Chapter 4
“Ah, no, Miss.”
Mel, flustered, quickly covered her face with her sleeve. Hermia had already seen her tear-streaked cheeks and bloodshot eyes—what was she hiding?
“You said you were in pain; was that a lie?”
Hermia shook Mel’s shoulders, feeling a slight betrayal.
“You’ve been saying you have frequent headaches lately. That’s why you switched to Andy as my maid!”
“No, Miss! I really was in pain. It felt like my head was going to split open.”
Mel protested with an expression of injustice.
“When the headache starts, it hurts so much I can’t even get out of bed. But after some time, I feel fine again.”
“……”
Seeing Mel’s eyes welling up again softened Hermia’s tone.
“Have you seen Isaac? If you mention you’re from Vansen, he’ll treat you for free.”
“I couldn’t even see his face. The nurse said they’re charging for consultations now.”
The doctor charges people from Vansen?
Mel glanced around before speaking in a hushed voice.
“I heard that the lady of the house caused a ruckus at the hospital recently. So, the doctor was very angry.”
Isaac had become a doctor after receiving financial support for his education and living expenses from the Vansen family. He had always refused to accept money, insisting on repaying his debt.
“Why would he…”
Hermia trailed off in thought.
Now that she thought about it, a few months ago, her mother had complained about Isaac.
“Can you believe it? How can he make me wait saying there’s an urgent patient? He treated a butcher first; it’s unbelievable!”
“But he used to treat our servants for free; weren’t you being reckless?”
“That’s why he’s gotten so arrogant for being just a commoner. Just wait; once Hermia marries into a good family, I’ll hire my own physician!”
“If it weren’t for all the jewelry and dresses you buy every day, I could have hired one long ago.”
“Arnold!”
Recalling those moments made Hermia sigh softly. Damn it.
“If money is tight, I’ll help you buy some medicine.”
Mel nodded while sniffing back tears.
“Thank you, Miss.”
“Are you feeling okay now?”
“Yes. I felt fine before dinner.”
“But why were you crying? Why did you want to run away?”
At this, Mel fidgeted with her fingers and avoided Hermia’s gaze.
“It’s just… now that my headache has gone away, strange memories are surfacing.”
“Strange memories?”
“It seems like I’m slowly losing my mind. I keep seeing odd things.”
Hermia followed Mel’s gaze curiously. Being petite like the Countess made her naturally bend forward.
“What do you see?”
“I see myself running around in pretty dresses in this house and playing in an enormous castle.”
[Bell was happiest when invited to the castle.]
Suddenly struck by a line from the novel that flashed through her mind, Hermia froze. Mel bit her lip and continued hesitantly.
“I’ve been seeing these things for a while now… Others say I’m just imagining things since I’m always with you…”
What? Had she already told others?
“As you know, I’m from the Greenwood Orphanage. That’s why my name is Mel ‘Greenwood’…”
‘In the story, Bell suffers an accident as a child. Then she loses her memory and ends up at an orphanage where she becomes ‘Bell Graywood.’
This sounded exactly like what Irene had told her.
“Actually, I went to see the head nun recently because I was curious about how I ended up growing up in an orphanage.”
You’re more proactive than I thought.
“It was pouring rain when a man left me at the back door. The only thing I remembered was my name—‘Mel.’ I didn’t know anything else about my home or age…”
So that’s how it was. The head nun must have an excellent memory.
Hermia snapped back to reality after zoning out for a moment.
“Okay, but what I want to know is why you were crying.”
“Well, um…”
Mel’s small lips trembled adorably but were frustratingly slow to respond.
Maintain your composure. Hermia repeated this mantra internally as she waited patiently.
“When the Duke came earlier… Seeing his face suddenly made me feel so sad…”
“You cried just from seeing someone’s face for the first time today?”
“What if it wasn’t the first time? What should I do, Miss? Huh?”
Hermia instinctively took a step back.
“I don’t know! How would I know something like that?”
The words came out colder than she intended.
“It might just be your imagination like others said.”
“But it feels so vivid!”
Mel challenged her with determination in her eyes. What did this girl want to hear from her?
“Mel, do you know what ‘The Stolen Lady’ is?”
A delayed response came back.
“…No. I don’t know.”
—–
Hermia sat in the bathtub, lost in thought. She felt compelled to read that book, but first, acquiring it was the problem.
When she asked Andy, who was helping her out of her dress, Andy grew pale and waved her hands frantically.
“If I lend you the book and the lady finds out, I’m a dead woman!”
After the sandwich incident, the Countess had eyes and ears everywhere in the mansion, so it was understandable that Andy was scared.
“But who keeps telling on us?”
