Chapter 23
Though it was hard to notice due to his loose clothing, being this close made it clear that Aiden’s body was indeed recovering. It seemed he had been exercising alone in the cell, as his previously flat chest had become solid, hinting at developed muscles.
‘Even though Aiden is currently quite thin, he was described as having a similar height and build to Caverion in the original story.’
As Raylenne imagined Aiden from the original story, their eyes met. Startled, Raylenne flinched and moved back. Aiden’s gray eyes reflected her flustered face perfectly.
“Are you alright?”
“Huh…?”
Raylenne blinked, not understanding the question. Aiden, who had been lying down, sat up, causing Raylenne’s upper body to follow. It was as if she was sitting lightly on his lap, bringing her face close to his.
“It seemed like you tripped on the chair. Did you sprain anything or hurt yourself?”
Hearing Aiden recount what had just happened made her feel embarrassed. She had tripped over a stationary chair like a fool.
‘This isn’t the image I usually have…!’
Suppressing her embarrassment, Raylenne managed to respond.
“I’m fine.”
However, she couldn’t stop her face from gradually turning red. Aiden’s hand touched her flushed cheek.
“Your face is red.”
“I said I’m fine, didn’t I?”
Raylenne swatted Aiden’s hand away. Despite this, his gaze remained fixed on her, more intensely than usual. Normally, Aiden would have averted his eyes first, making the current situation even more embarrassing.
“It’s time to get up now…”
Raylenne hastily tried to stand.
However,
“Ah!”
Aiden pulled her wrist, causing Raylenne to fall against his chest once more.
“Ow…”
Looking up, she saw Aiden looking down at her. His eyes, usually cool and dark, now seemed to hold a different, almost dangerous warmth. The places his gaze touched felt hot, as if burned.
Raylenne thought suddenly of the original story, where Aiden, usually gentle, would have such eyes when he turned dark.
‘But… there’s no reason for him to turn dark now.’
An instinctive sense of unease crept over her, as if the once docile puppy might suddenly bite its owner.
“Sorry. I pulled you because a spider was coming down above you.”
Raylenne looked up at Aiden’s explanation.
‘A spider?’
She didn’t see any spider.
“It’s already gone.”
Aiden replied calmly, looking at her. She wanted to believe him, otherwise it meant Aiden had lied to create this situation.
Raylenne used her hands to push herself up.
“Next time, just tell me.”
“It was urgent.”
Raylenne felt flustered by how smoothly Aiden was responding today. She quickly gathered the cleaning tools.
“Since the cleaning is done, I should go now.”
“Are you coming tomorrow as well?”
“Of course. It’s my job to watch over you!”
Raylenne shouted, looking at Aiden. Despite her sharp tone, Aiden smiled faintly.
“I’ll be waiting.”
* * *
Once outside, Raylenne looked back at the cell where Aiden was held.
‘Did he eat something strange?’
Aiden today had definitely been different from his usual self. The way he spoke, saying he liked her and would wait for her, felt strangely dangerous.
It had almost shattered her usual haughty and prickly persona.
‘Does he really like me…?’
Raylenne exhaled a small sigh. She had meant to check Aiden’s shackles today, but the unexpected turn of events had made her forget.
‘No help for it. I’ll check them tomorrow.’
With an uneasy feeling, Raylenne turned her gaze away from the underground prison and headed to her room.
As she was taking off her outer clothes in her room, someone knocked on the door. After a moment’s hesitation, a young woman with cute features and black hair tied in twin tails entered.
“Hello, my lady…!”
Her voice trembled slightly, indicating her nervousness.
‘Who is this…?’
Raylenne eyed the woman warily. The woman, realizing her mistake, quickly explained.
“I am Janie, the new maid.”
A maid. It seemed her brother had hired someone as she had requested. Janie bowed her head.
“It is an honor to meet you again.”
Raylenne’s expression turned puzzled.
‘Again…?’
Had she met this person before?
She quickly searched her memory for any connection to Janie but found none.
‘Is she lying to me…?’
In the original story, Raylenne had never engaged in personal conversations with her employees and didn’t even know their names. It wouldn’t be hard for someone to lie to her.
