The Whipping Maid of House Calley - Chapter 102

“A noble house?”

At the words that he could marry off Sheila, a commoner, into a noble family, Fred’s voice rose without him realizing it.

“Shh! There’s Baron Hayek, you know, the one who took a second wife not long ago.”

Ernest hushed Fred and lowered his voice.

“They say the wife got caught having an affair a few days ago and was thrown out. The baron’s sick, but it doesn’t sound like something that’ll kill him anytime soon. Looks like he’ll be looking for another wife before long. Apparently, he pushes hard even when his children try to stop him. If he likes the woman, he cleans up her status completely and seats her as his wife. They say the woman who just got kicked out was a maid from another house too.”

“Really?”

After hearing the whole story, Fred’s ears perked up.

It was obvious the amount would be nothing like that old butcher’s case.

“So how much can I get?”

“Hard to say. We’ll have to make a deal, but even at the low end, it should be at least five times what you got back then.”

“Five times?”

Fred’s voice rose again. Ernest slapped Fred’s arm lightly a few times to quiet him and grinned.

“Well? It’s not something you just let pass, right?”

Fred grinned back at Ernest.

“I should drag that girl here right away.”

Ernest nodded. “The baron’s kids can probably hold out for three or four months, so you don’t need to bring her immediately. But it’s better to get things settled as soon as possible. Timing is everything with this kind of thing.”

“Yeah,” Fred agreed.

Just like with Fabiola, he decided to sell Sheila.

It was bad enough being born the eldest son of a poor family, but at least he had two younger sisters.

The casino would only be open to locals for one year. Selling Sheila in three or four months would be perfect for pulling off a big gamble with that money.

Even if he lost it all, he’d still have a sister married into a baron’s house.

Thinking that way made Fred impatient.

He decided he’d go see Sheila tomorrow and tell her to quit her job.

“Lend me ten denises. I need to go see that girl tomorrow.”

It was rare for Fred not to call her names. With thoughts of sending her off as a baroness, his grin already stretched ear to ear.

Ernest cursed Fred as a penniless bastard in his head, but still handed over ten denises without protest.

That way, he’d at least get a brokerage fee out of it.

“Don’t worry, Ernie. I’ll pay you back as soon as I get back.”

“What did I say? You really are something… ha!”

Ernest hurriedly put on a smile.

It was obvious that trash like Fred would go squeeze a few coins out of his sister.

“Anyway, meet your sister and get her ready. I’ll keep an eye on the baron’s situation too.”

Fred patted Ernest’s shoulder as if to say not to worry and turned away.

Watching Fred leave, Ernest also broke into a grin and disappeared into the darkness.

***

Cedric hurried through his preparations to go out.

After the banquet ended, Cedric started going out quite often. His outings were a good sign for Sheila.

Once she finished cleaning his room, she could knit in her own room.

With her other side jobs blocked, the only thing Sheila could do was knit during the day. And since she started using oil, it was no longer possible to stay up late knitting before bed.

As Sheila helped Cedric get ready to go out, he said, “I’ll be back sometime today.”

“Ah….”

So he was coming back late today.

Most of his outings usually lasted two or three hours, so Sheila assumed he was going somewhere farther than usual.

Still, as nothing more than a maid and not his secretary, it wasn’t her place to pry into where he was going or what business he had.

“Yes, Young Count.”

When Sheila answered without complaint, Cedric asked, “What will you be doing while I’m gone?”

“Well, obviously cleaning.”

Sheila looked around the spacious room as she spoke. His gaze followed hers. Both of them took in the sight of the room, clean and comfortable.

She needed to do the basic cleaning, but it wouldn’t take very long. There wasn’t anything in particular that needed tidying.

As Sheila laughed awkwardly, Cedric said, “If you’ve got nothing to do after cleaning, get some sleep. I’ll finish what needs to be done tonight, even if it’s late.”

What needs to be done tonight….

Sheila immediately understood what he meant.

Just like when there were lessons, she was paying off her debt every other day.

Since that day, Judith’s lessons stopped.

