Chapter 48 – Premonition
After returning to the Winchester Ducal Estate, Estelle decided not to call for a doctor and simply went upstairs to rest.
‘Michael treated it quite skillfully, and the wound isn’t getting worse… There’s no need to make a fuss over it.’
The injury wasn’t serious enough to warrant notifying a doctor, and she found the idea of doing so bothersome. She needed to get to her room quickly and rest before anyone saw her. But just as she was about to move—
“Rahelrn, Melody twisted her ankle, and it hurts. Could you take her to her room?”
“I have a lot to take care of. Ask one of the servants when they pass by.”
“Ugh, who knows when a servant will come by? Besides, her room isn’t even that far.”
Unfortunately, Estelle locked eyes with Melody just as she was clinging to Rahelrn’s arm, whining.
“Sis? Weren’t you supposed to be at the masquerade ball? You’re back early.”
“…I was tired.”
She kept her response short, not wanting to engage in a long conversation with Melody.
‘A lot of people saw what happened, so she’ll find out eventually…’
But she had no intention of telling her about the chandelier accident. She knew Melody would pretend to be concerned while secretly reveling in it.
“Rahelrn, are you really not going to help me? I fell while running to you!”
“I never told you to run. And you’re the one who wasn’t watching where you were going.”
“Geez. You’re always so cold. Fine, whatever. Since my sister is here, you can go.”
Puffing out her cheeks at Rahelrn, Melody quickly turned to Estelle with a bright smile.
“Hey, Sis. I’m really sorry to ask this, but could you do me a favor? As you can see, my ankle hurts, and Rahelrn is busy.”
She exaggeratedly limped on her left foot.
‘She’s obviously faking it just to get attention.’
If she were in that much pain, she wouldn’t even be able to stand. But Melody looked far too fine for that.
“Melody, I’m really exhausted, so I can’t help you. I’ll be going first.”
“What? Come on! Rahelrn is busy, fine, but you too? I’m just asking you to help me walk for a moment because my ankle hurts!”
Melody dragged out her words, placing her hands on her hips. Estelle was too drained to deal with her.
Her shoulder throbbed again, perhaps because her nerves were on edge.
“…I have a headache. Big Brother, can you take Melody to her room?”
She deliberately used the term ‘Big Brother’ as she addressed Rahelrn, hoping he wouldn’t refuse.
“…Estelle, you don’t look well. I’ll take Melody, so go and rest.”
Rahelrn approached her, wrinkled his nose as if sniffing something, then turned to support Melody and lead her away.
‘Do I smell like something? Why is he acting like that? Oh, right—I need to ask him if he somehow knew the chandelier was going to fall. But will he even give me a straight answer?’
She couldn’t easily shake the habit of reading people’s expressions to guess their thoughts.
Even when it was someone she didn’t need to impress.
—
Once inside her room, Estelle collapsed onto the bed, feeling completely drained.
She needed to wash up and change out of her dress after being out for so long, but strangely, she didn’t want to move a single finger.
She had been fine until she saw Melody and Rahelrn.
‘Melody… How did she end up with a personality like that?’
Since childhood, Estelle had found Melody’s ability to approach others so easily—and her lack of embarrassment even when rejected—both fascinating and enviable.
‘Ugh, I need to bathe. But it’ll sting when the water touches my wound…’
Wanting nothing more than to sleep, she curled up on her side.
A long while later, she was drifting on the edge of sleep when a knocking sound pulled her back to consciousness.
‘Who is it…? The Duke? Or Anna? If I don’t answer, they’ll go away on their own.’
She was so close to falling asleep that her vision remained blurry, and the thought of sitting up felt far too troublesome. So, she ignored it.
Knock, knock, knock.
The knocking came again—this time with the distinct persistence of someone who had no intention of leaving until the door was opened.
‘Whoever this is, they’re dead…!’
Even when she buried her head under a pillow, the sound seeped through, gnawing at her nerves. In the end, she gave up and yanked the door open.
Rahelrn stood there, holding a warm towel that was still steaming.
“If there’s no answer, wouldn’t it be polite to assume I was asleep and leave, Young Duke?”
