HTPTMOTMM Chapter 8

"It, it wasn't from me."

"I know. That sound just now came from Dian kitty."

"Dian kit...! Don't call me weird names!"

Truly, the restoration of logout and video save features in this game was an urgent matter. Dian and I sat at the table while bickering.

"Oh, look at this. Ta-da! This is what you asked me to bring, right?"

When I lifted the lid of another plate I had brought, Dian's face brightened instantly.

What he had wanted was a cake decorated with purple flowers. The surface was coated with pink syrup that gave it an appetizing shine, and according to Dian, it was a special treat that could only be eaten at welcome parties.

"Did you get two like I said?"

"Yes, you can eat both if you want, young master."

I smiled warmly and pushed both cake plates toward Dian.

Big sister is full just watching you eat. Just a moment ago I was feeling down from seeing the corrupted adults in the dining hall, but as expected, our little darling is the best.

"No, it's not that I want to eat both..."

But for some reason, Dian was restless with the two cakes in front of him.

"This is... I mean, this is how it's supposed to be done..."

Dian, who had been fidgeting with both hands, spun the plates around.

When he brought the two cakes close together like that... what was completed was a heart shape.

Gasp!

"So, so cute...!"

Without realizing it, I brought down the hand that had been supporting my chin and slapped the table.

What, what, what! Even though I worked as a maid all this time, I didn't know our head chef Uncle Tom had such cute sense!

"They only make it like this when a new caregiver comes. But I've never had a partner until now..."

Dian hung his head and mumbled. He seemed a bit embarrassed, but also happy.

"Aww, so you wanted to get two with me and make a heart?"

"I, I was just curious! What it would feel like..."

"So how does it feel?"

I grinned and poked Dian's cheek with my finger. I didn't need to hear the answer to know. Dian's face was telling me everything.

"It doesn't seem bad..."

But even so, he stubbornly pretended to be nonchalant, which was so like Dian.

"I feel the same way."

I giggled and hugged Dian.

"I feel really good right now."

Somehow I imagined Dian sitting alone at the table, looking enviously at other people. So I hugged him even tighter.

The child who probably missed human warmth took several small breaths in my arms, then after a moment carefully raised his hands to hug me back.

"...Me too."

Soon a very small voice settled by my ear like a feather.

"I like it too."

The first day that would surely remain with the greatest meaning among the 44 encounters was passing by like that.

Morning at the Redford mansion started early.

The employees woke to the sound of bells ringing in the corridor at 5 AM, and after light washing and grooming, they headed straight to the chapel.

"Now, let's have morning prayer today as well."

Having all the employees gather in the chapel for prayer before breakfast was a daily occurrence at the Redford mansion. After finishing the not-too-long morning prayer, they would come forward one by one and sprinkle holy water prepared in a silver basin on their foreheads.

But the atmosphere of this chapel, bathed in clear and transparent morning sunlight, had become very gloomy lately. Everyone glanced at the person next to them with eyes filled with tension, suspicion, and wariness.

Since three days ago, when the new caregiver from Room 7 killed the head maid. More precisely, since everyone at the Redford mansion learned that the head maid was a 'Morose' because of that incident.

Until then, head maid Jane, befitting someone in a position to lead the employees, had never once missed prayer time. But even so, no one had known she was a Morose until now.

That fact suggested that even with daily purification with holy water, it was impossible to identify Morose hiding their identity.

So people couldn't let go of their tense feelings, thinking that colleagues they had been getting along with might actually be monsters.

"Did you see the new caregiver from Room 7?"

After finishing today's bleak morning prayer, the employees flocked to their exclusive dining hall.

Still, today, three days after the head maid's death, people began to mingle again and gradually started conversations.

"They said even though she doesn't look it, she might be from the elite. No wonder it was suspicious from the first day when she killed a Morose..."

As expected, most people were whispering about the new caregiver from Room 7.

"They say you could hear a child running around in the annex last night too? Totally creepy."

Beyond that, there were whispered stories about the purple room in the annex, where footsteps echoed every single night.

"What do we do about our bet? Now that the Room 7 caregiver has come, anyone want to change their choice?"

"I think it's still most likely young master Lusca from Room 1 or young master Minyuel from Room 2..."

Stories about the children of the Redford mansion also constantly rose and fell from the employees' lips.

"Oh, Sara Rose! Hello!"

The freckle-faced maid with brown hair, who had been quietly listening in on all that chatter, gave a startled jump at the sound of her name being called. When she turned her head, she spotted Betty, who occupied the room next to hers in the staff quarters. Betty had been gossiping with the other maids when she caught sight of Sara Rose and beckoned her over with a wave of her hand. Sara Rose approached them with uncertain, hesitant steps.

