12 - The Time of the Blind Beast (15+ Revised Edition)
Chapter 12
3. Sleepless Nights
The man's daily life, which never left the mansion, was quite simple. Yet, it was not static.
Sometimes, under the influence of wine mixed with opium, he would languidly tilt his head back, only to suddenly spring up and roam the first floor. It seemed his body, accustomed to the soldier's life of pushing himself beyond his limits, would move out of habit even when intoxicated by medication.
Rose followed the man closely, ready to support him the moment he showed signs of being unable to walk properly.
She had never seen him sleep in. This was because he woke up easily at the slightest sound. Rather, it always took him a long time to fall asleep, and even when he finally did, it was only shallow sleep, leaving him suffering from chronic sleep deprivation.
Rose soon learned the reason for this.
"An enemy's surprise attack always happens when one is asleep."
Ezekiel had casually blurted this out once as he accepted and drank the sleep tea she brought. Indeed, on the day Rose injured his eyes, he was asleep when the incident occurred. It even happened while he was taking a rare moment to rest at home, away from the battlefield. Therefore, home was likely not a place where he could rest comfortably.
That night, Rose also tossed and turned, unable to sleep. The night, as if infected by his insomnia, felt endlessly long.
Again, rain poured down relentlessly from the morning.
The weather was bound to be bad during the seasonal transition. It was rain, then sleet, and sometimes fog would blanket the land. Thus, the view outside the window was generally gray.
Rose looked up at the sky beyond the curtains. Dense, dark clouds completely obscured the sun, making the surroundings as dark as dawn. It was fortunate, at least, that the rain was not accompanied by thunder and lightning.
"Major. The Doctor has arrived. I've shown him to the reception room."
The mansion received guests every few days. They were all Doctors. Every Doctor in the vicinity had visited the mansion once or twice, and recently, they were expanding their search to renowned Doctors from other regions.
It was said that all the Doctors who had visited the mansion so far examined his eyes, shook their heads, and left.
On days when a Doctor visited, all the employees held their breath and spent the day. This was because Ezekiel, who treated all the Doctors as fools and quacks, remained submerged in alcohol and medication all day.
At such times, Ezekiel would not overlook even the slightest mistake by his employees, but would sharply reprimand them. Even Rose, who had just started as a laundry maid and had no reason to meet Ezekiel, could vaguely sense the tension lingering within the mansion. It was precarious and delicate.
Rose tidied his appearance with steady hands. Ezekiel did not lower his head to account for their height difference, and of course, he had no way of knowing how much of a difference there was. She often had to stand on tiptoe.
As she reached up to gather her disheveled hair, she glanced at Ezekiel's complexion.
...What must this man be thinking as he meets with a Doctor?
The Doctor visiting today was actually the second one to come since she was assigned as Ezekiel's personal maid. She hadn't even seen the face of the first one. The Doctor, after hearing the circumstances of the accident and the symptoms during his interview with Madam Serva, had refused to examine him, shaking his head.
"I don't know how I'm supposed to make eyes that are already blind see again. Writers who live on fantasy might suggest attaching someone else's eyes, but... that's the kind of story you'd find in a Gothic horror novel. As a Doctor, I can't even imagine it."
Rose only heard the Doctor's words secondhand through Madam Serva. Madam Serva, usually so gentle, had huffed indignantly, wondering why such a mediocre Doctor would dismiss the treatment as fantasy instead of simply saying he couldn't do it. She then repeatedly warned Rose to be careful not to let Ezekiel hear about it.
"Rose, do you know how many Doctors there are in the world? If we keep searching, a Doctor who can fix your eyes will surely appear. Won't they?"
Madam Serva held her hand and sought her agreement.
Rose hesitated, unable to answer immediately. Though it was just a single syllable, "Yes," it felt like a thorn stuck in her throat, making it sting.
It felt like being struck on the head with a sudden realization.
That's right. Until now, Rose had never even considered the possibility of Ezekiel's eyes healing.
Even though she had heard rumors that all the Doctors from the North had visited this mansion, and even though she had rushed here with certainty about the man's whereabouts based on those rumors, and even though she had resolved to be his hands and feet and stay by his side forever, she had never factored in the possibility of his eyes getting better.
What could be the reason?
Was it because she had witnessed Achenaus's malice right before her eyes? Perhaps the grim belief that a brother who tried to kill his sibling would not have used a poison that could be easily treated rendered the efforts of Madam Serva and Ezekiel futile.
