Chapter 37

Most of the servants were too busy to notice much of anything during that period. So they were a little slow to realize Lea had fallen ill. She had always been easy to overlook, but more than that, Lea was someone accustomed to enduring sickness. Other noblewomen would summon a doctor at the slightest dizziness, but Lea had spent her life pushing through until she was truly on the verge of collapse before dragging herself to a relief clinic. She looked no different from usual, just a little paler than normal. Even Owen, who shared her bed every night, hadn’t noticed she was sick.

But there is a limit to how much anyone can endure. Late one afternoon, Lea lay in bed without moving at all, and one of the maids who had been rearranging cushions nearby as a pretext for surveillance approached cautiously.

“Um, my lady……?”

“……”

“My lady? Could you sit up for a moment?”

The young maid called to her from a short distance, but when no answer came, she reached out and gently shook Lea’s shoulder. That was when she noticed Lea’s cheeks were a deep, vivid red. On instinct, the maid pressed her palm to Lea’s forehead. The heat was so intense it warmed her hand almost immediately. The moment she understood what she was seeing, she ran straight to Amelia.

“Head Maid! Head Maid!”

“What is it?”

“The lady is ill! She’s burning up!”

“The lady?”

Amelia’s voice rose with what sounded like brief surprise. But she composed herself quickly and nodded.

“I understand. We’ll need to send for Dr. Melling.”

“Yes! I’ll go right away!”

While the maid ran to the coachman with instructions to fetch the personal physician Dr. Melling, Amelia sent word to the kitchen to prepare a pear stewed with honey, cinnamon, and ginger, along with warm milk. She added instructions to bring the fever-reducing syrup from the storage cupboard, then made her way to Owen’s room.

Owen was reading a letter and composing a reply, and he let Amelia in without question. It was just about time for dinner, and he had expected her to announce that the meal was ready, but Amelia delivered different news instead.

“She is unwell.”

Amelia said it plainly, without circling around it. Even without a subject, Owen knew immediately who she meant. If a servant were ill, there would be no reason for her to report it to him.

“That woman?”

“Yes.”

His wife was ill, and yet Owen’s face was entirely unmoved. There was a faint trace of annoyance and the smallest flicker of curiosity, but nothing that could be called concern. It was the expression of a man hearing that the head of a company he had invested in had come to ask for more money.

Amelia, for her part, reported the mistress’s illness without a trace of worry on her face either. Owen didn’t reproach her for it or show any sign of displeasure. He knew perfectly well that Amelia would wear the same expression if he himself were the one who was ill.

“She has a high fever and a headache. Dr. Melling says her lungs have always been weak.”

“Always been, he says.”

Owen paused at those words.

“Is she going to die?”

“No.”

Amelia stated it without hesitation.

“Not to that extent, he says.”

Melling had described Lea’s condition as serious, but Amelia knew he was the kind of man who would say plainly, there is no hope, if a patient were truly dying. Unlike other physicians with their gentle, reassuring faces, this blunt, brusque, and unsentimental man was precisely why Owen had hired him.

Melling, who had served as the Tetias family’s personal physician for five years already, said Lea’s condition required careful attention. As long as she had nutritious food, good medicine, and clean surroundings, she would be fine. The ducal household was not short on money or staff, so Lea would not die. Owen asked only about whether she would live or not, and once Amelia confirmed she would, even the faint interest he had shown seemed to drain away. He gave a small nod and said:

“Then that’s fine.”

“……”

But Amelia didn’t leave. As experienced servants often do, she stood perfectly still with her chin level, saying nothing, though it was plain she had something more to say.

Silence settled in the room. The sound of dry wood burning in the study fireplace was audible. The light of the evening sun filled the dark study. Every time the flames shifted, Amelia’s shadow swayed with them, like a reflection on the surface of water.

Owen folded a letter neatly and slid it into its envelope before he finally spoke.

“Is there something you want to say?”

“Yes, sir.”

Amelia answered without hesitation, but when she continued, the caution in her voice was unmistakable.

“I was thinking…… sir. If I may say what I’m thinking, the current mistress, your wife, she is certainly the daughter of that man, isn’t she.”

Asking as though she didn’t already know the answer was an old habit of those who had spent long years in service. Owen let out a quiet laugh. Amelia’s composure was excellent, but he could tell she was tense.

“Amelia.”

He smiled gently and spoke.

“You’re not telling me you only just realized this now, are you?”

“……”

“It would be quite a shame if such a capable head maid were already losing her mind.”

It was his way of telling her to stop pretending and say what she actually meant. Amelia looked at him steadily. Despite the bluntness of the demand, not a flicker of offense crossed her face. Her voice, when she spoke, was as flat as ever.

“Yes, sir. I have known from the beginning.”

Owen nodded at that.

“Of course. You’ve already met each other.”

“……”

At those words, a visible shadow passed through Amelia’s eyes. But it was Amelia herself who had once told Owen that she and Lea had already met, so she said nothing more. Owen noticed and studied her through narrowed eyes, but then continued without any change in his manner.

“So? Why bring it up now?”

Owen tossed the letter onto the tray and asked. At that, the mask-like composure on Amelia’s face cracked. Her firm jaw trembled slightly, and when she spoke again, she couldn’t hide the unease in her voice.

“I cannot guess your intention in making that woman your wife, sir. Yes, I have met her. That is why I know better than anyone. Sir. That woman is that man’s blood. Right now……”

Amelia’s eyes wavered for a moment. She lowered her voice but didn’t stop speaking.

“……she is the daughter of the man currently on Edelent Island.”

“Amelia.”

The last trace of warmth vanished from Owen’s face in an instant, and he said her name in a low, warning tone. Amelia stopped and bowed her head.

“I believe I told you not to speak of him. Do my orders mean nothing to you?”

“……I’m sorry. But sir……”

Amelia turned the words over carefully, trying to stay as close to Owen’s instructions as possible while still reaching her purpose.

“Does the lady know anything about her father’s situation?”

“Of course not. Amelia.”

Owen let out a short, incredulous laugh and shook his head.

“Lea Fell must not know. She must not…… It isn’t time for that yet.”

“But……”

“You asked why I made that woman my wife. Amelia. It’s similar to you.”

Owen’s fingertip pointed at Amelia. She flinched, though it didn’t touch her, as though it had pressed directly against her heart.

“Similar, you say……”

“Yes. That woman is also repaying her debt.”

Owen said it and then lowered his hand, pushing the tray holding two letters toward Amelia. One was the reply he had been writing, and the other was the letter that had arrived. The two envelopes lying neatly on the tray lodged themselves in Amelia’s eyes like the whites of a dead man’s gaze. Owen opened his mouth and added:

“Like you.”

From the moment the debt was mentioned, Amelia’s face had gone pale, and she was no longer the cold and expressionless head maid. Her lips moved, and then she looked at the letters on the tray. One was the letter the postman had recently delivered to Amelia herself, and the other was the reply to it. Both envelopes bore the official address of Edelent Island, printed clearly.