Chapter 2: Lovers Messing Around In The Stable (Part 1)

On the day of her coming-of-age birthday, Lizbeth was busy from the morning, filling in for the household staff that had been busy before the upcoming hunting tournament.

Today, there was a gap in the kitchen staff, so Lizbeth’s main job was to work in the kitchen. The head chef called Lizbeth over, who was busy preparing meals and snacks.

“This is what His Lordship has allocated for you.”

The chef held out a whole sponge cake. Yes, it was a cake. A cake that Lizbeth, a mere maid, wouldn’t dare to think about eating with her meager salary. The sight of sweet buttercream covering the sponge cake, emitting a buttery aroma since it was being baked, was tempting. Lizbeth couldn’t believe she was receiving the cake, so she asked again.

“Is it really for me?”

“Yes, His Lordship said it’s your birthday cake. Surely you don’t expect His Lordship, who is so busy, to personally arrange it for you?”

The head chef retorted as if Lizbeth’s repeated questioning was annoying. Lizbeth didn’t expect such generosity. 

His Lordship was considerate enough. 

Lizbeth praised Bieren, who had given her the cake as a gift. The chef dismissed her, saying he was busy and that she should go out and eat it quickly. Lizbeth looked at the large cake and asked.

“Can’t I cut it into smaller pieces and share it with everyone?”

“It would be rude of you to share something specifically allocated to you by His Lordship. Everyone here works for the Duke, and if you alone receive favor, it would seem boastful.”

After hearing the head chef’s words, only then did she leave the room and go outside, hiding the cake. As advised by the head chef, the servants were working for the Duke, and it would seem extravagant to be the only one receiving a cake. It wasn’t until she was out in the secluded garden that she scooped the cake up with a fork and popped it into her mouth.

“Mmm…”

She exclaimed at the sweetness hitting her tongue. It felt like the first time she tasted something so sweet. When she was in the orphanage, she wished she could eat as much grain bread as she wanted. When she entered the ducal residence, she not only ate plenty of grain bread but also the cake that the young master had given her. As she was savoring the cake, she heard the sound of heavy footsteps approaching.

“Why are you out here doing this?”

Lizbeth soon faced the owner of the footsteps. Bieren approached after seeing her crouched in the garden eating cake. She felt embarrassed being caught eating the cake in such a pitiful manner, and her face flushed quickly. She immediately stood up, greeted him.

“Thank you for giving me the cake. Because the kitchen is busy, I came out for a moment to eat it with gratitude.”

Bieren wiped the cream smudged on Lizbeth’s lips with his fingertips. When Lizbeth looked up in surprise, he locked eyes with her and wiped the cream from his fingertips with his lips. He seemed to have swallowed the fruit of patience. The taste of patience was sweet.

“It’s quite sweet.”

“…M-Milord.”

Lizbeth’s face turned beet red in an instant. His firm fingertips lightly brushing against her lips felt warm and tingly. Her knees felt weak to the point where she could hardly stand. She knew it was the cake cream he brushed against her lips, yet it sounded different.

“If by any chance Milord wishes to have some cake as well…”

Lizbeth wondered if Bieren wanted to eat the cake, so she tentatively offered. She extended the plate as if she would give him all the cake, although it was given by Bieren himself. If he wanted it, she could give him as much as he wanted.

“This is not what I want to eat…”

He shook his head and said. His gaze rested on Lizbeth’s ample bosom as she held out the cake. She swallowed hard under the man’s deepening gaze. Her legs felt like they were going to go limp because it looked like Bieren wanted to bite into her br*asts like a cake. Lizbeth chastised herself for having such impure thoughts. Bieren leisurely swept his gaze from Lizbeth’s chest to her waist and said,

“Finally, you’ve reached your coming-of-age birthday. Congratulations.”

Lizbeth felt a little embarrassed by the way her br*asts stood out. Since her puberty, her br*asts have grown and developed. Even in the orphanage, she often had trouble with clothes that didn’t fit because of her br*asts, so she always wore the shirts of adults with larger chests. Whenever her hips or chest felt swollen, it made her feel awkward about her precocious body. Bieren slowly withdrew his gaze and said,

“After the hunting competition, come and find me.”

“Milord?”

Lizbeth repeated, unable to suppress the joy in her voice at his words. She felt thrilled at the thought of finding Bieren after the hunting competition. It would be the first time she would look for him. She felt that even if Bieren were to assign her difficult tasks, she would welcome it wholeheartedly. Bieren casually nodded in response.

“I’ll be going for a ride outside the city after and I will need a maid to accompany me.”

To Lizbeth, his words sounded like a date invitation. 

As she walked along the procession of the hunting competition and listened to the gossip under the awnings, Lizbeth’s thoughts were solely on Biran. The ladies in the shade scanned the men in the sun as they took their tea, and the dignified figure of Bieren stood out among them.

“What kind of handkerchief of honor would the young master of the House of Etterland accept?”

Lizbeth trembled as she heard the topic while pouring tea. Although she almost spilled the tea, no one noticed. They spoke of how Bieren had refused to accept the handkerchiefs of honor offered to him by many young ladies during the hunting tournament. As Lizbeth listened to their pouring words, she fell into the abyss of despair.

“This is unprecedented, and the young ladies must have been very surprised. Many of them have worked day and night to embroider a handkerchief for His Lordship.”

This time, however, the topic of conversation was that he had received a handkerchief. The more Lizbeth listened to their conversation, the more her heart grew agitated like a ship in a storm. She became sadly aware of her position. She realized that she was nothing more than a maid who dared give Bieren a handkerchief.

His words made her tremble as if he had the world at her feet, but she kept it to herself. Even the request for her to accompany him for a ride after the hunting competition was just a common order given to a servant. Even killing a snake for her was nothing more than chivalry. The moment she realized that all those moments were just her delusion, Lizbeth felt like crying tears of disappointment. 

If he had received the handkerchief because he had someone he truly liked…if that was the case…

“It won’t be long before there’s a new young lady in Etterland.”

“The Duke, His Grace might even see his grandchildren. The young master’s not that young anymore.”

Lizbeth despaired as she listened to the ladies. She felt like a fool for despairing over such news when she was just a mere maidservant. Lizbeth’s reality was not a fairy tale; there was no miracle that he would like her just because she liked him. The morning when she felt like she owned the world with just one cake didn’t come to mind.

Puff-

The trumpet sounded, signaling the start of the competition, and the men mounted their horses. Lizbeth naturally recognized Bieren from the crowd of men on horseback. She couldn’t help but glance at his wrist, wanting to see the pretty handkerchief some young lady had given him. But the moment she saw his wrist, Lizbeth made a sound as if she had been pricked by a needle.

“…Ah.”

Her handkerchief was on Bieren’s wrist as he competed. It wasn’t a handkerchief embroidered by some noble young ladies, it was the one he had taken from her. The moment she saw it, her chest pounded violently. The moment her eyes locked with Bieren’s, Lizbeth could not control the waves of emotion that swept over her. It was like when she slipped into the stream during early summer, it suddenly engulfed her completely. Merely watching him wasn’t enough satisfaction anymore. She wanted to be by his side. And if he asked her to give herself to him, she would give it willingly.