The Wildflower’s Chaotic First Days
After the conversation with my utterly unpredictable father, Yua’s position inside the mansion became clear—at least on the surface. The Duke’s adopted daughter and the young master’s exclusive maid. Beneath that contradictory title, I received yet another new duty, and Yua’s Heavenfield adaptation period officially began.
The first morning at the breakfast table, I sat with Father and Mother as always. Yet the seat that had always felt strangely empty was now occupied by a small, completely unpredictable creature. And of course, she was sitting right beside me.
Yua had earned the right to sit next to me as my exclusive maid—thanks entirely to the logical arguments and quick wit I’d used on Father. We had compromised on “letting her sit at the table.” The process had shaved another week off my lifespan, but that was beside the point.
The real problem was that Yua had never once eaten at a proper dining table in her life. To her, utensils were nothing more than toys or obstacles.
“Woooow…”
The lavish spread instantly captured her gaze. Warm steam rose from the soup, the crust of the whole-wheat bread gave off a savory aroma, and the glistening meat dishes and colorful fruits sparkled before her eyes.
“…Gulp.”
Yua swallowed hard. Her eyes were already locked onto every dish. She didn’t spare a single glance for the gleaming silverware.
In this situation, etiquette lessons were a luxury. First, she needed to eat.
I was about to explain carefully when—
“Yua, you tear the bread with your hands, and for the soup you use a—”
Before I could finish, Yua’s eyes sparkled as she grabbed the nearest whole-wheat loaf.
“Waaah!!”
Then, as if she had found a long-dreamed-of treasure, she sank her teeth into the enormous loaf without hesitation.
Crunch! The sound shattered the silence of the ducal dining table.
“Mmm… munch munch… smack smack…”
Bread crumbs scattered like snow around her mouth while her cheeks puffed out with vigorous chewing. Her gaze then shifted to the steaming bowl of soup. Like a desert traveler discovering an oasis, she practically shoved her face into it, slurping loudly with a noisy sluuuurp! Hup!
Even when the hot liquid burned her tongue and she let out a tiny “Hik!”, she refused to stop.
Yes, she was eating with magnificent enthusiasm.
The servants of this mansion were used to viewing my existence as its own form of entertainment, but Yua surpassed them all.
“Haaa…”
Behind me came the small but resolute sigh of Head Maid Emma, followed by an aura that seemed to scream, This is an insult to the ducal house!
“Ahem. Hm.”
I relaxed. Perfect. I needed someone to step forward openly like this. There was no way I could handle this high-difficulty dining education by myself.
“Miss Yua!”
Emma approached quietly and stood beside her.
“Uh… yes?”
Her expression remained as stern as ever, yet a flicker of bewilderment crossed her eyes when she looked at Yua.
“Meals in the ducal household are not conducted in such barbaric fashion.”
Emma’s tone was firm yet polite as she began instructing Yua. She demonstrated not merely how to hold a fork and knife, but how to wield them with precision; how to unfold a napkin and place it neatly on one’s lap; how to scoop soup elegantly with a spoon without making a sound. Every gesture was as refined as an artist’s brushstroke.
Yua stared at her with a completely lost expression, then turned and held her notebook out to me.
I don't understand what you're saying
Not fun
“No… still—”
I'm hungry. I wanna eat more.
Completely ignoring the Head Maid beside her, Yua returned her full attention to eating.
“Sluuuurp! Gulp!… Smack… Mmm…!”
I swallowed nervously. Across the table, Father was already staring out the window with a perfectly blank face… Mother was clearing her throat softly while fixing her gaze on her plate.
Ducal meals were always silent, but today a strange comedic current flowed beneath that silence. I could sense the servants behind their trays, shoulders shaking with suppressed laughter.
“Yua. In Heavenfield, this is the ‘correct’ way. You have to practice.”
“…”
Yua gave no reply and simply continued eating.
…It looked like a warning was necessary.
“Huh…? Ah?!”
I snatched away her bowl and repeated myself.
“You. Need. To. Practice.”
“If you don’t, there will be no more food.”
“Gasp…!”
Despair flooded Yua’s face for a single instant.
“Can’t be helped. Those are the rules.”
“Puuu…”
She pouted and turned her head away in a sulk.
See?
“Hey! Look at my face properly!”
I gently cupped her cheeks with both hands and turned her toward me.
“…!!!”
