I carefully entered the mansion. Inside, no sounds could be heard except for our footsteps. It seemed they were still using maids who couldn’t speak.

“I left your room exactly the same, Lily.”

“Ah…”

“You must be tired, so go rest.”

Russell gently pushed my back.

“What about you, Your Grace?”

“I have things to take care of. I’ll come find you later.”

He briefly kissed my forehead. Since the butler was still beside us, I was startled and stepped back.

“See you later.”

I practically fled the scene, and I could hear Russell chuckling softly behind me.

I stood in front of my room door and took a deep breath. Then I turned the doorknob and slowly opened the door. Surprisingly, nothing in the room had changed. The bed, vanity, and wardrobe were all the same, and the blankets and pillows were neatly arranged. There wasn’t a speck of dust, showing they had cleaned daily even without me there.

While looking around the room, something on the vanity caught my eye.

“This is…”

It was a jewelry box. I hesitated, then picked up the box and opened the lid. Inside was the necklace with the ring I had left behind when I departed. Even after a year had passed, the necklace remained in the same condition as when I first received it.

I stared at the necklace intently, then closed the lid again and placed it back on the vanity.

I opened the wardrobe to organize my luggage, and all the clothes I hadn’t taken with me were still there.

“Wow…”

It looked like none of my belongings had been touched. What would they have done if I had never returned? 

I thought Russell might have maintained this room forever even without me.

The clothes were cleanly laundered with nothing needing attention. I clicked my tongue and took clothes out of my bag to organize them properly. Only after placing my belongings here and there did the room finally feel lived-in.

“I’m tired just from organizing luggage…”

I muttered softly and flopped down on the bed. Looking at the ceiling that was both strange and familiar, I pondered.

Once Russell destroys the maid contract, I’ll be a commoner but no longer a maid of this mansion. What should I do after that? It was good to escape my maid status, but without a goal, my head felt blank.

I was rolling around comfortably on the bed when suddenly there was a knock. Startled, I bolted upright and shouted.

“Yes, come in!”

The door opened carefully, revealing an unfamiliar maid. I rolled my eyes around and smiled awkwardly. She had a name tag reading ‘Delia’ on her chest.

“What brings you here…?”

When I tilted my head, Delia took out a notebook and pen from her pocket. Then in the blink of an eye, she wrote something and showed it to me.

[I’ll help you bathe.]

I opened my eyes wide and shook my head vigorously.

“No, it’s fine! I can bathe by myself.”

Delia shook her head firmly. Then she pushed my back insistently, making me enter the bathroom.

“Huh, what?”

Something whizzed by. When I came to my senses, I was already in the bathtub. It felt like being possessed by a ghost.

‘Crazy…’

Delia gently massaged my shoulders. I was about to say it was burdensome and unnecessary, but her hands were truly divine.

“So refreshing…”

I unconsciously relaxed my body and muttered softly. Just massaging my shoulders made all the fatigue in my body melt away. Eventually, she massaged various parts of my body, and I left the bathroom feeling much more refreshed. Delia helped dry my hair and change clothes before leaving the room.

I stared at the mirror with a dumbfounded expression. A completely different person from before stood in front of the mirror. I thought I had maintained myself fairly well while traveling on the ship, but after Delia’s touch, I felt completely transformed.

I was just looking at myself in the mirror from various angles when there was another knock.

“Yes, come in.”

I thought it was another maid, but this time it was the butler.

“Roselia, His Grace is calling for you.”

“Ah, yes!”

I was surprised that he came directly to my room instead of sending another maid.

I straightened my clothes and hurried to Russell’s office. When I arrived and carefully knocked, the door swung open.

“You’re here, Lily? Come in.”

I passed by Russell and entered. The office hadn’t changed. The tall stacks of documents and the bookshelf packed with books were all the same.

“Nothing’s changed here.”

“I had no interest in the mansion at all.”

Russell led me to the sofa.

“Sit, Lily.”

“But didn’t you say you’d come find me later?”

“I was going to, but I thought it would be better to do it here.”

He grinned and headed to his desk. Russell rummaged through a drawer and soon brought over some paper.

“What’s that?”

“A contract.”

He handed me the paper. When I took it and read, it was the contract I had seen when I first possessed this body.

“You said to get rid of the contract.”

“You did…”

“I thought it would be better to show you destroying it before your eyes.”

Russell took the contract back from my hands. Then he very easily tore the contract in half.

I made a blank expression at how easily the contract tore, and he took the torn contract to one side of the room. There was a fireplace with a fire burning. Russell threw the halved contract into the fireplace. The contract was engulfed in flames and soon disappeared without a trace.

“Lily, you’re free now.”

“…Really?”

