Chapter 6
As I walked through the narrow alleyway, I felt eyes on me from every direction.
The fish vendor lady, the general store owner, even the stall keeper whose name I didn’t know—they were all watching.
It was only natural. Someone dressed in clothes embroidered with thick gold thread, wearing the Alphonse family crest, didn’t belong in a place like this.
No one said a word, but it was obvious they were all wondering the same thing—why had someone from the Alphonse estate come here to get me?
Even though we all lived under the same sky, the Alphonse estate felt like a different world. To the people of this region, it was something unreachable.
A sky they could never touch.
In the empire as a whole, the Alphonse family might be just one of many noble houses. But in this village, they were at the very top.
Even the servants of that house held power here. The butler walked upright with pride, and merchants stopped their work to bow as he passed.
Following behind him, I had no choice but to receive those bows as well. It felt strange, like I was accepting something I didn’t deserve.
Just standing behind a servant from that house made me feel this uneasy.
It made me wonder—what kind of world does that young master come from?
For someone like Cassian Blanchet, things like this must be so ordinary, they’re barely worth noticing.
Even the lord of this region, who makes the entire village kneel, apparently lowers his head in front of Cassian.
Someone like me would probably never even get to see the lord’s face. But that man stammers and fumbles in front of him.
Now that I think about it, Cassian is the kind of person you only read about in stories—someone who doesn’t belong in our world.
I must’ve been out of my mind yesterday.
The things I said to him… it’s honestly laughable.
I thought he was just a boy around my age. I even dared to feel pity for him, like we were equals.
I had no idea the distance between us was so great—like the sky and the earth, never able to meet.
Now that I know he gave the order to bring me back, I’m starting to feel afraid.
Back then, I thought I had a choice. I thought I could simply say no. How foolish.
Someone like me is expected to move when Blanchet commands it and to act grateful even when told to fall. I forgot my place, even for a moment.
And yet, he paid me more than I deserve and gave the fish vendor proper compensation. Just that alone shows Cassian—no, Blanchet—deserves respect.
That must be why Mr. Riorden, the fish vendor, smiled even while apologizing.
Cassian handled everything in his own way—quiet, but noble.
It made me realize something: people with money have an easier time appearing kind.
With just a small gesture, Cassian sent a servant to bring me back. By the time I walk these streets again, everyone will see him as a good person.
And honestly, compared to the lord of Alphonse, maybe he is.
The current lord often drags villagers to work during busy seasons without even paying them a daily wage.
To most people here, he was the only noble they knew, so they assumed all nobles were the same.
Some nobles spend money to protect their reputation, but even that usually happens only in the capital, and only for people who are “worth it.”
So in that sense, what Cassian did, even if it seemed small, meant a lot.
At least in this village, people would talk about it for a year.
Now, everyone’s starting to treat him like a generous man. And I can’t help but feel a little twisted inside.
Which is ridiculous. I’m the one who took the money and agreed to work for him. Who am I to feel bitter?
It’s shameful, really.
He didn’t ask what I wanted, but he gave me a better job anyway.
Whether or not it’s truly better is a matter of opinion. But for someone like me, who puts money first, there was no contest. I would’ve chosen this job either way.
And not just me—no one in this village would turn down a chance to work for someone like Blanchet.
To anyone else, my hesitation probably sounds like I’m just being ungrateful.
They’d say, You’re being paid more than enough. What is there to complain about?
Still, I can’t help how I feel.
I don’t know if I’m the problem, or if this whole situation is just messy.
One thing is clear—there’s no way that young master’s intentions are simple.
When I think about his cold, unreadable expression, the way he looked past me like I wasn’t even there, it’s obvious.
Cassian. That man. He has too much—too much power, too much distance, too much control. It started as envy and turned into fear.
And now all these messy emotions are tangled up inside me.
As they build and twist, I find myself trying to guess what he really wants.
That’s when the mansion came into view.
Even though I saw it just yesterday, I still couldn’t get used to it. No, even if I lived here through all four seasons, I don’t think it would ever feel familiar.
The estate was as grand and overwhelming as before.
Inside, perfectly carved statues stood lined up just like they had yesterday, silent and still in their places.
