“What could be the problem?”

“You’re the problem, Heidi. Can’t you hurry up? I’m the only one working here!”

As I wiped the washed dishes with a towel, I recollected the events of yesterday.

Yesterday was a series of coincidences.

There happened to be some lemonade left in the kitchen, so I thought of sharing it and went to find Marie.

But Marie was nowhere to be seen, probably busy with work. Having no choice, I changed direction towards the training grounds.

‘To think I would meet Dietrich there!’

It was almost the end of lunchtime, so I thought Dietrich wouldn’t be there.

Seeing the training grounds bustling with activity, I noticed Dietrich and Uncle Calt about to start a duel.

With hands full of lemonade, I hurriedly searched for Blaine.

As expected, Blaine, being a huge fan of Dietrich, was standing at the very front. It was the perfect opportunity for me.

A chance to watch Dietrich’s swordsmanship up close!

I went to his side, excited to spectate, but…

“It ended so abruptly. Why is that?”

“You’re doing your work half-heartedly. What’s really going on with you? How many minutes have you been wiping that same dish?”

Robert snatched the dish I was wiping and handed me a new one dripping with water.

Without even looking, I took the dish and fell into thought again.

I urgently called out to Dietrich as he was leaving the training grounds, but he must not have heard me as he disappeared without even looking back.

It was time for me to return to the kitchen, so I couldn’t bring myself to follow him.

And so, without giving the lemonade to Marie or talking to Dietrich, I returned to the kitchen empty-handed and the day ended.

But come to think of it, there’s no way Dietrich couldn’t have heard my voice with his sharp hearing.

Moreover, he skipped both breakfast and lunch today.

I brought him meals, but he didn’t respond or even open the door, so I had to return.

“Was he deliberately ignoring me?”

If that was the case, it was a bit annoying. But I soon understood.

A young master being friendly with a maid…

‘Yeah, that would be a bit strange.’

I decided to stop thinking about it. No matter how much I pondered, it was all just my guesswork.

Besides, Robert, who had been glaring at me for a while, looked like he was about to explode.

Sure enough, Robert grumbled as he put down the last remaining dish.

“You know you’re acting really strange today? What’s going on? Is something bothering you?”

I shook my head languidly.

It wasn’t really a concern.

Dietrich ignoring my words was something that happened often anyway.

The problem was me, trying to attach meaning to Dietrich’s every action lately.

“If you’re tired, why don’t you go back to the quarters early and get some sleep? It’s important to take good care of your health during times like these.”

Robert said worriedly, examining my complexion.

He seemed concerned that I might be sick.

Although chatty and annoyingly clingy, at times like this, Robert was a truly caring friend.

If Marie was like a reliable elder sister always looking after me, Robert was the kind of friend I could confide all sorts of secrets to, like a younger sibling.

“Don’t worry. I’m as strong as an ox!”

I flexed my arm to show off my strength. Robert chuckled, as if he couldn’t help it, and poked my bicep.

My pale arm yielded weakly to the shape of his fingers pressing down.

It must have looked too insignificant to be called a bicep, as he laughed softly and earnestly advised me.

“Still, be careful. I heard quite a few people are already suffering from food poisoning.”

“Food poisoning?”

“The weather is getting hotter, so food spoils easily.”

That was true. As the weather turned sweaty with the slightest movement, food in the kitchen spoiled very quickly.

If you ate the wrong thing, you’d have to deal with stomach aches for days.

We neatly arranged the cleaned dishes in the cupboard and brushed off our hands.

Then, patting my slightly hungry stomach, I surveyed the kitchen.

I always felt a bit peckish like this after working.

Looking around with wide eyes to see if there was anything to eat, I spotted the pudding that was today’s lunch dessert.

Perhaps due to the hot weather these days, everyone seemed to have lost their appetite, leaving a lot of food untouched.

‘But pudding is usually a popular menu item…’

In other noble households, it’s a food that servants can’t even taste, but the Delgado family was different.

They had the financial means to provide pudding even to the servants.

‘That’s the greatness of the Delgado family!’

Of course, it was limited to one per person, but still, it was something.

After working for a few months, I felt like I had become a loyal servant of the Delgado family.

As soon as I saw the pudding that I had enjoyed so much during lunch today, I was delighted.

To some, it might be a trivial joy, but to me, it was a stroke of luck that came by chance.

When I pointed to the pudding that had been placed in the relatively cool shade, Robert shook his head.

“Don’t eat that. What if it’s spoiled?”

“But there’s only one left?”

Despite my earnest words, Robert spoke firmly in a resolute tone.

“Still, there’s a high chance it’s gone bad. That was made around 11 a.m., and it’s already 5 p.m., you know? Even if it was in the shade, it might have spoiled.”

“Really?”

It wouldn’t hurt to be cautious, as Robert said.

If I were to get an upset stomach and have to rest for days, my wages would decrease accordingly.

That would be troublesome. The good thing about this place was that I could consistently receive wages.

As someone who had dropped into a novel penniless, it was the only way for me to earn money.

If the day comes when Dietrich keeps his promise and gets freed from the Sword Spirit, I should at least have enough money to live on my own, right?

So I was diligently saving my wages.

Since I could take care of my lodging and meals at the Delgado family, there was hardly any occasion to spend my wages.

