Help.

That was something precious that only those with the ability could receive, Jerome realized deeply.

The castle was filled with Jerome’s scream-like shouts that continued without end.

“Cleaning glass with a wet cloth? What about these water stains!”

“How can you leave the hallway floor this slippery? I almost fell and broke my back!”

“How many vases and ceramics are you going to break? Are you doing this on purpose?”

“No, why do you keep falling and hurting yourself while cleaning?”

“……You call this folded clothes? Do you think this is the proper way they should look?”

At Jerome’s endless scolding, the woman finally shed a few tears.

She realized how unhelpful and pathetic a maid she was.

Jerome felt the same way.

If he entrusted the castle management to this woman, it would surely transform into an even more shocking and horrifying place than it already was.

“I’m, I’m sorry!”

The woman who kept making everything worse continued apologizing, but it brought no joy.

Jerome, who had become noticeably more haggard than in the morning from cleaning up after her, finally turned his back on her.

‘This woman…… remarkably has no talent for cleaning.’

He became genuinely curious about what profession she might have had before losing her memory.

Eventually, Jerome was cleaning the last guest room again when suddenly a thud came from the hallway.

“Your, Your Highness?”

Jerome, who went out to the hallway at that sound, covered his mouth.

Evan had fallen backward in the middle of the hallway.

It was the same spot where Jerome had slipped earlier.

The woman who followed behind rushed toward him lying there with a bewildered expression.

“Are, are you alright?”

With an expression that said she was dying of embarrassment.

“Ugh!”

And sure enough, slip— thud.

The woman also performed physical comedy by sliding in front of him.

She seemed to want to help the fallen Evan up, but instead ended up falling on top of him.

“Are you seriously doing this to make us laugh on purpose?”

Jerome approached the two with feelings he couldn’t decide whether to laugh or cry about.

“Ahhh, I’m sorry!”

The woman jerked her upper body up with a helpless expression while on top of Evan.

“……”

Evan also sat up, holding the back of his head that had hit the floor once more because of the woman.

He had been expressionless since they first met, but this time he seemed slightly irritated.

The moment she thought their faces were too close, the woman suddenly felt something with an odd texture caught in both her hands.

‘What is this? This subtly soft yet firm feeling……’

The woman glanced down to check.

Both her hands were positioned exactly on Evan’s chest.

Her left hand on his right chest, her right hand on his left chest.

The startled woman couldn’t say anything and slowly lifted her trembling hands.

Why did she have to fall in this position of all things?

“Tell me honestly.”

Jerome crouched down beside the woman who was breaking out in cold sweat.

His serious expression approached between Evan and the woman’s profiles, creating an eerie sense of pressure.

“You used to be an actor, right? Comedy genre. Third-rate comedy at that.”

Evan also nodded as if agreeing with Jerome’s words.

The woman became frightened that they might tell her to leave the castle immediately at their reaction.

The windows were still rattling violently from the snowstorm, and it was already evening with the sunset nearly gone.

If she got kicked out now, she would surely freeze to death.

Grrrrowl!

But even while thinking such thoughts, the woman’s stomach made thunder sounds without reading the room.

“See? I told you, comedy actor.”

Jerome pointed at the woman who had her head hung low.

※※※

Fortunately, the two didn’t kick the woman out and guided her to the dining room.

“Change out of those maid clothes first.”

At Evan’s curt words from earlier, the woman had quickly changed into regular clothes.

Now dressed in a modest dress with a simple ribbon decoration, the woman was curious about what Evan was thinking as he still looked at her with displeasure, but she didn’t ask.

She was too scared to speak to him.

The woman just quietly followed behind the two.

‘His Highness is really tall. Jerome isn’t short either.’

Walking alongside Jerome’s dark blue head, she saw Evan’s shoulders positioned there.

Naturally looking at the Grand Duke’s broad back while walking, the woman squeezed her eyes shut again.

‘Ugh, I keep remembering. Why did I have to fall there of all places……’

The woman’s face alternated between flushing and paling behind Evan as she shook her head vigorously.

If she remembered touching that man’s chest one more time, she felt she couldn’t bear the shame.

Please stop remembering!

