“The condition has improved significantly. It would be best if this state continues,” the doctor diagnosed, now without his stethoscope. He had examined her ankle before.
“Thank you,” Charlotte hesitated before responding, recalling his name, “Dr. Brown.”
“It’s just my duty. Honestly, I didn’t expect the condition to improve this much.”
“I’m also glad. My mother…” Charlotte’s gaze drifted towards Cynthia, who lay sleeping in the middle of speaking. “She’s been through a lot since she was young.”
Her peaceful sleep resembled that of a child.
“Yes…Taking care of her must have been tough for you too, Miss Hegel.”
“No, it’s the least I could do.”
She was her only mother, her only remaining family. Even though they hadn’t spent much time together growing up, seeing her mother’s tired face always pained Charlotte.
“When I’m able to move around a bit more, I’m thinking of returning to our hometown. I can’t stay here forever.”
“True. I’m sure there are good doctors there too. I hope you’ll be well.”
After tidying up his medical bag and getting up from his seat, Dr. Brown extended a hand. Charlotte shook it, then reached into her pocket.
“Oh, the payment…”
“It’s alright. The payment has already been taken care of.”
“What?”
“You didn’t know? Mr. Richard paid in advance.”
“I see…”
Dr. Brown chuckled at Charlotte’s puzzled expression and picked up his hat.
“Well, then I’ll be off. No need to see me out.”
As the visitor left, the room was once again left with just the mother and daughter. When the sunlight streaming in through the window shifted from Cynthia’s head to her feet, she finally woke up.
“…Charlotte?”
“Mother.”
“What time is it now? I’ve been sleeping a lot lately, and it seems like it’s already dusk when I open my eyes.”
“It’s not yet evening. You can sleep a little longer.”
“That won’t do. I feel light and well-rested for the first time in a while. Can you support me? I want to look outside.”
“Of course.”
Turning her daughter around, Charlotte supported Cynthia’s shoulders and helped her to a chair near the window. The vast fields surrounding the mansion didn’t look much different from when they first visited two months ago. The only thing that had changed was the people.
As her daughter stared pensively into the distance, Cynthia gestured for her to sit.
“Sit down.”
“….”
“You’ve seemed quite down lately. Is something bothering you?”
As they sat opposite each other after a long time, mother and daughter resembled each other like looking into a mirror; contrary to what the man had said, that they were nothing alike.
Brushing aside the tendrils of thought that reached out to one person, Charlotte shook her head.
“It’s nothing. Nothing at all.”
Charlotte paused mid-sentence and closed her mouth for a moment. What she was about to say concerned Richard’s secretary duties. Unable to deceive the absence from his desk for hours every day, she had claimed to help Janice temporarily.
“I no longer need your services.”
After that night, Charlotte didn’t go to the study anymore. When she didn’t show up for two days, a young servant boy came to her room and handed her the wages she had earned. When he cautiously asked if there was any message to convey, he just shook her head instead of answering. That was the end of it.
“Mother.”
“Speak, Charlotte.”
“You might not feel it yet, but how about we return home now?”
“Home?”
“Yes. To Dallas.”
Objectively speaking, this place wasn’t as flat and fertile as their hometown, but it was where they had grown up. Cynthia, who had been silent for a moment, soon agreed.
“Yes…that would be a good idea. We can’t keep serving the master forever…”
“Yes. When we return, I have some savings stored up, so we can live for a while. We can take our time finding jobs.”
They might not have the luxury of a good room and good food like they did now, but at least their hearts would be at ease. That was the conclusion reached after the past three days. It was better to give up before things got deeper. Ignoring the pain in one corner of her heart, Charlotte smiled.
“Things will get better.”
“Yes. Thank you, my daughter.”
Cynthia responded with a smile and reached out to hold her daughter’s hand. Charlotte had always been polite, quiet, and considerate. Despite only sending her wages regularly, Cynthia was grateful for her daughter’s growth.
“…If only the young master hadn’t died, by now…”
“Yes?”
“Oh, nothing. Just talking to myself.”
Cynthia hastily changed the subject after unintentionally blurting out those words.
“By the way, I’m a bit thirsty.”
“Oh, right. I see the water bottle is empty. I’ll get a new one.”
“Sure. Thank you.”
“I’ll be back soon.”
With the empty water bottle in hand, Charlotte headed downstairs. As she descended, she heard a crying sound she had heard before.
“Meow.”
“A cat?”
Somehow, she felt uneasy. She thought she should ignore it, but her steps continued toward the source of the sound. The crying stopped as she passed through the kitchen and reached the linen room at the back. A sleek black cat sat there, as if waiting, and smoothly slipped through the open door as if invited. It wasn’t an empty room; voices could be heard inside. One was a familiar voice, Janice. The other was a husky male voice.
“…So the master is having trouble with the ‘feeding’ supply. Investigators have already been here due to the recent disappearance…”
“…Since the master vehemently refuses, even if he’s the Earl, what can he do? For now, we have no choice but to ‘sustain’ him as a ‘substitute’…”
“But if the ‘thirst’ continues, it will lead to the worst-case scenario…”
Fragmented sentences sporadically continued.
Feeding? Substitute? Thirst?
Strange words caught her attention. It was time to listen more carefully.
“Meow.”
The cat that slipped through the crack rubbed its head against its owner’s ankle. Janice had stopped the conversation momentarily to pick up the cat.
“Oh, you must be hungry.”
After gently petting the cat’s head, she soon put it down.
