The One Who Won't Be Abandoned - Chapter 37

I couldn’t believe such crude, ignorant men existed within D’Hel Castle.

And then, one of them started mocking Andre directly, his tone dripping with disdain.

“I never liked the young master from the start. Young master, my ass. He never even acknowledges us servants, only acting friendly with the knights. Always walking around with that massive build, trying to intimidate people—bet he’s actually a coward who’d piss himself at the sight of a rat.”

“You’re absolutely right. And while the lord was breaking his back for this land, that bastard was lounging around in Siamos, never bothering to return. Now, he’s so power-hungry that he’s willing to marry that vulgar princess. He probably never cared about this place at all.”

My hands began to tremble as I clutched the bucket, causing the filthy water inside to ripple violently.

It felt as though I was watching a precious child of mine being mocked and belittled by worthless nobodies.

Fury and disbelief swelled in my chest.

Andre—our Andre—was not someone who deserved to be insulted by these lowly fools.

He had always been exceptionally intelligent, earning praise from every tutor who had ever taught him.

He was broad-minded, compassionate, and considerate of those beneath him.

And yet, these wretched men were slandering him? Andre, who deserved nothing but admiration?

I was seconds away from throwing the filthy bucket of wastewater in their faces when someone else stepped in.

“Aren’t you guys busy? If you’ve got so much free time, why don’t you help Mr. Jackson move the lumber? He’s struggling with it alone.”

A voice rang out just in time.

It was Harmon.

He casually approached the group of gossiping servants, interrupting their conversation.

“Jackson’s moving the lumber alone? What about the others?”

“Everyone’s busy preparing for the young master’s return tomorrow,” Harmon replied.

“And yet you seem to have plenty of free time, huh? Some personal servant you are.”

At one of the servants’ questions, Harmon’s face turned ghostly pale.

Then, just as he had done with me before, he spoke in an awkward, stiff tone—like someone reading aloud from a book.

“The young master does not require my assistance. I have been granted the freedom to act as I please.”

“What the hell? What kind of nonsense is that? What do you mean freedom? It’s not like you’re some kind of slave.”

“Young Master Andre is a perfect man who can handle everything on his own! Hrk—!”

Harmon suddenly shouted something incomprehensible, then burst into tears and bolted away.

The remaining servants watched his retreating figure in confusion, whispering among themselves. Eventually, they decided to go help Mr. Jackson with the lumber and wandered off.

I waited patiently until they had completely disappeared.

Then, stepping out from behind the stone wall, I approached a large cart stacked high with hay.

The hay had been dried perfectly under the sun, soon to be used as bedding for the horses.

Carefully, I lifted the top layer of hay and, without hesitation, poured the entire bucket of filthy wastewater all over it.

‘Dear gods, please forgive this wicked soul of mine.’

To soothe my guilty conscience, I offered a silent prayer.

A short while later, the servants returned and hauled the cart away.

Completely unaware, they dragged the soaked hay into the stables, where the stable master promptly berated them.

The poor fools, who had sworn they had stacked dry hay, stammered in confusion, trying to explain themselves—only for the stable master to scold them even harder for making excuses.

Watching the chaos unfold from afar, I giggled to myself.

The satisfaction I felt was indescribable.

* * *

After helping the other maids with their work, I ended up leaving late. As I wrapped my cloak tightly around myself and exited the castle, someone suddenly blocked my path.

“Harmon! You scared me half to death.”

Earlier that day, I had seen Harmon hanging around with those awful servants. That had been enough for me to march straight to Madam Judith and bring up the long-forgotten matter of replacing Andre’s personal attendant.

At first, Madam Judith tilted her head in confusion when I mentioned Harmon’s mental instability. But after I firmly insisted on his replacement, she eventually nodded in agreement. Fortunately, D’Hel Castle had plenty of young, capable, and mentally stable servants who could take his place.

So now, seeing Harmon suddenly appear before me, my heart nearly dropped.

Judging by his expression, he must have already heard the news from Madam Judith.

A chilling thought crossed my mind—What if he tries to harm me in retaliation?

“Jeanne…”

“W-what?”

“You… You went to Madam Judith and asked her to replace me as the young master’s personal attendant?”

So he was here because of that.

I met his gaze warily, my nerves on edge. But then I reminded myself—this was Harmon. A man who was mentally unwell and had terrible social connections.

I took a deep breath and gathered my courage.

“That’s right! It was me! I did it!”

I squared my shoulders and lifted my chin, standing my ground.

