Chapter 4
“Madam, please wake up. The sun is nice today.”
“Ugh…”
At Stephanie’s chirpy voice, Caroline lifted her heavy eyelids. Despite going to bed early the previous night, her body felt heavy like waterlogged cotton.
“Steffi, can I sleep a little longer…?”
“No, you can’t!”
Stephanie smiled brightly and flung the curtains open. The dazzling sunlight seemed to pierce through her eyes.
“Sunlight is so good for your health.”
“Still…”
“Eat breakfast, take your medicine, and if you want to digest, you’ll need to go for a walk. You don’t have much time.”
Stephanie quickly pulled Caroline up from the bed, her small frame belying her strength.
“Shall I bring you some wash water?”
“No, I’ll go.”
Caroline knew very well that all this commotion in the morning was for her own benefit.
She pinched Stephanie’s soft cheek, which was as fluffy as down.
“Hehe.”
Stephanie grinned sweetly, her smile so endearing every time their eyes met. It had been a long time since someone smiled at her so lovingly.
Caroline slipped into her fluffy slippers and made her way to the bathroom, her steps slow and sluggish like someone who hadn’t fully woken up.
“Madam,”
“Hmm…?”
“Did you forget?”
What? Caroline tilted her head, blinking her eyes. As if expecting this, Stephanie let out a soft chuckle.
“Today is the day Marsha is coming.”
“Ah!”
Caroline slapped her palm against her forehead, the sound ringing out. Only then did her movements become more hurried.
“If you keep moving this slowly, the sun will set.”
“Yeah, right. I’ll wash up quickly!”
Caroline nodded vigorously, almost as if her head would spin off, and dashed to the bathroom.
Stephanie watched her retreating back, laughing to herself.
‘At times like this, Madam really does feel like a younger sister.’
It was a thought that shouldn’t have crossed her mind, considering Caroline was her mistress.
After finishing that irreverent thought, Stephanie sat by the side table and began folding the laundry she had brought in earlier. The last piece of laundry, Caroline’s underwear, she planned to take to the bathroom when Caroline came out.
However, even as she folded the last piece of laundry, Caroline had yet to emerge from the bathroom. Stephanie’s hands grew anxious as she placed the folded laundry on the side table.
“Could it be…”
Stephanie quickly walked toward the bathroom. Though the town was a small rural one, the hotel was the largest in the bustling district, so the bathroom was quite far away.
Sure enough, through the closed door, she could hear retching sounds followed by coughing. Stephanie hurriedly knocked on the door.
“Madam, Madam! Are you okay?”
The coughing inside gradually subsided. It sounded like Caroline was trying to suppress her cough.
“Madam, please open the door!”
“Ugh… I’m fine. I just choked while brushing my teeth.”
“If you’re fine, could you please talk to me through the door?”
“Uh… I’m naked right now.”
Her voice, awkward and weak, lacked any strength. Stephanie felt a pang in her nose. She had seen Caroline naked countless times when helping her bathe.
“…Then I’ll wait ten steps away from the door.”
“Yeah, I’ll be out soon.”
Stephanie chose to step back, knowing well enough how her mistress would behave. Caroline’s nature was clear to her.
It was the same for Caroline. She was grateful for Stephanie’s understanding, even though both of them knew the truth and pretended otherwise.
Caroline finally managed to get up, holding onto the bathroom wall. Moving every few days had taken a toll on her body. Despite not having eaten much, the nausea was unbearable.
“My stomach’s in a mess.”
She slowly staggered to the sink and looked at her reflection in the mirror. She looked gaunt, but still, it was bearable for now.
She quietly stared at her violet eyes, which had a shade resembling anemones. The day before leaving for the capital, she remembered the anemones she had freshly placed in the vase in her office.
‘This might be the last time I’ll see anemones this year.’
‘Really?’
‘Yes. After this week, I won’t be able to see them, so look at them as much as you can. Once they’re gone, you won’t be able to see them again.’
‘There’s no need to go that far.’
‘You’re really lacking in romance.’
Caroline recalled how Frazer had laughed at her grumbling. What had happened to the anemones she had left? Were they thrown away? Or were they, like usual, withered and still in the same place? Or perhaps…
“…Let’s not think about it.”
He wasn’t a man who would be concerned with flowers that would wilt in a season. Even if they withered, it wouldn’t matter when he saw them again next year.
Trying to shake off these thoughts, Caroline forcefully pulled her cheeks. There was nothing to grab but her dry skin.
“I need to wash my face, wash my face.”
With a determined expression, Caroline filled the sink with water. For some reason, she wanted to wash her face with cold water this morning.
* * *
“Marsha!”
“Madam!”
