19

“How was it?”

Butler Penel asked the de facto power of the marquis house, who sipped tea haughtily after Cornelia left. Kiara silently lifted one corner of her mouth.

“She said to give her time to think.”

“Pardon?”

He was taken aback.

‘To reject the young lady’s offer.’

If it weren’t for being of the same high nobility, one couldn’t even imagine someone daring to say they’d reconsider. Penel watched the young lady’s expression closely. Strangely, it didn’t look like she was upset.

“I like that she doesn’t give in easily. It makes me want her more.”

“…Please refrain from saying things that others might misunderstand.”

The butler chose to interpret it simply as that Cornelia had greatly pleased her. Kiara smoothed her voluminous hair pushed to one side and gave instructions.

“Those kinds of people are more troublesome. You can’t persuade them with money. Find out what they want and present it as a condition. Whatever it is.”

The young lady, once fixated, wouldn’t be satisfied until she got her way.

“Understood.”

Though he wondered if she needed that child so much, the butler obediently bowed his head.

He thought it would be easy to hire her. Since she was from a fallen noble family, he assumed giving plenty of money would make it simple.

“Are these the conditions that child wants?”

Penel, who had met Cornelia, looked quite displeased. Kiara’s eyes narrowed as she read the documents.

“A strict 6 PM clock-out, two days off per week, no contact after work, overtime pay for overtime?”

“She said she doesn’t need housing support and wants these terms reflected.”

From Penel’s perspective, these were utterly unreasonable terms. Servants working for the marquis house stayed in the annex servants’ quarters and were expected to be ready to run whenever the master called. Though an aide might leave for home, they still had to be on call at all times.

‘There’s no way she’ll allow this. It makes no sense.’

He would have given more money if she had asked; he worried the young lady might issue a forbidding command.

“…Tell her we’ll see her tomorrow.”

“Understood.”

“How cheeky.”

Penel privately thought Cornelia would quickly back down and obey his young lady’s order. The next day, Cornelia arrived with a bright expression and met the young lady alone without a trace of fear. This time Penel stood beside them to listen to the conversation.

“Is this how you refuse?”

Displeasure and a hint of hurt showed on the young lady’s face. The girl from the humble fallen family, however, looked utterly clueless, her eyes wide and head tilted.

“What do you mean? You asked me to state the conditions I wanted, so I did.”

There wasn’t the slightest hint of deceit in her demeanor.

“These conditions don’t seem so important that you’d refuse housing because of them. Convince me.”

Penel agreed with the young lady’s doubt. Cornelia opened her mouth without hesitation. Her round, clear voice was very distinct.

“If my employer has something important coming up, of course I can help regardless of clock-out time. I only wish it wouldn’t become the norm.”

“Explain in detail.”

Miss Kiara straightened and leaned forward slightly.

“I have a sick younger brother. So I want to clock out at the set time to care for him and spend time with my family. I consider that my responsibility as a guardian.”

“Is that really all?”

“There are other reasons. Personal life and work should be separated so one can focus better on tasks. At work, there won’t only be good moments between us. I will certainly do something to displease you and be harshly reprimanded. In such situations, habitually staying late at the workplace will even reduce work performance. Proper rest and separation will help not only me but also you, young lady.”

It was the first time she had heard such an explanation. But after hearing the reasons, it wasn’t unreasonable. Judging by the young lady’s expression, she seemed to feel similarly.

“Of course, I will finish everything that can be done within the allotted time. I don’t think overtime equates to doing work well.”

She thought she heard a mutter about not having a crazy boss pile on work to death, but pretended not to notice.

“Is that so?”

After sending Cornelia away, the young lady looked over the documents and fell into thought.

Penel wondered whether she would hire the girl, even if it meant giving up things she had considered natural all her life, but he didn’t press and waited.

‘There’s no chance she’ll accept.’

I really didn’t have high hopes. When I first received the offer, I asked seniors and others what it was like to work as an aide in a noble household. They all said there was no day or night, you had to run whenever needed, and there were hardly any vacations. If unlucky, you could even be fired on the spot for displeasing them.

