It was another day.

Sunlight slipped gently through the curtains, and the room was filled with the same stillness as yesterday.

‘Knock, knock.’

Two knocks.
A familiar courtesy.

Lisa gave a short reply.
“Come in.”

The door opened, then quietly closed.
Soft footsteps. Just as she expected—it was Sisily.

As always, she carried a newspaper tucked under her arm.
The moment Lisa gave permission, Sisily knelt on the floor and spread it open.
She carefully mouthed each word, slowly reading the headline aloud.

“『Duke Eldar Returns to High Society After Three Years』... Hmm. The Duchess still insists on wearing her red dress, I see.”

From behind the paper, she glanced at Lisa.
When their eyes met, she quickly looked down again.

Lisa said nothing and idly touched the edge of her blanket with her fingertips.
The girl’s reading voice was surprisingly neat, steady, and unbroken.

‘Annoying…’
And yet, strangely, that sound felt necessary in this room.

“『Is the Marquis of Dronald Close to the Royal Family?…』 Ah, this one might be uncomfortable for you, right?”

She wanted to say, “Don’t read it.”
But Lisa kept her lips shut.
Instead, another quiet question slipped out.

“…Why are you like this?”

“Huh?”

Sisily folded the newspaper slightly and turned her head toward Lisa.

“I mean, I can’t figure out why you’re being so kind to me.”

Lisa’s voice was dry, but it wasn’t asked out of simple curiosity.
Ever since her body had become frail, she’d learned to doubt people’s kindness—and this time was no different.

Sisily pressed her lips together, then smiled brightly.
A smile like a shard of sunlight.

“It’s just… because there was someone I couldn’t protect before.”

“……”

“So now I guess I’m working hard on my own for no reason. Still not doing great at it, though… haha…”

Her words sounded like a weak joke, or maybe a too-serious excuse that wasn’t funny at all.
Lisa lowered her eyes and barely moved her lips.

“So you’re… trying to make it up to me?”

“That’s not it.”
Sisily’s tone was firm but gentle.

“You’re you, My Lady. No one else could ever replace that.”

Lisa silently looked at Sisily’s hands.

The hands holding the newspaper—pale and slender fingers marked faintly with blisters and calluses.
Her dried skin was peeling like a thin transparent film, and between her joints, red cracks showed through.

“……”

Lisa turned her gaze away.
When she thought about how those hands washed her, dressed her, and cleaned her room every single day, something inside her twisted uncomfortably.

‘That’s just what maids do…’

That’s what she tried to tell herself, but the girl before her… felt different.

Every morning, she was the first to wake up, and every night, the last to turn off the lights.
Whenever the bathroom light was on, even before the sound of water filled the tub, Lisa could already hear Sisily humming softly.
Did that girl even have any rest at all?

And yet, every time she knelt before Lisa, she did it with perfect posture and the same gentle smile.

“…That’s enough.”

It was all Lisa could say.
No comforting words.
No questions.
Nothing else.

She had no intention of prying into stories Sisily didn’t wish to tell.
Or maybe, she simply thought she was too powerless to reach out.
After all, what could a noblewoman who couldn’t even move do to help?

At Lisa’s words, Sisily just smiled faintly and reopened the newspaper as if nothing had happened.
Ink smudged slightly on her fingertips, but she didn’t seem to mind.

“『Royal Knight Academy Now Recruiting New Cadets…』 Oh, this one might interest you, My Lady.”

Lisa’s name was no longer spoken in noble circles,
but Sisily’s tone carried a strange kind of faith—
as if believing that one day, Lisa might step outside into the world again.

Lisa turned her head and buried her face into the pillow.
Her breath melted softly into the blanket.

“……”

She gave no answer.
But Sisily wasn’t disappointed.
Instead, she smiled faintly and turned another page.

“They say the Crown Prince gives a speech there every year. And apparently, he’s really handsome.”

“…Be quiet.”

Lisa muttered softly.
Sisily’s eyes sparkled as she leaned forward playfully.

“Oh my, so you do react! My Lady, could it be that you like the Crown Prince?”

“…Don’t be ridiculous.”

“Well, if he’s that handsome, anyone might waver at least once.”

“I don’t waver over things like that.”

“Eh, there are all kinds of love, you know. A noble lady meets the Crown Prince at the academy, their eyes meet, and then—”

“I said stop.”

Her tone was sharp and cold, but Sisily only shrugged.
She was used to it.

“Alright, alright. Then let’s move on. 『Southern Frontier Suffers from Long-Term Drought, Grain Yield Cut in Half…』 Hmm, that sounds serious. Maybe that’s why the head maid reduced the kitchen supplies. Don’t worry, though. I’ll make sure you always have enough.”

Lisa exhaled quietly, eyes still closed.

The mention of the head maid made her frown slightly, but Sisily continued naturally.

