I sensed some commotion inside the door. Kelly emerged with her characteristic businesslike expression.

“What do you need?”

Her tone was the same as usual. Either she didn’t know I had heard her, or she was pretending not to know.

Foolishly, I had felt grateful for that demeanor until now. Not realizing it was all hateful pretense.

“I’d like to meet the Duke.”

“That’s not something I can arrange. I only follow orders myself.”

“I see.”

“But why do you ask?”

She must feel guilty about something.

Looking at their expressions, though, they didn’t seem likely to acknowledge or apologize for their rude conversation. If I brought it up, it would only cause another commotion like before.

So I decided to handle this wisely.

“I have something to tell him when I see him.”

“What?”

“That’s between the Duke and me, so I don’t need to tell Kelly.”

Seeing her face crinkle with preemptive guilt gave me a small sense of satisfaction.

“Fine. I’ll tell the Duke when he comes. Though I doubt he will, since he’s probably forgotten about this place.”

“Is the maid inside from the main house?”

“No. She’s a new maid who started working here today, replacing the girl who was dismissed then.”

“I see. Please take good care of me.”

I bowed my head in greeting, but she didn’t even look at me.

“You’re walking well now?”

“Yes, thanks to lots of practice, I can walk decently now.”

“That’s good. Then I don’t need to bring your meals anymore, right? The Duke only ordered minimal care anyway.”

“Yes, that’s fine. And I’ll clean my room and wash my undergarments myself, so you don’t need to attend to me.”

At my words, both of them twitched their lips in a mix of discomfort and pleasure. Watching this, I added one more comment.

“Since I’m an abandoned slave, like you both said, the Duke probably won’t mind.”

When I revealed that I had heard everything, Kelly’s lips twisted slightly.

“Don’t worry, I won’t tattle on you.”

“You can’t anyway. The Duke doesn’t even come here.”

I abandoned the idea of making friends.

How did I become someone hated simply for existing? Before, at least I had done something wrong.

“Please show me around the annex. I need to know where the dining room is…”

“My goodness, you can’t even do that yourself? You’re not a guest, you know.”

After Kelly’s response, I cleanly gave up.

“Since we have nothing more to discuss, we’ll go back inside.”

The door closed in my face. The laughter that immediately followed made my heart sting.

What was I expecting? Even my tiniest hope was not just discarded but trampled.

Once again, I was left alone in the dark corridor. I stood there blankly when the door opened. But the two maids passed by, deliberately bumping my shoulder and treating me like I didn’t exist, without changing their expressions. With that, even the last trace of human presence disappeared.

“What should I do now…?”

I felt somewhat lost.

I almost wished they would treat me like a real slave and be harsh. At least then I wouldn’t have these negative thoughts.

My body shrank from all the bad thoughts finding their way to me. Maybe it would have been better if I had died…

The negative thoughts scattered at a small noise from somewhere.

“Someone else is here.”

This was a familiar sound. The sound the headmistress made when cooking delicious soup for us at the orphanage.

I walked toward it, entranced. There was a large door. When I pushed it open with effort, I saw a large dining table and chairs. Entering the dining room, the chopping sound grew louder. There was another door where the sound was coming from.

“Excuse me.”

I carefully opened the door. There was an elderly woman with white hair chopping carrots on a cutting board.

“Who’s there?”

The grandmother put down her knife and turned to me.

“Ah, the young lady of this annex.”

She didn’t call me a slave. That alone strangely made me choke up. I had been pretending to be fine, but my insides were so raw that even this small thing made me crumble.

“My, why is such a pretty young lady crying?”

The grandmother approached me. And she embraced me tightly. Strangely, she smelled like Aunt Ann. A warm, cozy scent.

That made it harder to stop crying.

* * *

“Now that you’ve finished crying, try eating this. It’ll make you feel better.”

The grandmother, who had seated me in a dining chair, offered me a honey bread. It was smaller than Aunt Ann’s, but with more glossy honey spread on it, a sweet bread. She also served fragrant tea with it.

“Thank you.”

“I heard you like this very much?”

“How did you know?”

“My grandson came home after the war and asked me to make it while telling me about you.”

“You’re Sir Terseon’s grandmother.”

“Yes, that boy’s grandma.”

I blinked my swollen eyes while holding the honey bread.

Why did she call me “young lady” when she knew everything about me? When I looked at her in confusion, she smiled gently.

“Terseon told me. Others may curse you as one of the dark clan, but he doesn’t think that way. If you had been adopted into a family other than the duchy, you would have become a wise noble lady, not a slave.”

My face reddened slightly at the excessive praise.

I wasn’t that kind of person at all.

“Thank you. But I am a slave. If you call me ‘young lady,’ the Duke might become angry.”

“Nonsense. The Duke gave you this annex to treat you like a princess.”

“But if that were true, he wouldn’t have abandoned me like this. The maids too…”

I stopped before complaining. I wondered how I would be different from Kelly if I spoke ill of them behind their backs.

