Nainiae was dreaming.
It was an incredibly blissful dream.
However, a dream was just a dream.
She had to get a hold of herself after waking up.
‘Nainiae, get a grip.’
Nainiae said that to herself over and over in her head. She checked again to make sure there was nothing out of shape on her maid dress. She started to walk.
“I’m sorry. I’m very late.”
She came to the mansion’s dining hall and then followed the corridor to the kitchen. There, she met Sera and others who were busy doing dishes and preparing the dinner.
“Nainaie?”
“Oh my, Nainiae! I heard you collapsed. Are you all right?”
“I heard Young Master Lloyd was shocked.”
“Let me see your face. You are all right now, right?”
As soon as she entered, everyone turned to look at her direction. They all had concerned looks on their faces.
“… I’m all rig…”
The emotions were rushing at Nainiae. She was about to have her eyes filled with tears. However, Nainiae kept the expression on her face in check. Maintaining a normal look, she lowered her head and responded,
“I’m all right.”
Although she said that, it didn’t change the concerned looks on people’s faces.
“I think I took too long of a break. I’ll get back to work right away.”
Trying hard to ignore the people looking at her, Nainiae walked toward the dishes that still needed to be washed. She reached for the dishes, but then Sera snatched her wrist. Sera looked angry.
“Nainiae.”
“M… Ms. Sera?”
Sera was biting her lips. Just like how she was when she woke up in front of Iris, Nainiae slowly avoided Sera’s eyes.
“I heard everything.”
Nainiae’s face crumpled.
‘Was it Lady Iris? Was it Young Master Riley?’
She was not sure who, but Nainiae thought it was something they shouldn’t have. Nainiae thought nothing good would have come from it.
“I don’t know what you have heard, but it must be very exaggerated, so…”
“Nainiae, I heard you are dying.”
“…”
With difficulty, Sera said it. The kitchen became quiet as if someone just poured cold water on everyone.
“It’s an exaggerated story.”
Nainiae broke the silence and said it.
“I don’t know who told you that, but it is an exaggerated story, so…”
Unable to look at people in the eyes, Nainiae picked up a dish and tried to wash it. In the end…
Crash!
Because of her shaky hand, she ended up dropping it.
Because the kitchen was in silence, the sound of the dish being shattered sounded much louder than the last time.
“Nainiae.”
Although someone called her name, Nainiae did not respond. She directed her hand toward the broken pieces on the ground. Usually, she would not have used magic, but this time she did.
“I cleaned it up.”
She learned the “Rewind” magic so she could teach Riley. She used the magic and restored the broken dish back to its former shape.
“Nainiae!”
Sera grabbed Nainiae’s shoulder and called her name. However, Nainiae only flinched her shoulder for a moment. She only focused on the dishwashing, ignoring Sera.
“You should rest. The Doctor from Rainfield said you absolutely need to rest.”
She was probably talking about Andal.
“It’s all right. I’m completely fine.”
Crash!
While Nainiae said she was all right, she broke yet another dish.
“It’s all right. I just need to use Rewind again.”
“Nainiae.”