MLHRGD 44

#44. Trial (2)

The taller maid turned pale and quickly jumped to her feet.

“M-My lady!”

But before she could plead her case, Sasha spoke coldly.

“This matter will be handed over to the head maid. Follow me.”

If it was Olga, she would surely punish a maid who had disrespected Sasha with even more fury than Sasha herself.

As Sasha expected, Olga flew into a rage when she learned the full story.

She couldn’t contain her expression as Sasha spoke, and the moment Sasha finished, she glared at the two maids sharply.

“You two! How dare you commit such an insolent act toward the Little Madam!”

The two maids trembled violently under Olga’s thunderous rebuke.

Sasha calmly gave her instructions to the furious Olga.

“I trust you to handle this well, but make sure you do so without violating the family’s rules.”

Her voice was soft, but the words themselves carried weight.

The rules of an old and noble household were always strict.

In cases like this, the punishment would be harsh enough that they would never dare to speak carelessly again.

“…Hhhhk!”

The taller maid, realizing this, burst into tears.

Unlike her fellow maid, who had defended Sasha and opposed her, she had openly mocked the Little Madam. If she were punished according to the rules, she wouldn’t escape unscathed.

Worse, if she were cast out without a letter of recommendation, she would have no means of making a living.

“Little Madam, please take pity on me and show mercy! I-I’m only nineteen, and I have a family to support—”

“Quiet!”

Olga roughly shoved the maid away as she tried to cling to Sasha.

The maid collapsed to the floor, looking up at Sasha with tearful eyes.

“I’ll never do it again!”

“……”

She begged with faint hope, but the words Sasha spoke were not the ones she had expected.

Instead of saying ‘I’ll forgive you because you’re pitiful’ or ‘I’ll let you off this time, but be careful in the future’, Sasha said—

“I’ll be leaving now.”

She meant she had no intention of staying any longer.

While the maid lowered her head in despair, Olga—who had been watching Sasha with concern—brightened at once.

“Yes, please don’t worry about this and rest comfortably, my lady.”

But just before Sasha left, her eyes caught sight of the smaller maid standing quietly.

Her calm demeanor, as though ready to accept whatever punishment awaited, made Sasha’s eyes glint.

Turning back, Sasha whispered to Olga.

“Bring that girl to my room later. I’ve been in need of a personal maid anyway—this works out perfectly.”

“Yes, my lady. I’ll see to it.”

Leaving the two maids in Olga’s care, Sasha returned to her room and sank weakly into the sofa.

She propped her chin on her hand and stared blankly at the air, thinking.

Was I in the wrong?

For the first time, a wave of self-doubt washed over her.

It was true that she lacked a strong sense of authority. Having lived through countless reincarnations, Sasha had long since stopped clinging to social hierarchies.

In the distant past—back when she had only experienced a few lives—she had been no different from any other noble.

She judged others based on their status and never treated those below her station as equals.

But repeated reincarnations, and the experience of being born into worlds without rigid class systems, had changed her perspective.

Now, she believed that social rank was merely something one was lucky enough to be born into.

And Sasha did not want to mistreat others simply because she had been fortunate enough to be born into a higher rank.

What mattered to her was not a person’s status, but who they were.

Maria Goriki was someone the Grand Duke had personally assigned to guide Sasha, and her family had long been allies of House Volkov.

From Sasha’s standpoint, Maria was someone deserving of respect, and that was why she endured the woman’s contempt.

It wasn’t that she hadn’t noticed it or that she had been too afraid to speak up.

She simply wanted to maintain a smooth relationship.

Sasha had never once thought that her attitude was wrong.

But the maid’s words lingered in her mind.

“What if House Volkov, a venerable family, is looked down on because of the Little Madam?”

The idea that her conduct might cause House Volkov—or Pavel—to be disrespected made her uneasy.

“Haa…”

Sasha furrowed her brow and let out a long sigh.

I didn’t think a problem like this would arise.

She pressed her fingers hard against her temples as she replayed the earlier events in her mind.

So much so that she didn’t even hear the soft knock on the door.

“Sasha?”

