It was nonsense. The slave trader had originally sold them as stable slaves. They were planning to stay in the stable and communicate with the knights of the royal capital. He said that the treatment of stable slaves was not so bad. Liena knew what he meant. The stable was a place where the eyes of the nobles could not easily reach, and the nobles did not care what the slaves did in places where they could not see them.
On the contrary, those who worked as servants next to the nobles were the ones who were tired. Their places of eating and sleeping might be cleaner than those of the stable slaves, but everything else was tiring and full of difficult tasks.
Depending on the temperament of her master, she would have to be beaten at any moment and have to cater to their moods which would change from time to time, so it would be hard. That's why she had to be a stable slave. It was easier that way. Furthermore, even if she died, Liena did not want to become the maid of a girl who was younger than herself and was called the tyrant of this shabby and unattractive castle.
What if she was a noble of a higher rank? A family living in such a shabby castle. She hated having to cater to that girl's whims and act as a maid. Liena hoped this commotion would pass quickly, but the girl lay down on the floor and began to cry.
“Ahhhhhhh!”
Her eyes, filled with tears, were pretty, but it was time to put aside the thought of her being pretty. In fact, Liena didn't even like the fact that the lord's daughter was pretty. Of course, she was so beautiful that it was enough to take your breath away, so Liena had just stared blankly at her a while ago, but seeing her pretty face frown and make a bad face made her feel ashamed.
The King's gaze was fixed on the child who was crying and flapping her arms and legs. A brief flash of color appeared in her dry eyes. Liena captured even that brief ripple without missing a beat. It was Liena who always supported him.
Her mother was the Queen's maid and his wet nurse, and she was a court lady who had watched over him since he was a child. She couldn't help but think about the meaning of that ripple. She watched the situation while suppressing her feelings that were slowly turning.
In the end, the lord gave him as his daughter's servant. The ground beneath her feet felt like it was crumbling. The King was still expressionless. If Philip had not usurped the throne, it was a worthless estate that he would never visit for inspection. The lord's daughter who ruled that estate.
A daughter who didn't seem to be loved that much by the lord. A short girl's servant... Liena looked at the girl in her nanny's arms. Her body, shaking with tears, was infinitely thin. Her face, which seemed to have been precisely drawn with a brush made of squirrel tail hair, was extremely delicate and fragile.
Liena lowered her gaze.
When she was a baby sleeping in a cradle. Born with a face that looked like it had been blessed by a fairy, and now she was the daughter of such a shabby estate. It was as bad as a commoner being born with the beauty of a peerless beauty. Surely, in the capital, even if her family was a little humble, she would have conquered the palace with her beauty. Even if she couldn't become the King's wife, she would have married a nobleman much higher than her family and lived a life worth the price of her beauty.
But Lugdun? The young lady of this poor and barren land... So you don’t know etiquette?
On the contrary, those who worked as servants next to the nobles were the ones who were tired. Their places of eating and sleeping might be cleaner than those of the stable slaves, but everything else was tiring and full of difficult tasks.
Depending on the temperament of her master, she would have to be beaten at any moment and have to cater to their moods which would change from time to time, so it would be hard. That's why she had to be a stable slave. It was easier that way. Furthermore, even if she died, Liena did not want to become the maid of a girl who was younger than herself and was called the tyrant of this shabby and unattractive castle.
What if she was a noble of a higher rank? A family living in such a shabby castle. She hated having to cater to that girl's whims and act as a maid. Liena hoped this commotion would pass quickly, but the girl lay down on the floor and began to cry.
“Ahhhhhhh!”
Her eyes, filled with tears, were pretty, but it was time to put aside the thought of her being pretty. In fact, Liena didn't even like the fact that the lord's daughter was pretty. Of course, she was so beautiful that it was enough to take your breath away, so Liena had just stared blankly at her a while ago, but seeing her pretty face frown and make a bad face made her feel ashamed.
The King's gaze was fixed on the child who was crying and flapping her arms and legs. A brief flash of color appeared in her dry eyes. Liena captured even that brief ripple without missing a beat. It was Liena who always supported him.
