“It’s candy.”
“…Can… dy?”
It was cheap, but apparently it didn’t taste bad. He seemed to be rolling it around in his mouth.
“It’s sweet, isn’t it?”
Grace asked with a small smile.
“…”
He didn’t answer, but she could tell.
“I figured the medicine would taste bitter, so I gave you mine.”
“Yours?”
“Yeah. It’s nothing expensive, though. It’s just candy made from malt syrup.”
You could make it taste like strawberries or apples by adding flavoring to the syrup, but that made it a little more expensive.
After living far longer than anyone else, Grace had more than enough money.
Through countless returns, she had discovered that previous timelines didn’t disappear completely.
That applied not only to skills, but to physical objects as well.
There was one condition.
Money left with people, stored in banks, or simply kept somewhere would vanish.
But anything buried in the ground remained.
So whenever she earned money, she buried jewels in a secret place only she knew.
Over the years, she had accumulated quite a fortune.
Enough that candy like this cost her practically nothing.
Even so, she still preferred the cheap malt syrup candy.
Maybe because it had always been what she ate during hard times.
Or maybe because sugar candy was simply too sweet for her taste.
“Why did you give it to me…?”
“Hm? Because the medicine is bitter…”
“…Don’t… give me things like this.”
“Why? Didn’t you like it?”
Rivanu looked as though he might burst into tears at any moment.
Even after Grace asked again, he stayed silent for a long while.
Then he pulled the blanket over his head and lay down.
The tray slipped weakly from his hands and clattered onto the floor.
Having already lived enough lifetimes, Grace thought she had some idea what Rivanu was feeling.
“I’m sorry. I’m not sure what I did wrong, but if it made you uncomfortable, I won’t do it again.”
Pretending she understood nothing, she quietly picked up the tray.
She apologized, straightened Rivanu’s blanket properly, and left the room.
****
The next morning.
Grace was making breakfast herself.
Since she had been banned from entering the kitchen, cooking it herself was her only option.
After being thrown out the previous day, she had asked the head chef if she could at least take some of the leftover ingredients they would otherwise throw away.
Perhaps she looked pitiful enough that he took sympathy on her.
He told her to come by at the same time every day, and that he would set aside some proper ingredients for her.
He even gave her some old cooking utensils, ingredients, and supplies for making a fire.
It was enough to cook most simple meals.
So that morning, she made a simple soup.
After feeding Rivanu, she planned to clean his bedroom.
She couldn’t leave him to endure the cold with only that thin blanket.
She had also gathered several old blankets and quilts that previous maids had abandoned.
Carrying everything with her, she knocked on the bedroom door.
Even after knocking for quite a while, there was no answer.
“Lord Rivanu, I’m coming in.”
A bad feeling crept over her.
She cautiously opened the door.
As expected, Rivanu was lying in bed, groaning.
“Young Master, are you alright?”
Startled, Grace quickly set the bowl of soup down and hurried over.
His body was burning with fever.
His face had been flushed all day yesterday.
She had thought he was simply embarrassed.
Apparently, he had been coming down with a cold.
“You’re burning up.”
Grace said worriedly as she placed a hand against his sticky forehead.
Even while burning with fever, Rivanu still turned his head away to avoid her touch.
“I’m fine.”
“Ugh…”
“I’ll go ask the physician for medicine. No… I’ll bring him here!”
As Grace turned to leave, someone grabbed her wrist.
She looked back in surprise.
Rivanu slowly shook his head.
“He won’t come…”
“Huh?”
“He won’t come… anyway…”
“…Then at least you need medicine.”
“I’m fine, so stop making a fuss… you… cough… you should… cough… do your own work…!”
Rivanu seemed convinced that saying that would make Grace happily leave.
Instead, she simply stood there, looking at him.
“…Cough… What… are you doing?”
Rivanu stared at her in confusion.
Grace thought to herself.
He was always alone whenever he was sick.
That’s why he expects nothing.
That’s why he can say something like this.
Maybe, to him, this was simply normal.
Truthfully, Grace had never thought she’d lived such an easy life that she could pity someone else.
If any of her previous masters had told her to leave, she would have obeyed without a second thought.
There would have been no benefit in staying.
But Rivanu was different.
