# 43
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* * *
“Jack, here!”
I stood in front of the knights' quarters, and waved when I saw Jack looking around.
"Leah! What happened?"
“You don't have to jump like that...”
When he saw that he was breathing hard, he seemed to come out in a hurry after hearing that I called for him.
“You conveyed my message correctly.”
To be honest, I asked the server to bring Jack, but I was worried that he would ignore me like the other staff, but I was happy.
Well, it might have been difficult for the servants to treat me so carelessly.
Ever since I had quarreled with the escorts who were harassing Jack in the Duke's Castle, I had felt a mixture of fear and admiration looking at me strangely every time I stopped at the training ground.
“You've been waiting a long time, haven't you?”
“Huh?”
“I thought they lied to me when you said you came, this is the first time you have come to see me in person.”
“...was it like that?”
When I tilted my head, Jack said frankly.
"Yes ."
I was surprised to see a hint of disappointment on Jack's stiff expression.
“So what happened? If...”
“Now, here!”
I handed over the round medicine bottle that I was holding tightly in my hand in case I lost it.
“It's an effective ointment. They say small wounds will heal in a day. It's also effective for larger wounds.”
“Of course, you will inevitably get hurt during training, but still...”
Jack was just looking at the bottle of ointment I had given him in his hand.
When I saw that I felt embarrassed and started talking about random things.
“This is really good. It was a deal set up by Viscountess Bardot, the Duke’s personal physician, really. She said that next time, she would make a useful medicine to restore the body’s energy and growth.”
When the Viscountess asked me to tell her anything, I remembered the wound I had last seen on Jack's hand and asked for some ointment.
The Viscountess, who was surprised because she thought I was injured, nodded and gave me some ointment when I told her I was giving it to a friend who had joined the knights.
She also added that the next time they met, she would see Jack in person and give him a medicine that would be beneficial for his bones and muscles.
Since I plan to visit Spliceia sometime soon to hear more about it, I thought it would be a good idea to go with Jack.
“Do you think I still look that weak?”
“Huh?”
“No, because I am weak.”
I thought Jack would be grateful, but his reaction was very strange.
"You're weak? What on earth are you talking about?"
Jack has become taller and his body is stronger than when he was in the orphanage.
Moreover, I heard a rumor that his skills were improving at an alarming rate, so why was he weak?
“Anyway, thank you, I will put the medicine to good use.”
Jack continued, ignoring the frowning expression.
“Let's go, I will take you to the guest accommodation.”
She sighed briefly.
“There's no need to take me there, I can go alone.”
“Let's go together, it's late.”
“It's really okay.”
I vehemently refused, but Jack looked at me with an expression that had a lot to say and quickly took the initiative.
I even gave him a gift, but he didn't look happy at all, on the contrary, he looked upset.
Moreover, seeing Jack sighing at me from time to time also made me feel bad.
“Jack, do you have something to say?”
As I approached the hotel, I couldn't hold back any longer so I asked.
Then Jack opened his mouth as if he was waiting.
“You've been tricked again, haven't you?”
"What?"
This time again, the question was incomprehensible.
When I narrowed my eyes and looked at Jack, he clicked his tongue as if he understood. I felt even worse.
“What the hell are you talking about? I think you’re treating me like an idiot.”
When she asked in an unusually sharp tone, I saw Jack stop.
“I didn't mean to....Yes, that's true, I'm sorry.”
Jack, who had denied it for a while, quickly admitted his mistake and apologized to me.
When he came out so obediently, I felt a little embarrassed for trying to get angry.
“Then why did this happen in detail?”
At my question, Jack closed his mouth again and looked at me with a dark expression.
The longer the silence went on, the worse my mood became again. Jack saw my eyes narrow and spoke urgently.
“Are you okay these days?”
“Huh what?”
“People...”
It was only when I saw Jack walking away that I roughly realized what he was trying to say.
I think I heard the staff whispering about me.
"decent."
“But…Aren’t you exposed to harassment? For example, they give you all the work, or they scold you.”
“That didn't happen, by the way, why are you looking at me?”
I laughed out loud at Jack's genuinely worried expression.
There was none of the bullying Jack was talking about.
On the contrary, the problem is that it is completely ignored.
