The One Who Won't Be Abandoned - Chapter 31

The castle was in a state of chaos.

Today was the day Andre would leave for the capital with his entourage to finalize his engagement. As part of our duties, the servants were required to see them off. I was making my way through the bustling corridors, searching for Snique, when I spotted a familiar figure in the distance.

Andre’s personal attendant, Harmon.

“Harmon!”

I called his name, my voice carrying across the hall. Harmon froze in place—but he didn’t turn around. I called again, louder this time. Instead of responding, he suddenly bolted, as if my voice had been a signal for him to flee.

“…Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me.”

I stood there, dumbfounded, watching as Harmon disappeared from sight at an alarming speed. What was that about?

I had only wanted to chat—maybe ask him how things had been going while attending to Andre. But the way he ran off, it was obvious.

He was avoiding me.

And that—more than anything—annoyed me.

Fine. If that’s how he wanted to play it, I’d just have to catch him.

“Jeanne! There you are.”

Snique’s voice snapped me out of my thoughts.

I sighed, turning away from where Harmon had disappeared and forcing a smile as Snique approached.

Until recently, Andre had been considered a dangerous figure among the servants.

I had worked tirelessly to improve his reputation, but all of that effort had apparently been for nothing—because Andre had managed to win over the young maids all on his own.

“Look at those hands holding the reins! How can someone’s hands be so big and beautiful?”

“Did you see that? He just ran his fingers through his hair! Ohh… If only I could paint that moment, I’d give up my entire fortune!”

A short distance away, a group of maids whispered in barely-contained excitement, their voices filled with adoration.

Snique, who had clearly been eavesdropping just like me, let out an exaggerated scoff.

“Hah! Ridiculous.”

Her lips jutted out in an overly dramatic pout, making it impossible not to ask.

“What’s your problem?”

She had clearly been waiting for the question.

Snique’s eyes flashed as she finally let loose the frustration she had been holding in.

“Do you know why those girls suddenly changed their tune? Just a little while ago, they were the same ones calling Master Andre a monster.”

“…Why?”

“They’re the chambermaids from the knights’ quarters. They saw him.”

“…Saw what?”

“His body. The knights train together, and then they all bathe together. Those girls saw Master Andre naked—and now they can’t stop drooling over him. It’s disgusting. Absolutely shameless. They’re ruining the dignity of the entire servant class.”

I nodded slowly.

Not in agreement, but because I understood.

I had seen Andre’s body before, too.

And I had also found it impossible to look away.

So it wasn’t just me, then.

Anyone would be affected by that rugged, impossibly sculpted form.

It was simply inevitable.

Seated atop his horse, Andre surveyed the gathered crowd.

His gaze swept over the people lined up outside the castle, lingering on me for just a moment before his lips curled into a playful smirk.

The group of maids behind me nearly collapsed with excitement.

As Andre guided his horse forward, the blare of a trumpet signaled the official start of their departure.

And then, just like that, he was gone.

I had heard the journey would take around two months.

Long, but not unbearably so. And yet, for some reason, I had a sinking feeling that it would feel just as endless as the six years he had spent in Syamos.

Long after the procession had vanished from sight, the gathered servants finally began to disperse, returning to their respective duties.

I sent Snique ahead and quietly searched the crowd until I found Harmon, blending in among the other servants as they headed back toward the castle. This time, I wasn’t giving him the chance to escape. I approached from behind, stepping in close before lowering my voice.

“Harmon.”

“Hiiik!”

Harmon nearly jumped out of his skin. Before he could flee again, I clamped a firm hand down on his shoulder, gripping tightly enough to ensure he wouldn’t slip away.

Then, smiling just enough to be unsettling, I asked,

“…Why are you avoiding me?”

“M-Me? A-Avoiding you? When have I ever—?!”

“You didn’t hear me calling you earlier?”

“N-No, no, I—I didn’t hear anything.”

Harmon couldn’t even meet my eyes, his entire face screaming liar.

By now, the other servants had filed back into the castle, leaving only a few distant figures heading toward the garden.

Harmon’s eyes darted around nervously. Then, as if making some sort of grave decision, he squared his shoulders and finally looked me straight in the eye.

I released my grip on his shoulder and tilted my chin slightly, silently telling him to go on.

Taking a deep breath, Harmon clenched his eyes shut and then, in a stiff, robotic tone—as if he were reading from a script—rushed through his words.

“I… I have a voyeuristic disorder. And… and I have a compulsive lying disorder where I distort facts and make things up!”

“…What?”

For a second, I genuinely thought I had misheard him.

But Harmon, ever so helpful, repeated himself.

“I HAVE A VOYEURISTIC DISORDER! AND! I HAVE A COMPULSIVE LYING DISORDER WHERE I DISTORT FACTS AND MAKE THINGS UP!”

He suddenly snapped his eyes open, bloodshot and desperate, and added in a near-hysterical whisper,

“I told you. I told you, okay?! P-Please! If Master Andre asks, you have to say you heard me, please!”

“…What the hell are you even saying? Did you eat something weird?”

“You—you heard it, right? I—I said I have… I have a…”

“Oh, yeah.” I nodded solemnly. “I definitely heard you loud and clear. You’re completely insane.”

