47 - The Time of the Blind Beast (15+ Revised Edition)
Chapter 47
Even as the entire summer passed, Ezekiel showed little improvement. Accordingly, Merlo's trips between the other house and the main residence increased.
“Miss, is there still no new news?”
The Valdemara family’s main house pressured her so much that on days Merlo returned from Claris, her cheeks were sunken and her eyes were dark, as if bruised.
“They even brought in several doctors at the main house to confirm. If it were an illness, their condition should have improved quickly with the antidote. The fact that there’s been no progress all summer likely means the chance to cure it has been lost.”
Merlo wasn't the only one. Madam Serva, who had initially shown a relaxed demeanor, saying she was relieved just to be able to start treatment, also began to show signs of impatience.
Was the treatment even working?
Or was it just a futile struggle?
Among the employees, there was much debate about Ezekiel's chances of recovery. Even if she hadn't heard it directly, she knew it was true. Whenever Rose appeared, they would abruptly stop their conversations and adopt awkward expressions, creating a strange atmosphere that was impossible to ignore.
But ultimately, the most frustrated person was likely Ezekiel. Dr. Briman would receive his promised payment and leave, regardless of whether the treatment succeeded or failed. Ezekiel, however, was the one who had to bear the aftermath.
Rose occasionally encountered Ezekiel staring blankly into space. As if trying to discern a faint shadow in the uniform darkness, he would gaze at the wall for a long time with a cool expression. The period when he saw things he shouldn't have seen was problematic, but this period, when he couldn't see what he should, was also a problem. Rose understood his overwhelming despair. No matter how brave a man he was, he couldn't possibly be alright.
Furthermore, Rose wasn't alright either.
Her safety was guaranteed only as long as he remained unable to see. The day his vision changed, Rose would have to awaken from her dream. And she would have to prepare for the harsh winter that would follow.
“……Major. It’s still summer. The season hasn’t changed. The season of harvest is autumn. We still have a little more time.”
The season that had not yet ended was, rather, a comfort.
For him, and for her.
“Yes, summer hasn’t ended.”
Ezekiel didn't directly vent his lurking anxiety to Rose. Instead, he expressed the storm within him indirectly.
“Rose, I will definitely escape this pitch-black darkness and see the white, snow-covered winter with you.”
On days when a tempest raged in his heart, he held Rose more fiercely than usual. Whether day or night, regardless of time, he would cast himself and Rose into the most primal and intense sensations a person could feel.
Swept away by overwhelming power, Rose closed her eyes. She was dizzy and couldn't see.
A hazy ecstasy washed over her. Moans that couldn't form words escaped in fragments.
Her consciousness felt like it was shattering. The sensations gripping her limbs were so intense that she couldn't think of anything. In this moment, she could forget she was 'Rose.' She could stop worrying about 'tomorrow.' If only it were possible, she wished to remain submerged in this rapture indefinitely.
Ezekiel was likely sharing the same sensation.
Breathing shallow breaths that fluttered near her neck, she raised her head and looked up at the man's delicate eyes. Even with all her focus, she couldn't feel their gaze meeting hers, so she shifted her eyes downward.
Having expended his strength all at once, the contours of his muscles, swollen and rough with exertion, were dimly revealed. Rose let her fingers slide along those lines. She liked the firm yet elastic texture.
Ezekiel brought Rose's fingers, which were tickling his abdomen, to his mouth. After touching and licking them, he refused to let go even when Rose tried to withdraw her hand, persistently biting and sucking.
“Major.”
“Yes?”
“You don’t have a hobby of eating people, do you?”
Ezekiel chuckled at the joke, mixed with a faint smile.
“I didn’t have that hobby, but I want to keep you inside me.”
He kissed her for a long, long time and whispered.
“Let us be one body forever. So we don’t separate.”
How wonderful it would be if that were truly possible.
If there were a way for two bodies to become one and never part.
Rose became aware of her belly, bearing his marks.
Even if she couldn't hope for forever, she could at least cherish this moment of being connected as one with him. She deeply accepted the part of Ezekiel submerged within her.
* * *
If winter announces its arrival with scent, spring with rain, and summer with sunshine, then autumn begins with the wind. A cool breeze brushed against their cheeks in the mornings and evenings.
The mansion, where subtle whispers had circulated all summer, grew quiet with the arrival of autumn.
After trying so many antidotes with no reaction, wasn't it already beyond repair?
Under the unspoken prediction, everyone began to avoid the uncomfortable topic and only spoke of the day's events.
“I simply cannot read Mr. Ezekiel’s mind, nor the young lady’s. I can’t get a grasp on it. How do they plan to resolve this situation…?”
This was a private meeting with Merlo, away from the eyes of the employees.
Rose used the method of secretly passing notes or letters while brushing past him, as appearing to converse too often with Merlo, whom everyone knew as a fruit vendor, would make others suspicious. However, when direct conversation was necessary, they met in the garden at a set time, just as before.
Merlo shook his head.
“Or do you have something else you're relying on? Have you asked Mr. Ezekiel? What are your plans if your sight doesn't return?”
Rose didn't understand why he was asking this now. She stared at him intently and retorted,
“Didn’t the Valdemara family unilaterally inform us that you would sever ties if your sight doesn't return?”
“…That’s right. I had forgotten, indeed. No, but are you truly confident you can obtain that severance agreement? Given his demeanor, I don't think it would be easy, even for you, Miss.”
It was naturally difficult. Ezekiel’s pride in the Valdemara family was beyond what others could imagine.
It was a condition thrown out to draw Merlo and the Valdemara family's attention to Ezekiel, not a precise means intended for actual execution.
Rose bit the soft flesh inside her lip.
Merlo pressed on, sensing an opening.
“Are you perhaps hiding something from me? If so, let’s share it. You made such bold claims about being able to cure him, about him being cured, yet there’s been no news. I’ve been taking your side at the main house while running errands… If this continues, I’ll be in trouble too.”
“I am not hiding anything. Nor is there any reason to hide it.”
“This is driving me crazy…”
Merlo clutched his forehead, clicked his tongue, then suddenly looked at Rose with a suspicious expression.
“You’re not interfering in the middle, are you? Because you don’t want to be forced to part ways when his sight returns…”
“……”
“…I apologize. I said it myself, but I crossed a line just now. It’s because I’m worried that all sorts of thoughts are running through my head. The Head of the Family is pressing me, asking why nothing has changed even after all this time, yet Mr. Ezekiel and you seem unconcerned.”
How could they not be concerned? However, Ezekiel’s anxiety and her anxiety had different meanings. That was why they couldn't show it.
Even after Merlo left, Rose mulled over the suspicion he had cast.
“You’re not interfering in the middle, are you? Because you don’t want to be forced to part ways when his sight returns…”
The reason she couldn't immediately and strongly deny that rude remark was likely because she couldn't be sure her heart was entirely pure.
Ezekiel was a person who wished to escape this moment as soon as possible, while she was a person who wished to hold onto this moment for as long as possible. That gap, however fleeting, made her hesitate to give an answer.
Even though she had never actually interfered with his treatment.
Even though she had no desire to accumulate more sins.
