TRHLV | CH 03

Chapter 3: The Blansé Duke’s Mansion

Inside the shaking carriage, Elika slowly opened her eyes.

She didn’t know where the carriage was going or why she was inside it. But what she did feel first was the warmth of the blanket wrapped around her shoulders.

As she wondered who had been kind enough to cover her with it, she lifted her head and saw the “young master” sitting across from her, arms crossed, eyes closed, leaning back.

The moonlight poured through the window and lit up his face.

Thanks to that, Elika could see clearly how handsome he was.

His eyelashes were longer than most women’s, and his eyes were shaped like they were painted with a brush.

She had never seen someone so beautiful in her life. He didn’t even seem human.

“Someone that amazing saved me.”

Her lips curled up into a small smile.

Thump, thump, thump.

Her heart started beating louder than the rattling sound of the carriage wheels.

Not knowing what to do with herself, Elika buried her face into the blanket wrapped around her arms.

“I’m so happy.”

* * *

Around dawn, the coachman stopped the carriage to take a break.

Charon squinted at the sunlight and opened his eyes.

What he saw was a dirty blonde girl sitting right next to him, staring at him.

“Good morning, Duke!”

The girl greeted him brightly, not even trying to hide her blushing cheeks.

Charon turned his head and rubbed his face with one hand.

Being seen in a messy state after waking up wasn’t something he liked.

‘She’s being way too clingy.’

Without replying, Charon stood up and stepped out of the carriage.

He wanted some fresh air—but more than that, he wanted to get away from the girl who stuck to him like glue.

“Duke! Duke!”

The clueless girl followed after him.

“You’re taking me with you, right? We’re going to your estate, aren’t we?

I was thinking about it while looking at the North Star, and I don’t think we’re going to the capital!

I heard nobles travel between the capital and their estates, so is your estate far? Is it the place where frizzy flowers bloom?”

She was so noisy that it made his ears ring.

He was already in a bad mood, and now this high-pitched, nonstop chatter was giving him a headache.

…And that face, that voice.

The same face and voice that once took everything from him and looked down on him with arrogance.

He couldn’t stand it.

“Stop.”

His cold voice made Elika’s face turn red.

“I-I’m sorry…”

She glanced up at him shyly, but Charon had already turned his back to her and was staring at the horizon.

* * * 

Elika hung her head low and slowly walked back to the carriage.

“I made the Duke upset. I can’t let him hate me… I can’t be abandoned…”

She sat with her legs pulled up on the carriage seat and buried her face in her knees.

“I want to do well… but I don’t know how.”

Her mother died right after giving birth to her.

She lived alone with her father in a cabin deep in the woods.

Her father drank every day and hit her constantly.

So people—especially nobles like the Duke—were hard for her to understand. They felt like a completely different species.

“Maybe I was meant to stay in that cabin forever.”

Tears began to fall.

But she remembered how her father used to hit her whenever she cried, saying it annoyed him.

“I can’t let anyone see me cry.”

She quickly wiped her face with her sleeve.

She even knew how to clean her eyes carefully so they wouldn’t look red.

* * *

Instead of heading straight to the Duke’s mansion, Charon stopped at a hotel owned by his family.

He had Elika cleaned up there.

“Please, save me! Don’t kill me!”

For Elika, who only knew washing in a stream, the idea of a proper “bath” was terrifying.

Three maids dragged her into a huge bathtub, covered her in bubbles, and scrubbed her arms and legs.

It felt like torture to her.

“I’m sorry! Please stop!”

Charon, reading the newspaper in the next room, sighed deeply and held his forehead.

‘People are going to misunderstand with her screaming like that.’

After thirty minutes of struggling, Elika was completely drained.

The maids then took her to the hotel’s dress room.

“Nothing fancy. Just something modest enough that my grandmother won’t frown.”

The tailor understood his instructions perfectly.

They stood Elika, half-asleep, against a wall and quickly took her measurements.

They made her a perfect-fitting outfit in no time: a dark blue bodice, a white skirt, and a ribbon made from leftover fabric.

