Chapter 08
“Milady, even a maid’s uniform looks wonderful on you. What shall we do?”
“Really? It must be because of your care, Edel.”
Edel gave the final touches to Valley’s attire. Valley’s light green hair was tied up high, hidden under a coif, and a cap was placed over it so that her face wouldn’t be visible.
“In the morning, the servants will be busy preparing the masters’ meals, so you probably won’t run into anyone. Still, just in case, be careful not to make eye contact.”
“Understood. I’ll try to slip out quietly and hide.”
“Once you’re past the main gate, run without looking back.”
Edel checked the cap one last time and smiled—a smile cheering Valley on.
“Edel, you leave thirty minutes after I’m gone.”
“All right. I’ll hide at the inn in the city, as promised.”
“Make sure you come out safely. Don’t get hurt. And if your parents catch you, tell them I forced you to do it.”
Even as she was leaving, Valley worried more about Edel. Edel’s eyes welled up with tears, touched by the sentiment.
“You mustn’t get hurt either, Milady. I heard Duke Viterad is violent and barbaric.”
“You know how heartless my parents can be too. You be even more careful, Edel.”
“Don’t you worry about me, Milady. You know how nimble I am.”
The two thought only of each other until the end, but they could delay no longer. Reluctantly, they moved toward the bedroom door.
Valley took the routes least used by the servants to head outside the mansion. Since the servants hardly recognized her presence anyway, she managed to get out the main gate without trouble.
Valley looked down at her own feet outside, remembered Edel’s words not to look back, and ran with all her might. Toward the Viterad mansion, where Wayne was.
“Your Excellency! Duke! Please wake up at once!”
Wayne’s aide, Piru, flung open the double doors of the bedroom decorated with red wallpaper and white marble and rushed inside. At his shout, the sleeping Wayne’s brow furrowed deeply.
“Shut up.”
Wayne threw a pillow toward Piru as if to tell him to get out. But Piru caught it deftly, quickly set it aside, and continued speaking.
“Someone has come to see you.”
“Probably a reporter. Throw them out.”
“Not a reporter. A maid.”
“Then let her in.”
“She’s not a maid of this mansion, which is why I’m reporting to you!”
Piru raised his voice as if to tell him to get up quickly. Wayne washed his face dry with his hands and sat up. His naked body, hidden under the white blanket, was fully revealed.
“You mean a maid from another house has come?”
“Yes. But that maid said she had a promise with Your Grace.”
“What promise?”
“Well, she said something quite absurd. That’s why the guards haven’t opened the gate…”
“What did she say?”
Piru, his brown hair neatly combed, pushed up his large glasses and replied.
“Well… she said she made a promise with Your Grace to ‘make a flower bloom.’”
Leaning against the headboard with a languid face, Wayne’s eyes slowly sharpened.
‘Within three days, revive a flower in under two minutes, and shorten the recovery time to one hour.’
So she actually came.
A faint smile spread across Wayne’s face as he realized Valley had come.
Seeing that expression, Piru’s eyes widened as if they would pop out.
“Surely you really do know that maid?”
“Let her in.”
Wayne rose from the bed. Since he was completely naked without a stitch of clothing, Piru adeptly lowered his gaze to avoid looking.
Wayne chuckled and put on the navy robe that had been laid on the bedroom table.
“As for what kind of relationship we’ll have… we’ll just have to see.”
“Wait here. His Grace will come shortly.”
Valley, who had been blocked by the guards at the front gate, was thankfully allowed into the reception room.
The moment she would finally face Wayne. Anticipation and nervousness made her palms sweat.
“I have to do this. I must…”
She was muttering to herself as if brainwashing herself.
Click. The sound of the door opening made Valley spring to her feet.
“Your Grace! I’ve come to keep my promise from the other— Why, why are you practically naked again?!”
Wayne appeared even more exposed than the first time she saw him. He wore only white silk wide trousers and a thin navy robe.
