Chapter 7
The joy of reaching the roof was short-lived. Expecting to see Grand Duke Tristan, she opened her eyes wide, only to find some drunkard with black hair and red eyes staring down at her.
“…A redhead?”
When the man reached out to touch her hair right after saying those words, Leona slapped his hand away and pulled herself up.
She hadn’t imagined anyone else would be on the roof.
“I’m busy, so if you’ll excuse me.”
Leona quickly tried to crawl toward the middle of the roof. When her body suddenly stopped moving, she found it strange and looked back. The drunkard was stepping on one side of her skirt with his foot.
“Let go!”
Unable to raise her voice loudly, Leona shouted in a harsh whisper.
“I said, let go!”
“I don’t want to.”
Giggling as if something was endlessly entertaining, the man grabbed a fistful of her skirt and pulled.
“Whoa, hey!”
Dragged like a sled, Leona’s body slid all the way toward him.
As her body bumped into his side, he thrust a bottle of liquor toward her, seemingly amused.
“Have a drink.”
“I don’t want to. I’m busy.”
As he kept chuckling, Leona glared at him.
He was a ridiculously handsome drunkard.
And why was he so huge? He was so massive that Leona looked like a plaything doll beside him. On top of that, his hands were as big as her face. Judging by his clothes—wearing only black trousers and a white blouse—he clearly looked like a male servant at a glance.
A servant who stole his master’s liquor to drink on the roof…
Dumbfounded, Leona tried desperately to pry open his hand gripping her skirt, but that large hand didn’t budge, as if glued to the fabric.
“I told you to let go.”
“Why come up to the roof alone at this hour?”
“I’m meeting someone.”
“Meeting a lover in secret, perhaps?”
Leona craned her neck and looked all around, but let alone a red-haired Grand Duke, there wasn’t even a single ant on the roof. The only thing here was this drunkard built like a mountain.
Is he not coming tonight?
Upset, Leona snatched the liquor bottle from his hand.
She took a gulp and grimaced.
“Ugh, this tastes terrible.”
“It’s a strong spirit. Drink enough of it, and it makes you feel good.”
He took another drink himself. Removing his lips from the bottle, he looked at Leona and grinned broadly.
“Redhead, what’s your name?”
“Why! If you know my name, are you going to report me to the head servant tomorrow?”
“Then what happens?”
“I’d get kicked out. I can’t afford to get kicked out.”
Grinning continuously, he gulped down more liquor. Beside him rolled two more unopened bottles.
“What’s your name?”
When Leona asked, he turned to look at her with a smiling face.
“My name is Hesse.”
“Hesse? Where do you work?”
“I can’t tell that to a woman I just met.”
“…I belong to the laundry room. I just started working as a maid today.”
He suddenly grabbed Leona’s hand and held her palm up to the moonlight. Blisters had formed on the tips of her fingers.
“Doesn’t look like you’re good at manual labor. Why work in the laundry room?”
Leona pouted her lips.
“It’s a secret, but the head maid says this castle doesn’t need pretty maids. So, I was banished to the laundry room because I’m pretty.”
“Aha.”
Taking a swig of his drink, he burst into laughter. Worried someone might hear that laugh, Leona clamped her hand over his mouth.
“Be quiet! If a guard comes up here, both you and I are dead.”
“They won’t come up.”
“Shh. I told you to be quiet.”
Snatching the liquor bottle from his hand once more, Leona chugged down several gulps of the strong spirit.
“Gah, this is strong.”
“If you keep drinking like that, you won’t be able to wake up tomorrow.”
“Why are you on the roof at this hour anyway, Hesse?”
He tilted his head slightly, then silently curled up the corners of his mouth into a smile. That smile looked somewhat sorrowful.
“Because I have someone to send off.”
“Is that so? Did you send them off well?”
Leona felt a wave of pity for this large man. So there was a reason he was acting so gloomy up here alone. Placing her hand on his back, Leona patted him gently.
“Send them off well, and don’t drink starting tomorrow. It’ll ruin your health.”
He let out a short chuckle and turned to look at her.
“You have freckles. Like a sunflower.”
Hearing him say the very words her father used to say, tears welled up in Leona’s eyes.