She actually looked quite cute.

“How about this?”

The girl standing there now was nothing like the ragged one Charon had found.

She had big, round eyes like a doll, a small but sharp nose, and lips red like cherries.

Even her dry hair and pale cheeks looked pretty now.

But he couldn’t forget—this pretty face had once rolled on the ground in front of him, after he had cut her throat.

‘I’m going crazy. I keep seeing that woman’s face.’

He shook his head quickly to forget the memory.

“Do you not like it?”

“No. This is fine.”

He reached out and brushed her hair to the side, trying to hide the bruises on her forehead and cheek.

‘This isn’t working. I have no choice.’

Just as he was about to pull his hand back, he noticed two eyelashes resting on her cheek.

Without thinking, he gently picked them off.

“Get in the carriage.”

He gave a short command and turned away.

There was no fake kindness in his voice. It was dry and cold.

But Elika’s cheeks turned red.

‘The Duke’s hand touched my face…’

The spot where his fingers had brushed burned like fire.

* * *

“Charon, where on earth is that boy wandering around?”

The old lady had been glancing out the window dozens of times since morning, but there was no sign of the carriage.

Her lips were dry from waiting for her grandson, who hadn’t returned in days.

Finally, she closed her book with a sigh and took off her monocle.

After his parents died in a carriage accident, her ten-year-old grandson became the Duke.

Even while grieving, he grew up to be a smart young man.

But recently, he’s started acting strangely.

He spoke like an adult, then awkwardly corrected himself when he noticed something was off.

He’d mention things that never happened and say it must’ve been a dream.

But he couldn’t even remember recent events or the names of longtime servants.

They blamed themselves, thinking they hadn’t served him well.

‘Then he said he was visiting a friend and left. I never even heard of this friend before. He wouldn’t even say who it was.’

She briefly thought, “Could it be a woman?”, but quickly pushed the idea away.

The last thing she needed was for her grandson, who hadn’t even debuted in high society, to be involved with a mysterious woman.

“Madam.”

There was a knock, and the butler’s voice came through.

“The Duke has returned.”

‘Finally,’ she thought and stood up.

“Also… he’s brought a young girl with him.”

Her heart sank.

‘A girl? A girl?!’

Her unmarried eighteen-year-old grandson had brought home a girl?

The word mistress flashed in her mind, but she tried not to think that far.

“I’m back, Grandmother.”

Her grandson greeted her with perfect grace.

But the old lady shot at him immediately.

“Where have you been? No message for five whole days!”

“I’m sorry for worrying you.”

“And who is this girl?”

She pressed him sharply.

“A maid recommended by a friend. She seemed useful, so I brought her.”

‘A maid? Since when did he care about hiring servants himself?’

“So, where is she now?”

“She came in a different carriage. She probably entered through the back.”

“There’s plenty of room in your carriage. Why send her separately? Even if she’s a maid, that’s not proper.”

Charon looked like he had something to say but then closed his mouth.

“Jacqueline, bring her to the parlor. I’ll see for myself if she’s fit to serve in this house.”

“Yes, madam.”

* * *

As soon as Elika was shown to the servant quarters, she was summoned by Head Maid Jacqueline.

“The madam wants to see you.”

Jacqueline had her brown hair neatly tied up and wore half-moon glasses. She looked like someone with not even a single crack in her armor.

She was tall and thin and walked quickly—but not even her footsteps made a sound.

‘She walks too fast… I can’t keep up.’

Elika had to practically run to follow her.

“You must want the whole mansion to know you’ve arrived.”

Elika didn’t get what she meant at first, but then realized it was about how loud her footsteps were.

“I-I’m sorry.”

She tiptoed to walk more quietly but quickly fell behind.

When she tried to catch up, her loud steps echoed again.

‘How am I supposed to walk?’

She already felt hopeless.

* * *

And then, when she met the old lady…

“Honestly, I don’t think you’re useful at all.

Did you think becoming a maid in a Duke’s house would be easy?”

Elika’s heart trembled like a rabbit standing before a lion.