Chapter 24
At that moment, Diana pointed toward where the other maids were preparing dinner and spoke to Scylla.
“Scylla. Take these over there.”
Scylla politely accepted the bird and rabbit and walked off with graceful steps.
Watching her retreating figure, Ellen narrowed her eyes.
‘She looks familiar… Have I met Scylla before?’
But no matter how hard she thought, there was no reason or place where she might have run into her. They weren’t even the same age.
After racking her brain for a while, Ellen gave up.
‘Ugh, my incurable disease is acting up again!’
Her “incurable disease” referred to her inability to remember people.
Even back when she was Hyesuh, she’d had a hard time whenever the school year changed. She wanted to make friends, but always had to stay on edge for fear of mixing people up.
At least with schoolmates she saw daily, she managed to memorize their faces quickly. But with people she only saw once or twice, she never recognized them again and often walked right past them without a second glance. Sometimes she even mistook strangers who barely resembled someone she knew and greeted them like old friends.
‘I probably mistook her for someone else. Between my previous and current life, I’ve met countless people.’
Ellen shrugged slightly and refocused on the conversation with Gloria, Diana, and Royle.
“Ellen, I heard you made that riding outfit yourself?”
Diana asked, pointing at the riding suit Ellen was wearing.
“Oh, I wouldn’t say I made it entirely… I used a bit of trickery, really.”
Ellen scratched the back of her neck and looked a little sheepish.
“I wore mine today too. It’s definitely easier to ride in than a riding dress. Did you see me in it earlier?”
“Yes, it looked great on you.”
Ellen smiled brightly, pleased that Diana had worn the outfit. When she had first made the design, Gloria had sighed and only reluctantly allowed her to wear it. So, when Gloria said she’d send a riding suit to Diana as a gift, Ellen had worried that Diana might be offended.
‘But this design… was accepted?’
Ellen had assumed she’d only wear it around the house or when riding or practicing archery or knife throwing near the lake. But maybe because they were near the border or did a lot of riding, people didn’t seem to mind the unconventional design.
Maybe she could wear it more often!
‘I was going to change clothes, but… maybe I’ll just stay in this until we go home.’
She looked down at her riding outfit, now beaming with pride.
“Royle, Ellen. Is the boar meat to your liking? If not, here—have some of this.”
Gloria handed each of them a plate of steak she had brought and prepared herself, using meat they were familiar with.
“You brought steak meat on a hunting trip? There didn’t seem to be that much luggage, though.”
Ellen tilted her head, accepting the plate while chewing the tough boar meat.
“You never know how much we’ll catch, so I brought a little just in case.”
Gloria sat down and washed her hands in a bowl of water.
‘But there was only one supply wagon…?’
Ellen glanced toward the wagons and confirmed—yes, only one.
Tents, meat, cooking tools, flags, weapons… All of it in one wagon? Was it some kind of magical wagon?
While Ellen pondered that, Nashu jumped onto the empty seat beside her and began to meow.
“Meeow—meeoooow—”
It practically screamed: Why are you eating without me?
Ellen quickly offered Nashu some boar meat. He took it into his mouth and began chewing… only to slow down more and more.
Eventually, Nashu barely managed to swallow the bite in his mouth and used one paw to push the boar meat off to the side of the chair.
“Meeooow…”
When Ellen turned at the sound, Nashu tapped the chair twice with his paw.
Are you the only one who gets to eat?
That was exactly what his discontented eyes were saying.
“Sorry. It’s not tasty, huh? I thought you’d like it.”
Ellen whispered while glancing at the adults who had caught the boar.
Maybe Nashu preferred raw meat?
She turned to call Jenna, Gloria’s personal maid, but Jenna was already on an errand and heading back toward the tents. Besides Scylla, no other maids were nearby.
“Scylla.”
Ellen beckoned lightly, and Scylla approached with a rather reluctant look.
“…Yes.”
Her flat, delayed tone made Ellen raise and then lower one eyebrow.
“Go over there and bring me a small piece of raw meat.”
“….”
Scylla, already a bit unfriendly, didn’t even nod in acknowledgment. She just turned and headed toward the cooking area in silence, making Ellen’s brow twitch.
‘What’s with her? Doesn’t she have any training in serving guests? Why is Diana keeping someone like her around? I can’t figure her out.’
Then Ellen remembered how Scylla had acted earlier when she’d been showing off the bird and rabbit.
Scylla had behaved sweetly, dutifully, and efficiently toward Gloria, Diana, and Royle. It was only Ellen that she had looked at strangely—up and down, with an unreadable expression.
