Side Story: Ivy (2)

"So, how are you holding up?" Tia asked.

We were currently in the servants' hall, where most of the staff was congregated for mealtime. It was already way past noon, since we needed to wait for the masters to finish their meals to have our own, so the hall was already quite noisy as we all eagerly dug in our plates, exchanging gossips.

"I don't know," I responded, shrugging. "It's alright, I guess."

"Really?" She creased her brows. "That's not what I heard."

"What do you mean?"

"Do you know about Camille?" She asked.

I nodded.

"She's the one assigned to the half-breed in the afternoon," Tia explained. "From what she told me, there is definitely something wrong with that brat."

I raised an eyebrow in incomprehension.

"Once, she came to find the room wet."

The corner of my lips slightly curled into a wry smile as I sighed.

"She's a toddler. She can wet the bed once in a while."

"No, no, no," Tia shook her head. "I'm not only talking about the sheets of the bed. I mean the entire room! Even the floor was flooded! Camille said she spent the entire afternoon cleaning up."

As I narrowed my eyes, full of doubt, Tia continued.

"Another time, she found soil on the floor. Like actual soil. Except that nobody but the maids come inside the room, and the half-breed doesn't go outside."

"So what, it just appeared out of nowhere?" I joked.

"That's why it's weird!" Tia exclaimed. "And yesterday, she found the window glass cracked. No apparent reason either! There was no strong winds yesterday, and no other windows but this one was cracked. That half-breed is cursed, I'm telling you."

'Cursed? A blessed child?' The wry smile on my face grew wider at this thought.

At that moment, someone sank in the seat next to me. It was Camille, her face drained of all its energy.

"I want to quit," she complained as she let her head drop on the table.

"Don't say that," I tried to cheer her up. "You won't find a better job. It'll be over in a week anyway."

"You look awful," Tia then commented, her eyes full of pity. "Did you catch something?"

"Ugh, don't say that," Camille groaned. "I've been praying the Goddess every morning and every evening."

"How zealous of you."

Camille did not miss the sarcastic tone in Tia's voice, but before she could retort anything, a fight broke out between two butlers at the next table.

"Well, if we can't even eat in peace now…"

Ignoring Camille's remark, I turned in the direction of the brawl. A couple of other servants had rushed in to separate the two butlers.

"What's the commotion about?"

"They're arguing about the half," a valet next to us answered.

"How surprising," Tia sneered with the same sarcastic tone. "Nowadays, it's always about the half-breed anyway."

"What about the young mistress?" I questioned.

The valet sighed loudly. "Well, Paul keeps saying that the half might not actually be Lord Lloyd's daughter, and Orlo didn't like that so…"

My brows furrowed at his explanation.

"That's… A dangerous rumor he is spreading there," I noted.

"Well, I agree with him," Camille suddenly spoke up.

I turned my attention to her, my eyes budging.

"Why would you say that?" Tia asked, seemingly as surprised as me.

"I mean, have you seen that half?" Camille responded with a contemptuous voice. "She looks nothing like Lord Lloyd!"

"Uh. Really?"

Tia glanced at me, clearly expecting me to say something. She never had the occasion to meet the young mistress yet.

"Well, I don't know," I said, my gaze wandering on the floor. "I've never met Lord Lloyd before so I wouldn't be able to tell, but…"

But I have met the young master. And it's true that his sister doesn't look like him at all. Even if they are only half related, there should be some kind of similarity, right? This had never crossed my mind before.

"What about you?" Camille asked, addressing the valet next to us. "You knew the Lord. And you've met the half. What do you think?"

The valet didn't answer. The grimace on his face spoke for himself.

Could it be really possible?

I turned around in the direction of the two butlers, now full of doubt. They were still arguing.

"That half is a bastard of unknown origin, I tell you!" Paul was shouting, trying to free himself from the grasp of other servants holding him back. "There is no way she is the Lord's daughter!"

"Watch what you're saying!" Orlo rebuked. "This is an insult toward Lord Lloyd! Are you trying to shame this house?"

