The ivory robe that had disappeared was the one I had been wearing the first time I encountered Ruth. The reason I hadn’t taken it out from under the cushion even once recently was because I had gotten red blood on it that day while helping him.
…Could it be that someone entered while I was away at the lake?
The thought sent shivers down my spine. It was an assumption I didn’t want to believe, but the robe couldn’t have moved on its own. Thus, the only possible assumption was that someone had taken the robe.
Taking a deep breath, I noticed a faint smell of blood clinging heavily to my nose.
If the person who took my robe was my father…
My brow furrowed at the sudden thought of the worst-case scenario.
However, I quickly shook off these pointless daydreams and jerked my head from side to side.
If my father had found the robe with red blood in my bedroom, he would have immediately sought me out.
Had that happened, the mansion would have been noisy in the effort to find me, not this quiet. Therefore, it was not right to become needlessly anxious over a hasty judgment.
“…”
I put the cushion back on the armchair and sat down on it. Then, I pondered deeply.
It was more urgent to find out who took the robe than to retrieve it.
But the process of finding out who that person was proved to be utterly daunting.
What should I do? Anxiety rushed in, and without realizing it, I found myself tapping my lips with my index finger.
Testing those I suspected covertly was the most certain method, but also the most dangerous. If my father were to catch on, it would spell trouble.
Nor could I sneak around searching for the robe, because there was no guarantee that what happened this morning wouldn’t happen again later.
“In the end, the answer is to do nothing until the person who took the robe makes a move… Yawn.”
Murmuring the conclusion I reached after much deliberation, the sleepiness I had failed to shake off earlier overwhelmed me.
Not yet…
I thought I could hold on a little longer, but before I could finish the thought, I was engulfed by an uncontrollable drowsiness. A pitch-black curtain fell before my eyes.
“…”
It was a blackout.
***
The day after.
I found out that the person who had taken my robe had moved much quicker than I had anticipated.
“Hello, miss. My name is Amy. I’ll be serving as your dedicated maid for a while, so please take good care of me during this time.”
“Hello, miss. My name is Vestina. Please feel free to call me Vest! Like Amy, I’ve been sent by the butler to be your dedicated maid as well. I look forward to serving you!”
“Um…”
I swallowed my astonishment as I alternated my gaze between the two maids standing in front of me.
While it was common for the children of noble families to have their own personal servants or maids, this was not the case for me. It was because my father had not assigned one, just in case something happened.
And now suddenly to be given dedicated maids, what kind of bolt from the blue was this?
Could it be that my father was the one who took my robe?
Just as such a thought flashed through my mind, the maid who introduced herself as Vestina spoke.
“I’ve always just swept the hallways or cleaned the windows, but I’m so happy to be of service to the young lady! I never imagined I, a maid of the lowest rank, would be given the honor of becoming the young lady’s dedicated maid. The day I received the instructions from the butler, I was so happy that I laid in bed and hit my pillow until feathers came out!”
I silently watched Vestina, who was incessantly talking.
The servants working at the Obelton Duke’s mansion were generally taciturn. It would be more accurate to say they refrained from speaking at all.
Therefore, encountering a servant like Vestina, who spoke quite a bit, was novel to me. In short, it was new.
“…And then, what Jane, who shares the room with me, said was…”
It was the moment when a delighted Vestina kept on talking non-stop because I left her be. Amy, standing beside her, rebuked her with a cool tone.
“Vestina, that’s enough of the chatter. We came here to attend to the lady, not to indulge in gossip.”
Vestina’s face blushed as red as her hair as if she finally came to her senses after Amy’s sharp words.
“That, that’s right.”
“And didn’t you learn before entering the mansion from the housemaster? You shouldn’t speak carelessly within this mansion. Otherwise, the tongue…”
Amy trailed off with a look of disappointment and then firmly shut her mouth.
The tongue…?
I was curious about the end of the story I hadn’t fully heard, but I didn’t ask. I figured the person might not answer even if I did, and I wasn’t in a leisurely enough state to concern myself with the rules of the servants.