Her mother was the Queen's maid and his wet nurse, and she was a court lady who had watched over him since he was a child. She couldn't help but think about the meaning of that ripple. She watched the situation while suppressing her feelings that were slowly turning.
In the end, the lord gave him as his daughter's servant. The ground beneath her feet felt like it was crumbling. The King was still expressionless. If Philip had not usurped the throne, it was a worthless estate that he would never visit for inspection. The lord's daughter who ruled that estate.
A daughter who didn't seem to be loved that much by the lord. A short girl's servant... Liena looked at the girl in her nanny's arms. Her body, shaking with tears, was infinitely thin. Her face, which seemed to have been precisely drawn with a brush made of squirrel tail hair, was extremely delicate and fragile.
Liena lowered her gaze.
When she was a baby sleeping in a cradle. Born with a face that looked like it had been blessed by a fairy, and now she was the daughter of such a shabby estate. It was as bad as a commoner being born with the beauty of a peerless beauty. Surely, in the capital, even if her family was a little humble, she would have conquered the palace with her beauty. Even if she couldn't become the King's wife, she would have married a nobleman much higher than her family and lived a life worth the price of her beauty.
But Lugdun? The young lady of this poor and barren land... So you don’t know etiquette?
Liena's mind was in turmoil as she followed the King.
"Your Majesty."
She called out softly to the King who was walking away with his back turned.
“Is it okay?”
“Of course.”
"But..."
“Isn’t she cute?”
The King nodded absentmindedly. It was a heartless answer. Although the emotion implied in the answer could not be read, Liena did not like the answer. It seemed that he really liked the child. Liena followed him with her lips tightly shut. Sibyl glanced at Liena like that and then saw the woman entering the bedroom.
“There is one thing you must keep in mind. Since you are going to serve the young lady anyway, you will be summoned by the lord at least once to hear what you must keep in mind.”
The woman who had placed the girl on the bed turned around and looked down at them. Sybil was staring at the girl lying behind her. Her face was red and looked extremely painful. The sight of her breathing hard and distorted was bothering him.
Even though it seemed like she should call the doctor first, the woman was calm. Her face showed that there was nothing to be impatient about. Either she had experienced this a lot, or she was not affectionate enough to care what happened to the lord's daughter behind her.
“To please the young lady...”
“Call the doctor.”
The girl froze. Sybil looked away from the girl who was sobbing softly and twisting her body, and then blankly stared at the woman.
“The young lady is having difficulty breathing.”
The woman with sharp eyes trembled and her face hardened. The woman with dry lips and a stern expression cleared her throat and rang the bell. Soon after, a servant came in and stood before her. The doctor was living in the castle.
The old man, who had been caring for the lord's daughter for a long time as the only attending doctor, pushed up his monocle when he saw the girl who had been wheezing with a fever for four days. Fortunately, the convulsions subsided shortly after he began examining her, but her distorted eyebrows remained.
The doctor got up, exchanged greetings with the nanny a few times, and then left the bedroom. An hour had passed. The lord and his wife had not appeared until the moment the doctor left the bedroom. Sibyl stared at the girl and unconsciously took a step closer. While the girl’s nanny went out of the bedroom to see the doctor off, he brushed away the pink hair that had stuck to her wet cheek.
“Ugh...”
A thin moan escaped her plump lips. Long fingers traced her reddened eyes. Feeling the hand wandering around her eyes, her furrowed eyebrows straightened and the girl smiled gently.
It was a stunningly pretty face. A beauty too precious to be confined to this remote countryside. Sibyl narrowed his eyebrows and thought of the girl rolling on the floor. Even as she rolled on the floor, groaning, this delicate beauty remained the same. His fingers wandered around her eyes, tracing her wispy eyelashes and lightly dabbing her eyelids.
The fingers were high and straight, the bridge of the nose was deep and the philtrum was deep. The lips were full. Even if she had not been weakened by illness, she would have had skin as white and smooth as pearls. Her beauty, unworn by the last fever, would surely bloom like a rose at dawn. It was a fleeting beauty. However, he could not look at it with dull eyes.
The girl's dry lips were pulled by Sibyl's touch. Her left chest twitched at the round smile. Tickle. The strange sensation running up his spine was so creepy that it made him feel nauseous. This was the first time he felt this kind of sensation. He withdrew his hand and looked away.
