Chapter 69
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 69
They were abandoned, so they could hardly be called keepsakes. It worked out perfectly, since I couldn’t have Madame Toten walking around barefoot.
I prepared to board the carriage with Madame Toten, who was now wearing the shoes. We were heading to the Imperial Palace right after stopping by her estate, so I had already ordered the arrangements.
When Melek, his blindfold pulled down tight, brought out the carriage drawn by black horses, I understood why the Count had left ahead of us. The rain had kicked up a mist from the ground, making it look as if the horses had no legs. It was a carriage straight out of a horror movie. Well, considering a ghost was driving it, that was about half-true. Anyone else would rather die than ride in this thing.
“Are we riding in this…?”
“Yes. Please, get in.”
Madame Toten hesitated for a moment. Of course, with no strength left to resist, she quietly climbed into the carriage and sat across from me.
“I plan to stop by the Toten estate and then go straight to the Imperial Palace.”
“Yes. Please be careful on your way.”
Daisy bowed her head in farewell, and Canna waved her handkerchief, looking sad to see me go. I gave them each a brief pat on the shoulder before boarding. Hena, being the most well-versed in Imperial Palace etiquette, was accompanying me.
Jelly also boarded, ostensibly as my escort. “Escort” was just a title; in reality, he was my trump card, ready to suppress any situation with magic if something went wrong at the estate. As he sat cockily with his legs crossed, whistling, Madame Toten frowned at him.
“That man is…”
“I’m Master’s dog—”
“He’s my right hand.”
Jelly was about to spout nonsense, so I cut him off. You have to pick your audience for jokes like that. Did he think Madame Toten was Raphaella?
“I see, the Lady’s…”
“Then, we shall depart.”
Madame Toten seemed to be having some strange thoughts, but before I could correct her, Melek set the carriage in motion. Despite the heavy rain, the ride was perfectly smooth—his driving skills were top-notch. I wanted him as my driver for life.
It didn’t take long to reach the Toten estate. Before long, the carriage gradually slowed. Have we arrived? I pulled back the curtain and looked out the window. Through the glass, the Toten estate came into view. It looked far more gloomy and depressing than when I’d seen it before. It was probably just the rain, right?
* * *
Kinder held her breath for the entire carriage ride. She shrank back unconsciously, terrified that even the sound of her breathing might be an annoyance. She stole a glance at Evangeline.
Evangeline Rohanson hadn’t rejected her plea. When Kinder had asked for help, she had readily agreed to step forward. Of course, she had warned Kinder that she couldn’t offer a “perfect solution,” but after a lifetime of unanswered prayers, this was infinitely better.
Why wasn’t it perfect? Was there a problem with reviving Ryder?
Kinder tapped the toes of her slightly oversized shoes together. She was wearing the shoes of the Lady’s mother, the late Countess. The Lady had offered them without a second thought, but Kinder was swept up in a strange mix of emotions.
There had been no emotion whatsoever in the Lady’s voice when she spoke of the Countess. Kinder thought she understood why rumors claimed Lady Rohanson was a different person. Was that the problem? If Ryder were revived, would he also forget all his affection for her and act like a doll, just like the Lady?
“We have arrived.”
“Good work, Melek.”
The blindfolded coachman driving the seemingly legless horses announced their arrival. He spoke from outside the carriage, so his voice should have been swallowed by the downpour, yet it was as clear as if he were standing right beside them.
Lady Rohanson disembarked, escorted by the monster she called her right hand. In front of the Lady, he was an obedient dog, practically rolling over and wagging his tail.
The accompanying maid hurried to hold an umbrella over Lady Rohanson. Next, the monster reached out his hand, apparently intending to escort Kinder as well. She ignored his hand and got off the carriage on her own.
The monster chuckled, as if he found her defiance amusing. When Kinder had been hesitating outside the Rohanson mansion, that man had appeared from nowhere and choked her.
“Oops, my bad,” he had said. “It was so noisy I almost killed you. Can you keep the whole choking thing a secret? Master told me to bring you back in one piece.”
He had called it a mistake, then threatened her to keep it from Lady Rohanson. But Kinder hadn’t screamed or made a sound. What had he meant by “noisy”? Her heart pounded wildly. Surely, he didn’t mean my heartbeat?
“It’s quite noisy inside,” the maid noted.
