Chapter 13 – Young Master’s Maids

At the same time.

Cedric was finally relaxing in his room after a long while.

He rotated his stiff neck, loosened his muscles, then closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

Hoo—

His tense body slowly relaxed.

He sat merged with his chair, picked up a cigar from the table.

As usual, he trimmed the end, lit it, and began to smoke.

He exhaled long, like a deep breath, and the smoke drifted before his eyes.

Through the haze, he recalled Alicia in the garden.

‘She’s an interesting woman.’

He chuckled.

She seemed uncomfortable with his gaze, glancing at him in a new way.

He was fairly certain she didn’t like him.

Her usual dignified teacher’s demeanor was gone; she just looked like a delicate woman.

Her eyes seemed scared, wanting to run away.

Yet, her determination to protect Mikael stood out.

Even in that chaotic moment, her beauty was striking.

He kept being drawn to her.

Like a single flower—pure but dignified.

She looked fragile, but inside seemed strong.

That duality kept Cedric intrigued.

He stared at her to figure out why, but never found an answer.

In truth, seeing her in the morning was a coincidence.

Cedric had knight training scheduled and was heading to the training grounds.

To get there, he had to cross the garden.

He found Alicia there by chance.

Celia and Mikael were with her, and he watched them secretly.

There seemed to be a small quarrel between Mikael and Celia, but Cedric thought it was just a minor spat.

But when Celia tried to strike Alicia, rage surged in Cedric.

Celia’s outrageous behavior sparked a different kind of anger in him.

He wanted to tear Celia apart, but held back for the sake of noble dignity.

So, he banished her from the ducal residence as the minimum punishment.

Servants expelled from Kaspar’s ducal residence weren’t accepted by other families.

When Alicia had come to report about Mikael and Celia, Cedric hadn’t believed her.

He assumed Alicia, being new, didn’t know the child well yet.

He thought Mikael’s actions were just a puppy seeking attention.

That was because all previous tutors had been the same.

Those full of ulterior motives or too soft-hearted to handle Mikael’s closed-off nature.

The worst were women who came with secret ambitions for Cedric.

Though he had a child, Cedric was young, handsome, and powerful.

So many women wanted to claim him.

Some hid their noble status and came as tutors, openly seducing Cedric.

Others used Mikael as an excuse to scheme.

Cedric was fed up with women, especially noblewomen, and didn’t trust them.

Once, Armand had hinted it was time to find a match.

Cedric scolded him harshly.

Since then, Armand never mentioned marriage again.

Cedric so disliked women—especially noblewomen—that he couldn’t trust them.

Then he met Alicia.

He couldn’t explain it, but she was different.

When checking her background before hiring her, there was nothing to fault.

She was a commoner from a rural orphanage in the north.

That alone made Alicia a first-choice candidate.

Her skills were unquestionable.

She graduated top of her class from Setras Girls’ School, the most prestigious school for tutors in the empire.

So there was no reason not to hire her.

Most importantly, she showed no personal interest in Cedric.

Even on the day they signed the contract, she was the same.

But Cedric couldn’t let his guard down.

A woman as clever as Alicia could use her intelligence to seduce him.

Just a few days ago, when Alicia came to report Celia, that was a prime example.

He thought she was probing him with confusing questions, looking for weaknesses.

At that time, Alicia boldly argued that raising Mikael was Cedric’s responsibility, as if it were only natural.

Her logical argument and final question still lingered in Cedric’s mind.

Her reasoning and the last question were truly shocking.

But that wasn’t all.

Today, Alicia was bold again.

Even in the dangerous situation where she was about to be struck by Celia, Alicia stood her ground to protect Mikael, and that left a powerful impression on Cedric.

Normally, people would avoid being hit or beg for mercy out of fear.

But Alicia was not afraid to be hit if it meant protecting Mikael.

It was only at that moment that Cedric realized he had misunderstood Alicia all along.

She had truly come to be a good teacher for Mikael.

Suddenly, Cedric found himself curious about Alicia.

‘But why doesn’t she waver in front of me?’

Most women would be shaken at least once.

Everyone else had been.

It wasn’t out of personal feelings, but pure curiosity.

Every tutor before had admired Cedric’s looks and confessed to him at least once.

Breaking away from his thoughts, Cedric tapped the ash from his cigar and said,

“I’ll have to ask her next time.”

It wasn’t urgent.

He began to deeply inhale his cigar again.

* * *

Early morning.

Alicia headed to the dining hall used by the servants.

Usually, the maids brought her food to her room, but today she wanted to go to the hall herself.

In this world, tutors ranked higher than servants.

Not higher than Armand, the secretary, but about two ranks below.

So she was treated almost like a noble.

For example, she could use a very spacious room.

Alicia took a piece of bread and onion soup for breakfast and sat at a quiet table.

At the opposite table, maids around her age gathered, eating together.

They laughed and gossiped about the nobles, hitting each other’s shoulders and laughing until they could hardly breathe.

At another table, two male servants ate with sighs.

‘Are they expecting a tough day?’

Seeing everyone eating together made Alicia feel a bit envious.

She used to eat and drink with fellow teachers in her previous life.

Here, she had no friends or colleagues, so it felt lonely.

Alicia took a bite of bread and thought,

‘I wish I had coworkers too.’

Working alone wasn’t bad, but in a people-oriented job, working together was better.

She sighed lightly and was about to finish her bread when Celia’s group of maids approached.

“Um…”

The oldest-looking maid blushed and spoke to Alicia.

“…Thank you so much.”

Alicia was flustered by the maid’s words and blinked.

The maid, embarrassed, quickly continued,

“Thank you for saving us from Celia.”

The eldest maid bowed deeply in gratitude, and the other maids behind her bowed as well.

Alicia, overwhelmed, waved her hand.

“You don’t need to thank me. I didn’t do anything.”

“No, Alicia, you were the first to stand up to Celia.”

Immediately, the maid offered Alicia a small piece of candy wrapped carefully in a handkerchief.

“I’m sorry this is all I have. It’s not expensive, but please accept it.”

It was a pinkish candy.

Alicia couldn’t refuse and took the candy.

“Thank you. I’ll enjoy it.”

The maids smiled widely when Alicia accepted their gift.

Looking closely at Mikael’s maids, Alicia found them younger than expected.

She asked the oldest,

“How old are you? You look quite young.”

“I’m nineteen. Oh! And my name is Nina.”

Nina blushed, embarrassed she hadn’t introduced herself first.

Then the orange-haired maid on Nina’s left shyly spoke up,

“I-I’m Lucy, seventeen. And this is Marzena, she’s my age!”

Lucy pointed to the brown-haired maid, who nodded.

“Yes, please speak comfortably! You outrank us anyway.”

Alicia smiled and nodded to show she understood.

They really were young—just girls.

In Korea, they’d be high schoolers, yet they’d lived under Celia’s control.

Thinking about it made Alicia angry, but she calmed herself.

Celia was gone, so there was no need to be angry.

Alicia felt pity looking at the maids.

In the original story, Celia often hit or shouted at them.

She felt sorry for these young girls.

But that feeling was brief.

Orange-haired Lucy hesitated, then managed to speak.

“Would you like to join us downtown this weekend? There’s a pastry shop we love!”

Her plump cheeks blushed pink.