The objective situation was also not in Ezekiel's favor. So many Doctors had visited, yet not a single one had begun treatment. The mansion's employees, excluding Madam Serva, also believed that they were consuming useless effort and money, though they dared not voice it.
And...
Rose took a short, sharp breath.
She also didn't want to imagine such a clear future just yet. Because if, truly, by some miracle, such a thing happened, she lacked the confidence to bear the cost of the rage the man would unleash upon regaining his sight.
Even though, from Ezekiel's perspective, he would surely crave the opportunity to reclaim his life, which had been stolen along with his vision, far more than a maid who would care for him blindly for the rest of his life.
Ultimately, it was a cowardly evasion born from the inability to escape his responsibility as the perpetrator.
Rose could only nod her head slightly. Even with this passive agreement, Madam Serva's fighting spirit flared.
"I will not give up."
Madam Serva truly did not give up. She increased the consultation fees to secure more Doctors. If Doctors from the North couldn't solve it, she seemed determined to bring in Doctors from the East, West, and South. She had even asked the Doctors who had visited before for recommendations.
The Doctor who visited this time had a timid demeanor. He had passed Madam Serva's interview and entered the reception room, but he couldn't sit still, constantly looking around. It seemed he was intimidated by the mansion's eerie atmosphere, which had been sealed off with black curtains on all sides to block out any sense of day or night. Moreover, the patient was a once-famous war hero, so even for a Doctor who had experienced all sorts of patients, this case would be a difficult and troublesome puzzle.
"Well, it is an honor to meet the hero of the Rose Wars in person."
The Doctor stood up abruptly and greeted them upon seeing Ezekiel and Rose.
Ezekiel, without Rose's help, strode across the reception room and sat down in the examination chair.
"Oh..."
The Doctor's inner admiration was evident. Rose understood the Doctor's surprise. In her early days of employment at the mansion, she too had been surprised by Ezekiel roaming the first floor. In a space he knew like the back of his hand, Ezekiel acted no differently than sighted people. Of course, behind this was the effort of the employees who meticulously arranged tables, chairs, and even the angles of the furniture with a ruler.
"Let's begin."
Ezekiel, leaning back against the chair, instructed.
The Doctor began to take out the instruments from his Doctor's bag one by one and lay them on the table. There were forceps and needles of various sizes, a curved knife, a magnifying glass, and other tools with ominous appearances whose uses were difficult to guess. Finally, a lamp was placed among them.
"Just a moment."
Rose, who had been watching the Doctor from a few steps behind, quickly intervened.
"Lamps are not allowed to be used here."
"Y-yes? But how can you examine without light?"
The Doctor asked in surprise.
Rose also hesitated. Indeed. Light was the mansion's greatest taboo, so she had instinctively put up a barrier, but she had no idea how all the Doctors had conducted their examinations in this dark reception room without even turning on a lamp.
Ezekiel let out a faint chuckle. He had a side that, surprisingly, struck Rose as not just diligent but even rigid. It was understandable why Madam Serva had specifically chosen her, a newcomer, to be by his side, rather than other employees.
"My maid is inflexible, like a soldier's maid. Just do as you were doing."
Rose's face flushed slightly, and she stepped back.
Unfortunately, the Doctor, more than Rose's prohibition of the lamp, became more intimidated by Ezekiel's instruction to proceed as usual.
The Doctor lit the lamp. As it cut through the dense darkness, an orange light bloomed. It was blinding. Rose involuntarily squeezed her eyes shut. No matter how bright the lamp was, it couldn't compare to the natural light outside the window, yet her retinas, accustomed to the darkness from staying in the dim mansion, reacted sensitively even to the faint light.
If normal eyes react like this, I really... I don't know if he's okay.
Rose glanced sideways at Ezekiel.
He was a man who usually avoided even faint moonlight. He lived with two layers of curtains drawn in his bedroom. Yet, the man accepted the Doctor's examination calmly. Of course, having met dozens of Doctors, he had probably resolved to endure as much as he could.
The Doctor brought the lamp close to his eyes to examine their condition. A pale shadow cast by the light flickered around his eyes.
Even while being directly exposed to the light, Ezekiel remained still. He didn't move a finger, making one wonder if he was asleep. Rose, cautiously looking at him to see what was happening, was startled to find sweat beading on his forehead.
He was simply enduring it with all his might.
