Chapter 144
A few days later, Macy met with Anna and Hills in the town.
“Macy!”
As soon as Anna entered through the door, she rushed over and hugged Macy tightly.
“I heard Yannick showed up again. Are you okay? Didn’t you get hurt?”
“Uh, mmm. I’m fine. I didn’t even get a chance to properly see him, he went straight home.”
“Thank goodness! He still hasn’t given up on trying to kidnap you. To chase after you all the way here—he’s truly disgusting. After draining you like that, he has no shame! He’s worse than the leeches by the creek in front of our house!”
Anna made a face of disgust. Hills, who had opened the door for them, walked over with a chuckle.
“Macy, remember the maid you wanted me to look into?”
“Yeah, Molly, why did she suddenly quit?”
A while ago, Macy had asked Hills to find out the whereabouts of a maid she had been somewhat friendly with, as she wanted to retrieve a portrait of Eren from Yannick’s house.
Although the portrait from the engagement banquet had been sorted out, Macy was still curious about what happened to that maid, so she focused on Hills’ words.
“Yannick fired her, for sure. I didn’t catch the exact reason, but maybe he found out she was pushing information to you?”
“I figured it was something like that…”
It turned out she had gotten caught up in Macy’s affairs and suffered the consequences. Macy couldn’t help but feel guilty. It seemed like her misfortune was affecting those around her.
“Don’t worry too much, though. She found another job at a different estate and is doing well.”
Hills noticed Macy’s troubled expression and tried to comfort her.
“That’s a relief… Do you know which household she’s working for?”
Macy wanted to meet Molly. She wanted to repay her somehow. Thankfully, the portrait commission had been successful enough to give her a little reward money. If that felt too much, she wanted to continue their friendship and at least offer small gifts.
“Do you know the Dyson household? I heard it’s there.”
“Oh, that’s close by. Good.”
Dyson was also a neighbor of Macy’s. The man of that household had poor relations with Yannick, so if Macy happened to run into Molly there, there was little chance of things being shared or spoken about.
“Thanks for looking into it. Oh, right!”
Macy stopped mid-sentence and rummaged through the bag she had brought. She pulled out two neatly wrapped boxes and handed them to them.
“What’s this?”
“A gift? But it’s not my birthday…”
Hills and Anna both looked at her in confusion.
“You’ve helped me so much. I don’t think I’ve ever properly repaid you.”
“What do you mean, ‘helped’? I haven’t really done anything—Hills might have, but I haven’t.”
Anna tried to return the gift to Macy, but she pushed it back into her hands.
“Just take it. I made a bit of money this time. Anna, I’m sorry I never could celebrate your birthday properly. When I had the money, I really wanted to give something to both of you.”
“Macy…”
Anna’s voice wavered, touched by the gesture.
“Wow, this feels pretty heavy. What could it be?”
Hills smiled brightly, shaking the box. When he tried to snatch it away from Anna, who was still wiping away tears, she hugged the box to her chest.
“No, it’s mine! It’s a precious gift from Macy!”
“I bet mine is probably better. Yours is the smaller box.”
“Expensive things are usually the smaller ones, you know?”
“Let me see, then?”
Macy chuckled as she watched their playful back-and-forth. Anna and Hills eagerly unwrapped the boxes one by one.
“Wow, this is so beautiful! I’ve never received such a gift before!”
“This is exactly what I’ve always wanted! How did you know?”
The necklace with the emerald pendant went to Anna, and Hills received the imported liquor Macy had learned about from Morgan.
“Thanks to having such a great friend, I’m getting to taste a 50-year-old vintage! Thanks, Macy!”
“I’m so glad you both like it.”
A satisfied smile spread across Macy’s face. She couldn’t believe how happy they were with the gifts she had bought with the money she earned.
This was why people worked so hard. The hardships she had faced suddenly felt worth it.
“Are you sure you bought all of this with your own money?”
It was then that a sharp voice interrupted.
Turning around, Macy saw Kieran glaring at her, his eyes filled with disapproval.
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