Marsha, spotting Caroline from across the room, hurriedly ran toward her. It had been a full three months since they last met.
Marsha placed the things she was carrying on the ground and carefully examined Caroline, as if handling a delicate piece of art.
“Marsha?”
Caroline stood still, rolling her eyes as she was meticulously checked over.
“Are you taking your medicine properly?”
“Yes.”
“Are you going to the hospital regularly?”
“Yes.”
“It seems like you’re not eating properly.”
“Yes… but Marsha, it’s been three months since we last met!”
And you’re starting with scolding right away? Caroline silently conveyed this message with her eyes.
Marsha chuckled and took out a handkerchief from her pocket. The light blue handkerchief was embroidered with a conch shell motif.
“I made it thinking of you, Madam. Since you like the sea.”
“Wow…”
Caroline unfolded the handkerchief. The handkerchief, bathed in the summer sunlight, looked like the sea, or perhaps the sky.
“Thank you so much, Marsha. It’s beautiful.”
“I’m glad you like it.”
Caroline pulled Marsha into a tight hug, resting her forehead on her shoulder. There was no trace of a master-servant relationship between them.
“Well, it looks like our Madam has turned into a little baby.”
“Marsha, I missed you… so much.”
She carefully patted Caroline’s back, like she would a baby animal.
* * *
Caroline’s family had originally been cobblers.
About 100 years ago, when slavery was abolished and everyone began to have surnames, her ancestors chose the surname “Schumacher,” meaning “shoemaker.”
The Schumacher family earned recognition for their work and were granted the title of Baronet of Wessel by the royal family seven years ago. Caroline had lived as a regular cobbler’s daughter for 15 years, and the sudden rise in status had not transformed her into the elegant noblewoman they might have hoped.
She was more accustomed to folk dancing than ballet, to playing with a purling flute instead of a traditional one, and to playing with an “Abelos” (a half-moon-shaped tool used by cobblers) rather than dolls. Even if she had started receiving noble training late in life, she could never catch up with those born into nobility.
Moreover, her hometown, Low Valley, was a rural place with no proper hospital. Finding a tutor there was as difficult as catching a star from the sky.
Caroline keenly felt the gap in her status when she married Frazer. The world of those born noble — no, even before they were born, their world — made Caroline feel even more small.
In the suffocating capital life, the only refuge was Marsha. Despite serving as her maid, she had always shown consistent kindness.
“Marsha, was the journey hard?”
“It was fine. It only took one day from my hometown to here. I’m more worried about you, Madam.”
Marsha furrowed her brows as she answered.
Caroline had been living almost like a nomad for nearly two months. It was a necessary sacrifice to avoid being tracked by Frazer.
“I’m fine. This is something I’ve been preparing for months.”
Caroline shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly.
This plan had been carefully made ever since she was diagnosed with a terminal illness. The time she spent crying and feeling sorrowful was brief. Caroline wanted to spend the remainder of her life more happily and meaningfully.
To do so, she had to leave the side of that frighteningly cold man.
* * *
Caroline recalled the season when dandelions began to sprout in the flowerbeds. The wind was quite chilly, but the sunlight was warm and gentle.
“Hah, hah…”
Caroline huffed as she climbed the stairs to the third floor. It had been easier in winter, but with the warmer weather, her body quickly became heated.
“Madam, are you very tired?”
“Huh? No. I’m just a little out of breath.”
Caroline fanned herself with her hand and smiled.
Although she hadn’t told anyone, she had sensed it. Her physical health had been deteriorating significantly recently.
Even walking a little left her breathless, and she frequently suffered from headaches that felt like they were piercing her skull. A few days ago, she had even thrown up the little food she had eaten.
‘I need to exercise… but would that be too much?’
She desperately felt the need to exercise as she stepped onto the stairs.
“Madam, if I may ask…”
“Hmm?”
“Could it be that you’re… expecting a baby?”
Marsha, who was fanning Caroline next to her, asked with a gleam in her eyes.
“Oh, no way.”
Even as she said that, there was no denying the fluttering feeling in her chest.
“They say that in the early stages of pregnancy, the body becomes more sensitive. The nausea you’ve been experiencing lately could be morning sickness.”
“Really…?”
At Marsha’s words, Caroline mentally counted back to the date of her last period. She had been so tired lately that she hadn’t really noticed, but it had already been two months without any sign of it.
“…Should I call a doctor?”
Marsha’s face brightened as she watched Caroline’s expression.
“No. I’ll go to the hospital myself. If it’s not that, it might be a bit… embarrassing.”
“Okay, Madam.”
“Don’t tell anyone else, just in case. Let’s go quietly and come back.”
“Yes, Madam.”
Marsha nodded eagerly with a big smile.
