Chapter 41 – How Dare You

When she opened her trembling eyelids, she saw the man sprawled at the bottom of the stairs, glass shards scattered everywhere, and bright red blood spreading from his head, soaking the ground.

“W-What do I do…”

The sudden horror turned her vision white. Eloise’s body collapsed helplessly to the floor.

“Could it be…”

Could he be dead? No. The stairs aren’t that high, so that can’t be… Then why can’t he get up? There’s no movement at all… Wait, is that blood from his head?

Lost in a panic filled with anxious questions, a sharp voice like a scream broke through Eloise’s frozen consciousness.

“Oh my! Aiden!”

“…Mrs. Mullich?”

An elderly woman with her white hair tightly pulled up, contrasting with her dark gray dress, rushed over to where the man was lying, her face pale.

Was it fortunate that Mrs. Mullich was the first to discover this scene?

While she was thinking that, a hoarse cry tore through Eloise’s eardrums.

“Oh, Lord! Aiden, my son! Open your eyes!”

So, this man was Mrs. Mullich’s son. 

The original occupant of the room on the second floor where Eloise had stayed for about a month.

Eloise blinked her blue eyes blankly, having lost her words. The disparity between the imagined appearance of the woman’s son and reality was too great.

The elderly woman’s face, which had been screaming like an angry crow without noticing Eloise sitting at the front door, gradually softened as she checked her son thoroughly.

She realized that what was scattered on the floor wasn’t blood, and that her son was merely in a deep sleep.

Nevertheless, Mrs. Mullich was still furious, even at the scratches on the man’s unpleasant face, and the unfortunate Eloise was shivering, unaware of the situation at the bottom of the stairs.

It was at that moment that Mrs. Mullich’s sharp gaze turned toward the top of the stairs.

“You, you…!”

Whether she had forgotten Eloise’s name or was so shocked by the commotion that her tongue was tied, Mrs. Mullich pointed at Eloise, her wrinkled lips moving without being able to speak.

As the woman began to breathe heavily with anger again, Eloise propped herself up on the cold stone floor, her body trembling.

At that moment, a pained groan escaped through her teeth. It seemed her palms were scraped from collapsing to the ground.

But now, explaining the situation took precedence over tending to her injuries.

“Madame, I…”

“Was it you? Did you dare to push my precious son down the stairs…!”

Just then, the elderly woman climbed the stairs with astonishing speed and grabbed Eloise’s collar fiercely.

The strength from her thin, branch-like hands was unbelievable, and Eloise struggled like an animal caught in a trap.

“Mrs. Mullich, please…! Please listen to me!”

“I’ll hand you over to the court and have you severely punished! I’ll make sure you never set foot here again!”

“Madame, your son harassed me first!”

“He’s a child who hasn’t even married yet! How dare you accuse my innocent son of such things?”

“…Ha, it’s true! He was so drunk that he couldn’t even communicate!”

It would have been surprising to learn that such an old man was still unmarried, but Eloise argued calmly in her own way.

In fact, it wasn’t hard to guess why Mrs. Mullich’s son hadn’t married.

Unfortunately, Eloise had no idea about the facts Mrs. Mullich had hidden, namely that her old and cantankerous son was a severe gambling addict and that the two months’ deposit she had paid was used to pay off part of his gambling debt.

At that moment, a phlegmy groan came from the bottom of the stairs.

“Ugh…”

“Oh, Aiden!”

Once again, the elderly woman rushed down to where her son had fallen with unbelievable speed. Eloise, pushed back by the momentum, could only look down at the scene below in a daze.

Her neatly tied-up wheat-colored curls were now tousled as if hit by a typhoon.

“Dear, are you coming to your senses? Huh? Are you okay?”

“That crazy girl…! Ugh, it feels like my head’s split open!”

“Oh, let’s get you inside. Take your mother’s hand. That’s it!”

The elderly woman’s son seemed far from dead; he looked perfectly fine.

Though blood was flowing from his forehead, it was just a scratch from the broken glass shards.

The liquid on the floor appeared to be the alcohol from the broken bottle. Only then did Eloise catch the pervasive smell of alcohol.

‘So he was just unconscious for a moment? Or did he fall asleep briefly…’

It was certainly a relief, but Eloise couldn’t help feeling inexplicably deflated, her mouth agape. She was utterly overwhelmed.

In the meantime, the elderly mother and her son hurriedly climbed the stairs.

The woman nervously supported her son, who clutched his bleeding forehead and limped. He appeared more like a drunkard than a patient.

“Spit.”

When the man, following his mother across the threshold, glared at Eloise and spat, she shuddered with indignation.

