Late at night—

— just as the lights in every room were about to be extinguished, the kitchen at Lukehardt Estate would spring back into action.

The servants gathered the leftover ingredients from their masters’ meals and used them to prepare a lavish spread. With drinks poured to the brim, if only for a brief moment, it became a time of rest.

This secret midnight feast, held without the master’s knowledge, was their only source of comfort, something they all quietly looked forward to.

But lately, even that had begun to change.

Although the table was filled with rich, tempting dishes, the servants gathered around it wore pale, drained expressions and huddled together in uneasy silence.

“How much longer are we supposed to keep living like this?!”

Among those who had remained quiet even as their glasses were filled to the brim, one servant finally snapped. Unable to hold it in any longer, they slammed their cup down with a sharp crack.

As if in agreement, the others nodded vigorously.

“Just look at us. Do we even look like people who are alive?”

The one who had complained that they had lost ten pounds as of today cast a bitter, resentful glance aside.

“Say something, will you? So when exactly is the master planning to hire more people?”

All eyes turned toward the butler.

At least during this hour, they could set aside their roles and face one another as equals. The man who was, in effect, their chief simply glanced at the drink in his hand before letting out a quiet breath.

“…He only said that he cannot promise anything yet.”

“What?”

As if they had been waiting for it, complaints burst out from all sides.

“What do you mean by that?”

“Did you at least tell him we’re working ourselves to the bone? That even looking after Sophie is so exhausting we’ve had to take shifts?”

“I did. I told him.”

“And even then, that’s all he said?”

“The master has gone too far!”

From the moment they woke until this late hour, they worked without rest, not even given the chance to sit.

Clinging desperately to the hope that things might somehow improve, their frustration slowly built until they forgot even to keep their voices low as it began to spill out.

“There’s already more work than we can handle, and now he wants to cut down on staff even further?”

“Exactly. And on top of that, he still expects everything to be spotless. What on earth is he thinking?”

“You all know, don’t you? Ever since what happened to the madam, the master’s been especially sensitive.”

“Who here doesn’t know that?”

“Even so… this is too much.”

As everyone spoke over one another, adding their own grievances, one person finally lost their patience and slammed a hand against the table.

“When have we ever done anything to harm the madam? Have we? Do they really think servants like us could possibly bring harm to someone as high and mighty as her?”

“That’s right!”

Voices rose in agreement from every corner.

“If we have any fault at all, it’s that we served her faithfully. Isn’t that true for all of us? No matter where she might have come from, we treated her with sincerity as the lady of this house.”

“At this rate, even the ones who’ve stayed will start running away. Just in the past few days alone, how many have said they can’t take it anymore?”

“Not me. The pay here is too good. If I want to keep feeding that useless drunk back home, this is the only place I’ve got.”

Everyone there knew about the kitchen maid’s situation. When she let out a hollow, almost unhinged laugh, everyone looked at her.

Those who knew her story gave her brief, sympathetic glances.

Most of them were in the same position.

The only reason they could endure such grueling work was that the pay was far higher here than anywhere else.

“That’s true. Once you get used to the wages here, you can’t work just anywhere.”

“Still, I’d rather earn a little less than be falsely accused of something I didn’t do. Better that than living in fear of being thrown out without even a letter of recommendation.”

“…That’s true too.”

Whether they were right or wrong didn’t matter. Meaningless arguments were exchanged across the table.

Nevertheless, most of them would continue working here. Perhaps that was exactly why they spoke so freely.

This was a place they had spent years working in.

The people beside them had long since become more like family than mere colleagues.

That was why they couldn’t walk away so easily and why they wished more than anything for this place to change.

As the atmosphere grew heavier with each passing moment, one of them, who had been drinking heavily, finally clicked their tongue.

“If only the madam would come back to her senses soon…”

“That’s right. She’s the only one who can stop him like this.”

“It’s such a tragedy. The child she loved so dearly… to lose them like that, and then to lose her mind as well…”

“Hey! Watch your mouth!”

Startled, the coachman quickly clamped a hand over the man’s mouth. Glancing around quickly, he carefully checked outside the door — despite knowing full well that no one else was there — before finally letting the man go.

“What if someone heard you? Have you forgotten what would happen if the master found out? You’d be worse off than dead.”

“Like I wouldn’t know. How many have already been thrown out over things like that?”

The man pounded his chest in frustration.

“I know that! I just can’t stand it anymore! If we can’t even talk about it among ourselves, how are we supposed to endure this suffocating feeling?”