I was thinking of spending money for the first time at the summer festival I might be able to attend later if I had the chance.

So until then, I had to work hard and save money.

That meant I couldn’t get sick.

“Okay. Let’s just throw this away.”

Without hesitation, I tossed the pudding into the food waste bin.

Then I pointed to the peach pie on the kitchen table.

“What about this?”

Robert rushed to the table and stretched out his arm to cover it.

“This definitely can’t be thrown away! The head chef made this earlier!”

“Oh, really?”

“You’ve been distracted, so you didn’t even know that.”

I was so preoccupied with wondering why Dietrich had stopped the duel and disappeared that I didn’t even notice the head chef’s presence.

I scratched my head in embarrassment and put down the food waste bin.

Robert muttered, looking at the peach pie on the table.

“Come to think of it, this was made because Young Master Yurian said he wanted to eat it!”

Robert clapped his hands as if he just remembered.

Young Master Yurian?

It had been a while since I heard that name. After promising to definitely attend the banquet that day in the garden, I hadn’t seen him since.

I wondered if he resented me for not keeping my promise.

I couldn’t even tell him at the banquet hall that I couldn’t pretend to know him.

Then I soon burst into a chuckle.

Who was I to think that Yurian would be disappointed and resentful?

It would be a miracle for a noble young master of the Delgado family to even remember a maid he had met by chance a few times.

Thinking I was being self-conscious, I picked up the peach pie.

“Hey! I told you not to throw that away!”

“I’m not throwing it away. You said it’s for Young Master Yurian. By the way, where did the peaches suddenly come from? We didn’t have any peaches in our kitchen.”

Robert snapped his fingers and said,

“Earlier, a maid came and brought peaches and all the ingredients. She said Young Master Yurian had been craving it for days, so she personally obtained them.”

“Ah, I see. Then we should hurry and deliver it to him.”

“That’s true, but… to take it to him, you have to go directly to Young Master Yurian’s room. His dedicated maid should be coming, but she’s a bit late.”

Robert clicked his tongue, saying, ‘It’s already been 30 minutes since it was made.’

Quietly looking at the peach pie that was getting lukewarm, I picked up the tray nearby.

Then I placed the peach pie on the tray and said,

“Shall I go and deliver it?”

“You? In this heat, why bother?”

“It’s okay. Besides, it pains me to see the delicious food the head chef put effort into go to waste.”

In the hot summer, making food while sweating profusely in the kitchen was by no means an easy task.

That’s why it was difficult for me to watch the food made with all their heart and affection miss the optimal timing.

And it might be meddlesome of me, but…

I also wanted to properly apologize for not being able to greet him at the banquet that day.

It wasn’t because I wanted to strengthen my relationship with Yurian.

I simply felt bad for the child who had mustered up the courage despite blushing bright red.

I wasn’t shameless enough to ignore and overlook a promise I couldn’t keep.

“The head chef would be very pleased if you do that. He was grumbling about what’s taking Young Master Yurian’s maid so long.”

The head chef, sitting in a corner of the kitchen with his sweat-soaked chef’s hat in hand, looked exhausted.

“They put in the effort to cook, and yet they’re being this late? Do they think only the maids in the main building are busy? Their noses are in the air just because they serve Young Master Yurian. It’s not like their own status is high!”

Robert, who had glanced at the listless head chef, became agitated.

It seemed he felt sorry for the head chef despite being nagged at every day.

Anyway, Robert was also a person with a lot of affection. To ease his worries, I approached the head chef.

Staring blankly at the floor, exhausted from the heat and the kitchen’s heat, he lifted his head.

I smiled kindly, narrowing my eyes, and slightly raised the tray.

“Head Chef, I’ll take this directly to Young Master Yurian and come back.”

“Heidi, you?”

The head chef’s eyes widened in surprise, then sparkled with emotion.

He must be happy that the peach pie he had poured his heart into was finally going to be appreciated.

I nodded vigorously.

“I actually received a message earlier. They said there’s a lot of work in the main building, so it would be appreciated if we could send a kitchen maid. They did mention it would be good to send you since you work well, Heidi.”

“Me?”

I wanted to ask who had said it would be good to send me since I work well, but the head chef quickly changed the subject.

“You and Robert have been working nonstop, so I wanted to send someone else.”

The head chef felt apologetic since it was a hot day and a break time after we had finished working.

I shrugged my shoulders to show it was okay.

“It’s fine. The main building isn’t far anyway. I’ll be back before dinner preparations!”

The syrup sprinkled on the peaches seemed to be drying up, so I hurriedly left the kitchen.

I sweated a little on the way to the main building, but it didn’t bother me much since I had already been sweating profusely while working in the kitchen.

Passing the second floor of the main building, I went up to the third floor and approached the room where Yurian stayed.

Then I knocked on the door as neatly as possible, knock knock.

“Come in.”

A youthful yet solemn voice came from inside the room.

Opening the door and entering, I saw Yurian sitting on a chair near the window, reading a thick book.

Across from him, the tutor I had seen before was watching the child with sharp eyes.

“Um, I brought the peach pie.”

Not wanting to disturb them, I spoke in the smallest voice I could muster.

“Heidi?”

Yurian lifted his head with a start and looked at me with surprised eyes.

Soon, a bright smile spread across the child’s face.