The robe was open at the front as if revealing his bare body, so Wayne’s muscular physique was clearly visible.
On the terrace, at least it had been night and dark. But now it was morning with the sun high in the sky.
Sunlight poured through the wide windows, making Wayne’s body even more distinct.
“Yo-you can’t just walk around so undressed like that…”
Again, Valley covered her own body with both hands, sat back down on the sofa, and hunched her shoulders up tightly.
Wayne stood at the entrance of the reception room with his arms crossed, looking at Valley as if dumbfounded.
“In my own mansion, I’ll wear whatever I want.”
“Th-that’s true. This is Your Grace’s mansion, after all…”
“Again you’re covering your body, not your eyes. Just look.”
“N-no, I won’t look!”
She shook her head vigorously in denial and obediently placed her hands on her knees. Wayne stared at her intently and sat down on the opposite sofa.
“Even though today is the promised day, I didn’t expect you to come so early. And in such attire.”
Valley fidgeted with her maid’s uniform.
“I had some circumstances.”
“Circumstances related to that face?”
Valley’s head shot up. Wayne lightly tapped his own cheek on the same side as her still-swollen cheek.
At that, Valley quickly raised her hand to cover the cheek struck by her parents. Being an unloved daughter was always her greatest weakness.
“…No. I just hurt it by accident.”
“Hmm.”
Wayne stared at her for a moment, then crossed his legs with an indifferent expression.
“You came all the way here, so you must have passed the test I mentioned?”
“Of course. I can revive a flower in under two minutes, just as Your Grace commanded.”
“We’ll verify that right away.”
Wayne took one flower from a bouquet of pink geraniums in a vase on the reception room table and grasped it firmly.
The heat quickly evaporated its moisture, and just before it crumbled, he placed it on the table.
Then he took out an hourglass he had brought and shook it at Valley.
“This is an hourglass that measures exactly one minute. Revive the flower before it runs out twice.”
“Yes.”
“As soon as you take the flower, it starts.”
Valley leaned forward. As expected, the flower was far more withered than the faded ones she had bought at the flower market.
She exhaled shortly, “Hoo,” then frowned as she looked down at the flower. Her fate depended on this single flower.
“I’ll do it.”
The moment Valley reached out and took the flower, Wayne turned the hourglass over. She closed her eyes and first calmed her mind.
This place is not the Viterad mansion. It’s my own bedroom. The bedroom where I’ve revived countless wilted flowers.
After taking a deep breath, she slowly gathered her magic power. She moved the magic generated from her heart like waves, letting it gather in her palm. Then she let it spread into the stem and petals of the flower she held.
Still keeping her eyes closed, Valley set the flower down, then slowly opened her eyes to check.
“…It’s done.”
The tips of the green leaves on the stem were slightly wilted, but the flower had revived enough to serve its purpose.
Wayne reached out and grabbed the stem that Valley had held. Again, he wasn’t burned.
“Does this pass?” Valley asked, breathing in shallow, short gasps.
Wayne put the flower down again.
“There’s still something left to check.”
“The recovery time?”
“Yes. I’ll come back in an hour.”
After that unilateral announcement, Wayne abruptly stood up and left the reception room.
“How can you go out dressed like that…!”
Piru, who had been waiting outside the reception room, stamped his feet and approached.
“It doesn’t matter. I might never see her again after today.”
“I’ve always told you, Your Grace. Wherever you are, basic manners in attire and behavior…”
“Shut up.”
Wayne waved his hand as if to tell him to keep his distance. Piru hurriedly backed away as if from a deadly weapon.
“Shall I send that maid away now?”
“Not yet. I’ll see her again in an hour.”
“Huh? Why didn’t you finish everything at once?”
“There’s a reason for it. Ah, prepare an ice pack.”
“Do you have a fever?”
Piru’s eyes went wide, and he scanned Wayne’s body, checking for any reddened spots.
At that, Wayne nodded toward the inside of the reception room.
“Not for me. For the guest. Prepare it not too cold.”
