Chapter Six and a Half: The Maid’s Oath (Elsa’s POV)

“Grandfather Jamal, what do you think about these?”

“Milady’s taste is the best.”

The young lady, who wore a white hat with large brim, was strolling around near the flowerbeds. A bouquet of small sunflowers could be seen in her hand. It was at the garden where the summer sun shone. While giving advice to the young lady, Jamal, an old gardener, snipped the flowers. As per the young lady’s request, the flowers were thus handed to her. After she had added the lavenders to the bouquet, the young lady joyfully inhaled the scent.

The young lady, who was pleased for being able to have lunch with her husband, rushed to the garden to pick flowers for him. By the way, the lord was escorted by Frederick to his study to resume his work. After all, he had been skipping them.

“The scent of lavender has a calming effect. Surely, my husband will feel at ease.”

“Then, I wonder if it’d be better to display a bouquet of lavenders on the bedside of his chamber. The bouquet of sunflowers should be displayed in either the room or study for entertainment purpose.”

Towards the young lady’s request, Jamal stroked his white beard while nodding.

“That’s a great idea. How kind of you, Milady. Yes, why don’t I decorate your room with lavender so you may sleep well?”

“My! Thank you, Grandpa Jamal!”

The young lady joyfully thanked Jamal. Her beautiful face shone like that of a goddess. Jamal laughed and received the young lady’s bouquet, putting it inside the basket that hung on his arm. Jamal suggested, “It’d be nice to decorate the study and private room with flowers. Therefore, please pick some more.”

Thus, the young lady happily chose some flowers once again. Although Jamal had a penchant for being stubborn, he was probably the sweetest towards the young lady, who was younger than his grandson.

“Elsa, these lavender smells really nice.”

The young lady turned around, laughed innocently, and presented me with some freshly-cut lavender. I also brought the tip of my nose closer to them. Immediately, I could smell the sweet, refreshing, scent.

“You’re right. They truly have a nice scent. That’s right… if we were to pick a little more and dry them in a small pouch, they can be used as a perfume.”

“That’s a fine idea. But… if you cut too much, I can’t help but pity the flowers.”

With that said, the young lady laughed. Alongside Jamal, she walked towards another flowerbed. She was still carrying the lavender.

I kept up with her pace while also trying to not get in the way.

I, her maid, Elsa, was born and raised in the Lutherford family.

I was born to my father, who was a butler, and my mother, who was a maid. I was raised to be a maid who’d then serve the main family. In most cases, the lady who’d get married into the family would bring her own maid. Therefore, I should be the lord’s maid. It wasn’t within my obligation to serve the mistress of the house.

I, my lord, and my husband, Frederick were the so-called childhood friends. The Lutherford family would treat their servants without discrimination.

From an early age, I was concerned that my now husband would see me as nothing but a little sister. Therefore, I was grateful.

My husband, Frederic, was the son of the lord’s nanny and the head butler. Currently, he was the deputy butler of the mansion and also the exclusive butler of the lord. Eventually, he’d succeed his father and became the head butler.

Since Frederick was the son of the nanny, he was on good terms with the lord. They were akin to close friends. There was no doubt that over the last few years, Frederick was more concerned about the lord more than anyone else.

During the war seven years ago, the lord, despite being only 19-years-old, defeated the general of the enemy country with his peak martial arts. It ultimately led to the victory of our kingdom.

After becoming the hero of the Kingdom of Cression, he attracted a lot of females’ attention. Because of that, he experienced shocking and humiliating events. It resulted in his loathing towards the ugly side of the women who were competing for himself.

At that time, I was still Frederick’s lover. I had known the lord ever since he was a baby and could definitely say that he hadn’t changed much. Except for his newfound misogynism. He started to despise young ladies and would distance himself away from them. Even at the evening party, he’d only gather with men and would refuse all the dance invitations. At best, he’d just dance with the princess as per the request of his best friend, the crown prince.

He’d decline all the matchmaking talks. All the sent portraits of young women were incinerated without a chance of seeing the sunlight. Being truthful, the parents and servants of my lord may had given up hope on his marriage prospect due to his misogynism. The lord had a younger brother who’d be 9-years-old that year. Everyone believed that he’d be the one who succeeded the family instead.

