Chapter 86
The Count's Secret Maid - Chapter 86
Translation: godsn
I screamed and fell backward. A sharp pain shot through my buttocks and fingertips. Ouch! As I lifted my palm, I saw that my skin had been torn open at some point, now soaked with blood.
Bewildered by the situation, I alternated between staring at my bleeding palm and him. Vincent's face, illuminated by the moonlight, was flushed bright red. Covering his mouth with one hand, he too seemed to be struggling to comprehend what had just happened. It was the first time I'd ever seen Vincent so flustered.
"You—you were just so much like... so I..."
"Huh?"
His voice stumbled, unable to form coherent words. His emerald eyes, clouded with confusion, darted about helplessly. Seeing him so disconcerted somehow made me feel calmer.
"Let's just... calm down first."
"Waaah!"
At that moment, the sound of crying reached us. It was Robert's voice. He must have woken up after all.
Oh no. Flustered, I turned toward Robert's room. Worried that he must be frightened, I quickly tried to get up—when something suddenly yanked me back. Pausing, I looked down to see Vincent gripping my wrist. As if desperately clinging to someone about to leave.
When I turned my wide-eyed gaze toward him, his eyes, which had been following mine, widened in shock, and he hastily let go. Though I was the one who should have been embarrassed, he seemed far more startled. Even in the moonlight, his face was visibly crimson.
"Ah, um, it's—it was just too dark..."
"Huh?"
What did the darkness have to do with grabbing me? But he showed no intention of answering my unspoken question, only growing more flustered than before. Wondering if he had something else to say, I was about to frown when Robert's loud wails echoed through the hall again.
Vincent jerked his head up, looking toward Robert's room. Then, after glancing back at me and hesitating a few times, he finally managed to force out a single sentence.
"Stay with Robert."
"Ah, yes."
I thought he'd come with me, but as soon as he stood up, he strode off in the opposite direction. No, "bolted" would be more accurate. His steps were so swift that he vanished down the hallway in an instant. From afar, I heard a series of loud thuds, as if he'd collided with something. And he didn't even take the lamp with him.
Not that the lamp would have helped much. His lamp was already shattered on the floor. The lamps sure have been breaking a lot today. Blaming it all on the thunderstorm, I glanced outside—only to find the rain had stopped at some point, leaving the night eerily quiet.
Examining my stinging palm, I sighed. Had I cut my hand on the broken lamp shards? What even was this situation? But before I could fully process it, I turned back. First, I had to comfort Robert, who was crying alone.
After that bizarre night passed, morning arrived. Exhausted from soothing Robert's sobs, I collapsed onto the sofa and fell asleep instantly. By the time I woke up, it was already noon.
"You're awake?"
Just then, Nanny opened the door and entered. Come to think of it, I hadn't even managed to prepare Robert's breakfast. Flustered, I tried to sit up, but she told me to stay lying down.
"I'm sorry. I had no idea you were up all night."
"It's fine. How is the Young Master?"
"He finished breakfast and is napping in another room. The room he usually stays in has a badly damaged window, so it's being repaired. The rain has stopped now, at least."
"That's a relief. I'm sorry for oversleeping."
"It's all right. You've been through a lot."
She patted my shoulder reassuringly. I gave her an awkward smile and rubbed my stiff eyelids. Though Nanny said I could sleep more, I shook my head and climbed off the sofa.
The sofa was spacious enough, but sleeping curled up had left my whole body stiff. As I stretched my arms with a yawn, Nanny suddenly gasped and cried out.
"Oh my. Ann! Where are you hurt?"
"Huh?"
Startled by her words, I checked my condition and was shocked. I had fallen asleep still wearing my apron, and now the white fabric was dotted with dark stains here and there. What's this? When I looked closer, I realized—it was blood. Now I noticed dried bloodstains caked on both my hands too.
"Oh my goodness. What on earth happened?"
"Uh, well..."
Flustered, I examined my torn hands when I suddenly felt stinging sensations on my knees and thighs. I must have hurt those areas without realizing it too. Where had I gotten cut?
Fragments of last night's events resurfaced in my mind. After Vincent left, the cleanup had fallen to me. First, I had to calm the startled Robert and put him back to sleep, then I stepped out into the hallway.
The hallway was in complete disarray, with even the windows shattered. Seeing wooden fragments scattered across the floor, it seemed some wooden plank had flown in and broken the glass panes. I was reminded anew of the powerful wind's destructive force. At least there hadn't been much oil left in the lamps—thank goodness. If even a single spark had caught fire, it could have escalated into a much greater disaster.
While clearing away the broken glass shards, I heard crying—Robert must have woken up again. I had to hastily finish cleaning and rush back to his room.
"The wind was so strong last night that it shattered the hallway windows too. I must have gotten hurt then."
"Oh dear. Which windows?"
"The ones near the middle section of the hallway."
As I spoke, I briefly explained the night's events—omitting my encounter with Vincent, of course. The nanny nodded without suspicion.
"Rest in your room for now and come back in the evening. I'll handle the remaining cleanup here."
"Understood."
Leaving the rest to her, I exited the room.
Dragging my exhausted body down the hallway, I suddenly saw a servant brush past me in a hurry. Staring blankly at their frantic retreating figure, I noticed other servants following behind. Every one of them looked disheveled.
