ATDTYSM 02

Chapter 2

Sophia Renard, who was doing the dusting, tilted her head.

“What made the lord come back so early?”

Ashlyn stood still and let the words slip through her ears. The afternoon sun streamed through the windows of the annex. It wasn’t that cold due to the warm sunlight they received even in winter, but Ashlyn had been suffering from a strange chill since earlier.

“What do you think, Ashlyn?”

When no answer came back, Sophia stopped her chatter.

Ashlyn stood in an unshakable position near the table in the center of the inner room. Her straight shoulders and posture had become Ashlyn’s signature symbols.

They were a habit that seemed to be deeply ingrained, not just practiced for a day or two.

Perhaps because of that, there was often a strange intimidating atmosphere that hung around Ashlyn that didn’t quite match her looks.

“Oh, you’re dripping oil.”

Even as she re-filled the oil lamp.

“Ashlyn Rosebell!”

“What?”

Ashlyn’s shoulders sprang up. When she reflexively looked down, she saw oil running down the table and staining the back of her hand.

Sophia kicked her tongue and brought a mop. She wiped the spilled oil off the table first.

“What’s wrong with you? This isn’t like you. Don’t tell me that getting that chief maid badge made you relaxed.”

“…No such thing.”

Ashlyn murmured softly. She hurriedly mopped along Sophia so there would be no stains left.

She needed to get her act together.

She violently shook her head. It was an attempt to drive out the person who’d taken over her thoughts since earlier.

It wasn’t that easy, of course.

“What kind of sick joke is this?”

She felt suffocated. Her fingertips trembled as she started re-filling another lamp again.

She’d possessed a maid to the duke of Laperion! How shocked and desperate was she when she first found out about it?

Even in the wildest of imaginations, this was truly twisted. The Laperions, of all places.

But Ashlyn quickly accepted her reality and made a plan.

‘Let’s cross the sea. Let’s start afresh on a continent beyond the sea.’

To do so, of course, initial settlement funds were needed. So she tried to stay in Laperion until she collected enough money to leave, but…

‘Of course, I’d been prepared to meet the Duke, but…’

This wasn’t it. Who could have expected this situation?

The duke who was said to be colder than ice. The man who poisoned her.

Who knew he would have a secret romantic relationship with his maid?

‘My beloved and esteemed Ashie, your servant is here.’

A smile formed on her mouth.

What did he mean, servant? She had never expected to hear that from the cool-headed Duke Laperion. It was such a cheap and cheesy line that it wouldn’t even sell in a third-rate comedy.

“Let us talk for a moment, Ashlyn Rosebell.”

A familiar voice came from the doorway.

Ashlyn forced the thoughts to run away. She quickly walked to the door, wiping her hands on her apron.

“What’s the matter, head maid?”

She asked while looking at the middle-aged woman with her withered brown-hair tied up. A solemn but warm look was directed at Ashlyn.

“The Lord is looking for a maid to tidy up his bedroom.”

Ashlyn froze up like someone had poured cold water on her head.

“…why are you telling me that?”

“Did you forget?”

Adele raised her dark eyebrows.

“You were originally the one in charge of that. Back when the lord was staying at the manor.”

“……”

“Of course, you hardly did any work back then.”

She hadn’t known how to do the cleaning. Adele glanced at Ashlyn and added the last words quietly. Nevertheless, they didn’t reach Ashlyn’s ears.

“What are you waiting for?”

The head maid’s chest huffed. Ashlyn tried to say something.

“Ha, ma’am, I…”

But what could she say? Could she tell her about her affair with duke?

Tell her that she wasn’t actually the person who was in that affair?

That she was an imperial princess in her previous life, and she was poisoned by the duke, died, and then possessed someone?

“Follow me quietly. You’re usually so sharp, what’s wrong today?”

In the end, Ashlyn couldn’t say anything. Even though she wanted to throw up blood on the spot and get out, she forced herself to take step after step.

‘Should I just run away now?’

She was going to leave the manor in a year anyway.

By now she was somewhat familiar with odd jobs, so if she went and got one without a recommendation letter…

‘No, I can’t.’

Ashlyn hit the railing.

She would never find a place that paid as much as the duke’s, and hadn’t she heard time to time about the maids who went out to find a job without a letter of recommendation and found themselves in bad luck?

She shook her head. It felt like she was standing at the end of a cliff, and she couldn’t think of any way out. The brain that she’d prided herself upon was turning out to be useless now.

“…….”

In the end, she could not come up with a clever idea until she stood in front of the duke’s bedroom.

Squeak.

As if to laugh at her, the heavy door opened a little too easily.

* * *

“Oh, what is this?”

In spite of herself, Ashlyn smiled.

It was because the bedroom was empty.

‘Yes, if you think about it carefully, there is no way that the duke will be in his bedroom in this broad daylight.’

It was only then she considered something so obvious.

“I must have been very flustered.”

Ashlyn mocked herself a little. Whatever it was, her brain seemed to work a bit better now.

‘I should quickly finish cleaning up and go back.’

Her calloused hand picked up the cleaning brush.

“Let’s think about how to deal with this later.”

She quickly made up her mind and slightly teased herself. The duke’s bedroom was spacious, but there were not many items inside, so it seemed easy to clean.

