After the door closed, the room became quiet.
Having ended up alone with Joshua by pure chance, Sheyla stood in a corner of the room.
After much deliberation, she had chosen a different room because she absolutely did not want to show him her own room.
Joshua glanced at her over his shoulder and bit his lip.
“My noona said she’ll be back soon.”
He tried speaking to her, but received no response.
“I’m not… a bad kid. Just… kind of loud. My hearing isn’t very good.”
Still, Sheyla did not react.
Meanwhile, Joshua sat on the bed.
The silence continued for a long time before he quietly spoke again.
“Does your hand… hurt?”
Only then did Sheyla lift her head.
Joshua’s eyes looked casual, yet somehow sincere.
“Mr. Hylmaiton gave me this earlier.”
He pulled a small tube of ointment from his pocket.
Fidgeting with it, Joshua spoke shyly.
“I brought it because… I thought it might hurt. If you don’t want it, then later my noona can…”
Sheyla silently watched him.
Her fingers slowly curled into a fist.
Then, in a voice so soft it was almost impossible to hear, she said,
“…Thank you.”
Sheyla did not take the ointment.
But she did not reject it either.
That alone seemed enough to make Joshua happy.
He broke into a bright smile.
“You don’t… have to talk. You don’t have to… I understand.”
Mixing hand gestures with his words, Joshua spoke slowly.
This was how he always explained his hearing problem.
Sheyla opened her mouth as if to say something but closed it again.
Joshua climbed down from the bed and walked over.
Without saying anything, he held out his hand.
Watching him, Sheyla hesitated before carefully accepting the ointment he offered.
At that moment, a familiar voice suddenly echoed in her ears.
Her mother’s voice.
“A lady of the Grand Ducal House should never reveal her feelings carelessly.”
“If you smile too much, people will think you’re low-class.”
“Don’t try to seem kind. People will only take advantage of you.”
Holding the ointment, Sheyla shook her head forcefully.
Joshua had already turned back toward the bed and didn’t notice.
“…You’re strange.”
She whispered the words softly.
Yet there was no hatred in her voice.
Joshua dropped back onto the bed and simply waved at her with a grin.
After finishing her bath, Elysia found that fresh clothes had already been prepared for her.
Dressed in clean clothes, she stepped into the hallway.
“I wonder if Joshua is alright.”
While worrying about her brother, her thoughts kept drifting back to Sheyla.
She remembered the girl running away in panic.
And Joshua waving cheerfully as if nothing had happened.
When he followed Hylmaiton away, Joshua had looked thrilled simply to be inside such a grand mansion.
Elysia silently prayed that her brother wouldn’t somehow offend the young lady.
“Lady Elysia. This way, please.”
While she was deep in thought, Hylmaiton approached.
Elysia quickly snapped back to reality.
After knocking, Hylmaiton opened a door.
This room was different from before.
Instead of the reception room where she had first met Yulias, this appeared to be his office.
Documents were piled high across the desk.
Seated among them, wearing glasses, Yulias looked surprisingly scholarly.
The pen in his hand moved without pause.
Seeing that he was working, Elysia quietly waited.
“Your Grace.”
Hylmaiton called him in a familiar manner.
Only then did Yulias look up, as though he had not even heard the knock.
He removed his glasses.
“You’ve arrived. Have a seat.”
“Thank you.”
Elysia sat on the sofa provided.
She had expected the conversation to begin once he removed his glasses.
Instead, Yulias continued reviewing documents without putting down his pen.
Am I supposed to just sit here and wait?
Elysia glanced at Hylmaiton.
Noticing her look, he smiled and deliberately cleared his throat.
“Ahem.”
“Your Grace.”
“Ah, right.”
Only then did Yulias set down his pen and rub the bridge of his nose.
He rose from his chair and sat on the sofa opposite her.
Finally, they could begin talking.
“The treatment?”
“Your Grace, if you mean the young lady, she is probably receiving treatment by now—”
“Not the young lady. You.”
“Me?”
Elysia blinked in confusion.
Yulias sighed.
“Weren’t you injured too? You were covered in food.”
“No, I’m fine. If anything, Her Ladyship was the one who—”
“Then that’s fine.”
Elysia stared at him in puzzlement.
He had asked whether she was hurt, yet seemed completely unconcerned when she mentioned Sheyla.
Apparently unaware of her confusion, Yulias fell into thought.
After rubbing his chin for a while, he finally spoke.
“You seem close to your brother.”
“We are. I suppose it has something to do with not having our parents around anymore…”
“That’s not what I mean.”
“Huh?”
Yulias lowered the hand that had been touching his chin and adjusted his posture.
“Your brother seems very well taught.”
Taught?
Was he referring to how she handled Joshua earlier?
“What exactly do you mean?”
“Your brother appears to have difficulty hearing. Yet he immediately responds to your instructions and adjusts his behavior. It doesn’t look like something that was taught only once or twice.”
For some reason, it sounded almost like a compliment.
Elysia fidgeted with her hands.
“He doesn’t realize how loud his voice sounds to others. I think it’s simply the result of practicing together many times at home.”
“When you say many times, how many?”
“Um… at least several months…”
Is this some kind of interview?
Unable to understand where the conversation was going, Elysia gave a vague answer.
Yulias looked thoughtful.
This isn’t an interview, and it isn’t an interrogation either. Then what is it?
“Do you still want to work here?”
“Yes!”
Elysia answered a beat too late.
Sweat had already formed in her palms, and she secretly wiped them on her clothes.
Yulias glanced toward Hylmaiton before speaking.
“One month.”
“One month?”
“I’ll observe how well you adapt for a month. After that, I’ll decide whether to officially employ you.”
“Thank you, Your Grace. I’ll work hard—”
“However, during that month, you’ll be assigned exclusively to the young lady.”
“Huh?”
Elysia stared at him in surprise.
Becoming someone’s personal maid was not a position given lightly.
A servant’s conduct reflected directly on their master.
That was why noble households usually required recommendation letters or noble status.
“With all due respect, I don’t think I’m qualified to serve as the young lady’s personal maid…”
“No.”
Yulias’s reply was immediate and firm.
He had clearly seen right through her attempt to avoid the position.
The kind of work Elysia had imagined was far simpler.
Washing dishes.
Taking out trash.
Doing unpleasant chores nobody else wanted.
But instead, she was being assigned to personally attend the young lady.
A position like that could become a matter of life and death, not just money…
“Your Grace, I’m truly grateful for your confidence in me, but honestly, serving the young lady is far beyond my abilities—”
“It has to be you.”
“…What?”
What is that supposed to mean?
Just earlier she had seen that Sheyla already had a dedicated maid.
Granted, that maid had been mistreating her…
Seeing Elysia’s doubtful expression, Yulias leaned forward.
Even with the table between them, the distance suddenly felt much smaller.
“Elysia.”
Then he spoke words that carried an unexpected weight.
“I need you.”
A faint smile appeared at the corner of Yulias’s lips as he said it.
