Chapter 6
“Now you’re coming.”
Alone in the darkness, Eleon welcomed her.
“Sir Eleon.”
Rona lowered her voice in shame when she called him out.
She hurriedly approached me.
It was time to turn off the candles.
Rona shouldn’t fall down while walking in a hurry in the dark.
I had been waiting for her all this time, but I was glad to hear the sound of hasty footsteps.
“You haven’t slept yet?”
“You said you’d come early, but you’re late.”
“It’s because I got lost.”
Rona helped him get up.
Her hand was a little cold, as if it wasn’t a lie that she had been walking down the street at night.
“You should have ridden a carriage.”
“I can’t. I need to save money.”
“Isn’t the wage enough? I’ll have to tell Bernard to raise your salary.”
I could feel Rona being excited and happy.
“Oh, thank you. My lord.”
Sometimes she uses a strange tone of voice, and Rona was either embarrassed or really happy. Eleon, who thought it was the latter, smiled.
“Want me to bring you to the bed?”
Rona asked him in front of his bedroom door.
“Yes.”
Rona arranged the blanquet as Eleon was lying.
“Then I’ll get going now, good night. My Lord.”
“Wait a minute.”
Eleon had nothing to say.
“I’m thirsty.”
“I’ll bring you some water.”
She quickly returned with a cup of water.
“Is there anything else you want me to do?”
Suddenly, impulsive words filled his throat.
Sleep here.
That’s crazy.
Tired of himself, Eleon got his heart together.
“I can’t sleep well. Read me a book.”
“Yes. What book do you like?”
“The history of the war in Palegara.”
“I’m wearing my outdoor outfit, can I come after I change clothes?”
“Do whatever you like.”
Eleon lay on a pillow comfortably.
Soon, Rona returned, smelling like the sweet and fragrant flowers.
It looked like she had changed into freshly washed clothes.
“It was the first time that so many people had gathered in a barren and uninhabited wilderness.”
She read the book clearly.
“The troops that faced each other had similar forces. Palermo had about 11,000 infantry and 5,000 cavalries. There were 600 cannons lined up in the battery, and 1,300 artillerymen to set fire in turns were waiting.”
Her voice went lowered and lowered.
“After that, 3,500 people with shields… … Lined up, ahhh. The arrow troops following the assault force were 2,000 men. But the bow of Palermo can fire two bows at a time… … 4,000 arrows for one signal… … 4,000… … dog… … .”
There was the sound of something lightly falling onto the bed, and then the sound of Rona’s breathing.
It was a book with a reputation that would make you sleepy when you read it.
Of course, when he was the commander of the knights, he could not relate.
He thought it was an exciting war history.
However, watching Rona fall asleep, I felt like paying gold coins to the author of the history of the war in Palegara.
“Rona.”
Even when I called her name, I could only hear regular breathing.
Eleon quietly got up from the bed. He moved around the bed and immediately caught the chair she was sitting on.
Eleon grabbed Rona and laid her on his bed.
She had been walking until late, so she fell asleep without knowing that she was tired.
Eleon closed his eyes, focusing on her breathing.
“Go ahead with the butler first.”
I haven’t been feeling well since she told me to go home first.
Eleon couldn’t figure out why.
“If you take a man to a women’s dresser, everyone will misunderstand that we’re dating!”
Every word she said made me feel guilty.
“Are you ashamed to go to such a place with me?”
I couldn’t bear to ask.
Are you ashamed of me?
After Rona had said that, I couldn’t help but want to go with her.
If only I could see, I would have been able to give an excuse as to choosing or giving it to her as a gift.
But it was clear that even if Eleon followed her, he couldn’t help her.
The world is big and there are many decent men.
Rona said she wasn’t pretty but unusual. However, Eleon thought that wasn’t the case.
The reason was because people treated her kindly.
Even if she doesn’t look great, that’s not all.
If Rona was really ugly, it was obvious that she had other charms that made her more likable.
Just like him who put her so deeply in his heart.
“I don’t care what you look like, Rona.”
Rona has always been and always will continue to be the same.
“Am I just a blind man you serve? What should I do to get you?”
Eleon didn’t know what to do.
He whispered what he couldn’t tell her while she was sleeping.
She said there was a big bee.
At the end of the meal, Rona took a fruit jam and went to apologize to the other group.
The three sisters, who came on an outing, said that the bee drowned in the ice bucket they had kept the wine in.
If the bee were still alive, he would have appointed him as a loyal subject.
Eleon lamented alone.
He would never have had Rona in my arms if it hadn’t been for the bee..
“Sigh.”
A long sigh came out. My chest was stuffy to the point of driving me crazy.
In the end, my self-esteem was the problem.
Rona just did her job.