Feeling a sudden wave of injustice, Hermia splashed water around.
“Miss, are you alright…?”
“It’s nothing!”
The voice of a maid attending to her bath came from behind the partition.
“Originally, the lady said not to take her eyes off you for a second… but I’m just letting you bathe comfortably…”
The maid spoke cautiously, trying to justify her actions.
“Right. Thank you for understanding, Lucy.”
“You absolutely can’t eat the rose petals…”
Did they have eyes on the ceiling? Hermia picked up a rose petal floating on the surface and then put it back down.
‘There was a tiny leaf in the pudding.’
If leaves from unknown plants could go into desserts, surely flower petals wouldn’t be an issue.
She hesitated for a moment. After all, the only treats she had eaten during tea time at the garden party were three biscuits that tasted like nothing and some black tea.
‘We prepared special biscuits without butter and sugar since we heard Miss Hermia is managing her weight!’
‘Wow. Really… thank you.’
‘Ho ho ho! To be moved to tears is so gratifying!’
But she had to put down the fourth biscuit when the Countess shot her a glare.
On days with parties, she had to starve all day long, making her even hungrier. As the maid poured the last rinse over her head, Hermia opened her mouth as wide as possible.
‘If I want to read without my mother noticing, I have to go outside.’
If she asked Andy, she would share stories, but she needed more detailed information than that.
She hoped that while reading, hints about the author might reveal themselves. Mel’s behavior also seemed suspicious.
First of all, she was an illegitimate child. There could very well be other siblings or half-siblings who were not firstborns.
The will referred to her as “the daughter of Count Vansen” rather than “Hermia Vansen.”
The fact that there were more candidates for marrying Walter Rockford was crucial for her. Of course, she didn’t have an appearance that would fall behind anyone else’s; still, preferences mattered.
She could either rush into marriage with the Duke or step back early to find another wealthy suitor.
There was an appropriate age for marriage; thus, whatever choice she made should be done quickly.
—
“Miss, the brooch shop is over there!”
Andy pointed towards a sign that read ‘Rundberry’ but then grabbed Hermia as she walked toward ‘Postberry’ street instead.
“That area is for commoners.”
“I know.”
Hermia replied casually as she spun around and grabbed Andy by both shoulders.
“Help me out here, Andy.”
“W-What do you mean?”
“If I don’t say I’m out to buy a birthday present, I won’t be able to go out.”
At this revelation, Andy’s face turned as pale as flour.
“So you’re not actually out to buy a gift for the lady right now?”
“I am buying something; I’ll just go to the bookstore first. Sorry.”
She had crafted an excuse to slip away from purchasing a gift for the upcoming birthday of the Countess.
As expected, the Countess had been delighted and even suggested a brooch as a gift before sending her off.
What kind of brooch could they afford without giving her any pocket money?
Because of this, Hermia had to dig into her emergency funds hidden in a pillowcase to buy a birthday present for her stepmother.
However, her clever plan was abruptly thwarted. Barely ten steps into Postberry street, an obstacle appeared before her.
“Where are you going?”
Hermia looked up at a hulking man who seemed as if he had three bodies stacked on top of each other. He bore a rugged appearance with a long scar across his cheek—he looked like a mountain bandit… or rather, a mercenary.
“The lady has specifically ordered me to escort you. This area isn’t safe; please turn back.”
‘Escort? More like surveillance.’
There hadn’t been anyone around when she left the mansion; seeing this sudden appearance made it clear he was sent to keep watch over her.
In an instant, her legs felt weak. Andy quickly supported her as she wobbled.
“You see? You can’t escape your mother’s watchful eye.”
“……”
Hermia felt defiant at Andy’s words. If she let this opportunity slip away, who knew when she’d get another chance to go outside?
The man before them seemed sluggish in his movements.
She had always been good at running since childhood; perhaps if she slipped through the crowd quickly enough…
Clenching her fists tightly, Hermia soon let out a sigh of resignation.
‘Childhood? When are we talking about?’
The child who used to run around in worn leather boots on dirt roads no longer existed.
The moment she stepped into Vansen’s household six years ago marked the death of that girl. Now only remained a frail and listless noble lady destined to become a Duchess soon enough.
As Hermia bitterly smiled at this realization, she straightened herself up again.
‘Even if I can’t run like before, my wits have improved.’
She pulled out a crumpled wad of money from inside her cloak pocket.
“I’ve never seen your face before; you must be new here.”
“…That’s right.”
The man replied without taking his eyes off the bills in her hand.
Keeping her gaze fixed on him, Hermia began unrolling the string tied around it. One by one, she started handing him bills.
His eyes darted back and forth eagerly as he followed each note with his gaze.