Callius listened quietly to my words, then asked suddenly in a low, submerged voice,
“He stands before you right now. Someone who was punished, locked in darkness, and forced to live in it.”
Callius’s words drifted through the air, making the cold hallway feel all the more chilling and desolate.
Taken aback by his sudden words, I couldn’t answer. I could only open and close my mouth without letting out a sound.
“What do you mean…?”
“Being unable to take a single step outside, trembling in pain at the barest sliver of light—you saw it yourself, didn't you?”
He let out a bitter, self-deprecating laugh.
“Why do you think this is happening to me?”
Ah… don't tell me?
Was he trying to confess the truth about his illness right now?
Knowing he couldn't see my face, I still tried desperately to control my expression.
I couldn't let him find out that, through the original story, I already knew the truth about his photophobia.
“W-Well… maybe it's severe hypersensitivity to sunlight?”
“…Tell the truth. No matter how sensitive a body might be, no human being lives hiding in the dark to this extent. Just drawing back the curtains gives me a fit, and lighting a single candle in the room drives me out of my mind. Seeing me like this, did it really never cross your mind even once that I might be cursed by the Lord?”
“It never crossed my mind at all.”
“Liar.”
Callius said, taking a step back away from me.
I couldn't see him, but from his voice, I could feel that his body and soul were trembling ever so slightly.
“Now… even I can’t help thinking that way.”
He exhaled a long breath.
“…The Lord has abandoned me. And I will remain locked in this darkness forever, until I die.”
How could such thoughts not cross his mind?
Ever since he fell ill with photophobia, he must have lived in constant fear that he would never recover for the rest of his life.
Perhaps it was all the more terrifying because he didn't even know the cause of his illness.
Besides, this world viewed everything connected to darkness as an ill omen deserving persecution.
‘It’s true that his health and condition have improved a lot, to the point where he can walk here and there…’
Still, the fact that he had to live trapped in darkness all his life must have planted deep despair and bitter doubts in his heart.
“What about you, My Lord?”
Recognizing his anxiety and doubts, I asked him,
“Do you also believe that I cannot see because I was punished?”
"…"
Silence fell over Callius, as if he had lost the ability to speak.
“…People often said that about me. They said my loss of sight was a punishment from the Lord. That I must have committed a grave sin, and so the Lord punished me by taking away my sight.”
Even in my aunt's village, where I lived before coming to the Duke's estate, people gossiped about me like that.
Whenever I accidentally brushed against the edge of their clothes, they would dust their garments off, claiming that the ‘misfortune of blindness’ had spread to them.
Whenever I walked past, they would spit on the ground out of superstition.
And if I went to buy something, some would chase me away, claiming that I brought ruin to their business.
Yet not once did any of them answer when I asked, ‘What sin did I commit?’
Without a shred of proof, they merely insisted that I must have committed a sin that angered the Lord.
And so, in that village, I truly was a criminal.
“Do you believe that too, My Lord?”
I asked again.
After a brief silence, Callius opened his mouth and spoke.
“…No.”
“I don't believe losing my sight was a punishment either. Because even though I cannot see, there are still so many things I can do.”
I spoke in a bright voice, hoping my thoughts would reach Callius's heart.
“You know it, My Lord. How good I am at working in a dark room! Out of all the maids, I’m the only one who can remember where everything is without seeing it. Cleaning the room in the dark, serving meals… no one else can do any of that except me.”
"…"
“And a few days ago, I taught you how to walk, didn't I? I have all these abilities and I can help others, so how could I have been punished?”
I couldn't deny that I understood his self-destructive thoughts.
I, too, had gone through a time when I blamed myself for no reason.
Even so, my life went on, and it wasn't as awful as I had imagined.
In fact, it was full of enjoyable and happy moments.
“You walk well in dark places now, don't you? Did you ever imagine back then that you’d be able to walk around the mansion like this again?”
I stepped closer to him carefully, until I could hear his breath nearby.
“Just like that, little by little, your life will change too, My Lord. You'll find a way to make it better than it is now.”
Stopping before him, I spoke with more confidence than ever.
“So please, don't say you're cursed anymore, or that the Lord has abandoned you.”
I couldn't tell whether my words had shifted something inside him.
He said nothing, and I couldn't see his expression.
“…All right.”
As for how he would choose to live from now on, only time would tell.
“Come, let’s head back to the room. It still seems a little chilly out here.”
Though I knew he was now capable of walking on his own, I supported him with my arm just like I used to, after so long.
“Ah, I almost forgot.”
Once we returned to the room, I carefully pulled out what I had placed so tenderly inside my apron pocket.
Fortunately, it seemed intact, uncrushed and just as it was.
“My Lord, this is for you.”
I held it out to him carefully.
Callius took it reflexively, sniffed it twice, and said,
“This is…”
“They're lilacs. The garden is already full of them. Their scent is so strong that the whole mansion is practically drowning in it.”
I felt him quietly bring his face closer to the flowers.
“I know we shouldn't pick flowers recklessly… but spring ought to come to the young master’s room too. What do you think? Isn't the fragrance lovely?”
“…Yes, it is. It's the scent I used to smell every spring.”
“Next time, I'll bring a different kind of flower. I’ll sneak them from the gardener. Oh, and if I get caught, may I claim that the young master ordered me to do it?”
“Yes. Tell them I asked for it.”
Callius readily agreed.
Since his voice sounded a little brighter, I felt relieved as well.
From then on, I brought a different kind of flower to Callius's room every day.
Lilacs, azaleas, hydrangeas, roses…
He wouldn't be able to see the varied colors of the petals in this darkness, but their fragrance alone was enough to bring spring to him.
Every time I brought a new flower, Callius would only say,
“Thank you.”
Yet I knew he often stood in front of the vase just to breathe in their scent.
What a boy. He didn't express it, but he loved them. It made me want to bring even more.
“Today, I brought wisteria blossoms.”
I said as I appeared before him as usual, carrying the flowers.
The blossoms I brought this time were purple, hanging down in clusters.
“The wisteria seems to have bloomed so beautifully. Even the maids were gathered underneath, busy watching them.”
“Really?”
Hearing my words, Callius drew closer.
“When will a new maid arrive? I hope our numbers are filled soon.”
I grumbled with a sigh, but he answered coolly, sounding indifferent.
“I don't know.”
Honestly… am I the only one eagerly waiting for the new maids?
Ever since Mary and Dorothy were dismissed from their posts as Callius’s dedicated maids, the positions had remained vacant.
Because this post wasn't easy for ordinary maids, the head housekeeper seemed hesitant about whom to send.
She couldn't just send anyone and then stand by helplessly if another trouble arose.
