It was just a few days ago that the young master bestowed upon her an excessive honor. What if he mentioned friendship and being friends again today, even in front of the steward? 

Setting aside getting scolded for overstepping her bounds, she might even get fired.

“The young master has been unwell until now, so it couldn’t be helped. But now that he’s much better—”

But the clear sound of shoes on the floor climbed the stairs briskly without slowing down at all. Fortunately, the young master seemed completely oblivious to this lowly existence. It would be even more fortunate if he noticed but simply didn’t care.

The steward’s hurried footsteps following the young master also disappeared up to the second floor via the staircase. Only then could Emily let out the breath she had been holding.

But then, there was someone else who had similarly stopped walking and was avoiding this direction from across the way.

“Emily.”

It was Michelle, the senior maid. She walked over slowly and examined Emily carefully.

“Poor thing. Your face has gone pale.”

“What? No, it hasn’t.”

“Why are you so afraid of the young master?”

“I’m not.”

Emily deliberately shook her head with a giggle. But Michelle reached out her hand.

“Come here. You don’t look well.”

Suddenly her sleeve was grabbed, and she was dragged beyond the corridor that led to the right of the central staircase.

“Sit here.”

This room she had never entered before was filled with a long sofa and footstool, a bookshelf covering one entire wall, and an ornate display cabinet. It seemed to have a musty smell too.

Thinking about having to dust all those books someday brought back unpleasant memories again, but Emily carefully sat at the end of the sofa where Michelle pointed.

Michelle took out an elaborately decorated glass bottle from the display cabinet and picked up a glass from the cart with practiced movements.

“Take a sip.”

She could tell the dark brown liquid thrust in front of her face was alcohol without even smelling it.

“I’m fine.”

“I have smelling salts too. Are you very dizzy?”

Emily couldn’t understand the current situation. But Michelle continued to offer the liquor.

“Either have a drink, or I’ll bring the salts. That should help you come to your senses.”

“Yes, I… then…”

She accepted the intricately crafted glass with trembling hands. Michelle’s sudden kindness made Emily extremely uneasy.

“So why are you so afraid of the young master?”

At Michelle’s persistent questioning, Emily was flustered but deliberately didn’t hide her trembling voice.

“…It’s not just the young master I fear. I’m just as afraid of Mr. Jefferson and the head housekeeper. Not only that, I’m also very afraid of whether I dare sit in the master’s chair or waste precious alcohol.”

“Ah, I see.”

Michelle seemed to relax completely, letting the tension out of her shoulders. Emily glanced at her reaction and obediently lowered her eyes.

“If you’re not going to drink that, give it here.”

Perhaps worried Emily might spill it with her trembling hands, Michelle took the glass back. Emily felt much more at ease, and Michelle noticed this and chuckled.

“Would you be more comfortable standing? No one comes to the smoking room at this hour.”

“Yes, thank you.”

When Emily rose from her seat eagerly, Michelle smiled with amusement.

“I’ve been watching you for a few days, and you’re better than I thought. You’re skilled with your hands, obedient, and careful in everything.”

“Thank you.”

But Emily became even more tense. The words that would come after sudden praise seemed like they would be the real point.

And sure enough.

“You need to be careful of that young master.”

Emily swallowed dryly, and Michelle sat on the sofa in her place, sipping the liquor as she continued.

“Of course, seeing how you act, there’s probably no need to worry. I heard you spoke quite cleverly in front of Mr. Jefferson last time.”

It was a comment that made her even more nervous. Who had a looser tongue than the footmen—the steward or the head housekeeper?

“Anyway, not only the head housekeeper but Mr. Jefferson seems to think well of you, and the butler from the capital doesn’t care about our affairs anyway.”

“…Yes.”

“You don’t ask why I’m telling you to be careful of the young master.”

She hadn’t known that Michelle, who always looked tired, still had such curiosity. Anyway, since she seemed to know about the conversation with the steward last time, there was no point in giggling and pretending to be innocent.

“The young master is someone I should be careful of anyway. Since I have many shortcomings, I think it’s better not to catch the attention of such an important person at all.”

“Right.”

Michelle nodded with satisfaction, then added lightly to Emily, who was watching her reaction.

