Chapter 13
“What is your name?”
Yeorae opened her mouth without thinking.
“I’m Lee Yeo—”
Ah.
She quickly came to her senses.
“My name is Hazel Reeve. I recently entered the mansion with a letter of recommendation.”
“How old are you?”
“Twenty-two.”
“What duties do you currently have?”
“I organize books in the library.”
“All day?”
“No. One of my coworkers suddenly returned to her hometown, so I am doing her work as well. In the morning, I attend to the Duke. As Your Lordship knows, I clean the studio in the afternoon.”
“Then, other than that, you are always in the library?”
“Yes.”
What is this?
It suddenly felt like she was being questioned.
While Silas carefully looked her over with a paintbrush tucked behind his ear, Yeorae could only stand awkwardly and stare straight ahead.
Not long after, he pointed a finger at her and gave an order.
“Quit that job and come work under me.”
“Pardon?”
“I was already thinking about getting an assistant to keep by my side. You can do it from now on.”
The suggestion was so unexpected that Yeorae hurriedly came up with excuses.
“B-But I think I should stay in the library. As I said, I don’t really know much about art, and I’m more used to that kind of work—”
“This is not a suggestion. Do you think you have a choice?”
Yeorae immediately closed her mouth.
Wow.
Is this what a class system is like?
She suddenly felt the urge to raise a red flag and start a revolution.
Silas put down his brush and rang a bell hanging from the easel.
A man with a mustache quickly ran over from the distance and began putting away the easel and canvas.
Meanwhile, Silas put on his coat and gestured with his hand.
“I should go talk to my brother. People might misunderstand and think I’m trying to seduce a maid. I should tell him in advance. I don’t want him punching me again.”
Yeorae only gave an awkward smile.
It seemed that after Leandros hit him that day, he had received quite a lecture.
Leandros was having tea in the drawing room with Lilianshus and Archer.
A clear, pleasant voice drifted from inside the room like jade beads rolling across silver.
“…So, if Your Grace does not mind, may I stay here while planning my next business project? It would be difficult to find a better place for market research than the duchy.”
“Of course. I hope this opportunity will allow us to build an even stronger relationship with the Blancmir Merchant Company.”
“Thank you for allowing it.”
The Blancmir Merchant Company originally made money by importing spices and jewels from across the sea and selling them inland.
However, after her father collapsed, Lilianshus planned to expand the business into women’s clothing.
It was not surprising.
She had inherited her late mother’s talent as a designer and was naturally gifted in that field.
However, Leandros did not trust Lilianshus.
Although he was speaking warmly with her in the drawing room, he did not believe that a young lady who had merely inherited her father’s achievements could succeed in business.
The reason he allowed her to stay in the mansion was largely because he wanted to observe her.
He needed to decide whether the Duke Etsina Family should continue working with the Blancmir Merchant Company or cut ties with it.
Leandros had already heard Silas’s footsteps.
So even when his brother suddenly pushed open the door and entered, he was not surprised.
Lilianshus’s gaze landed on the brown-haired maid following behind Silas.
Yeorae deliberately lowered her head to hide her face.
“Brother, what is it?”
Because of the guests, Leandros’s voice was soft as silk.
It was the same voice the twenty-year-old Leandros had once used when whispering into Yeorae’s ear.
Seeing his younger brother’s fake smile, Silas let out a quiet laugh that only Yeorae could hear.
Then he pointed at the brown-haired maid standing behind him.
“I’m taking this maid as my assistant. She can stay beside me and keep me company while I paint.”
“Do whatever you want.”
The moment he finished answering, Leandros immediately lost interest and returned his attention to Lilianshus.
Yeorae let out a long sigh inside.
Honestly, I was hoping he would refuse…
She had planned to avoid the twins as much as possible until she returned to her own world.
Instead, she had ended up with an even more troublesome job.
“Miss Hazel Reeve?”
That evening, an unfamiliar man came to find Yeorae while she was cleaning the studio.
At first, she thought Silas had sent him and greeted him with a smile.
But she was mistaken.
“His Grace wishes to see you.”
Thump.
It felt as though her heart dropped by an inch.
* * *
Leandros’s office looked very different from how Yeorae had imagined it while reading the novel.
The walls and floor were decorated with dark walnut wood, making the entire room gloomy.
A huge desk stood in the center.
On the wall facing the door was a large fireplace.
The warm firelight illuminated the portrait hanging above it.
“…”
The man in the painting looked exactly like Leandros.
It was his father, Erinik Etsina.
Leandros was like a beast hiding within the shadows.
He sat in his chair with his eyes closed.
The moment Yeorae entered, he opened them and looked forward with a cold, mechanical expression.
Yeorae clasped her hands tightly together.
For some reason, being alone with him no longer filled her with excitement like before.
Only fear remained.
“Are you married?”
The question came suddenly.
Startled, Yeorae answered a moment late.
“N-No, I’m not.”
“Do you have children?”
“No.”
“Did you first meet my brother here?”
“Yes.”
Her throat felt tight, and her voice came out as small as an ant’s.
…He heard me, right?
Yeorae carefully lifted her head.
The moment their eyes met, she quickly lowered it again.
“My brother is careless, impulsive, and does not easily give his heart to others. Because of that, he has caused many problems in his relationships.”
The calm voice made the fine hairs on her ears stand up.
Yeorae struggled to move her dry lips.
“Um… Excuse me, Your Grace, but I’m not sure what you mean.”
“If you have my brother’s child, that child will grow up under my care without ever knowing who its real mother is.”
Brother?
Child?
It took several seconds for her to understand.
The blood throughout her body seemed to turn cold.
Her fingertips tingled as though thousands of needles were piercing them.
She knew she should hide her emotions.
But her face had already twisted beyond her control.
She did not know how to describe what she was feeling.
Disappointment.
Disgust.
Anger.
Countless painful and heavy emotions mixed together and swirled inside her.
That made it even more painful because she had never imagined she would one day feel such things toward him.
“If there is a country you wish to go to, feel free to tell me. I hear a woman needs proper care after childbirth. Wouldn’t it be better to recover somewhere nice?”
So he plans to lock me there for the rest of my life.
Yeorae took a deep breath to calm herself.
Then she raised her head and looked directly into his eyes for the first time since entering the office.
“Your Grace, I already have a man I love. And even with your power, you cannot send me where I want to go.”
“…”
“It’s too far away.”
A crack appeared between Leandros’s brows as he watched a mere maid defy him.
Sharp tension filled the room.
His gaze carefully examined every part of Hazel’s face as though measuring something.
Finally, his eyes brushed over her tightly closed lips.
“Then I hope that wisdom lasts.”
Bastard.
Annoying jerk.
If I had known it would be like this, I should have kicked your shins a few times back in my world.
But after her anger faded, a deep sadness settled in its place.
As soon as she left the office, Yeorae quickly rubbed her reddened eyes with her sleeve.
Idiot.
How much pain had those ten years caused you?
Yeorae missed that lovable twenty-year-old young man more than anything.
