Chapter 55
# 55
55. The Baron family's Secret Maid (8)
Screech―!
I screamed at the ear-splitting noise and fell backward.
I lost consciousness for a moment. When I opened my eyes again, my heart was pounding as if it were in my ears. As I gathered my wits and got up, my whole body ached.
A round ball of light was still flashing before my eyes. I shielded my eyes with my hand and looked around when I heard a voice.
Soon after, someone broke through the ball of light and approached me. I widened my eyes when I identified the person who came closer. So did the other person.
“Why are you here……”
Ethan was looking down at me with a surprised face.
I was also surprised and looked at him, then quickly scanned my surroundings again. The identity of the ball of light was a car. A strange man behind Ethan looked at me in a panic. After confirming that much, I groped around. I grabbed the handle of the bag I had dropped when I fell and got up.
I was about to turn around when Ethan grabbed my arm.
“Are you okay?”
“Let go!”
I shook off his hand right away. Ethan's face stiffened as I took a step back. I was flustered and quickly made an excuse.
“……I’m sorry. I’m in a hurry right now. Go on your way.”
“Where are you going?”
I pressed my lips shut. Ethan, who had been watching my tense face, took a step closer. I quickly took another step back.
“Maid.”
“Don’t come any closer!”
“…….”
I shouted not to come at all and stepped back. Ethan stopped abruptly. I gripped the handle of my bag tightly. If he came any closer, I was going to hit him with the bag and run away.
“Please, please don’t come.”
“……What is this. No, what happened? Why are you here?”
“Christopher, what are you doing here in the middle of the night?”
“I was on my way to meet Vincent. I had some urgent business.”
“Then go on your way.”
“Why are you so scared?”
I didn't have time to be doing this here. This seems to be the road leading to the mansion. I ran so hard, but I still haven't gotten far from the mansion.
Ethan kept asking me what was wrong. I silently looked for a way to escape.
“Maid.”
Sensing something was wrong, Ethan reached out his hand. It was the moment he was about to come closer to me again. Suddenly, I heard a rustling sound.
The sound was getting closer and closer. Ethan and I immediately turned our eyes to that side.
My eyes spun.
Oh, what should I do? Did they already follow me?
The leaves were shaking in the distance. I anxiously watched the scene and turned my head towards Ethan. He was watching me.
He narrowed his eyes as he examined my face, which was trembling with anxiety. In his gaze, which asked what was going on, I said what I wanted most desperately.
“Save me.”
Ethan's eyes widened and then turned sharp again. He turned his head towards the sound. Then he looked at me again, strode over, and grabbed my arm. He calmly said to me, who was startled.
“It’s okay. Trust me.”
“…….”
I finally nodded at his sincere eyes.
Ethan put me in the car, immediately closed the door, and got into the seat next to me. The man who had been watching us quickly sat in the driver's seat, and Ethan ordered him to leave.
Soon after, the car started.
I looked out the window. The car was going back in the direction it had come from. After we had moved a certain distance away, I saw a group of people coming out of the bushes where we had left. If we had been just a little later, we would have run into them.
Someone was really chasing me. It wasn't a delusion. Cold sweat ran down my spine. At the same time, a sigh of relief escaped my lips.
Ethan, who was watching me, continued.
“What on earth happened? What was that behavior just now, and where were you going in the middle of the night?”
“…….”
“And what about your appearance? You look like you’re running away.”
“…….”
“Really?”
When I didn't answer, the quick-witted Ethan brought out what I was hiding. I didn't feel like refuting it, so I remained silent. Ethan, realizing that his guess was correct from my reaction, said in a flustered voice.
“Why? Why all of a sudden?”
“I had my reasons.”
“What reasons would make you run away secretly in the middle of the night? Did something happen with Vincent? Did you get kicked out?”
“No.”
Ethan narrowed his eyes as I shook my head. He seemed to be pressing me not to lie. I said I really wasn't and even waved my hand.
“Then what happened? Tell me.”
“Please just don’t ask anything and drop me off on the way. Please.”
“Maid.”
“Please, I beg you.”
“Is it because of James?”
When I gestured with my eyes asking what he meant, Ethan made a troubled face.
“I heard from Vincent. Paula was at the scene.”
