Cassian’s eyes followed Yurisiel far into the distance.

Her form walking briskly without even changing out of her maid uniform, distracted by something, looked comical.

The back view of her hair tied up and swaying in the hairnet looked like a puppy.

A puppy wagging its tail for its master.

The puppy that dared to give advice to its master while staring straight at him was actually a foal.

Her back view has a surprising charm.

Whether that girl’s face is like a puppy or a foal is actually irrelevant to him.

Because he’s about to die, and even if not, there’s no need for such a relationship.

He’ll never see such an insignificant girl again in his life anyway.

But why…

“What was her name again?”

It’s just a slight curiosity. It’s fine to know her name at least.

“It’s Yurisiel.”

Yurisiel. Quite a noble and beautiful name.

Too good for a commoner with a tanned face.

Shouldn’t ordinary commoners have names like Mary, Jeff, or Riddle?

The name Yurisiel evokes the image of a young lady from a traditional noble family.

In that sense, it could be seen as a name that suits that girl’s appearance quite well.

The roughly cut hair barely visible under the maid’s hat, the maid uniform half a size too big, the gait lacking etiquette, the sun-tanned face.

Yet she was pretty enough to make one forget all that.

I could tell that from the moment I first saw her.

Just as one immediately notices the beauty of an ornamental jewel.

Even if you don’t know its value, you can’t help but recognize its beauty if you have eyes.

Her emerald eyes, seeming to be made from the shimmering light of the deep sea rather than the color of foliage, sparkled like a gem that would vanish if grasped.

I was curious what color her hair hidden under the hat might be, wanting to take it off and tousle it.

So the name Yurisiel fits her perfectly.

It’s silly to attach so much meaning to a mere name, but anyone who sees her would have to admit it.

Well, I don’t need anyone else’s approval anyway.

As she said, if I, a Blanchet, acknowledge it, what does it matter whether others do or not?

In this world where my acknowledgment as a Blanchet is everyone’s acknowledgment.

I quietly gaze at the girl who catches my eye.

Smelling the scent of purple flowers in the grass.

It’s hard to tell if the flower is the girl, or the girl is the flower, they resemble each other so much.

Then suddenly, as if remembering something, she runs off.

She seems to be hurrying somewhere.

A noble face with such unrefined, frivolous steps.

If other young ladies saw her, they’d tell her to give up that face if she’s going to walk like that.

Her running away looks more hasty than free.

Shouldn’t she be quite happy to escape from this hellish place?

Everyone else was.

While others felt suffocated just being with me, she seems weighted down even as she runs, as if heading to another hell.

The image of the sleeve cuffs of her maid uniform, half a span too big, trembling suddenly crosses my mind.

Her small face swayed like a flower in my grasp, so prettily.

And I, nastily, made her stand there.

Usually, that much embarrassment would make someone run out crying. But she stubbornly stood her ground till the end.

As if such a thing was nothing to her.

Well, from the start, her appearance of looking at me and stating her piece was as upright as those purple flowers blooming in the flowerbed.

Fearlessly.

The image of her talking about her life, doing her best before me whose life is fading, flickers in my mind.

Like those purple flowers blooming even in the harshest winter, she seemed solid and somehow desperate.

I suddenly wonder where such will originates from.

Even though we’re not meant to see each other again anyway.

“What was her situation?”

“Pardon?”

The butler, who had been waiting for the right moment to ask the young master whether to bring that girl in tomorrow, suddenly came to his senses at the voice after a long silence.

“That girl, I mean.”

“…”

“She’s from this village, so you should know. Her circumstances.”

“W-what do you mean… a girl from this village?”

Cassian’s red eyes slowly turned to the butler.

Eyes that seemed to contain the frost of midwinter.

The eyes of a Blanchet, utterly unbelievable for someone only eighteen years old.

The butler’s body trembled. He had clearly introduced that child as a young lady from a noble family when he brought her here.

Saying she would work as the young master’s attendant. That she was clever and quick-witted, so she wouldn’t bring shame to the Blanchet name.

“Did you think I wouldn’t know?”