At the word “noisy,” Kinder recalled her first meeting with the monster disguised as an escort. Goosebumps broke out on her skin, and she trembled, averting her eyes.
“Could something have happened?”
At the maid’s speculation, Kinder’s blood ran cold. She turned pale and bolted inside, not even checking if Evangeline was following.
If the mansion was in an uproar, only one thing came to mind. Ryder’s death had been discovered! Normally, no one ever looked for the child but her. Why now? Why today of all days? Had they sensed something was wrong with her behavior and gone to check on Ryder?
“Madame! You must go to the Young Master quickly! Lord Dies is…!”
“Madame, is it true that the Young Master has passed away?”
The servants, who had been whispering among themselves, rushed toward Kinder and showered her with questions. She ignored them as if she couldn’t hear a thing, gritting her teeth and quickening her pace.
She stopped in front of Ryder’s room—normally the sunniest spot in the mansion. Now, it was the ugliest and darkest.
“Why did Madame come back so early… of all times.”
The servants gathered in front of the room murmured amongst themselves.
“Butler, Nanny. What is the meaning of this?”
Kinder’s voice trembled violently. The nanny, standing beside the butler, avoided Kinder’s gaze, seemingly aware that she was crossing a line.
“Madame.”
The butler called out to her, flustered.
Kinder’s fists clenched. An axe had been taken to Ryder’s bedroom door, crushing half of it. Through the gaping hole, she could see inside. A trembling maid was clutching the child tightly.
“Sister-in-law, you’re back early.”
The culprit was Dies. He held an axe, greeting Kinder with a sly, shameless grin. He had said he would arrive late tonight, but he had come while she was away and was now running amok.
“Dies, what is the meaning of this!”
“What do you mean?” he shot back. “I was just trying to check on my nephew. If anyone’s done something wrong, it’s that maid.”
Dies pointed shamelessly past the broken door at the maid clutching Ryder.
“M-Madame…”
The maid called out to Kinder desperately. It was Weather, the maid Kinder had entrusted Ryder to. Blood trickled down her face, likely from a splinter. Even dazed from her injury, she was still protecting Ryder, holding him close and wrapped tightly in a bedsheet.
Kinder felt dizzy. Holding Ryder so close, Weather must have noticed that the child was dead. But why was she still protecting him?
Kinder couldn’t understand. For whatever reason, Weather had honored her request to the very end. If not for her, Ryder’s death would have been discovered long ago.
“I just wanted to see my nephew, but she wouldn’t let me in. Suspicious, isn’t it? So I got an axe and started breaking down the door.”
“There is nothing suspicious. I requested it. I told her not to let anyone near him, as he’d finally settled down after his illness. The maid was simply following my orders. Didn’t she tell you that?”
“Ah… Come to think of it, I did hear that. I just thought she was lying. My mistake.”
Dies lowered the axe, his lips twitching into a bizarre smile that didn’t reach his eyes. He hadn’t completely let go of the axe, either.
“Now that I’m back, that’s enough, isn’t it? You must be tired from your journey. Go inside and rest.”
“Yes, I will. But… Sister-in-law, isn’t it strange? Despite all this racket, my nephew hasn’t batted an eye. He’s sleeping so soundly… almost as if he were dead, wouldn't you say?”
“Didn’t I tell you? He was ill for five days and has only just fallen into a deep sleep. He’s exhausted; of course he can’t hear the noise.”
At her words, Dies wiped the smile from his face and raised the axe. Terrified, Kinder squeezed her eyes shut, but no pain came. When she slowly opened them, Dies was resting the axe on his shoulder.
“Did you really think I’d just keep swinging an axe? I have common sense, you know.”
Kinder’s face flushed with the shame of being toyed with. He had made the large gesture just to threaten her.
“And now that you’re here, Sister-in-law, there’s no need for me to break down the door myself. That maid will open it for you. And with you by my side, there shouldn’t be any problem with me checking on my nephew, right?”
Kinder bit her lip. There was no room for rebuttal. Dies already seemed convinced that Ryder was dead. Even to her, Ryder looked like a corpse. Wasted away from days of illness, he was thin and utterly still. He wasn’t breathing, wasn’t tossing and turning—anyone who watched him for more than a moment would realize he was gone. And if Weather removed that blanket, the livor mortis covering his body would be impossible to hide.
“Tell her to open the door. Why the hesitation? Aren’t you worried about your son, Sister-in-law? Come on, let’s go inside together.”