Chapter 51
In the most luxurious Countess’s bedroom of the Vansen estate, a woman who was once a maid sat on the edge of the bed with her arms crossed. The master’s daughter stood before her, looking nervous.
The heavy atmosphere was cut by a voice tinged with resentment.
“You planned to get money from the Princess and leave me behind, no matter what happened to me at the Duke’s estate, didn’t you?”
Mel’s feelings were hurt, and she bit her lip. Hermia had nothing to say, so she whispered an excuse.
“Well, you did want to marry the duke…”
“And even after I realized I didn’t, you were still planning to abandon me.”
“I-I mean… yeah, I guess I was.”
Hermia’s attempt to downplay the situation failed, and she ended up revealing the truth. Mel was shocked, then angry, and finally sad.
“You didn’t even believe me when I said my parents were murdered! If you had, you wouldn’t have sent me off to Walter in the first place!”
“It’s just… that sounded too strange. Why would Duke Leonard kill your parents? What would he gain from that?”
“He always disliked me! Whenever I saw him in the hallway, I was terrified!”
It didn’t make sense that someone would kill parents just because they didn’t want a child visiting…
Hermia decided to keep quiet, as Mel’s story lacked credibility. Mel was still convinced, but Hermia just listened.
“With Mr. Isaac gone, I don’t have anyone else to rely on but you… How could you be so cruel to me?”
“Mel, listen. Do you really think you have to rely on someone to survive? If you ask me, money is all you need, and then you can—oh, wait. That doctor?”
Hermia realized something and stepped forward.
“Right. You said you visited that doctor a few times. Did he recognize you? What did he say? Where is he now?”
“He recognized me right away and cried a lot.”
Mel placed the cushion she had been holding on her knee, revealing dark stains where her eyes and nose had been.
“He asked me a lot of questions and then told me to wait here a little longer. He said he needed to look into something.”
“What was he looking into?”
“It seems like the person who wrote the novel is looking for me.”
“Why would the author be looking for you? Why?”
“The doctor didn’t answer that. At the time, I didn’t remember anything, but now I think they might have been trying to kill me. Maybe it was Walter.”
The rest of the story was something Hermia already knew.
There was the engagement ceremony between Hermia and Walter, where Mel appeared and was taken to the Duke’s estate. Then Mel regained her memories and escaped, and the doctor disappeared.
Hermia focused on the missing doctor rather than the rumors about Walter writing the novel.
“Do you know where the doctor went?”
“No. I ran away and hid in the mountains. When I went back to look for him later, no one was there…”
Mel seemed genuinely clueless about what the doctor had been looking into or where he’d disappeared to.
One thing was clear: Isaac was hiding something from Mel, just like he was from everyone else.
Hermia had suspected the doctor might be the author, but after hearing Mel’s story, she ruled that out. The doctor was likely searching for the author as well.
It seemed he had told Mel to wait while he went to find the author…
Did the doctor know the author’s identity?
As Hermia’s expression turned serious, Mel tried to express her hurt again but stopped. She didn’t want to be seen as a nuisance.
Instead, Mel put on her most pitiful expression, the kind that had always worked for her in the past.
“Please don’t abandon me, Miss. I have no one else now. You said we’re cousins, right? We’re family, aren’t we?”
“…Huh?”
“Take me with you, and I’ll do anything. I’ll do household chores, learn to cook. If a thief comes, I’ll catch them.”
Well, she might not just catch them; she might kill them…
Hermia looked at Mel with that thought and patted her shoulder.
“Calm down first. Let me think about it.”
Feeling exhausted, Hermia left the room with weak steps. She flopped onto the living room sofa, trying to clear her mind.
‘The Duke will catch the author, and the doctor will be caught by the Duke, but I’ve been caught by Mel.’
What to do?
Taking Mel with her using the money she had would be a burden. Mel would be a reliable escort, but it felt more like she’d be supporting Mel rather than traveling together.
Just then, a sound came from the Countess’s bedroom—Mel had kicked the floor in frustration.
If she took Mel with her, she’d feel secure but also worried about becoming poor.
Hermia lifted her gaze to the ceiling, where the painting above her came into focus again. The half-naked man in a golden chariot now bore a striking resemblance to Walter.