Yua’s face flushed crimson. Our faces were now so close they nearly touched.
“Rules exist to be followed. Understand?”
“If you understand, answer me!”
I pressed her with a slightly forceful tone.
…I hated doing this, but what choice did I have? It was far better than one of Father’s scolding barrages.
“Uhh… uhh…”
In the end, Yua reluctantly nodded, her face still burning red.
…And after that, teaching Yua table manners meant I barely ate a bite myself. But if you’re full, that’s what matters… Yeah.
After the meal, I strolled slowly through the mansion corridors to help my digestion. Suddenly—
tap tap tap tap tap!
Along with an oddly cute sound of running feet came a loud thud!
“Uwaaah!!!”
Something slammed into the back of my head. The culprit was, of course—
“E… hehe!”
Yua.
…I’d seen it coming.
She rubbed the spot where she’d collided with me, then scribbled a few words in her notebook and held it up.
Sorry for bumping into you!
Thank goodness it was me. If it had been Father, that would have been the end.
“It’s fine. But be careful from now on.”
Still, it was an accident. And it was kind of cute.
“Ung!… Ung ung!”
Huh…? That wasn’t the end?
Yua stomped her feet and pointed at the notebook.
“Ah…! There’s a next page?”
“Ung!”
I flipped the notebook over. In clumsy handwriting it read:
It was delicious!
“…Yua.”
That pure exclamation made the corners of my mouth lift on their own. A ticklish, pleasant warmth spread through my chest.
“I’m glad you enjoyed it… Next time, try to eat with a little more care, alright?”
“Ung ung!”
From that day on, Emma and several maids took charge of Yua’s mealtimes. Quiet but firm instruction was accompanied by a constant stream of small disasters.
She would grip the spoon the wrong way and lift it into empty air. The screech of a knife scraping a plate would make everyone jump. Or she would spin a fork like a propeller while shouting “Bwooong… bwooong… wheee!” before hurling a piece of meat straight at a maid’s face.
“Kyaaa!!! My face!!! It’s on my face!!!”
“Miss!!! I told you to eat gracefully! You three, wash her face with cold water immediately!”
Then came the grand finale: mistaking the tablecloth for a napkin, she tried to lift it with her fork. Dishes crashed to the floor in a spectacular smash!
“Kyaaaaaaa!!!”
“Miiiiiiss!!!!!!!!”
The utensils shattered alongside Emma’s patience. I could practically hear the Head Maid’s sanity cracking with every broken plate.
Even so, Yua was learning at an alarmingly fast pace. After the initial chaos, it was as if she were simply remembering something she had forgotten. Her body adapted to the new rules almost instantly. Even Emma couldn’t hide her quiet astonishment at the girl’s ability to absorb information.
Yua was a genius. It was simply that her genius lay in a direction completely opposite to ducal table etiquette.
Once the dining-table storm had passed and calm seemed ready to return, trouble erupted next in the mansion’s vast corridors.
“Yua, you mustn’t run in the hallways. Inside the mansion, you walk quietly and gracefully.”
One afternoon, as I stepped out of the study, I witnessed Yua sprinting down the corridor like a gust of wind. A flock of panting maids chased after her.
Those maids deserved hazard pay. It was practically manual labor… I would have to suggest extra compensation to Mother later.
When I called her name, Yua skidded to a stop and tilted her head. Pure, innocent confusion filled her face—she genuinely had no idea what she had done wrong.
“Why were you running?”
I wanted to go to Leo
Walking is too slow
That simple reason left me speechless.
Yeah… I feel the same way.
But I was the young master. Her teacher and guardian.
“You only come when I call you. Your room is at the end of this corridor. You mustn’t wander freely. You could get lost.”
I drew her a map of the mansion, explained each major area and its purpose, and even demonstrated the proper way to walk. Yua stared at the notebook for a long time, then suddenly grabbed my hand and took off running in the opposite direction at full speed.
“Uwaaaaa!!! Yua, what are you—!!!”
She couldn’t shout “Yahoo!” but her entire body radiated pure joy.
When I finally stopped her, she was panting as she wrote:
I won the game
Leo lost
“What game, Yua?! When did I ever agree to play?!”
I was dumbfounded, yet an innocent victor’s smile bloomed on Yua’s face.
To this pure-hearted child, “be quiet” apparently meant “race,” “don’t wander” meant “hide-and-seek,” and “play by yourself” meant “cause mischief.”
