The Whipping Maid of House Calley - Chapter 60

“It’s nothing, you just should’ve come by now but you didn’t, so I wondered.”

“I was going to go soon anyway,” Sheila answered shortly and shot Jerry a glare. “You came all the way here just to say that?”

At Sheila’s words, Jerry jumped up. “Just? If a client suddenly disappears, it messes up our work too!”

And at Jerry’s words, Sheila jumped even more as she snapped back.

“Who are you calling a debtor! Did I borrow money from you? I’m your customer, clearly!”

“When did I call you a debtor? I just stopped by for a second because I was curious.”

Under Sheila’s momentum, Jerry’s spirit wilted.

“Try coming back again. Then I’ll file a formal complaint to Bill too.”

“I got permission from the Master and came!” Jerry shouted again.

Now that she thought about it, the date she went to the guild once every half year was a little past. Maybe she really had been too busy, calling herself a whipping maid. She’d already saved up the money long ago, but….

The guild was within the same territory, but since wasting time going back and forth was money itself, Sheila went there only once every half year.

If she saved steadily for half a year, it came to about twenty solid. Since nine-tenths of a maid’s wages went to her family home, most of the money she earned came from side work.

And this time, even the whipping-maid pay….

“Tell him I’m going this weekend.”

“This week?”

Jerry’s face brightened.

Whether he did or not, once her business was done, Sheila rummaged through her apron pocket and took out the meat pie she’d wrapped in a handkerchief.

“Eat it on the way.”

Jerry quickly snatched the pie Sheila held out. Without a single word of thanks.

‘Ugh, that brat!’

As Sheila regretted bothering to bring the pie out, Jerry spat the gum he’d been chewing onto the ground carelessly and took a big bite of the meat pie.

“You’re already telling me to go?”

Now he’s talking while eating too?

“Then what, are you going to settle in and live here? Just get a job here while you’re at it. I heard the mansion kitchen is hiring the youngest helper, so that works out. If you work here, you can eat meat pie to your heart’s content.”

Sheila rattled off nagging words in a rapid stream.

Since she got teased every time she went to the guild, the moment she saw Jerry she turned into a fighting rooster.

What she said about not having to worry about food if he went into the kitchen as the youngest helper was true. He’d have to peel onions until his hands blistered for a few years, though.

“Are you crazy? Me, go in as the youngest helper? Maybe if it was head chef, but not that.”

“Good grief!”

Even while snapping back, Jerry finished the meat pie Sheila gave him in the blink of an eye.

“It tastes okay, I guess. You don’t have more, right?”

“This, seriously!”

I really shouldn’t have given it to him. What was I thinking?

Thinking that, Sheila shoved Jerry’s back, telling him to get lost.

“All right. I’m going, I’m going.”

Jerry quickly started walking as if fleeing. Then, after only a few steps, he turned around.

“I’ll tell the Master that, so you have to come!”

Jerry smiled brightly at Sheila and waved.

After getting scolded like that, what’s so good?

‘When he’s like that, he’s a decent kid……’

Shaking her head, Sheila went back around the wall and returned to work.

***

The days passed, no different than usual.

When the day’s work ended, Sheila left Anne to put the young lady to bed and was heading back to her room when she ran into an unexpected person.

“Sheila. Have you been well?”

The one who greeted her first was Alfonso.

“Yes… Young Master,” Sheila answered shyly.

In the past, she never could’ve imagined the young master acknowledging Sheila first.

It was all because Cedric had designated her as the whipping maid, making her presence grow larger whether she wanted it or not.

“Did you have a good trip too, young master?”

Sheila cautiously asked after his well-being as well.

Even setting aside the period he’d been away at the royal palace, it had been a long time since she’d run into Alfonso like this in the corridor.

Maybe because she dealt with the difficult Young Count every day, speaking with other nobles besides Judith no longer felt as hard as it used to.

“Yeah, well, I guess.”

Alfonso replied lukewarmly. Somehow that voice sounded bitter, and Sheila’s heart ached.

‘He must’ve suffered a lot because he couldn’t see me.’

Sheila felt sorry, with no way to repay Alfonso’s feelings for her.

“How about you? Is the whipping-maid work manageable these days?”

Alfonso looked at Sheila with a pitying expression.

Was that the same expression he wore in the dining hall?

“Huh? Ah… well. Yes….”

Sheila, for some reason, also fumbled with an awkward answer, like Alfonso had just done.

She didn’t have anything to say back, and she was also flustered.

It wasn’t the first time she’d had a conversation like this with Alfonso, either….

Besides, the fact that she was the whipping maid was an open secret everyone in this mansion knew. So why did it matter that it came out of Alfonso’s mouth….

“My brother treats you well, right?”

Maybe her answer seemed doubtful, because he asked again.

“Yes. Of course.”

Sheila answered a little more confidently than before.

He gave her snacks, and even massaged her himself….