“Why did the Duke have to fall for me?”
He was once again stirring up her emotions with his captivating presence.
It would have been simpler if Mel had just married him at the engagement ceremony.
‘Wait, no. That’s even more annoying. When did I become so selfish?’
What am I even worrying about? I should just marry Walter and be done with it.
The sly voice of her inner self crept in, whispering temptations. Hermia found herself talking back to it.
“Marriage…”
‘Honestly, you don’t dislike Walter, do you? You get jealous every time you imagine him with another woman.’
“Yeah, I admit it.”
Hermia replied curtly, but her inner voice teased her, revealing her true feelings.
‘You didn’t push him away when he hugged you, did you? More than that, you almost wanted him to do more. You even secretly hoped for it, didn’t you?’
“I didn’t— I mean, I didn’t hope for it… much”
The peacock hanging from the ceiling seemed to smirk, as if it had been expecting that answer all along. It was an absurd, unreal sight, but her thoughts kept whispering, relentless.
If it wasn’t Walter, you’d hate it. Just admit it, Hermia. You liked him from the start. Thinking about the man on the stairs becoming your husband was enough to keep you awake with excitement.
“But…”
‘Don’t be weak. What if Walter loses interest? So what? Let him. You survived here on your own before. It won’t be the end of the world’
“I admit that too. At least in the Duke’s estate, I won’t go hungry.”
Even if Walter lost interest, she wouldn’t have to suffer through hunger and cold like before. That, she thought, was the most important thing.
“So, should I just marry him…?”
As she asked this, a thudding sound echoed from somewhere, making her pause.
Hermia stood up and opened her mouth in surprise. Mel was rolling a large, black iron safe across the floor, heading towards her.
“Oh, Miss! I found this in the Countess’s bedroom!”
The sight of the safe, which was as big as an adult’s torso, tumbling on the carpet left Hermia speechless. Mel finally picked it up, grumbling about the carpet’s friction.
“Ah, this is better. I should have carried it from the start.”
“Slow down! Slow down! Don’t drop it!”
Hermia yelled, jumping up from the sofa like a startled fish and stepping back. If Mel dropped it, her toes wouldn’t survive.
Mel struggled to place the safe on the table, and Hermia shouted in panic.
“Put it on the floor! On the floor! Don’t drop it!”
“Huh? Ah, okay.”
Just as Mel was about to heave it, she realized what Hermia meant and carefully set it down.
Good heavens.
Hermia looked at the shiny black safe and asked:
“Where did you find this?”
“On the floor. I, um, accidentally broke the floorboards again, and it was hidden underneath.”
Mel blinked quickly and added:
“If there’s money in here, we can use it to run away together! Then we won’t need to get anything from the Princess, right?”
Good grief. The Countess had hidden the safe under the floor. Hermia clicked her tongue in amazement. If she were alone, she would have never found it.
“That’s a good idea, but… how are we going to open it? There’s no key.”
The safe had a keyhole, but the key was probably with the Countess.
As Hermia spoke, Mel examined the safe and rolled up her sleeves. It seemed like she was going to try to force it open.
“Wait, Mel. Even if you try…”
“Unghh.”
Just as Hermia was worried that Mel might damage the safe, Mel fell backward. The metal handle had come off in her hand.
“…”
“The handle came off. What do we do now?”
Mel asked, looking helpless.
What do you mean, what do we do? Obviously, we can’t open it now.
Hermia remained still as Mel scratched her head and stood up to lift the safe again.
“Should we throw it on the floor and dent it? Maybe we can open it if we create a gap.”
“No! No! Calm down! If you do that here, the whole neighborhood will gather!”
Mel’s idea of smashing the safe open made sense in theory, but her plan to do it on the wooden floor was reckless. Hermia hurriedly stopped her before the entire room turned into a disaster zone.
Just before the situation spiraled further, Hermia remembered the underground storage room. Thank goodness she still had some common sense.
“Carefully pick it up and follow me.”
Hermia quickly led the way to the pantry in the kitchen. She lifted the stiff mat on the floor, revealing a wooden door that led to the underground area.
There was a small padlock dangling from the entrance. She felt relieved seeing it—it looked weak enough to kick off easily.
Well, for Mel, anyway.