"Shame? Me? Accepting an unknown bastard is what is shaming this house! Look at me in the eyes and tell me that you are a hundred percent sure that the blood running in her veins is the blood of the Whitehearts!"

Orlo's eyes twitched as he ground his teeth. After all, no one could be sure about that.

"Lord Lloyd was an upright and respectable man!" Paul continued. "He would have never fallen as low as fathering a half-breed!"

"This half-breed is your young mistress", Orlo reminded bitterly. "The Marquis himself announced her as Lord Lloyd's daughter. Are you questioning his assessment?"

"I'm saying that god damn elf is trying to fool us all! Can't you see that? She disappeared with the young master two years ago and now she's trying to bring an unknown bastard into this noble house!"

As Paul kept slandering the young mistress and her mother, doubt arose among the servants in the hall.

"He has a point, doesn't he?"

"It's not impossible…"

"It's true that she doesn't look like Lord Lloyd at all…"

"Silence!" Orlo ordered. "This is your young mistress you are doubting! The Lord's flesh and blood! And you guys call yourselves servants of this noble household?"

"I serve the Whitehearts, this bloody half is not my young mistress," Paul groaned. "In the Goddess' name, who knows where she comes from! Her father could be anyone! That god damn elf already seduced the Lord, do you really think she stopped there? She even fooled the Marquis into accepting that bastard into the house! Who knows, she might even go after him this time!"

Before Orlo could retort anything, the dispute was interrupted as the doors of the hall opened and someone entered.

It was a young woman. An elf. And although I had never seen her before, I could immediately tell who she was. There was only one elf around here after all, and seeing a couple of servants gasping at her sight only confirmed my assumptions. The young mistress' mother. I had never seen an elf before, but now I could tell that the rumors were true. Elves are surely breathtaking. She was definitely the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. Even as a female, I could feel the blood slowly running into my cheeks watching her. It's no wonder the previous Lord fell for her.

But…

I think I can understand where Paul is coming from, now. I've never seen the previous Lord, but according to the others, the young mistress does not look like him at all. And now that I see her, I can tell that she doesn't really look like her mother either. With a child taking after neither parent, it's no wonder such rumors arose. Then again, the young mistress is still very young. Maybe once she grows up, she'll be more similar to her parents.

The mighty fuss in the room died down at the elf's arrival, replaced by a deadly silence. For a few seconds, the young woman's eyes met Paul's, who was just dissing her a few moments ago. But she immediately broke the the eye contact as she adverted her gaze.

"I'm looking for Mairin," she said with a monotone voice.

"Umh… Mairin is not here," someone hesitantly responded in the crowd.

"I see. If she comes by, tell her that the Lady is looking for her."

Without waiting for an answer, the young elf turned back, retracing her steps, and left as swiftly as she arrived. Upon her departure, a restless feeling grew in the hall.

"Hey… Isn't it bad?"

"Do you think she heard?"

"There is no way she didn't!"

As all the eyes turned to Paul, who was just as startled as anyone by the young elf's appearance, he regained his composure.

"S-So what?" He declared after clearing his voice. "If she heard and didn't even try to defend herself, isn't it the proof that I'm right?"

This time, he didn't sound too convincing. But everything he said before made sense -at least, enough sense to rise the doubt among the servants in the estate.

The commotion that day didn't last long after that as the head butler soon arrived to announce the end of the break, but it remained in everyone's head.

◊◊◊◊◊◊

The following days, unable to forget what Paul said, I found myself acting more distant and more awkwardly around the young mistress. I was perfectly aware of it, but I couldn't help it. The past few days passed in a flash, and surprisingly, it wasn't as bad as I thought. But now, I was growing uncomfortable again.

I had very little interactions with the young mistress to begin with. She never talked. Servants aren't supposed to talk in the presence of their masters unless they are solicited, but normally, with children, it's different. Because of their need for attention, the servants would always converse with them. The young master was especially very talkative. But with the young mistress, there was no such a thing. It seemed that she simply didn't want any form of attention, which did not help in bounding with her.

Such a weird child… I can't wait for the week to finish and be reassigned somewhere else.

