Chapter 04
The head maid, who had remained in the room, added her words.
“No.”
At the unexpected answer, the head maid froze for a moment. Normally, in situations like this, he would have told them to handle it themselves.
“The message has already been delivered. Prepare a carriage so she can return home safely, and more importantly… how is Sheila’s condition?”
“The assigned maid brought her a meal, but she refused it.”
Yulias, who had come out of the room, signaled the head maid to move quickly toward the end of the corridor.
She likely had not gone far yet. He intended to put Elisia into a carriage and send her off.
And after that, he planned to go to Sheila’s room.
Sheila May Demint.
She was Yulias’s younger sister and his only family.
The age gap was quite large, so perhaps because she was only ten, or because she had just entered adolescence, it was difficult to understand what she was thinking lately.
As he headed toward the central staircase, a commotion came from the opposite corridor.
“What is all this noise?”
The opposite corridor led toward Sheila’s room.
Yulias turned straight toward it instead of going down to the first floor, already guessing the source of the sound.
It was obvious that Sheila was once again being rude to the servants.
“Sheila, since there is an outsider here now…”
Turning the corner, Yulias saw the situation and widened his eyes, his previously furrowed brows rising in surprise.
“Ah, there.”
Bowls and dishes were scattered across the corridor floor.
And Elisia, covered in what looked like spilled food.
Behind her stood Sheila, hesitating and clearly flustered.
“Sheila May Demint! What is this outrage!”
Yulias raised his voice.
Sheila shrank back at his furious expression, her face turning deathly pale.
At that moment, Elisia stepped forward and spread her arms to block him.
“Your Grace, please wait.”
“Move aside.”
A cold aura emanated from him as Yulias frowned.
When Elisia met his face directly, she was trembling slightly, just like Sheila.
She was clearly intimidated by his overwhelming presence.
Yet she met his gaze with unusually calm and steady eyes.
“With respect, the one acting outrageously is you, Your Grace.”
“…What?”
Yulias let out a hollow laugh and glared at Elisia.
“This is ridiculous.”
Despite his sharp reprimand, her gaze did not waver.
“The person behind me is the young lady of the Demint Grand Ducal House. This is a matter for the family. Please step aside.”
“…Does the Grand Ducal House always resolve matters with violence?”
Her arms, which had been blocking him, dropped weakly to her sides.
“That is not something for an outsider to concern themselves with.”
“…This may be presumptuous of me to say, but Your Grace is acting without properly assessing the situation and is trying to use violence against a child.”
“A child?”
Yulias scoffed as if it were absurd.
“Does a ten-year-old grand duchess look like a mere child to you?”
Unconsciously, Sheila, who was hiding behind Elisia, flinched.
Without realizing it, she grabbed the hem of Elisia’s clothing, visibly trembling.
“…Your Grace, I believe it would not be too late to listen and then judge the situation. Will you hear me out?”
“…Fine. But what you are about to say must be convincing enough for me.”
Elisia swallowed hard at Yulias’s cold stare.
Just ten minutes earlier.
Elisia, who had been heading down to the first floor to leave immediately, had been drawn toward the opposite corridor by the sound coming from it.
It had been voices from the servants.
If it had been ordinary chatter, she would have ignored it, but something about it was unusual.
“How long are we supposed to clean up after His Grace’s messes to satisfy you?!”
Hearing someone being reprimanded, Elisia turned the corner and bumped into a maid.
The unnamed maid frowned, brushed off her clothes, and walked past her.
“That’s a bit rude, isn’t it?”
Elisia sighed and rubbed her shoulder where they had collided. Then she peeked around the corner.
There were already bowls and dishes scattered on the floor. And standing there was a young girl.
The girl stood with her head bowed, clutching her clothes tightly with both hands.
Her trembling hands made her look as if she might burst into tears at any moment.
“Excuse me, are you alright?”
When Elisia spoke first out of concern, the girl lifted her head and rubbed her eyes roughly.
“What happened?”
The girl did not respond.
Observing her, Elisia noticed that the child’s hands were red and irritated.
She stepped closer and took her hand. Startled, the girl pulled away.
“Wait, your hand looks injured. Shouldn’t it be treated?”
The girl, wary of her intentions, pushed her away.
Nearby was a cart used for transporting food, left unattended.
Elisia bumped into it, and the remaining food spilled all over her, leaving her in a mess.
That was what had happened ten minutes ago.
“…If you are to scold someone, it should be the maid who acted rudely, not the young lady.”
“I understand.”
Arms crossed, Yulias nodded.
Elisia’s expression softened slightly in relief.
“Then since you understand, how about we let this go smoothly…”
“But I cannot say the young lady bears no fault at all.”
“Pardon?”
Yulias’s expression had changed entirely from moments ago, when he had seemed to be carefully listening. Elisia flinched slightly.
“The young lady mistook me for a servant. If anything, I am at fault for attempting to handle her body without proper permission…”
“One cannot judge based on only one side of the story.”
“Your Grace.”
Elisia bit her lip at his firm tone. But Yulias turned his gaze toward Sheila, who was behind her.
“Sheila May Demint. Speak for yourself.”
“……”
“Are the things she said true?”
Startled, Sheila peeked out from behind Elisia, hesitating.
At her reluctance, Yulias furrowed his brows in frustration.
“Sheila.”
“……”
When he called her again, Sheila seemed to decide she could no longer hide behind Elisia and stepped out beside her.
She kept her head down and nodded. Her hands were red, as if burned by hot soup spilled by a maid.
Her clothes were also stained with traces of soup.
Only noticing it now, Yulias let out a sigh.
Hearing his sigh, Sheila quickly hid her hands behind her back.
“How long do you intend to refuse meals?”
“……”
“Answer me.”
At his heavy voice, Sheila’s shoulders trembled. Once again, it was Elisia who intervened.
“Your Grace. Do you acknowledge the young lady’s words as fact?”
“Yes.”
“Then you understand that the one at fault is the maid, not the young lady.”
“But the fact remains that you, an unrelated outsider, are now covered in this mess because of the young lady.”
He still looked dissatisfied, arms crossed tightly.
Before he could say anything further, Elisia turned around.
She knelt down so she could meet Sheila at eye level.
“Lady.”
“……”
“You may have mistaken me for a servant, but you understand that pushing someone is dangerous, correct?”
As Elisia spoke gently, Sheila nodded.
She admitted it immediately, without hesitation. Yulias was the one surprised by this.
She actually admitted fault so easily?
“Thank you for apologizing. I accept it.”
Elisia smiled.
It was not “thank you for apologizing” or “I appreciate it,” but simply “I accept it.” Sheila looked confused.
At that moment, Sheila’s stomach let out a loud growl.
Her face turned even redder than her hands.
Elisia calmly took out a wrapped piece of paper she had been holding.
“This is a snack. Would you like it? Since you’ve skipped your meal, something light would be better.”
Sheila took it with both hands.
“You must get your injuries treated.”
Sheila, looking at Elisia, nodded, her eyes sparkling brightly.
