The Grand Duke's Maid Writes a Consultation Log Today - Chapter 9

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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 as Well – Episode 009
“The book you discarded today contained ‘fear.’
But remember that fear turns into memory.
And memory is the courage you can draw upon once more.”
Curiosity getting the better of her at the unfamiliar sentences, Elysia cautiously spoke toward the screen.
“……Is this a magic tool? Can you converse? Are you reading my mind?”
The screen said nothing. However, when the next sentence flashed a moment later, Elysia instinctively squeezed her eyes shut.
As a fascinating curiosity clashed with an unsettling anxiety, her body drew back on its own.
“Friend in need of a story: None
Listener’s condition: Anxiety, fatigue, self-blame
Recommended action: Practice facing your emotions instead of turning away from them. How about recording what happened today?”
Elysia peered cautiously through open eyes and stared at the screen for a long time.
At the word ‘record,’ she gingerly placed both hands over the keyboard.
When she pressed the keys matching the letters, she was able to type onto the screen.
“Today, I sold the storybooks. My brother doesn’t know yet. I wanted to protect him. So that at least that child wouldn’t turn out like the adults.”
As soon as that sentence was entered, a brief phrase popped up again at the bottom of the screen.
“Counseling Log No. 000 registered successfully!”
“Starting the log!”
Elysia lifted her hands for a moment and quietly took a breath.
Something was shaking softly deep within her chest.
It was like ‘the words she had wished someone would say to her,’ which she had lost a long time ago.
After packing the laptop into her bag, Elysia headed for the Grand Duke’s residence.

