From its poorly managed exterior, I had expected the interior to look the same; but I had not expected it to be so…neglected.
Nearly every corner of the house was laden with dust and cobwebs, and some of the furniture even worn down.
The stairs to the upper floor were the first to catch my eye. Its wood seemed to have never been polished, and no carpet had been placed. There were, however, footprints embedded on the dusty staircase, two large pairs of shoe soles and a small pair of bare feet ascending and descending the stairs. I was not sure of whom the owners of the big footprints were, but the small prints definitely belonged to the male lead.
I took my time to explore the house.
The floor was covered in dust and cobwebs. The furniture was old and rickety, and some were visibly decaying.
The room was filled with a musty smell, and there was a faint odor of mildew. The air was stale and stagnant, and it was hard to breathe.
There were several items in the room that were clearly in need of repair. The windowpanes were cracked and covered in grime, and the doorknob was loose.
"By the time I finish cleaning this place, I will be dead."
I was not even sure how I could fix all this.
Teresa would not help; it was evident. The Duke would kill me on sight before I muttered anything.
I placed my trunk on a chair, and it gave in. Its legs broke, causing it to fall, along with my trunk.
I stood there dumbfounded, unsure of what to do next.
I left the chair and trunk on the floor and went to the kitchen.
It was no better. It was grimy and littered with rotting fruits. The cabinets were empty. There was no food in the pantry either, and on the floor of the pantry, there was a brown handkerchief stained with blood.
I picked it up to examine it. The blood was dried and matted, and had a faint flowery scent that made my head light. I threw it away before the flowery scent could affect me.
~…The Seed of Witches held a sweet flowery scent. Unlike other poisons, Witch's seed lured you in like a moth to light, making you itch to come closer so that it may get the chance of stealing your life…~
The flowery scented blood; The Duke was already feeding him Witch's Seed.
My heart went out to him; his dark days had already begun.
"Haaa…"
I dejectedly sighed, and proceeded to look for my new room.
The bedrooms at the ground floor were not appealing, and I was lucky to find one that was not on the verge of decaying.
Once I had settled in, I changed into my maid uniform and headed straight for Alcestè's room.
The first floor had four doors, each leading to a room.
'Guessing from the window I saw him, his room is here.'
I said, and walked towards it until I was staring at its wooden structure face to face.
I was nervous. This feeling was similar to when my members and I had to perform for the first time in front of our company's CEO and prove that we were worthy to debut.
This felt like trying to make a good first impression on someone you have admired for a long time. I couldn't just barge in and say, 'Hey, I am your biggest fan from another world and I have come to prevent your terrible future by giving you a good life.'
I would sound like a creep, and who knows what the villain would do to me. My head would be flying off with the birds in no time.
After all, my plan was simple; befriend Alcestè. Right now, he was but a child, probably pondering why the world is cruel to him. I will take care of him, show him love and kindness so that he can have good memories, tell him to take revenge on his family, crucify the bitch Teresa, and go live a happy life with Claudette!
'Muahahaha!'
It was a great plan. I would have turned my derelict favorite into a lovely male lead, and poor Claudette would not be forced to kill him.
And I, the loyal fan, can watch from the sidelines, and peacefully live my life in this world.
'Ooh, I should travel and see this fictional world when all this is over.'
There was plenty of time to think of my future later. Now, I was on a mission.
A mission to see the male lead's cute childlike face.
'Okay, Yuna. Good first impression. Good first impression…'
I gathered courage and knocked on the door. "Young master?"
There was no reply. I stood in silence for another minute before trying again.
Was I knocking on a door with an empty room?
'Maybe I should introduce myself.'
"Young master?" I said once more, knocking on the door. "I am Cäcilia. I am your new maid."
There was still no response from the other side. I began to wonder whether he did not hear me, or was downright ignoring me.
Either way, I was not going back down.
'Today, I must see your cute face!'
"Pardon my intrusion, I am coming in."
The moment I walked in, I got hit square in the face with a thin pillow.
"Oww."
The pillow fell to the floor with a soft thud.
I looked towards the direction where the pillow came from, and what, or who I saw was someone I was not expecting.
~Alcestè Delacroix, due to the harsh mistreatment by his family, did not grow as well as his peers. As a result of being frequently starved, in addition to the constant poisoning by his father, his growth stunted, and even grew, his height was abnormal. Where men his age grew to be 1.8 meters and taller, he was only 1.7 meters tall…~
I remembered that part from the novel that depicted his harsh reality.
Back then, it was just a novel.
Even inside it, even when I anticipated to see his face, I expected him to look a bit haggard.
'But, isn't he eight years old now? Why, why does he look like this?'
The boy sat atop the dirty bed, his thin legs folded beneath him. His skin was pale, and his cheeks were sunken, with sharp cheekbones protruding. Even underneath the dirty nightgown he wore, one could tell that he was thin, too thin. His eyes were a bright lime green, the only color in his otherwise gaunt face. His hair, long and white, hung unkempt all around his shoulders.
His eyes were narrowed, looking at me with ferocity. He already had another pillow in his hands, and was ready to throw at me anytime.
But that's what I was least worried about.
It did not feel right.
The fact that this was really reality, the reality of nothing but a child being abused like this…
'Alcestè…really went through this?'
"…out."
His voice brought me back to reality.
"Young master?"
"Are you deaf? I said get out!"
"Come on-Young Mas-"
Another pillow was flung at me, and I ducked it before it could hit my face, but unfortunately, it hit my shoulder.
I bolted out of the room before he found something else to throw at me.
As I closed the door, I heard him distinctly say I should never appear in front of him again.
'…He speaks quite fluently for a eight year old.'
I thought, before realizing that my first meeting ended in a disaster.
"Haaa," I sighed, exhausted. The first meeting had failed. In addition to that,
I couldn't believe that in the five years I had been here, I didn't even notice that this was his world, much less that my most favorite character was next to me this entire time.
I hit my head as punishment. Had I known earlier, I would have asked to be his maid the moment I arrived!
"No time to linger in the past," I told myself, "Now, I must take care of him the best I can!"
First things first, I must at least feed him!