Chapter 13
Your Excellency?”
“No—no, it’s nothing.”
He roughly raked a hand through the back of his head.
No way.
Just a child born and raised in some remote village. He probably just wasn’t used to seeing imperial-style clocks.
Seems I’m still wandering the battlefield in my own head.
A self-mocking smile flickered across his relaxed face—so brief that no one could have noticed it.
I panicked.
“W-What is it?”
Burly maidservants had suddenly appeared holding sharp tools. There was no way I wouldn’t be flustered.
“What do you think? We were just going to tidy up that messy hair of yours.”
Hazel said with a gentle smile.
Every time the scissors snipped, the muscles in her thick arms twitched.
Wow… a face like soft tofu, but definitely not a soft body.
“You’re… cutting my hair?”
The words slipped out before I could stop myself. I instinctively pulled my hair tight as if to hide it, and the maids’ eyebrows drooped.
“O-Oh, Lady Rubian. You’ll hurt your scalp.”
Hazel treated me like I might blow away if she breathed too hard.
“The back is all uneven, and your bangs are so long—aren’t they uncomfortable? I noticed during the meal that they kept falling into your face.”
“Umm…”
The reason my hair looked like this was because I’d run into a fire-using black monster. It had burned and clumped together, so I’d hacked it off roughly. Hence… this mess.
“Do you not want to?”
“It’s not that I don’t want to, but…”
For some reason, I just didn’t feel like it.
That’s weird. I’ve never cared about my hair before.
I sat on the edge of the bed, hesitated for a moment, then answered timidly. Hazel met my gaze and waited patiently.
Making her wait felt bad.
“Uh… okay.”
Hazel’s face immediately brightened.
“Then shall we move over here?”
“Yes!”
At some point, a large, plush chair had been prepared.
By a window flooded with sunlight, I sat stiffly with my hands folded. A soft cloth was draped over my shoulders.
“Hm? Lady Rubian, are you feeling hot?”
Hazel asked as she tied the cloth behind my neck.
“No?”
“Then why are you sweating so much?”
Her voice sounded puzzled.
Huh… she’s right.
I wiped the back of my neck with my hand. It came away damp.
Am I hot?
If anything, I felt a little cold.
I tilted my head in confusion. The maids briefly discussed whether they should open the window or not.
“Rubian! Come to my room—we’re playing cards—…what’s going on?”
At that moment, Void appeared through the crack in the door.
His eyes quickly scanned the room. When they met mine, his brow creased slightly.
“What are you doing?”
“Oh, Young Master.”
“Hazel!”
The boy rushed over and glared fiercely at Hazel.
“Why are you bullying my sister?!”
“What? Bullying, sir? I was just trimming Lady Rubian’s hair—”
“Liar!”
What? What’s his problem? I stared blankly at Void standing in front of me.
At the same time, knock, knock—someone rapped on the door. Dozens of gazes shifted.
“It was noisy, so I wondered what was going on…”
“Head of the family.”
“So many people crammed into a tiny room. It’s like a marketplace.”
It was the master of the house, leaning against the doorway with his arms crossed.
“Father!”
Void immediately ran to him. The man looked down at his son, his brows knitting slightly.
“Void, why are you here at this hour—”
“Rubian is scared!”
“What?”
Their gazes collided in midair.
I just blinked, utterly confused.
The man’s eyes slowly but thoroughly swept over the room.
Void suddenly spun around and pointed—more precisely, at Hazel behind me.
“The scissors.”
“……”
Uh… was that it?
An awkward silence filled the room.
The most flustered person was, unsurprisingly, Hazel.
“L-Lady Rubian… were you scared of the scissors? Is that why you were breaking out in a cold sweat?”
She hurriedly removed the scissors from her hand.
Then she stepped closer and bent down. Her face as she looked up at me was on the verge of tears.
“Oh no… and I didn’t even realize…”
“I… didn’t realize either…”
I shook my head and replied awkwardly.
Now that I think about it, I was tense.
Because someone unfamiliar was standing behind me holding something sharp.
Even though Hazel wasn’t a bad person, I must have been a little frightened.
That was probably why I hadn’t wanted my hair cut.
“Put it away.”
