Episode 207

“What should we do about this?”

“Yeah, what do you think?”

It was obvious from their posture that they had broken the vase. Of course, it wasn’t the girl’s place to intervene, so she watched from a distance in the hallway.

The boys muttered something and then, as if an idea had occurred to them, they began to speak.

“How about we say that Master Dylan broke it?”

“Should we? He’s always nagging us, so a little revenge should be fine, right?”

“Young Masters! What’s going on here?!”

Just then, the steward appeared from downstairs, and the boys pretended to cry, pointing upward with their fingers.

“Master Dylan broke it and ran away!”

“He told us to say that he broke it…”

“Hey, you shouldn’t say that!”

The steward, acting cleverly, stared at the boys in a very awkward manner.

“Is that really what happened?”

If it were true, it would be a big problem. The Count despises such mistakes and pushing blame onto others.

Realizing that this would be a huge problem for the Young Master, the steward became uneasy.

He hesitated, looking troubled, and the boys started to cry as if they were going to call someone else.

“Waaaaah!”

“Stop crying, Young Masters! Please tell me the situation clearly.”

“So, Master Dylan broke it and ran away, right?”

“That’s…”

The steward frowned again. With three witnesses, he thought there was no way out, so he slumped his shoulders.

The girl was stunned. Then, she began to think. Actually, there was no need to think at all.

It was certain that those noble boys had broken it. But Master Dylan being punished? That was absolutely, absolutely unacceptable.

Maybe it would be okay if it were another noble, but if it was Master Dylan, it was even worse. The girl clenched her fist.

No, even if it had actually been the Greek boy who broke it, the girl’s feelings wouldn’t have changed.

The girl, who always had the Greek boy’s support and believed it was her duty to help him, ran toward the steward.

“Wait a moment!”

“Hm? Isn’t this Siena? What’s going on?”

The steward, calling the girl who appeared out of nowhere, asked. He wasn’t really paying attention to her at the moment, as he had other things on his mind.

“I…I broke it!”

As soon as the girl shouted that, the steward snapped back to reality.

“What do you mean?”

“What’s going on? This was Master Dylan’s…”

The boys scowled and responded.

But the girl didn’t give up. She began to speak passionately to the steward.

“No! I’m sorry! I’m the one who broke it! They’re mistaken.”

At those words, the steward’s face began to relax.

He thought it was better to punish this girl who claimed to be the culprit, rather than let the Young Master get in big trouble with the Count, regardless of whether it was true or not.

“Are you sure you saw that? If it turns out to be a lie, it could bring harm to the family.”

The steward, putting on a serious face, said this, and the boys from the baron’s family began to back down slightly.

“R-really? Now that I think about it, maybe we saw it wrong.”

“Yeah, I guess she’s the one who broke it. Hahaha!”

Since they were the ones who broke it, the boys were relieved to escape without consequences, laughing awkwardly as they left.

Of course, Count Greek was a very kind man, so he would not punish a maid who had just started learning for a mistake.

That was a matter of the Count’s kindness.

The girl was soon summoned by the head maid, reprimanded harshly, and had to endure a severe beating on her calves.

Slap! Whack!

Each time the sound rang out, the girl felt a great deal of pain, but strangely, she also felt a sense of relief.

The beating was severe, and the girl had to endure days of pain afterward. It wasn’t until much later that the swelling subsided and she could walk again.

Of course, the Greek boy had no idea about this.

If the Greek boy had known that the girl took the blame for him and was beaten so badly that her calves turned black, he would have immediately claimed it was his fault.

However, when the Greek boy heard that the girl was in pain, he didn’t know why, but whenever he had time, he would visit her to comfort her.

“Are you alright? Where does it hurt? Is it bad?”

“I’m…I’m fine!”

The girl couldn’t explain the reason, so she just claimed she wasn’t feeling well. Still, she was happy for the Greek boy’s visits.

Of course, the Greek boy, in front of the girl, began to ramble on endlessly about the politics he had learned from his father.

Could it be that this was simply a phase where he wanted to show off while speaking grandly?

It was the typical emotions of a boy wanting to appear cool to his peers.

But in reality, the girl found that listening to his confusing political talk was the happiest moment of her life.

One part of her enjoyed hearing him boast of his knowledge, and the other part loved hearing his clear voice and simply being together during the rare moments they shared. Ultimately, it was a win-win situation for both.

And then one day.

