Chapter 14

“Kyaa…”

Splash.

And of all things, it was stockings.

That fell onto someone’s face. Elena and the maid simultaneously stared forward with startled faces.

Swish.

The stockings that had been draped over someone’s face slid down.

“Gasp…”

The maid made a choking sound. Elena gulped.

“Maxim…”

Maxim exhaled and slowly blinked his eyes. The maid prostrated herself on the floor, not knowing what to do, and Elena covered her mouth. Maxim looked back and forth between the two people and stared at the whitish thing that had fallen to the floor.

He could roughly understand what had happened.

“…Why did this happen?”

“Maxim, I’m sorry. We were, no, I was… just having a discussion for an amicable agreement, but unfortunately…”

You happened to pass by here. Elena swallowed the words she couldn’t finish.

“…Elena, this is the maid’s job. That girl has been assigned to take care of you.”

“B-but, I didn’t come here to enjoy such things. Besides, I’ll be leaving soon…”

That naive woman seems to know nothing of Hazel’s grand plan. Somehow feeling like they had become fellow victims, Maxim’s mood improved considerably.

And here he thought she was just docile, but she has this kind of stubbornness too. Maxim smiled crookedly.

“Whether it’s temporary or not, you are a guest who came to this place. But as a guest, are you planning to break the rules of this mansion? By taking away the maid’s work, are you trying to steal that girl’s job?”

Elena quickly turned her head to look at the maid who was prostrated on the floor. The maid was now looking at Elena with resentful eyes. The maid, whose eyes had been brimming with tears, prostrated herself on the floor again.

“Master! No sir! I’m really a very useful person! I’m good not only at laundry but also at cooking… and I have talent for sewing too! Please don’t send me away!”

Elena turned pale. Maxim’s words now sounded like he was going to fire the maid. If that happened, as Maxim said, this poor maid would lose her job because of her.

For Elena, who already had a family to support and was desperately looking for the highest-paying job possible, this was unacceptable.

“I absolutely didn’t mean it that way! Maxim, please don’t do that.”

Elena quickly put the remaining laundry from her arms into the laundry basket. Then she stood up abruptly and smiled brightly.

“The maid has a lot of work to do.”

“I see. That’s fortunate. I thought Mrs. Greta had hired surplus personnel.”

Elena quickly shook her head. Those words sounded like a threat that sparks might fly to Mrs. Greta too if she said the wrong thing. Elena fidgeted with her fingers. To her, she still thought that was something she should do, but it seemed she had to compromise now.

“Where have you been, Maxim?”

Elena quickly changed the subject.

“I just stopped by to get some documents. You do what you need to do.”

“…I don’t have anything to do.”

Maxim smiled crookedly again this time. If he thought about the killer schedule Hazel had in mind for Elena, she wouldn’t be able to say such things. Well, it’s better that she doesn’t know yet.

He could see exactly what Hazel was thinking. Maxim stared at Elena’s blue eyes for a moment.

For what reason?

What exactly made that woman appeal to Hazel?

The bright blue eyes stared at Maxim. Waves that seemed ready to swallow Maxim whole were rippling within them. At that moment.

[Maxim. I just taught that woman her place. That woman needed to clearly know where she belongs.]

A crying woman, Camellia growling viciously, and a party venue turned into chaos. Such scenes flashed by like fragments. Maxim ran his tongue inside his mouth.

Sometimes he could see the future in fragments like this. It was one of the abilities passed down in the imperial bloodline. In the previous generation, Hazel had inherited this ability, and in this generation, Maxim had inherited it.

When it transferred to Maxim, Hazel’s ability disappeared. Hazel had used this ability for the country, but Maxim was mostly using this ability for private purposes.

Thanks to this, the department store business was thriving and satisfying investors, so how wonderful was that?

Anyway, since it always had a 100% accuracy rate, this incident would definitely happen this time too. Camellia, Elena, and even Maxim himself would become troublesome. Maxim clicked his tongue.

“You’ll have something to do soon, Elena.”

Maxim added.

“Be careful at parties.”

Elena nodded with a surprised face. Maxim passed between Elena and the maid.

After Maxim disappeared around the corner, the maid and Elena’s eyes met again. The maid glared at Elena with a reddened nose.

“Are you going to steal my work again?”

Elena quickly shook her head.

“Absolutely not!”

“Then that’s fine.”

The maid, who spoke curtly, picked up the laundry and stood up abruptly. Elena, who had helped the maid, held onto her.

“…I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean to do that.”

This guest seemed to be too kind. It was the first time she had met a young lady who easily said sorry to a maid. Besides, she knew Elena hadn’t meant any harm.

What other scheme could someone whose heart was so clearly visible have? The maid swallowed a sigh and said:

“It’s okay. But I have a lot of work to do today.”

Elena nodded and let the maid go. Watching the maid walk away, Elena hung her head glumly. He told me to do what I need to do. What should I do?

What she needed to do right now.

While Elena was pondering as if she were broken, a maid came running to her.

“Miss! Miss! Leana has a fever!”

The maid who shouted in a shrill voice pulled Elena along. Surprised, Elena grabbed her skirt and ran.

Right, she had something to do. Elena gritted her teeth.

---

“Elena went out?”

“Yes, my lady.”

“Hmm.”

Hazel looked outside with worried eyes. It was just about to rain. Going out in this kind of weather.

“What about Leana?”

“Leana is sleeping now. She seemed to have a slight fever since yesterday. After Miss Elena gave her medicine, her fever went down a little.”

Hazel touched her temple with quiet eyes. The doctor who had been taking care of Leana in Levonto had said that if the child took medicine, she might live longer, but if not, she wouldn’t live long.

She remembered Elena’s face muttering with a pale expression.

How much must her heart be burning inside? The youth of this era seem to be in too much pain. Hazel sighed.

“Who is working as the family doctor at the Adeloff ducal house these days?”

“It’s Mr. Miles.”

“Would Mr. Miles also be good with young girls? Elena said it was a lifelong illness.”

“Well… after that incident, His Imperial Highness became independent from the imperial palace, and Her Majesty the Empress personally selected and assigned him.”

That means he’s looking after Maxim’s overall condition, including his mental health.

“For now, contact Mr. Miles to examine Leana. Greta, do you understand why I brought those children?”

“How could I presume to judge?”

“Greta, don’t they say that fate is unknowable? I’m thinking that those children might form deep connections with us.”

Mrs. Greta nodded. She understood what that meant.

After that incident, Maxim had become cold as if he had sunk to the bottom. If Hazel was thinking of bringing Elena, she must have considered various things.

“Do you understand why I’m telling you this now?”

“I’ll look for not only a nanny who can take care of the child, but also a new family doctor. I should be able to allocate the remaining budget.”

“Don’t worry about budget issues. If funding is needed, Her Majesty the Empress will personally provide it.”

This meant that even the imperial family had expectations for this matter. Mrs. Greta cautiously brought up a topic.

“Then how about inviting Dr. Orlando?”

“Orlando?”

“Yes.”

“That’s also a good idea.”

Orlando was considered the finest doctor in the empire. He was currently working as an imperial physician, responsible for the health of the imperial family. If it’s Orlando…

‘There might be a way.’