“Hmm. The weather is nice today.”
As I turned the topic to the weather while looking outside, Vestina smiled brightly and agreed.
“Right. The weather is really nice today.”
Then, as if a great idea suddenly occurred to her, she clapped her hands together.
“Ah. Since the weather is so nice, how about we don’t just stay inside the mansion and go out for a walk?”
“Vestina.”
Amy seemed to dislike Vestina’s suggestion, calling her name with an uncomfortable expression.
“A walk. That sounds nice.”
But I liked Vestina’s idea. Going for a walk would clear my cluttered mind and likely improve my mood.
Maybe I’ll see Lily while we’re out for a walk. It feels like it’s been quite some time since I saw her last.
“Vestina.”
After deciding to go for a walk and see Lily, I called Vestina. Now that I had a dedicated maid, there was no need for me to go and get permission myself.
“Yes?”
“Can you go ask Mother if I can go out for a walk?”
“Permission from the madam? Yes, I understand. I’ll be right back!”
Vestina left the bedroom without wondering why I needed permission to leave the mansion.
Watching her back as she left, I got up from my place, and Amy followed me with a blank expression.
It was clear that Mother would allow me to go for a walk unless something significant was happening. And the guest who visited the mansion today had left an hour ago.
Now, with nothing to interfere with my walk, I decided to head to the greenhouse earlier to spend as much time there as possible.
Thinking this, I was crossing the hallway when I happened to run into Ian, who was walking from the opposite end of the corridor.
“…Sister.”
“?”
I looked at Ian, puzzled, as he didn’t avoid me but instead called me. It was bewildering, as until now, Ian had been actively avoiding me.
Did he have something he wanted to say to me?
Trying to understand what was on Ian’s mind, I waited for him to speak next, but Ian hesitated after calling my name.
Eventually, unable to bear his hesitation, I was the one who broke the ice.
“Ian. Where were you going?”
“I was just walking.”
Ian, whose expression brightened at my question, quickly answered.
If he was wandering aimlessly, I guess it’s similar to taking a walk?
I thought for a moment and then tilted my head.
“Why were you doing that inside the mansion instead of the garden? The weather is nice, too.”
“Ah. I had some things to think about. I was so focused on that, I didn’t think about taking a walk in the garden.”
“Is that so? Then, if you have nothing else to do now, would you like to come to the greenhouse with me? I was actually on my way there.”
“The greenhouse?”
After a moment of hesitation, when I suggested going to the greenhouse together, Ian’s eyes widened. Judging by his reaction, it seemed he hadn’t expected me to directly ask him to accompany me.
I looked at Ian, who seemed not to bother hiding his confusion, and smiled with my eyes, nodding up and down.
“Yes. It’s a very pretty place with a lot to see, and there’s also something I want to show you.”
“Something you want to show me?”
“Yes. So, let’s go to the greenhouse together, Ian.”
I finished speaking and extended my hand. It was a gesture to suggest holding hands on the way to the greenhouse.
Ian, who had been staring at my hand intently, soon blushed and took a sharp breath.
Is something strange? Filled with doubt, I glanced down at my hand. It was nothing but what Tommy had done to me, yet Ian’s reaction was strange.
Acting as if he saw something he shouldn’t have… As those thoughts continued, suddenly a feeling of being neglected surged within me.
After avoiding me for so long, now he considers even looking at my hand as something unbearable?
“If you don’t want to hold it, then don’t.”
I snapped, pulling my hand back with a surly voice, when Ian hastily shook his head.
“No, it’s not that I don’t want to hold it, it’s just that…”
“Just?”
“…I liked it too much. I was too happy that you reached out your hand to me.”
His eyes shone like stars brightening the sky as he spoke, as if conveying his wholehearted sincerity.
Then, with a big smile blooming on his face, Ian gently wrapped both his hands around mine.
“From now on, let’s hold hands every day, Sister. I don’t dislike it at all.”
I am confused