The Grand Duke's Maid Writes a Consultation Log Today - Chapter 73

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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The Grand Ducal House Maid Writes a Counseling Log Today, Chapter 073
Yulias’s brow furrowed.
Elysia slowly continued speaking.
“What Lady Sheila needs isn’t just protection.”
“…….”
“It’s laughing together, dining together, and spending time together.”
She fixated her gaze on the closed door.
“The Lady…… wished to become a normal family like that with you, Grand Duke.”
Yulias remained silent for a long while.
His pupils trembled incessantly.
Elysia grew certain upon seeing that expression.
This man truly did not know.
How to become a family, how to treat someone warmly.
And how to express his love.
“Grand Duke, you genuinely cherish Lady Sheila.”
Elysia continued in a calm tone.
“Even I know that.”
“…….”
“But Lady Sheila does not realize those feelings well.”
Yulias’s jaw clenched tightly.
He could not utter a single word for quite some time.
And only much later, he opened his mouth with a cracked voice.
“……I.”
Having started to speak, he paused for a moment.
It was an appearance hard to believe for a man who always issued orders with absolute certainty.
“I simply…… do not know how to approach her.”
Elysia’s eyes slowly widened.
Yulias let out a short, self-deprecating laugh.
“Protecting is familiar, but becoming a family is difficult.”
He slowly cast his gaze downward.
A heavy silence descended upon the hallway once more.
Elysia looked at him and let out a very soft sigh.
Perhaps it was only natural.
This was a man who had lived his entire life solely to protect someone.
While he had learned how to grow strong, he had never learned how to be gentle.
Elysia hesitated for a moment before quietly opening her mouth.
“Do you know what words Lady Sheila wishes to hear the most?”
Yulias’s gaze turned toward her.
Elysia offered a small smile.
“……’I’m glad you’re my younger sister.'”
“…….”
“Perhaps just that one sentence would be enough for her.”
Yulias looked bewildered, like someone who had just heard words he had never once considered in his life.
And at that moment, the closed door cracked open ever so slightly, and a familiar hair color became visible through the gap.
It was impossible to tell from her face whether she had been eavesdropping or if she had been anxious from being unable to sleep.
Sheila was peering over here, carefully poking only her head out through the gap in the door.
And the instant her eyes met Yulias’s, Sheila flinched in surprise and hurriedly slammed the door shut.
-Bang!
An awkward silence descended upon the hallway.
Elysia blinked both eyes wide in surprise.
Yulias was also staring fixedly at the closed door with a stiff face.
Yet, for a fleeting moment, the corners of his mouth seemed to relax faintly.
Elysia looked back and forth between the closed door and Yulias before speaking.
“……I shall go look for Joshua.”
Yulias’s gaze slowly drifted toward her.
Elysia hesitated briefly before adding on.
“……Grand Duke.”
“…….”
“Could you pass a message to Lady Sheila on my behalf? Tell her that Joshua and I will return shortly.”
Yulias did not offer any answer, but Elysia gave a small bow and walked toward the end of the hallway.
The sound of her footsteps grew progressively fainter.
Only silence remained in the hallway once more.
Yulias stared at the closed door for a good while.
Even though they were separated by a single door, it felt strangely distant.
He slowly raised his hand and grasped the doorknob.
However, he could not open it right away.
Opening this single door was more difficult than fighting monsters, more difficult than wielding a sword on the battlefield.
Yulias closed his eyes briefly, then opened them again.
And as if he had finally made up his mind, he opened the door.

* * *
-Creak.
The inside of the room was quiet.
A blanket rose protuberantly atop the bed.
Even after entering the room, Yulias could not move for a while.
Normally, he would have angrily pulled the blanket away first.
Yet, he could not bring himself to do so right now.
Staring blankly at the bed with a face that simply did not know what to do, he slowly opened his mouth.
“……Sheila.”
Beneath the blanket, there was a very minute flinch.
It was proof that Sheila was not asleep.
Yulias did not miss that small reaction.
However, he could not immediately continue speaking either.
The man who used to command countless people on the battlefield was choosing his words carefully in front of nothing more than his young sister.
He pinched the bridge of his nose before slowly stepping closer to the bed.
And only after a long while did he speak in a low voice.
“……About earlier.”
Having started to speak, he paused for a moment.
The small body beneath the blanket flinched once more.
Yulias kept his gaze lowered as he slowly continued his words.
“I am sorry.”
It was a short apology. Yet, after that single phrase dropped, the room became strangely tranquil.
Even though Yulias knew he had to say something more, he did not know what words to bring up first.
Sheila still did not come out from under the blanket.
Yulias seemed to deliberate for a moment, then added another word.
“I did not mean it in that way.”
“…….”
“I have never thought of you as a burden either.”
The edge of the blanket squirmed ever so slightly.
Yulias silently watched that small movement, then slowly sat down beside the bed.
Following a silence that stretched on for a while, he muttered in a low voice.
“……Elysia told me.”
Beneath the blanket, there was another small movement.
“That this single phrase would be enough for you.”
Yulias cast his gaze down for a moment, then parted his lips slowly, which was uncharacteristic of him.
“She told me to say that I am glad you are my younger sister.”
The movement beneath the blanket stopped.
He carried on with his words very slowly.
“I am glad you are my younger sister, Sheila.”
The room fell completely still.
The edge of the blanket slid down very slowly.
Reddened eyes and silver hair cautiously revealed themselves.
Sheila was looking up at Yulias with only her eyes peeking out.
That appearance resembled a highly wary little animal.
Meeting that gaze, Yulias closed his mouth with an awkward expression.
Sheila stared intently at him like that, then suddenly threw the blanket over herself again.
He knew. There was no way all the walls would crumble down with just that one phrase.
Yet, just from their eyes meeting, it seemed certain that a very small change had begun.
Yulias hesitated for a moment before extending his hand to carefully pat atop the blanket.
“……Elysia and Joshua will return from the Dining Hall soon.”
That touch was awkward, but it did not stop.
It was a movement that looked exactly like someone who had never comforted a young child barely managing to imitate it.
“……Do not skip your meal, the three of you may eat as much as you want. I will permit you to go out if you wish.”
Beneath the blanket became quiet for a while.
A moment later.
Sheila, revealing her face from inside the blanket, fumbled with her arm.
Seeing the child’s hand heading toward the nightstand, Yulias naturally picked up the paper and pen and handed them over.
Remaining prone, Sheila wrote something down on the paper.
[Are only the three of us going out?]
Yulias stared intently at the paper.
It was not easy to judge whether he could dare to join that place.
After deliberating for a moment, he awkwardly shifted the subject.
“……Is there no separate dessert you wish to eat after the meal.”
Sheila gazed blankly at the paper before slowly writing down her characters.
[I want to eat a cake with strawberries on top.]
Looking down at the paper, Yulias gently raised the corners of his mouth.
“……I should order all the strawberries in the North to be gathered.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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