However, my lord, who returned to the mansion for the first time in two months, summoned my father, me, and the head maid. Then, he told us, “I’ve been engaged. The wedding will be in a month.”

Indeed. I was truly surprised at the time. My father was a calm, levelheaded, butler. But for the first time in my life, I saw that his mouth went agape. The head maid almost fainted and had to be supported by my father.

Marriage was a huge event for aristocrats and an overwhelming one for the servants. Even if the engagement period was short, we’d at least require a year to prepare everything.

Even so, my lord told us to arrange everything in a month.

If his potential suitor was a fateful partner he had chanced upon during an evening ball or a night patrol, we’d support him from the bottom of our hearts. We wouldn’t even hesitate to die from overwork. We’d bless him sincerely.

But so it turned out, his reason for getting married was the worst.

“I’m tired of all the matchmaking talks. If I get married, they’d vanish. It’s kind of like a damper.”

He casually told us so.

Towards us, who were so disappointed we couldn’t utter a word, he continued.

“No wedding reception is necessary. Let her use the same room mother has used. She requires no special treatment for she’s a bride without a dowry.”

Again, the head maid fainted and had to be carried by a footman summoned by Frederick.

My father, who could barely retain his consciousness, asked who that person was.

“She’s the second daughter of the Alwin family. Other than that, I know nothing. Then, I shall return to work.”

My urge to hit a person had never been that high. Suppressing my right fist, my father and I saw off the lord, who’d return to the barracks once again. At that time, Frederick heaped praises on me for not beating the lord up right then and there.

Then, only a month later, his wife—Liliana—arrived to our house.

In the Kingdom of Cresion, the bride would usually arrive at the house alongside the groom. Not to mention, she’d usually still be wearing a wedding gown. Afterwards, the groom would unveil the bride. At the end, us servants would welcome her as a new addition to the family. In some cases, she’d have to be unveiled to the family and the servants once again.

However, the young lady wasn’t accompanied by anyone. At the wedding ceremony, neither her parents or siblings attended. She arrived in person with a tattered travel bag, six dresses, and a congratulatory letter from her younger brother, Cedric. To her new house, she only brought item that’d serve as a reminder for the time she spent with Cedric.

Thus, the lead servants formally greeted her before withdrawing. Personally, I felt like we had made a fool of the Lutherford family by treating her that way. Then, I became alone with the young lady.

Since she didn’t have a dowry, her property only amounted to the contents of her bag—and, before I forgot to mention, an old wedding gown.

A month since her arrival, it was still difficult for me to tell if she was truly the daughter of the Alwin family.

The servants from her house only said, “Thank you for accepting our lady. We’ll leave the rest to you.” They didn’t spoke a word about Liliana.

Originally, it was already debated whether or not the Alwin family truly had a second daughter. Although her stepmother and stepsister mentioned that Liliana was sickly, no one had ever seen her. Besides, albeit having a long history, the Alwin family in recent years hadn’t garnered too much of a positive attention.

Therefore, us servants suspected that our foolish lord, who was unfortunate with women, had married an impostor. Since the Lutherford family was an aristocratic and wealthy family, I wondered if money was their aim. After all, if she was an actual noble lady, she wouldn’t have to suffer through that wedding. Instead of a small wedding with no reception, she’d be having a luxurious one, coupled with a new wedding gown.

I, as a matter of fact, had always pictured that the marriage of the great Lutherford family would be like that.

I welcomed myself into her room. I was also the one who unveiled her because no one else would.

I could still vividly recall the impact I felt at that moment.

Liliana was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen.

The young lady was so beautiful and pretty, I became convinced that she was the moon goddess. I grew even more so due to the ephemeral atmosphere she exuded. Her hair was pale gold, while the color of her eyes was that of a beautiful silver harboring the brilliance of the stars. I stood there in a daze for a while. Despite being clouded with anxiety, her face was still as beautiful as a flower.

Since none of her servants had come with her, I hurriedly decided to be her personal maid and would take care of her from that day.

After I helped her remove the wedding gown, she insisted that she’d get changed by herself. Seeing how desperate she was as she cried, “I don’t want you to see my bare skin, forgive me!” I suspected that she was trying to conceal the fact that she was a fake lady.