The woman who had just finished seeing him off entered the bedroom. When she met Sibyl’s gaze, the woman’s smile disappeared. Sibyl also walked away from the bed with a dry expression. With each step he took, the energy that had been covering him slowly began to eat away at him.
“I think the young lady likes you.”
The woman who had been lightly touching her forehead, which had been feverish, turned around. Sibyl, who was fourteen years old but taller than her, looked down at her blankly. The woman who had been looking at him, who had a young face and was as tall as a man, slightly frowned.
“As you can see, there is not a single day that goes by that she is not sick.”
It was a tone that did not show affection. It was affectionate, but that affection was only the duty of the job. There was no sense of personal affection. Sybil lowered her gaze and looked at the sleeping girl. The way she was sucking her thumb like a baby sucking milk was not typical of a nine-year-old girl.
“She's always on edge because there’s never a day when she's not sick.”
He stared at her bluntly. The woman frowned at his gaze.
“What I mean is, don’t go against the young lady’s wishes.”
“...”
“So that she doesn’t have to suffer from a fever like this. I’ll give you anything you want.”
The woman who had finished speaking closed her lips. Then she rang the bell to call the servant again. The servant dragged Sibyl and Liena out of the bedroom and showed them to the room where they would be staying. The room was not far from the girl’s bedroom, and it was a room that a stable slave would not have dreamed of.
“It became a nuisance.”
As soon as the servant disappeared, Liena, who had been complaining, stared at him. Sibyl did not respond. Her fine pink hair was tangled in a mess before his eyes.
"Your Majesty."
“Didn’t they say I was a black dog?”
“How could such an impious...”
“You are a gray rat.”
The lips that had been quivering stopped moving at the words that were spoken without a trace of laughter. Liena, who had dropped her gaze and made a desperate expression, raised her head. Her eyes were as if she had heard something terrible. Sybil looked at her indifferently and leaned back against the wall. The fingers that had touched her skin moved on their own. It wasn’t the first time he had met a nine-year-old girl. It wasn’t that there had never been a woman around.
"Your Majesty."
She called out softly to the King who was walking away with his back turned.
“Is it okay?”
“Of course.”
"But..."
“Isn’t she cute?”
The King nodded absentmindedly. It was a heartless answer. Although the emotion implied in the answer could not be read, Liena did not like the answer. It seemed that he really liked the child. Liena followed him with her lips tightly shut. Sibyl glanced at Liena like that and then saw the woman entering the bedroom.
“There is one thing you must keep in mind. Since you are going to serve the young lady anyway, you will be summoned by the lord at least once to hear what you must keep in mind.”
The woman who had placed the girl on the bed turned around and looked down at them. Sybil was staring at the girl lying behind her. Her face was red and looked extremely painful. The sight of her breathing hard and distorted was bothering him.
Even though it seemed like she should call the doctor first, the woman was calm. Her face showed that there was nothing to be impatient about. Either she had experienced this a lot, or she was not affectionate enough to care what happened to the lord's daughter behind her.
“To please the young lady...”
“Call the doctor.”
The girl froze. Sybil looked away from the girl who was sobbing softly and twisting her body, and then blankly stared at the woman.
“The young lady is having difficulty breathing.”
The woman with sharp eyes trembled and her face hardened. The woman with dry lips and a stern expression cleared her throat and rang the bell. Soon after, a servant came in and stood before her. The doctor was living in the castle.
The old man, who had been caring for the lord's daughter for a long time as the only attending doctor, pushed up his monocle when he saw the girl who had been wheezing with a fever for four days. Fortunately, the convulsions subsided shortly after he began examining her, but her distorted eyebrows remained.
The doctor got up, exchanged greetings with the nanny a few times, and then left the bedroom. An hour had passed. The lord and his wife had not appeared until the moment the doctor left the bedroom. Sibyl stared at the girl and unconsciously took a step closer. While the girl’s nanny went out of the bedroom to see the doctor off, he brushed away the pink hair that had stuck to her wet cheek.
“Ugh...”
A thin moan escaped her plump lips. Long fingers traced her reddened eyes. Feeling the hand wandering around her eyes, her furrowed eyebrows straightened and the girl smiled gently.
