My Arrogant and Insolent Shadow - Chapter 33

Time moved painfully slow for Yurisiel.

It felt as though weeks had passed since that day with the young master, but in reality, only a few days had gone by.

Instead of fading, the memory grew sharper each day.

Even the fact that Hael hadn’t shown up at the estate, the ongoing search for the one who stole Britt, and the rumors now spreading about her, none of it seemed to matter.

The disturbing memory with the young master overshadowed everything else and slowly consumed her thoughts.

Again and again, the moment returned.

The accusation of being a voyeur. Her own words, accepting that label in front of him.

The vivid image of his body. His red eyes that pierced through her like they saw everything.

That same dream came again last night.

She woke up drenched in cold sweat, her breathing rough, like someone just pulled from deep water.

It was always the same dream, yet each time, it took her a moment to realize it hadn’t actually happened again.

She sat up slowly, the early morning sunlight slipping through the window bars.

The unanswered question echoed in her mind.

Who would do something like that?

Could it have been the young master? No. That didn’t seem right.

She had already decided that much.

If he had been the one behind it, his red eyes wouldn’t have looked so genuinely shocked when he saw her there.

It had to be someone else inside the estate.

Which meant this might not be the last time something like this happened.

Her head ached just remembering the humiliating words she had spoken in front of him.

And there was a real possibility she would have to say them again.

Each time, he would smile as if it was a game, enjoying every second of her discomfort.

But he had always been like that. It wasn’t new.

Words like that, she could repeat again and again if she had to.

She could pretend to be guilty of something she didn’t do. She could become a toy he played with for his own amusement.

That was easy.

And once he tired of her, he would leave, whether to the capital or somewhere else.

Just days ago, that thought gave her the strength to agree with anything he said. Now, it only left her empty.

Looking at her mother sleeping peacefully, completely unaware of any of it, gave Yurisiel a mix of comfort and fear.

Would all this end in tragedy?

Was this desperate struggle really meaningless?

Before Lady Jane could wake, Yurisiel quickly washed her face, changed her clothes, and fixed her expression.

Thankfully, her mother stirred only after she was ready.

When Lady Jane saw her daughter already awake, she smiled warmly and gently brushed her hair.

“Did you have any bad dreams last night?”

“Come on. I told you, it only happened once. You worry too much, Mom.”

Lady Jane chuckled and pointed at the dreamcatcher she had made.

“I thought it looked a little messy, but I guess it’s working after all.”

It was a bit rough, just like she said. A purple shell sat in the center, surrounded by a web of white thread and feathers.

Lately, Lady Jane had been visiting the harbor from time to time to gather materials for it.

Yurisiel had stopped trying to stop her.

She knew her mother must have started making it after seeing how restless she had been at night.

She didn’t need to be told. She could already picture her mother’s thin hands working carefully to create it.

“Messy? It’s beautiful. Any ghosts that try to get near probably run away scared. I haven’t had a bad dream since, have I?”

With a bright smile that hid the nightmare from just this morning, Yurisiel laughed gently.

She often wished her mother would rest more, but she also didn’t want to take away the joy these small things brought her.

So now, all she could do was quietly cheer her on.

While mother and daughter shared a warm moment, a maid entered the room.

She was not the one who usually came to manage this space. It was someone new.

In her hands, she carried breakfast for Lady Jane.

Yurisiel didn’t memorize every maid’s face, but she definitely knew who had been in charge of this room.

The previous maid had uniquely braided brown hair, wore a slightly modified version of the uniform, and had also served in the young master’s room.

That maid used to shoot sharp looks at Yurisiel but acted sweet and polite in front of the young master, like a completely different person.

The young master never gave her a glance. He just sat like stone while she tried to get his attention.

Humiliated, she would leave with her face red and her eyes locked onto Yurisiel like she wanted to kill her.

Now, this new maid, blushing and nervous, introduced herself as Anne and quietly said she would be taking care of them from now on.

