Chapter 86
86
86. To You, Whom I Couldn't Erase Even When I Tried to Forget (10)
I screamed and fell backward. I felt a stinging pain in my buttocks and fingertips. Ouch! When I lifted my palm, the skin was torn and soaked with blood, I didn't even know when I cut it.
I was bewildered, not knowing what was going on, and looked alternately at my cut palm and him. Vincent's face, illuminated by the moonlight, was flushed red. He was covering his mouth with one hand, as if trying to figure out what the hell was going on. It was the first time I'd seen Vincent so flustered.
"You, you're too much like... so..."
"Pardon?"
The stammered voice couldn't form a complete sentence. Emerald eyes filled with confusion didn't know what to do. Seeing the other person so flustered, I became calmer.
"First, calm down."
"Uwaaaah!"
At that moment, a cry was heard. It was Robert's voice. He must have finally woken up.
Oh, no. I was flustered and turned toward Robert's room. Just as I was about to quickly get up, worried that Robert would be surprised, something suddenly pulled my body. I paused and looked down to see Vincent grabbing my wrist. As if desperately holding onto someone who was about to leave.
When I looked at him with wide eyes, he followed my gaze down and was startled, letting go of my hand. I was the one who was embarrassed, but he seemed even more surprised. His face, flushed red even in the moonlight, was clearly visible.
"Ah, that, it's too dark..."
"...Yes?"
What does it matter if it's dark and I was grabbed? But he didn't seem to want to answer my question, and he was even more flustered than before. Just as I was about to frown, wondering if he had something to say, Robert's crying rang out loudly again.
He suddenly raised his head and looked toward Robert's room. Then he looked at me again, moved his lips a few times, and finally uttered a word.
"Stay with Robert."
"Ah, yes."
I thought he was coming with me, but he got up and suddenly walked in the opposite direction. No, it would be more accurate to say he ran. He walked so fast that he quickly disappeared to the end of the hallway. I could hear a series of thuds in the distance, as if he had bumped into something. And he didn't even take a lamp.
But even if he had taken a lamp, it wouldn't have helped much. His lamp was also lying on the floor, broken. So many lamps are breaking today. Thinking it was all because of the thunder and lightning, I looked out the window, but the rain had stopped and the outside was quiet.
I looked at my stinging palm and sighed. I must have cut my hand on a broken piece of lamp. What is going on? But before I could even grasp the situation, I turned around again. First, I had to soothe Robert, who was crying alone.
That strange night passed, and morning dawned. I had fallen asleep as soon as I lay down on the sofa, exhausted from soothing the wailing Robert. When I woke up, it was already lunchtime.
"Are you awake?"
Just then, Nanny opened the door and came in. Come to think of it, I hadn't even taken care of Robert's breakfast. I was flustered and tried to get up, but she told me to stay in bed.
"I'm sorry. I didn't even know you were having a hard time all night."
"It's okay. How is Master Robert?"
"He finished breakfast and is sleeping in another room. The windows in his original room are in such bad condition that they are being repaired. The rain has stopped now."
"That's a relief. I'm sorry for sleeping in."
"It's okay. You worked hard."
She patted my shoulder. I smiled awkwardly and rubbed my dry eyes. Nanny said I could sleep more, but I shook my head and got off the sofa.
The space was spacious enough, but I felt stiff all over from sleeping curled up. As I stretched out my arms and yawned, Nanny was startled and shouted.
"Oh my. Ann! Are you hurt somewhere?"
"Yes?"
I looked at my condition at her words and was surprised. I had slept with my apron on, and there were black stains all over the white fabric. What is this? When I looked closer, it was blood. Now that I saw it, there were bloodstains dried on both hands.
"Oh my goodness. What happened?"
"Well, I don't know."
I was flustered and looked at my torn hands, and then I felt a stinging sensation on my knees and thighs. I must have been hurt there too without knowing it. Where did I get cut?
The events of yesterday came back to me in fragments. After Vincent left, the aftermath was my responsibility. First, I soothed the surprised Robert and put him back to sleep, then I went out into the hallway.
The hallway was a mess, with even the windows broken. Seeing pieces of wood on the floor, it seemed that a piece of wood had flown in and broken the window. I realized the power of the strong wind again. Fortunately, there wasn't much oil left in the lamp. If a spark had caught, it could have turned into a bigger commotion.
I was cleaning up the broken glass when I heard Robert crying again, as if he had woken up again. I had to quickly finish cleaning up and go back into the room.
"The wind was so strong all night that the hallway window was broken. I must have been hurt then."
"Oh my. Which window?"
"The one in the middle of the hallway."
Then I briefly explained what had happened at night. Except for meeting Vincent, of course. Nanny nodded without much suspicion.
"Rest in your room for now and come back in the evening. I'll clean up here."
"Okay."
I left the rest of the cleanup to her and came out of the room.
I was walking down the hallway, dragging my tired body, when suddenly a servant passed by me. I was blankly watching his back, which looked somehow urgent, when other servants followed him. They were all dressed in dirty clothes.
