He didn't respond to my words. He just stared at me with a burning gaze. Flustered, I gripped the broom handle tightly. What is he doing?
As his gaze lingered, I couldn't meet his eyes and started darting my gaze around. Just then, Ethan entered. He strode closer and stopped in front of me. Then he scanned me from head to toe and suddenly placed his hand on the top of my head. He then measured my height by moving his hand to his chest, repeating this action three times before circling around me.
His stiff face and sharp eyes were somehow intimidating. Tense, I huddled and warily watched him circle around me.
"Why, why are you doing this?"
"..."
After spinning around to the point of dizziness, he stopped in front of me again. After a long moment of staring at me, his rigid face gradually softened into a smile.
"Sure enough, it's you."
"Me?"
"I wasn't sure. I didn't expect to see you again."
Ethan suddenly spread his arms wide and laughed heartily. His voice, filled with joy, burst out eagerly.
"It's been a while. Pola."
"......!"
How, how did he know?
"How did you know?!"
Startled, I asked. Ethan's eyes widened as he stood with his arms outstretched, welcoming me.
"Huh? I just recognized you. You haven't changed much, and you're still petite."
He chuckled and touched the top of my head with his fingertips, as if to show what he meant by "petite." His playful gesture and mischievous face revealed that his sense of humor was still intact.
I stared blankly at Ethan. I didn't expect him to recognize me. I used to cover my face with my bangs, and I thought he would have forgotten about a maid who had worked there for a short time.
"You cut your bangs."
"Yes, I did. It just happened."
I touched my shortened bangs, which had grown a bit and now fluttered in front of my eyes.
"Did you grow them out on purpose? To look more distinctive."
"I did grow them out, but not for that reason."
Firmly contradicting him, Ethan laughed happily. His jokes were still the same.
"When did you come back? Vincent didn't tell me anything."
"That's because... the master doesn't know. I didn't come back."
"You didn't come back? Then why are you here?"
"Explaining it all would take a while."
It seemed like a long story to explain everything. So, I simply said that I was originally hired by another family but ended up here by chance. Ethan looked confused, and I realized it was a strange explanation.
After pondering where to start, I got annoyed and summarized it as "it just happened." Of course, Ethan still looked confused. However, instead of asking for more details, he took a step closer, still with his arms outstretched.
"Anyway, I'm so glad to see you."
"Me?"
His brown eyes, curved into a smile, clearly focused on me.
"I missed you, Miss Maid. No, I mean—"
"..."
"Pol."
Hearing my real name after so long, the joy I had tried to hide welled up inside me.
"Me too, Ethan."
We embraced, savoring our reunion.
"How have you been?"
"Thanks to your help, I managed to stay safe and observe the situation. I returned to where I lived, but my father had passed away. I wandered around with my sister looking for work and ended up here."
"I didn't know Pola had a sister. Is she a younger brother?"
"A younger sister."
"Is she here?"
"Yes, she was hired with me."
Ethan's eyes sparkled with curiosity. I smiled awkwardly and fidgeted with my hands. We don't look alike at all. Many people who saw Alicia were curious about me, but it was the first time someone was curious about my sister after seeing me. Feeling awkward, I couldn't say anything, and Ethan didn't press further.
"You must have had a tough time."
His large hand gently rubbed my head. His action, as if treating a close younger sibling, made me feel strange. His kind expression was a stark contrast to the rigid face he had just shown. Not the cruel viscount who sacrificed his kin, but the Ethan I knew.
He looked so at ease.
Who had it harder? I knew from the newspaper that his life hadn't been smooth after I left. The gossip from the maids also contributed to this knowledge.
I hadn't had an easy life either, but I couldn't easily ask about his well-being, as it might turn into a competition of who had suffered more.
But the perceptive Ethan seemed to understand my thoughts.
"I'm fine."
"I didn't say anything."
"But your eyes did."
"Your bangs look good. They suit you." Ethan playfully added, reaching out to touch my bangs. I pushed his hand away with a stern face. "Don't touch them." Despite my reaction, Ethan just laughed, showing no sign of annoyance.
"How have you been?"
"Like you heard. Didn't you just defend me?"
"I heard a bit. I was almost moved to tears."
"It wasn't that bad."
I firmly disagreed.
"You must have had a tough time too, Ethan."
"Really?"
His answer was light. His smiling face was also light.
"You don't have to force a smile."
"I should smile. It's all in the past. There's no point in being sad now."
"Even if it's in the past, the pain and sadness don't just disappear."
"Do I look sad?"
"Yes."
"Do I have the right to be sad? It's all true."
I shook my head. Don't say that.
"I was the only one left after killing my kin."
"Ethan."
"Pol. No matter how I try to hide it with good words, no matter what hidden reasons there were, I still had to deal with my kin myself. I killed them, a fitting expression, don't you think?"
"That wasn't what you wanted, Ethan."
"Really?"
He asked, still in a light tone, but the weight in his words was not light at all.
Instead of saying no, I stared at him intently. I knew he wasn't really asking me out of curiosity. I could see the festering wound beneath his smiling face.
"You know, Pol. What James did. It's not something that can be forgiven. Even if it could be forgiven, I couldn't forgive him."
"..."
"Disappointed?"
"No."
My answer was firm. What was there to be disappointed about? I wasn't in a position to judge, and I had no intention of giving advice. In the end, I was still an outsider and couldn't share his pain.
I knew how precious his siblings were to him. It was presumptuous of me to try to understand his state of mind, which had driven him to make such a choice.
But I knew he had suffered. Having lost my own siblings, I could faintly grasp the depth of his pain.
"I'm not disappointed."
"Really? I might be different from the Pola you knew."
"I never really knew you well."
"..."
"Hmm. I know you laugh a lot, almost to the point of being annoying, and you can say cold, cutting words."
"Pol, that's too much. Even I would be hurt by those words."
Ethan placed his hands on his chest and feigned a hurt expression. He was pretending, even though he wasn't really hurt. His ability to act had only improved.
"Is that not true?"
"In such cases, you should say, 'Ethan is still a kind person.'"
"I can't lie."
"Ah. The Pola I knew was a very good liar. She could lie so easily that I was often surprised."
Honestly, it wasn't that bad. I gave him a look to stop exaggerating, and he relaxed and laughed.
"Anyway, you said you were serving Robert?"
"Do you know Robert?"
"Of course. He's Violet's son."
"Violet's son?!"
I was shocked by the unexpected news. Ethan, surprised by my shock, scratched his head and asked.
"You didn't know?"
"Um... Yes..."
Goodness. I never thought Violet would have a child. Now that I think about it... They do look alike. Especially the eyes. I had felt a sense of familiarity when I saw Robert, but I didn't realize it was because of Violet.
Could he be Vincent's son? But I quickly corrected my thought. I remembered hearing that Robert's mother was very busy leading the family after his father passed away.
"How is Violet? And when did she get married?"
"Not long after you left, she formally broke off her engagement with Vincent and soon married another noble. The Margrave Margaret was in a hurry."
"And Violet accepted it?"
"She didn't have the right to refuse."
The breakup wasn't what Violet wanted. I still vividly remembered her being dragged away, crying. She must have spent every day in tears. The thought of her being forced into an unwanted marriage made me feel uneasy.
"But she's doing well. The Margrave Margaret is strict but wouldn't marry his daughter to just anyone."
"But she passed away."
"Yes, I heard. It was a carriage accident. A tragic event. Now Violet has taken over and manages her husband's family."
That explained why the lady was too busy to see her son. She had to manage everything after her husband's passing, leaving no time to visit her son. I had heard the nanny worry about her health due to her constant busyness.