CH 7

He easily fell for Rosie’s flattering and was too busy showing off his cooking skills. 

To say that the picky chef liked Rosie was an understatement. Although as a kitchen maid, it wasn’t much of a headache. 

“No way, you didn’t get caught mixing the fruit with the meals, right?”

“What? Never! I always put it in carefully—”

Then why? Why the hell is she going to watch the monster’s meal be prepared?

Marie walked around, biting her nails anxiously. 

“—Rosie, Rosie.”

It was okay not to add it in today, but if she kept blocking it, it was going to be a problem. 

Rosie’s meal service didn’t end until about a week later. It would be extremely difficult if she couldn’t add in any medicine during that period. 

‘I have to use my hands.’

Should she replace the servant taking the meal?

If someone else took it, she would be able to add the medicine as it was. 

However, what she was most worried about was—

At first, all the maids extremely hated having to serve the monster. 

After all, he was a monster.

But something strange happened.

The maids who served the monster’s meal started saying they wanted to continue their work. 

However, the maid was periodically replaced because the Marquis who brought the monster did not allow it. 

They were possessed by the monster and their attachment only caused a fear that they would help him escape later. 

‘If Rosie doesn’t like it—’

Let’s make her give up by any means possible. Rosie shouldn’t have disrupted her work.

******

There were now only 7 days left until the role of the mealtime duty.

Even though I already knew how many days were left, it had become a habit to count with my fingers folded. 

“Rosie, did you hear the news?”

“What news?”

Rosie and Emily seem to have a special relationship. She could have been annoyed by me acting strange, but she always took care of me with a worried face.

“They’re looking for the missing daughter of Count Herthas.”

Count Herthas? 

Sounds familiar… Ah!

It was the family of the sub male lead, the villain in this novel.

Yurtha Herthas.

He was a villain who interfered with everything the main love interest(bottom), Argen’s work. 

The reason Yurtha became interested in Argen was because Argen killed his missing sister. 

When he saw his long-awaited sister return as a dead body, Yurtha inevitably wanted revenge and approached Argen. 

But in the end, he fell in love with him.

Yurtha showed a mad obsession with him, saying that if he couldn’t have him, he would completely destroy him, leaving my mind exhausted throughout the reading of the novel. 

Up to this point, Yurtha looked like a sub-male lead with a sad story, but in reality, he was not. 

<Since you broke mine, shouldn’t you be thrown into the abyss?> 

—It was what the original Yurtha said.

He was a madman who treated his sister as his property.

“She must have run away from home about two years ago.” 

“Why are they looking for someone that ran away from home 2 years ago?” 

“I don’t know what the aristocrats are like. Didn’t they try to sell her through arranged marriages too late?” 

I nodded roughly.

“I heard the reward is huge. They say it’s the price of a mansion.”

Emily’s eyes twinkled as she talked about the reward.

“I don’t think there’s such a thing as a portrait. Didn’t they say she had pink hair and pink eyes though?” 

“….”

Come to think of it, this body that I possessed also has pink hair and pink eyes—

At that moment, Emily’s eyes looking at me got a little bigger.

“Come to think of it, Rosie. You too—”

“I didn’t know I’d get caught this easily. Actually, I’m the daughter of Count Herthas—”

“Yeah, I see.”

Emily turned her head away with a cold face, as if her interest had calmed down. 

I had to go get breakfast for Richard. 

It was also necessary to do monitoring so that nothing strange could go into the food.

“Hello, Rosie.”

While I was having a conversation with Emily, the maids approached us.

“What’s the matter?”

“It’s nothing, it just seems like you’re having a hard time serving meals.” 

“—But?”

“So, can we do it for you?”

The maids stared at me as if they were worried, but I could sense something strange from them. 

Did the way I turned toward Richard as if being led to a slaughterhouse stimulate their sympathy?

Do they feel so sorry that they are willing to help me? 

That couldn’t possibly be true.

I don’t know what kind of trick this is, but it isn’t going to fool me.

They treated Richard as a monster and passed on their duty to each other, but they suddenly changed their minds and now want to help me?

Even more so, the maids who aren’t even close to me?

“Thank you so much. I don’t know how good it is to work with good kids like you.”

“Then Rosie—”

“But it’s okay. I can’t bear to leave my work behind.”

Instead of revealing my unpleasant feelings, I smiled with gratitude.

It would be nice if they could replace me for Richard’s meal duty, but if anything happened, I was more likely to be held responsible for passing on the job. 

I think it would be better to take responsibility for it until the end of the duty.

“What do you mean? That’s not true. We want to help you.”

“No. I don’t feel comfortable. And the food is delivered right away, so it’s not too difficult.”

“Is that so—?”

The maids stared at me with anxious eyes.

“Rosie. Honestly—”

As if to say something, one of the maids whispered in a low voice, and the other maid grabbed her as if telling her not to.

—What is this?

I was sure there was something.

“Okay, then Rosie. Cheer up.”

—It seemed to be words supporting me for my hard future ahead, rather than cheering me on for serving Richard.

What is this? 

How suspicious—

I felt dubious, but I didn’t have time to care about it.

I hurriedly arrived in the kitchen before the kitchen maid came and monitored if she was doing anything strange with the food. 

Then I took the food familiarly and headed to Richard.

I only made eye contact with the gatekeeper who was guarding the door of Richard’s room a few times, but a close relationship had developed between him and me.

“Good morning. Well done for today.”

“Thank you, Maid.”

After greeting each other energetically, I entered Richard’s room.

But—

—Oh my. What’s that? 

I almost dropped the tray.

I thought I was imagining things, so I rubbed my eyes, but I didn’t see it wrong. 

I couldn’t hold back and opened my mouth.

“How—”

Half-naked, Richard was lying on the floor, exhausted.

His half-naked body was honestly beautiful.

The lines of the tightly woven muscles were sensual and magical enough to make it seem like God had invested a lot of time into making them.

But that wasn’t what caught my eyes.

On his naked upper body, red marks were placed strongly across the back. There were many marks.

There were whip marks on his back.

“….”

When I saw that, I was speechless. 

“—Ah.”

A drowsy voice broke through the silence I created and permeated.

“Maid.”

I hid my surprised feelings and transferred the food in the dog bowl to a plate just as I had been doing.

I didn’t ask things such as whether he’s okay or if he’s in a lot of pain.

If I couldn’t help him and was just going to stand by, it was better to pretend I didn’t see it. If I tried to comfort him clumsily, I would just be a hypocrite. 

“Was it a lie that you are kind to the patients?”

“If you want, I’ll bring you medicine for lunch.”

“Is that the kind way of the maid?”

“You’re talking like you want a different way of help.”

Richard stared at me without answering right away as usual.

His blue eyes, which felt like a calm lake, felt like the sea with waves today.

Looking into the blue eyes, I felt like I was caught up in strong waves and couldn’t get back to land, slowly sinking into a black abyss.

“That’s weird.”

Richard’s red lips curved gently as he looked at me.