The Whipping Maid of House Calley - Chapter 21

Sheila doubted her ears even more than when her own name had been mentioned.

Allen also seemed surprised, just like Sheila, and reacted noisily.

“Huh. It was real?”

“Of course it’s real. You think I’d talk nonsense?”

“What is it? What about her caught your eye?”

After all that flirting, Allen now acted as if he couldn’t understand what was attractive about Sheila.

“Do I really have to explain that to you?” Alfonso retorted.

Sheila, who had overheard their conversation by chance, felt her heart pound so hard it seemed like it would burst.

And Sheila herself was curious too. What part of her had caught his interest?

Fortunately, Allen didn’t back down and dug in persistently.

“Of course. You think I’d just let something this interesting go?”

As if wanting to shake off the bothersome Allen, Alfonso replied curtly, “Let’s just say that girl is a bit special.”

“Ooh!”

“Make one more weird noise and you’re going in.”

“I won’t. I won’t.”

Their bickering continued.

“So I’m sure you understand without me saying it. Keep your hands off Sheila.”

“Of course,” Allen answered with a smile tugging at his lips.

“Go back now. That maid from earlier is waiting for you, isn’t she?”

At Alfonso’s words, Sheila, frozen on the stairs, slowly backed away.

“Alright, alright.”

“Answer only once! And as I warned you, stop dragging maids into your room so often.”

Their conversation grew more and more distant.

Sheila walked backward up the stairs with the tray in her hands without making even a single clattering sound. This was the moment when all her years of training as a maid shone brightest.

Only after she had climbed to a place where the young masters’ eyes could never reach did she turn and quickly finish going up the stairs. When she reached the third floor, Sheila set the tray down on the nearest windowsill and exhaled the breath she had been holding.

‘What in the world was that…?’

Sheila went over the words she had just heard on the stairs.

She definitely hadn’t misheard. The part that hurt was her thigh, not her ears.

That’s right, I’m interested. That’s right, I’m interested. That’s right, I’m interested….

‘No way….’

Sheila shook her head hard to erase Alfonso’s voice echoing in her ears.

‘Even if he’s interested, so what!’

Whether Young Master Alfonso was interested in her or not had nothing to do with Sheila. It wasn’t as if they’d get married across class lines….

‘Not that anyone would even agree to that if they could!’

Good grief….

In her imagination, she had already walked down the wedding aisle with Alfonso, and Sheila fanned her flushed face in a hurry.

Even after that, she had to stand in the hallway for quite a while until her cluelessly fluttering heart finally calmed down.

It had been a long time since the voices downstairs had disappeared, but Sheila still couldn’t bring herself to go back down the stairs.

***

Thud, thud. Thud, thud.

Every time Sheila stepped on the laundry, loud sounds echoed.

“That’s right, I’m interested.”

Thud!

“Let’s just say that girl is a bit special.”

Thud!

Ugh, seriously… Why does it keep coming to my mind!

As if trying to erase the memories that kept surfacing, Sheila scrubbed and stomped the laundry with force.

If only her body were in better shape, it would’ve been easier, but every movement made the spots she had been struck the day before throb.

“Ugh, seriously!”

With her body not fully healed, Sheila had to wash the maid uniforms even more vigorously than usual. After finishing, she pressed and twisted the soaked uniforms tightly, then shook them out and hung them one by one on the clothesline.

The maid uniforms fluttered in the wind. Looking at the freshly cleaned clothes, Sheila thought:

Everything would be forgotten with time anyway….

The shame, the embarrassment, and even things far worse than that would eventually be forgotten or dulled with time.

Sheila knew especially well that immersing herself in other tasks helped tremendously with forgetting.

Fortunately, Sheila had no shortage of work she needed to throw herself into. The only problem was that she couldn’t perform at full capacity because of the places she’d been struck.

Staring at the ointment left on the worktable the day before, Sheila seriously considered for the first time whether she should apply it or not. But in the end, she didn’t.

‘It’ll heal with time anyway….’

Just as memories faded with time, the wounds on her body were no different.

Selling the ointment was still the right choice.

Since it was a product plastered with the logo of a pharmaceutical company, even if she sold it slightly below market price, it would sell quickly. Because Cedric was keeping an eye on her during the punishment period, she’d have to sell it all off as soon as the contract ended.

After finishing the laundry, Sheila went up to her room and gathered the items she had prepared to mend and sell at the market.

Her body wasn’t in good condition, but today she’d decided to push herself.

However, once she went to the market, Sheila soon regretted her decision.

Her severe flu-like symptoms made it impossible for her to keep her stall open. In the end, she had to return to the mansion earlier than planned. And by the time she barely made it up to her room on the third floor, she collapsed.

Sheila, who had even thrown aside her precious bundle without care, trembled under all the blankets she owned.

