Episode 41

Harmott noticed my body turning blue and hurried to wrap a blanket around me.

“……How was your day today? I know it’s a silly question.”

“I’ve had worse days. It’s okay. But…”

Harmott listened quietly and gently wiped the makeup off my face.

“I hope this never happens again.”

Although the treatment had long ended, my wounded neck began to heat up. I closed my eyes tightly against the throbbing pain.

‘I never said I met Theodore.’

Amy already knew Theodore would pass by the stump at that time.

* * *

The sky was filled with dark clouds. The sun-hidden sky looked like it would rain any minute.

Amy walked slowly. The grass brushed past her toes.

‘I met the Duke.’

The dreaded situation finally happened.

Thump, thump, her heartbeat grew louder. But Amy straightened her back, trying not to show it.

Each step felt as heavy as walking through soaked cotton.

Amidst her blonde hair, there was a dark-haired man as gloomy as the clouds. At that moment, Amy’s heart sank.

Her heartbeat grew louder. A man stood in front of her.

He filled her vision entirely. Amy liked being completely in his gaze.

But at this moment, she couldn’t bring herself to smile at him. Still, she had to smile.

She had done nothing wrong.

Matching his approaching steps, her heartbeat grew louder.

The man’s face was fierce with anger. Never before had his anger been directed at her.

She never expected to incur his wrath over something as trivial as a mere servant.

“I clearly told you to find Marie around the lady…”

“Duke.”

“Since when has Chase been your servant?”

Amy’s eyes wavered slightly at Raiden’s uncharacteristic demeanor.

But she was a daughter of the Howarth family. Proud Amy, unfortunately, had never learned how to apologize.

The Howarth family always made the right choices.

Apologies were for those who made mistakes. But the Howarth family made no mistakes.

He averted his gaze from her, seemingly struggling to contain his overflowing anger.

Amy bit her tongue.

“…Are you disregarding my dignity over a mere servant?”

Raiden scoffed at her words.

“Well, if your dignity could be tarnished by a mere servant, then it wasn’t much to begin with.”

“…!”

Raiden looked down at Amy’s stiffening face and smirked. Then he placed a hand on her shoulder.

“Ah, now that I think about it, the Howarth family has always been quite greedy.”

The moment his hand touched her shoulder, Amy flinched. But he merely tapped her shoulder with his fingers.

“I never imagined you’d covet someone else’s belongings. You’ve made a terrible choice, Amy Howarth.”

Raiden leaned down to meet her eye level, watching her eyes tremble as he chuckled softly.

“That guy belongs to me.”

“…”

Something sticky clung to Amy. Raiden was openly displaying his possessiveness.

That man had finally crossed the line Raiden Akaruth had drawn. Amy had always hovered around, never daring to cross that line.

She had been content with just that, being the only one standing nearby.

But she never imagined someone else would enter that line.

She felt breathless.

“…”

“Don’t mess with someone from another household.”

Raiden clicked his tongue and straightened up. Then he took out a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped the hand that had touched her shoulder.

As if he had touched something dirty.

Amy’s face turned bright red in an instant. It was the first time she had felt such humiliation. But she took a deep breath, trying to maintain her composure.

“…Others might misunderstand if they hear this.”

That boy was an orphan. A commoner servant of unknown origin.

He lacked proper education, etiquette, and could even have some illness.

There was no way the Duke would love someone like that. He was just excessively pretty, enough to catch the Duke’s interest for a moment.

Maybe he was a type the Duke had never seen before, or perhaps he just felt pity for him.

It was probably just a brief amusement. The Duke was a nobleman. So, Amy was okay.

…But this situation made her a bit angry.

“Who would have predicted the Duke would commit such a sin?”

She couldn’t stand it. While it was common for nobles to have no mistresses, Amy was greedy.

However, Raiden didn’t even blink at her words. Instead, he spoke with a pitying tone.

“It seems the young lady doesn’t know what kind of person I am.”

Raiden spoke slowly.

“Sorry, but I’ve been waiting eagerly for my father to die.”

Amy began to waver at Raiden’s harsh words.

“Do you think one more sin would change anything for a parricide?”

Thump, thump—

The sound of drums signaling the end of the competition echoed from afar.

Raiden clicked his tongue and turned away.

Amy gritted her teeth. She couldn’t bear the thought that the servant was a woman.

The only place he belonged was here.

* * *

My back ached. I stepped out of the tent, punching my lower back.

The drums announcing the end of the hunting competition sounded just in time. It was a strangely eerie sound.

“Chase!”

I heard Emma’s voice calling me.

Emma was smiling brightly. She ran over and grabbed my hand.

“They said you’re this year’s Marie for the hunting competition! Congratulations. I wish I had seen you…”

I forced a smile at her words.

“The lady said she’d give gifts to the Akaruth household servants. She said we’ll have more work to do because of you.”

“…Really?”

“Come on, let’s go! We have to see who won the hunting competition!”

Emma beamed and pulled me along. I awkwardly followed her lead.

The servants had already gathered to see who the winner of the hunting competition was.

I quickly scanned the area, looking for Abel, but he was nowhere to be found.

“…Do you know where my brother is?”

“Abel is with the ladies from the Lan club.”

Lan was one of the social clubs, where men and women gathered regularly to play poker.

“Oh, Chase!”

Peter spotted me and walked over, patting my shoulder.

“Aren’t you this year’s Marie?”

“…Please, don’t tease me.”

“Who’s teasing? It’s an honor.”

Peter had a mischievous grin on his face. I tried hard not to frown and ruin the cheerful atmosphere.

“…Chase.”

Flynn, standing next to Peter, called me in a small voice. But he didn’t get to finish his sentence.

“Chase, you were amazing!”

Dorothy approached us at that moment, giggling softly.

“I never expected a Marie to come from the grim Akaruth household.”

“Right. Betty always teased us that the Akaruth servants looked rough, but now she can’t say that anymore!”

Peter scratched his head, looking amused.

“It’d be great if the Duke won the competition too. It’d give us Akaruth servants some pride.”

“But it doesn’t look like the Duke participated this year either…”

Emma muttered. Peter tilted his head.

“No, I saw blood on the Duke’s clothes earlier. It couldn’t have been his own blood, could it?”

I paused for a moment at his words. The faint smell of gunpowder and blood I had noticed from Raiden came to mind.

Flynn, who had been listening quietly, spoke cautiously.

“But the Duke has already returned to the mansion.”

“What?”

“He was really angry…”

Emma tilted her head.

“Did something happen? The butler also looked very serious earlier.”

“It’s not unusual for the Duke to get angry. He needs to control his temper if he wants to live long…”

Dorothy muttered, shaking her head.

The center of the forest was piled with hunted game. The smell of blood lingered in the air.

The first person to return from the competition was Theodore, but the number of his catches was far fewer than others. However, the size of the bear he caught was enormous.

I felt a growing sense of unease.

In this place where animals were hunted, the smell of blood was normal, yet the scent of blood from Raiden kept bothering me.