Chapter 12

“What do you want me to do?”  

“Feed Raffy a bite of the omelet.”  

“Hah, I’m pretty sure I told you before that I can’t do things like that.”  

Johann was dumbfounded by such an absurd request so early in the morning.  

“I clearly told you then that you need to practice little by little. It’s part of the promise.”  

At Lia’s retort, he gave her an exasperated look.  

“I hope that while I’m staying here, you and Raffy can grow closer.”  

“And what does doing something like this have to do with that?”  

“You may not remember at all, but when we lived in the cabin, you often fed Raffy meals.”  

“…And I’m supposed to believe that?”  

His expression twisted as if he had heard something completely unbelievable.  

“Yes. If you repeat the actions you did back then, you might be able to close some of the distance between you and Raffy.”  

Saying so, she turned to Rafaella and asked, 

“Raffy, do you remember your dad feeding you stew before?”  

Rafaella was visibly uncomfortable with the man in front of her.  

The face was the same, but the actions and atmosphere of this father were the complete opposite of the one she remembered, creating a sense of dissonance.  

“Yes, Daddy fed me like this, like this.”  

And so, the child answered while looking only at Lia.  

Rafaella moved her hand holding the fork back and forth, mimicking the action of feeding.  

Lia patted Rafaella’s head and then sent an urging glance toward Johann.  

“…Hah, couldn’t I just start with something simpler, like asking questions?”  

“If you challenge something difficult from the start and succeed, everything else will naturally follow.”  

Her response carried a clear undertone of “Stop complaining and just do it,” causing Johann to sigh once more.  

“Are you really going to half-heartedly keep the promise you made to your lifesaver?”  

“…Fine, I’ll do it.”  

Muttering to himself, he stabbed a strawberry on Rafaella’s plate with a fork and held it out to the child.  

If he had to do it anyway, he figured he might as well get it over with quickly.  

“Say ‘Ah.’”  

Lia prompted him with a tone of instruction.  

“…Ah.”  

Johann reluctantly followed her lead, and Lia turned her head slightly, laughing quietly.  

“…Nom.”  

Rafaella hesitated for a moment while looking at this unfamiliar version of her father before finally taking the strawberry into her mouth, chewing slowly.  

Watching her eat the strawberry, Johann muttered, 

“…I can’t believe I actually did something like this.”  

The actions he had taken while he had lost his memory were incomprehensible to him, and he shook his head in disbelief.  

“Even though I tried to stop you, saying it would spoil her, you’d still insist that it was okay sometimes.”  

“…….”  

“Even if your mind doesn’t remember, your body might, and you could get used to it quickly.”  

He looked at Lia with a displeased expression, as if questioning the absurdity of her words.  

“Alright, we’re done now, right?”  

“You’ve finished what you needed to do during breakfast….”  

“Is there something else besides breakfast?”  

“There’s playtime, of course.”  

“…….”  

It felt like climbing one mountain only to be met with another.  

After a busy winter spent subjugating monsters, Johann had thought he could finally catch his breath, but Lia gave him no room to rest.  

She had come to him the morning after his return, insisting they eat breakfast together, demanding various things throughout the meal, and now even bringing up playtime.  

‘If I show any reluctance, she’ll probably bring up the contract again.’  

Perhaps subjugating monsters would be better than this.  

At least it would be less agonizing than spending a day doing things he had never done before.  

“…It’s work as soon as I get back.”  

“Parents don’t get days off, you know.” 

Lia replied cheerfully.  

“An hour of playtime should be enough, right?”  

“Yes.”  

“I’ll make time this afternoon, then.”  

“Sounds good.”  

And so, Johann’s long and exhausting breakfast finally came to an end.  

* * *

After breakfast, Lia returned to her room with Rafaella.  

“Raffy, how did it feel when Daddy fed you a strawberry like he used to?”  

She asked this while braiding her daughter’s tousled hair neatly.  

“…Hmm, it felt just a little, very little, like my daddy.”  

“Really? Even a little bit is good.”  

“…Just a very little.”  

Rafaella murmured as she fiddled with a wooden rabbit figurine.  

For Johann, getting closer to Rafaella was a difficult task, but for Rafaella, who remembered her old father, it might have been even harder.  

While someone who had lost their memory would feel nothing when seeing the other person, someone who remembered everything would feel immense pain when faced with how different the other person had become.  

Perhaps Lia felt the same way.  

After tying up Rafaella’s hair, Lia packed a few potions as she had done throughout the winter and headed to where the maids worked.  

Rafaella promised to stay quietly in the room and read a storybook while her mother was out for a while.  

‘Huh? Why isn’t anyone around?’  

Unlike usual, the maids who should have been scattered about were nowhere to be seen.  

Finding it odd, she walked toward the servants’ hall, a place they often used during breaks.  

