Chapter 28
# 28
28. Tea Time with the Count (10)
“Master.”
“……”
I examined Vincent, who was leaning against the door. I could feel the constant thud, thud, thud of knocking on the door, but he didn’t move.
The moment his face flushed red at Violet’s flustered voice, he tried to run out of the Reception room. But he hit his knee on the sofa while getting up, and then bumped his face against the wall while trying to walk as if nothing had happened. That was when his nose started bleeding. But he didn’t care and turned around, hitting his waist on the display case right in front of him. After the ornaments on it fell to the floor and shattered, he was able to leave the Reception room safely. And as promised, I took his hand and led him to his room.
As soon as he entered the room, he locked the door. Violet, who belatedly followed, knocked on the door, but he didn’t open it. I couldn’t do anything but squat in front of him. The temperature of the hand I was still holding was so cold that I could vaguely feel his heart.
“Vincent! Vincent!”
Violet called him until her throat was sore. I had seen a similar situation before. And as then, he wouldn’t open the door.
“Master. Violet keeps calling you.”
“……I know.”
“Shouldn’t you open the door?”
He shook his head.
“Practicing was useless. It’s wrong for a blind person to pretend they can see. That’s why it turned out like this. It was a predetermined ending. It’s over now. It’s all over……”
“Vincent! Open the door! Please!”
His voice, filled with despair, collided with Violet’s voice and disappeared. I was at a loss for what to say to him.
After a while, a footstep approached. It seemed to be Ethan. I could hear him soothing Violet. Soon after, the footsteps of the two people faded away.
Silence washed over us. Even knowing that the two had left, Vincent still kept his head bowed. I moved my face from side to side, examining Vincent’s condition, and then gently cupped his cheeks and lifted them up. The face that had been stained with shame was now pale, and his eyes were filled with despair. The area around his nose was messily stained with blood. He hadn’t even had time to properly wipe his nosebleed.
I let go of his face, got up, and headed to the bathroom. I took out a clean towel, soaked it in water, and came back. Then, I gently wiped the blood from his face with the wet towel.
“Not yet…… it shouldn’t end yet. It shouldn’t break yet……”
“Violet will understand.”
“Not yet, it has to be.”
What did he mean? I tilted my head. He didn’t say anything more. The heavy air floated in the room where even his muttering had stopped.
I met Ethan on the way out after putting him to sleep, as he said he was tired. His bitterly smiling face was filled with fatigue.
“I’m sorry.”
“Why is the maid apologizing? To be exact, it’s not the maid’s fault.”
Still, it was true that this mess happened because of what I said. I guess that’s why Isabella told me to be careful about what I say. The moment that couldn’t be turned back remained as regret.
“Everything will be alright.”
He patted my shoulder. His usual light attitude was somehow comforting.
The next day, the mansion was quiet. Ethan was nowhere to be seen, and Violet, who had been knocking on the door until last night, didn’t come either. I thought she would come again, but maybe Ethan had soothed her well.
As always, I tidied up the room and checked on his condition. Recently, he had been eating well and getting out of bed to walk, and he hadn’t had any seizures, perhaps because he had gained some strength. But it was a secret only I knew that he had been suffering from nightmares all night.
I handed the laundry to Lenika and was receiving new ones when someone called me.
“Paula.”
It was Violet.
When I approached her call, her eyes were swollen red. It seemed she had been crying all night.
“How is Vincent? Is he still very angry?”
“You’re mistaken. Master isn’t angry.”
“That’s a relief then.”
She smiled weakly. Her drooping shoulders were pitiful.
“I heard from Ethan. Paula knew too, right?”
“I’m sorry.”
“Oh, come on. Paula doesn’t have to apologize.”
She waved her hand. But her complexion was pale, and she didn’t look well. She had been calling him, knocking on the door until late last night, so it seemed she had overdone it. I was worried she might collapse like that. I took off my apron, put it in a nearby shady spot, and sat her down on it. Then I sat down next to her.
“I think it would be good for you to rest here for a while.”
“Thank you.”
Violet forced a smile. As she leaned her head against the wall, the wind blew and cooled her down.
“Paula, will you listen to me for a bit?”
“Yes. Please speak.”
She slowly moved her lips.
“You see, I’ve been a very lacking fiancée since I was young. I hated the qualities and manners that a lady should learn. I was a tomboy. I preferred lifting my long skirt and running around to sitting still.”
She smiled happily, lost in old memories. The gloom faded for a moment.
“So, my mother scolded me a lot. She said a lady shouldn’t do that, that no man would like me if I did. Every time I was scolded like that, Vincent comforted me. He said he liked me for showing my honest charm without hiding it. He told me that matching each other was more joyful than sacrificing for someone.”
That crazy master said something so admirable? Honestly, I can’t imagine it. So, I unknowingly gave him a suspicious look. Fortunately, she was lost in the warm memories of the past and didn’t notice my gaze.
