The Whipping Maid of House Calley - Chapter 48

His voice, which had turned cold, now carried an edge.

At that voice, a chill ran down Sheila’s spine. Her instincts as a maid sensed danger.

“Yes? No, I, um….”

Facing a master who seemed angry, Sheila’s mind raced to find an excuse.

But she couldn’t figure out what exactly she’d done wrong, so she didn’t know how she was supposed to explain herself.

No, then was she supposed to just leave it messy and walk out? Leave the scale left in the drained bathtub and those… those marks on the table?

Cedric’s expression as he looked at Sheila’s stunned face was displeased.

He’d come because the washing was taking a long time, never imagining she’d be cleaning as well.

Still, separate from the fact that she was cleaning without being told, the sight of her kneeling on the wooden floor wiping it with her wet hair hanging down wasn’t bad. Her bare feet, still without shoes, her slender ankles, and the bit of calf showing too….

‘It’s definitely not bad.’

So until he heard the maid’s voice answering his obvious question of “Cleaning?” in a formal tone, Cedric had been taking quite a soft attitude toward the woman.

‘Young Count….’

In this room, he wanted to be her master, not the young count.

But now that the punishment time was over, the title “young count” that came out of Sheila’s mouth was in fact the more accurate one.

‘I set the time for nothing.’

Cedric gave a wry smile to himself.

He’d only thought that way. He had no intention of spending any more time than this on a mere maid- no, on satisfying his trash-like desires.

Time aside, three times a week was already by no means a small number.

Cedric thought of Club Elaina.

At Elaina, secret meetings were held while changing locations every week. Cedric appeared regularly, but he didn’t attend every week. He thought enjoying this kind of play every week was a waste of time and a waste of life.

So three times a week should’ve been more than enough for him.

But in reality, it wasn’t. Both the time and the frequency only left Cedric thirstier.

Even so, he had no intention of adjusting the time or frequency now.

Getting absorbed in what happened in this room itself didn’t sit well with him.

And for a frail maid with a waist you could wrap one hand around, enduring any more than this would be too much.

‘And in the middle of all this, she’s cleaning….’

Well, come to think of it, didn’t Rufus say the maid would do anything for money with that scrawny body of hers?

‘Ha….’

Cedric let out a sigh inwardly and pressed his lips into a straight line.

The woman who clung desperately to earning money had created various side jobs for herself within this estate.

That was why he’d been able to lure and bind her into being a whipping maid with money.

And even after giving her what she would consider a large amount of money upfront, the maid had still tried to viciously sell off even the ointment he’d given her.

Even when the doctor came….

“My whole body aches and I’m cold…. My head hurts, my stomach hurts…, and my throat hurts too. I have no appetite and it feels like I can’t digest anything…. I sometimes see or hear things that aren’t there.”

“Could you perhaps give me separate medicine for each symptom?”

Recalling that incident made Cedric feel incredulous again.

Even while sick, she’d twisted her head like that just to make money.

“Are you trying to earn cleaning money here too?”

At Cedric’s words, Sheila’s mind, which had been preparing excuses, froze completely.

“Yes…?”

What was he suddenly….

Sheila felt flustered and dumbfounded.

Were there really maids who demanded separate cleaning fees for cleaning a room they themselves had used?

Of course, he’d used it too.

And the ‘liquid’ she was cleaning up right now was something he’d spilled as well….

Just then, the very person who’d extracted such a large amount of that liquid strode in.

He stopped in front of her, where she was crouched down, and crossed his arms.

“If you’re short on money, say so. I’m willing to raise your pay.”

Ha…?

The arrogant look in his eyes as he looked down at her was unbelievably irritating. Sheila sprang to her feet and said, “I’m not doing this because I want to charge extra money…!”

No, that’s not it.

Sheila couldn’t finish venting her frustration, and suddenly felt her vision turn yellow.

The gas lamp light was yellowish to begin with, but this wasn’t that.

As dizziness hit her and she staggered, Cedric grabbed her wrist with a sharp motion.

“Let go… please, I’m fine….”

This was just low blood sugar.

She’d stood up too quickly and gotten badly dizzy.

Sheila was quite used to this kind of state.

It wasn’t the first time she’d worked until her vision turned yellow and then fallen asleep.

Even after working that hard, the money she could put in her pocket wasn’t much. Only recently had she realized that compared to what Cedric paid her as a whipping maid, it was truly just pocket change.

So was it only natural that the effort matched the pay…?

Compared to getting beaten, it hurt less, but in terms of sheer exhaustion, this kind of work was no joke either.

‘Come to think of it, the only one who’d squeezed liquid out of my body wasn’t just the Young Count….’

Just as that quiet realization settled in, Sheila’s body suddenly lifted into the air.