“Thank you.”
By the time they finished sharing the three bottles of strong liquor, Leona was completely wasted.
Drunk Leona was a sight to behold, to put it mildly.
She spun around on the roof dangerously with her arms spread wide, slumped down and cried, then laughed until she was breathless.
She thrust her face right in front of Hesse’s face and rambled on about something, then tickled him to make him laugh at jokes that weren’t even funny.
And then, she suddenly bolted upright and shouted:
“I want to fly!”
Leona leaped to her feet. As she stood, Hesse’s head followed her movement.
When Leona sprinted toward the edge of the roof, he stood up in surprise and chased after her.
Grabbing her arm just as she was about to plummet off the edge, Hesse pulled her back with a single hand.
Their bodies entangled, and with that momentum, they rolled together across the roof as one.
“Ugh!”
Tristan groaned and looked down. Leona was cradled in his arms, fast asleep as if she had passed out in an instant.
Running toward the edge saying she wanted to fly—she was truly a madwoman like no other. She was the type of woman who shouldn’t be allowed to drink.
He raised his voice slightly.
“Bring a blanket.”
A moment later, one of his soldiers climbed up onto the roof and handed over a blanket.
Tristan let out a short laugh as he looked at Leona, who was sleeping innocently while using his arm as a pillow.
A woman sleeping with her mouth slightly open, snoring softly…
Covering her body with the blanket, he pulled her into an embrace and closed his eyes.
The next day, Leona became a celebrity throughout the castle inside and out.
The maid who got drunk overnight, fell asleep on the East Spire roof, was discovered by the guard on duty, and dragged down—
Thanks to those who entered and left the castle spreading the rumor outside, the nickname “Redhead” was brought up continuously all day long.
At 3:00 PM, the servants’ closing assembly began.
It was a gathering where every servant working in the castle assembled. Hanging at the front of the grand hall was the crest of the Grey Wolf. Full of pride as servants of Stark Castle, their gazes naturally fell upon Leona.
Upon the redhead standing huddled in the very back row, her spirit thoroughly crushed.
A moment later, Benjamin the butler walked in, followed by Grace, whose face was heavily scowling.
“Ahem. Everyone, glad to see you today as well. Let me introduce the newcomers. Mary, and Leona, who is already famous.”
A round of applause erupted from the servants.
She was the only pretty maid who had survived the laundry maids’ test without falling off the roof, and because she had been dragged down after falling asleep drunk on the roof, everyone stared at her with curiosity-filled faces.
Unlike Mary, who walked forward with a dignified stride, Leona walked with a waddling, hesitant step that was entirely different.
“Hello. I am Mary Garnier. I am twenty-three years old.”
Exclamations of admiration broke out here and there.
As Leona took a step forward, she could feel Grace’s gaze piercing through her from the side.
“Hello. I am Leona Garnier. I am twenty years old.”
As a louder noise erupted, the laundry maids pouted their lips.
“Leona!”
When Grace called her, Leona flinched, startled, and turned to look at Grace.
“Come to my room after this is over.”
“Ugh. I have a lot of laundry to do…”
“Come to my room.”
Leona, the tip of her nose turning red, shook her head vigorously.
“Can’t I come after I finish all my work…?”
Grace’s cheekbones flushed bright red.
“Can you not hear my words?!”
The butler approached and grabbed Grace’s arm.
“Calm down, Grace.”
“Do I look like I can calm down? Do you know what Captain Miguel of the defense guard said to me this morning because of this laundry maid?!”
“I know, I know. She’s young and foolish, that’s all.”
Every servant leaned in to listen to their conversation. There was no one who didn’t know that Captain Miguel of the defense guard and the head maid usually bickered, but it seemed they had a big argument since morning.
“Falling asleep on the roof while dead drunk! And a maid, no less!”
In the end, Leona was led off the platform by Mary, sniffling as she went.
A short while later, Leona stood in front of Grace’s desk in her office, her head deeply bowed.
Furious, Grace fanned herself vigorously to cool her temper.
“I’m sorry. I won’t do it again.”
Grace’s fanning stopped.
“Leona. I want you to quit as of today.”
