Lady Villainess Philia D’la Love’s Mistakes Translation

26: The Maid Thinks (Part One)

I, Angela Conte, a maid of the Duke d’la Love’s family, had a favorite job. It was the duty of waking up and greeting Master Luca, the young master of the Duke d’la Love family who turned ten this year.

Master Luca was brought to Duke d’la Love’s family at the age of seven, accompanied by Duchess Diana, the second wife of Duke d’la Love.

As a servant, I couldn’t say anything about Duchess Diana, the companion of the respected Duke d’la Love and the stepmother of beloved Lady Philia. As a respectful admirer of Duchess Sylvia, Lady Philia’s birth mother, I couldn’t say I could be impartial in any way.

However, I had nothing against Master Luca, Duchess Diana’s son. When I first saw him, I was greatly impressed by his lovely appearance, as if the angel statues in the church had started moving. His expressions were pale, not moving voluntarily, and a bit absentminded but his curly platinum blonde hair and big emerald green jewel-like eyes were so charming that my eyes were naturally drawn to him just by being in the room.

The problem was that this absentminded young master was just like a stray cat, unaccustomed to people, and he would quickly hide from the servants who tried to take care of him. It was unclear what kind of lifestyle he led as even though he was an aristocrat’s child, he could take care of himself, so despite his lovely appearance, he was an unruly little boy with little presence.

Even if the said person disliked it, we couldn’t have left a ten-year-old child unattended, so the servants checked on him frequently. The duty that was assigned to me was to wake up Master Luca. Truthfully, this wake-up duty wasn’t necessary until recently. 

Master Luca was very much fond of Lady Philia, who had become his step-sister, and after coming to the Duke d’la Love’s family, he didn’t want to be separated from her even for a moment. Lady Philia was also surprisingly delighted that she now had a younger brother, and so, she often tucked Master Luca into her own bed, who didn’t want to return to his room even when it was late at night. When this situation continued, we ended up moving Master Luca’s bed to Lady Philia’s bedroom.

Even though she was only ten years old herself at the time, Lady Philia, who had always been a strong woman, became even stronger and looked after Master Luca as if she were his mother. However, when Master Luca turned ten, and Lady Philia turned thirteen, it wasn’t adequate for them to share the same room. 

Although it could be said Master Luca was still a child, Lady Philia was almost at a marriageable age. She didn’t mind that personally, but at His Grace’s decision, Master Luca’s bed was moved to his room.  

And that was when my turn came.

“Master Luca, are you awake?”

When I called out from outside the bedroom, I heard a rustling sound from inside. I opened it and found Master Luca sleeping on the bed with crumpled bedsheets… Master Luca was trying to shrink his body in the bed corner, huddled against the back wall.

His curly platinum blonde hair was tousled like a bird’s nest, and it was obvious that he was sleeping just a moment ago.

But the way he was crouched on the bed on one knee, staring at me with his green eyes, he looked as frightened and alert as a hamster that had been poked while curled up in bed.

Master Luca was unusually awake, and in the two weeks that I had been doing my duty, I had never found him sleeping in.

Just the other day, I entered the room without calling out for him, intent on teasing him, and Master Luca, who had been lying down, jumped up and ran away to the corner of the room, probably startled.

I was impressed by how sensitive he was, but ever since then, I guessed he’d been wary of me because he was always in a position where he could escape whenever I came.

“Good morning, young Master Luca. I’ve brought you some hot water to clean yourself and a change of clothes.”

“You can leave them there…”

“Understood, would you like me to help you with your clothes?”

“I don’t need help…”

I put down the wagon with the washbasin and placed the change of clothes on the bed. I retreated from there, but just as Master Luca extended his hand gingerly, I approached him without any prior warning.

The sudden approach startled Master Luca, and he pulled his hand back. His large eyes were fidgeting, and he looked at me with his upturned and unstable eyes.

Interesting.

I tightened my expression that was about to slip. Taking the change of clothes in my hand, I held it out to him.

Master Luca was looking at me and then the clothes alternatively, revealing his conflict about whether he should take them or not.

It wasn’t long before servants learned about Master Luca’s aversion to human touch. His hair seemed to be very comfortable to touch. My colleague, who was fond of kids, told me that although he was not that averse to servants who were around the same age as him, he didn’t like to be approached by young female servants, and he quickly ran away when they tried to stroke his curly hair. Except for his elder sister, who he was attached to. 

