“The rain is getting heavier.”

In the dark night, Matilda’s expression darkened as she looked out the window.

“Has the master gone to bed?”

Richard, who was with her in the main building’s lobby, asked while checking if the last window was properly locked.

“Yes. Probably.”

Her tone wasn’t entirely certain. It was natural since visual confirmation was impossible. On rainy nights, entering the master’s room was forbidden even to his closest servants.

“He asked for bath water as soon as he returned. He didn’t say anything else.”

“I see.”

Richard, on the other hand, was more composed. He wasn’t one to get easily agitated, and he knew well that worrying wouldn’t solve anything.

“Did you tell Lady Vivianne?”

Richard seemed to be worried about the same person. Matilda let out a soft sigh.

“…I told her to make sure to lock her door before sleeping. I checked it myself before coming down.”

“You didn’t tell her the details, did you?”

“No. The master wouldn’t want that.”

That actually bothered her a bit. But Matilda was thoroughly Larson’s person. Though she worried about the innocent young lady who knew nothing of the world, this was how she had always been, and how she had to be.

What happened on the fourth floor of the main building on rainy nights was known only to a select few among the employees. Even for Vivianne, it was something that couldn’t be revealed.

“Vivi has never once sleepwalked. I gave her herbal tea to help her sleep too. She’s probably in a deep sleep by now.”

Matilda explained about Vivianne, as though she were reassuring herself. And even if she heard those sounds, it wouldn’t matter. The master had a habit of locking his door and isolating himself from the outside world on rainy nights.

“I hope the rain stops soon.”

Richard nodded slightly and stared at the window, blurred by rainwater.

Rainy nights were especially long.

* * *

In the dark room, Vivianne couldn’t sleep due to various thoughts. She had taken many naps during the day, and she was worried about tomorrow. She drank the herbal tea Matilda gave her in case she couldn’t sleep, but she only dozed off briefly before waking up.

The habit of hugging her knees and looking out the window at dawn seemed to have become routine. Perhaps because it was raining too hard, she couldn’t see anything. Only thick streaks of water twisted and writhed on the window.

Tap-tap-tap. The sound of rain beating relentlessly against the window. She had never heard such loud and clear rain sounds under the sea.

Kian had returned but she hadn’t met him. In fact, the carriage had returned quite a while ago. They said he came in late. There was an inexplicable shadow on Matilda’s face when she announced the master’s return.

‘I wonder if something happened?’

She wanted to ask, but she felt like Matilda was deliberately withholding information.

Matilda told her to make sure to lock her door before sleeping. She always did this since Theodore couldn’t guard during bedtime. But today’s emphasis made her feel somewhat uneasy.

‘I’m probably overthinking. I should sleep early.’

Vivianne lay down and pulled up her covers. She planned to resume serving tea tomorrow. She had prepared bundles of newspapers to give to Kian. The ribbons were perfect too. She wanted to show him that her heel had completely healed.

She had filled vases with roses that Kian liked. The bedroom would be filled with the fragrance of fresh roses. She had placed them on the side table where Kian drank his tea. It would create the feeling of being in the glass greenhouse.

For that, she needed to wake up early. Thinking about how she had caused trouble by sleeping until noon that day. Even now, she felt so embarrassed she wanted to kick off her blankets.

She squeezed her eyes shut, took a deep breath, and exhaled. Then she recalled the conversations she had organized countless times over the week to discuss with him tomorrow.

It was perfect. She was confident she could say everything without forgetting anything. So now, please just sleep. As she was about to pull up the covers with this determination.

BOOM! A flash of lightning illuminated the window as the sound of something crumbling echoed. Though she knew it was thunder, her shoulders jumped in surprise. What dreadful weather, she thought.

CRASH-!

Her hair stood on end.

This was a completely different sound.

She clearly heard the sound of something breaking. Having broken dishes while working as a maid, she could tell. It was the sound of something heavier than dishes breaking.

Feeling the blood drain from her face, she bolted upright. She looked around with wide eyes. At least, nothing had happened in this room. Then, an ominous feeling crept over her.