…At this point I was starting to wonder if I was the one who lacked language comprehension.
The maids standing along the corridor had clearly overheard everything yet pretended not to, smiling behind their hands. My cheeks grew faintly warm.
“The mansion… is not a place for playing, Miss Yua.”
Emma’s iron-clad, strict voice rang out from behind us.
Yua flinched at the sound and quickly hid behind my back. She might not have fully grasped the meaning of Emma’s sternness yet, but she had instinctively realized the woman was strict with her.
Emma shot me a freezing glare that clearly said, Take responsibility, young master. You’re the one who brought her here.
I smiled awkwardly.
The servants’ laughter faded into the distance.
…It’s fine. Everything will pass. I can endure it. Today, I overcame yet another hurdle… It was also good exercise. Not bad at all.
Yua’s endlessly unpredictable behavior refused to stay indoors. It soon spread to the beautiful gardens of the ducal estate.
One day I stepped out of the study and heard an uproar coming from the garden. When I approached, I found Yua rolling across the lawn in the extravagant silk dress Mother had given her only yesterday. The pure white fabric was now completely covered in mud.
With flower petals decorating her hair, she looked exactly like a fairy.
…A slightly muddy fairy.
The maids screamed and tried to catch her, but she darted away with a mischievous grin. To me, new clothes were simply expensive fabric. To her, they were a brand-new toy.
I let out a small laugh.
“Yua! What are you doing? That’s a brand-new dress!”
She paused, then proudly held out her notebook.
I like dirt
New clothes are clean. They're prettier when dirty
“Prettier when dirty? What are you talking about?! That dress wasn’t made for rolling around in the grass!”
I clutched my forehead.
Emma arrived late, took one look at Yua, and let out a scream that was closer to a death rattle than a sigh.
“Miss Yua! That dress! That dress—!!!!”
She couldn’t even finish the sentence before her eyes rolled back. Emma collapsed on the spot. The servants hurriedly carried her to the infirmary.
Only after watching the Head Maid being hauled away did I turn to Yua and open her notebook.
Is the head maid sick?
Because of Yua?
“Probably… yes.”
I couldn’t bring myself to say more.
Yua watched Emma being carried off with sorrowful eyes. Then she gently tugged my sleeve and held out another note.
Sorry
Is Leo sick too?
Her large eyes looked up at me, brimming with tears that threatened to spill at any moment. The irritation I had been holding back melted away, replaced by a soft smile.
“No, I’m fine. Why are you the one looking sad, Yua?”
I gently stroked her head. Yua pressed her small face into my palm. The faint warmth of her body traveled through my fingertips—an unknown, gentle heat. A small bloom of comfort.
This child sometimes brings absolute chaos… yet at the same time, she rains down on my parched heart.
…Perhaps that was too sentimental.
Another day, I was buried beneath a mountain of serious documents in the study. The sunlight streaming through the window felt painfully sharp against my frayed nerves. The territory reports had kept me up late again; my eyelids weighed a ton.
Such was the glamorous life of a noble laborer. All of it Father’s fault for being so unreasonably demanding.
Just then, something lightly tapped my shoulder. I turned to find Yua standing quietly behind me. In her small hand was a fresh wildflower she must have picked moments ago.
I relaxed my furrowed brow and looked up at her.
Without a word, Yua smiled brightly and held out her notebook.
Leo, cheer up
Flower gift
The handwriting was still clumsy, but the heart behind it was crystal clear and radiant. The complicated tangle in my head softened at the thought of this small child picking a wildflower just to ease my fatigue.
I let out a quiet sigh.
“Haa, Yua. These petals are disturbing my concentration.”
My voice carried complaint, yet I accepted the flower instead of the notebook and placed it in the most visible spot on my desk.
“This scent will mix with the smell of documents and make my head hurt even more.”
Even as I grumbled, I set the flower where I could see it clearly. Yua’s eyes sparkled with satisfaction that I hadn’t thrown it away.
“…Still. Thank you, Yua. For such a precious gift.”
I murmured softly. At her pure gaze and affection-filled mischief, the corners of my mouth lifted—only a little, almost imperceptibly. It was an awkward smile, but a smile nonetheless.
When Yua saw it, she burst into silent laughter as though she had been waiting for exactly that. Her laughter was as pure and innocent as when she had been running through the corridors, and it put my heart at ease.