But instead of getting angry, Harmon… started crying.

Tears streamed down his face as he looked at me with an expression of pure gratitude.

“Thank you… Thank you so much… I never knew you were such a brave person. You’re my hero. One day, when I get married and have children, I’ll tell them about you. About Jeanne—the beautiful and courageous woman who did something so great for me. Sniff… The incredible thing you’ve done…”

“What the hell are you talking about?” I asked, still wary.

“I really thought I was going to die young… But because of you, sniff, I can actually dream of a future now. I can finally have hope. Thank you… Thank you…”

“…What the hell are you talking about?!”

Completely overcome with emotion, Harmon bowed his head deeply, then suddenly turned and sprinted toward the servants’ quarters.

“I’ll never forget this debt of gratitude! Thank you so much!”

I stood there, watching his retreating figure, dumbfounded.

He looked as if a massive weight had been lifted from his shoulders.

After a long pause, I exhaled and reaffirmed my decision.

“…Tsk, tsk. I should talk to the lord about building a mental hospital in D’Hel.”

Shaking my head in exasperation, I clicked my tongue repeatedly.

By the time I reached Glunan Village, the shops in the main commercial district were beginning to close.

Passing by the workers busy cleaning up for the night, I continued walking toward Longta Street.

From a distance, I could see the glowing lights of Longta, the sound of boisterous voices reaching my ears even from afar.

Unlike the rest of the village, which was winding down for the day, Longta Street was just getting started.

As I stepped onto the bustling street, I walked through the chaos completely unguarded.

Suddenly, Elia’s concerned face flashed in my mind.

Maybe she had a point?

Trying not to be obvious, I glanced around cautiously.

But to my surprise, no one paid me any attention.

The troublemakers who picked fights with passersby, the women in sheer, revealing dresses enticing customers, the crude men ogling them and making lewd remarks—none of them approached me.

Even the drunk slumped on the ground, screaming for spare change while chugging straight from a bottle, didn’t spare me a glance.

“Isn’t the castle working its maids a little too hard?”

Jun, standing in front of his shop with a cigarette between his fingers, called out to me as soon as he spotted me approaching the building.

He was the only person in Longta Street who ever spoke to me first.

“Jun.”

“What?”

“Don’t you think there’s something… weird about Longta Street?”

“The hell are you talking about?”

“It’s like everyone agreed to pretend I don’t exist. Either that, or I’m actually invisible to them.”

I was dead serious, but Jun only scoffed and smirked at me.

“See, this is D’Hel’s problem. Doesn’t matter how well off the people are—our welfare system is a joke. No hospitals, no clinics. What we really need is a psychiatric ward.”

…He was treating me like Harmon. The disrespect.

“D’Hel’s welfare is fantastic, actually. It’s miles better than other territories.”

“And how the hell would you know? You came straight from the capital and never lived anywhere else. People like you? You’re called frogs in a well.”

I narrowed my eyes and met his gaze with a sharp stare.

Beneath that scruffy beard and smirking lips, I could see the mischievous glint in his expression.

And I wiped it clean off his face in an instant.

“How do you know I’ve only ever lived in the capital and D’Hel?”

“…Huh? What?”

Jun’s face froze for a moment. Then, as if his own words had shattered in his mind, his expression cracked, and he stammered in confusion.

Right then, the sound of shattering glass echoed from inside his shop.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake! These little shits—wrecking my damn place again!”

Jun bolted toward his store.

“Jun! We’re not done talking!”

I tried to follow him inside.

But just before I could step in, Jun slammed the door shut—right in my face.

Then, to my absolute disbelief, I heard the click of a lock.

He had locked the door.

“Jun. Jun. Open the door. We’re not finished talking.”

“We’ll talk later! I’m a little busy right now.”

“Why did you lock the door? Just open it for a second—”

“The place is a mess. Let’s talk another time!”

I banged on the door multiple times, refusing to back down.

But no matter how hard I knocked, the door remained firmly shut.

Eventually, my hands started to ache from pounding on the wood, and I had no choice but to step back.

Jun’s behavior was extremely suspicious.

The eerie strangeness of Longta Street, combined with his sudden shift in attitude, only fueled my growing unease.

And the most bizarre part?

While I had been banging on the door, Jun had pulled the curtains closed.

On top of that, the loud voices of the customers inside—who had been rowdy just moments before—had suddenly gone completely silent.

It was undeniable. Everyone inside that shop was deliberately avoiding me. A chill ran down my spine.

* * *