Nevertheless, the young lady remained terrified. To me, who was a servant, she apologized over and over. She doubled down, making her body appear even smaller. With a pained conscience, I decided to let her change her own attire.

I recalled that the young lady seemed slightly happy when she said that her moronic husband would return at night.

Hearing that, I was impressed that despite how foolish he was, our lord still had enough decency to act like a proper husband.

But it turned out that our lord was shittier than we thought.

The young lady spent her first night as a married couple crying alone.

At that time, Frederick heaped praises upon me for not kicking the lord down.

To be honest, at the beginning, the servants were quite judgmental of the young lady.

She didn’t exude the aura of a noble lady. She’d call me, “Ms. Elsa.” And spoke in a formal tone, as if I was the master and she was the servant. I was aware that some noble ladies were polite, but the young lady was on an entirely different level in abnormality. What was more, whenever my father—the head butler—stared at her, she’d stop speaking.

What I didn’t like the most was the fact that she barely touched her meals. She’d only eat the soup and bread. She wouldn’t touch anything else—such as appetizers, entrees, and desserts. When asked what she didn’t like, she’d remain silent. In the end, she’d refrain from eating and would only drink tea.

My father thus suspected that she was a commoner disguised as a noble lady. Then, he began to investigate the Alwin family in earnest. Almost all the other servants except for me began to avoid the young lady.

I couldn’t decide how to treat the young lady.

For a long time, I felt that something was amiss.

The supposedly clumsy young lady always appeared restless—and lonely.

It seemed to me that whenever it was time to eat, she was afraid of something.

The appearance of the young lady, who balled herself and cried in the bathroom during our first meeting, always remained within my heart.

Then, a month later, the young lady caught a fever, which caused her to collapse on the way to the dining room.

As a result of urgently calling Dr. Morgan for a medical examination, she was diagnosed with malnutrition, extreme stress, overwork, and fever caused by insomnia.

I asked Dr. Morgan as for the reason why the young lady refused to show me her skin. Then, with a very sad face, Dr. Morgan told me. “If a lady of your age were to say something like that, usually, it’s a scar that she doesn’t want to show to anyone.”

He didn’t give any details of what it was. I also didn’t ask any further.

The medicine given by Dr. Morgan reduced her fever slightly. When I brought water to the young lady, I requested of her. “I want you to eat so you’d recover.” Even though it was only a month ever since she got married, the young lady was visibly thinner. Therefore, my request was closer to that of a plea.

The young lady remained silent at first, but as a result of my patient waiting, Liliana spoke of her sad upbringing. She told me that she was scared that she’d be whipped and beaten again.

It wasn’t that the young lady was unwilling to eat. It was that fear had dominated her heart, and she couldn’t do it.

I knew it was uncouth for a servant, but I couldn’t help but hug the young lady, who was trembling and shedding tears. I couldn’t stop crying when I thought that not only had the young lady been tormented by her own family, she also had to suffer at the hands of her dung-like husband.

Within that day, I told the servants of the young lady’s circumstances. The next day, my father, Arthur, and the head maid apologized to the young lady for their rudeness. The servants of Liliana’s family had also divulged the fact that she was the genuine countess.

Contrary to the expectation, the young lady apologized to us. As a result, the attitudes of my father and the head maid softened. By talking to me, her heart finally gained some peace. Thus, she recovered day by day. She had also come to eat various dishes with me. After experiencing a life that she couldn’t grow accustomed to for half a year, she was finally able to get an ounce of sleep. Gradually, she became acclimated to the house. Two months later, the young lady smiled for the first time. I was ashamed to admit that I cried.

The young lady was a kind person who was never pessimistic about her upbringing. She always thought of her younger brother, Cedric. She was also a wonderful person who’d always thank us servants. When my father and I taught the young lady about manners and etiquettes, she absorbed them like a sponge. Before long, she didn’t need to be ashamed of her bearings. Still, the modest and gentle sides of her didn’t change. Neither did her polite tone. She became a gentle and adorable young lady who was loved and cherished by everyone.

Naturally, everyone’s anger was directed at her husband, who didn’t only marry for his own convenience, but also never returned.

I felt especially resentful due to the fact that I knew how happy the young lady was as she waited for his return during their first night.