His Grace worried about this weakness, which wasn’t a problem in childhood but wasn’t so good for a full-fledged noble. When he turned ten, His Grace instructed us to make him accustomed to this little by little.

He was his son, even if related by marriage, so His Grace was concerned about Master Luca’s future. At that time, there was no way that the serious Duke d’la Love’s eyes were smiling happily.

Yes, I must have seen it wrong.

“Master Luca, why don’t you change your clothes?”

In these two weeks, far from seeing any improvement, I felt it was worsening. It might be necessary to take drastic measures against Master Luca.

I patiently waited for Master Luca to stretch out his hand by himself. 

A few tense minutes passed.

Our tension was broken by a faint knocking and a gentle voice.

“Angie, Luca hasn’t woken up yet? The breakfast will get cold, so hurry up.”

Our beloved lady, Lady Philia, showed a face that was radiant from the morning. Lady Philia, who had changed from the knee-length skirt worn by the young girls to an ankle-length dress worn by Lady Philia at childish age, looked as pretty as a porcelain doll, with her dazzling blond hair and bright ice blue eyes.

“Sister…”

Master Luca snuck around me with exceptional agility and rushed towards Lady Philia, standing at the room entrance. Lady Philia gave a troubled smile from being suddenly hugged by her little brother. 

“Oh, Luca, you still haven’t washed your face? I wonder if you overslept.”

“Yes… I can’t sleep well at night without you.”

Master Luca, who looked up and was appealing to her while moistening his big eyes, looked exceptionally cute and sly, and Lady Philia’s expression crumbled down as she had a sweet spot for her little brother.

“What a troublesome child… But indeed, it must be lonely to sleep alone suddenly. I will be beside you until you sleep from tonight.”

“Yes, thank you very much, sister.”

“Now go wash your face and change your clothes quickly. Let’s eat then.”

When Lady Philia took the change of clothes from me and offered them to Luca, he accepted them without hesitation. The stubbornness he had shown earlier seemed to be a lie.

The lady didn’t bother with Master Luca any more than necessary but urged me to leave the room so that he could change by himself. Even though she doted on him, she still respected young Luca as a human being, which was not typical of a child. 

“Angie, Luca has a bad time waking up. It must be awful, right?”

“What do you mean?”

“Yeah, even when he was sleeping in my room, it was very difficult to wake him up. I couldn’t leave him alone because he was hugging me and wouldn’t let me go. But his sleeping face at that time was just like an angel, and I couldn’t help myself from petting him and not waking him up.”

Was he really asleep?

I felt suspicious because Lady Philia, who was talking so passionately about how lovely her little brother looked when waking up, was so awfully adorable that I didn’t say anything about it. 

I was sure it must be the misgiving from my corrupted adult mind that I occasionally found the angelic cute Master Luca cunning.

After Master Luca had finished changing and had eaten breakfast, Lady Philia went back to her room to get ready to greet the guests.

From my perspective, the way she was dressed earlier seemed to be enough to welcome the guests, but aristocrats tended to change their clothes a lot. It seemed they couldn’t wear the same dress when they were attending the guest as opposed to when they were resting. 

Lady Philia, who came after changing her clothes, was simply beautiful.

She had changed into a new dress of pale aqua color with a small white flower pattern in the background, and her hairstyle was partly braided on the side while the rest of her hair 

was down.

She was still short, but her chest, which was beginning to show feminine fullness, was decorated with beige lace.

Although her hair was not tied up in a full bun or the ankle-length dress was that of a young girl, her composed expression and her body’s curve, which were on the verge of adulthood, were in jeopardy, and she had the ephemeral beauty that only the girls of her age could have.

“Lady Philia, you look wonderful…”

“Thank you, Angie. I’m acting as my father’s representative today, so I have to be serious.”

Master Luca was in a daze, captivated by his elder sister, but when Lady Philia was about to go in after hearing the news of the guest, he suddenly clung to her waist.

“Sister, I will also go with you.”

“You can’t, Master Luca. Lady Philia is going to be the representative of His Grace.”

