Chapter 10

Ramona, tying her hair as tightly and neatly as possible, took a deep breath and headed straight to work. Today, she had an appointment to work in the kitchen of the Tubren Hotel.

A message had come in saying they desperately needed extra hands because a banquet was being held there tonight. However, it seemed everyone had called in people they knew, as the kitchen was already overflowing with workers.

“It seems Supervisor Elena didn’t check the kitchen roster properly. Today is her day off… So, with that in mind, could you possibly work as a housekeeper instead?”

Because she never picked or chose her tasks, work never dried up for Ramona.

“Housekeeper? Hmm, alright. I’ll put today’s work on the tab, so remember that and buy me a meal next time.”

“Got it. Thanks for understanding.”

Having worked various jobs, Ramona knew many people in that field. That was why she accepted the request from Supervisor Alto of the Tubren Hotel, who had asked with an apologetic expression.

Dressed in a uniform and covering her hair with a kerchief, Ramona went up to the rooms Supervisor Alto had assigned.

“I’ll do 201 and 205, and then 306.”

Muttering to herself, Ramona cleaned the vacant rooms on the second floor and then moved up to the third. While heading toward Room 306, she briefly crossed paths with someone who appeared to be a maid from a noble household.

The woman, who had beautiful blue eyes, stepped back to let her pass, looked around cautiously, and then headed straight downstairs.

“Noble maids these days are truly pretty. How is her skin so fine?”

The maid must have had a good employer, as she was wearing makeup and even had polish on her nails. In contrast, Ramona’s own nails were worn down from working without even a moment to trim them.

Looking blankly at her nails, which still bore traces of half-faded red balsam dye, Ramona snapped out of it and hurriedly cleaned Room 306.

By the time she finished her housekeeping duties, evening was approaching. After grabbing a quick bite at the hotel staff cafeteria, Ramona bought some fabric on her way home.

“I should at least sew a new set of clothes for my Ugly Prince. Ah, they’ll surely provide everything for him there, so there’s no need for me to… No, since I already bought the fabric, I might as well make it.”

Lighting a candle, Ramona cut the fabric to a size slightly larger than Raon’s measurements. Then, threading a needle, she began to sew with practiced skill.

***

A few days later— Because the person in charge flaked out again, Ramona had to go up to the guest rooms instead of the kitchen. Just as she finished her work and opened a room door, she ran into someone.

It was that fine maid she had seen last time. Ramona didn’t know whose employee she was, but the moment the maid saw her, her eyes widened in surprise and she ran away at a high speed. Seeing this, Ramona worried that something bad might have happened to her and quickly followed.

The woman went to the first-floor back door, hopped into an unmarked carriage, and vanished in an instant.

“Hmm, for someone who only works here occasionally like me to see her a second time, it means she comes here often…”

She thought of the maid she had just seen disappear in the carriage, whose well-groomed red hair had been hidden under a kerchief.

‘Could she be a nobleman’s hidden mistress?’

It didn’t seem like an employer would leave such a beautiful maid alone.

“Ah! I don’t have time for this.”

Hurrying away, Ramona finished her report to Supervisor Alto and left work immediately.

“Sister, I’m glad I caught you. The Young Lord sent a letter.”

The letters, which arrived almost every day, also contained empty envelopes and stationery. Raon had sent them along to prevent Ramona from having to spend money to buy paper to write back.

After reading the letter, Ramona let out a low sigh, unlike her usual self.

“Why? Is something wrong?”

“It’s not that, it’s just that the content of Raon’s letters never changes. He only ever says he’s doing well, which is almost strange. Haven’t you heard any other news?”

“Hmm, he’s probably busy studying. Oh! But there is something strange—not about the Young Lord, but Lady Neyno. They say she’s been going to the Tubren Hotel quite often lately.”

“Tubren? I’ve been working there part-time recently, but I’ve never run into her. No, wait. I don’t even know what she looks like in the first place.”

Since she had only heard the name from Brown after sending Raon there, there was a high probability she would have passed her by without knowing.

“Well, I’ve caught a glimpse of her from afar, and she’s a very flamboyant beauty. She has red hair, blue eyes, and, well, she’s a bit taller than most women.”

At Brown’s description, Ramona’s eyes narrowed slightly.

“Really? I see. Hmm, red hair and blue eyes aren’t common, but they aren’t non-existent either… I’ll give you a letter to send to our Ugly Prince in a little bit. Thank you, as always.”

