Chapter 26: It’s Okay, That’s Love (5)

Yudith’s return to The Earl’s residence prompted Chloe to rush to the main gate.

Seeing Yudith’s expression so dark from afar, Chloe’s face mirrored her concern, wondering if something had happened.

“Milady!”

Yudith turned at the sound of her name, her expression still troubled.

As they closed the distance, Yudith buried her face in Chloe’s shoulder.

Startled by the sudden embrace, Chloe glanced around to see the servants emerging from The Earl’s residence, watching the mistress and maid hugging.

“M-Milady! Please, maintain your composure…!”

“…Just for a moment.”

Seeing her mistress so dejected and vulnerable, Chloe gently lowered her hand from Yudith’s shoulder, which she had been about to push away.

Yudith, taller than her, looked smaller and more fragile than ever in her arms.

Almost like when they first met eight years ago.

The stares from the surroundings made her spine tingle, but she was more worried about Yudith, who was struggling in her embrace.

The faint, metallic scent of iron emanating from Yudith hinted at what she had been doing.

‘Monster subjugation, she said… It must have been tough.’

Yudith’s increasingly fragile state lately only made her feel more sorry for her.

Count Renard finally came rushing to the main gate, panting.

Hearing his footsteps, Yudith slightly turned her head, still buried in Chloe’s embrace, and glared at the approaching Count.

The Count swallowed hard at Yudith’s silent glare, prioritizing his territory, the northern forest, over Yudith’s well-being.

“The… the northern forest…”

“…The Grand Duke will be here within the week. Make sure you pay the price properly.”

“Pardon…?”

With those words, Yudith glared at the Count, then lifted her head from Chloe’s embrace, took her hand, and headed into the mansion.

Almost dragged along, Chloe matched Yudith’s pace into The Earl’s residence.

Her expression remained troubled.

Her lips were red and swollen, as if she had been biting them in frustration.

Her furrowed brow indicated her deep displeasure.

Watching her, Chloe worried about how to ease her mind.

Then, one thing came to mind—a promise she had made that could be fulfilled—and she felt the tips of her ears slightly burning.

---

Arriving in her room, Yudith buried her face in the bed like a child, refusing to turn her head.

In the eight years, she had rarely seen Yudith like this.

Whether it was a recent habit or not, Yudith tended to bury her face in a pillow and remain motionless for a long time when she was upset.

“Was it very difficult?”

“…Yeah.”

Chloe gave a slightly bitter smile at Yudith’s honest admission of her hardship.

Since Yudith, who always seemed strong, was showing such weakness, it was necessary for her as a maid to comfort her mistress.

Chloe gently sat beside Yudith, lay down, and gazed at the ceiling.

Still with her face buried in the pillow, Yudith slightly turned her head at her presence and looked at Chloe lying beside her.

“Are you hurt anywhere?”

Yudith quietly nodded.

She had already seen Yudith’s vulnerable side twice since coming here.

Yudith struggling with motion sickness and Yudith struggling with the Count.

She knew that Yudith would never explain to her what she had been doing.

“Hand.”

“Yes?”

“Hold my hand.”

Turning to look at Yudith, Chloe chuckled at her childish behavior.

‘Is she really all grown up, or is she just like this in front of me?’

For a moment, the thought of Yudith acting like this in front of others made Chloe frown slightly.

“…Just a moment.”

Yudith snatched the hand that Chloe had placed beside her as if throwing it down and began to hold it tightly.

Yudith’s touch, kneading her fingers as if giving a massage, felt pleasant.

“Are you going to call the Grand Duke?”

“Yeah… I already sent the letter on the way here…”

“Already?”

“I can’t deal with the Count… If I tell him about this incident, he’ll come running right away, right? Aside from deceiving Damian, I’m just upset.”

“What is it…”

Chloe chuckled at Yudith’s words. She wondered what the Count had done to make Yudith so sulky.

Since the Grand Ducal Castle wasn’t that far from here, even if she sent the letter today, he would surely arrive by tomorrow at the latest.

“Then… will you go back when the Grand Duke arrives?”

“…Chloe. Did you forget our promise?”

Yudith, her eyes flashing, stopped kneading her hand and looked at Chloe.

Honestly, Chloe, who didn’t want to go anywhere with her where people would notice, sighed softly and gave a bitter smile.

‘I guess I have to go after all…’

“We’re going on a date before we leave.”

“…Do as you please.”

Seeing Yudith smile brightly at her declaration of surrender, she couldn’t say anything. If she wore her maid uniform, they would only be seen as a maid and a Milady anyway.

Who would think that a noble and a maid were going on a date?

---

Damian, having received Yudith’s letter, rubbed his forehead as if he had a headache.