“Were you sleeping? I thought you were just ignoring me. Also, why are you calling me ‘Young Duke’ again?”
Without waiting for permission, Rahelrn strode in and set the towel down on the nightstand.
“I didn’t realize you had moved to the western rooms.”
He glanced around the room with an oddly satisfied look.
“Why are you here? And more importantly, why are you holding that?”
“Your maid was carrying it, so I took it from her. I told her to leave, so she won’t be coming back to this room.”
Estelle stared at him, dumbfounded.
“…Why would you do that? And weren’t you supposed to be taking Melody to her room?”
She had assumed he’d go straight to work afterward—especially since he had initially refused to help Melody several times before giving in.
“She’s so dumb, she forgot which foot she was supposed to be limping on.”
“…I knew she wasn’t really hurt. But I didn’t expect her to be that bad at faking it.”
“Yeah. So when I told her to walk herself, she did just fine. Is she just starved for attention? What’s her deal?”
Did he really have to call her out like that? Most people would just let it slide, even if they knew.
“How should I know?”
Rahelrn scoffed before casually sitting on her bed, crossing one leg over the other.
Not wanting to sit next to him, Estelle took the chair nearby.
“You’re so prickly. Oh, right—Estelle, don’t trust your maid.”
“…Why not?”
“Just don’t. I don’t like her.”
It wasn’t as if Estelle had ever fully trusted Anna. She was just keeping her close because she had a good sense of timing and might be useful when the time came to bring down Melody.
But Rahelrn’s vague “I just don’t like her” warning felt strangely unsettling.
There wasn’t a clear reason, nor had Anna done anything obviously wrong.
‘Is he really saying this just because he doesn’t like her? He’s not someone who usually cares about others.’
Rahelrn’s vague attitude turned Estelle’s suspicions into certainty.
Perhaps, like her, he remembered everything and had returned to the past.
“Honestly, Estelle. Unlike someone else, you’re not stupid…”
Rahelrn suddenly exuded a chilling aura, lazily running a hand along his jaw.
“I told you to be careful. So why did you come back injured? If I warned you, you shouldn’t have even glanced in the direction of the three-tiered cake.”
His cold gaze fixated on her shoulder.
As if telling her not to bother hiding it.
“You hurt your shoulder. Why are you trying to lie to me?”
Estelle swallowed dryly, shifting her gaze downward.
‘Michael properly disinfected and treated it, so how did he know? I didn’t touch my shoulder while I was with my him. Did the blood seep through my dress? Or did I smell like antiseptic?’
But thinking about it logically…
There was no reason for her to lower herself and act submissively to Rahelrn.
“Can I ask why you even went there in the first place? Was it really just a coincidence?”
“I got slightly injured while saving Count Charel’s daughter. I’ve already been treated, and it’s not serious. And… I didn’t know.”
“…You didn’t know? I told you! The chandelier—”
Got him.
She had expected him to be too meticulous to slip up first, but with a little provocation, he spoke without thinking.
“Seriously, even after I warned you, you still went and got hurt—”
“Better than getting crushed to death by a falling chandelier, don’t you think? Besides, Count Charel’s daughter is part of my sorority. It’s not like I was hiding it from you—I just didn’t mention it.”
At the same time, this was her chance to uncover Rahelrn’s secret.
“But, Big Brother… How did you know the chandelier was going to fall?”
“When did I say that?”
He feigned ignorance, but his eyelashes trembled ever so slightly.
He was definitely nervous, but his ability to keep a straight face even in such a moment was almost impressive.
“I heard you. You said chandelier. I could have been injured for any number of reasons—so why were you so sure?”
“…”
“There was a three-tiered cake right under where the chandelier fell. Unless you somehow conspired with the Aslan Marquisate’s head chef, I doubt you would have known that in advance.”
He pressed his lips into a thin line and dropped his gaze.
‘I didn’t know the chandelier was going to fall at today’s masquerade. But he knew a lot of things I didn’t.’
Denial. Then silence.
“Don’t worry. I only knew because I’ve seen the future too.”
If she reassured him, maybe he would open up.
“…Estelle. You also… have prophetic dreams?”
Rahelrn slowly lifted his head.