“They’re young and immature. No tact at all, tsk tsk. How can they work long in someone else’s house if they can’t understand their master’s intentions?”

The grandmother’s coarse language somehow made me feel relieved. Having someone to talk to was even better.

“But is your body better now? Terseon was very worried. He said you couldn’t walk even after waking up.”

“Yes, I’m fine. I even came down the stairs by myself.”

“Oh my, that’s good. But, hmm…”

She examined me closely. Then she clicked her tongue.

“You’re so skinny… I thought you were fine because you always emptied your plates, but this won’t do. I need to increase your portions.”

“I’m fine…”

“First, eat this snack. I’ll make plenty of snacks for you to eat in your room soon.”

The grandmother declared this and went back into the kitchen.

There was a tinkering sound for quite some time. And a delicious smell wafted through the slightly open door. It took me back to my happiest times. The times when I sat at the table with Carden, waiting for the headmistress’s cooking.

‘Today’s menu is mashed potatoes and grilled sausages.’

‘I love sausages! I hate potatoes.’

‘Lea, if you’re picky about food, you won’t grow tall.’

‘But the headmistress always mixes chopped broccoli into the potatoes! That’s too gross.’

‘I think it’s delicious. And you need to eat a balanced diet to be healthy.’

‘It tastes weird.’

‘Sigh, this won’t do. I’ll ask the headmistress to mix in chopped sausages too.’

Carden, who was a dependable big brother, always coaxed me when I was picky about food. If I insisted I couldn’t eat something, he would even eat the broccoli for me.

Thinking about those times brought a smile to my face.

“What are you smiling about?”

The grandmother came in with the food just then.

“I remembered being scolded for being a picky eater when I was young.”

“Tsk. Being picky is no good.”

“I’m trying not to be picky now.”

But I still disliked the mashed potatoes with broccoli in front of me. Even with plenty of chopped sausage and bacon mixed in.

“This is…”

“The Duke’s favorite dish.”

“What? He likes this?”

Oh no, again… Every time I discovered something that overlapped between Lucifer and Carden, my heart trembled. 

I felt pathetic even though I knew they weren’t the same person.

I tried to calm my aching heart by picking up a spoon and stirring the potato dish.

“He bragged that he developed this recipe himself. Said it was the only way to make someone eat broccoli they disliked.”

I dropped the spoon. The grandmother turned to look at me when I made a commotion.

“What’s wrong?”

“Did the Duke really make this?”

“I believe so. It’s been a long time since I heard about it, so my memory is a bit fuzzy.”

This was strange. Lucifer wasn’t Carden, so why did these coincidences keep happening?

“He made it to feed his little sister who died when he was young.”

Then it’s not me. The confusion of things being similar yet different kept occurring, and it was confusing. My heart ached too.

I don’t understand why I keep expecting and getting hurt each time, even though I know it’s not true. If he really were Carden, there would be no reason to hide his identity from me anymore. 

He now knows that I never ordered him to kill Carden and the people of Solanie Village.

Yes, since he’s not Carden, I should stop caring. Even if it were true, as long as he wants to keep it hidden, I have no right to pry.

I organized my thoughts while forcing myself to eat even the broccoli. The grandmother, with a satisfied face, handed me a small basket.

“Snacks. Go upstairs and eat them.”

“Thank you. By the way, can I eat with you when I come down for meals?”

“You don’t eat upstairs?”

“Eating alone is… lonely.”

“Alright, then I’ll keep you company.”

I smiled brightly at the grandmother’s promise. She said she might be a bit late because she had to prepare the Duke’s meals. But that was fine.

It meant I wouldn’t have to be alone anymore in this big, spacious annex.

“Thank you.”

I was about to leave the dining room after thanking the grandmother. But another welcome person appeared, making me smile again.

“Oh? Long time no see, Princess.”

“Sir Terseon! It’s good to see you.”

“Did you meet my grandmother?”

“Yes. She’s a wonderful person. And her cooking is delicious.”

“Right?”

While we were exchanging greetings, I heard the grandmother scolding from behind.

“Now you don’t see your grandma, only the pretty lady? Since you’re here, escort her to the third floor. It would take her all day to climb up alone.”

“Ah! Yes!”

At the grandmother’s request, I went to the stairs with Sir Terseon’s escort. He politely carried the snack basket for me. We exchanged news about each other after our long separation.

“So your body is fine now?”

“As you can see. I’m still a bit weak.”

Still, I climbed more steadily than when I had come down holding the railing.

“And I lack stamina.”

I had to rest before going far. Climbing up really takes more energy.

When I had to rest too frequently, Terseon made a troubled face and asked me:

“Should I just carry you up?”

“What? No, that’s a bit…”

“If you overdo it today, you might not be able to come down tomorrow due to muscle pain.”

He tried to lift me without listening to my opinion. My body was uncomfortable, and I couldn’t avoid it, only waving my hands in protest when, with a creaking sound, a large door opened at the bottom of the stairs.

Terseon and I turned our heads simultaneously.

There stood my master, looking like he had brought the cold snap with him. With a terrifying face, full of anger.