2.
I don’t remember much of what happened after that. Her work progressed so quickly that she had no time to do anything about it.
It was a short walk to the duke castle. Since the orphanage itself was located within the duchy, it was not far away to begin with.
But Ronnie was so nervous that he couldn’t even remember how he got here. He just came to his senses and found that he had arrived at the Duke’s house and was left in the room.
smart.
It was only then that I came to my senses when I heard a knock. The door opened and two maids came in.
“He told me to wash you and bring you. Now, the bathroom is over there.”
Preparations for washing were already made. Normally, fellow employees wouldn’t help each other, but since he was so young, the maids even came to help him out of fear that he wouldn’t be able to do it on his own. Looking at the way it looked, it didn’t look like it would be washed properly if left alone.
“please… … Do I need to wash it?”
Ronnie asked in horror. She would be caught out as a woman who showed off her body. What happens if she gets caught? She was so afraid.
“of course. Are you going to go see the master like that?”
“… … .”
The maids wordlessly took off Ronnie’s top. Ronnie flinched in surprise and clenched her pants.
You must never be caught. If you do that, you will be kicked out immediately. No, I’m glad it ends that way, but I might get beaten or, in the worst case scenario, die. I heard all the time that nobles were scary people and that even the slightest offense would be punished mercilessly.
“oh!”
The maids also paused for a moment. It was for a different reason than Ronnie. The child’s delicate body was full of wounds and scars.
“… … .”
While they were silent for a moment, Ronnie quickly ran into the bathroom.
“I’ll do it myself! “I’m good at everything on my own!”
The maids took a step back at Ronnie’s confident shout. Well, she couldn’t have grown up in an orphanage with help, so of course she could do it on her own. Out of consideration for her unwillingness to show her body, the maids quietly closed the door.
＊＊＊
Ronnie trembled and washed his body.
‘What should I do? ‘What if I get caught?’
Although I was clearly soaking in warm water, I was shaking as if I had entered ice water.
‘You’ll get caught… … . You’ll get caught.’
Ronnie, who was washing his body mechanically while fidgeting, suddenly thought, wouldn’t it be possible to avoid getting caught if he doesn’t show himself to anyone like he did in the orphanage? I thought about this hope.
When I thought about that, my trembling stopped a little and I calmed down. Only then did I feel the warmth of the water, as if it was melting me.
“ah.”
It was my first time in warm water. Not just taking a bath, but even soaking your hands.
The first warm bath I experienced was such an ecstatic feeling. To the point of tears.
Drip.
Tears really fell. I felt very guilty that I had to deceive the angels who had given me such grace. At the same time, I loved this warmth so much that I had the contradictory feeling of wanting to stay undetected forever.
Time passed helplessly despite the poor child’s agony. Before we knew it, the water had cooled down and it was time to go out. A maid’s voice was heard from outside.
“When you’re done, come out and change into new clothes.”
Ronnie came out bare-bones, covering his lower body with a towel. An image of the room that had not been clearly visible before came into view.
A neat and luxurious room. A place like this, where only nobles would stay, was too much for someone like him.
“You can wear this.”
The maids handed out clothes to Ronnie, who was looking around. It was a rather formal and complex costume, unlike the rags worn at the orphanage.
“It’s going to be difficult on your own, so I’ll help you.”
“I’ll wear it!”
Ronnie jumped and took a step back. Before he knew it, he was holding clothes in one hand.
Fortunately, unlike the complicated, multi-layered top, the pants were simple. Ronnie quickly put on his underwear and pants without putting the towel away.
But the problem was the top. The child, seeing proper clothes for the first time in his life, did not know what to wear first. Shirts, vests and jackets. There were too many types. Even a cravat was placed there, albeit briefly. I had no idea what to do.
“Give me here.”
Seeing Ronnie’s hesitation, the maids took the clothes and put them on.
Ronnie surrendered himself obediently. At the same time, he also paid close attention to the way he dressed. From now on, I’ll have to do it alone.
The maid dressed him step by step, starting with his underwear and then his shirt, and finally tied his cravat. Not the style of an aristocrat, but the style of a formal employee.
“Okay, that’s it. “It’s worth watching.”
After washing and dressing him well, he looked so handsome that you could even believe he was a noble master. His fault was that he was too skinny, but his basic appearance wasn’t bad, and while his arms and legs were bony, his face still had some flesh on it. Perhaps that was his natural constitution.
The maid, who was internally dissatisfied with having to take care of an orphaned child, was satisfied in her own way. She generously brought me her mirror, feeling like showing off her work.
“… … !”
Ronnie’s eyes widened in the mirror.
‘this… … ‘Me?’
He looked like he was a nobleman. Ronnie, looking in the mirror for the first time in her life, looked at her reflection as if fascinated, without even having time to appreciate the novelty.