She approached the window, which filled one wall. She unclasped and opened it, and the cold winter wind touched the tip of her nose.

“Cough!”

Her throat thrashed because of the intense coldness.

It was when she was opening up the last window, thinking about how she should get a warm cup of tea from the kitchen later.

Squeak! Squeak.

Ashlyn stared blankly at the window she’d opened, and how it was being closed by a large, rough and strong hand.

“I should punish the head maid.”

Ashlyn couldn’t bear to look back.

“How dare she make you work for her?”

A soft, but low, subdued voice rang in her ears.

Creak – she turned her head around slowly like a broken doll.

Why was he here? At this time of the day, the duke should be in his office or the drawing room.

Goosebumps rose all over her body as if she were facing a ghost.

“…….”

Dark red eyes met hers from the front. Her eyes slowly moved to the bent of his eyes, and the slight raise of the beauty spot beneath them.

“Did you finally decide to look at my face now?”

She didn’t know whether the man who smiled happily looked like a puppy with his belly full or a vicious viper aiming to bite her neck.

Ashlyn shivered slightly. The duke then scanned their surroundings with his eyes. There was a small sound of him clicking his tongue, and then all the opened windows were closed at a rapid pace.

“Come here.”

He gently pulled Ashlyn’s hand, which was as stiff as a stone statue.

“Oh, my lord!”

Surprised by his touch, Ashlyn came back to her senses and shouted.

The duke stopped at the spot. Then his thick eyebrows furrowed.

“...my lord?”

His voice was cold.

“Call me by my name. Don’t you always do that?”

He looked like he’d heard something very disagreeable. At the same time, he looked somewhat sad.

Ashlyn straightened her back and softly shook her head.

“No, I can’t do that.”

“…….”

She joined both her hands together so the trembling of her fingertips wouldn’t be caught. The man standing like a mountain smiled as if it were a habit. A short silence followed and the two of them met each other’s eyes in the air.

The gaze rather calmed Ashlyn down.

It couldn’t be helped now if it had turned out like this. In any case, she couldn’t keep avoiding him.

She opened her mouth quietly, hiding her nervousness.

“I have something to tell you, my lord.”

The duke made no reply. Instead, he suddenly turned around and shook the rope next to the bed.

“Did you call, my lord?”

The heavy bedroom door opened, and the middle-aged housekeeper appeared through the gap.

He was no less than the duke’s closest retainer and had made no contact with Ashlyn.

“Make me some tea. From the tea leaves I brought with my luggage.”

“I see.”

The housekeeper bowed with indifference. From beyond his transparent glasses, his sharp gray eyes glanced over Ashlyn.

“Should I prepare tea for two people?”

“Yes.”

Ashlyn realized something.

‘The housekeeper knows.’

The relationship between the duke and this maid…

A dizzy sensation ran all over her body. She closed her eyes tightly.

Thak. The housekeeper disappeared, and the door closed firmly again.

“…….”

There was a heavy silence. Neither of them spoke first.

Fortunately, the cart with tea on it was ready so quickly it was like it had been prepared in advance. The housekeeper brought the cart himself, not a maid.

Ashlyn was once more convinced.

The housekeeper knew the relationship between these two very well and was trying to hide it.

“It’s the sweet Chrysanthemum tea from the south that you liked. Perhaps it’s because they’re Southerners who are crazy about playing and having fun with their food, but the tea leaves dried up wonderfully.”

The duke pushed the cart to her with a friendly and familiar touch. The fragrant scent of flowers spread throughout the room.

“Come and drink. Aren’t you shaking from the cold?”

“Lord, I…”

“I’ll listen to you if you drink the tea.”

His lips went up in a soft line. It was a friendly but determined smile.

Ashlyn closed her lips and approached the tea table. Only then did the duke happily pull out a chair for her.

“…….”

Ashlyn stared at the duke’s behavior.

‘I can’t believe that mighty duke Laperion has been reduced to a maid’s servant.’

It was news that would’ve made the aristocrats in the capital jump out of their seats in astonishment.

Whether he knew the thoughts in Ashlyn’s mind or not, the duke sat opposite her and looked at her like it was all he had purpose for.

Ashlyn sighed and took a sip of tea. The hot tea passed down her throat and only then did she realise how cold her body had gotten.

“My lord.”

Ashlyne opened her mouth after forcing down the tea that she couldn’t even properly taste.

The duke leaned back and tilted his head. His firm and smooth jawline showed itself.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t remember what happened in this mansion. So I lost all my memories of the estate three months ago when I awoke from my severe fever…”

Ashlyn’s gaze wandered about the table.

“I know.”

Her head flashed up.

“What?”

“I said I know. Is that why you’ve been looking at my face like that?”

The duke laughed low, his voice quivering a little. Ashlyn narrowed her brows without realizing it.

He knew she lost her family?

“Don’t tell me…did you think I wouldn’t know something that concerns you?”

The duke tilted his eyebrows as if he were genuinely curious. He crossed one of legs over the other and put his hand on the armrest.

Tap, tap. His thick index finger tapped at it with a constant rhythm.

“I don’t care whether you have those memories or not. I remember it all anyway, but…”

At one point his movement stopped.