I received a paper bag handed over by a maid of my age with gratitude.
The contents were cookies just by smelling the savory smell.
Lately, in order to spread the story of the Young Master in a good way, I helped anyone I could see, and I seemed to have won favors here and there.
I thought it would be better to have a large chocolate chip embedded in it, but the girl, whose face was blushing, hurriedly disappeared to the other side of the garden.
‘Is there something urgent?’
I looked strangely and saw inside a brown paper bag.
It was not what I wanted, but it was a raspberry cookie in the shape of a flower that was so pretty that it was a waste to eat.
‘—But also Madeleine earlier. Why are they giving them all in flower shapes?’
When I was young, my name meant a flower called Rovelia, so I was tired of receiving gifts that symbolized flowers.
But there’s no one here who knows the truth—.
Does everyone like flowers? Anyway, it’s an unexpected fortune.
‘As expected, people have to live a good life.’
Since I received it, I bit the cookie.
The sweet and savory taste spread throughout the mouth.
However, the aftertaste was bitter.
‘I’m just getting along with other people since there’s no news about the person I should actually be friends with—’
Whether this is good or bad.
There has been no significant progress since the Young Master returned from his hometown.
He was still wary of me, and he was nervous when I tried to help him use crutches.
He was especially offended by the fact that I used crutches better than him.
‘Well, although I’m good, it was because of the disease.’
Fortunately, I’m recovering because I’m in the same space as him.
‘Well, I’ll deal with the rest one by one.’
With a bitter expression on my face, I even murmured with the cookies I was eating.
At that time, I felt another presence.
“What are you doing here?”
“—Ah. Nuna.”
A kitchen maid, who is usually hard to see, approached me.
According to Rimson Hyung, she was a keen Eonni who noticed the number of days he didn’t wash his hair like a ghost—.
I hurriedly stuffed the leftover cookies into the back pocket of my pants while greeting.
But she blocked my way as if the purpose of coming here was me.
“Hey, Rovel. Do you have any trouble?”
—You aren’t asking because you know everything, right?
I was a little nervous but decided to hold it for now.
“Trouble?”
“Hmm. No. Should I guess?”
This is clearly a floating fight.
‘It can’t be— Do you recognize me as a woman because you’re also a woman?’
I was about to leave with an awkward smile, but she asked with a confident look like a student submitting a perfect answer.
“You, it’s because you couldn’t prepare the Young Master’s stuff separately.”
‘Is today the Young Master’s birthday?’ I wondered as soon as I heard that.
But it wasn’t.
Edric’s birthday, which the Crown Prince commemorates in the novel, is in the winter, but it is still early spring now.
‘…Then what are you talking about? What am I preparing for?’
I stared at her for a moment, then answered again.
“I— haven’t prepared anything yet.”
“Hey! It’s too early to give up!”
—What am I giving up on?
Before I could properly ask, she grabbed my wrist.
“Okay, I’ll help you not to be late!”
*****
Edric looked around the bed with unfamiliar eyes.
No one was there when Rovel went out for lunch.
There were only a couple of servants waiting outside the door.
[Rovel has become the Young Master’s exclusive servant.]
It has been difficult to see other servants since the butler’s words a while ago.
Certainly, he seems to have decided to take charge of himself.
It seemed strange at first that the servant could leave the room so quickly when he used to beg so much, but he had no complaints.
For any reason, he was satisfied with this side. Since he’s free.
Edric stared at the window.
The sky was clear and the afternoon sun was good.
‘It’s frustrating—. Should I get some air?’
He lifted his crutches at the same time as he made up his mind.
He moved his feet and leaned against the open window.
Soon, the scene of Denkart came into view.
A great garden that stretches out endlessly, a fountain boasting a brilliant rainbow in the middle, and stone statues of warriors exuding a different dignity one by one.
Even if it was beautiful enough to be admired, it was burdensome scenery for him who had lived in a shabby village all his life.
He was about to go back to bed, but something shiny in the distance caught him.
The identity could be recognized at a glance.
‘—It’s Rovel.’
After eating in the servant’s hall, Rovel was coming across the garden.
It was easy to predict where the destination was.
It was his room where he can see the most wonderful scenery in this mansion and the lighting is good.
Although he didn’t know what Rovel was doing to him, he knew exactly what he was doing in his daily routine.
It was consistent every day.
He didn’t even fill half of his hourly mealtime, and he didn’t even take breaks for servants. He even sneaked into his room at night.
Rovel’s steps were heading somewhere other than the mansion.
The shiny silver back of his head was moving away toward the annex.
It was even with another maid.
‘…What’s that?’
There is no reason for Rovel to go there because other people bring snacks or medicines.