“I went out to the yard early yesterday morning to check the ingredients myself. Found two rotten potatoes under the crate. Threw them out right away. Can you believe it? Before I became a maid, even a bad potato like that was hard to get, and now I’m tossing them away… life’s funny, isn’t it?”

“…Why do you do things like that?”

Lisa’s question was casual, but genuinely curious.

Sisily paused, then glanced at Lisa.

“Because it needs to be done.”

“That’s the junior maid’s job. You’re taking care of me.”

“Well, that junior maid is me.”

A short, clear answer. Then she added softly,

“This way… you can be a little more comfortable, can’t you?”

Of course, Sisily kept the rest to herself.
She never mentioned how, behind Lisa’s back, she spoke ill of her to protect her cover—
how her kind words in this room were a secret life she couldn’t afford to expose.

Lisa kept her lips closed.

Sisily didn’t bother with meaningless reassurances.
She smiled honestly instead.

“I just feel better when I stay busy. There are too many people around here who don’t do their jobs. Someone has to.”

Then she spread the newspaper open again, her tone turning playful.

“If I sit still, who’s going to take care of this huge mansion? Oh, and I still have to clean the dining room tonight…”

“You again?”

“Yes.”

Lisa looked at the top of her head over the newspaper.
Why did that girl always smile like that?

Why did she work so hard?

Why did she do all of this—
things no one asked of her, as if it were the most natural thing in the world?

But Lisa didn’t ask.

She simply closed her eyes again and exhaled slowly.

And Sisily kept reading, her clear voice flowing softly through the room—
slow, quiet, lingering there.

It was another day.

On the bedside table, a hairbrush and a few decorative pins were neatly arranged.
Outside, the sky was overcast, and silver-gray light filled the room instead of sunlight.

With practiced motions, Sisily gently brushed Lisa’s hair aside.

“I’ll brush your hair again today, My Lady.”

Lisa didn’t respond.
Instead, she slowly lowered her eyelids.

As the brush glided over her scalp, moving from her forehead to the crown of her head,
she felt her mind clear, as if something deep within was being washed clean.

Neither of them spoke.
Sisily seemed to know she didn’t need to.
That silence was more comforting than any words.

The pressure of her hands was steady, her warmth calm and even,
transmitted through every movement of the brush.

“Today, I’ll use a pin instead of a ribbon.”

Her voice was a soft whisper.

“So your hair won’t come loose. Even if you nap, it’ll stay neat.”

“Alright.”

A quiet reply slipped from Lisa’s lips.

Sisily let out a small breath and smiled.
As if she’d just achieved a tiny victory.

“You really do look best with your hair up, My Lady. Maybe it’s because your neckline is so elegant.”

“You don’t have to say things like that.”

“Ah, sorry. But it’s true.”

Lisa only closed her eyes.
Sisily smiled faintly and continued fixing her hair.

She didn’t have the strength—or the will—to argue.
Yet somehow, that faint laugh made her body relax.

It was raining.

Outside the window, everything was painted in soft gray,
and raindrops tapped gently against the glass.

Without drawing the curtains, Sisily asked quietly,

“Don’t you want to go outside?”

Lisa, half-reclined on the bed, didn’t even turn her head.

“…How could I, with this body?”

“I can carry you.”

The answer came quickly.

“No. It’s embarrassing.”

Sisily paused, then chuckled lightly.
Her fingertips were red again—she must have done a lot of laundry.

“Not at all. There’s no one here who would find you embarrassing.”

“……”

“At least not in this mansion. No one here’s exactly ‘normal’ anyway.”

Lisa didn’t respond.

They didn’t go out that day.

Sisily didn’t insist.
After saying just that one line, she went to the window, peered through the curtain at the rain, and then came back to sit quietly beside her.

It was strange.

That girl—
she truly seemed to believe Lisa would walk again someday.

Or maybe more precisely, she never once said “That’s impossible.”
She simply treated it as if it were possible.

Sometimes, that attitude hurt Lisa.
And sometimes, it warmed her to the point of tears.

That night.

In her dream, she sat alone on a dry meadow.

Footsteps approached softly from behind.

Sisily.

She sat beside her, quietly,
her eyes the same as always.

‘Just for a bit.’

‘Let’s go get some fresh air.’

Her voice was clearer, warmer than in reality.

Even in her dream, Lisa couldn’t move her legs.
She just sat there in silence—
without realizing she was holding her breath.

And when morning came,
the real Sisily brushed her hair again and said,

“My Lady, the sun’s out today. I’ll leave the window open a little later.”

Lisa closed her eyes.

There was no answer,
but it wasn’t a refusal either.

Sisily knew that well by now.
It might take a long time for their habits and warmth to align—
but it didn’t take nearly as long for sincerity to reach across the space between them.

Comments (0)

Trending Novels

I Became the strongest hero of the previous generation

Archmage on the bed

I was mistaken for an undefeated general

Healers in the martial arts world are obsessed

Became a genius Muggle in the Archmage Gallery

I Wove Earth’s History Into A Fantasy