NOVEL NEXT Chapter 23
“…….”
“…….”
The violet-colored eyes narrowed.
Startled, Alexei fumbled for an excuse.
“No, I wasn’t trying to laugh at you!”
“Then what?”
“Well, um, it’s just that…”
Alexei rolled his eyes, unsure of what to say.
Meanwhile, Anriette’s gaze grew even more intense as she looked at him.
Ultimately, Alexei conceded defeat.
“I just thought you looked a little cute.”
“Aha.”
With that, Anriette’s eyes sparkled with pride as she nodded vigorously.
“After all, our Elliott and Liliana are incredibly cute.”
“…Well, yes.”
Alexei smiled awkwardly.
It felt too embarrassing to say, “You’re also very cute, not just the kids.”
At that moment, Anriette slightly bowed her head.
“Then I’ll go wash the children’s hands first.”
“Ah, please go ahead.”
Alexei nodded.
Anriette led the children away and quickly disappeared.
Alexei couldn’t take his eyes off her retreating figure.
‘If only I could be with her a little longer…’
He couldn’t understand why he felt so reluctant to let her go.
“Um, Your Grace.”
At the voice calling him, Alexei snapped out of his thoughts.
Mag was standing behind him.
“What’s the matter?”
“I have something important to discuss.”
Mag smiled brightly, trying her best to look appealing.
“It’s about young Master Elliott.”
***
Alexei ushered Mag into his office.
As he sat across from Alexei, admiring his handsome face, Mag felt a thrilling sensation inside.
‘How many servants get to have a private audience with the head of the family like this?’
Other than her, the only one who could speak privately with Alexei was the butler, who was practically his right hand.
Suppressing her racing heart, Mag spoke.
“By the way, it’s been quite a while since I’ve had a private audience with you.”
“…What?”
“You seem very busy… How is your health? Are you feeling tired?”
Alexei unconsciously narrowed his brows.
No, he had called her in to talk about Elliott…
Why was she talking about something else?
Moreover, was it because of the Rondini family’s affairs that she didn’t look so pleasant?
Yet Mag’s eyes were filled with a wistful light, as if she were reminiscing about old memories.
“It makes me think of the past. When you were still a young duke, I could take care of you closely…”
With an exaggerated sigh, Mag looked at Alexei with damp eyes.
“I can’t even properly serve just one head of the family; what on earth am I doing?”
“…”
“Sometimes I wish I could go back to my childhood.”
Mag concluded her words, her cheeks flushed.
“I remember those beautiful days when I could be by your side, Your Grace.”
At that, Alexei couldn’t hide his mixed feelings.
“You just said earlier that you had something to say about Elliott?”
“Y-yes?”
“Then why are you suddenly bringing up childhood stories instead of getting to the point?”
At his somewhat sharp tone, Mag’s expression turned awkward.
Leaning back against the sofa, Alexei pressed her again.
“I wish you would just tell me what you need to say quickly.”
“Ah, well, um…”
Glancing cautiously at Alexei, Mag finally opened her mouth as if she had made up her mind.
“Recently, the maidservants have been complaining to me a lot.”
“…Complaining?”
“Yes. The lady is being too strict with the maidservants…”
Mag continued with a sorrowful tone.
“And suddenly bringing in Miss Liliana has made the maids’ workload much heavier.”
“…”
Alexei frowned.
She had been supposed to talk about Elliott, yet all Mag was mentioning were complaints about Anriette.
“Are you saying that just adding one more person, Liliana, has made it so difficult for the maidservants?”
Alexei questioned Mag with a subtle expression.
“That’s strange. The butler has never said anything like that to me.”
“Well, the butler doesn’t directly handle the servants, after all.”
“Even so, I’ve seen the butler managing household chores several times.”
Oh no.
Cold sweat trickled down Mag’s back.
Feeling like she wouldn’t be able to regain her footing, she hurriedly changed the subject.
“A-and there’s another problem.”
“What is that?”
“The lady seems to care only for Miss Liliana and completely ignores young Master Elliott.”
Swallowing a dry gulp, Mag subtly observed Alexei’s expression.
“As the young master’s nanny, I’m worried he might get hurt…”
“That’s very different from what I think.”
However, Alexei cut off Mag’s words decisively.
“From my perspective, it seems that the lady doesn’t just favor Liliana.”
Mag’s eyes widened in surprise.
“It appears she is acting that way because she feels she has to protect Liliana.”
“…W-what do you mean by that?”
“Earlier in the garden, the maidservants were openly giving Liliana the cold shoulder.”
Alexei said in a cold voice.
The color drained from Mag’s face.
“Liliana is Elliott’s fiancée and also the heiress who will inherit everything from the Count Everitt family.”
“Y-your Grace.”
“What that means is, Liliana isn’t supposed to be in such an awkward situation in the first place…”
Alexei tilted his head slightly.
Feeling the icy glare directed at her, Mag sensed her knees weakening.
“The fact that the maidservants are being so arrogant means the head maid isn’t managing them properly, doesn’t it?”
At that sharp question, Mag felt herself at a loss for words.
However, Alexei’s words didn’t end there.
“In the current situation, it’s completely natural for the lady to discipline the maidservants strictly.”
“…”
“If the head maid had been diligent in supervising the maidservants, the lady wouldn’t have had to step in at all. Furthermore…”
Alexei firmly stated.
“I respect the head maid’s opinions, but her actions today seem to have crossed the line.”
“C-crossed the line?”
“She has no reason to nitpick how the lady manages her subordinates, and she unjustly accused her of favoring one child over another.”
His cold voice fell like an executioner’s sentence.
“You’re not Elliott’s mother; you’re his nanny. Keep your boundaries.”
Before the wide-eyed Mag, Alexei let out a short sigh.
“We’ve been friends since we were young, and that’s why I have trusted the head maid a bit more until now.”
“Y-your Grace…”
“But now, Valua has a lady of the house.”
At that moment, Mag’s face tightened.
“Then in this situation, wouldn’t it be more appropriate to consult the lady first rather than me?”
“Well, that can’t be helped, can it? The lady has shown no interest in managing the household or even in young Master Elliott…!”
“Of course, that may have been true in the past. But…”
Alexei recalled the image of Anriette he had seen in the garden earlier.
At that time, she had been smiling brightly at the children the whole time.
“…Does it really look like the lady has no interest in the children now?”
Mag pressed her lips tightly together.
Watching her, Alexei smiled bitterly.
“I see you can’t deny it.”
“But…!”
“Just leave now.”
Mag tried to argue, but all she received in return was a firm refusal.
With disappointment in his eyes, Alexei declared to Mag,
“From now on, I won’t meet the head maid privately like this.”
Stepping out of the office, Mag bit her lip until it bled.
“Everyone has changed!”
Even the lord, even young Master Elliott—everyone…!
Filled with rage, Mag stomped down the hallway.
How could they do this to me?!
I’ve been like a childhood friend to the lord.
I’ve taken care of him since he was very young!
“But now, Valua has a lady of the house.”
Mag repeatedly chewed on Alexei’s cold words.
Pain twisted inside her like a knife.
The person who had been closest to the lord for the longest time was her.
She had cherished the lord in her heart from the time she was a young girl until she became a woman in her late twenties.
Though the gap in status had kept her from confessing her burning feelings…
“It was only because I’m not a noble that the lord couldn’t choose me.”
Mag’s eyes trembled slightly.
Otherwise, how could he have taken her all the way to the capital and entrusted her with the position of head maid?
“It’s clear that the lord didn’t want to be apart from me that much…!”