Chapter 12 - FOR A PERFECT YOUNG MISS (1)

FOR A PERFECT YOUNG MISS (1)

The employees who were assigned to breakfast duty in the Mansion started their day at 5:30 in the morning. Anne, one of Beth’s roommates, was one of those people. Every day she would wake up at 5:30 am and leave the room without causing disturbance to others.

But I always woke up to her hustling and bustling.

After Beth took over the charge of Claire, her bed was moved next to Claire’s bedroom. Since it was many times bigger than her previous room and though she was using it alone, it probably must have previously been a storeroom. She guessed this when she saw the simple wallpaper and narrow living space.

As they were on the very top floor of the mansion, in order to get their food, they needed to walk farther than others. Thinking that it was also quite good, Beth changed into her Maid uniform.

Morning 6:30 am. After the kitchenette staff finished their breakfast, it was the time for the rest of the employees to eat their breakfast. The employees’ cafeteria was an annex near the place where the dormitory was located, so Beth, who resided in the main house, didn’t have any other option but to come out and go towards the annex.

“Beth!”

As her body was covered with the chilly atmosphere, a cheerful voice was heard.

“Julia.”

As soon as Beth called out her name, the freckled nose of Julia winked. It was one of her characteristics whenever she laughed.

“Why are you here?”

“I came to meet you~”

It was very common for one to feel hurt by Beth’s unfriendly tone, but Julia didn’t get angry and just linked her arm in Beth’s and stood beside her. In addition to Julia, there were some more maids nearby.

Julia came for me, then what about the others?

Beth was not an affectionate or tender person, so there was no reason for them to come find her. So that means they came for a purpose.

They just glanced at Beth without saying a word.

“What is it?”

Finally, Beth, who started to feel that the atmosphere was uncomfortable, opened her mouth. Her question was straight forward which made the group startled. Still, they just moved their lips, without any words.

At that time, Julia who had a gentle and sweet temper asked her with an affectionate expression.

“You know what, Beth…?.”

“I don’t.”

“Aai-cham, don’t be like that, hear me out first. The guy who came yesterday, that guy, who was he?”

It seemed like they had talked about Kedrick.

As soon as Julia said that guy, all the maids nearby raised their ears and fixed their sight on Beth – it looked like they only came because of their curiosity.

“Did you come here because you were curious about this?”

“Mm.”

It seemed there was no new entertainment for the employees – the maids were smitten by curiosity about a matter of no importance.

With a small sigh Beth walked towards the annex. The maids followed her movement.

“He is the person who is going to guard the young lady from now on.”

“That’s all?”

“Yup, that’s all.”

Their connection was superficial at best. Beth thought that it was none of her business to know what that man thought about her. But, it seemed that the remaining people didn’t think so.

“But…. that man, what about him looking for you?”

Julia tilted her head with a round eyes. Ha.

Beth sighed in her mind. Now when she thought back, such a thing really happened.

There was an uproar yesterday about some handsome guy who came to look for Julia. That all happened because she said her name was Julia to that guy. Kedrick must have felt flustered as the Julia that came out was not the one he thought.

“Remember, once I told you about meeting a handsome swindler.”

“Mm.”

“It’s the same guy.”

“What swindler, you are too much!”

Between Julia and Beth’s conversation, suddenly a male voice was inserted. With his arrival, several gasps were heard around her. Even without looking back, she knew who it was.

“Kedrick.”

“Good morning, Beth. Also, I am not a swindler.”

With a soft chuckle, Julia said to Kedrick who stood opposite them with a twisted face.

“A swindler won’t introduce himself as a swindler when he introduces himself to others.”

“There might be such a swindler, who knows.”

“If I ever come to see such a swindler, I will give you two silvers.”

Though Beth was not interested in the bet, she just said that because she wanted to end the conversation. With a grin on his face, he nodded towards Beth and looked towards Julia who stood beside her.

“Good Morning. ‘Real’ Miss Julia. By any chance, are you also a fake Julia?” He said sarcastically as a remark towards Beth’s explicit lie.

Julia answered, with a good-natured smile, as she shook her head, “I am really Julia. Other than me, there is no other Julia in this mansion.”

Kedrick looked at her and Beth alternatively. “Were you not embarrassed yesterday? Anyway, you should have felt embarrassed because of Beth’s lies.”

His words were right at the point.

When Julia was called out by a handsome man whom she had never met before, she soon realized the person he looked for was not her. To outsiders, it looked like a hurtful incident.

Beth just sprouted out a name that came to her and  never thought of the possibility of him coming to the Mansion. Beth looked at Julia who looked calm as she linked her arm with her’s.

“Were you embarrassed….?”

Julia turned her head. “I got embarrassed? No, for sure!”