Even though I knew it was a relationship under a work contract. But I wanted her to let me into a corner of her heart.
But was it impossible in the first place?
There was a difference in status between them, so Rona didn’t even know she regarded him as a person from another world.
Even if he held her hand saying that he would escort her, even if he secretly put their arms together, Rona was devoted to her job.
“I expected a little something more than a marriage without love.”
I resented the person who was lying on my bed, breathing comfortably, unable to reply to his words.
Rona makes him feel alive and at the same time makes him suffer endlessly.
KNOCK KNOCK
Hearing the knocks on his door, Eleon pulled up the blanket that covered Lorna even more.
“Come in.”
The door opened, and a familiar figure entered the room cautiously.
It was Bernard.
He clicked his tongue as soon as he saw Rona sleeping in Eleon’s bed.
“Are you doing this again?”
Eleon didn’t answer.
He didn’t want to send Rona back to her room, so he’d been using some shallow tricks.
If it was another nobleman, there would already be rumors that the maid stayed overnight in the master’s room, but fortunately, there was actually only one maid working in the Grand Duke’s manor, ‘Rona’.
“What’s going on at this hour?”
Bernard was dumbfounded to hear him ask.
“Your highness couldn’t sleep well and you asked me to bring you a cup of hot tea if you’re still awake at midnight.”
I definitely ordered that. Eleon rebuked himself for letting the butler do something worthless.
Bernard said seriously in a sad tone while he was looking at him.
“You’d rather have her as a mistress.”
“What did you just say?”
The voice of his most trusted butler was calm.
“She’s a maid without identification. The work contract is different from the other maids.”
The usefulness of a maid without identification was different. It was close to being bought and sold like a slave.
That’s why Rona came to work at the Grand Duke’s Manor, where no one was willing to work.
“Your Highness is too gentle.”
It was as Bernard said. According to rumors, it was common for noblemen to spend the night with a maid.
Rather, there were many maids who secretly preferred to be in favor of the young and handsome noblemen for a chance to live a comfortable life.
But Eleon was outraged by the loyal butler’s words.
“Never again, don’t talk about it. I won’t forgive you no matter what.”
Bernard left quietly without saying anything more.
However, Eleon seemed to have a boiling fireball in his chest.
“Rona… …as my lover.”
Eleon was aware that he had no reason to be angry with Bernard.
He has been denying and suppressing his feeling for Rona.
Eleon also didn’t know how the nobles of this age, those who had everything they had, were living a life of debauchery.
Before losing his sight, he lived on the battlefield for seven years.
He didn’t have much contact with the ladies.
Before that, he attended the military academy.
Nevertheless, he was invited to imperial ceremonies and balls, and even when accompanied by his mother, women approached him endlessly.
Even though they were all talented noble young girls, the reason why Eleon’s referred to them as ‘women’ is because no one made a big impression on him in a short meeting.
Every day was a busy day.
There were always a lot of things that the Imperial Knights Commander had to look out for and pay attention to.
It was also his job to train the entire knights.
Now, I was tired, just living my daily life like an ‘ordinary person‘.
It took an unimaginably large amount of effort to eat, wash, wear, and walk.
It was only after Rona came to the Grand Duke’s residence.
Until then, I was stuck in a pit and couldn’t get out of it.
Even when he opened and closed his eyes, even when the sun rose and set, it was still dark.
In the abyss, Eleon was afraid and didn’t know what to do.
The world he knew was a place where it shines when the sun brightens, and darkens when the sun sets.
The world changed overnight for him.
His mother was the sister of the current emperor. She was sick and tired of her life in the capital so she traveled around other countries for a long time.
I also lived on the battlefield, so I couldn’t afford to feel her mother’s absence.
There were only occasional letters to just to say hello.
While he lost his sight and was stuck in his mansion, Bernard, sent letters to the Grand Duchess just to inform her of his condition.
However, the reply that came back was also written by his mother’s handmaiden, saying that there was an indigenous disease making it difficult for her to return home.
Even a newborn child is well cared for.
Eleon was left alone in the endless darkness, trembling in fear.
Thankfully, Bernard didn’t leave the family and stayed by Eleon’s side, but the butler must have been pushed to the limit.
He had to take care of everything from his treatment to the family’s assets.
He did everything he could for the recovery of his master, but also there was a time when Bernard was also frustrated when Eleon wasn’t getting any better.
It was Rona who reached out to him, offering to help so that he could come back to the world again.
Eleon held her hand and learned everything from scratch.
He was able to walk, eat, wash his face, and sleep alone.
And just like a young beast blindly follows its mother, one day, he realized that he was obsessed with Rona.
“Umm.”
I could hear Rona laying on my side and struggling in her sleep.
“It would be easier if I could resolve it by making you, my lover.