Instead of letting her go, Cedric picked Sheila up in his arms like a princess.

“Put me down… let me down!”

Sheila struggled. As she did, her yellowed vision gradually returned to normal.

Cedric’s displeased face came into view. His looks were always so striking it was almost burdensome, and that only made Sheila struggle harder.

“Stay still. Rufus will be here soon.”

“……The secretary?”

Holding the stiffened Sheila in his arms, Cedric left the punishment room and sat her down on the sofa in his bedroom.

“Why is the secretary…?”

Sheila, who had suddenly grown quiet, asked softly as Cedric took a seat across from her. Just then, someone knocked on the door.

“Come in.”

At Cedric’s permission, Rufus appeared carrying a tray of snacks.

Sheila hurriedly looked around, wondering if there was somewhere she could hide. She felt embarrassed at the thought of being seen by someone else right after doing those things, with her hair still wet.

Seeing Sheila’s hunched shoulders, Cedric said, “You don’t need to worry about Rufus.”

‘Ah… really?’

At those very reassuring words, Sheila shot Cedric a glare.

Her shoulders, which had already drawn in tight, showed no sign of relaxing.

Quick-witted Rufus said nothing, set down the snack tray with efficient movements, and left.

On the tray were simple cookies, fruit, and two glasses of milk.

“Eat. You must be hungry,” Cedric said, sitting across from her.

“I’m fine….”

Sheila replied shyly. Even though Rufus had left, her embarrassment hadn’t faded yet.

“Didn’t you want to go back quickly? Or are you planning to stay in my room?”

‘If I don’t eat, he won’t let me leave…?’

At the threat-like words, Sheila’s embarrassment vanished in an instant.

Sheila picked up the glass of milk in front of her.

Servants normally couldn’t drink milk often. The same went for cookies full of butter and high-quality fruit.

When Sheila set down the glass of milk she’d gulped, Cedric this time offered her a cookie with an elegant gesture.

Recalling the threat from earlier, Sheila reluctantly picked one up. Even so, she had no intention of being swayed by something as trivial as food.

‘Who would be tempted by something like this….’

Sheila originally didn’t have much of an appetite, and she’d lived just fine without eating things like this… until now.

“It’s…! Gulp! It’s not dry at all, it’s delicious!”

Overcome with strong emotion, Sheila cried out, her throat tight.

“Is that so…?”

At Sheila’s heated reaction, Cedric responded lazily.

“I’m glad it suits your taste.”

Seeing Cedric reply quietly, Sheila felt embarrassed, thinking she’d made too much of a fuss.

“Yes. It’s really delicious,” Sheila replied calmly, reining in her excitement.

Feeling awkward, Sheila picked up the glass of milk in front of her. When she took a sip, the sweetness balanced out, and a rich flavor spread through her mouth.

The snacks provided to the servants once a day in the afternoon were more often bread than cookies. And even then, it was usually dry, unremarkable bread.

After eating nothing but that, having a soft cookie felt like heaven. On top of that, with her blood sugar low, having something sweet made her brain feel like it was melting.

‘Maybe I’ll just have one more?’

Sheila reached for a second cookie.

Three, four…. The hand that had been picking evenly at fruit, cookies, and milk finally stopped when she belatedly noticed the Young Count’s gaze, as if he were mocking her.

“Ah….”

At the meaningless sound Sheila let out, Cedric said, “Go on. Finish.”

For some reason, Sheila felt embarrassed. More so than when she’d been stripped naked in front of him and subjected to strange things.

Sheila set down the cookie she was holding and gently pushed the plate toward Cedric.

Of course, it was a bit late for that, considering she’d already eaten almost everything by herself.

Meanwhile, Cedric, sitting across from her, hadn’t touched anything at all. He hadn’t even taken a single sip of the milk in the crystal glass.

“You should eat too, Young Count.”

As if he’d noticed Sheila’s gaze land on his glass of milk, Cedric picked it up.

“This is enough for me.”

Cedric raised the glass slightly toward Sheila and brought the milk to his lips with an elegant motion.

At that sight, Sheila couldn’t take her eyes off him for a moment as he drank the milk.

His sculpted Adam’s apple bobbed.

Sheila’s gaze traced along his throat to his jawline, then to his vivid red lips and the bridge of his nose. And the moment she met his eyes, she realized his gaze was directed at her chest.

‘That crazy lecher.’

More precisely, Cedric’s gaze had landed on the pink peaks hidden beneath her worn maid uniform.

Ignoring Cedric’s gaze, which was far from elegant, Sheila picked up her own glass of milk.

‘The best thing is to ignore people like that.’

Just then, as Cedric gulped down his milk and set the glass down, he said, “Milk’s awfully bland, don’t you think?”