The man strode forward and ordered coldly. His voice and expression were icy.
“Y-Yes.”
The maids hurried to comply.
“Uh, it’s really okay though… it would’ve only taken a moment.”
“I’m sorry, Lady Rubian. I should have been more careful… I startled you.”
Hazel apologized again. Sitting in the large chair, I fidgeted with my fingers.
I felt like a child making a big fuss.
“I’m really okay. Really. I’m not even sweating anymore.”
“Rubian.”
At that moment, a large hand gently landed on the top of my head. When I turned, deep violet eyes were looking straight at me.
“You don’t have to do things you don’t want to.”
“B-But…”
“No one has the right to force you. Not even me.”
I didn’t know what to say. I just nodded dazedly.
“We’ll cut your hair later. What’s uncomfortable right now?”
“It keeps poking my eyes.”
“Then don’t pull it.”
Someone who’d been quietly listening muttered,
“It’d be nice if there were hairpins or something…”
Hazel immediately stepped forward.
“I’ll go buy some right away!”
“Wait.”
The man stopped her as she hurried toward the door.
“…In the east room.”
“Pardon?”
“There should be something usable there. Check and bring it.”
“…My lord.”
That was Adolf the butler, who had been standing quietly behind them.
But the man didn’t seem bothered.
“Adolf, give her the key.”
“…Yes.”
In the subtle tension, Hazel and Adolf left, lips pressed tight.
What’s in the east room, anyway?
I tried to recall if there was some setting from the original story I’d forgotten—but nothing came to mind.
Then Void, who had been standing nearby, walked up and poked my cheek.
His shining purple eyes were full of concern.
“You okay? Your face looks like dough.”
Come to think of it, Void had noticed first—before even I did.
“Uh… I’m okay.”
Is he sharper than I thought?
Anyway… I’m grateful.
“Thanks.”
Void snorted like it was nothing.
The man, who had been watching us quietly, suddenly spoke.
“By the way, Void.”
“Yes, Father!”
“What about your sword training?”
“Huh?”
“Training.”
A brief silence. Void slowly began backing away.
“R-Right now—”
“Right now?”
“I’m going!”
Whoosh! Like a kid caught skipping class, he bolted off in a gust of wind—fast as lightning.
“……”
The man watched the spot where Void had disappeared and scratched his brow.
“I was just asking. Why did he run?”
“Maybe because you were threatening him with your eyes?”
With that rough face and that low voice, anyone would be scared.
“Ah… I forgot to relax my aura.”
He scratched one eyebrow awkwardly.
“It’s difficult.”
There was genuine 고민—inner conflict—in his voice.
“Haaah…”
Hazel, a maid of the Gebhardt Ducal House, was depressed.
I didn’t notice because you looked fine.
Her face was clouded as she replayed what had just happened. Her footsteps down the corridor were heavy and slow.
You idiot.
She’d thought she’d been careful—but it still turned out like this.
Suddenly, she remembered something the master had said when gathering the servants.
“Do not touch their body without permission, and do not casually bring up the past. They dislike it.”
Hazel’s eyebrows drooped even further.
Did something bad happen to them?
She’d heard the child was rescued from a village ruined by black monsters.
So small and thin…
Just how much must they have suffered?
I need to do better.
Hazel sniffed, her nose stinging.
“It’s honestly surprising that His Excellency mentioned that room.”
A maid walking beside her spoke up.
In her hand was an old but unrusted key.
“He must cherish Lady Rubian a great deal.”
“Well, who wouldn’t? She’s adorable. When she greets you in the morning and makes eye contact—it’s absolutely dazzling!”
“I heard from Sir Leon that on the way here from the north, she personally gave gifts to every knight. An ointment she made herself.”
“My goodness. So capable, too.”
“Right?”
Hazel pictured Rubian’s sparkling eyes and mysterious silver hair.
Her creamy, soft-looking skin, round and lovely features, and small hands and feet that never stopped moving…
“She’ll definitely grow up to be beau—”
Huh? Hazel unconsciously stopped herself mid-sentence.
“…handsome…? A gallant man…?”
For some reason, the words didn’t sit right.
But she couldn’t quite tell what felt strange.
