# 67
67. The Maid and the Young Master (1)
I became the maid attending to that insufferable little young master. Every day, all day long, I was stuck clinging to the child's side.
The young master named Robert was no ordinary child. True to his status as a noble's son, he knew exactly that I was his subordinate.
"Bring it."
Snatching the spoon from the nanny's hand and throwing it to the floor, the child issued a sudden command. Looking straight at me, he pointed at the fallen spoon.
"Young Master, you mustn't do that."
The nanny gently scolded him and tried to rise. But Robert grabbed her waist, preventing her from standing, and commanded again in a clear voice.
"Ugly, bring it."
"……."
"Young Master!"
The nanny panicked and glanced at me. I smiled to show it was fine and picked up the spoon. I was wiping it on my apron to hand it back to the nanny, but before she could even grasp it, Robert snatched it and threw it to the floor again.
"Disgusting!"
"……."
"Young Master, why would you do that!"
Ah, where have I seen this before. Who does this remind me of again.
A sense of déjà vu crept into my mind.
"Mother says you can't use something that's fallen!"
"Then I'll bring a new one."
"No! Don't go!"
Robert grabbed the nanny's waist again, clinging to her while staring straight at me and shouting.
"You go!"
I gritted my teeth, forced the corners of my mouth up into a smile, and moved my feet. I didn't erase the smile until the moment I opened the door and stepped out. Of course, I let out a soundless scream the moment I got outside the room.
Even after returning with a new spoon, the situation repeated itself.
"A new one!"
Robert ate only a bit of his soup before throwing the spoon again. The flustered nanny glanced at me. I pulled my mouth into a smile again and headed down to the kitchen.
The moment I entered the kitchen, I hardened my expression and looked around. Soon I gathered all the cleanly dried cloths lying nearby, spread them out, placed all the spoons inside, and wrapped them tightly. Hiding that behind my back and carrying a single spoon, I returned to the room, and before long the same situation occurred again.
"Young Master!"
The nanny scolded him, but Robert didn't even pretend to listen. I told her it was fine and stopped her. Then I pulled out the white cloth I'd brought from the kitchen from behind my back. Her eyes went wide, but I smiled brightly and unfurled the cloth.
"I'm fully prepared, however many you need."
I selected one from among the dozens of spoons and handed it to the nanny. I added that she should let me know if she needed more. The nanny received the spoon with an admiring expression. Beside her, Robert wore a blank face.
But even after that, Robert's misdeeds continued.
"Bring that!"
"Don't touch!"
"You're ugly!"
Wow, this really reminds me of someone. Some man, or that bastard of a master with his awful personality, or that son of a bitch.
But I had no intention of losing either. For all this, I was someone who had once served that bastard master. I was confident in my persistence and patience.
When he threw things like spoons, I brought dozens and kept them ready. For things I couldn't prepare that way, I'd bring them back several times, and when he went too far, I'd leave them far away and not hand them over. I didn't even acknowledge his demands. When he said not to touch, I touched while wearing gloves. When he called me ugly, I appeared with a paper bag over my head, making Robert recoil in shock.
"I hate you!"
"Thank you for the compliment."
I'd even developed the ability to interpret bad things in reverse.
But Robert's stubbornness was considerable. The child was, somewhat, very cunning.
Whenever I couldn't suppress my rising anger, he'd notice it brilliantly and burst into tears saying I was scary. Anyone watching would think I'd actually done something terrible. I was dumbfounded by Robert's acting skills.
The more I looked, the more Robert resembled someone. A man who was bigger than Robert, with an unyielding stubborn streak.
Good grief. To think there'd be another person like that man. It's a tragedy.
As I brought back the twenty-third item Robert had thrown, I regretted coming to this mansion for the first time. With an exhausted face, I stared blankly at the twenty-fourth item flying through the air. If I picked it up again, he'd probably just throw it again—should I just not pick it up? The nanny patted my conflicted shoulder.
"It seems the young master has taken a liking to Anne."
Where exactly? Anyone can see this seems like revenge for what happened last time.
But since I'd already become this little young master's maid, the only thing I could do was attend to him diligently. Besides, there were times when the nanny was away and I had to handle him alone. The reason Joelli had assigned me as Robert's maid was because the nanny frequently went back and forth to the main house.
But lately, I'd started thinking differently. Maybe she just wanted to make me suffer. I even wondered if I'd done something wrong. Can't they just tell me with words……
"Ugly, bring it!"
I'd stepped out into the corridor for a light walk, thinking he was acting up because he was cooped up in the room. Robert stopped walking and pointed at a horse-shaped wooden figurine he'd dropped. I narrowed my eyes sharply. Even though I'd told him my name, Robert insisted on calling me that. It was definitely intentional.
"Ugly, ugly."
Ugh, I want to smack him one.
But I was a maid serving this insufferable little young master. That meant I couldn't smack that little skull. I forced my mouth into a smile, picked up the fallen wooden figurine, and placed it in Robert's hand.
"Young Master, are you four?"
"No! In just a little while I'll be five!"
"Yes, you'll soon be a splendid five years old. Then……."
