Chapter 17: A Line Crossed

“It’s perfect timing. I was just in need of a hand.”

“…What?”

Lara tilted her head with a clearly annoyed expression.

Of course, Luke had no intention of caring about her feelings.

“Starting today, you’ll assist the young lady with her baths.”

“Bathing assistance?”

“Yes.”

“Me?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Excuse me?”

Luke felt dizzy after the series of redundant questions.

But he quickly shook it off.

“Aren’t you the personal maid? Keeping the young lady clean is part of your duties.”

Luke had encountered plenty of people who asked senseless questions at the academy, so he was already immune to it.

“Then why are you, the tutor, giving me orders?”

When Luke pointed out her attitude, Lara immediately tried to find fault with him again.

Now he understood.

“No one wants to serve the young lady, do they?”

Lara flinched, startled by how accurately he guessed. She looked at him as if asking how he knew.

The answer was obvious.

Who would willingly serve the youngest lady, who was treated poorly?

At best, a maid with bad luck must have been chosen by drawing straws.

That explained Lara’s behavior.

“Help me with my bath.”

Eventually, Elin, who couldn’t bear it any longer, stepped in.

“If you’re my personal maid, you should listen to me, right?”

Elin glanced at Luke.

Feeling proud, Luke rushed over and patted her head.

“That’s correct. All the servants assigned to the young lady must follow her orders.”

It wasn’t for nothing that Luke had taught her how to handle subordinates.

If it had been the old, timid Elin, she would’ve frozen up without saying a word.

Admiring her growth, Luke turned his attention to the maid, who was biting her lip as if conflicted.

“…How did I end up like this?”

“Hey, don’t be disrespectful about taking on such an honorable role.”

Luke walked over to her and handed her the unused bathing supplies meant for Elin.

“I’ll explain it only once, so listen carefully. This goes here, and that goes there…”

Having explained things to Elin numerous times, his words came out quickly.

As Lara listened, her eyes began to spin in confusion.

After finishing the explanation, Luke patted Lara’s shoulder lightly.

“Now, please complete the young lady’s bath before I return.”

“…Where are you going?”

“I’m going to see the Duke.”

He said it casually, as if he were merely going for a stroll.

But the weight of his words was anything but light.

Elin grabbed Luke’s wrist firmly.

“Sir.”

“There’s no need to worry. I won’t do anything to get myself dismissed.”

“But…”

“Do you think I’d act recklessly without a plan?”

“…”

“Young lady?”

Why wasn’t she answering?

Was their trust in each other that weak?

“Anyway, be careful.”

Elin ultimately didn’t say she believed in him. It stung a little, but that was something he could prove with actions.

Turning around, he approached Lara again.

“There’s little chance of it happening, but let me issue a warning.”

He leaned in and whispered, so only she could hear.

“The young lady is a very precious person.”

His chilling voice pierced her ears, and Lara froze on the spot, like a mouse cornered by a snake.

Unable to move, she had no choice but to listen to him.

“So don’t even think about treating her carelessly. If you do, something rather unpleasant will happen.”

Luke stepped back and smiled faintly.

But the icy gaze from his golden eyes felt like it could freeze her veins.

Lara nodded without even realizing it.

“Well then, I’ll be off.”

The room Luke confidently left behind was filled with a cold air, as if the temperature had dropped several degrees.

Now, only Elin and her personal maid, Lara, remained.

“…”

The atmosphere in the room was extremely uncomfortable.

Naturally so.

“Haah… seriously.”

Who could feel at ease with someone sighing every three seconds?

“How did I end up with someone like that…”

Lara muttered in frustration, even pulling at her hair in despair.

Strands of her brown hair fell onto the floor of Luke’s room.

Somehow, watching her made Elin feel uneasy.

“…Get out.”

“What?”

“Let’s get out of here.”

Leading the way, Elin left Luke’s room.

There was no reason for Lara to stay behind, so she naturally followed.

They entered Elin’s room, which was right next door.

Elin casually removed her nightgown.

The endless complaints from Lara abruptly stopped.

It wasn’t because she was amazed by the body of a 12—no, now 13-year-old.

“…”

“What are you doing?”

“Pardon?”

“You said you’d help me bathe.”

