as she climbed to the second floor. Standing in front of Caspian’s door with a basin of water for washing, Cordelia invariably bumped her head against it.

Thud!

Her head, which hit too hard, felt dizzy. As she shook her head to clear her mind, the door opened.

“Hah…”

Caspian sighed softly and entered first. As Cordelia followed with quick steps, he spoke:
“You can put that down on the floor, so could you please knock with your hand?”

Cordelia placed the washing water on the table and blinked her round eyes twice quickly.
Caspian approached her and took her hand.

“Knocking is done with your hand.”

After looking alternately at the expressionless Caspian and her hand in his, Cordelia nodded.

Caspian released her hand and went to the table to wash his face. Cordelia waited behind him and handed him a towel as soon as he finished washing.

When Caspian put down the towel he had used to dry himself, Cordelia abruptly held out her notebook in front of his eyes.

「Thank you for the flower, young master.」

Caspian’s gaze turned to the notebook that Cordelia always used to write in. It was thick paper crudely bound with thick thread.

Looking at the blunt pen tip and the writing with ink that broke off in places, Caspian asked:

“Where did you get this?”

Caspian pointed directly at the notebook.

「Use at home.」

Cordelia wrote with strange grammar.

Understanding that she had brought something she used at home, Caspian walked to the bedside. He took out a small notebook and a fountain pen from the bedside drawer and gave them to Cordelia.

The pocket-sized notebook was small and thin, making it light despite having many more pages than what Cordelia had been using.

As Cordelia was about to take out ink from her pocket, Caspian took back the fountain pen.

“You can just write with it.”

Caspian held Cordelia’s hand holding the notebook and wrote something as if demonstrating. Cordelia’s eyes sparkled as she saw his neat handwriting.

The young master didn’t need to apply ink separately to the pen, and he wrote very smoothly without any part catching on the paper.

「Thank you!」

Cordelia immediately wrote a thank-you note with the returned fountain pen. She really liked the unfamiliar writing sensation.

The metal pen she first touched since coming to the Empire was much more durable than the quill she used in Therion, but it was heavy for a child.

Moreover, she frequently spilled ink, so she usually didn’t carry a pen at all, but she had deliberately brought one since she started working at this mansion.

Until now, Cordelia didn’t know the imperial language and had no desire to communicate with anyone except her mother, but things were different here.

They had to be different. Cordelia was determined to do her best to be happy.

Thinking that there were indeed many fascinating things here, Cordelia held the fountain pen close to her eyes to examine it.

Caspian, who had been quietly looking down at her, spoke softly:

“Make sure to burn the papers you write on periodically, just in case. It’s better not to leave personal information around here if possible.”

Cordelia blinked and made an ambiguous expression. Caspian took Cordelia’s notebook, wrote down what he had just said, and returned it to her.

“I’ll have breakfast in the dining room, so please relay that message.”

After finishing his words, Caspian unbuttoned his shirt. Cordelia, who had been looking at the writing with a furrowed brow, quickly closed the notebook and put it in her pocket.

She would interpret the young master’s writing later; now she needed to focus on her work.

Cordelia stayed close to Caspian, receiving the clothes he handed her and helping him change.

Cordelia still had difficulty properly understanding the imperial language. For the time being, she planned to memorize commonly used words and practice interpreting sentences based on them.

Repeating the words “breakfast” and “dining room” to herself, Cordelia finished helping Caspian change and hurriedly left the room.

* * *

The hot summer sunlight poured in. White curtains fluttered in the breeze coming through the open window.

Caspian’s hair, as he sat reading a book, also swayed accordingly. The scratching sound of a fountain pen filled the quiet room.

Caspian often called for Cordelia to keep her nearby. He would have the child sit across from him at the table and occasionally observe her like scenery while reading his book.

Cordelia pressed down hard with her small hand as she wrote.

Despite writing so diligently, why did her handwriting look like that?

With her left hand raised on the table, fist tightly clenched and lips pursed, the child was absorbed in her studies.

Hearing the sound of turning pages, Caspian recalled the conversation he had with Catherine this morning.

<……>

<I’m glad you have someone to care about now.>

Caspian let out a small laugh.

Catherine seemed to be in a good mood lately. There was no need to confirm that the reason was Cordelia.

Caspian usually never left his room. He ate and read all in his room, and the only time he went out was to go to the bathroom for bathing.

But since Cordelia officially became his personal maid, he had started leaving his room without any particular reason.

He would eat in the dining room and take walks in the garden.

Cordelia was always with him during these moments that were so ordinary for others but quite extraordinary for him. Catherine seemed very pleased about this.

<Pardon?>

<I’m asking why you hired that child specifically.>

The changes brought by Cordelia felt unfamiliar even to himself.

Like the day he made that impulsive decision, he simply wanted to see those eyes shining with curiosity and that quietly smiling face.

Caspian felt both afraid that this momentary deviation might become a habit and that he was moving according to Catherine’s wishes.

Lies. Instead of saying that, Caspian kept his mouth shut.

Catherine had worked for the ducal family since before he was born. Sending her as the head manager of this villa signified the Duke’s trust in her.

Catherine was loyal to the ducal family, to his father.

The fountain pen that dropped onto the table snapped Caspian out of his thoughts.

Cordelia, who had begun nodding off, had her head almost touching the table.

Caspian reached out and supported Cordelia’s forehead with his hand. Cordelia blinked and raised her head.