“Return to your room and rest.”

“Yes. …Pardon?”

Sheila, who had naturally lowered her head and answered with a “Yes,” ended her words with a question.

Surprised, she lifted her eyes, only to meet Cedric’s fearsome expression. She quickly lowered her head again and said, “I’m fine…”

However, she closed her mouth before finishing the sentence. It was because of the sound of Cedric throwing the cane he was holding onto the table.

“Did you think I would not only beat you but also immediately make you work?”

Cedric’s tone was sharp. It was less a question and more an accusation, as if asking if she truly saw him in such a way.

If she answered truthfully with “Yes,” it would be the same as treating her master like trash.

“No, sir!”

Sheila quickly replied with a lie.

She had, of course, assumed that after beating her, he would still make her finish her maid duties. From the start, Sheila had no human expectations whatsoever from the Calley family. But that did not mean she was so upright in nature as to answer honestly to Cedric’s intimidating stare.

“Judith, you can return to your room on your own, can’t you?”

“Yes, Brother.”

Judith, quick to read the mood in such matters, also gave an answer different from her true feelings.

The way Judith snatched away the school supplies from Sheila’s hands carried a chill.

After finishing a difficult lesson, being made to carry her own belongings downstairs without a maid’s help had hurt the young lady’s feelings.

But I didn’t volunteer for this…!

Sheila felt wronged, but in this room, there was no one who would care about a maid’s grievances.

“In that case, I will escort the young lady to her room and then take a rest.”

Despite the pain where she had been struck, Sheila forced a smile. They say one cannot spit on a smiling face…

“No need!”

“That’s enough.”

Like true siblings, Judith and Cedric both glared and answered at the same time.

Opening her mouth had only made things worse. Staying between these two any longer felt like it would shorten her life.

Still, if she had stood by without offering, Judith would have surely held it against her.

Cedric was fifty-five thousand times scarier than Judith, but as Judith’s exclusive maid, she could not afford to provoke the young lady’s temper.

Watching Judith’s retreating back, practically radiating frost, Sheila let out a quiet sigh.

When Sheila returned to her own room, the sun had not yet fully set.

It was rare for her to finish work and return while there was still daylight. Usually, putting Judith to bed meant it was already late.

Sheila decided to make good use of this rare opportunity.

Opposite the bed, on the long worktable, were neatly arranged clothes entrusted to her by other maids, sewing kits, knitting baskets, and toolboxes needed for various tasks.

Before sitting at the worktable, Sheila crouched down on the floor and lifted the floorboard.

Today’s work was hidden in this secret space, not on the worktable.

Removing the thick cloth pouch on top revealed the contract she had stashed last time, along with her usual ledger.

Sheila took out a hairpin and some accessories from under the ledger, then restored the floorboard to its original position.

These items had originally belonged to Judith. Anything slightly damaged or that she grew tired of, Judith would throw away without hesitation. Sheila would then pick them up, fix the damaged parts, and sell them at the market.

Though she had technically picked up discarded items, if caught, she could be mistaken for a maid with sticky fingers, so she kept them hidden here. Even though she had a room to herself, other maids or the head maid occasionally entered.

Since work had ended early and there was still some daylight left, it was better to fix them now. While other work could be done under lamplight, this kind was best in daylight.

Sheila took out various tools from the toolbox and began sewing and attaching the damaged parts. With a bit of extra time for once, her work progressed smoothly. Just having more time for side jobs was enough to make the pain in her calves seem to fade.

Sheila then recalled what Judith had said during the lesson.

“Judith… hic… will study hard from now on.”

Though she still referred to herself in the third person, ignoring the earlier correction, it was commendable at least to say it.

Yes, that’s how it should be…

If she could watch a maid who served her faithfully take a beating in her place and feel nothing, she wouldn’t be human. Seeing Judith’s tears made Sheila think perhaps her four years of service to the young lady had not been for nothing.

She could also understand why the tradition of using a whipping maid had persisted. In fact, Sheila even thought that perhaps, through this, Judith might truly begin to study.

Though her young mistress had been nothing but troublesome until now, the thought of Judith learning and becoming a proper person gave her an odd sense of pride.

As she fixed the hairpin, Sheila unconsciously began to hum.

In no time, night had fallen. Sheila lit the lamp, pouring in the paraffin oil she had squirreled away for working late.