Wondering what was happening, I spotted Johnny approaching from afar. But his appearance wasn't much better either—covered head to toe in dust.
"What happened to you?"
"Look who's talking—what happened to you?"
Johnny halted mid-step, scowled, then looked me up and down. Only then did I remember how terrible I must look.
Are you hurt anywhere? At his serious question, I waved my hands dismissively and asked why he looked like that instead. He clicked his tongue, saying mine was worse, then dusted off his clothes—sending clouds of dust floating into the air. This time it was my turn to scowl and take a step back.
"A broken tree branch fell and punched straight through the hallway ceiling near the central staircase. We've been scrambling to fix it since morning—total chaos."
"The ceiling? A big hole?"
"Pretty big. They're doing emergency repairs now, but they said it might collapse further. The ceiling planks are dangling dangerously, so be careful if you go that way."
So that's why they were running earlier. I'd known the dawn winds were unusually strong, but never expected this extent. Come to think of it, windows got blown out over here too. No wonder the nanny hadn't questioned my story.
"You mentioned some windows broke too?"
"Oh, right. The ones on the opposite side."
"Last time it was cracked walls... This mansion must be falling apart everywhere. It's in terrible condition."
Johnny scratched his head vigorously, his face lined with exhaustion.
Indeed, this mansion wasn't well-maintained. The windows rattled so badly they'd fall out if the wind blew even slightly harder.
Moreover, while cleaning happened daily, it focused only on frequently used areas—other places were cleaned sporadically, leaving thick layers of dust. With relatively few servants who received minimal training despite being hired externally, proper maintenance seemed impossible.
"You know that abandoned little storeroom at the far end of the attic? A housemaid casually opened its door while passing by and got the shock of her life. Apparently it's absolutely crawling with bugs."
"Oh, really?"
"This place is truly run-down. It feels like we're forcibly using something that's been neglected for ages."
Johnny let out a deep sigh before saying he had to go now, dragging his heavy footsteps away. He was in charge of the broken windows. With a pang of sympathy, I saw him off before turning back down the hallway.
As I passed by the central staircase Johnny had mentioned, I noticed servants huddled together, anxiously staring up at the ceiling.
There was indeed a gaping hole right in the middle of it—and a fairly large one at that. A loose, crumbling plank suddenly gave way with a thud, sending rainwater pouring down. Through the hole, I caught glimpses of servants scrambling to make repairs, all wearing expressions of utter bewilderment. The floor below was slick with rainwater, dangerously slippery.
Carefully navigating past the mess, I headed to my room. Alicia, who was lying on her bed during break time, gasped when she saw me.
"What in the world happened to you?"
This was already the third time someone had asked. I must've looked worse than I thought. I needed to wash up and tend to my wounds, but an overwhelming exhaustion weighed me down.
"Had a bit of trouble."
"What kind of trouble?"
"Dunno. I'm tired."
Staggering forward, I collapsed onto the bed. Even though I'd slept earlier, drowsiness crashed over me like a wave. My eyelids felt leaden as I blinked, burying my face into the pillow. Behind me, Alicia clicked her tongue in disapproval.
"I heard the master stopped by the mansion briefly at dawn. Did you see him?"
"......"
"Dunno."
"Did you see him or not?"
"Didn't."
I gave a half-hearted answer and curled up. Alicia shook my shoulder, pressing me—Did you really not see him? Too tired to respond, I turned toward the wall. Realizing I wasn't going to answer, she huffed in annoyance and turned away. Only then did I finally let my heavy eyelids fall shut.
Fragments of what happened at dawn flickered through my mind. Maybe because I'd been so shocked, the memories were already blurring. It was as if the thunder had stolen even my recollection. Thinking about being alone in that pitch-black darkness made me question my sanity. Maybe I'd blacked out for a moment. When I came to, I'd been clinging to him—maybe I really had lost my mind.
The image of his flustered, reddened face surfaced. Vincent, stammering over his words, had seemed genuinely startled.
Come to think of it—why had he stayed so quietly in my arms? I never got to ask. Did I latch onto him? The thought made embarrassment crash over me. Ugh, how ridiculous must I have looked? Suppressing the urge to scream, I squeezed my eyes shut tighter. Just sleep.
Then, my fingers brushed over the wrist he'd gripped. The warmth he'd left behind should've faded by now, yet strangely, my skin still burned.
Fidgeting with my wrist, I sank into a deep sleep. For the first time since coming here, I didn't have a nightmare.
After that day, I never crossed paths with Vincent directly again. His visits to the mansion grew sparse, and on the rare occasions he came to see Robert, he didn't so much as glance my way. He still sent letters through the servants, but he no longer asked about Robert directly. Even when he spoke, it was only to the nanny. As if he was avoiding me.
I was the one who should've been avoiding him, yet here he was, keeping his distance first. I wasn't sure whether to be relieved or not. At least I didn't have to endure any more pestering about where I'd gotten the ink.
Time passed quickly. The torn wounds on my hands healed, the gaping hole in the ceiling was patched up, and peaceful routine settled in once more.
Then, just days before the end of my probationary period, a guest arrived at the Bellunita Count's estate.
Another reunion.