"Oh, hello, Betty."

"Sara Rose. You're in charge of Room 7, right?"

Sara Rose, a new maid who had entered the Redford mansion just a week ago, hadn't fully adapted to the mansion's atmosphere yet. So it was grateful when fellow maids approached her first like this.

"I've been in the kitchen the whole time so I haven't seen her, but how's the new caregiver? Not too demanding?"

But what Betty asked wasn't something Sara Rose could answer well.

"Well, it's only been three days... I'm not sure yet."

"Doesn't she make you do anything?"

"Just, she lost her bag so she borrowed some clothes..."

Betty asked several more questions after that.

But with Sara Rose's fumbling answers each time, the other maids seemed to lose interest.

"I see... You really don't know anything, do you? Too bad. Oh, we've reached the dining hall. Enjoy your breakfast, Sara Rose."

They arrived at the dining hall and flocked elsewhere together again, leaving Sara Rose alone once more.

After breakfast, the employees returned to their respective positions and began their assigned work.

Sara Rose also prepared washing water for when her master would wake up.

"Hey, Sara Rose! Stop for a moment."

But while walking down the corridor, a woman with a red ribbon tied to her wrist appeared and snatched away the washing water Sara Rose had prepared.

"What! What are you doing right now?"

"What do you mean. Lady Marianne is waiting, so I'll ask you to yield again today."

The person who robbed Sara Rose of the washing water was the employee in charge of serving Marianne, the caregiver of Room 1. Her attitude toward Sara Rose seemed shameless, as if asking what the problem was.

"How, how can that be? This is water I drew! And Lady Lynn is also waiting..."

"Oh my, that's why I asked you to yield, isn't it? You're talking as if I stole it or something. What kind of colleague attitude is that?"

Sara Rose seriously wondered if this was the workplace bullying she had only heard about.

However, before she could speak up about the unfairness and confront her, an icy voice dropped down from in front of her.

"And you. You seem excited that a caregiver finally came to Room 7, but surely you're not thinking of our Room 1 and Room 7 as equals?"

Sara Rose shrank under the cold gaze fixed on her face.

The Room 1 employee snorted at Sara Rose, then fluttered the red ribbon on her wrist and left first.

Sara Rose trudged away to prepare washing water again.

Having worked at the Redford mansion for the past week, she found that even among employees, there was an implicit hierarchy.

The most arrogant were cases like the employee who had just robbed Sara Rose of her washing water.

Employees serving young masters and caregivers who had a high possibility of 'leaving' alive when they became adults were mostly as haughty as their masters.

Some even tied ribbons in colors symbolizing their master's room around their wrists conspicuously, oppressing other employees.

In that regard, Sara Rose was unlucky.

When she first came to this Redford mansion, the only vacant position was as the maid in charge of Room 7. So Sara Rose had no choice about her master from the beginning.

Of course, three days ago, a caregiver finally came to Room 7, slightly changing the dynamics of the Redford mansion. But there hadn't been much change in Sara Rose's treatment among the employees yet.

While rumors circulated that the new caregiver was from the elite, garnering much interest... the prevailing assessment was still that since it was 'that Room 7 young master,' who knows when he might die.

Sara Rose climbed the stairs listlessly.

Recalling Lynn's room, which was shabby beyond compare unlike the rooms of other caregivers she had heard about from employees, made her feel a bit more depressed. That shabby room seemed to show Sara Rose's own future after getting in the wrong line.

Knock knock.

"Lady Lynn, I've brought water for washing."

Finally arriving at Lynn's room, Sara Rose knocked on the door.

There was no answer from inside, but it was already time to wake up. So she entered the room to wake Lynn.

"Then excuse me."

Flutter!

But as soon as she opened the door, instead of dark silence, bright sunlight and wind rushed at Sara Rose all at once.

"Ah!"

At the same time, some white fabric also flew toward her.

She thought the pattern looked familiar, and it was the lace cloth that had been covering the empty table. This modest room didn't even have decorative objects heavy enough to hold down the table. So the tablecloth, hit directly by the wind from the open window, fluttered and flew to cover Sara Rose's face and body.

Sara Rose staggered, unable to avoid the sudden joint attack of wind and fabric.

But before Sara Rose could lose her balance and fall, the person in the room quickly approached and pulled her waist into an embrace.

"Are you okay?"

A woman's low voice resonated from beyond the white cloth.