“Ah, I was wondering if any of the young ones had been running their mouths in front of you. Seeing how you conduct yourself, it would be fine even if they had said something.”

At those words, Emily realized the purpose of this strange interrogation. Everyone had good reason to fear the young master. But she wasn’t supposed to know this. Why?

Emily quietly caught her breath. Her head was complicated for another reason too. Should she tell Michelle that the young master had been approaching her, talking about friendship and being friends?

But even if she bought immediate favor and trust that way, in the worst case she might lose her job. Favor and trust built at a workplace she got fired from would be meaningless, and thinking that way, there was no reason to be conflicted.

“You’ve been working here for quite a while now. More than ten days.”

Michelle, who had been calculating the days briefly, saw Emily’s still-stiff face and even comforted her. She probably misunderstood her concerns as worry.

“You probably won’t be in any great danger. Even when he got physical, it was only with a few male workers. He’s never even raised his voice much at the maids.”

So the young master does get physical too. When Emily unconsciously nodded, Michelle chuckled.

“Anyway, the butler will return soon, so you just need to be careful until then. He’ll bring proper medicine this time, so you probably won’t even encounter him.”

Though she already knew this from her conversation with Hannah, Emily nodded carefully like she was hearing it for the first time. But the conversation with Michelle wasn’t over yet.

“Surely there are rumors about the Count’s son even in town?”

Suddenly asked a difficult question, Emily hesitated, but Michelle pressed on.

“Tell me. Honestly.”

Finally, Emily answered as honestly as possible.

“Hazefield Manor belongs to someone incredibly high-ranking that we wouldn’t even know about. They originally don’t hire people from Tollum, and probably the young master who came for recuperation dislikes country folk…”

“Ah, it’s been somewhat distorted.”

Michelle smiled wryly.

“The one who dislikes local people is Baron Bayton, the owner of this manor. The new butler, who’s supposedly his distant relative, is the same.”

When Emily just blinked, Michelle continued her explanation.

“The Count’s son who came six months ago is also related to Baron Bayton.”

With so many titles of important people appearing, it was confusing, but something was strange. Emily asked with a dubious expression.

“Then that person earlier isn’t the owner of this manor, but the owner’s relative?”

“Right. He’s the eldest son of Count Roward.”

So he wasn’t her employer, but merely a relative staying at the employer’s house. No one had deceived her, yet she somehow felt deceived. But perhaps noticing her sense of injustice, Michelle’s explanation continued.

“Since our master is also someone to be careful of, it’s right to continue being wary of that young master. Because even though he can’t hire anyone, he can definitely fire people.”

“Ah…”

“Five people the young master drove out after he recovered, eight people he made leave on their own. Did you hear that he also eliminated the laundry room and dairy? Because they were noisy and smelly.”

Well, if he could fire people, he was practically the employer. Emily quickly reorganized the hierarchy in her confused mind. Just like Michelle said earlier, the young master was definitely someone to continue being wary of.

After all, why else would the saying ‘be careful of those with decorative titles’ exist? Even the baronet elder in Tollum, though considered a humble title among nobles, could make life sufficiently difficult if you fell out of favor. 

Among nobles, even strangers could help each other by claiming their ancestors from several generations back were relatives, or that a cousin’s nephew was connected to some distant relative.

Moreover, even that baronet gentleman had connections to the mayor and police chief, so how much more so would people from a Count’s family and Baron’s family from the capital?

“He also eliminated the dairy in the back garden and sold all the cows, pigs, and chickens. That’s why we buy all our milk and eggs from outside, with delivery carts coming and going every week.”

So the young master who came to recuperate at his relative’s house must be quite tyrannical. He gets physical with servants and throws his weight around by finding fault with cleaning.

Anyway, she hadn’t expected Michelle, who seemed the most strict after the head housekeeper, to tell her so many stories. While Emily marveled at her kindness, Michelle drained all the remaining alcohol in her glass.

“Anyway, you don’t need to worry. Now, let’s go back to work.”

“Yes.”

Anyway, the important thing was that the young master hadn’t even glanced at her just earlier. He occasionally has fits of madness, but normally he seems no different from any other noble.

Emily felt much more at ease. Come to think of it, when wandering around the large manor, she rarely saw people working. Everyone seemed quite skilled at slacking off…