“She’s still better than the footmen, at least.”

The “she” they were referring to was Emily herself, currently scrubbing the stone steps with a rag until her hands turned red from the cold. But Emily didn’t turn around. She could only guess that there must be someone else in this manor they could compare her to, however roughly.

“Those guys just smoke and slack off all day.”

“Exactly. Whether guests come or they serve the young master his meals, how does it make sense that they get paid more than us?”

The maids would clam up whenever Emily was nearby. But they spoke freely about this particular complaint, which told Emily that the other staff harbored considerable resentment toward the footmen.

Of course, that didn’t mean Emily could join in their grumbling. She kept her head down and continued wiping silently, while the clicking maids moved on.

* * *

On the second Friday evening, Emily headed to the back door and climbed into the carriage. Once again, three tall, well-groomed male servants hurriedly moved to the far end.

She had already guessed these were the footmen. She’d overheard the maids saying things like “those lanky good-for-nothings are so lazy” and “they’re always sneaking into town to chase women.”

Emily quietly closed the carriage door. The three tall footmen had dressed up nicely, then huddled together in the cramped carriage, pulling their legs in tight like they were afraid of catching fleas. She found it rather amusing.

“You’re from Tollum, right?”

Apparently, they found her amusing too. When she turned her head, they were giggling and exchanging glances.

It was clear they weren’t asking because they didn’t know, but Emily answered honestly anyway.

“Yes, that’s right.”

But no follow-up came. Emily turned her gaze to the window.

“Hey.”

The silence was brief before they decided they wanted to chat today. When she pretended not to hear, they even kicked at her shoes.

“You, I’m talking to you.”

Emily had no choice but to turn her head again. One of the workers with a shiny face sneered at her.

“Do people in Tollum really eat rats?”

After hearing this, Emily thought for a moment. These weren’t her employers, nor were they the maids she worked alongside. How much should she tolerate from these men who had weak positions within the manor themselves?

“Look at that expression.”

Unable to wait through her brief contemplation, they giggled among themselves. If she let this slide, her weekly commute would become a nuisance, so Emily finally took a deep breath.

“A firsthand account of the great famine from a Tollum native: 1 shilling, 30 pence.”

While the footman who had spoken hesitated and the other workers paused, she rattled off words rapidly like a theater barker.

“Surely they didn’t only eat rats? Didn’t people eat each other? If so, did they roast them or boil them?”

“What the—”

“Boys, even watching a play at the theater costs more than this. You’ll be heading back to the capital eventually—you should have at least one tale of adventure to tell.”

Even if this escalated to “who do you think you’re mocking,” she had an escape route. And if these men caused trouble right now, the carriage was heading into Tollum anyway. In a place where five out of seven passersby—including the pigeons—would take her side.

But the men in front of her were already shutting their mouths, leaving Emily bewildered. Just how sheltered were these capital boys that even the men were all like this?

“It’s fine. They say humans find others’ misfortune most entertaining anyway. But if you really pay up, I can tell you stories you won’t hear anywhere else.”

Even after her friendly gesture, they never spoke to her again. They just whispered among themselves.

“Surely she doesn’t really mean people…”

“Anyway, she’s definitely not right in the head…”

When she glanced at them briefly, the carriage fell quiet. Emily turned back to the bleak winter scenery outside the window and let out a small sigh. If these fools had offered her blind money, she would have gladly taken it and made up some nonsense for them. 

The other people in the manor wouldn’t believe it anyway, and even if they did, her treatment couldn’t possibly get any worse than it already was for being an uncivilized Tollum person.

* * *

Over the weekend, she called a carpenter to estimate home repairs. But her advance pay fell far short of what was needed, so Emily climbed into the Monday morning carriage in a gloomy mood.

“Working from this early in the morning, you must be making good money?”

“Good morning, Sam.”

Abandoning any pretense of proper greetings, Sam Cornis showed pointless curiosity the moment she sat down next to the driver’s seat.