“…”

“What a predicament. Now I know everything.”

Are all the people of Blanchet this frightening and cruel?

The butler had been relieved that he didn’t work for Blanchet, and that this young master would someday disappear from here.

Since the Blanchet heir arrived, he had to spend every moment more tense than ever before.

Even so, Cassian had never once asked for his name.

As if he wasn’t even worth that much.

That’s just how the Blanchet heir was.

Even if he was destined to die soon.

That’s why he had thoroughly trained that girl who would work for just a day.

But had she made a mistake somewhere?

Swallowing his dry saliva, he tried to speak calmly.

“I apologize.”

At Cassian’s motionless appearance, as if snorting, the butler felt a chill down his spine.

“I have committed a grave sin.”

In truth, he had nothing to say if held responsible for attaching such a girl to the noble Blanchet.

It probably wouldn’t cause a big problem, but it meant that at the very least, the lord would greatly lose trust.

He couldn’t let that happen after enduring and catering to the young master’s whims until now.

The suspicion that that girl might have made a mistake gradually solidified into certainty.

He had clearly told her about her family and status.

Now that it was exposed, making excuses here would only provoke anger.

It was more realistic to explain the circumstances and hope for even a small mercy from the young master.

The girl’s situation, which he had heard in passing from Head Maid Mary, flashed through the butler’s mind.

“Her mother is ill, and her situation was so pitiful that we took her in.”

A flicker of emotion passed over Cassian’s face.

A sick mother and a child come to find money for medicine.

The picture was clear even without hearing the full story.

That girl fidgeting restlessly and looking at him with pity despite her lowly status.

The desperation and regret hidden within that look.

The reason for all of that was explained.

But the momentary emotion quickly disappeared from his face.

“Can her mother be saved if she gets that medicine money?”

The butler, also knowing the villagers’ circumstances, could roughly guess.

“Since they can’t even bring in a proper doctor, it’s common for people to waste away and end up… you know.”

For a moment, a subtle smile spread across Cassian’s face.

Tap tap, as if hesitating over something, gentle wrinkles formed between his brows as he tapped the window frame.

As the butler gulped again at that sight, he opened his mouth.

“Bring her in tomorrow too.”

“…Pardon?”

“I said, bring that girl in again tomorrow.”

His harsh voice cracked dryly, echoing through the space.

The butler’s surprised voice came out stuttering.

“Y-yes. Understood.”

As the butler was about to leave immediately, Cassian waved his hand.

Though feeling humiliated by that gesture, he had no choice but to approach.

“That maid uniform, it was too jarring to look at.”

The butler glanced at his own attire and suddenly recalled the maid uniform that was half a span too big on Yurisiel.

“I will have it corrected as soon as possible.”

“And from now on, everyone in this household will use respectful speech with that girl.”

“But…”

Telling a butler working for the lord’s family to use respectful speech to a commoner girl.

It was a humiliating order.

Had the young master and that girl already become so close?

Wanting to know even the circumstances of such an insignificant girl, it couldn’t be interpreted any other way.

If that was the case… the butler felt his mind go blank.

While it was a relief to be free from having to find a worker who could cater to the young master’s picky nature, it was problematic for the two to become this close.

The day the Madam finds out about this, there will be a furious uproar.

If rumors spread about the Blanchet heir having that kind of relationship with a commoner girl, everyone here would be held responsible.

Of course, Blanchet could use that girl however they wanted and discard her when done, but the blame would fall on Alphonse territory.

However, upon seeing Cassian’s villainous expression, he felt chills for a different reason.

“From now on, that girl is forever a young lady of the Viscount Bilrode family. Does a butler in Alphonse territory speak down to the young master’s attendant?”

“No, sir.”

“Then you should continue as before, shouldn’t you?”

“…”

“She’s a young lady from a noble family, after all.”

With a face befitting the description of a devil wearing an angel’s mask, Cassian smiled and warned.

That this fact should remain secret everywhere.

The devil’s underling with a noose around his neck could never refuse that order.

“Of course, sir.”

Watching the butler disappear as if fleeing, a sardonic smile spread across Cassian’s lips.