It wasn’t difficult to dodge the spittle from the drunkard who couldn’t control his body, but the insult she’d never experienced before made her body tremble.

Bang, the door closed in front of her eyes, and a helpless sigh escaped her lips.

“Ha, what is this…”

Eloise covered her pale face with the back of her hand.

Her heart had been mercilessly strained by the series of events that had just unfolded, leaving her feeling utterly drained.

It wouldn’t be surprising if she fainted right then.

Her palms were bleeding from being scraped on the stone floor, and every time the fabric brushed against her, it stung, indicating that there were likely scratches on her knees as well.

Moreover, her ankle throbbed, making it difficult to stand properly, possibly from twisting it when she lost her balance and fell.

In front of her were broken glass shards and drops of blood. The spilled alcohol had turned the scene into utter chaos.

The pitiful sight mirrored her current state, not knowing where to start fixing things.

Suppressing the urge to scream, Eloise waited for Mrs. Mullich to come out.

She was clearly lodging in this house, and all her belongings were in the room used by that disgraceful man. Most of all, she wanted to wash and lie down in bed immediately.

However, since Mrs. Mullich didn’t come out for a long time, Eloise had to knock on the door once more with her injured hand.

Her voice, suppressed by exhaustion, burst out.

“…Madame! Mrs. Mullich!”

Then, tap-tap-tap, the sound of a small animal’s busy footsteps approached, and soon the door opened.

Perhaps she had been disinfecting her son’s wound, as a sharp medicinal smell wafted from inside.

Mrs. Mullich now wore a more irritable expression than Eloise had ever seen.

As she crossed her arms fiercely, the cat cozied up to her ankle. Picking up the cat, Mrs. Mullich snapped.

“What are you doing here? Haven’t you left yet?”

“…What?”

Eloise’s eyebrows twitched slightly in surprise.

“Because this is my lodging. I’m sorry for leaving the house unattended for so long without notice, but there were circumstances—”

“I can’t let a criminal who harmed my son into the house! Do you realize you almost killed someone’s precious child?”

“Crim…”

She was so taken aback that she was at a loss for words.

Finally, her pent-up emotions burst forth when she met the eyes of the cat, Sally, who looked at her with a face as spiteful as its owner’s.

“Why won’t you listen to me? Your son acted inappropriately towards me, and I only pushed his hand away to protect myself. I didn’t even push him hard, but he lost his balance on his own—”

“Can’t you shut up? You should know clearly, young lady, that I can report you to the police and have you taken away!”

“…”

At the fiery threat, Eloise pressed her lips tightly together.

The police. It was an unfamiliar word to Eloise, who had grown up in Maybury, and it sounded all the more frightening because of it.

In truth, she was just a naive country girl who didn’t know the ways of the capital.

If the angry Mrs. Mullich falsely accused her of a crime and took her to court, she might end up being punished for a crime she didn’t commit.

‘There’s no guarantee she won’t do that in this state…’

Though the situation was infuriatingly unjust, it was crucial not to provoke the woman for now. Eloise steadied her breathing and asked in a more composed voice.

“Still, it would be difficult if you don’t let me in. I paid a two-month deposit…”

“Ha, deposit?”

Mrs. Mullich tilted her sharp chin and continued.

“You’ve been out of the house for two months, so I’ll consider the rent paid with that.”

“…What?”

The unexpected statement left Eloise choked up.

That money was her entire fortune. It was precious, combining the allowance her father had given her and her sister’s emergency fund…

“But Madame…!”

“What are you looking so aggrieved about? I couldn’t take in new lodgers because of your belongings. Surely you don’t expect me to return that money?”

As Mrs. Mullich pressed on with her sharp voice, the tears Eloise had been holding back finally fell.

It was true that she had left the capital abruptly and returned to Maybury without a word, and that she hadn’t even left a short note for Mrs. Mullich. But still…

“Oh, right.”

When the woman muttered irritably and went back inside, Eloise was left alone in vain.

She was frozen, unable to sit or take a step, when soon the sound of someone hurriedly descending the stairs was followed by the door flinging open.

At the same time, something familiar flew to her feet.

The bag, hastily packed with the items she had spread out in the room, hit the ground and burst open, spilling clothes, papers, pens, and other things.

“Ah…”

While she was at a loss for words, lips moving silently, she heard the drunken man’s shout from inside.

Startled, Eloise shivered, tears welling up in her eyes. At that moment, Mrs. Mullich let out an angry snort.

“Be grateful I’m not reporting you or charging you for medical expenses, and don’t ever come near here again!”

With that harsh reprimand, the door slammed shut once more.

Eloise had to stand in front of the firmly closed door and cry for a long time.