“Then let’s see the situation as discussed earlier, Mr. Gayle.”
“Understood. Madam. I’ll go out first and see what’s…”
The tall middle-aged man, with a brief nod and a raised hat to greet, suddenly stopped. Then, the sound of footsteps approaching rapidly from the direction of the door reached their ears.
No, please no.
Her heart pounded rapidly, warning of danger. Panicked eyes searched for a hiding place. It was at that moment, with eyes tightly shut in desperation, a strong force pulled her away.
“Why? What’s wrong?”
“It’s nothing. I felt someone’s gaze. Probably just a mouse.”
“…Really? That’s strange. It hasn’t been long since we cleaned thoroughly.”
“Well, I’ll go check it out.”
“Yes. Goodbye.”
As the two people finished their conversation and moved away, Charlotte held her breath. If someone hadn’t dragged her down under the stairs and covered her mouth, she surely would have screamed.
“…We should be careful. Didn’t you learn not to eavesdrop on others’ conversations?”
The voice of a boy—just a few years short of puberty—came from behind. Charlotte was startled, but she was able to calm her mind. The boy who had appeared out of nowhere extended his hand naturally, like flowing water.
“Here.”
“Thank you.”
Gratefully accepting the help, Charlotte stepped back and looked up. Then, she was shocked.
The boy had purple eyes like a wolf’s bane flower, and perfectly chiseled features with a chilling gaze. The only difference from ‘him’ was that his hair was blonde. And he was much younger, standing about the same height as her.
“Who are you?”
“Franz Ewin Kensington.”
“Franz? Then…”
Charlotte searched her mind and found the answer.
“You’re the eldest son of Sir Seymour.”
Bits and pieces of sentences continued to surface.
Did he say he attended a boarding school in the capital? It shouldn’t be vacation time yet. He must be around fourteen or fifteen years old…
“Yes, that’s right. And who are you?”
“Ah, I’m Charlotte Hegel. Cynthia Hegel’s daughter.”
“Ah, I see.”
Franz let out a light sigh, as if recalling something, and smiled faintly.
“Nice to meet you, Charlotte. I was just curious.”
Two days ago, in the capital.
“Aah!”
He was thrown into the carriage like an uncontrollable beast, and it was dim inside.
Without mercy, a hand grabbed his collar, slamming his face onto the seat. Thankfully, there was a goose feather cushion; otherwise, he might have spilled his nosebleed. As the boy released his grip, the door closed.
“You’re too much, Uncle. It’s been a while since we’ve seen each other, do you have to treat your nephew like this?”
“Shut up before I treat you worse.”
Though he meant it as a joke, it fell flat. Instead, the chill in the air grew stronger. Franz lowered his gaze and scratched the back of his head with a forced smile.
“I really feel unjustified this time. Please believe me.”
“Why should I?”
“I admit I broke the nose of the senior, but he provoked me first!”
Despite genuinely feeling wronged, his pleas were disregarded. He could only be grateful for being brought here physically.
After that, Richard kept his eyes glued to the documents he had brought. It was only after flipping through about a dozen pages that Franz, who had been watching his cue, cautiously spoke up again.
“Uncle, three seconds.”
He called with a mix of broken voice, but the atmosphere remained chilly. It felt like standing in front of a colossal ice wall. There was no one to appeal to about his beauty. With an unacknowledged heart, Franz stretched his words as far as he could.
“Father seems lenient toward you. Can’t you just say one word?”
“If you say one more word, I’ll throw you out.”
He answered coldly as he turned the page. There was no room for surrender here. Following the desperate plea:
“Please, I’m begging you. I really don’t want to go all the way to the monastery. They control everything, even the monks who are completely bald. You have to learn boring Latin. You can’t even ride horses.”
“It wouldn’t be bad for you to become a proper person there.”
“You’re really too much.”
His round eyes sank down despondently. He wasn’t like this before. Although he always lived buried in books, he was sometimes a kind uncle who played with him.
“Uncle! It’s me, Franz! I’m really glad you’re back safely!”
“….”
“Uncle?”
When the person who was supposed to be dead returned, he was happier than anyone else. However, the person he met after two years was not the same as before. He couldn’t forget the gaze that looked down on him as if he were a bug.
He felt hopeless and crestfallen. So, off he went and appealed to his father.
However, the response that came back was indifferent.
“I heard that most of the colleagues we worked with during the war are dead. He must have seen and experienced a lot during the war. It’s impossible for him to be the same as before.”
“But still, he’s changed so much…”
“Franz.”
The Earl, who forcefully called his son’s name, grabbed his small shoulder.
“In the Kensington family, there’s a hereditary disease that passes down through generations. It usually manifests every other generation, and your uncle was a carrier and eventually manifested it there. That’s why he’s ‘sick.'”
“….”
“We don’t want others to know about this ‘disease.’ That’s it. Do you understand?”
This felt like an unspoken coercion under the overwhelming pressure. Even in his young mind, he felt the subtlety of the elaborate lie covering the truth, but all he could do was nod in confusion.
“Then, I’ll take a nap, since there’s still a long way to go before we arrive.”
Unable to bear the suffocating silence, Franz closed his eyes for a moment.
“But if you’re truly repentant.”
“Uncle?”
At the comforting words, his head involuntarily turned. As Richard closed the last page, he spoke softly, “There might be a way, Franz.”
Their eyes met, the gaze tender enough to send shivers down his spine.
🍉🍉🍉
