Chapter 1
“Aria!
“Did you fold the young master’s blanket?
“Aria! “The dishes in the kitchen?
Inside the Bailey family’s mansion, sunlight streams through the gaps in the windows. Aria was going up and down the stairs today as well, with her brown hair flowing in the wind. As she hurriedly moved towards the place where she was being called, Madame Vianne, the head maid with her gray hair meticulously tied up, was standing there.
“Aria, I just went to the young master’s bedroom, and it’s a complete mess.
“How long has it been since you were appointed as the dedicated maid, and yet you’re being so lazy?”
“If you keep this up, I’ll tell the master and have you replaced as the dedicated maid!
Aria hurriedly took out a notepad from her pocket and scribbled with a pen. I couldn’t do it because I was helping with the dishes in the kitchen. I’ll hurry and finish tidying up the room Just this once, please forgive me…
Aria hurriedly showed it to her mistress. The lady slightly furrowed her brow.
How many times do I have to tell you that doing the dishes is no longer your responsibility?
Hurry up and finish cleaning your room!
“Come on, finish cleaning your room!”
Aria kept nodding her head.
The moment she was about to turn around, she heard the lady sigh.
“Why did you assign a dedicated maid to someone who can’t even speak?
“I’m so frustrated! Frustrated, I shouted, “Ah!”
Aria’s footsteps froze for a moment.
The eyes that looked at her with disdain sent a chill down her spine.
Aria pretended not to hear and, with the calmest steps possible, grabbed the walnut staircase railing and went up to the second floor.
As Aria’s figure disappeared, the lady’s voice became clearer.
“Your lordship, you truly have a generous heart.
“You give a steady salary to a mute like that.
Aria pressed herself against the wall and silently listened to the lady’s words. As the sound of the lady’s heels faded away, she bowed her head, holding only the white apron in her hand.
Aria entered the Bailey household at the age of 12 and spent 10 years as a maid.
Aria’s real name is Aria Reynolds. She was the youngest daughter who once monopolized the charm of the Reynolds family, which used to handle trade. When her once-honorable family fell into ruin overnight for reasons unknown during her childhood, she was led by her uncle’s hand to step foot in the Bailey household for the first time.
“Aria, you must never reveal your identity to anyone.
“If you do, you’ll end up getting beheaded just like your parents.
From that time on, Aria lost her noble status and lived her life as a maid. From the beginning, life here was completely unfamiliar to her. Aria had to memorize all the rooms in the main building and the annex without missing a single one, and she had to take on cleaning and laundry, tasks she had never done before. The room where the warm sunlight poured in and the picnic where we ate sweet biscuits were not allowed.
I had to get used to living with several people in a cramped underground room, and at meal times, I had to serve them and wait for all that food to be left over. Taking down all the blankets in the house to wash them, wringing out the waterlogged blankets and drying them thoroughly in the sun, and sometimes even giving massages to the maids were all her responsibilities.
Aria wanted to escape from this hellish place long ago, but she didn’t know how.
One day, she happened to see a boy.
A boy sitting on a fountain in the middle of the garden, basking in the sun and leisurely reading a book.
As the wind blew the falling leaves, the golden hair of the boy was gently swept aside, making his fair face and deep-set eyes stand out even more. His tall stature and sturdy build matched the suspenders quite well.
Aria was so mesmerized by the sight that she tripped and fell, accidentally dirtying the clean blanket.
At that moment, a white and delicate hand was extended before my eyes.
“Are you okay?”
In the emerald eyes that seemed to hold a recording, Aria unconsciously blushed.
My name is Edward. You?
“Aria?
“Your voice is really beautiful.
After that, Aria lived for the joy of seeing Edward. She carried her blankets, which were twice her size, with her slender body to see him at the appointed time. She also woke up earlier than anyone else and went to bed later.
Aria woke up from her childhood reverie and hurriedly headed to Edward’s room. I naturally opened the window and tidied up the bed. There was still a warm heat left there. Aria felt his warmth with her fingertips and smiled lightly.
“I will never regret my choice that day, never.”
Since that day, Aria has never once regretted her choice to lose her voice.
Because Edward, who hadn’t budged for a year, has awakened with renewed vigor.
She was happy to see his dazzling smile again every day. That was enough.
At that moment, when she was tidying the bed and dusting, a young maid entered the room.
“Sister!”
Aria turned her head at the sound of footsteps. In the young maid’s hand, there was a letter.
“Sister!
“The young master has sent a letter!
Aria’s gaze turned to the letter.
Aria, I have a place for us to go out together. Prepare discreetly and come to the main gate.
Aria brushed it off and then glanced at the young maid. She hurriedly wrote another excuse in her notebook and showed it to the maid with sparkling eyes. Young master forgot and left an important document behind, so it seems I need to step out for a bit.