I rebuked Master Luca, knowing he would not listen to me, and just as expected, he completely ignored me. I could only think of it as he knew his elder sister was soft to him, so he looked at Lady Philia with his upturned eyes, the sure kill technique.

“Please, sister.”

Lady Philia pondered for a while and then suddenly smiled and nodded. 

“Very well. But don’t disrupt me when I’m talking with them, okay?”

“Yes.”

“Then hurry up and change your shirt. There’s jam on the cuffs.”

Seeing off Master Luca, who listened obediently to what his elder sister said and hastily returned to his room, Lady Philia muttered like a soliloquy.

“I am sorry for the heroine, but it should be alright for Luca to fall in love with another girl, right? In short, if I crush the route…”

I didn’t understand what Lady Philia was talking about, but for unknown reasons, Lady Philia’s lovely face looked just a bit evil.

However, such a young lady was also wonderful, so I acted as if I hadn’t heard anything and refrained from saying anything. 

Lady Philia’s guest was an anonymous artist invited by His Grace.

“I’m Marcus Belluci. This is my sister Erza. Thank you for requesting us.”

An amiable looking young man, who looked to be in his mid-twenties and had the fine lines of an artist, urged the girl, who was only about ten years old, to bowed stiffly and politely.

People in the Duke d’la Love’s standing sometimes invited young artists to stay in their house to support them. Mr. Belluci must’ve been a fortunate person to have been noticed by His Grace. 

On the other hand, Lady Philia had not yet made her debut in society, but she smiled and accepted the courtesy with great dignity.

“Welcome, Mr. Belluci, Miss Erza. My father would have welcomed you personally, but please excuse his absence. Instead, make yourselves at home, and please call me Philia.”

“Y-Yes… it’s my honor, Lady Philia.”

Mr. Belluci was a good-looking man, but he seemed sensitive as his cheeks were flushed red from being overwhelmed by the appearance of a beautiful young lady, who was overflowing with the Duke d’la Love’s prestige. Be that as it might, the artist’s gaze was nailed to Lady Philia, as if he couldn’t look away from something so beautiful. 

Master Luca, who was closely attached to Lady Philia, was looking at Mr. Belluci with vigilance, but it was Erza, who seemed to be of the same age as him, who looked at Master Luca with a glint in her eye. Although young, Mr. Belluci’s little sister had a well-defined face. 

Lady Philia seemed to have noticed the girl, and her expression relaxed with a smile.

“The lodging for you two is arranged in a solitary house, but before I guide you there, I would like to have a briefing session with Mr. Belluci. Since Miss Erza will be bored, I will have my brother Luca show her around the house.”

At Lady Philia’s consideration, Miss Erza broke into a smile, but Master Luca, on the other hand, looked up at his elder sister in surprise, and his eyebrows slumped sadly.

“Sister, I prefer to be by your side.”

“Now, Luca, Miss Erza will laugh at you if you act like a spoiled brat.”

Lady Philia poked at her younger brother’s cheeks as if to tease him and then bent down and whispered in Master Luca’s ear so that her guest would not hear.

“You will be a fine gentleman, so he has to be kind to ladies. Miss Erza seems to be your age, so you should be friends with her.”

“I don’t have to be a gentleman…”

“I hope you can become a fine gentleman… Let’s see. If you listen to my request, I will also listen to your request. What do you think about it?”

Master Luca blinked with his big green eyes in surprise and tilted his head cutely.

“Will you grant my request? Anything?”

“Yes, that’s right. Only If you treat Miss Erza like a gentleman.”

Just like earlier, Lady Philia’s face became a tiny bit evil. It seemed like Lady Philia had allowed Master Luca to accompany her with that intention. 

I wondered if Lady Philia was hoping for the small flower of love to bloom in her little brother’s life.

It was unclear why Lady Philia’s expression broke into a scheming face, but Master Luca, who was fond of his elder sister, didn’t seem to notice that. He looked a bit happy with their deal.

“Then, I want to go on a picnic and take a nap on your lap. And will you sleep with me at night like before?”

“Hmm… I see. I will ask my father to extend the time a little more. Pleased?”

Lady Philia smiled as pretty as a flower, and Master Luca also broke into a lovely smile, not losing to Lady Philia’s smile. And so, with the artist siblings’ stay, a promise was made between the two siblings.


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