The ancient language was nothing but crooked writing to me. No, nothing more than the unidentifiable drawings of children.
From the beginning, we faced huge obstacles.
But that doesn't mean we can give up here.
“I think you’re doing a picture-matching puzzle.”
This is just a game to kill time, I muttered, starting to feel a mental victory.
The sun that had been high in the sky had begun to set, and the sandwich May had brought had turned to crumbs.
“It’s done.”
With great patience, I was able to find the meaning of all the words written in the letter.
Of course, there were things I couldn't find. I consoled myself by saying that this was not all it was cracked up to be.
“Let’s see... Wedding, dress, narcoti?”
What is Narcoti?
I had no idea what it meant because the word narcoti was just a combination of letters.
No, more than that.
“This is really just about preparing for a wedding!”
It's not like I wanted some huge secret.
After sitting at my desk for hours, this was all I could figure out.
Shit.
I, who had lost all sense of humor, threw the book down and closed it.
Then I leaned back in my chair and rubbed my forehead as if to relieve the fatigue in my eyes.
I tilted my head back and the sunset sky came into view.
“I guess it’s not time for dinner yet.”
I think the cleaning up will be done by now, so I'll just stay in my room and take a nap.
My eyes were tired and my shoulders felt stiff from having my head down and looking at small letters all day.
I, who had put away my books, headed to my room.
But as soon as I got up to the third floor, there was a commotion.
'What's going on?'
In front of my room, the maids were huddled together with serious faces.
I don't know what happened, but I had a bad feeling.
May soon discovered Ellie and came closer.
"Miss...!"
"What's the matter?"
“I, that’s...”
May trail off with a look of bewilderment.
“I think you should see it for yourself...”
The place May guided us to was my bedroom.
The first thing that caught my eye was the curtains, which had been brightly colored for spring.
Unlike the previous curtains which were a dark purple, these were bright and fluttering light pink curtains.
The wind blew through the slightly open window, shaking the curtains. I turned my gaze to where the fluttering ends of the curtains were pointing.
And at the end of that gaze, something was lying torn to shreds on the pure white bed sheets.
“That’s...”
At first, I didn't know what it was, but then I started noticing a familiar color that reminded me of someone.
It was something I had been holding dearly in my arms until morning.
“...Teddy bear.”
A gift that Ernest gave me.
My beloved teddy bear was torn to pieces.
So much so that the shape is unrecognizable.
“Ah, Miss...”
"...What's this."
The teddy bear that once boasted bright golden fur had long since lost its color.
Fur covered in dark stains and cotton torn and scattered everywhere.
When I first saw it, I didn't even realize it was a teddy bear. I just thought it was a ball of unidentified cotton lying on the bed.
But that was the teddy bear the Crown Prince had given me.
I, who had been silent for a moment, looked at the maids gathered next to me.
“You guys, explain.”
“The young lady came in to clean the room, and there was something like this on the bed...”
When they answered with a trailing glance, May suddenly got angry.
“Do you think that makes sense now? The room was clean the last time I checked! Who the hell is this? Who could do such a ridiculous thing? That doll was a gift to you personally from His Highness the Crown Prince!”
“Yes, May.”
“My lady! This kind of thing cannot be overlooked! How dare you take the gift that His Highness the Crown Prince has given you..!”
“May.”
As I hummed again in a low voice, May shut her mouth tightly.
"...All right."
So much so that the shape is unrecognizable.
“Ah, Miss...”
"...What's this."
The teddy bear that once boasted bright golden fur had long since lost its color.
Fur covered in dark stains and cotton torn and scattered everywhere.
When I first saw it, I didn't even realize it was a teddy bear. I just thought it was a ball of unidentified cotton lying on the bed.
But that was the teddy bear the Crown Prince had given me.
I, who had been silent for a moment, looked at the maids gathered next to me.
“You guys, explain.”
“The young lady came in to clean the room, and there was something like this on the bed...”
When they answered with a trailing glance, May suddenly got angry.
“Do you think that makes sense now? The room was clean the last time I checked! Who the hell is this? Who could do such a ridiculous thing? That doll was a gift to you personally from His Highness the Crown Prince!”
“Yes, May.”
“My lady! This kind of thing cannot be overlooked! How dare you take the gift that His Highness the Crown Prince has given you..!”
“May.”
As I hummed again in a low voice, May shut her mouth tightly.
"...All right."
May, who had been watching my expression, sent people out of the room.
Then, a cold silence fell over the room where the two people were left.
‘Who on earth would do something like this...’
I lifted the remains of my teddy bear from the bed as if to protest to myself.
The dolls that had been so lovely until this morning were nowhere to be found, and all that was left were strange, fluffy balls of cotton.
It was when Either, who was feeling distressed, was sitting on the edge of the bed with my eyes completely sunken in, fiddling with the debris.
At the sound of a knock on the door, May opened it to confirm who was knocking.
“Susan? Why didn’t you go back? Do you have something to say?”
“That, that’s it. I came to see the young lady.”
“The young lady?”
I, who was listening to that, nodded and said it was okay for her to come in.
Susan was one of the maids in charge of cleaning my room.
At my permission, a freckled young maid came in, groaning.
"What's the matter?"
“Excuse me, Miss... I have something to tell you...”
"Say it."
But as soon as I finished speaking, Susan fell to her knees and burst into tears.
“Miss...! Really, uh. I’m sorry.”
I froze, looking quite flustered at the sight of Susan suddenly bursting into tears and begging for forgiveness.
But that was only for a moment.
I had a feeling that the maid was the one who broke the teddy bear.
“You, by any chance.”
“T-Truth is. I broke your teddy bear...!”
"Ha."
