Chapter 1: The Berkshire Family Became Her Lifeline Part 19

Marien woke up, panting from a nightmare, and looked around.

There was no one.

She was alone.

It was her first night after moving to the single room, but it felt strange.

She thought it was fortunate that she wouldn’t disturb the other maids’ sleep with her nightmares anymore, but it also felt a bit lonely.

Emma reminded her faintly of Lisa, who always looked after her, and Isabelle was so adorable that Marien thought she might have been just like her if she had a younger sister.

Lost in thought about the other maids while sitting idly on her bed, Marien watched the dawn break and prepared to go out.

Today was the day to collect mullein herbs. Though it must have been a bother, Lord Tamilan had taken it upon himself to escort her every few days.

Marien, too, still hadn’t forgotten the incident with the wolves, so it felt much safer having someone with her.

However, the area was a gentle hill near a woodland path, where wild animals or venomous creatures were unlikely to appear, and it was always peaceful.

She felt it was almost too much to keep having an escort, so she had once broached the subject, but Lord Tamilan insisted on continuing for safety reasons.

It was something to be thankful for, but she didn’t know how long he would keep doing it.

After finishing her morning chores and having lunch, Marien fetched apples and carrots from the kitchen and headed for the stables.

Since the first day, the meeting spot had changed from the castle gate to the stables, and in the process, she had become quite friendly with Will, the stable keeper, who she saw every few days.

“Will, today’s treat day, right?”

The stable horses had a set day for treats, so Marien had come prepared with carrots and apples.

“I’ve been waiting, Marien. Come here and watch. You have to cut them exactly like I do, okay?”

Feeling unusually excited, Will waved her over, and Marien approached him with a smile.

“Okay, I’ll remember.”

As she nodded slightly and focused, Will swallowed hard as he looked at her.

Up close, Marien was so beautiful that Will’s hand, filled with selfish intent, reached toward her.

“You need to come closer to see properly.”

Will was about to pull Marien closer by her shoulder when someone grabbed his wrist tightly, pulling his arm away from her shoulder.

“Ow! Who—oh, Lord Tamilan…?”

“…….”

“Ow, my lord! My arm feels like it’s going to break!”

With his face turning red, Will tried to pull his arm away, but Tamilan still did not release him.

Despite his indifferent expression and gaze, an overwhelming sense of pressure emanated from him, as if he were pinning Will down.

Sweat poured down Will’s face. Although he had been scolded harshly many times, never before had he felt such a murderous aura from Tamilan.

“My lord, please, my arm…”

“Have I been too lenient with you?”

Tamilan’s voice descended like a hammer, dark and crushing, thoroughly subduing his opponent.

It was the first time Will had found Lord Tamilan so terrifying. It wasn’t an exaggeration; had he been an enemy, Tamilan seemed ready to slice off his neck, and fear pooled in Will’s eyes.

“I-I don’t know why you’re doing this…”

Looking down at Will, who whimpered tearfully, Tamilan responded with a low voice.

“If you don’t truly want your arm broken, then don’t ever lay a finger on Marien again.”

It was only then that Will realized this whole ordeal was because he had tried to pull Marien closer.

“Yes, yes. I won’t ever touch her again, I promise.”

“Go.”

The moment Tamilan loosened his grip, Will bolted, determined not to catch even a glimpse of Lord Tamilan for some time.

Marien, startled because Will had never physically touched her before, looked back and forth between the fleeing Will and Tamilan.

It felt as though something had happened in the same space without her knowing.

“Aren’t you a little too defenseless?”

“Me?”

“Will just tried to pull you into his arms, and you didn’t even notice.”

Had she seen the predatory glint in Will’s eyes, she wouldn’t have asked so innocently.

Even if she hadn’t noticed, she had let her guard down far too easily. If Tamilan hadn’t appeared in time…

Seeing Tamilan’s brows knot in displeasure, Marien tried to recall whether Will had indeed done so.

“I don’t know. I was so focused on getting the horse treats ready…”

Tamilan sighed and stopped scolding her.

He knew that once Marien became engrossed in something, she often failed to hear what was going on around her, so a few more words wouldn’t likely change that.

“Why are horse treats so important?”

“Because I can’t feed your horse, so I thought maybe I could feed the others…”

After seeing Tamilan feeding his horse an apple, Marien had secretly thought that she’d like to give treats to his horse too. But since she couldn’t touch his horse without permission, she wanted to at least give treats to the others.

“You can touch mine too.”

“Excuse me…?”

Marien looked up at him in surprise, and Tamilan ran a hand over his jaw, searching for the right words.

Bringing her into his circle had been his decision. Since Marien didn’t know his intentions, he figured it was time to tell her.

“I trust you. So you can pet and feed my horse too. Not just the horse, but other things as well.”

Hearing something so unexpected, Marien couldn’t help but gape at Tamilan.

Did I hear that right? Did he really say that?

He said he trusted her. Could it mean the same as the trust she felt toward him?

