Chapter 141
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 141
The Duke sprang to his feet and rushed toward Agera. The cup shattered, splashing water everywhere. A stray shard drew a thin, red line across Agera's face.
"You're cut..."
Duke Hosaquin caressed Agera's cheek. It was a pitiful sight; his hand hovered near the cut, unable to bring himself to touch her skin.
Agera quietly offered her cheek to the Duke, seemingly unaware of what had just happened. When he asked if it hurt, she shook her head like a mature adult, insisting she was fine and even patting him reassuringly.
The Duke pulled out a handkerchief and wiped away the moisture. He had ordered all of Agera's food to be served lukewarm, fearing she might throw another fit and harm the servants. He was glad he had.
After confirming that Agera wasn't burned and, fortunately, wasn't seriously injured, the Duke let out a sigh of relief. He then turned his gaze to Rico, who had made such a clumsy mistake. She stood frozen, her face as pale as a sheet.
"Butler, you seem to be very tired."
Anyone else would have been severely punished, but the one who made the mistake was Rico. The Duke knew how hard she had been working for Agera recently, and he even felt a faint pity for her since Agera had forgotten who she was. For those reasons, he decided not to scold her.
Instead, he addressed her by her title rather than her name—a subtle reminder for her to fulfill her duties.
"My apologies, Your Grace."
Sensing the Duke's leniency, Rico bowed her head.
"Agera, you've finished your meal. Let's return to your room."
"Alright."
Normally, she would have thrown a tantrum about wanting to play more, but her temperament had stabilized after spending the last few days with Evangeline. She readily agreed to the Duke's suggestion.
"Are you alright? You look very pale."
"Yes... Yes. I am sorry."
As she was about to leave with the Duke, Agera noticed Rico's pale face and asked with concern. Rico bowed deeply and apologized again.
She worried about me.
A strange satisfaction welled up in her chest. With her head bowed, the bizarrely wide grin spreading across her lips remained hidden. Rico herself probably didn't even realize she was smiling.
Even after the Duke and Agera left, Rico remained standing in the dining room.
"...Um, Butler. We'll clean up, so why don't you go get some rest?" the maids, who were about to clear the table, asked hesitantly.
Not only was she in their way, but she looked so unwell that their suggestion for her to rest was genuine. Rico glanced at their faces and shook her head.
"No. I will clean it. You may leave."
"You're going to clean, Butler?"
"Yes. I was the one who broke the cup. I should be the one to clean it."
"But you're the Butler... Besides, didn't your hand just lose its strength? Why don't you rest?"
My hand lost its strength...
The maid was wrong. Rico hadn't lost her grip; she had thrown the cup on purpose.
"I am fine. Please leave."
"Yes..."
At Rico's dismissal, the maids exchanged glances before quickly tidying the rest of the room, leaving only the broken cup, and departing.
Left alone, Rico knelt and began to gather the shards. Her hands trembled as she tried to collect the broken glass.
Lady Agera was hurt because of me.
Throughout the meal, Agera had talked nonstop about Amaranth, and Rico had listened in silence. The "Amaranth" Agera spoke of was, of course, Evangeline.
She'd worried that Amaranth's hands were cold. She'd picked flowers from the greenhouse to make her a flower crown. They had shared tea and refreshments. She fretted over Amaranth's small appetite but was glad the maid she brought, Canna, was skilled enough to make food she would actually eat. It was nice to see, Agera had said.
While she couldn't even remember Rico's name, she was intimately familiar with Canna, who served Evangeline. The depth of Agera's affection was painfully clear. As Agera went on and on about Evangeline, Rico's heart felt as if it were being torn to shreds.
Evangeline keeps taking my place.
A whispering voice insisted, I should be in her place.
Rico thought the voice sounded like a spoiled child begging for Agera's love.
Not wanting to hear any more, she had been searching for a way to shut Agera up when the voice in her head told her to throw the teacup. It guided her as if controlling her body.
Before she could think, the teacup shattered. Agera getting hurt, however, was unexpected. A stray shard had flown up and cut her. Recalling the thin red line on her benefactor's face made her stomach churn. Her head throbbed.
"Ugh...!"
Rico stumbled, falling onto the broken glass. She threw her hands out to catch herself, and shards embedded themselves in her palms. As she tried to push herself up, a sharp edge sliced a long gash across one hand.
Blood flowed freely from both palms.
"Oh my goodness, Butler Rico!"
Hazel, discovering Rico in this state, rushed over in shock. She had come after the dismissed maids told her the butler was acting strangely. Fearing Rico might be hurt, Hazel had thoughtfully brought a first-aid kit.