In the masters’ rooms, gas lamps could be turned on with the press of a switch, but such things would never be in a maid’s room.

There was still plenty of time before bed, so she decided she would mend the maid uniforms she was in charge of, then work on the lace she planned to sell on her day off, and go to sleep afterward.

No—if things continued this way, she might even be able to take on more laundry or another side job.

Though she was always short on sleep, Sheila never thought about sleeping more. Time was money… and besides, sleep was something one could have forever once dead.

Sheila immersed herself in work.

Until someone knocked on her door.

***

After finishing his shower, Cedric emerged looking impeccably neat.

Wearing freshly put-on clothes, finished with a belt, Cedric approached his desk.

When he opened the top drawer, a round, flat container was revealed.

He told her to rest, so she must be resting.

Cedric took the item from the drawer into his hand.

Just as he was about to leave the room, someone knocked on his door.

“Come in.”

At his short permission, the one who appeared was his younger brother by a year, Alfonso.

“Brother.”

“What brings you here?”

Cedric asked dryly at the younger brother who had appeared in his room without notice.

“I thought Judith’s lesson must be over by now.”

As Alfonso approached him, Cedric set down what he was holding onto the desk and sat down on the sofa.

Alfonso sat across from him and asked, “How was it? The first lesson?”

It was obvious they were brothers from the way their arrogant sitting postures resembled each other.

“You’re always so curious about everything, aren’t you?”

Cedric avoided giving a direct answer.

Alfonso was always interested in the affairs around him, especially Cedric’s.

Though their appearances were a little different, their natures, way of speaking, and way of thinking were similar. But as brothers, their paths inevitably diverged depending on whether they were born first or second.

Cedric had been destined from birth to be the heir, and Alfonso had always been his “reserve.” That is, Alfonso’s value would only shine if something were to happen to Cedric.

“I hear you’ve decided to use Sheila as a whipping maid?”

When Alfonso spoke Sheila’s name with familiarity, Cedric’s expression hardened. Even though it was natural Alfonso would know her name…

“Yes.”

Cedric maintained a poker face and replied briefly with only the facts.

“Hmm.”

Alfonso let out an ambiguous sound. Cedric’s gaze sharpened at his manner.

“What exactly are you trying to say?”

It was clear Alfonso’s curiosity was not about the content of Judith’s lesson.

And as Cedric expected, Alfonso’s interest lay in the fact that his brother had designated Sheila as a whipping maid. In this day and age, a whipping maid.

If no one else, Alfonso could understand that Cedric’s reason for taking on Judith’s lessons was not solely because of her behavior…

‘So in the end, this all comes down to that maid…’

However, Alfonso could not understand why Cedric would stir up such matters at this point in time.

The family was pushing for his engagement. Cedric’s marriage was an affair that drew the attention of not only the Calley family members but also the royal family and the entire nobility.

Naturally, he should be careful to avoid any unnecessary scandals.

If he had an interest in a maid, it would be far cleaner to take her as a mistress after marriage. A scandal before marriage could be fatal enough to lead to a broken engagement.

If it were Alfonso himself, he would be especially cautious before marriage. And given that his brother’s way of thinking was similar to his own, Cedric should not be any different.

However, expectations had been completely overturned. No sooner had Cedric returned from studying abroad than he had used Judith’s lessons as an excuse to create contact with that maid.

“Isn’t that right? In this day and age…”

Alfonso deliberately left the rest unsaid, ending his words with an unpleasant nuance.

A whipping maid, something that might have been used in their parents’ generation… Should it be called innovative or old-fashioned?

Alfonso wanted to know exactly why Cedric was so fixated on a maid to this extent.

“Stay out of the affairs of adults.”

At the seemingly trivial words, a vein throbbed at Alfonso’s temple.

Since Alfonso had started provoking, Cedric responded in kind, deliberately striking at Alfonso’s inferiority complex as the second son.

Unlike Cedric, who had effortlessly seized everything, Alfonso flitted about gathering information and involving himself in any matter where he could take part.

Being told to stay out of it was the same as telling Alfonso to do nothing and keep out of everything.

But Alfonso was not one to simply take a hit.

“Brother, did you know? Allen has been bringing maids into his bedroom.”

When Alfonso spoke with a triumphant smile, this time Cedric’s brow twitched.