Raylenne’s eyes sharpened as she scrutinized Janie.
In times like these, it was especially important to be cautious of newcomers. There was no telling where danger might be lurking.
“Have you worked as my maid before?” Raylenne asked.
“Yes…? Yes,” Janie replied, looking surprised as if seeing Raylenne for the first time.
“When did you work here?” Raylenne interrogated Janie, whose eyes darted nervously before she answered cautiously.
“Three years… ago.”
Helen had been working by Raylenne’s side for five years, so the timeline overlapped. It seemed Helen and Janie had worked together.
“How long did you work as my maid?”
“About a week…”
Raylenne wondered why she had quit after only a week. She rewound her memory but still couldn’t recall anything about Janie. There seemed to be gaps in her memory, like what had happened with Caverion. She knew something serious had occurred, but the details were obscured.
The same was true now. Her brain didn’t want to recall the week Janie was there. But she needed to know why Janie had quit. It could provide a clue to solving the threats she faced.
Raylenne lifted her chin arrogantly and asked, “Why did you quit?”
“Well, it was because of that incident…”
That incident?
Raylenne raised an eyebrow slightly.
“Explain in detail.”
Janie glanced at Raylenne, looking distressed.
“Uh… I…”
“It’s okay, you can tell me,” Raylenne encouraged. Like all employees, Janie seemed to fear Raylenne. Even after working for only a week, she was clearly intimidated.
“It was because of the incident with Belle…”
“Belle?”
“Yes… Belle. She worked with Helen and me… Do you remember?”
Raylenne vaguely recalled another maid working there.
“I remember,” she lied, nodding slightly. Extracting Janie’s story was more important than recalling every detail.
“But… an incident?”
Raylenne furrowed her brows unconsciously. Janie quickly shook her head.
“I’m sorry. I was just being honest because you asked me to…”
“I’m not angry. I just don’t remember the incident well,” Raylenne reassured her, worried that Janie might clam up.
Janie hesitated but then spoke again.
“You don’t remember…? That incident…?”
Her cautious tone seemed to imply disbelief that Raylenne could forget something so significant.
“You pushed Belle, and she hit her head on the corner of a desk…”
Hit her head…?
Raylenne felt a chill down her spine.
“Did she die from it…?” she asked, fearing the worst.
Janie shook her head urgently.
“No, no… Belle was injured, but she didn’t die.”
Raylenne felt a wave of relief. Despite her troubled past, at least she hadn’t killed anyone.
‘How comforting it is to know this.’
She silently cursed her former self.
“What about now? What happened to Belle after that?”
“I don’t know. I was fired after the incident…”
Ah, so she didn’t quit but was dismissed. It was likely to cover up the incident to prevent rumors among the staff.
“Was Helen fired at the same time?”
“Yes, but she was later called back.”
Raylenne nodded. To sum up, three years ago, Raylenne had three maids: Helen, Janie, and Belle. For some reason, Raylenne had pushed Belle, causing a serious injury. The household dismissed all the maids to cover up the incident and later rehired only Helen.
Raylenne raised her head sharply and looked at Janie.
“Do you know why I pushed Belle?”
“No… I only saw Belle bleeding…”
Janie trailed off, glancing at Raylenne.
It made sense that Janie found it strange for Raylenne to ask about her own actions.
“Recently, I had a fever and lost some memories. That’s why I’m asking.”
Although it wasn’t necessary to explain everything to a maid, Raylenne thought it better to provide a brief explanation to prevent any misunderstandings among the staff.
“I understand…”
Janie nodded, still looking a bit confused.
Raylenne studied Janie carefully. Although Janie’s face was cute like a rabbit’s, there was no guarantee she wouldn’t betray her like Helen.
“Who brought you back this time?”
“Master Caverion did.”
Hearing Caverion’s name eased her wariness somewhat.
‘If it’s Caverion, I can trust it.’
Caverion probably thought it better to bring in someone who had worked for Raylenne before, even briefly, rather than a complete newcomer.
Raylenne dismissed Janie and tried to recall Belle from her memory. The effort brought forth a faint image of a maid she presumed to be Belle.
And then,
‘Wow…’
Raylenne was surprised by the image of Belle that appeared in her memory.