Queenter and the others were clear guests here, invited by House Karzel. The host’s maid was supposed to treat guests with courtesy.
A maid like Scylla, who couldn’t even serve her own household members properly, wouldn’t normally be allowed to attend outdoor events like this. So clearly, she had received proper training but was deliberately being rude to Ellen behind everyone’s backs.
‘Aunt and Royle are being fooled by her act. I need to tell Royle later.’
Ellen glanced at Royle, who was busy devouring his steak.
But would he even understand if she told him? Still… he had some awareness, right? Hopefully?
Ellen cut a large piece of steak for herself and gave a smaller piece to Nashu.
She continued eating and feeding Nashu when Scylla finally returned with the raw meat. By then, Ellen had nearly finished her steak and was debating whether to ask for more.
‘It’s not like she had to go catch a new animal.’
“You’re late.”
Now that Scylla had rubbed her the wrong way, even if she did her job right, Ellen found it annoying. So she said it out loud.
“Mm.”
Ellen blinked.
‘Mm? Hm? Was that an answer, or just a noise? What’s going on right now? Did I mishear?’
It wasn’t that Ellen had a superiority complex. She’d only been in this world a few years—far less than the time she’d lived on Earth. Her values were still rooted in Earth’s common sense.
So it wasn’t like she’d throw a fit if an older commoner spoke informally to her like some native noble might.
But not Scylla.
Ellen couldn’t let her rudeness slide.
‘Even by Earth standards, it’s not okay to scan people up and down or treat them unequally.’
While she was still questioning what she’d heard, Scylla returned to her spot behind Diana with an emotionless expression, standing perfectly still with her hands folded.
Ellen tracked her every step with an annoyed look, then turned back to her plate—only to meet Royle’s gaze.
How long had he been watching?
He looked blank as always.
‘Talking to him won’t be easy either. But… he’ll get it, right?’
Ellen sighed inwardly and slid the meat plate over to Nashu.
After finishing their meal, Ellen and Royle carried Nashu and entered the tent their mothers were using.
“Let’s go clean our weapons,” Royle suggested.
Ellen silently stood with Nashu in her arms. She had no desire to join the adults’ conversation.
The Queenter and Karzel couples, even after the barbecue party ended, continued chatting endlessly over tea.
“This feels lacking. Hunting, eating meat, and just tea? Should I call for wine and the carriage now?”
Ret asked, already raising his hand to summon a knight.
After giving the knight a few quick orders, the man bowed respectfully and disappeared into the darkness. About 30 minutes later, the wine arrived. He must have rushed back and forth to House Karzel.
“The carriage is on its way,” the knight reported.
“Good job.”
Scylla pulled a bottle from the bundle and poured wine into each of their glasses.
“A 700-year Sierra, is it?”
Gloria’s eyes widened slightly after a sip.
“There was only one bottle left, but I told him to bring it. A fine drink for a beautiful night with beautiful company.”
Ret grinned.
The group stayed even after the two moons crossed the sky, only parting much later.
✿ ✿ ✿
When the two carriages arrived at the tent, the couples finally relaxed and allowed themselves to drink freely. Ellen, along with the Queenter couple, rode back to the mansion in one of the carriages.
As soon as she got back, Ellen washed up briefly and fell into bed. While the maids carried out the tub and cleaned the area, Ellen found herself missing a showerhead.
‘It’d be so convenient to have a bathroom with a shower. It would save the maids a lot of work too.’
Come to think of it, even though this world had magic and spirits, Korea had been much more comfortable to live in. Science for the win.
‘Most importantly… the internet.’
Ah, how she longed for her smartphone. Just imagining tapping the screen with her finger sent tingles down her spine.
Hugging a long pillow, Ellen rolled around in bed, remembering all the things she had once taken for granted.
Air conditioning, remotes, elevators, electricity, running water, airplanes, cars…
Cars.
Cars.
Cars…
Her throat tightened so much it felt like she couldn’t breathe. She clutched the pillow tighter and pressed it to her face.
It felt like a knife was digging into her neck. Even swallowing was impossible. Ellen couldn’t do anything—only cry.
Whenever she thought of that day, it felt like she was going to die all over again.
‘By what right am I even still alive?’
She had asked herself that question hundreds of times over the past five years.
“Aaagh!”
She screamed—but with her face buried in the pillow, her voice barely escaped.
She couldn’t scream too loudly. If she did, Marsha in the next room would come running.
Stop thinking about it. Stop thinking about it.
Just stop…
