One day in the past, when Hael’s mother held an Alphonse party at the mansion, excluding only my mother.

When Hael’s mother hired my mother as a day laborer, fully aware of the gossip the ladies would spread at the party.

When she offered me a position as her maid to my mother, who had come seeking to send me to elementary school…

I wanted to run away from all of it, it was so sickening.

The words the ladies whispered behind my mother’s back as she worked in that house are still vivid in my ears.

[She wags her tail at every man she sees, and the madam has such a strong stomach.] [I know. To even employ such a woman.] [She’s even helping her settle down here.]

As days passed, Hael’s mother became the good person, and my mother became the bad one.

The truth wasn’t that important to people.

It had to be the fault of the foreign princess who had stolen even a moment’s glance from their husbands, not their husbands themselves, for their pride to remain intact.

They argued that the princess who caused discord in their homes deserved to fall.

Hael’s mother must have known all of this.

A smile would occasionally spread across her lips as she watched the scene unfold.

Even after that, she kept my mother by her side as a maid for quite a long time.

To pretend to be generous after turning public opinion against her so badly, cutting off her job opportunities one by one until she had no choice but to enter her house.

Despite this, my mother was someone who wanted me to get along well with Hael.

Saying that she was the only person who had taken care of her.

Saying that otherwise, how could we have kept our footing in this Alphonse?

At one point, I doubted if I was the one who was twisted.

There were times when I thought I might be buried in an unreasonable black pride.

Hael treats me so well, and no other place pays my mother as much daily wage as that house.

I began to think that maybe I was the one who was messed up.

That I was envious of those who had something because we lived with so little. That’s why I was so twisted.

I even tried to create reasons to like Hael while self-deprecating like that.

It was when I discovered Hael kindly feeding the horses that Madam Catherine had finally thrown off even her mask.

At that time, what kind of expression did that lady wear? It was a face I never want to think about again.

“Why? I heard there are many pretty young ladies in the capital.”

Of course, since Hael’s family doesn’t have a title, it would be unreasonable for him to meet young ladies from high nobility.

But in this empire where the class system has somewhat collapsed, those who own wealthy lands hold equivalent value.

Perhaps Hael, being good-looking, had quite a few women who liked him.

Just like the girls in this village liked Hael.

As much as he’s become sophisticated in the capital, the level of women who like him must have become that much more sophisticated too.

“Those girls aren’t my type.”

Well, anyway, there are such pretty and clingy young ladies.

Probably girls who would be about the right level for Hael.

It seemed like continuing the conversation would only give me a headache.

Because I already knew the answer Hael would give from the several letters piled up in the house’s storage.

He would probably say he likes me in roundabout ways several times, and I wouldn’t be able to give an answer to that.

Fear still occupied a larger area than courage.

Hael, the only son who must protect the horse farm, would eventually move according to his parents’ wishes.

Because everyone does that.

The moment he chooses me, there will be cruelly many things this boy will have to give up.

The pure son who always listened well to his mother and father’s words.

The numerous supports he received because of that.

The many beloved horses…

So I skipped the useless act of asking Hael about his preferences.

“Alright. Find your type well. I’m busy.”

Waving my hand, I quickly left the place. Before he could catch me.

It was actually a time when I needed to move quickly.

I had wasted too much time in my joy of seeing him.

Every time I looked back, I could see bewilderment spreading across his face as it grew smaller.

Shadows flickered over that distant mansion that had settled above.

One, two… as I counted, it’s the floor where Cassian Blanchet is.

‘Had he been watching Hael and me talking all this time?’

The tightly closed window caught my eye.

Well, what do I care?

[This is the timeline separator]

As expected, the villagers were all abuzz with talk of Hael and Cassian’s return.

If we were to break it down, it would be about 1 part Hael, 9 parts Cassian.

It was a dramatic change, considering that in the past, the adults would have only gone on and on about Hael unconditionally.

It showed how deeply Cassian had been imprinted in their minds.

They praised Cassian, not deviating even an inch from expectations.

Saying that the people of Blanchet are truly different in their quality from the start.

Wondering how he could pay and bring workers so gently.

Saying it was so cool that he even sent a butler for something that could have been done with just one order.

Even Uncle Riorden, who was among those who suddenly lost workers, had a grin from ear to ear.