As usual, I silently observed the young mistress eating. She never finished her plates -the servings were too much for a child her age after all- but I was starting to grasp her appetite, so I could tell she was almost done. However, this time, before she finished, I was startled by a little voice.

"You don't have to stay," the young mistress said without even looking up. "I can eat alone."

Uh… HUH?! D-Did she just dismiss me?!

I can't believe it. This is my first time hearing her voice and the first thing she's telling me is basically "Go away"? W-Why? Does she not like me? What did I do wrong?!

At that moment, I suddenly realized.

'Such a weird child…'

My own hypocrisy.

'I can't wait for the week to finish and be reassigned somewhere else.'

It doesn't matter how professional I am. It doesn't matter how many fake smile I wear. A child would be able to tell.

'What did I do wrong?"

Everything.

'Does she not like me?'

Of course not. Not with the way I treated her.

'Why won't she open up to me?'

Because I won't open up to her. I was the first one to put a distance between us.

It hit me hard. Just how awful must I have been for a two-years old to reject me? The worst about it was that it was my own selfishness that made me realize it. I've been distant with the young mistress ever since I met her -no, even before then. Yet, being rejected by her hurt my pride.

Thinking about it, the young mistress never did anything wrong. She was always well-behaved. Even when I treated her coldly, she never said anything.

The young mistress may be a half, she may be a bastard, but ultimately, isn't she just a child?

I suddenly felt embarrassed by my own behavior. How immature.

I've always wondered why the Goddess never blessed me with children. Now I know. It's because I'm not worthy of it. How can someone who can't even treat an innocent toddler properly deserve to be a mother?

How awful must it have been for that poor child. I'm probably not the only one treating her that way. With the entire world giving her the cold shoulder, of course she would become reserved. Of course she would never talk. It's not that she is brighter because she's a Chosen One, she was simply forced to mature prematurely because of her hostile environment. A two years-old should be lively, always playing, and yet…

A sudden flow of emotions rose in my heart. And a new resolution.

As I showed no signs of leaving, the young mistress looked up at me. So I gently smiled at her, and this time, it was a genuine smile. Not a forced smile, not a professional smile, simply the smile an adult should have toward a child. And for the first time, the indifferent look on the young mistress' face changed. Her mouth remained an uncharacteristic grim line, but her bright eyes widened in surprise. The eye-contact did not last, as she lowered her head, resuming her meal at a faster pace, but I could see her reddened ears.

So the young mistress is shy. I chuckled.

"What?" She muttered.

"Nothing." I responded. "I'll wait until you finish to leave."

"…Ok."

"Today is a good day, isn't it?"

"Mmh."

"And the weather is quite nice too! It's been a long time we hadn't had such a sunny day!"

This time, the young mistress did not respond. But I kept talking anyway. It doesn't matter if she fall silent. If I open up to her, surely, one day she will do the same.

◊◊◊◊◊◊

It was the beginning of a new week, and as always, all employees were gathered in the servants' quarters.

A new week, in other words, new assignments.

"So this time I'm on laundry duty, huh?"

Thinking back of the past week, a faint smile played on my lips.

'Oh well, another time I guess.'

As I was preparing myself to get to work, I passed by a maid lamenting her plight.

"Ugh… This time it's me?"

"Don't worry, you'll survive. The others did. It's just a half anyway!"

Picking up the word "half", I stopped halfway, my eyes locked on the maid. She was kneeling on the floor, devoid of any motivation, sobbing. She reminded me of Tia, last week, when she was first assigned to the young mistress. I silently chuckled at this sight. I didn't blame her for being apprehensive. I was too. It couldn't be helped, considering halves' bad -but unfounded- reputation. However, I did pity her. After all, at this rate, she was never going to find out how lovely the young mistress can be.

A broad smile on my face, I approached from behind and patted the maid's shoulder.

"Huh? Ivy?"

I slightly bent forward, holding up the paper showing my assignments for this week at her eye level.

"Do you want to switch with me?"

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Note From Ozen_Ice: this would be the last of the side Story of this volume, I will go on a break for a few days before releasing volume 2, but till then you guys stay safe and take care (☞ ಠ_ಠ)☞