“…….”
I quickly looked towards the driver's seat. There was not only him and me in the car, but also another person. This was not a topic to be discussed here.
“It’s okay.”
Ethan noticed me glancing at the driver's seat and reassured me.
“But……”
“He’s trustworthy. You don’t have to worry about him.”
If Ethan said that much, he must be a really trustworthy person. It was a relief, but I didn't have the courage to continue the heavy conversation so easily.
“I’m sorry.”
I widened my eyes at the sudden apology. Ethan smiled bitterly.
“It’s funny to say this now, but I actually knew. That James, that my brother was involved in my father’s death. Even knowing that, I didn’t want to suspect him.”
“Why……”
“Because he’s my precious family. I wanted to believe that couldn’t be true. Could my brother have done such a terrible thing? It must have been an accident, it’s not my brother. I deceived myself with those thoughts. Even though I knew my brother was starting to change and was wary of me, I still believed it. Because I respected and loved him. Even if we weren’t blood-related.”
The shocking words came out at an unexpected moment. Unlike me, who was in shock, the person involved was very calm.
“James was the child that my father’s second wife brought with her. It was known to the world as my father’s illegitimate child, but that’s not true. He was the child that my father’s second wife had with her former fiancé. She brought James with her when she came into our family. After that, Lucas was born between my father and his second wife.”
“…….”
“My father wasn’t someone who cared about bloodlines, so he truly loved my brother. He disguised him as an illegitimate child so that he wouldn’t be discriminated against in his life. And he even allowed James to inherit the family.”
“…….”
“But my brother was anxious. Because he wasn’t my father’s real blood, he wouldn’t be complete even if he became the Baron family later. My father didn’t care, but the people around him urged my father. They said that pure blood should inherit the family. So my brother was wary of me, who was a legitimate bloodline. Even though I had no intention of taking my brother’s place.”
Sadness fell on Ethan’s face. He couldn’t hide his sadness even though he was smiling. His gaze was following the past. I quietly listened to his words.
“But I never thought he would do that to my father……. Lucas too, Vincent too……. I hoped it wasn’t true. I really did.”
After a sigh-like word, he leaned his forehead against his clasped hands. His deeply bowed body curled up. His shoulders were trembling slightly. He exhaled heavily.
Sadness creates regret. That’s what happened to Ethan. It wasn’t that I didn’t understand him. But too many people had been harmed to simply comfort him.
His precious father had died, his proud brother had suffered, and his precious friend had to remain stagnant after losing his sight. And Ethan himself was also suffering. I didn’t want to blame him, but these were things that might not have happened if he hadn’t turned a blind eye.
I looked out the window. The long, overgrown bushes hit the window. I stared blankly at the meaningless sight and turned my head back towards Ethan.
“Christopher.”
“Yes.”
“Why are you telling me this?”
To me, a mere maid. Why are you bringing this up now?
I wanted to know his intention.
At my question, he raised his face. His face, which had tried to erase the sadness, looked out the window with a faint smile.
“Do you know? There’s a forest in the castle. It’s artificially made, and only the royal family and some nobles who have been granted permission can enter. They say they confess secrets there that they can’t tell anywhere else. So everyone calls it the Secret Forest.”
I had heard about it from Lucas once. He said there was such a forest in the castle. He also said it was just a rumor.
“Maid, you are that kind of existence to us.”
He turned back to me. The faint smile that had remained disappeared, and his face, which didn’t contain any emotion, was unfamiliar and unlike him.
“You’re calm, kind, and tight-lipped, so it’s easier to confide secrets to you. Even now, I’ve confided a secret to you that I haven’t told anyone. Do you know what that means?”
“I don’t know.”
“Think about it carefully. Why would we tell such important secrets to a mere maid?”
“…….”
“Because we can get rid of you at any time.”
He pulled up the corners of his lips and smiled. The sadness was erased from his face, and a bitter feeling filled it. His brown eyes took on a sharp light. It was so eerie that it felt like it would strike my neck at any moment.
I gripped the handle of my bag tightly and met his gaze. I instinctively felt that I shouldn’t avoid it. I curled my trembling fingertips inward and hid them. Only then did I realize that he was also a noble to the bone.