Since becoming a maid, she’d never had such a terrible fever.

***

Cedric was so preoccupied with looking into the estate matters he hadn’t been able to handle while studying abroad.

Although the major issues had been reported to him through written correspondence while he was away, it had been impossible to keep up with every minor detail.

He had learned how to manage the estate not from his father, but from his grandfather, the former count. Cedric’s grandfather, who had passed away when Cedric was fourteen, had adored his bright grandson.

He even preferred taking Cedric, rather than Bernard, to official events. Naturally, people’s attention shifted toward Cedric, the future count after Bernard.

Cedric had to stay true to the role he’d been born into, if only to not betray his grandfather’s expectations.

But then….

Bang!

“Ah, you scared me.”

Startled, Rufus yelped when Cedric suddenly slammed his desk in the middle of reviewing documents.

“What’s wrong, my lord?”

“I’m done for today. You can leave.”

When his secretary came to his senses and asked the reason, Cedric dismissed him instead of answering.

Although he’d finished everything he’d planned for the day, the small woman kept wandering through his mind the entire time.

He’d beaten her legs badly enough that she wouldn’t have gone straight to work again.

On the second day, he had struck her twenty-five times; on the third day, thirty-three times.

Of course, the beatings were only part of the lessons he’d promised Judith, and no other emotion was involved.

In any case, all of this was just a temporary process.

Cedric’s only task was to naturally guide Sheila into ‘that room.’

Until then, he planned to avoid paying much attention to her.

There was no particular reason.

He had tossed her an effective ointment, so using it properly was the maid’s responsibility.

It was obvious she wouldn’t use it the first day, but on the second and third day, she wouldn’t have been able to endure without applying it.

‘Should I go check?’

Cedric brushed back the black hair that had slipped loose while working and rose from his seat.

Then he took long strides forward.

***

Bang, bang, bang!

“Open the door!”

Cedric’s hair fell over his handsome forehead as he pounded on the attic door at the end of the hallway.

The door was locked from the inside. That meant Sheila was in there.

The servants’ rooms had nothing more than a simple latch that could only be locked from within.

But no matter how hard he knocked, there was no response from inside.

“Sheila!”

Bang!

Cedric slammed the door again.

At this rate, he looked like he’d break it down.

Fortunately, before such a disaster could happen, the wooden door creaked open.

Cedric, who had already stepped back several paces to throw his weight into breaking the door, froze awkwardly, then approached Sheila. He casually raised the fist he’d been about to slam into the door and brushed it near his mouth.

“Ahem, what were you doing?”

“I’m sorry… I must’ve dozed off for a moment….”

Sheila answered in a tiny voice. Perhaps she’d really been asleep; unlike her usual neat appearance, she looked slightly disheveled.

“But… what brings you here…?”

Cedric stared displeased at the maid who clearly didn’t welcome his visit. In an instant, his grayish blue eyes sharpened with a clear focus.

“Why does your face look like that?”

No matter how he looked at it, her flushed face was not normal.

“…What?”

Cedric grabbed her arm and pulled her closer before she could even fully respond.

Her slender arm fit entirely in one of his hands.

‘Nothing but bones.’

Pushing aside the thought that came to him the moment he took her arm, he touched Sheila’s forehead.

“Are you sick?”

He didn’t need to hear the answer. Her forehead was burning hot.

“No, I’m fine….”

Cedric cut off the maid’s habitual response before she could finish.

“Tell me the truth before you get in trouble.”

At his firm pressure, Sheila’s lips twitched faintly.

“I just… feel a little cold….”

“Damn it.”

Cedric muttered a low curse, grabbed Sheila’s arm again, and pulled her fully inside the room before slamming the door shut.

“Lie down.”

Cedric gave a short but intimidating order, then slammed the door again on his way out.

‘Good grief… he’s going to break the door at this rate.’

Sheila stared at the closed door, worried about its safety, but quickly realized how pointless that thought was.

‘It’s his house anyway….’

Right now, her body was the priority.

Her entire body hurt like she was dying, and she couldn’t understand why the young master had come. Sheila stood there helplessly, unable to do anything.

He hadn’t said anything when he left, but he had definitely given off the feeling that he’d return soon.

‘He did tell me to lie down….’

She had clearly heard that part, but Sheila couldn’t bring herself to lie down. She didn’t know when the master would barge back in, and lying flat in bed felt inappropriate.

With her body aching, every passing second she remained standing felt like an eternity.

‘Just kill me now…!’

Screaming internally, Sheila finally got on her knees and leaned forward onto the bed. She couldn’t lie down, but standing was truly unbearable.

‘If he knocks, I can get up quickly.’

This position would let her rise faster than if she were lying flat.

But moments later, the door swung open without warning, and Sheila had no choice but to face Cedric while still in that position.

‘Damn it….’