There is No Key to His Cage - Chapter 18
She had a long dream.
A dream where those who had tormented her for years paid for their sins.
They begged for forgiveness, on their hands and knees.
But it wasn’t joyful or satisfying.
Only scars remained on her already clawed heart.
She no longer wanted to punish or curse them.
She didn’t want to become the same kind of person.
“My eyes hurt….”
She woke up with puffy eyes after crying so much last night.
Fortunately, she slept until 10 o’clock. If she had faced him looking like this, it would have been embarrassing.
“Why did I cry like that….”
She couldn’t understand why tears had burst out at that moment.
She just suddenly felt overwhelmed by old memories and cried.
“Sigh….”
Grumble-
Her stomach clock loudly announced breakfast time.
Elena got up from bed, clutching her stomach.
“I should make some brunch.”
It was too late for the mansion’s breakfast time, which ended at 9 o’clock.
So she planned to sneak into the kitchen and make something to eat.
Elena got up from bed and stretched, extending her body.
Just as she was about to look in the mirror at her dressing table.
“Oh no.”
Not only eye boogers but hair sticking up like a lion’s mane, and swollen eyes on top of that.
Her face was in a worse state than she had thought.
“How can I go out like this!”
Grumble-
“I have to go out….”
Elena pulled the bell rope to call a maid.
Hoping it would be Jane, not another maid.
Knock knock-
“Come in.”
“My lady, did you call?”
“Jane!”
Delighted, she ran and hugged her.
Jane staggered, losing her balance for a moment, but quickly steadied herself.
“But my lady, your face….”
“Haha… Do I look funny?”
She lowered her head in embarrassment.
Well, she could show anything to Jane, unlike other maids.
“Oh my, I’ll bring some water to wash up right away.”
“Okay….”
Jane immediately went out and quickly returned with various items.
“Here, let’s wash your face first. Oh my, what’s this? My lady, what happened last night…!”
“No, no. Nothing happened. Just….”
“Sigh….”
As Elena closed her eyes, Jane wiped her face with a soft, damp towel.
While she always refused when other maids offered to do this, she liked it when Jane did.
The gentle touch almost made her feel sleepy.
“Now, let me brush your hair. What’s going on here.”
Jane picked up a large jeweled brush and began brushing her hair.
Her hair, being slightly wavy and thin, tends to tangle easily.
So it always took quite some effort to brush.
But Jane’s hands must be magical.
“When Jane brushes it, it quickly returns to normal!”
“It’s all thanks to years of experience.”
Elena’s bright smile in response was like warm sunshine.
“There, my lady. All done. Now you just need to get dressed.”
“Yes, thank you!”
“But where are you going?”
“Secretly to the dining room… I’m so hungry.”
Elena looked at her with a pitiful face, like a cat abandoned on the street.
And even in this situation, thunder rumbled in her stomach.
Jane smiled helplessly and stroked her hair.
“There won’t be any food left now. Hmm… Ah! There’s some bread left, would you like that?”
“Yes, I’d love that. I can eat anything right now.”
Even a slice of bread would be fine.
Anything edible would do, except for spoiled food.
After finishing her grooming, Elena headed towards the maid’s quarters.
“It’s my first time going to the maids’ room.”
“It’s nothing special. Just that we can have individual rooms thanks to the Grand Duke?”
The welfare here is quite good.
It’s like a major corporation in terms of benefits.
Individual rooms and a good cafeteria.
Fresh ingredients daily, free use of the library.
And guaranteed rest times, even gifts on birthdays, making it seem like a pleasant place to work.
“I’m curious. Isn’t being a maid hard?”
“It can be tough at times. But there are also enjoyable moments. Well, that’s true for all jobs, I suppose.”
They went down the stairs and arrived at the area where the maids’ rooms were clustered.
But strangely, everyone was looking at her with surprised eyes.
“Why… why are they looking at me like this?”
Jane smiled and whispered in her ear.
“They all like you very much, my lady. They’re just shy.”
“Me? Why?”
“The atmosphere of the mansion has changed since you arrived, my lady.”
“The atmosphere?”
“Yes, it used to be very gloomy and dark, but somehow it feels brighter now.”
“Ah….”
Elena couldn’t understand but nodded as if she did.
She couldn’t comprehend why the mansion’s atmosphere had changed because of her.
“And also His Grace.”
“Huh?”
Her head perked up automatically at the mention of him.
It seems she reacts sensitively to anything related to him.
“The Grand Duke has changed a lot too. He used to be a person without expression, but now he seems a bit brighter?”
“What? Him? That man was never bright. Crazy, maybe, but never bright.”
Elena pouted and grumbled.
Jane looked at her fondly and stroked her hair.
