This single detached home nestled in the prestigious North District of Liberta, the royal capital of the Kingdom of Rose, was Knight Lloyd Stewart’s home and the housekeeper Chloe Ardennes’s place of work.
Chloe stood in front of the dining table, bowing deeply as if to embed herself into the wood. “I’m so terribly sorry!” she blurted out. “It’s an inexcusable lapse for a housekeeper to oversleep. Please, forgive me. I’ll make this right! I’ll do whatever you—”
Lloyd, seated across from her, raised a hand to gently interrupt her rambling. “Chloe, stop,” he said firmly. “It’s all right. We all make mistakes. If I were to take issue with you over something as trivial as waking up late, it would never end. I’m not upset, so please.”
Slowly, Chloe lifted her head, her expression akin to a startled animal. Her eyes seemed to ask, Are you truly not upset with me?
“It’s all right,” Lloyd repeated. “I managed breakfast on my own and was just about to leave for work.” He paused, his voice gentle. “And Chloe, I would never reprimand you for something like this. You should know that by now.”
“R-Right,” Chloe stammered, a wave of relief washing over her. “Of course you wouldn’t...” Of course he wouldn’t, she repeated internally. Lloyd isn’t the type to get upset over a small mistake like this. I know this, and yet...
Chloe clenched her fist tight in front of her, recognizing the source of her deep-seated fear. It wasn’t Lloyd; it was the shadows of her past in Shadaf, where she was mistreated by her family, the house of Margrave Ardennes, because of the birthmark on her back.
Chloe’s birth coincided with a series of famines and deaths in her family. Her mother, Isabella, deemed her a “cursed child” and subjected her to relentless abuse growing up. Verbal threats, physical violence, treatment akin to that of a dirty rag—she endured it all silently until a life-threatening encounter with her knife-wielding mother spurred her to flee to Liberta. It was here she met Lloyd Stewart, the kind knight who had offered her the position of housekeeper. In the three months since, Chloe had begun to reclaim the life and confidence stripped from her, thanks to Lloyd’s kindness and her new acquaintances in the capital. The path to full recovery, however, was long. Despite all her improvements (when she’d first arrived, her apologies left her prostrate; now, they were still frequent, but verbal), the guilt she’d been trained to feel over minor mistakes still reared its ugly head every so often. She had resolved to change, but it seemed the pace at which it would happen was out of her hands.
Lloyd remarked with a hint of concern, “It’s unusual for you to oversleep.”
Chloe felt a lump form in her throat. “Well, you see, the reason for that is...” she paused, gathering the courage to say the words. Then, in a rush of honesty, it all spilled out. “I got so caught up in the book I was reading I didn’t realize how late it was!”
Reading was the one cherished hobby Chloe had found for herself since coming to the capital. Each evening, as if it were a treasured ritual, she would be found curled up on the sofa, eagerly delving into a new purchase from Ian’s bookstore resting on her lap. Her reason for oversleeping was, indeed, very much in character.
However, Lloyd raised an eyebrow skeptically. “We read together last night, and I recall you retiring to your room at a decent hour.”
“Where I continued to read...” Chloe said sheepishly. “The story was so captivating I couldn’t put it down.”
“I see,” Lloyd responded, his tone softening into understanding. “I, too, find myself lost in books at times. I can relate to that feeling.”
Observing Lloyd’s uniquely charming pose—his arms crossed, nodding slightly—Chloe felt another rush of warmth to her cheeks.
“Chloe?” Lloyd’s voice pulled her from her thoughts.
“Wh-What is it?” she stammered.
“Your face is quite red. You don’t have a fever, do you?”
Lloyd leaned forward, concern etched on his features. He extended a hand towards her forehead, but Chloe quickly turned her head away.
“Chloe?” Lloyd asked again, more hesitantly this time.
“I’m fine, really. The picture of health. Especially after such a good night’s rest, thanks to you.”
“I struggle to see the correlation there, but you’re certain? There’s nothing bothering you?”
“Yes, I’m certain. Nothing at all. I’m the same old Chloe as always,” she insisted, trying to sound convincing.
“The same old...? No, something is wrong, isn’t there...” Lloyd stopped himself midsentence, his gazing searching hers. A silent, charged moment passed between them. Then, with a tenderness that startled her, he gently caressed the mark on her cheek. “It looks a lot better now.”
“Yes. It could’ve been much worse, if not for you,” Chloe murmured, her voice barely above a whisper.
As Lloyd’s fingers traced the mark on her cheek, a battle scar from recent days, Chloe winced slightly. Despite the healing, it still ached.
“That’s good to hear,” Lloyd said tenderly.
Suddenly, he stood up.
“Well, I should be going.”
Chloe quickly rose to her feet. “Right, of course. It’s almost that time, isn’t it?”
As they made their way to the door, Chloe spoke up again, her voice tinged with regret. “Again, I’m really sorry about this morning. Because of me, you haven’t got your lunch.”
Lloyd laced up a boot. “Nothing to worry about there. I’ll make do. And I’ll be back at the usual time this evening.”
“Yes! I’ll more than make up for it at dinner!” Chloe declared, her determination evident as she tapped her chest confidently.
“I’m looking forward to it,” Lloyd said, a faint smile gracing his face. He opened his mouth again as if he wanted to add something more, but then seemed to change his mind, shaking his head slightly. “All right then,” he said instead.
“Have a good day at work, Lloyd! And be careful—don’t hurt yourself!” Chloe called out after him.
With that, Lloyd left for work. As the door swung to a close, Chloe slumped to the floor, her facade crumbling. She buried her face in her knees, her voice was a mix of frustration and self-reproach as she murmured, “‘Same old Chloe as always,’ my foot.”
She knew it—there had been nothing “usual” about her lately. Her words, her actions, everything felt off. She was convinced Lloyd noticed it too, as this wasn’t the first time she’d behaved out of character recently. Despite this, Lloyd chose not to probe too deeply, and as a result, the both of them chose to wallow in their respective confusion—it was preferable to the potentially embarrassing truths they’d both face airing things out.
“Oh, what do I do?” Chloe lamented softly. “I can’t even look him in the eye...”
Peeking through the gap between her knees was a face as flushed as a ripe apple.