Episode 5

"You've worked hard."

A man lounging in the inn's first-floor cafeteria waved at me with a carefree smile.

His green eyes sparkled against the sunlight like an emerald sea.

'He's a beauty worth selling a country for.'

Of course, if someone tried, I'd report them.

As I advanced closer to Ute Velvet, my cheeks couldn't help but feel warm.

"You passed, right?"

His smile was truly a work of art.

Perhaps his face was just naturally friendly because even a slight squint turned into a pretty grin.

In the past, we never had the chance to be this close, so I managed just fine.

'He's so beautiful it makes me want to puke.'

Vomiting in front of someone I like? That's unacceptable.

So first...

"I failed."

I needed to extinguish that smile.

"Ah..."

His eyebrows and lips, which had been brimming with excitement, returned to their original positions. Finally, I could breathe.

Ute scratched his cheek awkwardly and muttered, "You came in smiling, so I thought you passed."

"Me? No way. I didn't."

"...It must have been a misunderstanding."

His neatly arranged eyebrows furrowed slightly.

Ute Velvet deliberately grumbled as an act of comfort.

"People simply don't have an eye for talent. How could they reject you, the only and only Miss Sonnet?"

"Exactly. If they hired me, I'd work as hard as an ox."

"...To that extent?"

The man lightly stroked his immaculate neck and added slowly.

"Just work as much as you're paid. Life's about giving as much as you receive, isn't it?"

'Giving as much as you receive?'

I recalled the contract we signed not long ago.

I provide labor up front, and I receive my house later.

'If you calculate it that way, this contract doesn't add up.'

If you think it through—

"Miss Sonnet, you're my valuable comrade."

Perhaps he had a point.

"Comrade."

"A comrade, partner... Or a temporary partner in fate?"

The smile on his lips mirrored the elegance of lilies blooming in May.

I gazed at him, entranced, and shivered slightly.

'Again, again! This isn't the time to admire his face.'

No matter how divine Ute Velvet appeared, he wouldn't solve my problem at hand.

"So, what now?"

"What do you mean?"

"I failed the interview. It's not like they open servant recruitment frequently."

Especially not in renowned, prestigious households. They rarely even held them.

'They mostly hire through recommendations.'

There's no reason to hire unverified newcomers.

"Cleaning jobs won't open up for a while, and the kitchen rarely changes staff..."

Should I aim for the garden instead?

'If there was a child, I could apply as a tutor.'

I couldn't just sit still and wait for a child to be born though.

"This is unexpected."

"What is?"

Ute, who had been staring at me, briefly elaborated.

"I didn't think you'd be so serious."

"Of course I'm serious."

"I didn't expect you'd care this much."

"It's a contract."

"Right, a contract."

"A house is on the line for me."

No matter how stunning Ute Velvet was, and no matter how much I liked him, I wasn't foolish enough to believe everything he said.

'Whether the world is a romance spawning area or not.'

It didn't matter if more than half of Ute's words were lies.

'If what Sir Ute claims is right—that would be interesting, but if not...'

I just need a cozy nest.

"Oh, right. The house. You had a house."

His face, which had been oddly subdued, brightened.

He leaned his arm on the table and inclined his face toward me.

"Don't worry. If we work together, we can solve this quickly."

"Can you move your face away?"

It's making my heart race.

"Sorry, sorry."

"Why apologize?"

Though I almost fell to hell after encountering an angel, Ute Velvet had nothing to apologize for.

Except for the fact that he didn't exist in every household.

Ute swiftly changed the subject and pressed his back against the chair.

"Anyway, don't worry too much. There will be another opportunity."

"I wonder..."

"I was accepted. I start working tomorrow."

"Really?"

"If a position opens up in the mansion, I'll do my best to get you in immediately."

"You entered as a physician? How did you get in so quickly?"

"Medical jobs are in high demand. The Count is gathering doctors wherever he can."

"They must already have many dedicated doctors?"

High-ranking individuals are rarely attended to by just one person.

At least five, often up to twenty.

'The Count lives alone, so it shouldn't be twenty, but still, why?'

Ute explained lightly.

"The new Countess recently arrived."

"Adding one more doctor won't make a big difference. Perhaps, unless they hired a female doctor."

"Who knows what the master is thinking?"

Ute didn't seem interested.

"If I had known this, I might have become a doctor as well. Though I don't have the brains for it."

"Having such a skill is good... although it's better not to at times."

His silver hair swayed to the side.

Without a hint of a smile, Ute continued.

"Being a physician is a tough job."

"But you save lives?"

"Miss Sonnet, do you know the most important virtue for a doctor?"

A pop quiz.

"Responsibility? Ethical awareness?"

"No, it's agility and endurance."

"...?"

"You need to be ready to run at any moment."

Was that a joke?

It has to be a joke, right?

But his deep green eyes were more serious than ever.

"Especially If the mistress falls ill. You must flee without looking back."

"What are you talking about?"

"Of course, that doesn't imply you should run simply just because they're sick. However, if the cold looks severe, or if you can't diagnose it properly..."

Run away.

The unspoken words were easy to read.

Ute murmured with a regretful tone.

"If I'd known the world was like this sooner, I wouldn't have become a doctor."

"What would you have done then?"

"I'd learn something else. Swordsmanship or magic..."

"Not everyone can do that either."

While swordsmanship was something else, magic required an innate ability to manipulate mana.

"Do you have a mage in your family?"

"No, but... I'm handsome, so I have a higher chance of excelling at one of the two."

What? His confident demeanor was cute.

"What does looks have to do with it?"

"It's a basic unspoken rule in the genre of romance."

Ute Velvet's nonsense was strangely... sweet.

"But if I went that route, my mortality rate would have skyrocketed. So it's better this way."

Just what kind of world is he struggling in alone?

'It makes me want to fight with him.'

"Anyway, take a break for now, Miss Sonnet. I will find a way."

"How?"

"Somehow."

His voice was similar to when he asked if I believed in romance.

And a few days later...

"Your surname is Posa, and your name is Sonnet, correct?"

"Yes, that is me."

"Can you begin working this evening?"

---

Since ancient times, a house that desperately hired servants wasn't considered a good workplace.

But—

'What does that matter?'

Working at a mansion that provided me with a room and board was a stroke of luck.

"You said you've worked in the kitchen?"

"Yes, for about two years."

Let's ignore the fact that I was always fired for just peeling potatoes.

'Combined, it totals two years.'

The head chef continued without properly looking my way.

"Today's preparations are done. Your job now is—"

"Yes!"

"Take this meal to the Madam. Serving her meal is your duty... if she eats."

'Serving meals too?'

That's usually the job of a dedicated maid, isn't it?

'Is the workforce distribution poorly managed here?'

Is that why the first day was also the last for many?

Anyone who's been through different mansions could tell their future work environment on the first day.

This Count's mansion was...

"If the madam skips another meal, the master will be furious, so keep that in mind."

Hopeless.

"Don't do anything unnecessary. If you don't want to end up like the previous ones who were kicked out."

I instinctively raised the corners of my lips and nodded.

"I'll be careful."

I can figure out why they were kicked out gradually.

What's important right now...

I took a deep breath as I stood before the large door.

The person I needed to impress was inside this room.

"Madam, I've brought your meal."

---

Prev || Toc || Next