***

She couldn’t stand it any longer. Her moans made her burst into tears, crushed by the pleasure.

“Master, please, ahhh!”

And at that moment, a tickling sensation began to climb up her spine. It was the feeling she experienced every time she had intercourse with him, but somehow she still couldn’t adapt. Her legs trembled and tingles ran to the tip of her toes. Without realizing it, her waist became stiff and her body twisted inexorably. A numbing pain spread all over.

“Haa-!”

The man’s harsh breath sounded, before he collapsed on the bed. With a low moan, she could feel him releasing.

“Hnn, ha….”

He laid the exhausted and unable-to-move-a-finger Evely, right on the bed. It was as if she had run at full speed for a long distance. Her body kept drooping. She had thought cleaning once a month was the hardest job ever, but this was also tough in a different sense.

It was when she was catching her breath, that he asked, looking at Evely lying by the bedside.

“Are you tired already?”

“What?”

“You’re too lazy.”

How can you describe that as lazy?

Evely rose indignantly. Then, she opened her mouth with a sulky expression. “How could that be…?!”

“The basic requirement of a maid is sincerity. Isn’t it?” Alec cut her words and talked one-sidedly.

“Yes, that’s…right.” A smile formed on his face at her submissive but reluctant answers. Alec came up to Evely, who was below. Her soft back, and thin arms made her look like she was trapped underneath him. Evely flinched at the enormity of the man who quickly covered her vision. He was much taller and much bigger than an average adult man. She could feel the sense of pressure above her small body.

“So you should receive me sincerely.” As soon as he thought it sounded blunt but sneaky, his eyes turned to her head. Her faded reddish hair was all over the place.

“Has your hair been that color since you were born?”

“You could say so,”

“It’s the same color as Rose.”

Rose. The wife of this man.

Suddenly, Evely’s body felt heavy. It was the princess who should have received this man. If not for her, why would she be here again…?

“Rose…”

Rose, Rose.

His lips, which had repeatedly repeated the name as if chanting, suddenly glowed. It was like he was reminiscing about past memories or drawing the image of a loved one. It looked sad, bitter, yet sweet…

Evely looked into the man’s eyes with a blank face. She knew those kind of eyes. It was the look of fondness. But he soon returned to his usual cold and arrogant master. He ordered in a familiar tone.

“Stretch out your tongue.”

“L-Like this?”

Evely licked her lips with her tongue and asked carefully, and he captured her delicate lips instead of answering. Her chest was crushed again in his hand. The night had just begun.

“Evely! Where are you going?” Evely, who was heading to the garden to get Rose’s hat, glanced back on hearing Briana’s voice.

“Uh, I left something in the garden.”

Evely was a maid in charge of the princess, so her main task was to take care of the princess, but whenever she had time, she also did common things such as cleaning and laundry. Today, she was wiping the floor of the drawing room while the princess was taking a nap, and she remembered having left the princess’ hat.

“I think the Princess is good.”

“Yes, she is.”

“She looks good with the master, doesn’t she?”

“Yes…yes.”

Somehow the night from a few days ago came to mind. The affectionate voice that called out ‘Rose’, must have shaken her more than she thought.

Maybe she was a little shocked that a cruel man who cut down countless people and led the war to victory, called someone’s name that way.

“……maybe it’s love.”

Does a man in love have such a lonely face/ cave like a leaf fluttering in the wind?

She was absent-minded in that thought, and confused.

Wait, if that’s the case… can’t he just do it with the princess?

“Love?” asked Briana in a curious voice as she looked at Evely, who had a different expression every minute.

“No, it’s just that I don’t think I can sleep with someone I don’t love.”

“Didn’t you say that before too?”

“Oh, yeah, I did. Maybe it’s because I can’t understand it. Even if you’re married, you may like someone else. But how can you like someone else…”

Suddenly, Evely, who made eye contact with Briana staring at her, shook her head.

“I’m sorry. I keep saying nonsense, don’t I? But why…”

“Because love and desire are different.”

Evely’s lips were blanked by a different firm answer.