It was a stunningly pretty face. A beauty too precious to be confined to this remote countryside. Sibyl narrowed his eyebrows and thought of the girl rolling on the floor. Even as she rolled on the floor, groaning, this delicate beauty remained the same. His fingers wandered around her eyes, tracing her wispy eyelashes and lightly dabbing her eyelids.
The fingers were high and straight, the bridge of the nose was deep and the philtrum was deep. The lips were full. Even if she had not been weakened by illness, she would have had skin as white and smooth as pearls. Her beauty, unworn by the last fever, would surely bloom like a rose at dawn. It was a fleeting beauty. However, he could not look at it with dull eyes.
The girl's dry lips were pulled by Sibyl's touch. Her left chest twitched at the round smile. Tickle. The strange sensation running up his spine was so creepy that it made him feel nauseous. This was the first time he felt this kind of sensation. He withdrew his hand and looked away.
The woman who had just finished seeing him off entered the bedroom. When she met Sibyl’s gaze, the woman’s smile disappeared. Sibyl also walked away from the bed with a dry expression. With each step he took, the energy that had been covering him slowly began to eat away at him.
“I think the young lady likes you.”
The woman who had been lightly touching her forehead, which had been feverish, turned around. Sibyl, who was fourteen years old but taller than her, looked down at her blankly. The woman who had been looking at him, who had a young face and was as tall as a man, slightly frowned.
“As you can see, there is not a single day that goes by that she is not sick.”
It was a tone that did not show affection. It was affectionate, but that affection was only the duty of the job. There was no sense of personal affection. Sybil lowered her gaze and looked at the sleeping girl. The way she was sucking her thumb like a baby sucking milk was not typical of a nine-year-old girl.
“She's always on edge because there’s never a day when she's not sick.”
He stared at her bluntly. The woman frowned at his gaze.
“What I mean is, don’t go against the young lady’s wishes.”
“...”
“So that she doesn’t have to suffer from a fever like this. I’ll give you anything you want.”
The woman who had finished speaking closed her lips. Then she rang the bell to call the servant again. The servant dragged Sibyl and Liena out of the bedroom and showed them to the room where they would be staying. The room was not far from the girl’s bedroom, and it was a room that a stable slave would not have dreamed of.
“It became a nuisance.”
As soon as the servant disappeared, Liena, who had been complaining, stared at him. Sibyl did not respond. Her fine pink hair was tangled in a mess before his eyes.
"Your Majesty."
“Didn’t they say I was a black dog?”
“How could such an impious...”
“You are a gray rat.”
The lips that had been quivering stopped moving at the words that were spoken without a trace of laughter. Liena, who had dropped her gaze and made a desperate expression, raised her head. Her eyes were as if she had heard something terrible. Sybil looked at her indifferently and leaned back against the wall. The fingers that had touched her skin moved on their own. It wasn’t the first time he had met a nine-year-old girl. It wasn’t that there had never been a woman around.
His fiancée was a precocious seventeen-year-old, elegant, and lovely girl who was familiar with all things royal. She knew how to be innocent when he wanted an innocent girl and how to be precocious when he wanted an uncouth girl, so there was nothing that could be so annoying. He didn’t know if he should call it annoying, but the afterimage that was fading before his eyes was persistent and would not crumble.
Liena, who had been watching him, approached him, took out some ointment, and applied it to the wound. Sybil pushed her hand away and closed his eyes. Even after applying the ointment, the area where he had been hit still felt cold. It was the first time he had been grabbed by the hair, and it was extremely unpleasant. From the time he left the villa until he arrived at the castle, the feeling of the wet poncho sticking to his skin was also extremely unpleasant.
But the most unpleasant thing is...
Liena, who had been watching him, approached him, took out some ointment, and applied it to the wound. Sybil pushed her hand away and closed his eyes. Even after applying the ointment, the area where he had been hit still felt cold. It was the first time he had been grabbed by the hair, and it was extremely unpleasant. From the time he left the villa until he arrived at the castle, the feeling of the wet poncho sticking to his skin was also extremely unpleasant.
But the most unpleasant thing is...
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