‘The marquis’ young lady seems extraordinary.’

I was told that’s how noble young ladies usually are. The moment Penel saw the conditions brought to the lady, her feeling hardened into certainty.

‘There’s no such thing as a free lunch.’

I expected they’d pay more here, of course. The required work difficulty was higher.

But the housing request was excessive. Eat too much and you get sick. I did want to earn a lot, but I didn’t want to grind myself away in a noble household without freedom.

Having been here, I felt there were plenty of other options. So I honestly stated the conditions I wanted in that work.

‘If it works out, great; if not, then oh well.’

Lost in thought, murmurs around me snapped my head back. I had come to manage the Black Dia store.

“Let’s just work.”

Turning toward the commotion, I saw a man standing dignified among the cute cosmetics. Female customers whispered among themselves and kept glancing at him. They didn’t approach further, understandably; the aura from his looks suggested as much.

If you came too close to him, it felt like a cold wind would cut through you. I remembered he had bought the new fountain pen last time. With looks like that, he was hard to forget.

At that moment, the cashier muttered to herself.

“He’s been in that section for over 15 minutes.”

That meant he was seriously pondering something.

‘It can’t have been easy for a man to come alone to a cosmetics store.’

Moreover, he was frowning deeply. A desire to help rose in her like human compassion.

“May I help you if you’d like?”

The man slowly turned his head.

‘No plastic surgery, no makeup, and still more handsome than any actor I’ve seen.’

Worried I might be mistaken for having ulterior motives, I intended to mention my guild affiliation.

“I am…”

“I want to give gifts but I don’t know what’s what.”

He didn’t wait to be asked and readily responded.

‘Did I judge him too much by his looks?’

I felt a bit embarrassed. I’d thought my eye for people at work was unmatched; how arrogant of me. I set myself the task of solving his dilemma instead.

“Who are you buying the gifts for? I don’t mean to pry, but is it for a lover?”

Suddenly the surroundings grew strangely quiet.

“No, for my mother and my older sister.”

It was a firm answer.

The odd atmosphere instantly returned to normal. Someone who takes care of his mother and sister; he was unexpectedly family-oriented.

“There are many shades, so it’s not easy to choose.”

He nodded slightly.

“If you describe their appearances in detail, I’ll recommend shades that would suit them.”

“Hmm.”

The man’s frown deepened. I immediately simplified my questions to him.

“It helps to know the recipient’s hair color, eye color, skin tone, and favorite dress colors. If that’s hard, you can point to similar shades in the store.”

Only then did the man speak. Assuming they weren’t half-siblings and that the relatives resembled him, he deduced suitable colors. I assembled two sets of lipstick, blush, and eye palettes and wrapped them prettily.

The man watched me intently with a chilling gaze. It was a relief he didn’t stare as if he would devour the cosmetics.

As I finished wrapping and was about to hand over the gift box, senior Yul entered. He hurried up to me, excused himself to the customer, and whispered.

“Starting tomorrow, you’ll go to work at the marquis house. They accepted your conditions.”

“Wha—?”

Senior Yul tapped my shoulder, told me to finish serving this customer and come back, then quickly left the shop. I was stunned for a moment.

‘They accepted it? Those conditions?’

I couldn’t believe it and was dumbfounded.

“Are you all right?”

I hurriedly composed my expression.

“Sorry to keep you waiting.”

“It’s fine. It seems like an important matter.”

His face was cold but his words were considerate. I stared at the two wrapped gift boxes, asked him to wait a moment, took a small, slim box from my bag, and handed it along with them. It was a rather impulsive act.

“It’s a fountain pen. It’s the next new release after the one you bought before and it just launched today. I heard you come to our store often, so I wanted to give it to you.”

“It’s fine. I’ll come and buy it myself.”

I was politely declined.

“Please don’t feel obliged. If not today, it might be hard for me to give it to you.”

When the man gave a puzzled look, I smiled faintly.

“Today is my last shift.”