“Really?”

“Mm!”

“If you say you are fine now, then I won’t be apologizing to you, Julia.”

“There is no way I will lie to Beth.”

In truth, Beth didn’t think so. It hadn’t been a year since they met – not even half a year. It was strange enough that Julia came about liking her.

Kedrick felt that Julia particularly liked Beth. With a giggle he said, “You two have a really good relationship.”

“We don’t.”

“Yes, we have!”

Two gave different answers at the same time. For Kedrick, that too was interesting. They had similar hair color, but the light that gleamed from it was completely different. Character, expression, appearance – everything was different. In short, they were complete opposites.

Kedrick moved his body towards them and asked,  “Can I also get along with Miss Julia?”

“Of course, you can!”

Kedrick already knew that Julia would give him a positive answer. Among the people he knew in his life, there was only one person who didn’t hold any good feelings towards him.

“Mr Kedrick, you are very much similar Beth. I’m sure we will get along well.”

What?

How the hell was she similar to that guy? Beth looked at Julia with a dumbfounded look. If one was to compare Beth with Kedrick, from head to toe, there wouldn’t be a single nook or corner where they were similar.

“Lets not talk .…”

Beth now understood what the ‘resign oneself to’ meant. She resigned her will to continue the conversation and went towards the annex.

Today’s breakfast was oatmeal and half an apple. The oatmeal was a bit rough and the apple was sour, but Beth was satisfied.

Compared to her previous life or her life at the village, her current life was a lot better.

In her previous life , in order to save money, she never had complete ramyeon. To save a 100 won, she bought only cheap ingredients and to appease the growl of her stomach, she even drank hard water.

In her current life, there was no much difference. No, in her present life it was worse – even if good food was served sometimes, they would not get any.

“Um, this is the worst apple I ever had in my life.”

The man who sat opposite to Beth couldn’t go on. Julia too, as if acquiesce to his words, nodded her head.

She felt a headache coming. All the employees turned towards Kedrick –  some looked at him because of his handsome face, but there was another big reason why they turned around.

“Kedrick, can I ask you something?”

“If the question can be answered, then ask me as much as you want.”

“Why are you eating breakfast right now?”

The current time was allotted for the employees to have their breakfast. The private corps hired by the Earl mansion had their breakfast after some morning exercise and washing up.

In other words, Kedrick shouldn’t be enjoying his breakfast with Beth at the moment.

Towards Beth’s question he smiled very naturally and answered.

“I don’t want to sit in the morning itself.”

He put down the apple he barely ate and held his chin with his hands. Beth looked at the oatmeal in front of her. The oats which looked raw in a look were soaked in milk.

If she waited for a moment, the oats would get soaked with the milk and become easier to chew –  so she picked up the spoon and stirred it well.

“Also, I wanted to eat with Beth.”

She heard a giggle from somewhere. She thought it might have been her imagination and decided to ignore it. In contrast to her, the one who giggled looked at Beth with a blunt expression.

Though the person was not someone she liked, Beth still felt relieved because of his handsomeness – at least she wouldn’t lose her appetite whenever she saw him.

Though she thought oats were well soaked in the milk, it was still very rough. Its taste was not bad, but she couldn’t compromise with the texture. Unknowingly, her eyebrows frowned.

“Is Beth here?”

Anne came to the eatery to look for Beth. Beth looked towards her with a mouthful of oatmeal.

Anne came near her and said, “Phew, you are here. The head maid is looking for you.”

For what?

She wanted to ask, but because her mouth was filled with food, she couldn’t – she just nodded her head. She accepted Anne’s consideration to clean up her food tray for her and  looked at her barely eaten food with a regretful expression and handed over her tray.

“For what reason might the head maid be calling you?”

She never thought Kedrick would follow her. But because of the food in her mouth, she couldn’t reply.

“It is just that to be called in the morning should not be for anything good. Right, Beth?”

Gulp- Beth swallowed her food and only then did she reply, “Kedrick, why are you following me?”

As if it was a natural thing to do, Kedrick answered, “Because we share the same destiny.”

Share the same destiny. She never thought she would hear something like that in her present life.

She looked at Kedrick with a dumbfounded expression and forgot to close her mouth. Kedrick chuckled and he lifted up her chin with his finger.

“We are on our way to meet the head maid. An open mouth leaves a bad impression on others.” Kedrick said as he took the lead.

She felt the wind blowing. She looked at his appearance from behind and followed his lead.

‘Mm?”

Looking at his handsome appearance from the back, suddenly a thought rose up in her mind.

How did he know which way led to the Head Maid?

Kedrick only came to mansion yesterday, yet he led the way in a confident manner. How? She looked at him with doubtful eyes and tilted her head.