If it had been yesterday, these things might have easily caught my eye. But today, none of them registered. My thoughts were too tangled with the intentions of someone I still couldn’t understand, and the countless questions that came with them. The more I thought about it, the more everything seemed contradictory.
Even the butler who led me here was the same. Come to think of it, he walked ahead of me the entire time, never once looking back. Just by his expression, it was clear he didn’t think highly of me. Even the occasional glimpse of his profile, stiff and tense, told me as much. I had noticed yesterday that he was a rigid man, but today, he looked even colder.
The strange part is, his manner toward me had grown more formal. In fact, he might’ve even used honorifics with me—me. He, the personal butler of Lord Alphonse of the noble Cassian family, treating me with such deference?
There’s no doubt about it. He’s wearing a mask in front of me.
But why?
People only wear masks in front of someone above them. Could it be that they simply couldn’t find anyone else to handle that young master?
But yesterday, he looked at me like I was a burden. So it doesn’t make sense to think he suddenly believes I’m capable of dealing with the young lord.
The more I think about it, the more it leads me to believe the butler’s actions aren’t his own.
Could the young master have ordered even this?
The thought was so absurd I let out a quiet laugh. Why would someone like that give orders for my sake?
We passed the long fountain and garden and reached the corridor that led to Cassian’s room. At the end of the hallway, in front of a tall, white door, the butler finally stopped and turned to face me.
“You haven’t forgotten the instructions I gave you earlier, have you?”
“No,” I replied.
He reached for the door handle but paused, let out a small sigh, and gave me one more warning in a firm voice.
“Don’t forget—you are a young lady of the Bilrod family.”
For a moment, I was stunned. He said it with such certainty that I almost believed it myself. Then I remembered—this was something he had already said yesterday. I gave a small nod.
“I understand.”
I suppose being disguised as a young lady of Bilrod is the only way I can be considered worthy of even standing next to the young lord. Once again, the difference between him and me felt painfully obvious.
But it wasn’t a new realization. I had gone over it again and again on the way here.
After that, the butler handed me a maid’s uniform. This one had lace on it and fit perfectly—unlike the one from yesterday. In the mirror, it looked like it had been tailored just for me.
Did they prepare this already?
It must’ve been yesterday when Cassian changed his mind. It would take at least a day to prepare something like this, after all.
I was left speechless by how the butler had already prepared a uniform in my exact size, all from a single order.
At the far end of the west wing, where Cassian stayed, the butler finally opened the door. A wave of tension hit me, and I took a deep breath that seemed to press painfully into my chest.
Just think about Mother’s herbs. Don’t mess things up like yesterday. As long as I avoid any trouble, I can survive here for a month. Somehow.
With that, I quietly stepped inside.
By the side of the bed where the sunlight danced, Cassian slowly turned his head. His fair hair shone in the light. As always, his handsome face glanced over at Yurisiel and curved into a faint smile—almost unconsciously.
Yurisiel, meanwhile, kept herself busy in silence, trying to find something to do. She repeated meaningless cleaning and moved books back and forth on the shelf. Even though he knew how diligent she was, her every movement irritated him.
Why was someone like her, brought in under a fancy title, acting so serious about cleaning?
The schedule the butler reported was shockingly full. With those fragile legs of hers, it seemed like she was doing the work of the entire estate by herself.
And now, even here, she was working again. Doing things no one had even asked of her. She didn’t seem to care about him at all—completely focused on her tasks.
It made him angry.
I thought about her a lot yesterday.
Shouldn’t a commoner girl like her be thinking about me more than I think about her?
His emotions twisted, absurd and tangled.
“Why do you think I hired you?” he asked suddenly.
“…Excuse me?”
Her big, round eyes slowly turned toward him, confused. She looked nothing like the defiant girl from yesterday. Now, she looked as meek as a lamb. It was almost laughable.
“Do you even know how many maids are assigned to this room?”
“Ah…”
Only then did she seem to understand, and she let the dry towel in her hand fall.
“Then… what should I be doing?”
The fact that she was asking him that was unbelievable.
Maybe that’s why the feelings he had toward her came out so low and petty.
“I don’t know. Most noble girls seem to figure those things out on their own.”
A faint, cold smile spread across his lips.
His reflection in the mirror looked like someone heartless.
“I wonder why the precious young lady of Bilrod seems more interested in cleaning than anything else.”
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