He was dumbfounded that the Count had deceived him and taken Yudith, but he was even more astonished to hear that three Witches had appeared.

Melvin, who was helping him with his work beside him, noticed Damian’s annoyed expression and asked.

“Is it a letter from Milady? Did something happen?”

Tok, tok, tok.

Damian tapped his fingers on the desk, frowned, and sought Melvin’s opinion.

“If three Witches appear at the same time, would our knights be enough to subjugate them?”

“…If individual elimination is possible, wouldn’t it be sufficient? For us, who can’t even get close, the only options are to throw spears imbued with Divine power from afar or use Magic, or something like that…”

“I suppose so…”

Witches are inherently difficult to subjugate with Magic. Since Witches have the characteristic of absorbing life force or Magical power around them, it was even harder to believe that Yudith had subjugated three of them with Magic alone.

‘I knew that child had a talent as a Wizard, but…’

Damian felt a slight bitterness that Yudith hadn’t shown him everything in the past eight years. He had been so kind and even given her the position of Grand Duchess, but it seemed that the child still had many things to hide.

“To think that the first letter I received from my daughter would be like this.”

“Pardon?”

“My mischievous daughter says that I was deceived by Count Renard. She never asked me for advice, but she’s sending me a cute letter asking me to punish the Count for deceiving me and using her because the temple refused.”

Damian let out a hollow laugh as if he was dumbfounded.

‘The Count, who recognized that Yudith was a Wizard, earnestly asked her to resolve the abnormal situation of Magical Creatures that had arisen in the Black Forest, so I sent her to show her the world…’

If he had known that the abnormal situation of Magical Creatures was Witches, he would never have sent her. He would have rather sent a donation to the temple and had her dispatched with the knights.

Was I, who had lost my influence in the Imperial Family, so unreliable?

“Cancel all my appointments for tomorrow and go to Count Renard’s early in the morning.”

“…But you have an interview with the Second Princess tomorrow?”

“Cancel it.”

“Yes…”

How should I handle this?

How should I deal with the Count, who dared to call himself a subordinate noble and deceived me, so that I can appease my angry daughter?

There were several things that came to mind, but I also had to make calculations in a realistic direction.

---

After finishing preparing Yudith the next morning, Chloe also changed into a new maid uniform.

The scent of the new clothes wafted and tickled Chloe’s nose.

Yudith smiled brightly at Chloe’s words, ‘Please wait outside, I’ll go get ready,’ but she wondered how she would react if she went out wearing a maid uniform.

Chloe, having changed into her new maid uniform, twirled her skirt in front of the mirror, checking if there was anything wrong with her clothes.

The clean maid uniform consisted of a pristine white apron and a neat black dress, so Chloe thought it looked very tidy.

“…It’ll be alright.”

Yudith said it was a date, but Chloe decided not to think of it as a date.

She decided to think of it as just a maid accompanying her mistress on an outing.

That way, she wouldn’t fall into this emotion that was starting to lean and become uncontrollable.

‘I have to come to my senses… I can’t cause trouble for Yudith.’

She resolved to herself and turned to head out the door.

She felt that the distance between her and Yudith was already too close. Therefore, getting any closer would clearly cause problems.

She didn’t want to cause trouble for Yudith because of those problems.

If she held her back, it would be a problem, so she had to come to her senses.

She left the room and walked out of the mansion, where she saw Yudith talking to Damian in front of a carriage at the main gate.

‘Did he already come?’

Chloe was surprised to see him already arriving when the Earl’s breakfast had just ended, and she approached Yudith.

Yudith, hearing her footsteps, smiled brightly and looked at her, but it was obvious that she was disappointed by her clothes, as her shoulders slumped.

“Well… Chloe looks pretty in her maid uniform too…”

‘I’m sorry…! I didn’t know you’d be this disappointed…!’

She instantly regretted it at the sight of Yudith’s puppy-like eyes.

She immediately regretted not wearing casual clothes, and she felt sorry for Yudith’s disappointment.

“Are you two leaving now?”

“Yeah… Please take care of the Count…”

“The escort is… unnecessary. I’ll take care of the Count myself, so don’t worry and go have fun.”

Yudith, walking out as if crossing paths with Damian, composed herself and held out her hand to Chloe in front of the carriage.

“Shall we go then?”

Chloe sighed softly, then took Yudith’s hand and climbed into the carriage.

Just a few minutes ago, she had resolved to come to her senses, but even that firm resolution seemed to melt away in an instant in front of her face.

Nevertheless, Chloe clenched her fist tightly to hold onto even that weakened resolution.

With Yudith’s impulsiveness, anything could happen today.

She had to try not to be swept away by that atmosphere.