“Ah… well, uh…”

Lara’s gaze was drawn to Elin’s scars.

Arms, back, waist, calves…

She had effectively seen every area that had been covered by clothing.

“I didn’t realize it was this bad…”

Lara had originally been an ordinary maid in the Bertein household.

Naturally, she had heard rumors about the youngest lady.

An outcast disdained by her parents and siblings.

A lazy girl who didn’t put in any effort and stayed cooped up in her room.

Even the servants looked down on her.

That was the reputation Elin had in the Bertein family.

But no matter how much of it was true… this was too much.

“What are you doing, standing there?”

“…Ah.”

Lara snapped out of it when she heard Elin’s voice from the bathroom.

“…There must be a reason for this.”

Though the scars were too severe to simply be from discipline, Lara chose to ignore it.

The Bertein family held the central position among the empire’s five great duchies.

Surely, they wouldn’t beat a child without good reason.

It was more comforting to think Elin must have made a significant mistake.

Lara slapped her cheeks lightly and entered the bathroom.

“Whew…”

Elin was already sitting in the water-filled bathtub.

“Please step out for a moment, young lady.”

Lara gestured with slightly less attitude than before.

“You must find this bothersome, so let’s get it over with quickly.”

Of course, “slightly less attitude” didn’t mean she was polite.

Elin had never said she found this bothersome.

In truth, it was Lara who was annoyed.

“Um, if I recall…”

Luke had explained the order of using the bathing supplies before leaving.

But who cared about that?

Lara grabbed whatever was closest.

“I’ll start by washing your hair.”

Lara was in a foul mood that day.

The reason, of course, was that she had been assigned as Elin’s personal maid.

While being a noble’s personal maid was a prestigious position, Elin was the youngest lady of Bertein.

Even though Lara’s salary had increased significantly, what was the point?

• You’re kidding, right? You’re really her personal maid now?
• Oh no… how unfortunate…

Even her fellow maids pitied her.

• They say anyone who gets involved with the youngest lady quits soon after…
• Did you do something to upset someone?

Her colleagues began to distance themselves from her.

Lara could already foresee her future.

Her fellow maids would abandon her.

She would spend her days tending to a discarded lady, gradually sinking into isolation.

Her slightly higher salary was a small consolation for what was essentially a demotion.

The unfairness of it all was enough to make her forget Luke’s earlier warning.

And her resentment turned squarely toward Elin.

“Ugh…”

Having spent her life absorbing negativity, Elin immediately sensed Lara’s impure intentions.

“…That hurts.”

Lara’s fingers, roughly scrubbing her hair, were anything but gentle.

“Please bear with it.”

Lara continued shaking Elin’s small head as if it were nothing.

Feeling dizzy from the treatment, Elin thought to herself.

That’s right. I’ve always been treated like this.

I had to endure pain silently and hide my suffering.

Spending so much time with Luke recently must have made me careless.

She had voiced her pain out loud.

If it were Luke, he would have immediately apologized and checked her condition.

Then again, Luke would never have hurt her in the first place.

“I’ll rinse now.”

As Lara momentarily released her grip on Elin’s head…

SPLASH—

Cold water poured over her head.

Soap stung her eyes as it ran down her face.

While she rubbed her stinging eyes, Lara spoke in a mocking tone.

“Oops. I should’ve waited a bit. I was too hasty.”

She didn’t sound sorry at all.

“I’ll wash your body next.”

Ignoring Elin’s shivering, Lara began roughly scrubbing her body with soap.

“Urk…”

Her hands, lacking any delicacy, moved harshly over Elin’s scars.

The injuries were visible, but Lara treated her as if she were scrubbing a piece of furniture.

“…”

Elin gritted her teeth to keep from crying out.

There was no point in complaining—it wouldn’t change anything.

“Ahhh!”

But when Lara’s rough hands touched her calves, Elin couldn’t hold back a scream.

The fresh wound from earlier that morning burned as if on fire.

Even Lara, who had been intentionally venting her frustrations, paused in surprise at the intensity of her reaction.

“…Leave.”

“Pardon?”

“I know how to use the supplies now. Get out.”

“O-okay…”

Lara quickly washed her hands and left.

Elin rinsed off the soap and climbed back into the bathtub.

The water, once warm, had gone completely cold.

“…”