Brianna’s eyes seemed to be telling her to come to her senses, so she couldn’t bear to face it and had to lower her eyes.

“So men touch women while thinking of other women.”

“Is that possible?”

“All of them have a woman they like. When you think about it more, you’ll understand. In a word, they’re just a substitute.”

“…what’s wrong?”

Evely pursed her lips and frowned.

So, she was the princess’s replacement.

‘You should replace the princess.’

She thought he was joking, but did he actually mean it? Is she just a substitute for a princess who runs away every time? A self-loathing smile made her lips arch up at these endless thoughts.

“Oh, you don’t have to prepare a bath just because Master won’t come in today. I’m excited.”

‘Really? That’s great.”

Briana was happy that she could go to bed earlier, but Evely couldn’t smile. The warm wind seemed to make her chest feel heavier.

* * *

“The tea tastes better today,” said the princess, who took her mouth off the teacup.

“It’s probably milder because the tea leaves were dried.” Evely shrugged as if she had been praised, with a light smile.

In fact, whenever she saw the princess, her heart felt heavy. A part of her heart was always prickly, as if her fingertips were stabbed by a sharp needle of a spinning wheel. Although it is said that it is common for a master to take a maid, and she’s not in a position to turn him down…

“By the way, you’ve received an invitation to a ball. Are you not going again? Because you always seem to refuse.”

“I’m not feeling well. I want to rest a little longer.”

The Count was friendly to the Princess and didn’t mind it. When the invitation came, he replied that his wife was sick and could not go, and said nothing else. It was just as considerate as possible for Rose to stay comfortably in this castle.

‘Would you like to go out instead?”

“Eh?”

“Your hair color is similar to mine, so no one will know if you go out for me,” Rose said with a mischievous look on her face, like a naughty kid.

Her giggles quietly penetrated Evely’s ears. Her voice was full of joy as if excited by the idea.

“Oh, you can wear a dress, a necklace or earrings. Because you’re short, you can wear something that’s less attractive on me,” she continued in a humming voice. She was fiddling with Evely’s earlobes and clavicles, pretending to place necklaces or earrings. Regardless of Evely’s status, she seemed like a young lady who was thinking about what clothes to put on the cherished doll before her.

“Like the nobles. Then you’d be really pretty, too.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m just kidding, pffft,” Rose, who had been shaking her hands lightly, changed the subject as if she had suddenly remembered something.

“Sit here.”

“What? Me?” Evely asked back, eyes widening, but Rose was adamant. She just pointed to the chair with her eyes, gesturing to sit down.

“Hurry up.”

Evely sat helplessly on the chair, showing her will. Before she knew it, the princess came behind her, reaching for Evely’s hair. Surprised, Evely tried to get up from her seat, but she couldn’t because the princess was pressing down her shoulders. Rose began to fondly touch her hair. There can never be an instance as a mistress touching a maid’s head. Come to think of it, princesses running away through the window wasn’t common either. She thought that maybe she’s a little, just a little bit of an unusual princess.

“When I was a kid, I used to touch my sister’s hair a lot.”

Evely, who recalled the princess missing her younger sister, nodded still.

“Sister, sister, you always find me out. Whenever I hide something sweet, you’re the first to find it.”

The sound of her laughter was cheerful, but she thought her voice was distant.

Maybe it’s not her hair that she wants to touch, but her sister’s hair.

“I’ll make you look like a real princess.” The voice of the princess whispering in her ear was much more playful than usual. Evely really thought she was playing doll games. She could feel the princess’ hands moving over her head. She would have dissuaded her from doing something like this normally, but now she didn’t think it would be bad to sit like this for a while. For the princess who looks more lonely today.

“I’m surprisingly good at embroidering and everything else because I’m good with my hands.”

She was waiting for this time to go by, fiddling around because it was awkward for someone to touch her hair. “All done.”

The princess, who had finished her dressing up with an expensive ornament, stepped back a few steps and gazed at Evely’s head as if she were appreciating it.

She smiled satisfactorily. “You’re beautiful. All you have to do is change clothes.”