Chapter 14
# 14
14. The Baron family's Strange Guest (4)
“That won’t do.”
I was the most powerless person here. The lowest of the low, in terms of social standing.
“Shall I speak to Isabella?”
“She’s on Vincent’s side. I’ve asked her several times, but she’s refused every time.”
“I’ll ask the master again.”
“No.”
He waved his hand. He sighed, but his face was more energetic than before.
“If I knock on the door a hundred times, he might open it once.”
“You’re trying hard.”
“I have to try. My friend is trying that hard, too.”
Then he suddenly smiled. The smile, fresher than a spring day, gave me goosebumps. His gaze was sticky. What is this? Why is he like this? I rubbed my arm roughly for no reason.
“It would be convenient if the maid fell for me.”
“Can I tell you in advance? I refuse.”
And even if a hundred times became a thousand, the closed door never opened.
“You weren’t sleeping here, were you?”
I was horrified to find a figure crouching in front of Vincent’s door. It was the guest who had barged in yesterday. No, I guided him to a room to stay in, so why is he doing this here?
“Um, is it morning already?”
“Yes. Why are you doing this?”
“I thought if I knocked all night, he’d get angry and open the door, but I was wrong.”
I was dumbfounded to see Ethan yawning and stretching nonchalantly. He spent all night trying to open Vincent’s door, just now? It would be faster to snatch the bunch of keys from me and force it open.
“Shall I open it for you?”
I asked, rummaging through my apron pocket. Ethan’s eyes widened.
“You said it wasn’t allowed yesterday.”
“I’ll earn his dislike, but he doesn’t like me anyway. Nothing will change if I get more dislike.”
“I can’t let you go through such a hard time.”
Another refusal. It seems like he’s saying that out of consideration for me, but I don’t know.
“But you can’t just keep standing in front of the door like this. You don’t know if it’ll take days or months for the door to open. As you know, the master is stubborn.”
At those words, Ethan seemed to hesitate for a moment, then shook his head.
“I’ll try a little more.”
“If you say so.”
I took my hand out of my pocket and turned around. The sound of knocking on the door echoed behind me. I shook my head. He’ll only come to his senses when his fists are swollen. That door isn’t something that can be opened by being stubborn.
But Ethan seemed to realize that fact in a short time.
When I went up with Vincent’s lunch, Ethan said with a troubled face.
“I guess I should ask you after all.”
“Yes.”
I passed him and inserted the key into the tightly closed door.
“Will he be very angry?”
“Stand by the door. Don’t come in.”
I couldn’t say no.
With a click, the door opened. Instantly, a musty smell pressed against my nose. That’s strange, the stench is particularly bad today? I frowned and went straight to the window and pulled back the curtains. Bright rays of light illuminated the dark room. When I opened the window, the breeze blew in gently, subduing the stench.
Ethan stood quietly by the door as I told him to. I approached Vincent.
“Master. It’s time for lunch.”
“……Go.”
His voice was hoarse. It was too hoarse to be just from sleepiness?
“Master?”
“…….”
He wasn’t one to answer well, but something was wrong. I went closer and lifted the sheets to reveal a sweat-soaked face. And the pillow was soaked with vomit.
“Master!”
He didn’t open his eyes even when I patted his cheek to wake him up. His condition was strange. Surprised, I looked back at the door and Ethan immediately turned around. The sound of footsteps running down the hallway echoed urgently.
Soon after, the doctor came. He was wearing a shirt with mismatched buttons and wrinkled pants, and he hadn’t even put on his shoes properly. The crooked glasses showed how urgently he had come.
“He’s got indigestion.”
“Yes?”
“He said he’s been eating a little recently, but I guess he ate too much. Suddenly consuming more food than usual is worse for the body. It seems like he’s been suffering all night.”
No, how much did I feed him? He didn’t eat this morning. He said he didn’t want to eat and didn’t want to move from the bed, so I had no choice but to skip it, but it was because he had indigestion. He couldn’t even eat half of his Rice gruel last night, so I forced him to eat a little more, and his body knew it and went wrong.
“Really… he’s so weak.”
“His body has become very weak. You have to be careful.”
“……Yes.”
In the end, I was scolded by the doctor. I bowed and greeted him as he finished his examination and left, secretly sighing. I get scolded even when I feed him well, really.
When I finished seeing him off and returned to the room, Ethan was sitting in front of the bed. His gaze was fixed on Vincent, not leaving him for a moment. But Vincent said nothing. Even though he knew who was next to him, he didn’t even glance at Ethan.
“Why is he so thin?”
After a silence, Ethan murmured as if sighing.