When she reached the hall, Lia stopped in her tracks.  

From the slightly open door, she could hear the head maid scolding the others.  

“…How can you all change your attitude just because that woman handed out a few measly potions?”  

“…….”  

“I’ve told you countless times that she’s not a real guest of the Duke’s family!”  

‘…So that’s why they always treated me and Raffy that way.’  

Unintentionally eavesdropping, Lia let out a small sigh.  

“I hope none of you disappoint me any further! Understood?”  

“…Yes, Head Maid.”  

“And don’t forget, I’m keeping a close eye on some of you!”  

The head maid glared at a few individuals before continuing.  

“Also, Mari, I noticed the laundry method has changed.”  

“Well, Lia taught us a much better way, so….”  

“Enough! How great could some mountain bumpkin’s method really be? Change it back to the original way.”  

“…Yes.”  

Mountain bumpkin, huh.  

‘If you dilute the potion I made slightly in water, the laundry comes out so much cleaner.’  

The laundry maids had been thrilled with how much more efficient it was.  

Hearing the head maid badmouth her, Lia felt her mood sink.  

“Today, we have a lot of announcements, so we’re behind on work. Hurry up more than usual.”  

Clap, clap, clap—the head maid clapped three times, looking satisfied as she left the hall.  

‘Ah, I ended up overhearing all of that.’  

Before Lia could leave, the head maid exited the hall and their eyes met.  

“…I didn’t know you had a habit of eavesdropping.”  

The head maid looked Lia up and down as she spoke.  

“Oh, I just brought some new potions to hand out….”  

“New ones? What kind?”  

“Something for the hands….”  

Lia responded almost involuntarily before stopping herself, but the head maid, like a hyena, rummaged through the pouch Lia was carrying and pulled out two potions.  

“If you’re offering, I’ll gladly accept.”  

With that, she turned on her heel and left Lia behind.  

“Ugh, that woman….”  

Mari, who had been watching the head maid’s two-faced behavior from the servants’ hall, muttered angrily.  

“Mari, there are too many ears around here.”  

Paula, aware of their surroundings, tried to calm her down.  

“It’s so annoying how she constantly looks down on Lia but never misses a chance to take the potions.”  

“Lia, did you hear all that?”  

The young maid, Helen, approached Lia with a worried expression.  

“I’m fine. Don’t worry about me.”  

Lia forced a smile as she answered.  

Some of the maids, irritated by the fact that they had been scolded because of Lia, refused to take the potions she offered and stormed off.  

‘I’d probably be annoyed with me too if I were in their shoes.’  

The head maid likely found Lia bothersome but couldn’t openly criticize her, so she took out her frustrations on the subordinates.  

Understanding their situation, Lia handed the newly made potions to the remaining maids.  

“Don’t worry too much about it. They can’t help it either.”  

“Even if the head maid picks on them for absurd reasons, there’s nothing an ordinary maid can do.”  

The other maids tried to comfort Lia, concerned that she might be hurt by the attitudes of some of the others.  

“Besides, the current head maid is….”  

“Mari, if you’re going to talk about that, keep your voice down.”  

As Mari, who worked in the laundry room, began to say something, Paula interrupted her.  

“What can’t we say? Everyone already knows about it.”  

Mari glared at Paula as she grumbled.  

“The current head maid was appointed after Carolina ousted the original head maid.”  

“What?”  

“She originally came from the Marquis Sprecher’s household as Carolina’s personal maid.”  

When Johann’s younger sister, Penelope, fell gravely ill, Carolina took over the management of the Duke’s household in place of the Duchess Dowager. To secure her authority, she ousted the original head maid by framing her and installed her own maid, Daria, in the position.  

Once Daria, who had merely been Carolina’s personal maid, became the head maid, the maids’ working conditions began to deteriorate.  

The new head maid, who had no experience managing subordinates but sought to dominate them, made life difficult for everyone.  

“She thinks she’s something special just because she’s Carolina’s right hand.”  

Paula sighed as she muttered.  

“She’s really no different from us.”  

Mari crossed her arms and added.  

“The original head maid, Mrs. Pendler, was such a wonderful person….”  

“She was strict but flexible when necessary.”  

The maids reminisced fondly about the original head maid, who had come from a family of retainers serving the Duke’s household.  

“If only Lady Penelope weren’t sick….”  

“What kind of illness is it that no one can cure her?”  

If Penelope could recover her health, the Duchess Dowager could once again take charge of the household.  

In that case, the ousted original head maid would return, and….  

“What’s wrong with the Duke’s younger sister?”  

Lia was curious about the nature of Penelope’s illness, which had forced the Duchess Dowager to step away from managing the household.  

“Is it okay to say? Lady Penelope’s condition is….”  

Paula hesitated before beginning to speak.