Wipe the corridor clean.

I didn’t rush to do other work, but instead, carrying the box of pastries, I returned to my living quarters with an unusually light step.

I didn’t share a maid’s room with the other maids. Five years ago, at the request of Master Naoya, I moved into the abandoned storage room alone.

The storage room was small, deprived of sunlight year-round, and had a strong musty smell.

At that time, the other maid sisters all thought I was pitiful and felt sorry for me. Master Naoya also thought I would be very sad.

But that wasn’t the case at all.

I truly felt more at ease in the storage room, at least finally having a space where I could be alone.

There were no tables or chairs in the storage room, so I sat on the bed.

Placing the pastry box on my lap, I carefully opened it. As the pale yellow paper fell away, nine exquisitely crafted and fruit-shaped sweets were revealed. They were so delicately made, lifelike to the point of resembling real fruits, exuding a delightful floral fragrance.

I hesitated to eat them.

Extending my fingertip, I gently touched them through the plastic wrap, feeling their soft and chewy texture, and I couldn’t help but think of Master Naoya’s face.

He has a good heart.

When Master Naoya used to bully me, he secretly helped me a lot. He pulled me out of the dirty mud, covered me with a coat when I was kneeling in the rain, and even secretly brought me various delicious snacks when I was hungry.

He loves to smile. Every time I met him, his eyes were full of smiles, as if he never had a moment of low spirits. He seemed like a person with a very high energy field. Spending a long time with him would surely be a very happy thing.

In the end, I couldn’t bring myself to eat, even though I was very hungry.
I repackaged the pastry box and tucked it into the wardrobe where I stored my clothes before heading out to work. After cleaning the floor, I still needed to water the plants in the courtyard.

A few cleaning maids nearby were chatting as they worked.

No one approached me to talk, even though I was not far from them.

But I didn’t feel dejected.

Since Master Naoya didn’t favor me, everyone initially avoided talking to me out of fear of being implicated. As time passed, I had little interaction with people, which made me develop a reserved nature. Even if someone wasn’t afraid of Master Naoya and made an effort to befriend me, I didn’t know what to talk about with them.

So, I usually stood at a distance, listening to everyone chatting.

It’s a way I passed the time.

Every time I listened to everyone chatting, I could immerse myself and reduce some of the worldly pain. This feeling was addictive, much like when Aunt Xijiang used to tell me bedtime stories.

“Nakano, where did you get such a beautiful hair clip?”

“How does it look? Pretty, right?” A young and lively maid held a broom, twirled in place, striking a cute pose, her eyes sparkling. “I had someone buy it for me. Don’t be fooled by its small size; it cost me quite a bit. Two months’ worth of wages.”

“That’s so expensive.”

“Yeah.”

“You really are generous.”

“Of course, if you don’t put in some effort on your appearance, how will you attract anyone’s attention?” Nakano adjusted her hairpin, looking pleased with herself.

“Attracting other people’s attention, Nakano Yoko, are you?”

“Shh, keep it down.”

They lowered their voices for the rest of the conversation, and I couldn’t hear. They whispered to each other, then erupted into laughter as melodious as silver bells.

“What’s all the noise about?” The head maid emerged from the corridor.

Nakano touched the tip of her nose and whispered, “Didn’t Master Naoya just return and go out with Master Sato? Now he’s not in the courtyard.”

The head maid gave her a stern look.

Nakano immediately fell silent.

The head maid placed several expensive-looking pieces of fabric into Nakano’s arms. “Take these to Master San.”

Nakano Yoko wailed, “It’s too heavy, it’s too far to Master San’s place. I can’t do it.”

The head maid had to pick up half of them.

Nakano Yoko looked visibly relieved.

The head maid glanced around, then fixed her gaze on me. She walked over and handed me the other half of the expensive fabric. “Go with Yoko.”

I nodded respectfully, my slightly long bangs partially covering my eyes. “Yes.”

I accompanied Nakano Yoko to Master San’s place.

Every now and then, Nakano Yoko would stop, stuff the fabric into my arms, take out a small mirror to check her makeup and hair accessories.

She’s only three years older than me, having started working here as a maid the year before last. She’s lively, talkative, and even the stern head maid likes her.

I like her too.

Because she could easily bring laughter, I enjoyed a happy atmosphere.

As we walked halfway, Nakano Yoko suddenly brightened at something she saw, even letting out a sound, but quickly contained herself because I was there.

I looked over and saw a male servant.

Someone I hadn’t seen before.

Not someone by Master Naoya’s side.

