Chapter 18: It Seems Like Spring Now
"I'm very sorry, Miss Evelia, but Mr. Armand has said you're not allowed to cook for the time being."
"Huh?"
Evelia paused, her hands still holding the apron with the cat design.
She had thought her omurice was a big success last time, and now she wanted to cook again to show off a bit. But the chefs stopped her at the kitchen door.
Wasn’t it tasty?
Evelia muttered that to herself.
But thinking back, it seemed like she was the only one who ate that plate of omurice, Armand didn’t take even a single bite.
Still… wasn’t it tasty?
She asked herself the same thing again.
Because she had never eaten anything with such a sweet and sour flavor before, it felt new and exciting. A couple of days ago, it was like discovering a whole new world, and she totally fell in love with ketchup. She even reached the point where she could drink it straight from the packet without anything else added.
While other servants might snack on little pastries during their breaks, Evelia was different, she’d just pull out a bag of ketchup and start sucking it down. It wasn’t until she realized, "I can’t let myself fall any further!" that she handed the unopened ketchup packets over to the kitchen staff.
As for Armand's taste, while he wasn’t super picky, he never actively ate greasy or overly strong-flavored food. Because of his stomach problems, he had long gotten used to light meals. Even when he occasionally drank alcohol, he’d pick the watered-down kind.
Watered-down beer, light in taste, and not easy to get drunk on.
"Miss Evelia, I know you care about Mr. Armand, but the truth is, he doesn’t like fancy food."
The head chef spoke in a serious and somewhat regretful tone.
Anyone working in Armand's household had to be a top-tier chef. These cooks could easily prepare beautiful dishes for banquets. But Armand happened to prefer plain, simple food and couldn’t handle rich, heavy meals. Their skills were going to waste. Though they could still make fancy dishes that tasted light, Armand clearly just wasn’t into complicated meals. He’d rather have plain porridge and broth than things like “jade pearl soup.”
But thanks to that, the servants and knights in the estate got lucky.
The old head chef loved cooking. When he cooked too many plain dishes, his hands would itch for a challenge. So when he couldn’t hold back anymore, he’d make a few fancy dishes for the staff and knights to enjoy. Because of this, the chef had even earned the title, “Most Popular Person in the Manor.”
“……”
Evelia looked at the troubled expression on the chef’s face and hesitated for a moment.
Normally, she didn’t care what others thought, but since she wanted to win Armand's affection, she figured she shouldn’t make things difficult for his people.
“I understand,” she said.
Then, she took the seasonings she had brought herself out of her apron pocket and “donated” them to the kitchen just like she had with the ketchup earlier. After that, she untied her apron and patted down her black-and-white maid dress.
“Thank you for understanding, Miss Evelia.”
“…Mm.”
Evelia gave a quiet nod, holding her apron as she walked out of the kitchen.
Could it be… he doesn’t like me anymore?
She returned to the big tree where she usually read novels. Lately, this spot had basically become her own little "base."
She had thought this task wouldn’t be too hard and would be finished soon. But when she looked up, she was surprised, the tree that was dry and bare when she first came now had little green buds quietly sprouting.
…Spring is here.
Thinking about the cold weather just a short while ago, Evelia instinctively pulled her long hair around her shoulders. But this time, she actually felt a bit warm.
When she first came to the estate, the cold wind had been sharp and biting. But now, there was a soft warmth in the air.
“…Hoo.”
She let out a breath, just like she did when she first arrived. This time, there was no icy frost in the air.
The girls walking back and forth had already started changing from their fall and winter uniforms to spring and summer outfits. Evelia was no different. Although her outfit was different from the regular maids, it was still a maid-style dress that didn’t go past the knees.
To look a little cuter, Evelia followed the ideas in her favorite novel and wore white stockings on her legs. She even bought a whole box of them as backups and treated them like disposable items, wearing one pair and throwing it away the next day to use a new one.
The knee-high white stockings clung tightly to her legs. Through the pure white fabric, you could faintly see the light color of her skin underneath.
Since her figure wasn’t skinny and bony, the edge of the stockings pressed tightly into her thighs, leaving a clear and soft-looking line. Below that were her black leather maid shoes, decorated with small black matte leather bows.
As for the parts under the dress or inside her clothes, Evelia had carefully chosen what to wear. She believed that what’s hidden underneath was often what really attracted a man’s attention. So she had put a lot of thought into her underwear, though only she knew what style they were for now.
Of course, she didn’t mind if Armand found out one day.
The tree buds swayed gently in the wind, as if they couldn’t wait to burst out from the dry branches. Evelia usually wasn’t someone who liked to admire nature, but strangely, she found herself deeply focused on the sight of the fresh green leaves welcoming the spring breeze.
She didn’t even know how many springs she had seen by now.
But today’s wind… it felt a little different.
Why was that?
Her orange-golden eyes looked at the dry branches, then through them at the sky above.
The shadows of the branches fell across her face, making it look like her features were divided into pieces.
Ever since she got used to wearing a cloak and hood because of her job, how long had it been since she looked up at the sky like this?
The sky hidden by her hood… always just out of reach…
“……”
But soon, she lowered her head again.
She looked at the maid uniform she was wearing and reminded herself that she was still on a mission.
That wide, open sky, it felt so far away.
It was exactly because she always caught herself coveting the impossible things that she hated thinking.
Without these useless thoughts, she wouldn’t have these strange, unsettled feelings either.
Was she sad? Disappointed?
Maybe… or maybe not.
Evelia felt like she shouldn’t be having thoughts like these, because nothing about her really belonged to her, not even her feelings.
“…Next… if I can’t cook, I’ll try a different way.”
She muttered to herself as she walked toward the main building, letting her brain fill up with a new, complicated plan.
“A different way…” Evelia murmured, “Something like… physical contact, maybe…”