Who Brought the Head Maid Back? - Chapter 20

” Pardon?”

Dwayne blinked, unsure of what Noah meant, before eventually shouting irritably. “Look, let’s just do it again, Grand Duke!”

Seeing him cling so persistently, Noah narrowed his eyes. “Then, will you help me in return?”

“What? Me?”

Dwayne’s eyes grew round. It was the first time in his life anyone had said such a thing to him.

‘Asking for my help? Me, Dwayne?’

He stared at Noah with a dazed expression. Is our Grand Duke in his right mind?

“Yes. I need your help.”

Noah spoke firmly and glanced around. The maids and the young women from the nearby village were watching them with flushed cheeks. Noah assumed they had come to see Dwayne.

‘He seems to understand a woman’s heart well, judging by how he acted on the way to the North.’

Dwayne was so charming that women in every village and estate they passed through were reluctant to see him go. If that had been all, Noah would have just dismissed him as a flirt, but what impressed him was that not a single woman seemed to dislike or resent him.

‘He might be unreliable, but there is something to be learned from him.’

There was someone Noah wanted to impress. Therefore, he wanted to learn from Dwayne the secret to capturing a woman’s heart.

Bradley, who had been watching from the sidelines, asked with an incredulous expression, “Wait, Your Highness. You want help from this guy? Truly?”

Noah nodded calmly. “If Dwayne comes, Jack and you come along with him. It is a gain for me.”

“I see ”

Dwayne nodded at the plausible reasoning. Bradley looked at him with pity before turning an observant gaze toward Noah.

‘Look at him.’

There was something people overlooked, dazzled by his angelic appearance. The Grand Duke was not as mild or passive as he seemed.

Just then, a chilly voice spoke from behind. “What exactly is going on here?”

“Eek!”

Dwayne jumped like a rabbit and scurried behind Noah to hide. Amy looked disapprovingly at Dwayne, who was using the much smaller Noah as a shield.

“Amy. Did you finish looking around?”

As if he had never been wearing a blunt expression, Noah gave Amy a bright smile. A collective sigh escaped the onlookers at the sight.

“Yes. But what are you doing out here in this cold?”

Amy hurriedly took off her cloak and draped it over Noah’s shoulders. Noah pouted as the thick cloak covered him.

“I’m not cold.”

“That can’t be true. Besides, I saw Sir Dwayne lying on the ground just now ”

Amy scanned Noah from head to toe with a look of surprise. “Did Your Highness take him down?”

Dwayne grumbled at her words. “Am I a bear? What do you mean, ‘take him down’?”

Noah ignored him and smiled again. “Yes. I took him down. With my bare hands.”

“My ”

A look of joy spread across Amy’s face. Seeing that, Noah felt a tickling sensation in his chest. Amy leaned in and whispered to him.

“Well done. Now we can reduce Sir Dwayne’s wages.”

“Hey, that’s not fair!”

Dwayne, who had his ears perked, screamed, but Amy ignored him and ushered Noah out of the training grounds.

As Noah followed Amy, he glanced back and mouthed ‘later’ to them. Dwayne and Bradley pouted but nodded back.

Noah looked at Amy walking beside him and asked, “You’re not really going to reduce them, are you?”

Amy arched an eyebrow and gave a short laugh. “Sir Vernon and Joseph will decide the wages for the guards. I was just scaring him.”

“He’s actually quite helpful, despite how he looks.”

Noah took off the cloak and draped it back over Amy’s shoulders. Amy frowned at the gesture, but Ethan, who was following closely behind, quickly draped a different cloak over Noah’s shoulders. He was already working hard as a squire. Noah adjusted his cloak and spoke.

“We were just sparring using Southern martial arts.”

” ”

Amy’s expression became complicated. The words of the Crown Prince, whom she used to spy on, flashed through her mind.

‘Typical of that Southern peasant bloodline; the kid spends his time rolling on the floor and learning how to hit people with his hands. He’s a Prince, but it’s an eyesore ‘

That was it. The Second Prince, Noah, had learned Southern martial arts when he was young. Since it was something he started as a child, he was bound to be quite skilled if he had kept it up. Amy blinked.

‘Did he do it on purpose?’

Noah curled the corners of his mouth slightly and muttered with satisfaction, “He won’t be able to call you a Morning Star anymore.”

“Morning Star?”

