Leticiel walked the halls in the duke’s manor for the first time in a while with Ruvik as her guide. The servants’ quarters were on the third floor. Ruvik stopped in front of a door at the far end of the corridor—Claud’s room.
They arrived just as the head butler and the doctor who had treated Claud came out of the room. The head butler awkwardly bowed when he noticed Leticiel, moving out of the way to let Leticiel and the others into the room. Slipping past the head butler and the doctor, Leticiel’s group found Claud lying face-up on his bed, his upper body wrapped in bandages. Claud’s eyes almost bugged out of his head when he saw Leticiel and he attempted to hurriedly sit up, but Leticiel stopped him with one hand.
“Claud, how are you feeling?” she asked.
“I’m feeling much better. Thank you.”
“Good. But please don’t push yourself.”
“I won’t. Thank you so much for earlier, miss. I have no idea what I would’ve gone through if you hadn’t come…”
“There’s no need to thank me. I didn’t do much.” Leticiel shook her head and sat on a round chair next to the bed. Claud’s wounds seemed to have been treated properly, and his complexion was better than it had been before. “Do your wounds hurt?”
“No. They just sting a bit from the medicine.”
“My lady, don’t be fooled,” Ruvik piped up. “He’s just putting on a strong face.”
“What? Really?” Surprised, Leticiel looked at Claud once more and saw that he was scratching his cheek, his eyes shifting awkwardly. “There’s no need to strain yourself. Please rest.”
“Sorry. If you insist…”
“That’s right. Please relax,” Ruvik said, pouring tea into a cup he found on the side table. Apparently, Ruvik was able to see through all lies. He truly was an excellent butler.
A knock sounded at the door. “Um, Mr. Claud… Are you in there?” It was the young gardener’s voice.
“You can come in. Is something wrong?”
At Claud’s beckoning, the young man timidly entered the room and flung his head down in a bow so quick that Leticiel could hear the whoosh of wind it created.
“Mr. Claud, I’m so terribly sorry! My mistake caused so much trouble for you… It’s all my fault!”
Claud was momentarily taken aback by the young man, whose expression was twisted with regret. But he smiled kindly and put his hand on the man’s shoulder. “Stop apologizing. It’s all in the past, so there’s no need to let it worry you.”
“Still…”
“Besides, I’m relieved. Thanks to the second prince and the young lady here standing up for us, you and I both got off with just pay cuts. Right?”
“Yes, but I really am sorry.”
Claud smiled wryly at the glum young man. He had told Leticiel and the others the truth even though he would have received the brunt of the duke and duchess’s anger in Claud’s place. Claud couldn’t blame him, and he didn’t seem to regret taking the blame for him.
Looking up, the young man told Claud with a voice full of resolution, “Actually, I just gave the duke my final notice. He agreed to let me go.” Leticiel couldn’t tell if Claud had predicted the words or not, but he wasn’t surprised.
“Really?” was all he said.
“Yes. I’m the one who caused this entire commotion and troubled you, so…”
“What will you do now?” Leticiel asked the young man, despite feeling like it was a little rude to interject. His resignation was partially her fault, so she felt a little guilty. She thought about giving him a job at her own manor to take care of him if he was searching for a job, but when he replied, he was calm and unbothered.
“I think I’ll take this chance to go back home. My father’s health hasn’t been the best, so I’ll help him tend the fields.”
“I see. Please take good care of your parents.”
“I will! Thank you so much, my lady, Mr. Claud, and you too, Mr. Ruvik! I’ll never forget your kindness!” Having said what he wanted to say, the man left the room in a completely different mood than when he had entered, his demeanor filled with resolve.
When the door had closed completely, Leticiel turned to Claud and asked, “What will you do, Claud?” Claud had been demoted and given a pay cut, but he hadn’t been fired. She wondered if he planned to continue working there despite that.
“Me? Well… I have a son, so I’ll endure things until they calm down. I can’t afford to lose a whole paycheck, after all.” Claud gave a resigned smile while thinking of his young son. Leticiel frowned slightly at the melancholic smile. “Gardening is my only talent, after all. It’d be hard for an insignificant, middle-aged man like me to find any other kind of work. They may have reduced my wages, but I managed to keep my job. I’m truly grateful to you, miss. Please let me know if there’s anything I can do for you.”
“Claud…”
A heavy silence fell over the room. Claud’s head hung low. Ruvik gave Leticiel an imploring look as if to ask her if there was something they could do. Leticiel sat still, thinking, until she said, “Hey, Claud.”
“Yes? What is it?”
“Why don’t you quit your job at the duke’s manor and come to work for me?”
Both Claud and Ruvik were surprised, their eyes opening wide at Leticiel’s casual suggestion. “A-At your manor, miss?”
“Yes. Ruvik and I have been thinking about finally getting the garden sorted out. It’s much smaller than the garden here, but we’d love to have you if you’re willing. What do you say?”
After hearing about Claud’s personal situation for the first time, Leticiel couldn’t possibly leave him be. Besides, after this incident, Claud’s position in the duke’s household had become extremely precarious. Who knew what would happen if he continued to stay there?
“But, still… I couldn’t possibly trouble you like that, miss.” Claud struggled with his words, confused by the sudden proposal.
Ruvik, who had been silent up until then, attempted to persuade him. In a serious tone, he said, “Claud, I’d like to ask you to join us, as well.” Claud’s gaze shifted to Ruvik, who glanced at Leticiel. “It’s just myself and Nicole at the manor, so we’re understaffed. It’d be a relief to have you. Taking care of Miss Drossell is…extremely difficult.”
“What? I don’t think so.”
“My lady, you’re, without a doubt, the only person who feels that way.”
Leticiel threw Ruvik a look that said she disagreed with the comment that came out of left field, but he gave her a knowing smile and simply shook his head in resignation at his mistress’s unbothered reaction.
“Drossell, will he be a new friend?”
“Drossell, is that man your friend too?”
The twins, who had been hiding behind Leticiel the entire time, floated up to Leticiel’s head and whispered quietly in her ear. They still seemed wary of Claud, so she wondered why they were suddenly asking.
“Aren’t you two still cautious of him?”
“Well, you’re you, after all.”
“Well, you’re you, Drossell!”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
Finding something about their conversation amusing, Ruvik burst into laughter. Claud was lost for words at the sight of the winged twins.
“Besides,” Ruvik continued, smiling, “you’re the one who saved me when I first came to this manor and was almost crushed by the pressure here. If you’re in a rough spot, this time, it’s my turn to help you.”
“Ruvik…” Claud lowered his gaze, staring blankly at the lamp on his table as he thought.
In his eyes, Drossell had always been full of fun the past few months. The duke’s manor would be suffocating if he stayed, and he wasn’t sure that he’d be able to safely survive his work the way things were now. The duke and duchess wanted to rid themselves of the whole mess, and they had no reason to keep a middle-aged servant.
Mentally, Claud resolvedly vowed to repay the young lady’s kindness for saving him from his predicament and follow her for as long as she needed him.
“If you’ll have me, I’ll gladly accept your offer, Miss Drossell.”
Leticiel and Ruvik shared a relieved smile. And so, Leticiel’s manor gained a new servant.