Dressed in black, he entered her pure white world, which radiated a soft glow. The light of dusk filtered into the room, and in this hazy, gentle light, he felt very comfortable… Suddenly, he stopped, as if recalling something. He should listen to this piece to the end, he thought silently, not moving forward but closing his eyes, quietly listening to the beautiful piano music.
She closed the piano lid and began to pick up a cloth to wipe the piano bench. He suddenly realized that the music had stopped. Instinctively, he quickly stepped back and hid behind the door, peering through the half-open door crack. Inside the study, she continued to hum the tune softly while cleaning the books on the shelves, unaware of the person outside. He turned and walked up the stairs.
A grand banquet was about to be held in the mansion to celebrate his promotion. Abigail was busy beyond measure, and although many extra hands had been added to the household, it still wasn’t enough. Nhanyi finally understood why Abigail had been so particular about cleanliness lately.
“Take this menu to the general’s bedroom,” Abigail handed her a piece of paper. Nhanyi carefully accepted it, the page densely filled with the evening’s dishes. She asked hesitantly, “Do I really have to… go?”
“What, do you want me to go? Can’t you see I’m busy?” Abigail shot back at her with a glare.
“Alright,” Nhanyi bit her lip and replied softly.
She stepped out of the kitchen, leaning against the staircase railing, tightly clutching the menu in her hand.
Although these days had been quite peaceful, she blended in with the servants, standing behind his dining table, and sometimes kneeling on the floor to wipe it. Suddenly hearing footsteps, she would lower her head and glance sideways, catching sight of his black military boots passing by on the stairs. Other than that, she had no interaction with him. Now, with Abigail asking her to deliver the menu to his room, was he about to stir up new trouble?
But what was meant to come would come. Nhanyi mustered her courage and knocked on the door of his reception room on the second floor.
“Come in,” his voice came from inside.
Nhanyi walked over and saw him bent over, quickly writing something with a fountain pen on a document. Her heart raced, and her voice trembled despite her efforts to control her emotions. “This is the menu for tomorrow’s banquet.”
“Put it on the table,” he replied, his ice-blue eyes still focused on the paperwork.
Nhanyi carefully placed the menu on the corner of the table. “Can I… leave now?”
He didn’t answer her, slightly raised his left hand, and made a gesture with his long fingers, indicating she could go.
Nhanyi closed his door, and from the moment she shut it, her heart began to race even more fiercely. She skipped down the stairs, bouncing on the polished floor she had just cleaned, her steps resembling a practiced dance from “Swan Lake.” She couldn’t help but feel relieved; he had completely lost interest in her. He hadn’t humiliated her, scolded her, or even looked at her.
From start to finish, he had only lowered his head, expressionless, dealing with the documents on the table. He treated her like a maid, an ordinary maid at that. Although Abigail didn’t think she was a competent maid, she believed she could do the job well. This made her elated, and she ran straight to the flower garden, too excited to not share her happiness with a friend.
Standing high on a ladder, the gardener Charles was puzzled by her excitement and joy. He had always thought of her as a very introverted girl, yet today she had called him down from the ladder to dance with her. Charles didn’t know why she was so happy, but seeing her smile made him feel happy too.
In the reception room on the second floor, the red floor-to-ceiling curtains blocked out the sunlight outside. He didn’t see the young boy and girl dancing in the sunlight; he was just busy handling the documents.
Recently, he had been very busy, needing to finish too many tasks before his position changed. After dealing with all the paperwork, he locked several confidential documents in the safe.
His ice-blue gaze fell on the white paper at the corner of the table, densely filled with several lines of the menu. He reached out to take it, not looking at the words, but folding the paper into a long strip and then bringing it to his nose to sniff. His golden eyebrows furrowed slightly; it was the smell of potatoes mixed with olive oil from the kitchen…
After careful preparation and meticulous planning, the celebration banquet finally commenced. Nhanyi was assigned a brand new black and white maid uniform.
Wearing this outfit, she served dishes and poured drinks for the guests. From dusk until the moon rose, she was busy moving around the banquet, where male and female guests gathered in groups, strolling from the front hall to the garden, everywhere filled with the cheerful sound of violin music played by musicians.