She had to treat him well.
She had to make him feel indebted to her.
“Please have this.”
“…What is it…? Cough!”
“I think you caught a cold, so you should eat something warm.”
“…Where did… you get this…?”
“I just happened to prepare it. The timing worked out.”
Something warm would help his body recover.
Rivanu stared at the steaming bowl of soup for a long time.
Since he made no move to take it, Grace spoke.
“Would you like me to feed you?”
The instant she finished speaking, Rivanu hurriedly picked up the spoon.
After hesitating for a moment, he scooped up some soup.
Slurp.
“Does it taste alright?”
Without saying a word, Rivanu finished the entire bowl.
The moment he emptied it, Grace wrapped him snugly in the blankets she had brought.
“…What’s this now?”
“It was too cold in here, so I borrowed these.”
“…What?”
Rivanu’s eyes widened in disbelief.
He stared at Grace before letting out a hollow laugh.
“Why are you doing this…?”
“Hm?”
“…Why are you being so nice to me?”
His voice was guarded, every word bristling with thorns as though trying to keep her away.
“Because I’m your maid. It’s my duty to take care of you.”
“That’s all…?”
“Yes. Does there have to be another reason?”
“…How long have you been working here?”
She had run away from home, come to the capital, applied for a position, and been hired.
In this lifetime, she’d only been a maid for about a month.
Since she was new, she mostly handled odd jobs instead of anything important.
Eventually she’d decided enough was enough and asked to switch assignments with Rivanu’s previous maid.
The timing had worked out perfectly.
“About a month.”
“You don’t know any better, but… one look at me should tell you this isn’t a good position. So why are you doing this…?”
“You want the honest answer?”
“Yeah. The honest one.”
If she didn’t give him some believable explanation, he would never trust her.
So she chose one of the reasons she had prepared beforehand.
It sounded the most convincing.
“The previous maid offered to pay me.”
She wasn’t even lying.
When Grace asked to take over the position, the woman had immediately thanked her and offered her money.
There was no reason to refuse.
It wasn’t a huge amount.
But money was money.
“…What?”
“I need money.”
“For something as small as that…?”
“I need to earn as much as I can.”
“Then just take the money and do the bare minimum. Honestly… all this just makes me uncomfortable…”
Rivanu genuinely looked uneasy.
It seemed he had never been cared for like this before.
His first reaction was simply rejection.
“I still want to do my best.”
Of course, Grace paid no attention to his protest.
“Why? Do you pity me?”
“…No. Taking care of you is simply my job, Young Master.”
“Is that really all?”
“I think you’re a good person.”
She casually slipped in another compliment.
Rivanu’s mouth fell open before he hurriedly listed every reason she should dislike him.
“I smell. I’m disgusting. Aren’t you afraid you’ll catch my skin disease? You said you need money. What if you get sick too?”
“Hmm… I don’t think I’ll catch it! I’m pretty lucky!”
She already knew the disease wasn’t contagious.
There was nothing to worry about.
Grace answered with a bright smile.
From Rivanu’s point of view, she looked completely reckless.
As if she hadn’t thought things through at all.
Grace merely shrugged.
****
Rivanu spent a long while staring at her in disbelief.
Eventually, overcome by his fever, he closed his eyes.
While he slept, Grace prepared cold medicine and a simple lunch.
Since he had caught a cold, she thought stew would be easier on his stomach.
She didn’t want to wake him while he slept so peacefully.
Instead, she waited until it had cooled to the right temperature.
Just then, Rivanu stirred and slowly opened his eyes.
The timing couldn’t have been better.
“Young Master, it’s time for lunch.”
“Lunch…?”
Still dazed from sleep, Rivanu blinked blankly.
His fever hadn’t gone down yet.
He looked only half awake.
“It’s still warm.”
Grace picked up the bowl herself, scooped up a spoonful, and held it out.
Without thinking, Rivanu opened his mouth and accepted it.
“Does it taste alright?”
“…Yeah.”
“That’s a relief.”
Feeding him turned out to be easier than she’d expected.
She even managed to get him to take his medicine.
The medicine must have started working quickly.
Not long after eating, Rivanu drifted back to sleep.
Grace watched him for a while.
Then she fell into thought.
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