I wondered what was going on, and then I saw Johnny approaching from afar. But he didn't look good either. He was covered in dust.
"Why do you look like that?"
"Why do you look like that?"
Johnny paused, frowned, and scanned me up and down. Only then did I remember what I looked like.
"Are you hurt somewhere?" At the serious question, I waved my hand, saying it was nothing, and asked him why he looked like that. Then Johnny said, "Is it that bad?" and patted his clothes, causing dust to float up. This time, I frowned and took a step back.
"A broken tree branch fell and made a hole in the ceiling of the hallway near the central staircase. All the servants have been called out since morning to fix it, and it's a mess."
"The ceiling? Is the hole big?"
"It's pretty big. They're doing emergency repairs, but they say it could break again. The ceiling panels are dangling, so be careful when you pass by there."
So that's why they were running so fast just now. I thought the wind was unusual in the early morning, but I didn't expect it to be this bad. Come to think of it, the window flew away on this side. Is that why Nanny didn't have any questions about what I said?
"I heard a window was broken somewhere too."
"Oh, right. Over there on the opposite side."
"Last time, the wall cracked... This mansion, it seems to be falling apart here and there. It's not in good condition."
Johnny scratched his head with a tired face.
It was true that this mansion was not well-maintained. The windows rattled so much that they would fall off even if the wind blew a little harder.
Besides, although they cleaned every day, it was mainly the places that were used frequently, and the other places were cleaned sporadically on certain days, so dust accumulated and it was quite dirty. The number of servants here was not very large, and they did not provide any special training even though they were brought in from outside, so it seemed difficult to maintain it perfectly.
"There's a small storage room that's been abandoned at the far end of the attic, you know? A maid who was passing by there accidentally opened the door and was in trouble. They said there were a lot of bugs."
"Really?"
"This place is really old. It's like they're forcibly using something that's been abandoned for a long time."
Johnny sighed deeply and then moved his heavy steps, saying he had to go now. He was in charge of the broken windows. I saw Johnny off with a feeling of pity and walked down the hallway again.
As I passed the central staircase that Johnny had mentioned, the servants were gathered together, looking up at the ceiling with worried expressions.
There was really a hole in the middle of the ceiling. And the hole was quite big. The broken, dangling panels fell down with the rain. I could see the servants who were doing repair work inside the hole. They all had expressions that said, "Why me?" The floor was slippery with the falling rainwater.
I carefully passed by there and headed to my room. Alicia, who was lying on the bed during her break, was shocked when she saw me.
"What's wrong with you?"
That was the third question. I must be in pretty bad shape. I needed to wash and treat my wounds, but I was strangely tired.
"Something happened."
"What happened?"
"I don't know. I'm tired."
I walked unsteadily and fell onto the bed. I had been sleeping until now, but I was still sleepy. I blinked my heavy eyes and rubbed my face against the pillow. I heard Alicia clicking her tongue behind me.
"I heard the master stopped by the mansion for a while in the early morning. Did you see him?"
"...I don't know."
"Did you see him or not?"
"I didn't see him."
I answered vaguely and curled up. Alicia shook my shoulder and pressed me to tell her if I really didn't see him. I was too lazy to answer anymore, so I turned away toward the wall. Realizing that I didn't want to answer, Alicia got annoyed and turned away. Only then did I close my heavy eyelids.
The events of the early morning flashed through my mind. Perhaps because I was so surprised, my memory was already fading. It was as if the thunder had taken away even my memories. I wasn't in my right mind when I thought I was alone in the dark. I think I fainted for a while. When I came to my senses, I was hugging him, so I must have been really crazy.
His face, flushed with embarrassment, came to mind. Vincent, who was even stammering, seemed really surprised.
Come to think of it, why was he quietly in my arms? I didn't even ask him that. Did I cling to him? When I thought about that, embarrassment washed over me. Ugh, how strange must I have looked? I suppressed the urge to scream and closed my eyes even tighter. Let's just sleep.
Then I groped for my wrist, where he had grabbed me. The warmth he had left behind must have already disappeared, but strangely, my wrist was hot.
I fiddled with my wrist and fell fast asleep. It was the first time since I came here that I didn't have a nightmare.
\ \ *
After that day, I didn't have any direct encounters with Vincent. He rarely visited this mansion, and when he did come to see Robert, he never even glanced at me. He was still sending letters through the servant, but he no longer asked directly about Robert. He only spoke to Nanny, even when he spoke to her. It was as if he was avoiding me.
I should be avoiding him, but he was avoiding me on his own, so I didn't know whether to be happy or not. Thanks to that, I didn't get scolded for where I got the ink, so I was relieved.
Time passed quickly. The torn wounds on both hands healed, the hole in the ceiling was filled, and a peaceful daily life continued.
One day, when there were only a few days left in my Probationary period, a guest came to the Bellunita Baron family.
It was another reunion.