Every time the amount he received was mentioned, exclamations escaped from the villagers’ mouths, and each time, Cassian’s prestige rose higher.

The lord of Alphonse, who suffered a mysterious defeat by Cassian’s actions, was severely criticized by the villagers.

Then, invariably, the villagers would turn to me and ask.

Is the Duke of Blanchet really such a great handsome man?

Isn’t the young master just as gentle to you?

What kind of work does he make you do…

Since they don’t yet know about the Blanchet young lord’s terminal illness, their questions were just to that extent.

I know well why the villagers’ curiosity has intensified.

They thought it looked good that Blanchet, whom they believed to be from an entirely different world, had stooped from the heavens to touch the world of commoners.

Those with sparkling eyes might try to find a connection with that young master.

My answer to their repeated questions was, in fact, predetermined.

That he is handsome but equally unlucky, and is making me do the most difficult tasks of all.

That he doesn’t even see people of the commoner class like me as human.

So stop with the prince talk. Such things don’t exist in this world.

I wanted to reveal that young master’s true face to the villagers by saying so.

But when I actually tried to do it, my voice wouldn’t come out, as if there was a thorn in my throat.

Because the young master I came to know through conversations with Hael, in the time I didn’t know, was a good person.

Well, it’s funny that I’m sitting here worrying about this.

No matter what answer I give here, these people won’t believe my words.

People believe what they want to believe, and see what they want to see.

It means that as long as Cassian doesn’t harm the village, he will forever remain a good person to them.

I didn’t have any particular reason to trample on those who had hope.

Even if it’s just false hope, it’s quite an entertainment for those who repeat the same life every day.

“It’s as you’ve seen, well.”

This was the most positive answer I could come up with.

It’s rather insincere for a statement that came after so much thought.

The remaining rebelliousness inside me prevented me from saying nice things.

At my uninteresting answer, the adults wore deflated expressions and said, ‘How boring,’ but still exercised endless imagination.

Saying that if someone as tactless as me said ‘as you’ve seen,’ how good of a person must he be.

They even envied that the young master had taken me away.

Shaking my head repeatedly as I moved busily for a while, the time to change work sites approached.

In the meantime, I took a moment to find out my mother’s workplace.

Finding the location was as easy as flipping my palm.

It’s not difficult to search a village as small as a palm, after all.

I decided to put on hold rather than immediately cut off the secret workplace of my mother that I found out on the third try.

Because they had given her the convenience of resting for a few days to see her condition first.

I returned home after finishing the day’s work.

Even my mother, who usually doesn’t sleep well, seemed tired today and was sound asleep.

She didn’t go to work today, so she probably didn’t hear anything.

Mother might be the only person in the village who doesn’t know about Hael’s return or the talk about Cassian.

That fact is somewhat relieving.

And just as much unsettling.

Soon mother will hear about those things too… Will she then wear that expectant expression again?

With that expression she used to have when looking at Hael.

At the end of a night of complicated thoughts.

Once again morning dawns, and I set out on my way, hugging the scarf my mother wrapped around me, just like any other day.

Passing through the main gate of the mansion and reaching the fountain, I could see Cassian’s shadow flickering in the window.

Would he be standing there with that piercing gaze?

‘He’s not picking on me for talking with Hael yesterday, is he?’

No. That can’t be.

Why would he even bother to remember such a thing?

It’s highly likely that Cassian has already forgotten my existence.

I must be just an annoying ant in front of the noble Blanchet.

Yet, as I reached the door to Cassian’s room, my pulse reached its peak.

Trying hard to hide my nervousness, I opened the door and entered to see him leaning against the bed headboard, just like when I first saw him.

But something was off.

Legs tangled as if uncomfortable, lips pressed shut as if suppressing a groan, disheveled hair and clenched fists…

As I got closer, the cold sweat beading on his face became clearer.

The face I had thought pale before now looked almost transparent.

The young master’s arm, desperately gripping the bedpost in that state, had veins popping out.

Upon discovering me, his red eyes were tinged with a strange light.

As if caught in something shameful.

And then he said.

“Get out.”

As I approached quickly, ignoring him, he glared at me as if he would kill me.

With a gaze full of such murderous intent that if looks could kill, I’d be dead many times over.