On the day the madam awoke, a strange, suffocating silence descended upon the estate.

A strange, suffocating silence fell over the estate.

The child was never to be mentioned again. Not once.

This was an unspoken rule as absolute as the master’s command, and the servants had no choice but to obey it.

However, it was impossible to completely silence those who pitied the madam’s tragic state. Some chose to look the other way, their sympathy outweighing their fear.

But what became of those who dared to speak out?

No matter how desperately they pleaded, they were all eventually dismissed and sent away to distant places. The man clicked his tongue, remembering them.

“I’m just saddened by it all. She’s still so young, and yet…”

“Why are you so quiet? You’re usually the loudest one whenever this comes up.”

Someone lightly tapped the shoulder of the person who had been sitting in silence, as though they weren’t part of the gathering.

They had been staring at the floor the entire time, lost in thought.

Slowly, she lifted her head.

“You were the closest that day, weren’t you? It must’ve been hard on you… so say something.”

Those around her offered gentle pats and murmurs of comfort. Someone even repeated some dubious medical nonsense that they had presumably heard somewhere: that the mental state of their masters would inevitably affect their servants’.

At that, she managed a faint smile.

“…Even if I say something, will it change anything? We just have to endure it.”

“That’s true.”

Once again, the room filled with sighs of resignation.

Amid the scattered words of comfort and heavy breathing, only the maid, Anna, could be seen quietly clenching her hands together.

Out of habit, she reached for the item she always kept hidden in her pocket.

What if she had dropped it?

What if someone had seen it?

Her careful, guarded movements clearly showed her unease.

Fortunately, everyone was drunk.

The brief attention she had attracted had already faded from their minds.

Silently, Anna rose from her seat and slipped out of the kitchen.

The moment she stepped beyond the bright light, a suffocating silence closed in around her.

The long, unlit corridor stretched ahead of her, illuminated only by faint moonlight. She moved forward one step at a time.

After the young master’s death, Anna’s life had crumbled in an instant.

The pride she had once felt in serving the madam had vanished, replaced by a constant, gnawing guilt: she had failed to watch over the child.

Of all times… of all moments…

Who could have imagined that leaving her post for even a brief moment because she was feeling drowsy would lead to such a tragedy?

For a moment, Anna resented the nurse who had entrusted the young master to her before stepping away, but she quickly shook her head.

It wasn’t her fault.

And yet, from that day on, every accusing gaze was directed solely at her.

“Why did you leave your post that day?”
“How could you abandon your duty without a word?”

Though she was technically an adult, she was still young—far too young to bear the weight of such relentless accusations. Remembering those days, Anna squeezed her eyes shut.

She couldn’t endure it here any longer.

“…Once this is over, I can leave too. I can work for the Marquis of Calante.”

Glancing around to make sure no one was watching, Anna carefully placed something where it could be seen.

It was something she had kept from her time working for the madam and the young master.

She had once carelessly left it behind out of simple inconvenience, never imagining that it would remain in her possession.

Had she known, she never would have done it.

As if answering her own thoughts, a quiet flicker of anger escaped her before she lowered her gaze.

The madam had been kind.

Of all the people Anna had ever served, she had been the most considerate and gentle towards her servants.

But even so—

That was all it was.

More than the lady she served, her own life had always come first.

“…I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry.”

In the end, unable to bear the weight of her guilt, she whispered a quiet apology under her breath.

Then, placing what she had been clutching in her hand somewhere clearly visible, she turned and fled—as if trying to escape it all.

***

Why would anyone get up in the middle of the night for no reason?

Ilenia stood still, staring blankly down the empty corridor.

Delphius, who was usually by her side, was nowhere to be seen. She stepped out of the bedroom to look for him, but there was no sign of him.

The quiet of dawn hung heavily in the air. At this hour, no one passed through the halls — only the soft, muted sound of her slippers echoed as she walked.

Strangely, she had no desire to fall back asleep.

Perhaps it was the pale moon, the only light in the vast darkness, quietly drawing her in.

Like someone walking in a dream, Ilenia moved slowly down the corridor.

With each step, an uneasy feeling stirred in her chest.

It was as though she had forgotten something important.

“…What is this?”

Her hand reached out towards the small piece of cloth that had been deliberately placed there.

Bathed in moonlight, the white fabric gleamed even more brightly.

As she unfolded the crumpled cloth in her palm, her lips parted in surprise.

“…Mittens?”