Chapter 12
Leaning against the door with a crooked expression was a girl with ginger hair. She was my third peer… but what was her name again?
“To be honest, I can’t relate to the idea of a ‘price on life.’ The Ian-sama I’ve seen is just angelically beautiful and handsome.”
Her tone was clearly mocking. The girl with ginger hair beside her twisted her hair around her finger and looked at me provocatively.
One of the servants snapped back, clearly annoyed.
“You just haven’t served him up close.”
“Exactly. I’ve never had the chance to serve him closely because ‘sissi’ monopolized the position early on.”
“So it’s sissi’s fault?!”
“If it were me, I’d be thrilled to be the young master’s personal attendant. Seeing that handsome face every day while earning a high salary—everyone would praise you. How easy is that?”
“Lezeta!”
Ah, her name was Lezeta. Finally, I remembered.
“Do you really think our sissi never harbored a tiny dark thought for a handsome young master her own age?”
“Lezeta, stop it!”
“She seems really sly. Look at her now. She isn’t saying a word herself. Just waiting for someone else to defend her.”
I just didn’t give her a chance to intervene…
“Pretending to be innocent, huh.”
With that malicious remark, I finished the remaining bread and finally spoke up.
“Do you want to say that to a twelve-year-old?”
“Using age as a shield?”
“Objectively, I am younger than you.”
“Hanna, the cook’s daughter, helps in the kitchen at only eight years old. And yet you’re trying to make a big deal out of your age?”
“I don’t think I’d complain even if Hanna, four years younger than me, spent all day snacking instead of helping in the kitchen…”
In 21st-century Korea, you’d be a middle or high schooler, and I’d be an elementary schooler.
So even if the other person is younger, I put in my best effort… or something like that.
I don’t remember Lezeta’s exact age, but I knew for sure she was at least four years older than me.
“Just wait. One day, I’ll expose your dark intentions.”
“You never had dark intentions, so what would you expose?”
“Look at how she speaks. Does that sound like a twelve-year-old?”
“People complain no matter what you say…”
“Just wait. One day I’ll tear off your mask and become the young master’s personal attendant.”
“If you want to be the personal attendant, you could just tell Margaret-san directly…”
Bang.
Where Lezeta left, all that remained was the slammed door, full of rage.
…Along with the snacks and the servants.
“Cici, don’t worry too much. Lezeta’s always dissatisfied. No one else likes her among the new staff.”
“That’s right, sissi. No one thinks that way except Lezeta.”
At least a few other servants offered words of comfort.
Even the girl who had cried first apologized to me.
“Sorry, sissi.”
I smiled and patted her shoulder.
“It’s okay. Don’t worry about it. I’m just a little concerned about Lezeta.”
“Concerned? Why would you worry about someone like her?”
Another servant chimed in.
“Yeah, she talks like she’s jealous, but Lezeta manages Miss Rosa’s dressing room. It’s the most coveted position among the new staff. She’s probably the most comfortable one here.”
Still… those kinds of people always end up causing trouble.
In Heavenly Evil’s Crusade, the first victims to die were the narrow-minded, greedy ones.
Among the servants, those who sought power and comfort were the foolish ones.
Lezeta fit that description too perfectly.
“Do you think Lezeta even knows any of the young master’s rules?”
I asked, and I was met with a scoff.
“Not at all! She knows nothing about Ian-sama. If she did, she wouldn’t speak like that.”
“Right. If she had ever seen Ian-sama smile innocently in front of a corpse lying in a ditch, she wouldn’t be talking like that.”
How many servants has Ian Brighton traumatized by now?
Though dessert time ended on an uneasy note because of Lezeta, that wasn’t really important.
My attention was entirely focused on the picnic.
“Which dessert do you like the most, young master?”
“Are you asking me to taste it right now or what?”
Ian, lying on the backyard lawn under the sun, looked at me incredulously.
It was a warm noon. The sunlight made Ian’s golden hair shine brilliantly.
Seeing him like that, I could understand Lezeta’s feelings a little.