"Butler, are you alright?"
Hazel cleared the glass from the floor around her and immediately checked Rico's hands.
"Oh my goodness, Butler..."
Hazel was horrified by the sight of Rico's mangled palms. Glass shards of all sizes, from tiny splinters to large fragments, were embedded all over them.
"...Doesn't it hurt?"
It looked painful enough to make a mere onlooker wince.
"It doesn't hurt."
Hazel frowned at Rico's reply. In truth, she wasn't even listening to her.
It was a strange thing, but her mouth began to water. Drenched in red blood, the glass shards catching the light of the chandelier and sparkling, Rico's hands looked just like pomegranates.
In other words, they looked delicious.
"Ah."
Before she knew what she was doing, Hazel had opened her mouth wide, about to bite down on Rico's hand. The metallic scent of blood at the tip of her nose was what finally snapped her out of it. Hazel quickly stood up.
"I'm sorry. I'll go get a tool to remove the glass shards."
The butler's blood looked delicious, and I almost bit her hand. Have I finally gone mad?
To clear her head, Hazel brought a pair of cooking tweezers from the kitchen. She then began to pull the embedded glass from Rico's hands, falling silent as she concentrated.
"There, all done..."
After a long struggle, Hazel let out a sigh of relief and wiped the sweat from her brow. She tried to wipe the blood from Rico's palms with a wet handkerchief, but the cuts were deep, and the bleeding wouldn't stop.
I should use holy water, right?
The reason Hazel had pulled out all the glass shards without first stopping the bleeding was because she intended to use holy water.
But now that the moment was here, she felt a bit reluctant. Hazel fiddled with the vial in her apron pocket, feeling the cold, smooth glass against her fingertips. It was a gift from Evangeline. Giving holy water to a maid who had served her for only a single day was an incredible extravagance, only possible because Evangeline was the type to sprinkle it on everyone in the mansion. Still, Hazel carried the vial Evangeline had given her like a protective amulet.
Butler Rico's injuries don't seem that bad... Maybe there's no need to waste precious and expensive holy water...
Hazel was startled by her own thoughts, realizing she was weighing the severity of someone's injury against the value of an item.
When did I become such a wicked person? To be calculating and hesitant in front of someone who was hurt... To deny that selfish impulse, she knew she had to use the holy water.
Just... just a little bit.
Hazel uncorked the vial. She had intended to just dab a bit of holy water onto a cotton ball, but in her haste, she ended up pouring it directly onto Rico's hand. Regretting the waste, she quickly pressed the cotton ball to the wound.
Watching the process, Rico assumed Hazel was simply disinfecting the wounds. But the moment the cotton touched her skin, her flesh began to sting. Is this disinfectant really strong? she thought, just as she heard Hazel's flustered mutter.
"Why is the Butler's hand...?"
Her hand?
Rico followed Hazel's gaze down to her own hand and was left speechless. The flesh where the holy water had touched was burning and melting away.
My... why is my hand doing this?
Even Rico herself could hardly grasp the situation. Before she could make sense of it, her head throbbed as the voice inside began to run wild. A heavy fatigue washed over her, preventing her from thinking clearly. Seizing the opportunity, the voice took control.
"It hurts! You're trying to kill me again!"
Hazel, who couldn't hear the voice, was completely bewildered. Unless someone had swapped the vial with a deadly, flesh-melting poison, what she had used was genuine holy water. In fact, a little had splashed on her own skin while she was treating Rico, and she hadn't felt a thing.
Then why is only Butler Rico having this strange reaction?
The staff of the mansion didn't know that the "Rat" was related to demons or sorcery. The recent search had been passed off as a measure to prevent the spread of infectious disease.
But even if Hazel was ignorant of the mansion's secrets, she knew one thing: holy water didn't melt ordinary people. Besides, with heretic hunts being so common these days...
A demon. A heretic.
The moment the realization struck, Hazel shot to her feet.
She never should have used the holy water. She shouldn't have gotten involved. She shouldn't have come here in the first place, enduring the whispers of the other maids who accused her of trying to suck up to the butler.
"I-I'm sorry, Butler! I just remembered I forgot something, so I have to go find it!"
Hazel desperately hoped she could just slip away.
What are you doing? She hurt us. Grab her.
The voice had a compelling force. It wanted her to subdue Hazel. Obeying its command, Rico shot her hand out and grabbed Hazel's wrist.
"Butler? Um, what are you doing? Could you please let go of my hand?"
Hazel's voice trembled like a leaf in the wind as tears welled in her eyes. But the hand gripping her wrist only tightened its hold.