Aside from doing perverted things at set times, it was true that he treated her well.

“I see….”

Alfonso soon accepted it. But he trailed off, then added one more line.

“It’s better not to expect anything else from my brother.”

Anything else…?

Sheila couldn’t tell what Alfonso meant exactly.

Seeing Sheila’s face full of question marks, Alfonso opened his mouth again.

“Right now, it might be because he feels sorry for making you take the whipping. Even if my brother shows other interest, that’s….”

Alfonso hesitated in a way unlike him.

Again. That sorrowful expression from when he got out of the carriage.

Why is he saying that?

Did he notice what happened in ‘that room’…?

Sheila’s eyes wavered anxiously.

‘No way….’

No one in the mansion noticed, so unless he was a ghost, there was no way Alfonso, who’d been away from the estate for some time, could’ve figured it out.

Still, the fact that he was saying this meant he seemed to have misunderstood something about her and Cedric.

After hesitating a little, Alfonso continued, “Anyway, next month there’ll be the appointment ceremony, and once it’s over, my brother’s fiancée will be decided, so keep that in mind.”

I see….

Sheila nodded, and a short reply slipped from her mouth, “Yes.”

What could a mere maid possibly say to news that the family’s eldest young master would soon be engaged?

It was only natural that marriage talks would proceed for Cedric, who returned after finishing his studies abroad. Sheila, who’d worked in the mansion for a long time, already remembered that even before he left to study abroad, talk of an engagement had circulated.

“Then please go in. The Young Count is inside right now.”

“Sure.”

At Sheila’s words, Alfonso tried to force his reluctant feet to move, then added one more thing.

“Sheila, I’m not the next head of the family, but I’m still the second son of the count’s family.”

At the sudden self-introduction, Sheila’s eyes widened.

“I’m saying that if you’re in a difficult situation, I can help you to some extent.”

“Huh? Y… yes.”

Today, Alfonso said a lot of things he couldn’t understand.

Still, in any case, it was him saying he’d help her. Those warm words improved Sheila’s mood, which had been flustered after meeting Alfonso.

When Sheila bowed, Alfonso also turned to leave.

Just as Sheila said, Alfonso was on his way to see Cedric.

Normally, he minimized his meetings with Cedric as much as possible, but with the appointment ceremony only a month away, he couldn’t completely cut off his steps.

The truth was, coming up at a time when it would be easy to run into a maid was somewhat intentional.

Since he’d gone to the trouble of coming up, it would be nice if he could also happen to meet the maid.

Just as expected, Sheila seemed to have no idea she was being used.

Then again, even he, quick as he was, initially thought Cedric had taken a liking to Sheila.

So he arbitrarily concluded that Cedric kept her close by making her the whipping maid.

Otherwise, it would be strange for Cedric, who had never once shown interest in women, to drag a maid straight into his bedroom.

But as it turned out, that, too, was a smokescreen. The real secret he wanted to hide was surely his preference for men.

After learning everything through his conversation with Crown Prince Marquis, Alfonso felt as if his questions were finally being resolved.

His older brother’s preference for men wasn’t a habit that developed in a day or two.

Sheila was probably just a girl he’d selected in advance to hide it.

‘If that’s the case, he should’ve used a girl with a tougher body. Of all people, why someone this frail?

Then again, if you’re trying to keep up appearances, putting forward someone pretty among them is better for deceiving many people.

Alfonso’s agony was deep before he reached this conclusion.

First of all, the fact that his own brother, Cedric, preferred men was something he couldn’t accept at all.

And that he had that kind of relationship with Crown Prince Marquis, who would become king in the future, was even harder to imagine.

Whether in rank or in build, his brother being the bottom….

“Ugh.”

Feeling as if something might rise up, Alfonso stopped thinking deeply.

He’d finally made up his mind to come up, and he didn’t want to turn back like this.

‘Since I’m up here, it’s better to finish it.’

Alfonso steadied himself again and knocked on Cedric’s door.

From inside, an arrogant voice rang out.

“Come in.”

***

“Since it’s the order of events, review it.”

Alfonso pushed over the papers he’d prepared.

Cedric quickly sensed his younger brother’s unnatural behavior, but he picked up the documents without saying anything.

“Just in case, I included His Highness the Crown Prince’s order too. If he doesn’t attend, we’ll put a congratulatory performance in that time slot.”

The appointment ceremony would be over in a day.

But parties were planned before and after, so there wasn’t just one or two things to review.

Cedric skimmed the papers quickly.

The tasks a lord had to handle were always piled high, and fast processing was also an ability an heir needed, so it was a method Cedric had learned early.

“Looks good.”

And Alfonso, who was educated no less than Cedric, handled work neatly as well.

Thinking, If he has children, he’ll educate them well too, Cedric looked at his brother, one year younger.

“Then I’ll go.”

Hearing there were no issues with the papers, Alfonso hurriedly tried to leave.

“Sit.”

Cedric stopped him.