It was such a young maid who did such a thing.
I let out a sigh of relief.
“I definitely didn’t do it on purpose...! I think I accidentally got it mixed in with the bed sheets when I was cleaning them. But I didn’t realize it and ended up dropping it in the dirty water... Sob. There was a stain on it, so I tried to erase it and the doll ended up ripping. I’m so sorry... Sob.”
“What are you talking about now? What if you bring it up now! If something like that happened, you should have said something right away!”
I was speechless at the maid's untimely confession. Instead, May shouted at the maid and interrogated her.
“His Highness the Crown Prince gave it to the young lady... The Young Lady also cherishes it very much... That’s why I was scared and couldn’t tell you. I’m truly sorry. Even if I had ten mouths, I have nothing to say.”
“Then what was your intention in putting it on the bed like this?”
“I, I really don’t know! The doll did get torn while I was doing laundry, but it wasn’t torn to that extent! Just a little bit of cotton came out...”
But I wouldn't listen to Susan's excuses anymore.
It's spilled milk.
What would be gained by nagging a young maid?
I turned back again and said.
"Yes, just go out.”
“Miss, are you going to let them go like this? Those kids are spoiled...!”
“May, I want to be alone.”
May, who had been mumbling for a moment, looked at my expression and took Susan out of the room.
The sound of the door closing made me let out a deep sigh as I was left alone.
“What did I say to Ernest...”
Whenever I look at this doll, I feel like I can start something new again.
Was it because of the Crown Prince’s sincere advice that day?
Whenever I looked at the teddy bear, I felt like I could straighten out everything wrong.
But now that the doll is broken, I feel like something is missing.
I muttered, tilting my head back and catching my breath.
“More importantly, what should we do with that maid?”
In novels, maids who steal from noble ladies are usually beaten and kicked out.
It wasn't stolen or anything. It was just a young maid making a mistake while working.
Although it was frustrating that the teddy bear was broken, I didn't want to be so harsh to the child.
But let's just end it like this without any punishment.
'But if I just let it slide, I might be ignored.'
I had no intention of letting myself be considered a master who could make mistakes in the future.
I thought about it and after much thought pulled the rope.
Then May, who had been waiting outside, came in.
“You called.”
“Susan, let’s end it by taking a pay cut for a month.”
That might be too harsh.
It was by no means a light punishment for a maid who was making a living day to day.
May nodded as if she thought that level of punishment would be sufficient.
“Yes, I understand. I will tell the butler. Instead, how about writing a letter to His Highness the Crown Prince? Then he will surely give you the same gift again.”
“How can I say it’s broken after only a few days since he gave it to me? I think it would be better for His Highness the Crown Prince to just not know about this. May. First, can you find a doll that’s as similar as possible to this one and bring it to me?”
“Yes. I’ll go out tomorrow and try to find a doll that looks as similar as possible.”
“Yes. Thank you.”
I didn't plan on telling Ernest about this.
It was also my fault for not managing it properly.
I added that I wanted the debris strewn across the bed cleared away.
'It's not a good thing, let's just forget about it. It's just a broken teddy bear.'
As I was leaving the room with that thought in mind, a question suddenly popped into my head.
'But where is the ribbon?'
Among the debris on the bed was the ribbon I had tied around the teddy bear's neck.
I tilted my head and asked.
“May, that’s missing. It’s the ribbon I tied around the teddy bear’s neck.”
"Yes, just go out.”
“Miss, are you going to let them go like this? Those kids are spoiled...!”
“May, I want to be alone.”
May, who had been mumbling for a moment, looked at my expression and took Susan out of the room.
The sound of the door closing made me let out a deep sigh as I was left alone.
“What did I say to Ernest...”
Whenever I look at this doll, I feel like I can start something new again.
Was it because of the Crown Prince’s sincere advice that day?
Whenever I looked at the teddy bear, I felt like I could straighten out everything wrong.
But now that the doll is broken, I feel like something is missing.
I muttered, tilting my head back and catching my breath.
“More importantly, what should we do with that maid?”
In novels, maids who steal from noble ladies are usually beaten and kicked out.
It wasn't stolen or anything. It was just a young maid making a mistake while working.
Although it was frustrating that the teddy bear was broken, I didn't want to be so harsh to the child.
But let's just end it like this without any punishment.
'But if I just let it slide, I might be ignored.'
I had no intention of letting myself be considered a master who could make mistakes in the future.
I thought about it and after much thought pulled the rope.
Then May, who had been waiting outside, came in.
“You called.”
“Susan, let’s end it by taking a pay cut for a month.”
That might be too harsh.
It was by no means a light punishment for a maid who was making a living day to day.
May nodded as if she thought that level of punishment would be sufficient.
“Yes, I understand. I will tell the butler. Instead, how about writing a letter to His Highness the Crown Prince? Then he will surely give you the same gift again.”
“How can I say it’s broken after only a few days since he gave it to me? I think it would be better for His Highness the Crown Prince to just not know about this. May. First, can you find a doll that’s as similar as possible to this one and bring it to me?”
“Yes. I’ll go out tomorrow and try to find a doll that looks as similar as possible.”
“Yes. Thank you.”
I didn't plan on telling Ernest about this.
It was also my fault for not managing it properly.
I added that I wanted the debris strewn across the bed cleared away.
'It's not a good thing, let's just forget about it. It's just a broken teddy bear.'
As I was leaving the room with that thought in mind, a question suddenly popped into my head.
'But where is the ribbon?'
Among the debris on the bed was the ribbon I had tied around the teddy bear's neck.
I tilted my head and asked.
“May, that’s missing. It’s the ribbon I tied around the teddy bear’s neck.”
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