Chapter 5
“Lucy, Lucy, where are you?”
Early evening, just as the sun slipped behind the mountains.
Raila, who had returned from the market, called out for Lucy with a worried voice.
Hearing her call, Lucy ran to the back door and leaped into her warm embrace.
Spinning around with the child clinging to her, Raila pulled a paper bag out from inside her cloak.
When she loosened the roughly tied string, candies in rough shapes, dusted with white millet flour, appeared on the coarse yellow paper.
“The butler added a little extra money, so I could buy more than usual.”
“Thank you, Auntie.”
Expecting her niece to be delighted, Raila found it odd when Lucy just glanced at her and quickly tied up the candy bag.
She thought for sure the girl would pop one or two pieces into her mouth right away.
“Not going to eat any?”
“Uh… Ah, I’m going to save them.”
“I see. By the way, did you take the snack to the young master properly?”
“Y-Yes.”
When Raila asked, watching Lucy turn quickly with the candy bag in her arms and trot away, she received only a clumsy reply before the child disappeared from sight.
Watching the fluttering blonde hair vanish, Raila soon picked up her hat and cloak and headed for the kitchen. It was time to prepare dinner.
Back in her room, Lucy climbed onto the bed and spread out the candy bag again.
It was candy she had loved so much, but after eating so many sweets in the young master’s room, she didn’t feel like having any at all.
In the end, she even skipped dinner with the excuse that she wasn’t hungry.
Her mouth was already far too sweet from all the melted candy.
“Lucy. Lucy, come out here.”
Lucy, carrying a bucket and a rag, was busily walking down the hallway when she heard a voice from ahead and quickly ducked into a nearby room to hide.
Lucy, Lucy.
The voice calling her name through the door gradually faded. Peeking out to check that it was safe, she hurried on her way again.
She hadn’t finished cleaning her assigned area yesterday either.
No one had scolded her yet, but if this continued, she knew she’d be in big trouble sooner or later.
Ever since he had said they had to eat snacks together, Sean kept dragging Lucy along whenever he pleased.
If only he were just bothersome, it would be bearable — but if she didn’t do exactly what he wanted, he always made trouble.
He would spill the bucket of dirty water and ruin the freshly cleaned floor, or pour muddy water into the bathtub to cause her more work.
But if she gave in to everything Sean wanted, she wouldn’t even finish half her chores.
In the end, there was only one thing Lucy could do.
Do everything she could to avoid the young master.
But the one thing she couldn’t avoid was bringing him his snacks.
If Lucy didn’t bring them, Sean would throw such a tantrum with Charles that there was no other choice.
Charles was a clever and sharp butler.
He took care of almost everything within the estate so that his busy master wouldn’t have to deal with unnecessary noise.
So, instead of reporting Sean’s antics to the Baron, he simply ordered Lucy to take care of it.
“From now on, you’ll be in charge of the young master’s snacks,” he had said, and Lucy had been unable to say a word in return.
“Where did you go earlier? Tell me.”
“I was cleaning…”
Lucy, standing there with the tray, kept glancing around anxiously while Sean glared at her coldly and moved a chess piece.
He said nothing else, and so poor Lucy stood there for several minutes, not knowing what to do with the tray.
She needed to put it down and leave as soon as possible. She had to finish cleaning the stairs perfectly today.
“…Master.”
“Sean.”
Lucy kept her eyes fixed on the chessboard as if she hadn’t heard, but Sean bristled immediately when she called him ‘Master.’
Lucy let out a deep sigh and asked softly, “Sean, may I put this down and leave now?” But he still gave her no answer.
Time kept slipping away, and Lucy’s mouth grew dry with anxiety.
“Sean. I need to go do my work.”
“Wait.”
With a sharp click, Sean knocked over a white chess piece, stood up, and snatched the tray from her hands.
Relief washed over Lucy — she would finally be able to escape this room — but it lasted only a moment.
Sean carelessly set the tray aside, pulled out the familiar metal box from beside the bed, and grabbed Lucy’s hand.
No matter how many times she asked where they were going, he kept his mouth firmly shut, only pulling her slender wrist along as he walked forward and forward.
When they passed beyond the fence that enclosed the estate, Lucy finally began to whimper.
“Master… we shouldn’t go this far…”
“Master, Master! Are you stupid? Why do you keep calling me Master?”
“Sniff…”
Sean scolded her harshly, calling her stupid, and tears rolled down Lucy’s cheeks again.
Seeing this, Sean frowned slightly but did not let her go.
Instead, he pulled her closer to his side and slowed his pace.
Matching his steps to hers, which trudged along helplessly, Sean lightly swung their joined hands.
“Look, Lucy.”
