Life as a Tower Maid: Locked up with the Prince - Chapter 47

TM has been completely translated on Patreon

Chapter 47

Translator: Yonnee

—

Albert tilted his head to the side, his jawline clearly visible. It was a smooth, angular line.

“It’s an order, then you’ll say it.”

I couldn’t openly deny that. I expressed my opinion in a roundabout manner.

“Have I ever gone against Your Highness’ orders?”

“Right.”

Albert smiled.

“But you wouldn’t go beyond that.”

He seemed to leave more unsaid.

I crouched near him while he was lying down, then I looked at him. Albert, who slightly raised his upper body, made eye contact with me. His deep eyes had an intense gaze in them.

Love could be achieved through timing and serendipity. And if the timing wasn’t right, that love would cool down.

It was a short window of opportunity, but this situation seemed to be enough for it. I realized this much while being able to interact with Albert like this.

If the tower wasn’t the special place that it was—from the fact that I never would have gotten the chance to meet him, to the cold truth that both our ways of thinking and our values were very different.

There’s a saying that goes like this—if a crow tit walks like a stork, it will break its legs.^[1]

Meaning, people should know their place.

Romance is possible with a chaebol^[2] in k-dramas. But this is because everyone knows that this wouldn’t happen in reality.

And it’s the same with a prince and a maid. Romance could flourish only here inside this tower where there were no obstacles, but it will not be able to last.

People need to stay within their lanes. This is what reality dictates.

“Prince. I know my place.”

“Your place, you say.”

He spoke in a hushed voice with a bitter expression.

“You make me speechless.”

What can I say to that?

After contemplating, I answered.

“I’ll draw the line.”

But as soon as I finished saying this, Albert muttered firmly.

“Don’t do that.”

“……”

“Don’t draw any lines. Don’t go further away.”

“……”

“Just. Just stay where you are.”

If you say that with pain so evident in your eyes, I can’t say anything more. I bit my lips hard.

“Because if you really change, I don’t know how I’ll change, too.”

Staring at me as I remained silent, Albert added in a low voice.

“This is an order.”

“……”

“Listen to me, Rosé.”

I couldn’t say anything. Even as he said it was an order, it sounded more like a plea.

Instead, I just nodded.

The air around us became heavy. Albert’s tone of voice changed, perhaps due to the atmosphere.

“Now I’m sure that I’m sick. I keep saying words I wouldn’t normally say.”

The topic of the conversation changed. Albert was trying to be considerate of me. After sighing inwardly, I closed my eyes for a moment, then opened them once more.

All I could do right now is to provide proper care for a sick person.

I tried to speak in a cheerful tone.

“That’s also what I think. That’s why I should go down for a bit and bring back some water. May I?”

Albert’s grip loosened.

While we were talking, sweat formed on his forehead again. I wiped his forehead one more time.

“I’ll be right back.”

After lightly pushing Albert’s hand, which was holding my wrist, I headed down to the kitchen with Blanc in tow.

Blanc looked back towards Albert’s room as if he was worried.

Arriving at the kitchen, I first filled a large jug with water for Albert to drink.

He was sweating a lot, so of course he had to replenish his fluids. Rather than going back and forth into the kitchen, it would be better to get a lot at once.

I groaned all the way back up the stairs while carrying the huge jug. Going back to Albert’s side as he was now lying back, I placed the jug down and grabbed a cup, which I filled with water for Albert.

“Prince, please drink this.”

While holding the cup in one hand, he breathed deeply. I observed his condition.

As he was sitting up now, I saw that Albert’s shirt was soaked in cold sweat.

“Goodness…”

How long did it take me to get the water? Albert’s condition was much worse than before.

As I looked at him, I asked anxiously.

“Prince, are you alright?”

“I’m fine. I just need to sleep for a bit.”

His voice was no different than usual, but how he looked was completely different. His usual languid expression had disappeared, and now he was all pale.

I was doused with fear. Something serious might really happen with Albert.

He’s the male lead of this story, but the contents of the novel have changed ever since I’ve come here.

Without one year even passing by, Albert already knew how to get out of the tower. He even went out for a little while to save his vassal from black magic.

Since he wasn’t supposed to go out at this time… Because of the aftermath, would something wrong really befall Albert?

The novel never mentioned anything about Albert being sick. He was an ever-reliable male lead.

…But right now, Albert didn’t look like a male lead.

He was just one person. And that’s making me worried.

¹ this line pertains to a korean proverb that means, ‘someone who’s trying too hard to fit in by becoming something they aren’t’. a crow tit is a short bird, so if it tries to walk like a long-legged stork, it’ll just hurt itself. this saying is similar to ‘a leopard can’t change its spots’. ↩

² a chaebol family is a conglomerate/super rich family, and there’s a common trope in k-dramas that a third generation or smth smth chaebol heir is the commoner fl’s love interest, very much like what we see in romance fantasy novels with princes and dukes tbh ↩