“Yeah. There’s no reason for you to be called a maid anymore.”

I was dumbfounded at how easily my maid status had disappeared.

“Now I’m… truly free.”

“That’s right. How do you feel?”

“It doesn’t feel real… and I’m not used to it. Actually, only the contract disappeared – nothing around me has changed.”

I thought I’d be deeply moved, but I wasn’t. Maybe it was because I had acted like a free person for a year while running away.

I stared blankly at the blazing fireplace and spoke up.

“What do I do now?”

“What?”

“When I was a maid, I had set duties… but now I don’t.”

“You don’t need to do anything in particular. You’ve had a hard time, so rest well for now. Eat lots of delicious food too.”

It wasn’t a very satisfying answer.

When my expression changed oddly, Russell, who had been thinking for a moment, spoke again.

“Then would you help me organize documents by my side for now?”

“Great!”

I smiled brightly. I quickly took a seat next to Russell. He sat down and taught me how to organize the documents.

“Put this over here… and gather those separately. Be careful not to mix them up.”

“Yes, I understand.”

Soon the room was filled only with the scratching sound of pen movements and the rustling of turning pages.

‘It would be nice to help with light work like this.’

It wasn’t difficult work, and best of all, I could be with Russell.

I glanced at Russell while organizing documents. I could see his sharp jawline, perfect nose bridge, and his profile as he concentrated intently.

‘He really is handsome.’

When he came all the way there to chase me, I was honestly shocked at how gaunt he had become. But fortunately, while staying with me, he ate and slept well, so he quickly returned to his original state.

Then suddenly my finger stung.

“Ah!”

When I reflexively made a small pained sound, Russell came to my side faster than light.

“Lily, what’s wrong?”

“Ah… I think I got a paper cut.”

I got a paper cut while organizing without looking properly because I was stealing glances at him. I thought it was a minor injury, but it seemed deep as blood was seeping out drop by drop.

“You’re bleeding.”

“This much I can just wipe with a handkerchief—”

Before I could finish speaking, Russell suddenly put my bleeding finger in his mouth. When I opened my eyes wide in shock, I could feel him licking with his tongue.

“Wait, wait a minute!”

I tried to pull my hand away, but Russell was gripping it tightly so I couldn’t move. The problem was that the tongue movement was unusual. It wasn’t simply stopping the bleeding.

The tongue wrapping around my finger tickled, making me curl my hand.

Eventually Russell took my finger out of his mouth. A thin silver thread connected us before snapping.

“The bleeding stopped.”

“…”

“I’ll call a doctor. You need to apply medicine.”

Russell took out a handkerchief from his chest and carefully wiped my finger.

When he pulled the bell rope, the butler came running.

“Did you call, Your Grace?”

“Call a doctor.”

“Yes, understood.”

The butler didn’t add anything more and bowed his head. Shortly after he left the room, a doctor entered the office.

“Where are you injured, Your Grace?”

“Not me, Lily.”

The doctor looked toward me. I felt embarrassed showing a wound that was barely visible now that the bleeding had stopped. I hesitated, then carefully extended my finger and said.

“I got a paper cut… It bled quite a bit.”

“I’ll apply medicine for you.”

I was embarrassed that we called a doctor for such a minor wound that didn’t need medical attention. He applied medicine to my finger and left.

“Lily, since you’re injured, go upstairs and rest now.”

“It’s just a finger.”

“The medicine might get on the documents. That would be uncomfortable for you, so go rest.”

At his firm dismissal, I eventually left the office. I trudged up to my room and flopped on the bed.

“I’m unemployed, unemployed…”

I muttered helplessly and closed my eyes.

* * *

Several days had passed since I became unemployed. At first, not working felt awkward, but they say humans are creatures of adaptation – I quickly got used to it. Rather, it was so comfortable it was problematic.

‘Not working really is the best…!’

Even without earning money, I ate delicious meals on time, and Russell bought me anything I needed, so I had no worries.

Today too, after eating plenty and taking a walk, I entered a side path to have tea. When I emerged from the side path, a lush forest trail appeared. This was the place Russell had made just for me.

He had remembered the thoughtless words I had spoken while taking the carriage from Litran to the port. I was so shocked when construction suddenly began.

“I said this wasn’t necessary…”

I definitely thought it was a waste of money. But when I saw the finished product, it was incredibly beautiful, so I used it often.

No one except Russell and me was allowed entry, so I had to carry the picnic basket myself.

Since I often had tea time here, a table, chairs, and parasol were basically provided. I placed the picnic basket I brought on the table.

Out of courtesy, I took a lap around the forest path and returned to my seat. I took refreshments out of the picnic basket and spread them on the table. Thanks to the warming magic on the teacup, the tea was still piping hot. I carefully sat in the chair and poured tea.