It was a strange thing.
Edric gave strength to his eyes, anticipating that he would still come back.
However, entering the annex, he did not come out easily.
Even though the sense of the arm leaning against the window was accumulating, he couldn’t see even a strand of hair.
“….”
Edric stared displeasedly at the quiet annex the whole time, then pick up his crutches again.
Then he moved and stood in front of the bed, and the door suddenly opened.
“Uhm. As expected he’s still sleeping.”
—As expected, he doesn’t like him at all.
At the startling timing, Edric, who hid into the bed as if he had fallen over, bit his lip.
He was in a hurry to hide and even hugged his crutches. He almost got teased again if he got caught by him.
Meanwhile, Rovel, who muttered, ‘I think I’m going to have an upset stomach,’ hummed softly as if he had eaten lunch again.
“Lalalalalalalalala I like it~ lalalalalalalalala I love you~”
‘—That song again.’
Edric would rather cover his ears.
That sickening melody sounded like a magic trick.
In particular, when he sing the ‘I love you’ part, the sound of laughter leaked out as if it was satisfactory.
He even praised himself for remembering this, saying he was a genius.
‘Why would you say that for such a trivial matter—?’
No matter how much he look at it, he’s out of his mind.
As if to prove that the thought was true, Rovel kept muttering to himself.
“I came and pick this up.”
“….”
“Ah, this is a bit boring. I came and baked it.”
“….”
It was a small voice, but he could hear it very well because the surroundings were too quiet.
Stupid Rovel continued to mutter whether he was unaware of that fact or was pretending not to know.
“Aah, no. No. I came and baked it. Oh. Yeah. It should be like this.”
The sound of ‘crazy guy’ came out of his mouth.
That guy can’t be sick. The bandage on the chest would have hit somewhere while playing around.
He heard a rustling sound from Rovel, who had been repeating nonsense for a long time.
*****
It turned out that today was ‘Flower Day’ designated by the first Denkart hostess.
Having a good character and generosity, it is said that once a year, she presented the finest flowers that she nurtured with care to numerous nobles.
The same was given to the servants.
At first, it started by exchanging flowers in the garden between lovers, and after that, it was changed to give something symbolizing flowers, even if they were not flowers.
Girls usually give cookies and bread as gifts, and boys to give flowers.
For some reason, it was a bit noisy these days that something was coming, and it must have been because of this.
I wondered why no Hyungs talked about it, but since no one received it, it seems to have been naturally taboo—. The atmosphere of the room has been solemn since dawn.
Rimson hyung, who recently told me that he kept the loyalty of a man, didn’t go well with Renee Nuna. Everyone was a little worried.
But I’ll try to deal with something else first.
“Let’s take this opportunity to get some points from the Young Master.”
It was a very good idea.
But— why is she taking care of me so much?
Why did she ask me to give him cookies, not flowers—??
Looking nervous, the maid opened the flour bag and breathed heavily.
“I heard everythiiiiing.”
So—What is it?
“You are more daring than you look! You know that you’re the only one in this Denkart history who rode a Denkart carriage and acted like that?!”
—It seems that they are talking about going out in moderation.
Well, it was talked about in many ways.
However, it seems that this Eonnie was not the only one who heard it.
“It is said that you were punished and imprisoned for one day in the top room of the west annex! You can’t even eat. Even so, you don’t show any difficulty—”
Recently, he was sentenced to imprisonment for about half a day.
Like Denkart, who values tradition, I, as a servant, couldn’t get over the fact that I wore the Young Master’s clothes.
The kind-hearted butler punished me with a sorry face, but it wasn’t a very bad time.
‘I was hiding in the Young Master’s room every night, so I didn’t get enough sleep, but then I sleep in one go—’
Anyway, this Eonni was still saying something to me, but I was too busy making the cookie dough, so I didn’t even hear it.
I was busy moving fast thinking about the Young Master who would be alone.
I was in a hurry, so I hurriedly brought the cookies I made but—.
Before the outcome, I had no choice but to seriously think about it.
‘Give this or not.’
The pile of cookies on my hand was like the remnants of a giant fossil that had been rippled on a cliff for hundreds of years and had barely been excavated.
If I just give it to him, I have a strong feeling that I will be cursed at in return by Edric.
For a moment, the thought that it would be better to give the garden cobblestones crossed my mind.
‘Well—. Still— there is people’s sincerity. Because kids like Edric are weak at this kind of devotion.’
I changed my mind because it was a caution that it was better to do than to do nothing.
I’ve already invested in high-quality manpower, so let’s trust that.
In addition, my body has improved a lot these days, so I should express my gratitude.
But when I solved one problem wisely, the next problem was waiting for me right away.