Sure, if you only saw this scene, you’d think Ian Brighton was an angel, not the child of a demon.
“I want to include your favorite foods in the picnic lunch. Consider it a preference survey.”
“Just bring anything. Why bother so much?”
“Of course I have to bother! It’s your first picnic, young master.”
Ian had hardly ever left the mansion grounds.
Not just for picnics, even small outings were a separate story for him.
He may have had a normal childhood, but whenever Ian met someone, strange incidents seemed to follow.
The duke and duchess ended up confining their son to the mansion.
They considered him a dangerous element. And in some ways, they were right.
Perhaps this half-confinement made Ian even more prone to tormenting those beneath him.
“Right. If she had ever seen Ian-sama smile innocently in front of a corpse lying in a ditch, she wouldn’t speak like that.”
Maybe it’s just his nature.
“Does it matter to you that this is my first picnic?”
Ian’s voice, much gentler than before, reached my ears.
Now I knew that this tone meant he was in a good mood.
I didn’t know what Ian Brighton would be like at 10 p.m., but at noon, he apparently liked flattery.
‘Just like before, asking if my good mood mattered to me.’
Suddenly, I thought that perhaps ‘human’ Ian Brighton, not the demon, was nearly starved for affection.
He is both demon and human. The one who could destroy the world and a boy barely ten years old.
He harbors a desire to push someone into an abyss and a longing for gentle touches.
These two hearts are at opposite poles, which may be why he is so isolated.
“Young master.”
Maybe I was overthinking.
Ian may be perfectly content with life, and I could just be pitying him unnecessarily while making up scenarios.
“I care about everything related to you, young master.”
Yet when I said that, Ian Brighton’s ruby-red eyes shone brilliantly.
A faint light appeared on his otherwise expressionless face.
I couldn’t ignore it.
‘If I fall for a villain like this, it’ll be my ruin.’
Get a grip, sissi.
“Sometimes I wonder where a pushover like you came from.”
His usual cheeky tone brought me relief.
At least I wouldn’t get tricked by him.
“Is this your first time having such a devoted attendant?”
“Devoted, huh?”
Ian Brighton deliberately repeated my half-joking words.
He lowered his gaze briefly, then suddenly grabbed my wrist.
He pulled me toward him.
Before I knew it, Ian Brighton’s face was right in front of me.
“‘Devoted’?”
Why did he fixate on that word?
“Are you devoted to me?”
“You really liked that expression, didn’t you, young master.”
“Answer me. Are you?”
“Of course. Until you send me away, I won’t leave you on my own.”
With that level of flattery and charm, I must have scored enough points for today.
Ian’s lips curved into a smooth line. Another sign that he was pleased.
“Let’s go to that bakery again.”
“Huh?”
“The cheap bakery we visited at the market a month ago.”
“Oh, that place?”
The bread was good. Ian had bought everything I picked, so we feasted that night.
Now that I think about it, Ian gives bread and Mrs. Brighton gives cakes.
Maybe giving lots of treats when in a good mood is a common trait of this family…?
“You even liked that poor-quality bread.”
“I thought it was delicious.”
“If you liked it, then that’s fine. I’m the one paying for everything anyway.”
“You mean… I get to choose the picnic lunch menu based on what I like?”
Ian’s little translator was engaged and running.
If he didn’t respond, it would be a yes; if he snapped, it would be a negative disguised as a positive.
After staring at me impassively for a long moment, he finally said plainly:
“Yes.”
Not just a casual yes, but an emphatic affirmative.
I muttered in shock,
“Is the world ending tomorrow…?”
“Then it would be interesting. Complaining even when I do well?”
“No! No, no! I just can’t believe this is real!”
“But.”
Ian cut off my excited voice firmly as he sat up.
“Keep your word. ‘A devoted and loyal attendant.’”
I stared, almost hypnotized, into his ruby eyes shining brilliantly under the sunlight.
“Know that the moment you look at anyone else, I could kill you.”