But Jack looked like he was looking like an idiot who didn't know what was happening.
"I'm really okay? Jack, have you forgotten who saved you from those insolent attendants?"
She laughed incredulously and hit Jack on the shoulder. Then he waved his hand and told me not to worry and ran straight to the dorm.
For a moment, I was so grateful that he cared so much about me as a friend that I burst into tears and the bridge of my nose turned sour.
“I'm really fine.”
but.
Since the day I spoke confidently to Jack, I haven't been well.
* * *
Sigh.
Not only my clothes, but my body was also wet from the water falling from the stairs.
There was a musty smell, as if the water had been washed off with a mop.
As I stood there in confusion, I heard laughter from above.
When she looked up, the maids on the stairs quickly disappeared.
“...Really, this is too much.”
I clenched my fists and gritted my teeth.
This type of blatant harassment started not long ago.
It was to the point that I was grateful for the time I quietly ignored it.
“I think it's been like this ever since Jack started visiting me.”
Jack came to visit me every day, probably because I was still worried.
“The eyes of the staff who saw me and Jack together looked colder than before, but they didn’t think it was a big deal...”
For a moment, I was grateful that he cared about me, but then I started to resent Jack because he was so popular.
“Ha, there's no need to blame others.”
But I quickly changed my mind and shook my head.
In fact, if I think about it, this kind of atmosphere hasn't even existed since he ignored me.
Once to meet Viscountess Bardot, and once to go to the attached library where there were herbal books and magical tools.
This is because when I visited the annex twice, I heard other employees talking behind my back and asking me why I was leaving like this instead of working properly.
Of course, since I was also a paid maid, it wouldn't be wrong to say that I didn't go to the annex after that.
However, the librarian only directed me to children's books, not professional books, so I couldn't get the knowledge I wanted.
Anyway, I asked the upper class maid to give me tasks, and unlike before, when she was passive, she gave me tasks every day as if she was waiting.
It was very difficult to meet the Duchess, Diana and Aline in an intelligent way.
When things went like this, it seemed like everything Jack said had come true. On top of that, this is kind of a basic annoyance.
Of course, when the bullying situation that I thought was funny got worse, I didn't think to ask an adult for help.
Even if you are an adult in mind, your body is a child.
Torturing a child in this way is crossing the line.
But my fears were short-lived, lasting less than a day.
A few days ago, I found the Duke and Duchess returning home late from a party at the Imperial Palace and happened to overhear their conversation.
〈I was expecting that, but it was really hard, I don't know why everyone talks like that, and nobles, honestly, I feel like I'm the only one who's being an idiot and I'm upset because I feel like a tactless person.〉
〈If you want to return to the area now, you can do so, don't overdo it.〉
<No, I don't want to, because I'm your wife and the mother of your children, I will do it no matter what.〉
The Duchess's words immediately brought me to my senses.
In the meantime, she thought she had adapted to monastic life well and was doing well.
Because it just looked bright.
But no.
How can one forget that the Duchess might die soon?
I felt contempt for myf for being so ungrateful.
“Meanwhile, I was thinking of adding burden to the Duchess just because I was having a hard time.”
Of course the best way for the Duchy was to tell the Duke about the evil employees who were harassing me as I did with Master Valery, but it was difficult outside the house and I couldn't make a fuss inside the house because it was from me.
So I tried to hold back as much as possible.
'If I put up with it even after it comes out like this, I'll be really foolish.'
When I very calmly decided to make an example of the people who were harassing me, I realized that this was not the pressing issue at the moment.
“Ha, it was the last outfit.”
Since it was almost time for Diana's class to end, I had to quickly remove the stench from my body.
I ran straight to my dorm, took a shower, looked at the empty closet, and sighed.
All the maid uniforms I was given were dirty and washed, so I had no choice but to take out the clothes I was wearing in the Duke's Castle and put them on.
“Well, what's the matter with clothes, I just need to be confident.”
It was clear that seeing this outfit would make people whisper behind my back, but that didn't mean I could walk around naked.
Instead, I put on the small apron I had worn at the Duke's Castle, consoled myf, and headed toward the main building.
“Huh, Lucio, is this baby your sister?”