Instead of lessons, Judith brought the questions she got wrong on the test and made correction notes.

She wrote out all 203 wrong questions, then repeated the whole thing from the beginning once she finished. She had to do this three times, so it was obvious it would take quite a while.

During that time, Cedric seemed to be taking care of his own backlog of work.

As soon as he finished getting ready, a knock sounded, and Rufus appeared.

“If you’re ready, let’s go, Young Count.”

Cedric nodded, then said to Sheila, “I’ll be back.”

Sheila answered absentmindedly, then tried to step forward to see him off, “Yes… ah, I….”

He said again, “You don’t need to come down.”

“Ah, yes. Have a safe trip.”

After serving a thirteen-year-old young lady who expected to be waited on constantly, this kind of thing still felt a bit unfamiliar.

‘Well, the secretary is going with him, so there’s no need for me to step in.’

Sheila interpreted his words in her own way, feeling that they sounded strangely kind.

Even so, she couldn’t help watching his back until the very end as he turned away and walked off.

The sight of the man who always strode toward her on long legs, now growing more distant. The back of his glossy black hair, slicked neatly with pomade without a single hair out of place.

‘When will I ever see such a handsome face again?’

The moment he left the room, Sheila pressed herself against the window and waited for him to appear at the entrance.

When she moved to another job, she’d brag that she once served the Young Count of House Calley. Now that he returned from studying abroad and even held a grand appointment ceremony, just having served him would be excellent credentials.

Of course, it wouldn’t do to speak carelessly about a former master, but talking about how sculpted and handsome he was wouldn’t cause any trouble.

Before long, Cedric appeared in front of the entrance.

The carriage was already waiting, and Rufus’s gesture was followed by Cedric’s confident steps.

She still saw his face every day, yet after watching only his back for so long, she felt an odd sense of regret.

Just then, as Cedric was about to get into the carriage, he paused and turned around to look up toward his room.

His face, lit by the sunlight, was dazzling.

The moment their eyes met, Cedric gave a small smile and climbed into the carriage.

Startled, Sheila quickly hid behind the window.

‘Why did I hide…?’

Even she didn’t know the reason herself.

And her heart pounded so hard it felt like it might burst out, like a child caught doing something wrong.

Pressing the back of her hand against her burning cheek to calm it down, Sheila quickly started cleaning.

Once she finished cleaning, it would be free time. And since he said he’d be coming back late, it would be fine to bring her knitting basket and spend time here instead of in the cramped attic room.

Someone also needed to receive the snacks that kept arriving regularly even after he went out.

And since he told her to just eat them when he wasn’t around, the thought of knitting while eating snacks put Sheila in a good mood.

Despite the burden of the newly added debt of over two hundred denises, which she was steadily paying down to around one hundred forty, and the pressure of needing to change jobs, Sheila’s daily life was more peaceful than ever.

And the one who announced the end of that peace was Lucika, who was in charge of the hall.

***

“Sheila, come out for a moment. Your hometown brother is here.”

“What?”

Sheila stopped just as she was about to eat the snack she brought into the room. When she opened the door at the knock and heard the words ‘hometown brother’ from Lucika’s mouth, she froze in surprise.

‘This time it’s not my younger brother, but my older brother?’

No, if it were Jerry, she was sure Lucika would’ve said younger brother. He came here not that long ago, and he was the type who thought she looked quite young. Then could it be Master…?

Thinking that Bill might have come, Sheila replied as if she understood.

“Ah, yes.”

Or maybe Bill sent someone else to inform her of how things were going. Bill also knew that the money was almost all gathered now.

Either way, Sheila could only make her own guesses about the visitor who came looking for her.

It was absolutely forbidden to add even a single unnecessary word and leave a strong impression on Lucika.

It probably wouldn’t happen, but if there were an investigation later surrounding Fred’s death, Sheila needed to remain nothing more than an unremarkable maid of a noble house.

As she walked out of the residence and toward the main gate, Sheila finally saw the visitor clearly.

‘Why is that man…?’

Overturning all the guesses she made on the way down, standing in front of her was Fred, her real older brother from her hometown.