She hurriedly stuffed all the fabric into my arms, checked her makeup again, and put away the small mirror. “Um, Zen, I’ll leave this with you for now. I’ll be back later.”

I blinked.

Watching her run off, then turn back halfway, she nervously asked me, “Do I look strange in any way, like with my hairstyle or makeup?”

I was a little puzzled.

Honestly, I didn’t know much about makeup. But as I looked at her, the slightly blushing face of the girl and the anxious gaze she directed at me…

I smiled gently. “It looks very nice.”

Whether it was because she got a satisfactory answer or something else, Nakano Yoko stared at me for a moment. She gazed directly at me, even subconsciously reaching out to move my bangs aside. It wasn’t until I stepped back to avoid it, tilting my head in confusion, which she blushed and quickly waved her hand. “N-nothing, I’ll go now.”

After saying that, she dashed off and disappeared around the corner of the corridor.

As her figure vanished, I relaxed the faint smile that had unconsciously appeared on my face and stared blankly at the verdant branches outside the corridor.

Unexpectedly, Nakano Yoko didn’t return until it was almost dark. Instead, I saw several young masters coming from the corner of the corridor.

They were from a collateral branch, a few years older than Master Naoya. They had already started studying in Kyoto, and it was only recently that they had returned home during the school holiday. But they would soon be returning to school, and by then, Master Naoya would probably also be starting school, so we might not see him for several months.

I knelt down and bowed.

My hair was very long and inconvenient for work, so I loosely tied it with a white cloth at the back of my head. It was messy, and my bangs were also very long, almost covering my eyes. From the outside, I was truly unremarkable. The young masters didn’t even pause their steps as they playfully skipped over me.

It wasn’t until they had left that I stood up straight.

Looking at the dimming sky and still not seeing Nakano Yoko return, I felt a bit worried that the head maid might not be happy, so I decided to go alone to deliver the fabric.

By the time I returned, the sky had completely darkened.

The head maid saw me and sounded a bit displeased. “Where did you go? Why is Yoko still not back?”

I lowered my head, my voice hesitant. “I-I don’t know.”

“Forget it.” The head maid softened her tone and didn’t say anything more. “Master Naoya has already returned. Hurry up and go.”

“Yes.”

I arrived at the study room.

Master Naoya was sitting cross-legged beside the desk, practicing calligraphy while talking on the phone.

I didn’t know what the person on the other end had said, but it prompted him to let out a mocking, scornful laugh. “Ah, that Six-Eyes. I really don’t know what’s wrong with him; he insists on going to school in Tokyo. I heard he didn’t even come back for New Year’s Eve, celebrating in the dorm with a few commoners.”

“I also heard he often messes around with a woman.”

“It’s really disgraceful, absolutely no manners. That woman too, I heard she’s always making a fuss. It’s hard to imagine that there’s actually a woman like her in this world.”

Seeing me enter, Master Naoya motioned to me with the pen in his hand.

I approached slowly and knelt down about half a meter away from him.

“Is that so?”

He continued to talk on the phone, his eyebrows raised high, “It seems they’re really incompetent, losing an exchange match to Tokyo’s team. And that so-called cursed spirit user,” he scoffed, “some trash that crawled out of the slums, not worth your special mention to me.”

“As for the prohibition on bringing servants to school,”

I was still in a daze when he suddenly pulled me forward. I stumbled and almost fell over if not for my other hand catching the ground.

Master Naoya released my wrist and instead pinched my cheek, lifting my face up.

I quickly lowered my eyelashes, avoiding his gaze.

I felt his calloused fingertips gently caressing my chin, where earlier he had gripped it forcefully. Although I have no mirror in my room, I caught a glimpse of a bright red finger mark that had swollen badly when I was watering the flowers, reflected in the clear water of the vase.

It should still be swollen now.

Each time his finger pad brushed against my chin, I felt a slight sting.

He seemed to notice this keenly.

Then, he poked my swollen chin several more times.

Until my tears could no longer be held back, welling up in my eyes, I heard him emit a mocking laugh before using even greater force to poke my chin.

Seeing my tears finally fall, he seemed satisfied and finally stopped.

Soon after

The soft tip of a brush fell on my chin and cheeks. Even without looking, I knew Master Naoya was drawing a mustache on my chin and a turtle on my cheek, using a type of ink that is difficult to wash off in a short time.

It seemed he leaned in closer, his breath and laughter were very near, and his voice on the phone was also close by, “Those who cannot bring servants are of lowly status, do you understand?”