Inherently, the young lady wasn’t the kind of person who’d expect anything from anyone. Or more like, she didn’t think anyone would do anything for her. Not expecting anything was the young lady’s way of protecting her own heart. She was so accustomed to doing that, she did it unconsciously.

But that night, the young lady was expecting her husband to come home. Her husband, who decided to make her his wife. Regardless of anything, she was still a 15-years-old girl. One way or another, she must had dreamed of a wedding. She had a faint hope that her husband would love her. For she was his wife. For no one else would.

Of course, that idiot betrayed her hopes for selfish reasons.

The next morning, the hollow face of the young lady, who sat on the large bed—I could still remember it to this day. Although her eyes were swollen, she wasn’t the slightest bit angry or loathsome towards her husband’s selfishness. Instead, as if giving up, she only said, “…I know this would happen.”

Although I was aware of the reasons as to why the lord became like that, it still didn’t justify his treatment towards her.

Even now, the wife still didn’t expect anything.

She was always ready to give up. the wife, who knew the pain of betrayal, had become very subservient.

Meanwhile, her moronic husband, who lost his memory due to the excursion of one of the best knights in the country, seemed to have fallen in love with the young lady at first sight.

Well, since the young lady is as beautiful as the moon goddess, it can’t be helped.

As a result, he was desperate to get intimate with he. To be honest, it was very distasteful. It was so distasteful, I wanted to roll him up and hang him under the eaves. I was only patient because the young lady still treated such a foolish husband with kindness.

Despite all the terrible things he had done, the young lady was always grateful to her husband for accepting her as his wife and letting her live a comfortable life.

“Elsa.”

The voice calling me raised the consciousness that was swallowed the whirlpool of thought. I answered yes.

“I had it especially cut for you, Elsa—for it matches my flower.”

She had handed me a fine ball of hydrangea flower. The pink hydrangea flower fitted snuggly within my palm. Just by being decorated by these flowers, the room would become bright.

“I chose the one with the same color as my husband’s eyes.”

There was a bright blue hydrangea in the young lady’s hand.

At every mention of her husband, the innocent and angelic young lady blushed. She firmly believed that the reason for my lord’s newfound feelings was due to amnesia and some other issues. I shall never correct her because—serves him right! At the same time, I also wouldn’t reject it fully for I knew of my lord’s feelings.

Still, if one were to deduct his misogyny, William Lutherford was a good man. As his childhood friend, I knew that he was a straightforward, foolish, honest, kind, and affectionate man regardless of his appearance and family.

That foolish lord was so appealing that it was inevitable for the young lady to fall for him.

“Milady, let’s return to the room. You have to finish the cushion cover by the afternoon, right?”

“Oh, that’s true. I also have to finish the ribbon.”

The young lady put her hand on her mouth as if she was shocked.

“Milady, if you have any flowers you want, please tell me. Had this old man not been the gardener of this family, I’d be a connoisseur in the market.”

“Yes, thank you, Grandpa Jamal. Grandpa’s flowers are so beautiful. I’m sure that my husband will find them pleasing to look at.”

Jamal nodded in affirmation, saying “No problem.” Everyone said that Jamal was hard of hearing. But he never missed the words of the young lady, who spoke in a quieter volume than normal.

How suspicious, this grandpa…

I received a basket of flowers from Jamal. After being sent off by Jamal, the wife and I returned to the mansion.

She was going to give the lord some flowers. I was sure that his face would be a sight to see.

The young lady, who walked beside me, blushed slightly. She gently narrowed her eyes as she stared at the blue hydrangea within her hands.

How pure and pretty her profile is!

Even I, who was of the same sex, felt thrilled.

I was sure that the young lady was still unaware—but it was certainly a hint of love.

In my heart, I swore to the young lady once again—

—if he dares make Milady sad, I will drive that shitty husband out of the house.

Unlike the young lady, who had no home to return to, he could just stay in the barracks, in his territory, or even in the royal castle without a problem.

“…I hope my husband’s anxiety will be alleviated.”

“It’s okay, I’m sure Milady’s kindness will be conveyed.”

“Do you think so?”

To the young lady, who tilted her head, I nodded. As if embarrassed, the young lady smiled happily.

I swore to protect her smile no matter what.

Thus, I smiled in return.

---

***T/N: Petition to make Elsa the new male lead.

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