Chapter 07
Why did this man make the words “I need you” sound so weighty?
Elysia suddenly realized once again that everything about Yulias—from his appearance to his voice—was far from ordinary.
She had already known from a glance that he was exceptionally handsome, but a person whose voice was perfect as well?
Surely such a person shouldn’t exist.
“The reason you say you need me is…?”
“Because what Sheila needs right now is someone like you.”
As expected.
Yulias’s words meant that Elysia was suitable as someone the young lady needed.
Then he could have just said that.
Why did he have to phrase it so meaningfully?
Elysia forced an awkward smile and replied.
“Thank you for saying you need me. I’ll do my best to make sure Lady Sheila’s reputation doesn’t—”
“Will one Belan be enough as an adaptation fee for the first month?”
“I’ll do my utmost to ensure her reputation remains untarnished. When should I start work?”
Elysia silently praised herself for cutting off her sentence midway.
Apparently satisfied with her answer, he took out a Belan and held it out to her.
Yes, this was the job she had struggled desperately to secure.
And she had been given a whole month.
Being observant wouldn’t put food on the table, and hesitation wouldn’t pay off debt.
Besides, one Belan wasn’t just enough for a month—it was enough to completely clear all her debts.
The weight of the Belan resting in her hands felt heavier than ever before.
“Your official employment begins tomorrow. Lodging and meals will be provided at the estate, so don’t worry. As for your younger brother…”
As Yulias paused, thinking about Joshua, Elysia smiled brightly.
“A workplace isn’t somewhere I can bring my little brother.”
“…Is that so? If you work here, where will your brother stay?”
Contrary to her expectations, he didn’t simply tell her to figure it out herself.
Was he worried about Joshua?
Thinking that the man before her was unexpectedly considerate, Elysia carefully chose her words so as not to leave a bad impression on her employer.
“I’m close with the people in our neighborhood, so I can ask someone to look after him. Joshua will definitely understand.”
Elysia wasn’t particularly worried.
Joshua always listened to her, and he wasn’t the type of child to stubbornly insist on getting his way.
“I don’t want to!”
But life rarely unfolded the way one expected.
Elysia stared at Joshua in shock.
“Joshua, let’s talk.”
“No! I don’t want to be apart from you, Noona!”
Joshua shouted loudly before slamming the door shut.
Behind Elysia, Yulias merely watched silently with his arms crossed.
Joshua will definitely understand.
For some reason, she felt as though his gaze was saying exactly that.
Panicking, Elysia twisted the doorknob several times, but naturally, it wouldn’t open.
“Joshua. Are you angry? Hmm?”
“I hate you, Noona!”
Hearing his loud voice, Elysia closed her eyes tightly while maintaining a smile.
After finishing their discussion, the two of them had immediately headed to the room where Sheila and Joshua were.
And as soon as he saw Elysia, Joshua had happily thrown himself into her arms.
Up until that point, everything had been perfect.
‘Noona is going to work here for about a month, so we’ll have to stay apart for a while. I’ll explain the details once we get home…’
She had wanted to share the good news that they no longer had to worry about surviving.
However, the smile vanished from Joshua’s face, and he pushed her away.
Then he firmly declared that he didn’t want that and even shut the door.
Elysia knocked several times, desperately trying to soothe him.
“Joshua, we still have to go home, okay? Let’s go home together.”
“No! If we go home, you’ll leave!”
“I won’t. I’m not leaving. I’ll sleep at home with you tonight.”
“The moment tomorrow comes, you’ll leave! I’m not going! You go home by yourself!”
His voice echoed from inside the room like a baby bird screeching.
Elysia felt cold sweat running down her back.
Behind her stood Yulias, observing everything.
And Sheila was still inside the room.
The fact that there were two people witnessing this entire scene was enough to make her break into a sweat.
“Joshua, why are you acting so differently today? You always listen to Noona.”
“You’re the one not listening to me right now! I hate you, Noona!”
Fortunately, Joshua seemed to be standing near the door, because he immediately answered whenever Elysia spoke gently to him.
Letting go of the doorknob, Elysia sighed.
She briefly wondered if she should ask Hillmyton for a key.
“Let him sleep at the estate tonight.”
Elysia quickly turned around at Yulias’s words.
He remained standing there with his arms crossed, casually shrugging.
“If you force the door open, he’ll only hate you more.”
“That…”
“Would you still be okay with that?”
At his question, Elysia shook her head.
She didn’t want to hurt Joshua by forcing her way in.
She thought she understood why he had said he hated her.
If even she, his older sister, disappeared from the place left empty by their parents…
Of course he would be afraid.
Of course he would be scared.
Elysia wanted to understand Joshua’s feelings.
However, there was one thing she knew.
Knock, knock.
“Joshua.”
“I’m not leaving!”
“Okay. Then don’t.”
“What?!”
The sound of the doorknob rattling came from inside.
In a calm voice, Elysia continued.
“You don’t have to go home. The Grand Duke said you can stay here tonight.”
“Really?!”
His voice immediately sounded brighter.
“Yes. So will you open the door? It’s not good to be shouting this loudly so late at night. Let’s apologize and thank him properly.”
“…”
Joshua didn’t answer.
Elysia waited patiently.
Before long, the door clicked open.
Joshua peeked his head out.
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“You really, really aren’t going home?”
“That’s right. You trust Noona, don’t you?”
Only then did Joshua throw the door wide open.
As Elysia glanced inside, Sheila was sitting at the desk, quietly watching everything unfold.
At the same time, Joshua suddenly hugged Elysia tightly and mumbled,
“Don’t leave me alone…”
Elysia stroked his head before gently setting him back down.
“Come on. Let’s greet him properly.”
Joshua stopped sulking and looked up.
Yulias stood there, looking down at him without any particular expression.
“I’m sorry, Grand Duke.”
“It’s fine. You can sleep in this room tonight.”
“Thank you!”
“Joshua.”
Excited, Joshua’s voice grew loud, prompting Elysia to place a finger against her lips.
Understanding the gesture, Joshua immediately shut his mouth with a little, “Mm!”
“You may be noisy if you want.”
“Really?!”
Joshua asked in surprise, his voice loud once again.
Yulias nodded.
His gaze drifted toward the room.
More specifically, it landed on Sheila.
“There are two children here. It would be stranger if things were quiet. Just don’t stay up too late.”
“Yes! We won’t stay up late! Thank you!”
Joshua bowed deeply with both hands clasped together.
The atmosphere he gave off was completely different from Sheila’s.
Without realizing it, Yulias uncrossed his arms.
Having somehow resolved the situation, Elysia finally breathed a sigh of relief and reminded Joshua,
“Don’t stay up too late, okay? Noona will come check on you.”
“What about you? Sleep with me!”
Joshua tugged on her clothes.
Even if she could leave him here tonight, she still needed to return home.
Now that she had money, she wanted to repay her debts immediately.
And she also wanted to pack her belongings as soon as possible.
“Umm, Joshua…”
“Sleep with me.”
“Huh?”
Startled, Elysia turned around.
It wasn’t Joshua who had spoken.
It was Yulias.
He stared at Elysia before repeating himself.
“Stay here tonight.”
For some reason, Elysia had the strange feeling that Yulias’s eyes were fixed on her with unusual persistence.