“Smells good.”

It was a sweet scent. When I lifted the teacup and took a sip, it tasted as sweet as it smelled. It tasted exactly like honey had been added.

I took another sip of tea when I heard the sound of footsteps on grass. I wasn’t surprised and looked up. After all, there was only one person who would come here.

“So you were here, Lily.”

“You already knew.”

I glared at Russell. He smiled and sat across from me.

Since Russell followed me wherever I was, I had already prepared his portion too. I familiarly took out another teacup from the bag and placed it in front of him. Then I poured tea into the empty cup.

Russell took a sip of tea and spoke up.

“Lily, how is it not doing anything?”

“It’s wonderful.”

When I smiled brightly, he chuckled.

“When I burned the maid contract, you seemed confused, saying you didn’t know what to do.”

“I was then. Suddenly stopping work I’d done for 10 years was… awkward, I guess.”

I picked up a macaron and took a bite.

“But now I’m used to it, so it’s fine. Rather, if you told me to work again, I wouldn’t want to.”

The wind blew gently, tousling my bangs. Russell and I didn’t talk to each other, just drank tea.

How much time had passed? I was thinking it would be good to head back soon when he called me.

“Lily.”

“Yes?”

When I turned my head, Russell was looking at me with a tense expression. I blinked and tilted my head.

“Why do you look like that? Did you do something wrong?”

“It’s not that.”

Russell answered sharply.

“Then what is it?”

He hesitated, then took out a small box from his chest. Seeing the box, I froze while holding my teacup. Then I slowly lowered the teacup.

There was a clinking sound, and Russell opened the box lid. Then I saw a familiar ring. I stared at the ring intently, then looked up.

“This…”

“Right, the ring that was on the necklace you left behind.”

“But I put it in the drawer…”

It felt uncomfortable to wear the necklace again, so I had sealed it away in the drawer and never opened it again.

“This time I want to put it on your finger.”

Russell stood up and approached me. Then he knelt on one knee and held out the ring box to me.

“Lily.”

“…”

“Won’t you officially date me?”

I had vaguely expected that Russell would formally ask me to date him. But I didn’t know he would kneel down and do it like a marriage proposal.

When I remained silent without answering, anxiety crept into Russell’s expression.

I lowered my eyes and spoke.

“Ru.”

“Yeah, I’m listening.”

“This might be cruel to say, but the extent of your feelings for me and my feelings for you might be very different.”

“I know.”

“I do like you, Ru, but I’m still a little scared.”

Russell quickly spoke up at my words.

“Lily, I—”

“I know. I know you won’t k*ll me.”

I knew that very well. However, the image of Russell I saw that day was deeply embedded in my mind and came to me occasionally when I spaced out.

After a moment of silence, he said.

“Lily, I won’t do things you dislike. I deeply regretted not keeping my promise while you were gone.”

“You didn’t take the promise you made with me lightly?”

“Absolutely not.”

Russell shook his head firmly.

“There will never be such a thing again.”

He looked at me with sincere eyes.

“So will you trust me once more… and officially date me?”

My heart fluttered pleasantly at his words full of sincerity.

I chuckled and extended my hand to him.

“Yes, let’s do that.”

“What?”

“Let’s officially date.”

Russell, who had been staring at me blankly, soon smiled brightly. He carefully took out the ring and put it on my finger. The ring sparkled more than when I first saw it. And looking closely, the gem embedded in the center of the ring had changed.

“The gem changed?”

“Ah, it’s exactly the same color as my eyes.”

The gem embedded in the ring was an intense red.

“So you’ll think of me anytime, anywhere.”

Russell lifted my hand and lightly kissed the back of it. He stood up and extended his hand to me.

“Lady, would you dance one song with me?”

I opened my eyes wide at the unexpected words, then burst into laughter. It might be my imagination, but I thought I could faintly hear music.

“With pleasure.”

I placed my ringed hand on Russell’s palm. I had long forgotten how to dance, so my steps were a complete mess. But since it was just the two of us, it was fun and amusing, so I kept laughing.

Russell grabbed my waist with both hands, lifted me, and spun around once. My feet left the ground and soon touched the floor again. Even though we moved messily, I was quite out of breath from what we called dancing.

Russell grabbed my hand and pulled me strongly toward him. Our bodies pressed close together and our gazes intertwined. Russell, who had been staring at me for a long time, spoke up.

“I love you, Lily.”

“…I love you too, Ru.”

He lowered his head and I slowly closed my eyes. Our lips touched and my eyelids trembled. When I squeezed our clasped hands, Russell gripped my hand tightly.

I thought this was quite a wonderful ending.

And we would be together forever.

Until each other’s breath stopped.

fin.