“He’s thinner than the last time I saw him… He should take care of his health….”
Ethan raised his hand and buried his face in it, bowing his head deeply. How can I face the late Baron family if you’re like this…? He seemed not to know what to do with his heartache as he murmured.
But Vincent was cold.
“Go back.”
Ethan, who seemed to be catching his breath for a moment, raised his face again. Vincent’s gaze was still fixed on the ceiling.
“Vincent. Don’t be like this, come outside. I’ll help you.”
“How are you going to help me?”
“Anything. I’ll do anything I can.”
“Then can you make me see?”
“…….”
“Can’t you? Then stop talking nonsense and get out.”
How cold he is. It was a conversation that blatantly revealed a knife-like hostility. Standing behind them, listening to the conversation with bated breath, I secretly clicked my tongue. Despite Ethan’s concern, Vincent’s attitude toward him was very sharp. He had thorns sticking out all over his body, leaving the other person only to be pricked.
But Ethan didn’t give up easily either.
“How long are you going to hold out like this? There’s a lot of talk in the world right now. That Baron family Bellunita was injured at a party and is recuperating, but in fact, there’s something wrong with his body and he’s hiding it.”
“…….”
“You can’t live like this forever.”
“What do you want me to do?”
“You have to reveal it now.”
“You’re telling me to die.”
“Vincent.”
“If Baron family Bellunita is blind and can’t see, then this time, not an assassin, but the person who made me like this will come with a knife and stab me to death.”
Vincent scoffed. Ethan shook his head.
“The person who made you like this probably already knows your condition.”
“…….”
At the sharp remark, Vincent’s face, which had been wearing a sneer, hardened. His sharply changed eyes were still facing the ceiling, but the end was no different from being fixed on Ethan.
But there was no rebuttal. It means he agrees with that statement to some extent.
Silence fell again. The mismatched gazes did not easily reach each other. Vincent closed his mouth. It meant he didn’t want to talk anymore.
This was a meaningless time.
Ethan seemed to realize that too, and let out a deep sigh.
“Vincent. I mean… if you’re going to keep doing this, I’m going to announce your condition.”
At the shocking statement, Vincent turned his head sharply. His rapidly enlarged eyes were filled with astonishment. It was the same for me. Forgetting that I was pretending not to hear, I was surprised and looked at Ethan.
“Are you crazy?”
“Maybe.”
“Ethan!”
Vincent shouted fiercely. Even so, Ethan did not back down. A chillingly calm voice followed.
“Vincent. You’re my precious friend, and I don’t want to keep a friend like that like this. This isn’t something that can be hidden forever, and we have to prepare for the future. You know that fact too, don’t you? Knowing that and still doing this is just a tantrum.”
“…….”
“I’m going to get you out of here no matter what, and I don’t care if it puts you in danger. Living like this is poison to you too. Of course, I won’t care about your opinion at all in the process.”
“Don’t talk nonsense.”
“You’ll see if what I’m saying is nonsense or not.”
Ethan jumped up from his seat. Vincent didn’t move at all. He seemed unable to breathe properly from the great shock. His hand gripping the sheet was trembling. I was worried that he would have a seizure.
“Choose. Whether you’ll convince me or not.”
“…….”
Silence fell after the firm words. Vincent didn’t answer easily. He just glared fiercely at Ethan, and Ethan just stared at Vincent. For a moment, it seemed like sparks were flying between them.
\ \ *
Having a guest doubled the work. After attending to Vincent, I headed to the guest room. I changed the pillowcases, bed sheets, and sheets, and cleaned. Basically, all the rooms in this mansion are cleaned by the maids at regular intervals to maintain cleanliness, but since they haven’t been used for a long time, there was quite a bit of dust in places that weren’t visible.
First, I wiped the dusty windows. Ethan stared at me.
“How is Vincent?”
I wiped the window with a dry towel, glanced at him, and answered.
“Why don’t you go and see for yourself if you’re curious?”
“I would appreciate it if the maid told me.”
His smiling face was annoying. I sighed.
Despite my advice, on that day when the incident happened, Ethan ended up turning everything upside down and left the room. Seeing him leave with a firm attitude that he would never back down this time, I was speechless.
‘Show me. Show me how you’re trying. Make me feel at ease that it’s okay to leave it like this.’
‘You’re stubborn, but I’m impatient. I’ll give you two days.’
Vincent’s fist trembled. Unable to see, he couldn’t even get out of bed and try to stop his friend. Instead, he had a seizure. I ran to him and put a Breathing device in his mouth. His face, inhaling the beeping air, was stained with misery. He must have been greatly hurt in his pride.