Dragged along with her head hanging, Lucy had no choice but to lift her gaze when he urged her.
Then, a damp early summer breeze brushed past, tickling her hair.
Before her eyes spread the vast scenery of the estate.
“Wow…”
Clusters of houses and alleys, green fields surrounding them, tall mountains draped in clouds, and in the far distance, the faint outline of the sea left her speechless.
Sean looked at Lucy, whose cheeks had dried without her noticing, with great satisfaction.
He let her admire the view for as long as she wanted, then gently pulled her small hand and started walking again.
Finally, they arrived at a small, crumbling white outdoor pavilion.
“Where is this…?”
“This used to be part of a big castle. This pavilion was once just a decoration in the garden.”
“I see…”
When they sat on the railing of the pavilion, the sunlit sea was visible a little more clearly.
In that moment, as Lucy sat mesmerized by the breathtaking view, something was slipped into her mouth.
Thinking it was another piece of candy, she instinctively rolled it on her tongue — then her eyes widened as it melted softly.
“What is this?”
“It’s candy.”
“It’s candy… but why isn’t it hard at all?”
“Father got these specially this time. They’re treats you can’t find anywhere in the Empire.”
‘Do you want another one?’ Sean teased, shaking the powdery candy in front of her. When he pretended to eat it instead, Lucy unconsciously opened her mouth like a baby bird.
Satisfied, Sean smiled and slipped the sweet candy into her mouth.
Lucy made a disappointed face when the fleeting sweetness vanished so quickly.
“Here. You can have the rest.”
“…Really?”
“Yeah.”
Sean generously held out the box, and Lucy cautiously took it.
There were still six pieces left.
She wanted to save them, but she couldn’t resist — her tiny fingers soon fished out another one.
The honey scent that coated her tongue was heavenly.
Just then — smack — something brushed against her cheek.
Too focused on the candy, Lucy didn’t even realize what had just touched her.
While she hesitated over whether to eat another piece, Sean quietly leaned in and pressed his lips to her warm, flushed cheek again.
“You smell sweet.”
“…Huh?”
Lucy, who had finally given in and put another candy in her mouth, looked at him in surprise. Sean just shook his head like it was nothing.
While Lucy finished all the candies, he played with her silky golden hair.
The soft texture wrapped around his fingers was so pleasant that he felt like he could touch it for days without getting bored.
They stayed like that until the sun began to set. Noticing it was getting late, Lucy turned pale and said she had to go back to the manor.
Thinking he’d had enough fun for today, Sean granted her wish.
They hurried down the hill so fast that Lucy slipped and ruined her clothes — but Sean just giggled, delighted, while Lucy’s eyes welled up with tears.
“Lucy? Goodness. What happened to your clothes?”
“Uh… I’m sorry, Auntie…”
“Go change and wash these right away.”
“Okay…”
Trying to sneak in through the back door, Lucy ran straight into Raila.
Raila sighed deeply at the sight of her niece’s clothes covered in dirt, then hurried off again. Because she had to spend time washing them, Lucy ended up unable to finish cleaning her assigned area once more.
One clear day.
Unlike the sunny weather, Raila’s face looked grim as she stepped out of Charles’s office. She had just heard how poorly Lucy’s cleaning area had been kept lately.
Even she couldn’t deny it — these days, her niece was always running off somewhere and was so hard to find during the day.
Charles was a kind and gentle person, but he was thorough when it came to work. If Lucy kept disappointing him, word would eventually reach the Baron as well.
“Lucy. Come here for a moment, please.”
“Yes.”
Lucy stepped down from her stool where she’d been drying plates with a cloth at the sound of her aunt’s voice.
Meeting her at eye level with a somewhat troubled face, Raila hesitated before she spoke.
“Lately, it seems you haven’t been doing the work I gave you very well.”
“I’m… I’m sorry.”
“Is it too much for you? If so, you can tell me.”
“N-No. I’ll work harder.”
“I really hate making a child like you work, but we have no other choice right now. I’m sorry.”
Looking at her aunt’s shadowed eyes, Lucy lowered her head even more.
Ever since being dragged around by the young master, there had been more days when she didn’t finish her chores than when she did.
If only the young master would hurry and go off to the Academy.
Stuck in the manor all day and bossing her around, Sean was making her life more and more difficult.
“Finish drying the plates, then take the snack to the young master.”
“…Okay.”
Had it already gotten that late?
As Raila left the dining room, Lucy glanced out the window — the sun had sunk a little lower.
Letting out a big sigh, Lucy started drying the plates again, vowing to escape his room quickly today.
No matter how much that little demon of a young master tempted her, she swore she wouldn’t fall for it this time.
