Translator: Nox

52 - The Time of the Blind Beast (15+ Revised Edition)

Chapter 52

"However, my husband couldn't open his own practice as a doctor. Instead, he changed fields and works in a research lab."

Now, Rose finally understood why Polina insisted on only performing eye surgeries. It was to fix her husband's eyes.

"He was injured while coming to save me, so I will absolutely be responsible for his eyes with my own hands. To do that, I need to know every single detail related to eyes. That's why I haven't taken any other patients and have only treated eye conditions. People find my career path unusual, yet they come to me when they injure their eyes. When I'm really busy, I've performed surgeries on five or six people a day. I haven't been a doctor for a long time, but at least in this field, I believe I'm on par with other doctors who have decades of experience. This is likely why Doctor Briman introduced me here."

After hearing her entire story, the burn scars that marred Polina's face no longer caught Rose's eye.

Rose looked at Polina with a heavy heart.

The word "noble" must be used to describe someone like her. Rose felt an overwhelming shame for her past self, who had come to the mansion to lessen her own sins.

And she was envious.

While both felt a sense of responsibility for the eyes of the person they loved, Polina desperately awaited the day she could operate on her husband's eyes, whereas Rose was in a position where she would have to flee the day Ezekiel's eyes were healed.

"Actually, other surgeries besides eye surgery are also impossible due to severe rejection from patients. It's probably because my face is like this. Miss Rose didn't say anything after seeing this face, but the world isn't always filled with such considerate people. However, patients who can't see well cannot see the doctor's face, so they undergo my surgery without any preconceived notions."

"Ah... I..."

Polina's lips trembled.

A considerate person...

Polina called her considerate simply because she hadn't reacted to her burn scars. Madam Serva had always described her as a diligent and kind young lady, and Doctor Briman had said Rose was meticulous and capable.

And Ezekiel... she saw this man as an angel or a saint who appeared to save her life that had been plummeting.

But this was all just a mask she wore to stay by Ezekiel's side. She had to be a considerate, diligent, kind, meticulous, and capable employee for him to need her. She had only tried her best to show her good side, but her true self was full of deception, and she wasn't particularly kind or sacrificial.

Seeing Polina, she realized. She didn't deserve to be here. She felt like a shameless monster for lingering by his side after harming Ezekiel's eyes.

Compared to Polina, who dedicated herself to eye surgeries with the sole aim of healing her husband's eyes with her own hands and stood proud before love, her own intentions of lingering to atone for her sins felt cowardly, pathetic, and shameful.

She didn't know how to express this feeling.

After much hesitation, Rose blurted out an unexpected question instead.

"...Has it been this long since the accident, and is he still waiting for surgery?"

"Of course."

"Is it possible?"

"I will make it possible. I am his wife, but I am also a doctor. A doctor never gives up on a patient who holds onto hope and doesn't give up."

Whether it was truly possible or if she was clinging to the hope that it might be, it was an answer that conveyed a certain conviction as a doctor.

Rose felt that a doctor like this would surely restore light and the world to Ezekiel's eyes.

It was a premonition.

---

Merlo appeared, his head wrapped in bandages and hidden by a fedora. The errand boy who had been lurking around the mansion since early morning bowed his head apologetically, looking quite sheepish, as soon as she appeared.

"I'm truly embarrassed. I'm so sorry. And thank you for helping me that day."

He had been suspicious, asking if she was hiding something, but after being hit once with a stone by Ezekiel, he now seemed quite dejected.

Merlo glanced at Rose and offered an explanation.

"The situation was so frustrating that I wanted to overhear what Ezekiel and you were discussing. That's all. I was crouching by the wall of the bedroom when you suddenly came out for a walk."

It was an outrageous excuse. Who would eavesdrop on private conversations in the middle of the night, not knowing what a man and woman might be doing in a bedroom?

Despite her rising anger, she was relieved that they hadn't had any important conversations and had gone for a walk. Considering Merlo's predicament of being trapped in the garden for an hour and a half without a chance to escape, she couldn't really scold him for suffering unnecessarily.

Moreover, he had already paid more than enough by being caught by Ezekiel while cautiously trying to escape, avoiding Ezekiel and Rose's movements, and ending up with a cracked head.

"I was genuinely surprised. How could a stone fly so accurately aimed at me? At first, I thought I'd been shot. The atmosphere was so menacing, I thought I was going to die of fear."

Rose tidied her complex feelings with a short sigh and glanced at Merlo's head.

"Your injury? Is it serious?"

"Apparently, my head bleeds a lot even with minor injuries. It looks bad, but I'm fine."

"I hope you recover well."

"Yes... I think I'll have to be careful for a while until I'm fully healed, as I might arouse suspicion if I keep coming and going from the mansion looking like this."

She supposed that was necessary. Since that day, the servants instructed by Ezekiel had been diligently watching to see if anyone who appeared unwell was passing near the mansion.

"By the way, the surgery is tomorrow, isn't it? That day is finally coming. I heard the surgeon is already at the mansion, and I was curious about who it was, so I peeked around a bit, but I couldn't see hide nor hair of them."

Perhaps due to her conspicuous burn scars, Polina's activities were limited to reading in the guest room, except during meal times, or taking walks in the garden when no one was around.

Once, late at night, they had encountered each other in the middle of a dense garden. Unaware that Polina was nearby, Rose, in the middle of a passionate kiss with Ezekiel, spotted the silhouette of a tall woman and was so startled she almost screamed. It was fortunate that Ezekiel sensed it with his instincts and covered her lips with his in time; otherwise, a scream in the middle of the night might have woken all the servants sleeping on the third floor of the mansion.

"I didn't see anything. I really didn't see anything, so please don't worry about it."

After Polina disappeared awkwardly, Rose's face crumpled.

"Why aren't you surprised, Major?"

"You didn't know?"

"It would be stranger if I did know."

Ezekiel replied teasingly.

"Isn't she one of those people whose every move is unusually noisy? She said her husband couldn't see, but she moved around deliberately clumsily, stomping her feet, constantly giving away her location."

"I didn't know. Most people aren't that sensitive to the presence of others. Even though I knew the doctor was nearby, how could you, Major...?"

Was he kissing her and groping her body so casually, regardless of whether others saw? Even so, she had been trying to be mindful of her appearance until now. In fact, due to the lingering affection from the bedroom, the front of Rose's dress was half undone. Hurriedly adjusting her clothes, Rose stopped feeling embarrassed and swallowed her complaint.

She felt that even this awkward moment would be missed someday.

She would regret thinking of it as a trivial complaint, she thought.

"In any case, with two doctors performing the surgery, I believe it will go well. It has to go well. I wish for its success too. For the Major, and for Valdemara."

Merlo did not say "for you" to Rose, even as a formality. He knew that Ezekiel's recovery would be bad luck for Rose.

Rose hadn't expected that much either.

"Yes, it will. Doctor Briman introduced a very good doctor."

"Yes, I looked into it a bit, and she's a person with a very high reputation."

Rose nodded calmly.

He was a man who was the eyes and ears of Valdemara from the start. She wouldn't be surprised if he had secretly investigated Doctor Briman.

Merlo opened his mouth.

"The reason I came today is that I have a feeling today might be the last time I see you, Miss, so I wanted to say goodbye in advance."

Her body temperature suddenly dropped.

Ah. So that's why he came.

The reason the injured errand boy had deliberately sought out Rose became clear in an instant.

This was a warning. A warning from Valdemara that a maid would not be needed beside Ezekiel once his eyes were open.