While the girl was tending to the flowers in the garden, she accidentally pricked herself on a thorn and started bleeding. Greek, who happened to be passing by, approached and wrapped a handkerchief around it.

“You have to be careful while trimming, why are you bleeding?”

“I-I’m sorry, Young Master.”

“You’re sorry? Oh, and calling me that, it feels a little strange when I hear it from someone your age.”

“Huh?”

“That’s right. When it’s just the two of us, could you call me ‘oppa’?”

“O-oppa?”

“I don’t have a younger sibling. I’ve always thought it would be nice to have a younger sister.”

“Wh-what’s this… Oh, no! If someone hears it, how could the daughter of a maid like me!”

“It doesn’t matter, does it? ‘Oppa’ is just an honorific, after all.”

“Th-that’s…”

The girl thought for a while, but in her heart, the strong desire to call him ‘oppa’ in an affectionate way started to burn brightly.

The more she thought about it, the more she wanted to say it, and despite resenting the boy who ignited this feeling in her, she ultimately broke the huge taboo of calling a noble ‘oppa’.

“S-so…oppa…”

As soon as she called him, her heart started beating violently. Her heart raced intensely. Was it because she had broken the taboo, or was it for another reason?

The girl, thinking about the reason, came to a simple conclusion.

Yes, the girl had realized for the first time that she had feelings for someone.

Time passed.

Even when the Greek family faced a dark period.

When Greek fell into despair, the girl was always there, offering comfort as best as she could. She never wished for anything beyond just being there for him.

The driving force that kept Greek going until he met El, and the reason he never gave up on his belief in being a good lord, even when the Greek family faced the threat of ruin from Count Dedran, was not just his father’s influence, but also to some extent, the girl’s.

Since he was young, he had been eager to talk about knowledge, which made him learn more about being a lord from his father.

And during the time when he couldn’t meet Berna, he became a loner. But he wasn’t really alone.

It was because of the girl’s presence.

The girl who always smiled and listened, giving him strength. Little by little, the boy started to realize how precious she was.

But that happiness didn’t last long.

Due to Count Dedran, who had taken control of the Greek family, the servants were largely replaced, and as a result, the girl was sent to another noble family in the Capital.

Because of Count Dedran’s oppressive policies, Greek was completely unaware of this.

The first one to hear about it was the girl.

She was no longer that young. If it were Earth, she would be in middle school by now.

She had grown enough to understand the atmosphere, and the more she did, the more she realized how vast the gap in social status was.

She also realized that her very presence might hurt Greek. If anyone saw her calling him ‘oppa’, it could bring harm to him, as he was being monitored by Count Dedran.

There was definitely a way for her to stay by Greek’s side and tell him she didn’t want to leave.

But knowing that it would only harm him, she decided, in silence, to leave the mansion.

“Oppa.”

The long years during which she called the Count “oppa”.

“I liked you. And once you grow a little more, I’m sure you’ll overcome this situation. You are smarter than anyone, and you’re different from all the other nobles! The oppa who always spoke of the path for the people next to me.”

But at the same time, because she hoped that Greek would occasionally think of her, she foolishly wanted to leave some trace behind.

Hoping that he would remember her even later, the girl left a small plaque with her name engraved in Greek’s room before leaving the Greek family.

That small plaque is what Greek is holding now.

In fact, Greek had always held feelings for the girl as he grew up.

When he was younger, he thought of her like a little sister, but as he grew older, different feelings began to develop, ones that were no longer the same as those for a sister.

Since she wasn’t actually his sister, it was a natural emotion.

They had been close since childhood, and she was always there for him, listening to his dull political discussions with a smile and always supporting him. He had liked her from the start, so developing other feelings for her was only natural.

But now, it was all a matter of the past.

Greek let out a sigh and placed the small plaque with “Siena” engraved on it back into the drawer.

Greek Dylan, the Lord of Greek City, which holds the enormous clock industry, had enough power that locating a maid wouldn’t have been a difficult task.

However, the reason he occasionally took out the small plaque and sighed was because he had already searched for her.

After El helped him defeat Count Dedran and he regained his dignity as a lord, he naturally searched for her, but the answer he received was that she had moved to another noble family and had died from illness.

So what was the point of looking any further?

The shock left him unable to eat for several days, and eventually, he sealed the small plaque in the drawer to regain his composure.

‘Even though I try not to take it out, I end up doing so anyway.’

Greek shook his head to shake off the nostalgic memories and slammed the drawer shut.