Isn’t that a spiked weapon? She tilted her head, assuming it was a technical term related to his skills, and dismissed it. She glanced at the setting sun.

“It’s nearly time for the banquet. Let’s head inside, Your Highness.”

“Okay.”

The two quickened their pace.

In the hall of the Grand Ducal Castle, Noah sat with a blunt expression at the head table, positioned before a wall draped with tapestries embroidered with the Grand Ducal crest. He didn’t even look at the various dishes laid out before him, his eyes constantly moving as if searching for someone.

The employees sitting at the long table stretching out from the head table whispered while pretending not to follow the Grand Duke’s gaze.

“He’s looking for the Head Maid, right? I heard she stopped somewhere on her way back.”

“Maybe it’s the Aide?”

“You don’t know anything. His Highness hasn’t looked for the Aide once all day.”

“So that’s why the Aide is always running around looking for him with a crying face.”

At another table where the guards sat, Dwayne was complaining about the unfairness of it all. Finally, the sound of a fist slamming onto the table was heard.

“Seriously, how is this possible?”

Bradley, sitting next to him, answered immediately. “It just is.”

” I wasn’t finished talking.”

“Does it matter? What matters is that you lost to His Highness.”

“I’m asking how that could happen!”

Bradley let Dwayne’s complaints go in one ear and out the other as he dug into his food. However, like the others, his eyes occasionally flickered toward Noah. Noah’s skill had been unexpected for him as well.

Just then, Joseph the Aide arrived and sat cautiously next to Noah, leaving one seat between them. Noah didn’t give Joseph a single glance, keeping his eyes fixed on the hall doors. Bradley narrowed his eyes.

‘Dwayne was caught off guard, but even if he hadn’t been, victory wouldn’t have been guaranteed.’

Since Bradley had also practiced martial arts for years, he could tell that Noah was quite experienced.

‘I never heard that the Second Prince was well-versed in martial arts.’

In truth, very little was known about the Grand Duke at all. Regardless

Bradley fixed his gaze on the Head Maid who was just entering the hall.

‘The “Ghost Head Maid” who was famous in the Imperial Palace definitely belonged to the Crown Prince’s palace. When did she switch to the Second Prince?’

Moreover, the Grand Duke trusted her immensely, even though she essentially came from enemy territory. Then again, seeing how meticulously she served him on the way North, it was hard not to trust her.

‘Were they friends originally?’

But even so, the Crown Prince’s favor toward the Head Maid had been extraordinary. It was rumored to be a headache for the Empress. At least, that’s how it was before Bradley left the palace; perhaps the Crown Prince’s heart had changed since then.

He licked his lips. ‘Well, I’ll find out soon enough.’

“Did you tell the chef about His Highness’s dietary preferences as I informed you?”

Amy, who had returned from her tour with Melbourne, checked the food as soon as she entered the hall. Melbourne puffed out his chest and answered.

“Of course.”

“Then why isn’t he eating?”

Feeling anxious, Amy’s pace quickened. When Noah saw her approaching, his expression brightened, and he stood up. Amy, startled, hurried to stop him.

“You must sit and eat, Your Highness.”

Reluctantly sitting back down, Noah looked up at her with soft eyes. “But you haven’t sat down yet, Amy.”

“I will eat later on my own, so please, go ahead. The chef specially prepared the dishes you like.”

Amy smiled naturally. ‘I suppose he’s gotten used to eating together during the trip.’

But things were different now. Noah was now the official Grand Duke and the master of this place. Where in the world would you find a Head Maid sitting at the head table with the master? However, Noah was stubborn.

“Amy, you’re a noble lady. There’s no reason we can’t share a table.”

” ”

Since he wasn’t wrong, Amy was left speechless. Noah stared intently into her eyes as if he would never take back his words.

Joseph, sitting nearby, also looked at her with teary eyes. It was a silent plea not to leave him alone with the Grand Duke.

” Very well, then.”

In the end, Amy had no choice but to sit between them.

Pleased, Noah lifted his glass of watered-down wine and gave a bright smile. Another wave of gasps broke out from the tables below. Amy stared at the table, watching his cheerful face.

‘The Crown Prince never asked to eat together ‘

Regardless of the Empress’s interference, the Crown Prince had taken it for granted that Amy should stand behind him. She had been so used to a man who treated her like a mere servant while claiming to love her; now, looking at Noah, Amy felt her heart strangely flutter.

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