"Yeah, Ugly. I want to climb up there."
Robert cut off my words and pointed upward. I barely suppressed my surging anger and calmly raised my head. What Robert was pointing at was the large iron horse statue that had nearly caused an incident last time he climbed on it.
"You may not."
"I wanna climb!"
"It's dangerous. Let's return to your room."
"No! I'm going up!"
"Then shall we walk in the corridor instead?"
I grabbed his hand and pulled him along to divert his attention. Robert shouted that he didn't want to go while being dragged along. Even during that short walk, he threw a tantrum. He hit me repeatedly with the horse-shaped wooden figurine in his small hand, then suddenly hurled it away.
The wooden figurine hit the wall and fell to the floor. When I picked it up and handed it to him, he threw it again.
"I'm going up!"
"Absolutely not."
Robert, who finally shook off my restraining hand, grabbed the leg of the iron statue and clung to it. When I tried to pry him off, the young child had such surprising strength, struggling with all his might to hang on. With his mouth pressed shut and his stubbornness on full display, he didn't look like he'd back down easily.
"I want to climb up!"
"It's dangerous."
"No! I'm going!"
"Yes, then shall we return to your room?"
I scooped Robert up in my arms. The child's eyes went round in surprise. But soon he scowled and flailed his body. Before his struggling could grow more violent, I quickly ran back to Robert's room.
By the time we arrived in the room, my entire body was drenched in sweat. Robert had thrown a fit the whole way back. Suddenly everything felt exhausting.
"I hate you!"
As I stood leaning against the wall with my exhausted body, Robert puffed up his cheeks roundly and glared at me.
"Even if you hate me, there's nothing to be done about it."
Then his chubby cheeks puffed up even more. I put on a calm face asking what he was going to do about it. Robert suddenly started crying.
"My toy……."
"What?"
"Toy! Tooooy!"
His booming voice was threatening. Flustered, I asked what he was talking about, but Robert just kept shouting about his toy. Then I recalled the wooden horse figurine that Robert had been holding and throwing repeatedly since our first meeting.
"You were just throwing it around earlier."
"Toy!"
"Yes. Here it is."
I blocked Robert from running out and quickly left the room. Robert pounded on the door from inside. He couldn't open it because the door handle was out of his reach.
My footsteps quickened at the sound echoing behind me. I ran back through the corridor and reached the iron horse statue. After searching the area thoroughly, I found the wooden horse figurine that Robert had been so desperately looking for.
"If it's so precious, you shouldn't throw it."
Inspecting the figurine this way and that, thankfully no parts were broken. Robert's room had many toys, but the child always kept only this figurine clutched in his hand. It must mean he cherished it that much, yet he handled it so roughly.
Should I just say I lost it? The thought crossed my mind momentarily, but I shook my head.
"Getting worked up over a little child."
I let out a needless laugh and turned around. Then the large iron horse statue that Robert cherished second most caught my eye. Placed against one wall, the iron horse statue was made of iron, its surface smooth and solid. I knocked on its body for no reason.
Why on earth does he want to climb up there?
I stared blankly up at the iron horse statue. Then I looked around, placed my hand on its body, and swung my leg over. But it was quite high. How on earth did Robert, with that small body, manage to climb up here? Grunting and straining, I finally hauled myself up onto the saddle of the iron horse statue.
I let out a labored breath and straightened my body. It was a dizzying height. Draping my arm around the horse's neck and looking down, the long corridor came into view at a glance. If I lifted my head just a little higher, I could even see the scenery beyond the window. You'd be able to see anyone coming too.
"It must be nice for sightseeing."
Since he was still small, high places might fascinate him. Or perhaps he enjoyed looking down. I leaned more toward the latter.
I was also someone who mostly looked up. So looking down like this felt fresh. I swung my legs playfully and savored the air up high.
"What are you doing up there?"
Startled, I looked down to see Robert's nanny standing there. I'd been so caught up in the feeling that I hadn't noticed anyone approaching. She was looking up at me as if I were a truly strange person.
Silently, I climbed down quietly.
"I heard you went out, but it seems you've returned."
"Yes. And the young master?"
"He's in his room. He dropped this, so I was on my way to bring it back."
I shook the wooden piece in my hand. The nanny nodded.
"It's something the young master treasures."
"I see."
"The lady of the house gave it to him as a gift, so he never lets it out of his hand."
So it really was precious to him. I examined the horse figurine worn smooth by handling. There had been times when he threw it on purpose and ordered me to fetch it, and I'd ignored him through several rounds—but then I remembered how Robert had picked up the wooden piece himself those times. A strange feeling welled up in me.
"But what about just now?"
"……."
I kept my mouth shut and turned around. I could feel a questioning gaze piercing my back, but I pretended not to notice. After that uncomfortable companionship, we finally reached the door.
No particular sound came from inside the room. Thinking he must be tired, I opened the door—and was startled. The small body collapsed on the floor with both arms limp at his sides was Robert, who until just moments ago had been pounding on the door.
"Young Master!"
The nanny rushed to the fallen child. I quickly scanned the room. I checked whether someone strange had intruded or if he'd tripped over something, but found no such signs.