Episode 12-
Estella stopped walking and gave a small polite bow. After all, he was her employer now.
“Are you heading home from work?”
“Yes.”
Her short reply was followed by silence between them.
Except for the occasional breeze brushing the dirt road, there was no sound.
Not from Estella, not from Ian, not even from Ian’s horse.
In that stillness, Estella quietly thought:
“He said he’d have dinner outside…”
Why did he come back so early?
Judging by the time, it seemed like he hadn’t eaten yet—contrary to what the old butler had said.
“Should I go back?”
She had left early only because she was told she didn’t need to help with dinner.
But if the master returned without eating, it would be her responsibility to go back and help.
It’s part of the job written in the contract.
But still… she couldn’t stop thinking about Ayla, who was likely spending half a day alone with unfamiliar people.
Finally, Estella carefully asked,
“Did you have dinner?”
Was the question too obvious? Ian, who had been looking down at her, paused.
His expression also shifted a bit.
After studying her for a moment, he finally replied,
“I did.”
“Then… May I go home now?”
When she asked again to confirm, he let out a soft chuckle like a quiet breath.
“Yes, you may go.”
Good. She could go back to Ayla.
Estella gave another polite bow and turned to leave.
“Well then, I’ll be going now.”
Her heels made a light sound on the dirt road, and Ian’s horse snorted softly in response.
As if ready to move, Ian pulled the reins.
But instead of leaving right away, he looked at her back and said,
“Are you always like this?”
Estella stopped walking.
Then he continued with a longer sentence:
“Do you usually dislike owing people favors?”
“…”
She didn’t even need to ask “What do you mean?”—the meaning was clear.
He was referring to her current situation—rejecting his invitation to live in the mansion and choosing to work as a maid instead.
I didn’t expect him to still be thinking about that.
Ian Wyndham seemed like a gentle man.
But when he smiled, his eyes didn’t follow, and when his eyes smiled, his mouth barely moved.
He seemed like someone very well-mannered, but not particularly affectionate or emotionally attached to others.
So this question caught her a little off guard.
“…”
Thinking carefully about how to respond, she slowly turned to face him.
“You just used the word ‘favor’ too, Lord Wyndham.”
Ian tilted his head slightly as if considering her words. Then he let out a quiet laugh.
“That’s true.”
Favor.
A word that implied a debt to be repaid.
Estella took it to mean that his offer to let her stay in the mansion wasn’t completely out of kindness.
“But it wasn’t a favor meant to be paid back.”
As she looked up at him, Ian rode his horse a bit closer.
“It was just a simple act of kindness.”
Estella, uncomfortable with looking up at him, lowered her gaze slightly and muttered,
“Was it?”
She didn’t believe it.
Estella’s life experience told her that true, no-strings-attached kindness didn’t exist.
Even the smallest gesture could carry many hidden intentions.
And Ian had offered her food and shelter—how could that be without meaning?
No.
But since he insisted otherwise, there was no point in arguing.
So Estella ended the conversation with an indifferent tone, showing she didn’t care much either way.
“Either way, I don’t believe in favors without a price.”
There was a moment of silence on the road.
Then Ian finally said,
“You draw a very clear line, don’t you?”
It was hard to know exactly what he meant.
But then he simply said,
“I understand.”
He didn’t try to argue, or convince her to see his offer as genuine kindness.
“It’ll be dark soon. Please get home safely.”
Just like that evening when they’d eaten together, he turned and left without hesitation.
Estella gave a polite farewell as well.
“Please get home safely, too.”
The sound of hooves slowly faded into the distance.
Listening to the rhythmic clopping, Estella thought,
“I wish I had a horse too.”
Then she could reach Kamila’s house—and Ayla—before the bread got cold.
It would also shorten her commute.
But who would just give her a horse? That was ridiculous.
Even if someone did, where would I keep it?
She laughed at the silly thought of tying a horse in Kamila’s tiny yard and resumed walking.
Maybe because she walked quickly—
Just before sunset, Estella finally arrived near Kamila’s house.
“Oh? You’re back early!”
Ayla, holding her stuffed bunny, and Kamila, standing with her aching leg, were outside.
Estella opened the waist-high gate and walked up to them.
“Lord Wyndham said he’d eat out today. And I finished the bedding early too.”
“Lord Wyndham? Oh right, it must be one of those days. Sometimes he does that for work. Occasionally, he even stays out overnight.”
“I see.”
Estella wasn’t interested in that.
Kamila seemed to notice and smoothly changed the topic.
“Ayla insisted on waiting for you outside.”
Kamila had come out too because she couldn’t let the child wait alone.
“We haven’t been out here long though.”
Estella wanted to ask if everything had gone well—but she held back.
She knew how it worked.
If you start worrying about every little thing, you just end up more anxious.
Instead, Estella simply reached out her hand to Ayla.
The child’s small hand gently wrapped around Estella’s fingers.
“Her hand is warm.”
Just like Kamila said, they hadn’t been outside long.
“Thanks for staying out here with her. And this is food the butler prepared for us.”
Kamila cheered as she took the paper bag.
“He packed extra for both you and Ayla this time! That’s why I could never leave that mansion.”
Smiling, Kamila asked,
“You haven’t had dinner yet, right?”
“No.”
“Then eat with us. I was just about to start preparing.”
“Sounds good.”
They were about to go inside when Kamila gently held Estella’s shoulder and shook her head.
“No need for you to help today. Instead, I think it’d be good for you to take Ayla around the neighborhood. You still don’t know it very well, right?”
Of course Estella knew it.
Kamila had already shown her around yesterday.
She clearly remembered that.
Kamila must’ve had another reason for saying this.
“Please help reassure Ayla.”
That’s what her eyes were saying.
Estella silently looked down at the small damp hand holding hers.
“She must’ve thought I abandoned her.”
Now that the tension was gone, the little hand trembled faintly—so small, like a fallen leaf.
“Thank you, Kamila.”
“What for? I should be the one thanking you.”
Kamila winked and went back inside.
Estella looked down at Ayla and asked,
“What did you do today?”
Ayla hesitated a little before answering.
“…Hill…”
She had started with just the word but then corrected herself, as if worried she’d be scolded.
“…We went to the hill.”
“Can you show me?”
Ayla’s face lit up a bit, and she nodded.
“Alright. Let’s go before it gets dark.”
****
Early morning, when the night’s chill hadn’t quite faded—
Drip, drip, drip…
The sound of water stopped abruptly.
Ian stared at the now-empty water bottle with a blank expression.
“All gone.”
Was he getting anxious because Jack was late coming back? He couldn’t sleep.
So he sat at his desk long before sunrise, reviewing documents—
Now he was hungry.
Everyone else was still asleep, so he tried to satisfy his hunger with water. But now even the water was gone.
“I did eat light yesterday.”
He rubbed his eyes and mumbled.
There were too many documents to deal with, so he had eaten only a light dessert at the tea house where he met the broker.
That was a mistake.
“I should’ve eaten something when I got back.”
He toyed with the water bottle, thinking back to the woman he met yesterday.
“Did you eat?”
She had asked so suddenly, out of nowhere.
It was obvious she didn’t want to go back to the mansion—but strangely, it made him smile, not annoyed.
So instead of scolding her for improper behavior as a maid, he had just laughed it off.
Very unlike him.
If I’d said I hadn’t eaten, would she have come back?
Ian sighed lightly and stood up with the empty bottle in hand.
“No helping it.”
His throat was dry and his stomach empty.
He’d have to go to the kitchen himself.
There was no way he’d wake Wilbur at this hour, especially not with how the old man always complained about “elder abuse.”