The maid nodded as if she understood.
Got it, sis! I’ll tell the head maid that!
Aria gently patted the child’s head as if to say thank you.
It was a rare outing. After putting on a pink skirt instead of the shabby maid outfit, Aria felt strange. This is the only outfit I have for going out. It was a skirt I had seen at the tailor’s before, and after saving up two months’ salary, I finally bought it.
She pulled her narrow sleeves down, covering her frail hands for no reason. As if she couldn’t bear to look at her eczema-covered hands. While awkwardly taming his messy brown hair, he saw Edward, the person he had been imagining, at the mansion’s front gate.
“Aria, over here!
Seeing Edward waving his hand towards her, Aria headed in that direction.
Edward whispered softly into Aria’s ear.
“Aria, you look beautiful today too.”
At that moment, Aria’s face turned red. She kept inhaling deeply and fanning herself to cool down.
Edward’s eyes softened gently.
“Actually, I lied to you.
“The reason I called you here is simply to go on a date with you.
“If I had sent a letter asking for a date, you wouldn’t have even come out.”
Aria’s pupils trembled wildly. I didn’t know how to respond to his gentle smile and warm feelings towards me. When Aria just stared at him without any action, Edward looked at her face from various angles and asked.
“Just give me one day today. “Okay?
The moment she nodded, Edward grabbed Aria’s wrist and pulled her.
“Get in the carriage.
“We have a long way to go.
Aria was pushed by Edward and got onto the carriage.
After the carriage had been running for a while and arrived in the bustling center filled with various shops, the coachman hurriedly opened the carriage door.
As soon as they got off the carriage, Edward bent down and whispered discreetly in Aria’s ear.
“Don’t show it, just stick by my side.”
Aria looked intently at the sign of the store in front of her with a puzzled expression.
‘Elin’s Jewelry Store.’
Why did Edward bring me to a place like this? This place was an expensive jewelry store that ordinary servants wouldn’t even dare to enter.
Before I could even ask, he entered the store first, smiling gently and gesturing.
“Come in quickly.”
Aria stepped inside with a slightly awkward expression.
Inside, Madame Briand, who had received word that Edward was coming early, was waiting.
She, adorned with dazzling jewels on each of her ten fingers, stepped forward with a loud clatter of the necklaces hanging from her neck.
Welcome, sir. We have been waiting for you. The lady who came with you… ?
The madam’s questioning gaze was directed at Aria, but Edward stood in front of the display, holding Aria’s hand without answering.
“Are these the most beautiful rings here?
“Yes, young master. “It’s one of the few rare designs in the empire. I have prepared only those that are quite popular among the young ladies.
Edward stared intently at the rings and then turned his head towards Aria.
“I don’t really have any interest in this kind of stuff, so I don’t know much about it.
“Aria, which one do you think is the prettiest here?
Aria and Madame’s wide eyes simultaneously turned towards him.
Madame asked softly with sparkling eyes.
“Is the person who proposed to you, by any chance…?”
A proposal? Edward is planning to propose to someone. Even without the knowledge of his dedicated maid. Edward was the type of person who would first confide in himself whenever he had a problem or a secret.
Hiding a proposal, of all things. That too, secretly and without anyone from Bailey knowing.
Aria wanted to dismiss it as nonsense, but Edward’s behavior was anything but ordinary.
Her heart kept thumping wildly on its own.
As Edward gave a faint smile, the madam gently curled her lips and slipped several rings onto Aria’s fingers.
How about this design? The heart-shaped diamond seems to perfectly suit the lady’s delicate hand.
“Aria, do you like it?”
At his question, Aria’s flickering gaze settled on the ring.
Edward looked at this and smiled softly, seemingly satisfied.
“Please take out something else besides this.
“The price doesn’t matter.
Madam nodded as if she understood well and then took out another ring.
Every time another ring was slipped onto her finger, the tension made Aria’s fingertips tremble and grow cold.
Aria glanced at Edward next to her. Unfounded speculations that were not even worth considering swirled chaotically in her mind.
While the madam stepped away for a moment to choose another design, Edward leaned down and whispered discreetly in Aria’s ear.
“Aria, you can’t slack off from here.
“Because we still have a long way to go to get to the flower shop and the dessert cafe.
After the jewelry store, the flower shop, and then the café. This was clearly a date course, and not just any date, but a series of procedures for a proposal. No matter how oblivious a woman might be, it’s an obvious procedure that she can’t possibly miss.
Aria, at a loss for what to do, could only gaze up at Edward’s sweet smile.
However, the fleeting happiness that I had hoped would last forever shattered in an instant because of a single remark Edward made at the dessert cafe we visited after stopping by the flower shop.
“Aria, I’m planning to formally propose to Isabella tomorrow.”