“But the Grand Duke takes such good care of you, my lady. It’s all the rage among the maids these days.”
“What is?”
“The Grand Duke and you, my lady. They were talking about it during meal time earlier too.”
She frowned at Jane, not understanding at all.
“For example, how the Grand Duke looks at you lovingly.”
“What?”
“Or how he holds you preciously, things like that.”
“Ha…!”
Jane spoke excitedly, raising her fingers as she listed things.
Whatever they saw, it’s all lies.
Him looking lovingly?
Holding preciously?
Come on, even a passing dog would laugh at that.
“Are their eyes not working properly or something?”
“Oh my, that can’t be.”
Jane covered her mouth with one hand and laughed elegantly.
As they say, you can’t spit on a smiling face.
There was nothing Elena could say to Jane.
“And there’s even a book going around, I hear.”
“A book?”
“Yes, written while imagining the Grand Duke and you….”
“Fan fiction?”
“Pardon…? Fan… what?”
For a moment, she felt dizzy and almost fell over.
This is totally fangirling, isn’t it?
Writing stories about favorite celebrities.
“This is really crazy. Where’s that book? Let me see it!”
“Ah, I’ll get it for you later. There are so many reservations for it right now.”
“Ha….”
There are even reservations for it.
It’s enough to make even ghosts weep.
She wanted to at least hear the plot of what they had written.
“Ah, we’re here. This is my room.”
Creak-
After a long conversation, Jane’s room that they arrived at was neat and tidy.
The furniture in white and wood tones was pretty without being tacky.
“This is interesting. A maid’s room.”
It’s the first time she’s entered a different room since coming here.
And it’s been almost two weeks already.
“It’s not that interesting. There’s nothing special. Here, my lady. Here’s the bread.”
Jane took out a loaf of bread from a basket.
The well-baked bread had a deep brown color.
“It was baked this morning, so it’s still moist. Please eat.”
“Okay, thank you.”
As soon as she took a bite, the fluffy texture of the bread gently wrapped around her tongue.
And perhaps because they used high-quality ingredients, it tasted even better.
“Ah, please eat for a moment. I’ll be right back from the restroom.”
“Okay.”
After Jane left, she looked around the room more closely.
The room was spotlessly clean and well-lit by sunlight.
“Hm? What’s this?”
A silver heart necklace shimmering in the sunlight caught her eye.
Originally, one shouldn’t touch other people’s belongings, but somehow she was drawn to it.
“It’s pretty…. Oh?”
As she picked up the necklace and examined it, she noticed a seam on the side of the heart.
“Can this be opened?”
No one could stop her curiosity.
When she opened the lid with her thumbnail, she saw familiar writing inside.
“Elena….”
The name Elena is not common in the Empire.
It’s a rare name that maybe one in a thousand people would have.
“But why….”
“My lady, I’m back….”
Jane, who had just returned to the room, paused for a moment upon seeing her.
As the door opened and their eyes met, they stared at each other silently.
“My lady, that’s my necklace….”
“Ah, ah. Sorry. I’m sorry, Jane.”
Realizing what she had been doing, Elena hurriedly put down the necklace.
She felt her face turning red with embarrassment.
No matter how curious, she shouldn’t have touched someone else’s belongings.
“I’m sorry, Jane. Your….”
“It’s okay, my lady.”
Jane approached her with a slightly bitter smile.
In the suddenly awkward atmosphere, Elena pondered what to say for a while, when Jane spoke first.
“Elena was someone I cared for very much.”
“Ah….”
As expected, it was as she thought.
Ever since seeing the painting in the basement, everything had become suspicious.
That’s probably why she reacted so sensitively.
“She’s not by my side now, but I believe she’ll return someday.”
Jane looked at her with a bright smile.
Then she held Elena’s hands resting on her knees and gently stroked them.
“She’s as precious to me as you are, my lady.”
Again.
Hearing words like these make her feel like crying.
Especially due to the aftereffects of yesterday.
But not wanting to cry in front of Jane right now, she held back her tears.
“Okay….”
Unable to continue speaking, she couldn’t even say thank you.
She barely swallowed her tears by gritting her teeth and poking her knees.
“Ah, I should go now. The food was good. Thank you.”
It seemed like she might cry if she stayed any longer.
Thinking it would be better to leave quickly before that happened, Elena hurried her steps.
“Ah, my lady…!”
Jane called after her anxiously, but it was no use.
She had already opened the door handle and left.
Bang-.
“Hah….”
As soon as she left the room, she leaned against the door and sighed.
“What’s wrong with me since yesterday….”
She wandered around meaninglessly, afraid that someone might notice her secretly shed tears.
When a maid passed by, she put on a bright face and greeted them cheerfully.
“This won’t do.”