* * *
It was nearly morning by the time Elysia arrived at the Grand Duke’s residence.
As she approached the front gates, she carefully pulled the metal plate out of her bag.
As if anticipating something, the screen of the metal plate shimmered faintly.
“Friend in need of a story: None / Listener’s condition: Worried / Emotional flow depressed”
“Unrecorded emotions: Cautiousness, responsibility”
She drew in a breath.
“I brought it just in case it might be needed, but…… anyway, I wonder if Joshua is alright? He must have been shocked to find me gone.”
While Elysia worried, the guard opened the front gates.
Passing through the spacious garden and reaching the main entrance, she saw a familiar face. Joshua waved his hand and shouted loudly.
“Sister!”
“Joshua!”
Before Elysia could even welcome her brother, her face grew deathly pale. The child’s face, coming into clearer focus as she drew nearer, was a total mess.
A blue bruise had formed on his right cheek, and he was waving cheerfully with his left eye swollen shut.
Moreover, the knee injury that hadn’t been serious just yesterday was completely scraped up.
“What happened? Who did this? Did you touch something in the residence you shouldn’t have? Even so, how could they do this to a child!”
Elysia set her bag down and grabbed Joshua’s shoulders. No matter how she looked at it, these weren’t light injuries.
Unable to keep up with the movements of Elysia’s mouth, Joshua whined.
“Sister, you’re speaking too fast! Slowly!”
“Ah, ah…… I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”
Elysia let her shoulders droop and apologized repeatedly. Watching her, Joshua spoke with clumsy pronunciation due to his swollen cheek.
“I’m fine. Nobody beat me.”
“Then how did you end up like this?”
“Well…….”
As Joshua hesitated, Elysia summoned every ounce of her depleted patience.
Just a little more.
Let’s wait for him to speak on his own.
No, even if he really did get beaten, how could they leave such severe wounds?
At the very least, he should have run away. Did he just stand there like a fool and take all of it?
Can I really work in a place like this?
“Sister…… your face looks scary…….”
“……So, why are you hurt?”
When Joshua spoke in a intimidated tone, Elysia caught her breath and asked once more.
In the meantime, the one who opened the main entrance and peeked her head out was Sheila.
The child nervously fiddled with her hair, which was beautifully braided into twin tails.
Elysia greeted Sheila with nothing but a polite nod.
“Lady Sheila, could you please wait a moment? Since I stepped out for a bit, my brother…….”
[It’s because of me.]
Sheila showed her a message written in a small notebook. It was a rounded handwriting written by the child herself.
Elysia doubted her own eyes when she saw the contents.
“……Pardon? Because of you, Lady Sheila? Don’t tell me the other servants beat Joshua?!”
Elysia cried out as she straightened her back. At her posture, looking ready to demand answers right away, the two children panicked.
“No, Sister! No!”
Joshua hurriedly blocked her path and explained.
“There was a bird’s nest outside the window, so we were watching it! But it fell! So I tried to catch it! And I ended up falling from the second floor!!”
“……What?”
“The nest is safe! And the Grand Duke! He saved me, so I wasn’t badly hurt!”
In his rush to stop an angry Elysia, Joshua didn’t even realize how he was pronouncing his words. He moved his small hands quickly to explain to her.
So, they were watching a bird’s nest, and they saw it fall, whether because of the wind or something else.
And to stop it, from the second floor……
“Haaa…… Joshua, you…….”
Elysia finally drained the tension from her body and let herself slump as if relieved. Once the anxiety dissipated, she could examine the child’s condition more thoroughly.
For instance, ointment had been applied to the wounded areas, and the swelling had gone down to some extent.
“……Did you say thank you to the Grand Duke?”
“Yes! He treated me himself!”
“Himself? The Grand Duke did?”
“Yes!!! He asked where you went, so I said I didn’t know either. But Uncle Hilmaiten said you went to your house. Sister! Why did you leave me behind!”
Joshua chattered through his explanation before suddenly screaming out, perhaps feeling a sense of grievance. Deflecting it with a practiced smile, Elysia praised him.
“You didn’t forget to thank him, what a good boy. Alright. I’m sorry I got worked up. I’m sorry for leaving you behind, too. Okay? I just went quickly because there was something I had to check.”
“I’m letting it slide only because you came back! There won’t be a next time!”
Joshua said firmly, putting both hands on his hips.
Where did he see that to mimic it? It didn’t seem like the villagers, could it be the Grand Duke?
Elysia suppressed a laugh inwardly and nodded her head repeatedly. Then, a moment later, she looked at Sheila.
“I’m sorry for the misunderstanding, Lady Sheila. I thought…….”
How should she explain? Should she honestly say she thought the people of the Grand Ducal House had beaten her brother? Or else……
While Elysia pondered, Sheila showed her a fresh note written in the notebook.
[Forget it.]
Leaving a concise reply, the child turned around without a backward glance and dashed inside. As Elysia stared blankly at her rapidly receding figure, Joshua urged her on.
“Sister, let’s go inside quickly. The Grand Duke is looking for you!”
“Uh, uh…… He’s looking for me?”
“Yes! Bring her in as soon as she arrives! That’s the Grand Duke’s command!”
Joshua made a stern face as if imitating Yulias, then quickly beamed a bright smile.
He looked exactly like a child mimicking a hero from a book. Elysia took Joshua’s hand and entered the residence.
‘Huh…….’
Surely her voice hadn’t been quiet. There were at least three servants visible in the lobby alone.
Yet, they merely went about their respective tasks in silence without throwing so much as a single glance.
……They definitely must have heard everything.
If anything, it was Elysia who glanced around nervously as she passed by. Joshua led Elysia by the hand, hurrying her along as if to say, ‘I must execute the Grand Duke’s command!’
Before long, as they arrived in front of the Office, Joshua corrected his posture first, then cleared his throat with a cough.
“Grand Duke.”
Perhaps due to his height being small for his age, Joshua stood on his tiptoes to knock near the doorknob and spoke in a refined voice.
“It is Joshua. I have brought my sister, Elysia.”
The child, looking a bit nervous yet filled with anticipation, took a step back. That sight was somehow familiar.
‘Where have I seen that before?’
Elysia drew a question mark in her mind. Meanwhile, a presence approached from nearby, the door opened, and Hilmaiten showed himself.
Hilmaiten lowered his gaze from Elysia to meet Joshua’s eyes.
“You have arrived. Aide Candidate Joshua.”
Ah, so that’s where she had seen it—he was mimicking Aide Hilmaiten.
Hilmaiten was looking down at Joshua with a expression more serious than ever.
To what extent, it was almost excessive.
‘To look at him with such utmost seriousness……?’

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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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