“I trust you too, my lord. I always have.”

Although they were worlds apart—he a lord and she a maid—the idea of being in a relationship built on mutual trust made Marien’s chest swell with emotion. She looked at Tamilan and smiled more brilliantly than ever, as if a flower bud had suddenly burst into full bloom.

“…”

Tamilan handed her a few carrot pieces that Will had half-cut and then gently took her other hand, leading her to where his horse was waiting.

Flustered, Marien followed Tamilan and stood before his horse, realizing the meaning of the carrots in her hand.

“You wanted to feed him, didn’t you?”

“Yes…”

With a shy expression, Marien offered the horse a piece of carrot. The horse sniffed, then eagerly chomped it down.

Marien, delighted by the sight, offered another piece of carrot with a bit more enthusiasm.

As the carrots in her hand quickly disappeared, she ran off to fetch an apple and fed that as well.

“That’s enough.”

Tamilan intervened, stopping her from endlessly feeding the horse.

The horse, now well-fed, was calmer and more obedient than usual, making Marien’s mounting easier and less intimidating.

Having ridden a few times now, Marien was no longer overly tense or stiff atop the horse.

As they rode leisurely, Marien softly recounted how much and how well the Lady of the Manor had improved over the past few days, and Tamilan occasionally nodded while listening.

Her gentle, soft voice was immensely pleasing to his ears.

“Thank you. Meeting you feels like a blessing from the goddess Pare.”

“…”

Invoking the name of the goddess Pare was a way of expressing the utmost sincerity.

Blushing deeply around her neck and ears, Marien’s balance shifted, prompting Tamilan to pull her closer around the waist.

Tamilan had always watched over his mother with an anxious and restless heart, convinced that he was the only one who could protect her.

Yet before him stood a presence that contradicted those long-held thoughts. Someone who could help and support him, who could care for his mother and aid her recovery.

Marien’s attentive care had steadily improved the condition of his mother, who could have deteriorated at any moment.

For Tamilan, who had protected family from his own brother, Marien’s presence brought indescribable emotions.

She was not even a part of Berkshire. Yet, the realization that someone outside of his bloodline could ease his pain was a truly strange feeling.

Now that he thought about it, Mother had often spoken of Marien lately.

“Master, here…”

Seeing Marien, who handed him a leather pouch filled with herbs, sweating profusely but working hard, Tamilan found her endearing.

His mother, too, had once told him the same: that she was an endearing child—a sentiment he could not deny.

***

As usual, Marien was having breakfast when Sarah approached her. It was the first time they had faced each other since the wolf incident.

“I want to apologize to you.”

Marien blinked a few times, wondering if it was really the Sarah she knew.

“Apologize…?”

“Yes. I’m truly sorry. I feel like I’ve been so mean to you all this time, and if there are any hard feelings, I’d like to clear them up and get along. What do you think? Of course, if you don’t want to, I won’t force you.”

Marien hadn’t expected such a public apology, so she glanced around. All the maids who had been watching them quickly turned their eyes away.

“No, if that’s how you feel, I have no reason to refuse. There’s nothing good about holding onto old grudges.”

“Thank you, Marien. I really want to get along from now on. Can I sit with you starting today?”

“If you want to…”

When Marien accepted her apology, Sarah beamed and went to get her food. Emma, who was sitting next to her, whispered suspiciously.

“What’s up with her?”

“Maybe she’s had a change of heart?”

“Can someone change that quickly?”

The other maids snickered, saying Sarah was now trying to cling to Marien, but Sarah didn’t care.

Even Carol, who always hung around with Sarah, started being sweet to Marien, and since Marien liked the peaceful atmosphere, she welcomed the change.

“See you at dinner, then.”

After Emma and Isabel left for their afternoon duties, Marien quickly finished her meal.

Today, Tamilan couldn’t personally escort her for the first time, so he said he would send another knight instead.

He assured her that the knight he would send was gentle, so she shouldn’t worry, but since it was her first time with a knight other than Tamilan, she felt a bit nervous.

When Marien went to the meeting spot and saw the knight, she greeted him first.

“Hello, Sir. I’m Marien Reed. Nice to meet you.”

“Hersil Presen.”

The brown-haired man appeared even more stoic than Tamilan.

But as she looked closer, Marien realized that he was one of the knights she had seen at the entrance to the training hall before.

That day, there had been three of them, which made her nervous, but now it was just one, so she felt a little more at ease. It seemed that the number three was what frightened her.

“You can relax if you want, Sir Hersil. There’s nothing dangerous around here.”

Nothing dangerous?

Hersil looked at her with a puzzled expression.

It seemed this maid didn’t know that part of the knights had come to this area two weeks ago to clear out a snake nest and that he had been specifically instructed to keep an eye on her and not to let his guard down, especially with the occasional appearance of alarming insects.

Hersil Presen decided he couldn’t just take her words at face value.

“Surely the young lord didn’t relax, either.”

“Ah… Lord Tamilan used to help me pick mullein leaves.”