This was the first time I realized my face looked like this. I’ve seen adults and adults reflected in a stream instead of in a mirror, but it was blurry so there was no way I could see them clearly.
smart. Sweet.
Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to enjoy it for a long time. Someone came in with a knock.
At the same time, a delicious smell that irritated the stomach wafted out.
Ronnie instinctively turned his head and looked towards where the food was. Hot, steaming food was being brought to us on trays.
Growling.
The hunger that I couldn’t feel due to tension rose like crazy.
“He told me to wash him first, then feed him and then bring him to him. “You know how to use a fork, right?”
I was not good at catching it since I never learned how to catch it properly, but I nodded. It was because of his obsession with not showing his shortcomings.
Being caught being a girl wasn’t the only problem. If you look pathetic even to the maids, how will you look to the nobles? She was afraid that if she let her down, she might be kicked out again.
No, in some ways, it might be better to be kicked out before you get caught… … .
Even in the midst of fear, Ronnie’s feelings were complicated by the temptation of this paradise-like place. Plus, if he gets kicked out and ends up back in the orphanage… … .
“Hurry up and eat.”
After all that agony, when I saw the food, my mouth started watering so much that it was difficult to come to my senses.
Soft white bread and soup. Fresh salad with finely chopped meat. Sweet and sour fruit juice.
My eyes widened as I tried food for the first time. Of course, it was not luxurious food by noble family standards. It was a diet that took into consideration the fear of suddenly getting sick from eating fatty foods.
But that alone felt like heaven to Ronnie. Ronnie carefully moved the fork while watching. He resisted the urge to eat right away and took a quick bite of the salad.
Tuk.
Unfortunately, the finely chopped meat caused trouble. A piece of salad that wasn’t picked up properly fell on the table.
A sigh was heard. Ronnie’s shoulders shrank pitifully.
“S-sorry… … .”
“Okay, go ahead and eat.”
In fact, contrary to Ronnie’s worries, no one was paying attention to that. She just had to be taken away quickly and she sighed as she wondered how long it would take for her to eat it all.
Ronnie picked up the bread this time. I thought it would be better to eat bread with bare hands.
It was freshly baked white bread, not rock-hard, moldy black bread. When I tore it into small pieces, dipped it in the soup, and put it in my mouth, the heavenly taste flooded me. My whole body trembled with emotion.
‘It feels like a dream… … .’
I have never eaten anything more delicious than this in my life. When you feel so happy that you feel like crying,
Jump up, Kwadang!
The door opened with a loud noise.
“Do, master!”
“Master Andy!”
Master Andrea, who came in with a lot of energy, put his hands on his waist and asked. Andrea, who had been yelling at the duke and his wife, changed his strategy when they could not communicate, and ran towards them.
“Is this him?”
“yes. young master.”
Instead of Ronnie, who dropped his fork because his heart was pounding, the maid answered somewhat calmly.
“… … .”
It seemed like the master in front of him was the person he would serve. When he saw him, he looked in the mirror and felt as if he were a nobleman, and he felt funny at himself. The appearance of a true noble master was on a different level.
I tried to awkwardly get up from my seat, hiding my feelings.
“I don’t need a playmate!”
Andrea shouted.
Ronnie was so shocked that he almost collapsed.
Oh my gosh… … . It wasn’t enough to show off well and be liked, so the master already started to hate me. Andrea pushed her away as she cried at the thought of her complete failure.
“You look like a girl!”
Ronnie, who was very skinny, fell over, and Andrea walked out laughing. The maids nodded as if they were used to it.
“Are you okay?”
“yes.”
This level does not even fall into the axis of violence. I was worried that I looked ugly, but the fact that I fell was not a big deal. Ronnie got up casually and sat down again.
“It’s too late. “I’m probably hungry, so just drink a glass of juice and let’s go.”
The maid held out a glass cup. Ronnie, who only then discovered the existence of the glass cup, widened his eyes in surprise.
It’s just like a glass cup. Glass, that precious thing is only used for meals by people like you… … !
Ronnie had never even used a wooden cup, let alone a glass one. At the orphanage, the only thing we could do was to eat rice in a dirty wooden bowl, and drink water by pouring it straight into the bowl or running to the well and drinking it roughly.
“really… … “Can I drink it?”
“of course. hurry.”
Everything was amazing. And I got nervous. I thought it was expensive, and even more so because I thought it might break.
My hands were filled with sweat. My hands were shaking because I thought I looked so bad at him, and the cup kept slipping because I was sweating. My two small hands were too small to wrap around the glass cup.
“oh!”
Ronnie, who was tilting the cup to his mouth, was so nervous that he ended up slipping his hand.