When there was no response, the knock came again.

Knock, knock.

“I’m coming in.”

Pavel, knowing Sasha’s habit of getting so lost in thought that she didn’t hear anything around her, opened the door without waiting for an answer.

He crossed the room with practiced familiarity and sat down next to Sasha, who was sitting blankly.

Close enough to feel her presence, but not so close as to touch. Pavel waited quietly until Sasha came back to her senses.

“Oh?”

At last, focus returned to Sasha’s previously distant gaze.

“Pavel, when did you get here?”

Her weak voice made Pavel’s expression harden.

He had come running the moment he heard what the Goriki family had done, already worried, and now even her voice sounded so dispirited.

“Are you alright?”

“Mm.”

Her unconvincing answer only made his face grow more rigid.

Then Sasha added,

“I mean it.”

She smiled faintly and held out her hand to him.

“……”

But Pavel didn’t take her small hand.

He just stared at it for a long time.

How could she do this?

How could she not hesitate for even a moment?

She knew that if he touched her, he would be able to read her innermost thoughts.

Her hand, offered so naturally, made his heart ache.

Almost no one knew of Pavel’s ability to read the thoughts of anyone he touched.

He had instinctively known from a young age that he must keep this ability a secret.

But he couldn’t hide it forever. There had been a time when he had wanted to confide in someone and find comfort.

So as a child, he revealed his secret to someone dear to him.

His nanny.

After his mother had died and his father had been absent, she had been his family, the one who had cared for him.

Up until the day before he told her, his nanny had smiled at him warmly.

Her comforting presence gave the boy courage, made him believe she would accept anything he said.

But the moment young Pavel said, “Hey, actually I…” and revealed his hidden secret—

“A… a monster…”

His nanny recoiled, horror-struck, and pushed away the hand he had reached out to her.

Smack!

His small hand stung from the blow, turning red, but the young Pavel had tried to ignore the pain and called after her.

“N-Nanny!”

But instead of the warm gaze she had always given him, her eyes were cold as she looked at the boy trembling in fear.

“How horrifying! How can you have such a cursed ability?”

Soon after glaring at him like he was some demon, the nanny submitted her resignation and left Belikordo Castle.

It was obvious she could no longer stand to be near Pavel, and she made no effort to hide it.

That incident taught Pavel he had to hide his ability.

Even his nanny—the one who had been like family—had not been able to accept it.

If anyone else learned of it, they would react even worse.

So he decided, even as a child, that he must hide it no matter what.

If anyone discovered his secret, they would surely leave.

And even if by some chance they didn’t, in their hearts they would think of his ability with revulsion.

So he resolved never to touch anyone, lest he read their thoughts.

But now—

“Pavel?”

Sasha wiggled her hand, wondering why he hadn’t taken it.

“What’s wrong?”

She asked the boy, who was staring at her hand with such a complicated expression.

Sasha felt no negative emotions directed toward him.

“…Nothing.”

After a moment’s hesitation, Pavel took her hand.

And with that, her feelings, emotions, and thoughts flowed into him all at once.

Pavel could now understand today’s events from Sasha’s perspective.

And he could feel the worries that had been troubling her.

“You didn’t do anything wrong.”

Pavel said firmly.

“It’s that woman who was bad for taking advantage of your kindness.”

“……”

“Not everyone is like that. The Marquis Sobakin and Count Kozlov like you, don’t they?”

Pavel told Sasha to think of Ivan and Yelena, and how they had responded to her kindness.

Sasha thought of Ivan and Yelena.

People who treated her respectfully yet warmly. Just thinking of the ever-kind and gentle pair brought a smile to her lips.

“Yeah. They’re good to me.”

Sasha smiled.

“See?”

Pavel shrugged his shoulders.

“If you had really done something wrong, would they treat you like that?”

“Yeah, but…”

Sasha trailed off and closed her mouth.

After sensing her thoughts and feelings through their joined hands, Pavel said,

“Just do what you want to do. If anyone tries to take advantage of you, I’ll deal with them.”

The hand holding his was warm.

“So you don’t have to change. You can stay just as you are.”