Last time, the taciturn Mr. Cornis had driven the carriage himself, making for a peaceful and pleasant commute. But this family’s son had been chatty since childhood and often proved bothersome.

“Do you get paid weekly or monthly?”

But today she felt like complaining, so Sam’s barrage of questions was actually welcome.

“I can’t even remember the last time Oliver’s bedroom door was closed.”

Emily let out a big sigh.

“The ceiling’s about to collapse, but we don’t have money for repairs, so we’ve kept the door open for months.”

“What are you talking about?”

“We keep the bedroom door open so it can support the collapsing ceiling. Like a pillar.”

“Oh…”

“So we can’t use the dangerous side at all. Mom and I share the same bed, and poor Oliver sleeps on a wooden crate with blankets in our room.”

By now Sam looked like he didn’t want to hear more, but Emily sighed again, loud enough to compete with the sound of hoofbeats.

“But when I get paid, I need to buy wallpaper first. The window frame is warped so we couldn’t ventilate properly, and with all the cooking we did through winter, moisture built up in the kitchen, causing mold and making the wallpaper peel.”

“You can’t just change the wallpaper. You guys… you really need to build a new house.”

“Right. First pay off debts for about 5 years, then save for another 10 years after that.”

This was slightly exaggerated. In Tollum, full of people who had nothing, showing off money would only lead to trouble.

“If only the accident compensation would come through.”

“I’m torn between paying off debts first or fixing the house. I feel bad about using other people’s money, but if the house really collapses, we’ll end up with even more debt. I’m worried Mom or Oliver might get hurt too.”

After she complained a bit longer, Sam grew quiet. She hadn’t expected genuine concern, but he’d already stopped showing sympathy when she didn’t even have money to buy Oliver a coat yet.

Starting today, she decided not to consider Sam a friend. Emily shot a sideways glare at the neighborhood boy sitting beside her.

* * *

For the past few days, Emily had been incredibly busy. So it wasn’t her imagination that the work kept piling up.

“…”

On the first clear afternoon of the week, the maids volunteered to dry the books in the attic library—an unusual offer to Michelle—leaving only Emily behind.

“Call us when you’re done.”

“Yes.”

Emily answered familiarly and began cleaning. She opened the windows, dusted, and finished mopping. Now it was time to pull out the books one by one to dry on the floor.

As she was about to climb the ladder, a sudden memory made her look at the door. Come to think of it, hadn’t that person who shouldn’t enter come by last time?

To prevent another inappropriate incident, Emily closed the door first. But without a key, she’d have to drag over a heavy chair.

“Hello, Emily.”

But somehow, that very person had already opened the door. How did he know she was in the attic?

Frozen while holding the chair, Emily stammered.

“…There’s a lot of dust.”

“It’s fine.”

It wouldn’t be fine, but as the master of this manor, there was nowhere he couldn’t go. Having no grounds to stop him, Emily averted her eyes first, afraid she might be mesmerized by his inhuman beauty. Then she put the chair back in its place.

“What were you going to do with that?”

“…It seemed broken, so I was going to take it out.”

Though flustered, Emily answered relatively calmly. Unlike the first time when she had trembled ridiculously, she could remain composed because she had mentally prepared herself. Moreover, knowing his eccentric behavior wouldn’t last long provided considerable reassurance.

“Really? You weren’t trying to block the door, were you?”

But being hit right on target made her flinch. The young master, who had been questioning her with amusement in his voice, seemed to notice this and raised his eyebrows.

“Of course not.”

Emily waved her hands in the air to deny it, but from what she glimpsed, his handsome face had already hardened.

“Was I making you uncomfortable?”

“Not at all. Absolutely not.”

Despite all her mental preparation, she was gradually losing her composure. The butler who could supposedly calm this person down had no set return date, while the danger stood right in front of her and kept trying to engage in conversation.