“I liked that Vincent. I wanted to be with him, who looked at my inner self, not my appearance. So, when my engagement to Vincent was decided when I was young, I was secretly happy. Because I would be able to spend my whole life with him.”
“……”
“It didn’t matter if Vincent treated me as a friend or family. I will love him, my husband, with all my heart. Until my love burns me, even if everyone else turns their back on him, I vowed to be on his side.”
Her conviction could be seen in her determined voice. There wasn’t even a small hesitation on her stiffly raised face. She was beautiful as she whispered her love. A woman who expressed her love was lovely. She was so lovable that it was blinding just to watch from the side.
“So…… I thought I could accept him no matter what he was like…… Actually, Paula, when I found out about Vincent’s real condition, I had resentful thoughts, even if only for a moment.”
The light faded, and darkness fell again. She smiled as if she were crying and drooped her shoulders.
“I’m such a flawed person. If I had been quick-witted, I would have noticed Vincent’s suffering. I was so happy at the thought of meeting him that I didn’t even realize he was embarrassed. It must have been hard and scary for him because I came……. I didn’t even know that, and I was just acting spoiled, asking why he wouldn’t meet me. I’m not qualified to be his wife.”
“That’s not true.”
“A great wife wouldn’t have been surprised by his appearance and would have calmly held him in her arms. She should have whispered that it was okay, that she still loved him.”
I immediately shook my head. It was an issue where right and wrong couldn’t be easily judged. Her attitude was natural, and even I, who was inexperienced, knew that. And Vincent would know that too.
“Violet. If I may say something, I don’t think it’s a matter of assigning blame to anyone. How could Violet have known what Master and Christopher were hiding? It would have been appreciated if you had noticed in advance and pretended not to know, but I don’t think you should be criticized for not doing so. And I think Violet’s attitude is natural.”
“Do you think so?”
“Of course. Honestly, I think it would be more amazing if you noticed when they were deliberately hiding it. As someone who has been watching from the side, I can say that they were hiding it very meticulously. If I hadn’t known about Master’s condition, I wouldn’t have noticed either.”
She laughed as I shook my head and added that he had even practiced. When she asked what kind of practice he had done, I told her that he had prepared everything from walking to lifting a teacup and having a conversation, and she smiled sadly, saying that he must have gone through a lot.
I brushed away her sadness.
“What I want to say is that Violet doesn’t have to blame herself. Honestly, it’s worse to hide it from the person who will become his wife someday. So, you can act spoiled. As I said before, sometimes ignoring the other person’s feelings can bring good results.”
“Really? Will good results come?”
I nodded firmly. Of course, not all results are good, but right now, the two of them needed an opportunity to face each other. And now was that opportunity. If it’s for the sake of the other person, I believe that effort will surely lead to good results.
“Do what Violet wants to do.”
“What I want to do……”
She whispered lowly and tilted her head back to look at the sky. Her violet eyes sparkled with life. A smile of firm determination appeared on her face, which had been frozen as if in thought.
“Yeah. I’m going to act more spoiled. I don’t care if they call me greedy. If that’s what it takes to meet Vincent, I’ll do it. I want to be by his side.”
She turned to me with a bright face. Her fine hair fluttered in the wind.
“Paula, cheer me on.”
Her determined eyes sparkled. No, she herself was dazzling. I couldn’t take my eyes off Violet, who was trying to burn her love. She’s pretty. She herself was pretty, but the heart that tried to face the other person without giving up from the beginning was so pretty.
Will I become like that if I love someone? Then I smiled bitterly. Because I’ll never have someone like that.
The hands of a noble lady my age will continue to be smooth and beautiful, but my hands will continue to be rough and shabby like this. My appearance won’t change either. The sparkling and dazzling moments in my life will never come.
“Yes.”
But this time, I could gladly answer.
\ \ *
From that day on, she stood in front of Vincent’s door. She knocked on the door and called him. But he didn’t open the door. The door wasn’t locked. But Violet insisted that she would wait until he opened it himself.
I heard from Ethan that he had a hard time persuading her, who was trying to skip her meal again today and run to Vincent’s room. Ethan had also been trying to talk to Vincent and persuade him since that day, but he had failed every time. Because this issue wasn’t something that could be resolved by being forceful like last time.
‘Maybe the maid should say something.’
His weakly smiling face was unfamiliar, so I couldn’t bring myself to refuse.
I hesitated as I watched Vincent eating and slowly broached the subject.
“Master. How about meeting Violet?”
“Stop.”
He immediately cut me off. He puts the bowl he was holding on the side table. He hadn’t even eaten half of it.
“I don’t have an appetite, so I won’t eat anymore.”
I grabbed him as he was about to lie down on the bed.
“Violet said she would accept Master no matter what he was like.”
“Stop it.”
“She keeps standing in front of the door. She’s going to collapse like that.”
“Stop! Don’t say any more. That’s an order.”
He grabbed my wrist. His firm voice was different from what it had been until now. Don’t cross the line anymore. A warning was heard.