That shape too! That texture too!

“This is the dining room.”

Just then Jerome’s voice was heard and the woman quickly looked ahead.

Behind the large arched door on the first floor, a huge dining room with a chandelier appeared.

However, that space, excessively large for the number of people, made her feel scared rather than romantic due to the chandelier that hadn’t been lit in a long time.

Even most of the windows had thick, dark-toned velvet curtains drawn across them.

‘What, what is this? This atmosphere, like vampires are about to dine……’

The woman, whose nape had grown cold for no reason, hurriedly stuck closer behind Jerome.

“Please wait a moment, I’ll prepare food right away.”

Jerome, holding a candlestick, seated the woman and Evan across from each other at the large dining table before turning around.

He seemed to be heading to the kitchen.

At those words, the woman jumped up again and grabbed Jerome.

“I’ll help you!”

Jerome whipped around and gently grasped the woman’s shoulder.

“Wouldn’t you not helping be helping?”

Jerome gently pushed her back to her seat with an expression that said not to say such scary things.

“Your Highness, don’t let her touch anything. She’s destroying everything she lays hands on.”

At Jerome’s request, Evan also seriously nodded.

The woman had nothing to say since she had broken so many things.

Shortly after, she was left alone with Evan rolled her eyes around.

‘Awkward……’

Sitting face to face alone with this cold-expressioned man called the Grand Duke, especially after making such a mistake earlier, was t＊rture.

“Um, Your Highness.”

The woman finally couldn’t bear the heavy atmosphere and courageously spoke up.

She did have words of gratitude to convey anyway.

“Thank you so much for letting me stay in this castle. I don’t think I’ve properly thanked Your Highness yet.”

To the woman’s words as she tried to make eye contact, Evan replied dryly.

“There’s nothing to be grateful for. When you remember something, I’ll ask that question again. For now, think of it as me holding you hostage to hear that answer.”

‘That question from earlier…… what I supposedly said before fainting in the snow?’

The woman recalled the question Evan had asked after making her hold the color-changing orb.

To hear that answer accurately, he was feeding and housing a stranger for free like this?

Whatever she had asked for must be very important to this man.

“So you don’t need to try living as a maid here.”

Evan added these words.

The woman fidgeted with her fingers awkwardly.

Since she had no talent for maid work, it sounded like he was telling her not to cause more accidents.

Even if Evan didn’t mean it that way, people with guilty consciences tend to feel paranoid.

The woman remembered the plates she had broken earlier and quickly replied.

“Ah…… Yes. Still, thank you for understanding my situation. And if I remember anything, I’ll definitely tell you everything.”

The woman once again pondered deeply about what she had supposedly said before fainting in the snow.

‘What on earth did I ask for? Ugh…… I’m so curious too! I can’t remember at all.’

Evan openly watched the woman who showed various expressions and made groaning sounds during this short time.

With her thoughts so transparently visible like that, she probably wouldn’t have talent for acting either.

Bang! Rattle! Rattle, rattle!

“Eek!”

But then, suddenly a loud noise came from one of the windows.

The woman flinched at the unexpected sound.

“It’s just wind. The gusts get stronger here in the evening.”

Evan explained to her pale face without batting an eye.

“And that window over there has a slightly warped frame, so I told Jerome to replace it, but it seems he still hasn’t done it.”

“Ah…… I, I see.”

The woman clasped her trembling hands.

Even after hearing the explanation, her anxious feelings wouldn’t subside.

‘Wh, why am I suddenly like this?’

Suddenly the few candles lit in this dark and huge dining room felt eerily like will-o’-the-wisps.

It seemed like something threatening her would shake the windows again from outside.

The woman tried to calm herself by tossing her hair back and wiping the sweat from her palms on her dress.

But it was useless.

The feeling of her throat being constricted by the surrounding darkness only grew stronger.

“Ugh, hic, huu……”

She was biting her lips and clenching her fists when—

Click.

“Huh?”

Suddenly her vision flashed bright.

The woman blinked for a moment.

Looking up, the chandelier that had been off was now shining brilliantly.

The transparent crystals hanging there reflected each other’s light while swaying slightly.