“I’m happy to do anything for you, Sister.”

Once Brown left with a smile, Ramona quickly scribbled words onto the stationery Raon had sent. Before long, the short letter returned as a small box.

***

Raon, who wrote letters almost every day, smiled brightly as he looked at the reply addressed to him by the nickname “Ugly Prince.”

Though the content was exceptionally short that day, Raon simply held it dearly to his chest. Then, as if afraid someone might see, he tossed only that letter into the fireplace.

“Why are you burning only that letter?”

“You don’t need to know.”

Raon answered curtly to the servant who was assigned exclusively to him. He was being extremely cautious because he had recently seen the man coming out of Aria’s room.

“I’m quite hurt. I am your exclusive servant, and it breaks my heart when you speak so coldly.”

“Is an exclusive servant allowed to pry when the person they serve doesn’t want them to?”

He was a child of only six years. The servant had thought he could be easily swayed with a little coaxing, but the boy was no ordinary child.

“I apologize. I think I acted presumptuously because I wanted to get closer to you quickly, Young Lord.”

“It seems so. Please be careful from now on.”

Cutting him off firmly, Raon opened a book as usual. It was a very boring life for a child. When he lived outside with his mother, he would run around with his friends. But here, despite the vast grounds, he couldn’t run.

Aria had insisted that a noble must not run indecorously. Normally, he would have ignored her and run anyway, but she had brought up Ramona. Because she questioned how on earth he had been raised to act this way, Raon was forced to become a quiet child.

He didn’t care if he was insulted, but he hated the thought of Ramona being insulted more than death itself.

As he was quietly studying, there was a knock.

— May I come in?

“Yes, come in.”

Adrian opened the door and entered. Among the conditions Ramona had set, one was that they must ask and answer each other about what they did that day at least once every day. To meet that condition, Adrian made an effort to talk to Raon every day and ease the awkwardness.

“What did you do today?”

“I studied.”

The same question was always met with the same answer.

“Ahem, I-I see.”

In front of Ramona, he had acted like a real son, acting cute and all, but in front of his biological father, he built a wall, which made Adrian feel nothing but regret.

“Tomorrow, you will receive swordsmanship lessons. Let me know if you don’t want to.”

“Swordsmanship lessons? Who will be teaching me?”

Vibrancy returned to the eyes of the child, who had been answering in a dry voice when talking about studies. Adrian had decided to teach him swordsmanship thinking it would be good for a boy to learn, and it seemed that choice had paid off.

“I’d like to teach you myself, but I’m too busy, so Sir Milan Onyx, who is considered the next vice-commander of Arab, will teach you.”

There were many knights in the house, so there was no reason to scout a swordsmanship teacher from outside. Therefore, Adrian had chosen Sir Onyx to be Raon’s teacher.

“Yes, I understand. Then should I be ready to go out early tomorrow morning?”

“Yes. It’ll be a bit tough at first, but if you follow along diligently, you’ll gain enough skill to protect yourself.”

If he followed his own greed, he wanted to make Raon a knight. But he didn’t want to make a child who had suffered from a young age spend the next ten years shedding blood and sweat holding a sword. It was enough for him alone to roll around on the battlefield.

“Yes, I’ll learn very diligently. That way, I will definitely protect my mom.”

At Raon’s words, which always came back to his mother, Adrian gave a bittersweet smile. He couldn’t break the bond between the two of them after appearing only after six years.

“By the way, do you have something to say to me?”

During the brief exchange of questions and answers, Raon’s golden eyes wavered slightly. Seeing that he wanted to say something but couldn’t easily speak, it seemed he wanted something somewhat significant.

“Uh, I… I need something. I want to record the lessons with the teachers in an image stone so I can review them… Could you possibly give me one?”

Since the child asked for an image stone to study, Adrian nodded. He then had Adiel bring one immediately. An image stone was a very expensive, special orb that could record everything around it for a certain period of time.

One could become quite wealthy just by selling one. Raon, who received such a precious image stone, put it into a small box when no one was around.

Then, after telling Adiel a lie that it was a gift prepared for Ramona, he sent it home through Brown. Fortunately, Adiel didn’t search through the box Raon gave him.

Holding the image stone that had come into her hands through that process, Ramona gave a satisfied smile and then called someone through Brown. Soon, the person who arrived at Ramona’s house with a quick pace exclaimed upon receiving the image stone.

“Sister, what happens if we sell this?”

“Think about that yourself. If you want to die, you can say whatever you want.”