Harmon visibly deflated, his once intense glare replaced by an expression of sheer panic.

He anxiously scanned the area before leaning in closer.

“Uh… Jeanne,” he stammered. “P-Please. C-Can we just keep this between us?”

Oh, so now he wanted it to be a secret?

After announcing with full confidence that he was a delusional voyeur?

I looked him up and down, my stare heavy with distrust, suspicion, and mild disgust.

Still, with a deep sigh, I reluctantly nodded.

“…Fine.”

“O-Oh, thank you. Thank you.”

His eyes even welled up with gratitude. I almost felt bad for him.

Almost.

“Yeah, yeah. Just go already.”

I stepped back and motioned toward the castle, signaling for him to leave. But instead of going, Harmon turned back one more time with an urgent plea.

“J-Just don’t tell anyone, okay? P-Please, I’m begging you.”

“I said I got it. Now go.”

He finally started walking away, but even as he did, he kept sneaking glances over his shoulder, looking at me with thinly veiled paranoia.

I watched his hunched figure retreat toward the castle, shaking my head.

I should probably talk to Madame Judith about replacing Andre’s personal attendant soon.

Seriously—how had someone like that been allowed to serve Andre for this long?

Clicking my tongue, I turned away from the mess that was Harmon and continued on my way.

* * *

A little over a week had passed since Andre left for the capital when Snique could no longer put off taking her maternity leave.

Truthfully, she could have taken time off much earlier. But because she wouldn’t be paid while on leave, she had stubbornly continued working, pushing herself despite the obvious strain.

It wasn’t as if her husband didn’t earn money. They had a house, a shop—they were comfortably well-off.

But Snique had always been unreasonably fixated on work.

Watching her waddle around the castle with her stomach looking ready to burst at any moment, I finally couldn’t take it anymore.

I went to Madame Judith myself and forced Snique to take her leave.

She had grumbled at the time, crossing her arms over her chest and saying,

“My due date is still a whole month away. When you’re young, you should save every penny you can. If you don’t have money when you’re old, even your own children won’t come looking for you. And that’s the greatest misery of all.”

I had frowned, gesturing at her swollen belly.

“Look at yourself. You could give birth tomorrow and no one would be surprised. Do you really want to end up delivering your baby in the middle of the street on your way to work? That precious child you’ve waited years to have?”

She had huffed and pouted, but thankfully, she had listened.

And good thing she did—because just two days later, she gave birth.

The message arrived that morning.

If she hadn’t gone on leave, she truly would have gone into labor in the middle of her shift.

When I heard the news that she had delivered a healthy baby boy, I let out a cheer and rushed to spread the word.

The other servants, many of whom had always gotten along well with Snique, shared in the joy, chipping in to put together a small gift for her.

The one chosen to deliver the money was Amber, Snique’s aunt-in-law and the head cook of D’Hel Castle.

When I handed over my contribution—a sum worth half a month’s wages—Amber’s eyes widened.

“Jeanne! Isn’t this too much? I know you and Snique are close, but this is excessive.”

“Please just give it to her,” I insisted. “I don’t have a family to support, and I’m not in debt. It’s not a burden for me.”

Amber sighed, but a warm smile spread across her face.

“You have such a good heart. Snique will be so grateful.”

But as she looked at me, her expression grew somber.

“…Actually,” she hesitated. “This is something just between us. I’m only telling you because you’re the closest person to Snique.”

Glancing around to make sure no one else was listening, Amber lowered her voice.

“Dewill’s mother was diagnosed with dementia last year. It’s been a nightmare for him and Snique. My brother—Snique’s father-in-law—was injured right before they got married, and he passed away after years of being bedridden. And now, with his wife’s illness, the burden on those two has only grown heavier.”

I blinked, startled.

I hadn’t known any of this.

Amber saw the surprise on my face and nodded in understanding.

“I figured you didn’t know. Snique didn’t want anyone’s pity, so she begged us not to tell anyone. But… you’ve noticed, haven’t you? It’s been a while since you last visited Dewill’s bookshop. It used to open for a few hours each day, but lately, with his mother’s condition worsening, it hasn’t been opening at all.”

She let out a heavy sigh.

“Honestly, it’s foolish. She and Dewill need help, yet she refuses to ask for it. If only she realized how much it matters to have people who care. This money—every coin in this pouch—was given by people who want to see her well.”

I felt a lump rise in my throat.

The image of Snique waddling through the castle, clutching her enormous belly, flashed through my mind.

I had thought she was just being stubborn.

But in reality, she had been desperate.

She had been carrying her own worries in silence, bottling up the fear and stress of an uncertain future.

I bit down on my lower lip, my chest tightening with sympathy.

Amber, unaware of my struggle to hold back my emotions, patted my shoulder kindly.

“You’re a good friend, Jeanne. Snique is lucky to have you.”

Then, tucking the pouch of money into her apron, she turned and walked away.

I stood there for a long moment, trying to swallow the knot of emotions in my throat.

For the first time, I truly understood why Snique had been so determined to work until the very last moment.

And knowing she had been facing it alone made my heart ache.

* * *