Chapter 14
“Ah, this……”
Just as Elisia tried to brush it off, Sheila’s gaze turned sharp.
It felt similar to their first meeting. As if she already knew she was injured.
She let go of the hand she had been holding and stared directly at her, silently waiting for an answer.
“……”
After some hesitation, Elisia forced a smile.
“I just made a mistake and forgot for a moment… You’re upset, aren’t you? I’m sorry. I’ll bring it right away.”
Elisia naturally hid the cart behind her and lowered her head with both arms tucked behind her back.
Sheila silently watched her for a moment, then went back into her room.
Was she letting it slide?
Elisia stared at the closed door, then headed to the kitchen without letting her guard down.
After that, Sheila drew a clear line.
[Leave the food at the door.]
[Do not speak to me.]
As if she had no intention of showing it twice, Sheila crumpled up the note she had once handed Elisia.
The sudden change left her flustered, but there was nothing she could do.
Joshua was still staying with Sheila, and Elisia was not even allowed inside the room.
“…Should I report this to the Grand Duke?”
She kept worrying, but no solution came to mind.
When she asked Joshua before bed, his answer was similar.
“Today? She read a mountain of books again!”
“Did she do anything else?”
“She asked me to go to the garden together, but the young lady said she didn’t want to. I wonder why?”
Joshua slumped his shoulders in disappointment.
Seeing that, Elisia patted him in comfort, but she had other thoughts.
Even when she checked the notebook, nothing had changed, and there was no other solution in sight.
The next day.
About an hour before it was time to deliver Sheila’s lunch, Greta came to Elisia while she was cleaning the backyard kitchen area with a broom.
“Elisia.”
“Yes, Head Maid.”
Elisia stopped cleaning and quickly approached her call.
“Today, another maid will be delivering the young lady’s lunch instead of you.”
“Ah… understood.”
She felt reluctant, but there was nothing she could do.
Greta was about to leave after speaking when she noticed Elisia’s uniform and frowned slightly.
“And keep your uniform clean. You should have spare work clothes.”
Elisia looked down at herself. Her sleeves and skirt were stained with soup marks.
“I’m sorry. I was never given any spare uniform.”
“You were never given any?”
“…No.”
Greta’s eyes narrowed slightly.
As if she had spotted something wrong.
Maybe she had been supposed to pick it up herself or had missed the distribution.
Elisia tightened her grip on the broom and lowered her gaze.
“Alright.”
Greta did not press further and left.
What did that mean?
Was something wrong?
Elisia stood there blankly for a moment, then shook herself and continued cleaning.
“…My speed is slowing down because of the bruises on my knees.”
Normally, she would have finished cleaning the backyard and still had time to help the kitchen staff serve lunch.
But as injuries accumulated on her knees, elbows, and shoulders, her pace had slowed.
There was no way to show it, so she could only swallow a sigh.
“Am I going to be fired?”
She had only just started serving Sheila two weeks ago.
A job she had finally managed to obtain.
Elisia continued sweeping with a worried expression.
Then it happened.
“Aaah!”
A sharp scream made Elisia snap her head up.
Judging by the direction, it came from the second floor.
Feeling uneasy, she looked around and realized the commotion was coming from near Sheila’s room on the second floor.
At that moment, one thought crossed her mind—not only Sheila, but also Joshua, who was in that room.
She dropped the broom and rushed inside the mansion.
Even while limping, she ran as fast as she could. By the time she reached the room—
The door was open, and the sound of something struggling could be heard.
“Stop it!!”
At Joshua’s shout, Elisia felt a chill run down her spine. She steadied her breath and looked inside.
Then her eyes widened at the unexpected scene.
Maid servants were collapsed on the floor, food scattered everywhere, and they were kneeling soaked in meals that had been thrown on them.
And Joshua was trying to restrain Sheila, who was about to throw cups and dishes.
“What is this……”
As Elisia tried to enter, she met Sheila’s fierce glare.
The meaning of that gaze was clear without needing words.
A warning not to come in.
For a moment, Elisia froze at the chilling look.
But what snapped her back was Joshua’s desperate cry.
“Sister!! Help me!!”
Joshua clung to Sheila’s arm, calling out urgently.
Without hesitation, Elisia stepped inside.
Seeing her ignore the warning, Sheila opened her mouth slightly, then closed it again.
And even though Joshua was holding her back, she eventually threw a dish.
Crash!
“Ah!”
The sound of breaking glass made the frightened maids cover their ears and tremble.
As she reached for the remaining glass cup, Elisia moved quickly and took it away.
“Please calm down, young lady.”
She knelt down and looked up at Sheila.
Sheila, breathing heavily, turned her gaze toward the maids instead of Elisia.
When Elisia followed her line of sight, she recognized the girls who had once bullied her.
Among them, Branda looked the worst.
Her braided hair was completely soaked with food.
When Branda met Sheila’s eyes, she flinched, then noticed Elisia and gritted her teeth in frustration.
Elisia turned her gaze back to Sheila.
“I was told another maid would bring your meal instead of me, so I didn’t deliver it myself. I heard a loud commotion and came immediately. May I ask what happened?”
She spoke calmly, but Sheila ignored her completely and kept staring at the maids.
She pushed Joshua’s arm away again.
Stumbling back, Joshua spoke hesitantly.
“She said to bring the food again… but I told them the maids were busy and said it was fine to eat it. So I tried to eat it, but the young lady got angry. I don’t know why she got angry, but the maids were whispering something… I think… but I couldn’t hear properly…”
“She’s just a kid, what does she know?”
Branda muttered quietly.
Joshua didn’t hear it and continued nervously.
“And then… they kept laughing. They said something to me, but they were speaking too fast and too quietly, so I couldn’t understand… and then the young lady threw all the food…”
Joshua looked like he might burst into tears, but there was no one in a position to comfort him.
As the tense silence continued, Sheila gestured toward the door.
It was a clear order for the maids to leave.
One by one, they got up hesitantly, and Elisia was about to follow them out.
She needed to take care of Joshua.
Even though she worried, she could not defy the young lady’s order.
At that moment, Sheila grabbed Elisia’s arm.
It was a gesture that clearly meant she should stay.
While Elisia stood awkwardly, Branda finally snapped.
“Young lady, we did nothing wrong.”
Sheila’s eyes turned icy.
But Branda did not back down.
“We only taught that country maid how to work! But suddenly you call us here, humiliate us, and destroy the room like this! If the Grand Duke finds out, he will be disappointed!”
