Noel
When I woke up, the first thing I noticed wasn’t the sunlight filtering through the curtains or the faint sound of birds chirping. It was her — a maid standing by the doorway, looking entirely too comfortable in a room I didn’t remember letting anyone into. My heart nearly stopped. She was holding a neatly folded uniform, her gaze calm but curious, like this was just another task in her day.
I yanked the blanket up to my chest, mortified. “What are you doing here?” My voice came out rougher than I intended, more out of panic than anger.
“The Master has instructed that you take your bath, get dressed, and come down for breakfast.” She said it so plainly, like it was the most normal thing in the world to barge into someone’s room uninvited.
“Master?” I blinked at her, my brain