Lady Jane, who had been sitting upright anxiously even before the meal arrived, hesitated before asking a gentle question.

“Has the maid who used to come here been reassigned?”

Startled by her polite tone, Anne quickly waved her hands and answered with care.

“Well… they said she was dismissed because of some inappropriate incident.”

An incident serious enough to be dismissed?

There hadn’t been anything like that in the estate recently.

Except for one thing—something that involved her.

Yurisiel hadn’t expected that someone would go so far, just because they disliked her presence here.

Lady Jane looked confused at the words “inappropriate incident.”

“An incident?”

She knew nothing about what had happened on the rooftop.

Yurisiel hadn’t told her anything.

Thankfully, the new maid didn’t seem to know more than what she had heard. She simply gave a vague answer and quickly left the room.

Watching her go, Lady Jane fell into thought.

“It wasn’t because of me, was it?”

Foolish woman. Even after everything, she still worried about someone who glared at her daughter with such hatred.

Yurisiel held her mother’s hand and smiled as if nothing was wrong.

“Of course not. She probably caused some kind of trouble elsewhere in the estate.”

Worried that her mother might dwell on it, she quickly changed the subject.

Only after talking about other things and handing her the spoon did Lady Jane begin to eat the soup, though slowly and reluctantly.

“By the way, I haven’t seen Hael around lately. Is something wrong?”

Hael. That name made her breath catch for a moment.

She still hadn’t returned the money for the medicine. It sat untouched in her drawer.

After wandering near his house a few times and giving up, she had stopped thinking about him.

No, she had been putting it off.

The situation with the young master had helped her forget, even if only for a while.

Was Britt still missing?

Could Hael have really sold Britt because of her?

Complicated thoughts tangled in her mind as a few seconds passed.

In the end, Yurisiel managed to put on the same smile she always wore.

“No, it’s nothing serious. He just took some time off. He’ll be back soon.”

“I see. That’s a relief. I heard someone had been dismissed and worried it might’ve been him. But then again, Hael wouldn’t do something like that.”

Watching her mother nod with a soft smile, Yurisiel quietly stepped outside, right on time.

Only then did she let out a long breath.

But peaceful moments like this never lasted long.

Even now, her duties with the young master continued as always. Meals beside him, standing quietly at his side.

Those moments had always been difficult, but since that day, they had become unbearable.

The young master acted as if nothing had happened, which made it even harder for her.

That, more than anything, made her feel powerless.

On her way to the drawing room, the glances from the other maids were clearly different from before.

Where once their eyes had been full of resentment and suspicion, now they were filled with fear.

Some of them even avoided her entirely, slipping away as soon as they saw her coming.

Seeing it with her own eyes, Yurisiel became certain.

The young master had been directly involved in having the brown-haired maid expelled.

The rumor must have already spread among them.

That she was the reason the other maid had been dismissed.

What did they think of her now?

A girl favored by the young master, bold and arrogant?

A parasite clinging to a place where she didn’t belong?

Or something worse?

What had she done that was so wrong?

Back when she was accused of being the horse thief, was it because they truly believed it, or was it just an excuse to get rid of someone like her?

In truth, she thought she understood now.

People believed someone like her didn’t deserve to be near someone like Hael.

People who saw her serving the young master thought it was disgraceful.

Maybe it was all happening because she was lacking, because she wasn’t enough.

Her chest felt tight. It was hard to breathe.

Words she had heard before now pierced her like blades.

And yet, another thought began to form in her mind.

Why did the young master have the brown-haired maid expelled?

He had never been the type to care, even if someone had tried to frame her.

Even when she had ended up on the rooftop, he hadn’t seemed surprised. If anything, he had looked like a predator who found an interesting new toy.

The more she thought about it, the deeper the questions grew.

And then, just for a moment, another possibility slipped into her mind.

Was it… for her?

Her steps came to a sudden halt.

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