On that day, Sienna saw Brigitte off to school before heading into the capital to do some shopping. While her mistress was at the academy of magic, Sienna had things to do. Selecting makeup, clothes, shoes, accessories, and other small items was an important part of her job as a waiting maid.
Today, she was visiting her favorite stores to buy clothes that would suit Brigitte. For a while, following the orders of her fiancé, Prince Joseph, Brigitte had worn only dramatic makeup and pink dresses. But now that Brigitte was free from what Sienna thought of as Joseph’s spell, Sienna was dying to turn her adorable mistress into the best-dressed girl around.
As she adjusted a parcel containing a new outfit in her arms, she wished Brigitte had been able to come with her. Of course, she knew her mistress’s measurements and favorite colors and styles by heart. But it was hard to imagine exactly how everything would work with her coloring or how things would feel when she had it on. And since Sienna was petite with orange hair while Brigitte was tall with bright red hair, there was no way Sienna could try things on for her.
…Of course, that was all just an excuse. The truth was, she simply wanted to go out with Brigitte.
Snap out of it! You can’t keep her all to yourself!
To get herself back in line, she tugged at her cheeks. But even as she did, she couldn’t help wondering what Brigitte was doing right then.
Although she had seemed depressed for a few days after the prince ended their engagement, lately she was acting quite cheerful. Sienna guessed that was thanks to the friends she’d made at school, like Yuri, Nival, and Kira. She had found a new place for herself at the academy. Although Sienna was happy for her, she felt a little sad that she hadn’t been able to help her mistress more.
I made so many mistakes right from the start…
She thought guiltily back on the bitter past.
There weren’t many servants at the Meidell cottage. Most had been transferred there from the main residence by the Earl of Meidell because he said they were bad at their jobs.
Sienna was among them.
At first, she had been placed in the main house as a waiting maid in training, but after being accused of being unfriendly and not getting along with the other servants, she was sent to the newly built cottage.
She had been born into a merchant family distantly related to the Meidells—although her family wasn’t very well-off. As the youngest of eight children, she had been in service to the Meidells at the age of seven so her parents would have one less mouth to feed.
Soon after that, her whole family moved. They did not tell her where they went. She realized then that they had abandoned her. She was not an expressive child, and even in her own family, she had been the odd one out. Her parents must have been overjoyed to not only pawn her off on the Meidells but even receive moving money in return.
She decided then to make her own way in the world. She thought selfishly that if she rose to a position as waiting maid in the noted Fire Clan, she might make a good match in the future.
But just months after beginning her training, Sienna was transferred to the cottage. Most of the other transferred servants were sympathetic with Brigitte and carried out their duties gallantly—but not Sienna. She turned her anger at her own situation against the little girl.
Crash! The glass shattered noisily.
“I’m s-sorry.”
How many times had she heard those words already that day?
Sienna sighed with frustration. Brigitte’s shoulders shook in fear, which only irritated Sienna more. Everyone said her young mistress had been an innocent child before the move. She loved spirits and spent her days poring over books and stories about them or escaping the mansion to search for fairies. Sienna had seen the servants chasing desperately after her many times. But right now, she was staring at the floor, her fiery red hair hanging over her face. Her bandaged left hand was shaking. Shards of glass were scattered beneath a chair along with the hand mirror she must have dropped.
“You do not need to apologize. I’ll clean it up. Will you please move aside?” Sienna snapped.
“…Yes…,” Brigitte said sadly as she walked obediently away.
Sienna fetched a broom from the closet and briskly swept up the glass. She never cut corners on her work, no matter how trivial the task. Whether it was cleaning, laundry, or errands that needed doing, she always took the lead.
So why did I get stuck taking care of this girl?
She’d been moved from the enormous, beautiful main house to this cottage built to imprison a little girl. To make matters worse, the cottage had certain peculiarities.
First, it was hidden away behind the main house, largely out of view of the people there. Everyone whispered that the earl truly must not want to lay eyes on his only daughter.
Second, there was no means of heating the cottage. The most conspicuous example was the lack of fireplaces. There wasn’t a single one in the whole place. This was because, several weeks earlier, Brigitte’s father had burned her hand in the hearth after she failed to contract with a desirable spirit. The kitchen and the incinerator, too, functioned with as little fire as possible, and the servants always checked to make sure Brigitte wasn’t nearby when they used them.
These oddities struck Sienna as foolish. It was all well and good now, in June, but how were they supposed to get through the colder months? Winters in the capital were frigid. Temperatures dipped below freezing some nights. Her irritation grew more and more.
One day, when Brigitte came to her yet again to apologize, Sienna blurted out, “Instead of apologizing all the time, I wish you’d send me back to the main house.”
She clapped her hand over her mouth. She knew she’d made a mistake. Brigitte was the one who’d been chased out of the main house. And now she was asking that same girl to return her there?
“I didn’t mean—,” she began. But Brigitte’s response surprised her.
“…I know. I’m sorry. I don’t know what he’ll say, but I will ask my father,” she mumbled, her head still lowered.
Sienna looked down coldly at the girl.
If you can’t promise me anything, then just say that.
Brigitte must be trying to curry favor by getting her hopes up. She couldn’t have meant what she said. In a few days, she’d probably say, “Sorry, he said no,” or just pretend to forget all about it. So Sienna decided to forget about it, too. Because of that, she also forgot to apologize for what she’d said.
The next day, when Sienna went outside to sweep the stoop, she heard a child’s pleading voice some distance away.
“Please, I’m begging you.”
Is that the mistress?
The voice seemed to be coming from the main house. Brigitte must have slipped out of the cottage to beg for a doll or something. After making sure no one was nearby, Sienna snuck to a spot where she could see the back door of the main house. Normally she wasn’t allowed there, but she was too curious to resist.
What she saw caught her completely by surprise.
Brigitte, her back to Sienna, was bowing doggedly to the main-house butler.
“You can put me in a closet all by myself. Please just let Sienna and everyone else go back to the house. Please.”
The butler looked like he didn’t know how to react to the desperate pleas of his master’s daughter. When the earl had thrust her hand into the fire, the aged butler had immediately tried to stop him. Sienna had seen with her own eyes his swollen cheek after the master punched him—although the wound was fully healed now thanks to the priest’s magic.
“Miss…I understand your feelings, but please calm down. If the master sees you…”
“If he did, could I talk to him? I only want to ask Father to take Sienna back.”
“Miss…”
Even from a distance, Sienna could see that Brigitte was shaking. Her shaking increased when she said the word Father. Of course it did. Only weeks before, he had burned her hand. She was probably still terrified and worried out of her mind. Nevertheless, she was begging on Sienna’s behalf.
“Miss!”
Unable to stay silent any longer, Sienna shot forward. Brigitte looked back in surprise. Suddenly, her little body tottered sideways. Sienna rushed to catch her. Her skin was sweltering.