Chapter 17
“I was going to be kind and forgive you, maybe even take you as my personal maid. But you dare to act this rudely!”
Chloe slowly turned to face Crowd.
“There is no way—ever—that I will be your maid. Not even if I die.”
She saw a servant running toward the boy from behind. It seemed Crowd had come here without telling anyone.
“Young master! What are you doing here? It’s time for your lesson! Do you want to be scolded by the master again?”
“Then goodbye, young master.”
Chloe even gave Crowd a bright smile before turning away. She could still hear Crowd calling after her, but she didn’t look back. To be honest, she wanted to punch him in the face. But even if she tried her best, her punch would feel like a soft tap to him.
Besides, she didn’t have the status to do something like that anyway.
‘I’ll just act like it’s nothing and annoy him with words instead.’
Back in the bedroom, Chloe sat Lilith down on the bed and carefully examined her cheek. It was red, but thankfully it didn’t seem like it would leave a scar.
“Are you okay, young lady?”
“…Mhm.”
Lilith nodded slightly. Unlike usual, she was quietly watching Chloe’s reaction.
“Does it hurt?”
“…Chloe.”
“Yes, young lady.”
“Sowwy.”
Tears began to form in Lilith’s big eyes.
‘Sorry? For what?’
Lilith hadn’t done anything wrong. But the child looked like she had made a huge mistake and was scared of being scolded. It was as if she suddenly remembered her place in the Shainon family. She didn’t run into Chloe’s arms or act playfully like usual.
“Sowwy… sowwy…”
“You didn’t do anything wrong. I’m the one who’s sorry for letting this happen to you.”
Chloe should have expected how a childish boy like Crowd would react when ignored. Because of her, Lilith got hurt.
“I twied… I didn’t make it hurt…”
Lilith continued watching Chloe nervously as she spoke. She said she tried not to let it hurt.
Was she talking about how her powers didn’t go out of control?
“Chloe… you’re not going away?”
“Sorry?”
“You’ll stay with me?”
“…”
Without hesitation, Chloe nodded.
Maybe Lilith had heard what Crowd said about making Chloe his maid and was worried. Maybe she was afraid Chloe would leave if her powers went wild again. Maybe she had been desperately thinking of ways to keep her close with that small mind of hers.
Lilith hadn’t shed a single tear when Crowde hit her, but now she was crying as she clutched Chloe’s clothes tightly. Chloe gently wiped the tears from Lilith’s chubby cheeks with her thumb.
“I’m not going anywhere.”
“Chloe…”
Chloe held the small, trembling girl in her arms as she tried to stop her sobs.
“How about we pick out your dress for Lady Noel’s party tomorrow? And decide how to do your hair?”
“H-Huwaaa…”
Chloe gently patted Lilith’s back, holding her until she stopped crying.
The day of the celebration finally arrived.
Thankfully, Chloe and Verdi were allowed to accompany Lilith to the duke’s mansion.
At first, the three other maids seemed interested in going since it was the duke’s house. But when they learned they had to be with Lilith, they quickly changed their minds.
‘They’re still afraid of Lilith.’
Thanks to that, Chloe and Verdi got to go.
‘And Lilith seems okay now, too.’
Chloe got out of the carriage Noel had sent and checked on Lilith. After the incident with Crowd, Lilith had been quiet and gloomy for several days. But as the celebration drew closer, her energy returned.
Lilith held tightly onto Chloe and Verdi’s hands and walked quickly, her eyes darting around in curiosity.
‘I guess everything is fascinating to her.’
After all, she had spent most of her life locked away in the annex.
“This outing is to help Lilith trust you more. That’s why the master allowed it. And since the invitation came directly from the duke’s family, you understand what that means, don’t you, Chloe?”
Chloe suddenly remembered Ivna’s warning.
In other words, she was supposed to make Lilith trust her even more… and then they’d get rid of her.
‘If it weren’t from the duke’s family, they probably wouldn’t have allowed it at all.’
The intentions were obvious, and it made Chloe grip Lilith’s hand more tightly.
“Lily!”
Noel, who had come out earlier to wait for them, waved her hand.
“Nyooel unnie!”
Seeing someone she knew outside the annex made Lilith even more excited. She walked faster and faster as they got closer to Noel.
“Lily!”
Noel hugged Lilith tightly.
“I missed you!”
Because of the event preparations, Noel and Johann hadn’t been able to visit the annex. It hadn’t even been that long, but Noel kissed Lilith’s cheek, saying she had missed her.
“Me too! Nyooel unnie!”
Lilith trembled with excitement, her fists clenched. She couldn’t stop smiling.
“Let’s go eat something tasty. Wait here with Verdi for a bit, okay?”
“Mmhm!”
After leaving Lilith with Verdi, Noel pulled Chloe aside.
“Was the ride okay? Was anything uncomfortable?”
“It was fine. The young lady was comfortable, too.”
“That’s good. Honestly, I forgot to arrange a carriage, but Johann reminded me.”
Just then, Johann was seen approaching from a distance. When their eyes met, Chloe nodded slightly. Johann also gave her a small look of acknowledgment.
“But are you really thinking of finding another job? I mean, I agree that you should leave the Shainon family…”
Noel touched her chin and frowned a little, clearly having thought about it a lot. Her gaze turned briefly to Lilith, who was standing a little distance away.
“How could you leave Lilith behind? I could never do that.”
She shook her head. When Chloe had first met Noel, she never imagined Noel would grow so attached to Lilith.
“If you disappear, Lilith will be heartbroken.”
Noel looked truly sad, as if this were her own situation.
“Then why did you invite me here?”
If she didn’t want Chloe to leave Lilith, she shouldn’t have invited her to this party. But Noel had been the one to bring it up first. Chloe didn’t actually plan on leaving, but she was curious about Noel’s true intention.
“…Well.”
Noel’s gloomy expression suddenly brightened, and she smiled sheepishly. Her eyes kept returning to Lilith.
“Because I wanted to spend time with Lily, of course!”
The heroine’s cheerful smile was so bright, Chloe let out a quiet laugh.
But then, she noticed a familiar face among the gathered nobles.
“That person…”
She found herself muttering the words as soon as she recognized him. Noel followed her gaze naturally.
Crowd Shainon.
‘Of course he would be here—he’s part of the Shainon family.’
Chloe expected he’d receive an invitation but didn’t think she’d run into him so directly. They weren’t far apart either. If someone raised their voice, he could probably hear them.
Noel, seeing Chloe’s gaze, nodded as if she understood.
“Ah, well… there was no avoiding it. The invitations went out to all major families.”
Noel had heard things from Bliss and knew some of the rumors about Lilith, so she could guess there was bad blood between Crowd and Lilith.
“No, it’s fine. I was the one who got invited last minute.”
Chloe shook her head, telling Noel not to worry.
Besides, Lilith would be with Noel, and as long as Crowd wasn’t completely out of his mind, he wouldn’t cause trouble here.
“Then Verdi and I will stay with Lilith, so Chloe, you should walk around with my brother.”
“Huh? With Sir Johann?”
Just then, Johann walked up close. Chloe looked back and forth between the two of them in surprise.
“If I stay with you, it defeats the purpose of inviting Lilith.”
Noel grimaced as she replied.
“And besides, being with my brother will be better. People will naturally approach him.”
She added that it wasn’t that she didn’t like being with Chloe, but if she had to choose between Chloe and Lilith, of course she’d choose Lilith.
“But what about Sir Johann’s opinion…”
“I’m fine with it.”
“See? My brother’s fine with it. Go on, you two.”
Noel waved her hand cheerfully, quickly walking away and promising not to worry about Lilith.