‘No way. Nothing happened to Kian, right?’

There were only two rooms on the fourth floor of the main building. So if it wasn’t from here, it must be from Kian’s room.

‘…What should I do?’

As her thoughts reached that point, anxiety took over. She couldn’t sleep like this, no, she couldn’t even stay still. As if possessed, she opened the door and stepped into the hallway. In her haste, she was barefoot, not even wearing slippers.

Kian’s room was at the end of the dark hallway. The sounds of things colliding and breaking continued. A man’s scream from inside. It was his voice.

“Kian. Are you there? Kian!”

There was no answer to her calls. She frantically tried the doorknob but it was firmly locked.

She didn’t know where she got the courage. In her mind was only the thought that she had to save Kian. That was all.

Vivianne backed up and threw her body against the door with all her might. She tried two or three times, but the solid door wouldn’t budge.

She went back to her room and brought a stool. Then she forcefully struck the doorknob with it. Bang! After several strikes, the doorknob fell off weakly.

The bedroom was in complete chaos. Overturned furniture. Broken vases and roses scattered messily across the floor.

On the bed, something was trembling violently, curled up under the blankets. When she carefully lifted the covers, she found a male drenched in cold sweat and shaking violently.

It was Kian.

He looked clearly out of his mind at first glance. He must have bathed before bed, as he was in a shower robe and his hair was still damp. No, it might be from cold sweat. His entire body was wet.

What should I do? Should I call someone?

For a moment her mind went blank.

As she tried to leave the bed, a firm hand grabbed Vivianne’s wrist.

“I-I’ll go get someone.”

Perhaps from shock, her words wouldn’t come out smoothly and her lower jaw trembled.

The hand gripping her wrist was burning hot like coal and shaking like an aspen leaf. Even in this state, his grip was somewhat desperate.

“Don’t… do it.”

Her heart sank at his voice that seemed forced out. The disconnect was even greater because he always seemed composed and strong.

Right. He had locked the door. He probably didn’t want anyone to see him in this state.

“…I won’t call anyone. Only I will know. So please don’t worry.”

Though trembling herself, Vivianne kept murmuring while carefully stroking Kian’s hair.

“You too… get out.”

“Kian…”

“…I said get out!”

In an instant, her body was flipped over and her nape was grabbed. Kian’s eyes were clearly not in their right mind. His bloodshot gaze wavered back and forth. Though her breath was cut off, Vivianne shook her head.

“S-sorry, cough, for, c-coming in, with-without, per-permission.”

And then she spoke almost pleadingly. As tears streamed down her eyes, his hand lost strength and he collapsed on top of her.

Rough breathing pierced her ears. Even breathing itself seemed difficult for him. Their touching hearts beat frantically. Kian kept dropping his head like he was consumed by fever, unable to regain his senses.

Vivianne, barely managing to slip out from under him, rushed to the bathroom and wet a towel.

She had heard that Matilda had wiped her body with wet towels for three days straight while nursing her. She said she did it to bring down the fever.

Though scared, and though he might get up and do something terrible, she wanted to bring down his high fever.

Rushing back to the bed with the wet towel, Vivianne began frantically dabbing his straight forehead, his flushed cheeks, and his curled-up nape.

Tap-tap-tap. The rain was fierce. The sound of waves crying overlapped, creating an eerie atmosphere. Kian continuously made groaning sounds and clutched his ears. When thunder struck, his trembling became even more severe, like a seizure.

He must be afraid of heavy rain.

Vivianne put down the wet towel and quickly drew the curtains around the room. Though the rain sound diminished slightly, the curtains alone seemed insufficient.

Returning to the bed, she forcefully pulled Kian into her arms and whispered in his ear:

It’s okay. I’m here.

Don’t be afraid.

Everything will be alright.

Though she kept murmuring like a spell, Kian couldn’t regain his senses and curled his body into a ball.

What should I do? How can I reassure him?

Vivianne instinctively began to sing.