22. Closed Door

“Is your cold better?”

“Yes……”

Mrs. Wellers’ sharp eyes analyzed me thoroughly from beneath her glasses.

The lady who visited while Annie was still sleeping in the adjoining room fortunately didn’t make an issue of her absence.

Thanks to Lara who had discreetly informed me of her visit in advance, I had several excuses prepared for that matter.

“No matter how hot the weather gets, you must always be careful with your health.”

“Yes, I’ll keep that in mind.”

I answered as quietly as possible, keeping my volume down as she always instructed me to do. Mrs. Wellers wanted the volume of my voice significantly reduced.

“Miss Rosaline.”

“Yes!”

I tensed up unconsciously and answered loudly and resonantly like before. Mrs. Wellers squeezed her eyes shut as if her head was throbbing, and I could see the man standing at the doorway behind her looking elsewhere, trying to hold back his laughter.

“Haah……”

Mrs. Wellers sighed and shook her head slightly from side to side, then raised it stiffly again.

She gave a meaningful look to the man standing at the doorway.

“By the way, today I’d like to introduce someone to you. I apologize for not mentioning it earlier. He’s my nephew and would like to pay his respects to you.”

Immediately, the man walked forward to me.

“I’m Robin Wellers. I’ve been working as an attendant for generations here at Riverton. You already know my aunt well……”

After greeting me, he glanced at my fingertips. I noticed his intention to request a handshake.

He was someone who gave me a strangely familiar feeling. Though I had no memory of it, I felt like I had encountered him somewhere.

But since delaying a greeting would be impolite, I quickly extended my hand to him.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Rosaline of Brienne.”

“Pleased to meet you.”

He applied appropriate pressure to our clasped hands.

“It’s true that your etiquette is improving, so I won’t nag anymore. You know your own issues best.”

Mrs. Wellers added a few words with a merciful face, as if bestowing a favor.

“Yes, that’s right……”

I answered submissively again, reducing my voice to the volume she wanted. Mrs. Wellers was the perfect example of a perfect aristocrat who controlled all tones and inflections of speech to be small and elegant. It would undoubtedly take more time to become like her.

“What I wanted to say today is this. I heard that despite being ill, you kept your promise to visit the young master.”

“Yes, because it was a promise after all.”

“Hmm, such diminishing language isn’t good. The way you speak can cause quite a bit of misunderstanding. For instance, even my Robin here might perceive your intentions differently. Please practice your speech patterns by referring to the book I gave you before. ‘After all’—how irresponsible……”

Mrs. Wellers clicked her tongue and looked at her nephew sitting beside her as if seeking agreement. But from my perspective, her nephew remained impassive with an extremely indifferent face, as if he couldn’t care less.

Mrs. Wellers tapped her nephew with the end of her fan. I inwardly expressed condolences for his forearm. It must have hurt terribly.

“Ah, um. Aunt, I see.”

Mrs. Wellers’ nephew, who answered carelessly as if accustomed to such situations, seemed to have found himself in this position often.

“By the way.”

She didn’t seem to notice at all that her nephew was answering perfunctorily.

“Is the young master still secluding himself?”

“Yes, it’s been going on for a while now. Even when I went to see him a few days ago, the castle gate was closed.”

Their words were already common knowledge, so there was nothing surprising about it. He was thoroughly isolating himself from people.

The fact that those firmly closed castle gates had opened for me was because the young master couldn’t defy the will of his father, the Duke.

After all, it was Duke Riverton who had asked me to heal the young master.

“Miss Rosaline, you have seen the young lord several times, right?”

A hint of curiosity showed in Mrs. Wellers’ sharp eyes.

Though the answer was already decided, it was difficult to respond readily. This time, I feared what kind of etiquette she would point out. Meeting with Mrs. Wellers was like receiving constant training.

“Yes, I have.”

I answered plainly while watching Mrs. Wellers’ reaction. She let out a deep sigh. But this time, it was somewhat different from her usual critical sighs.

“I hope that door opens again someday.”

Her voice as she said this carried a slight hint of longing like before. If it wasn’t a misconception, it was there this time too.

“Me too.”

I carefully added a word.

Mrs. Wellers lifted her head as if something had gotten into her eyes and gazed far into the distance.

“What might the young master be doing now……”

“That’s something only he would know.”

Robin responded quietly with an indifferent tone to Mrs. Wellers’ murmur. Robin Wellers seemed to have no interest at all in the young master, unusual for a member of the ducal household.

It was in contrast to most people here who showed reverence, fear, and curiosity toward him. He seemed naturally somewhat uninterested in others.

Even if by some tremendous miracle the young master recovered completely tomorrow and rose from his sickbed, he probably wouldn’t bat an eye.

Robin seemed to notice my gaze and met my eyes, but I was the only one who became flustered at that moment.

He looked ahead indifferently again. I wondered what he was thinking about.

Mrs. Wellers broke the silence again.

As she was quite a refined woman, she wasn’t particularly talkative.

But occasionally, Mrs. Wellers seemed to have things she absolutely had to say, and she did so within a range that didn’t exceed her standard of excessive speech.

“……so, that’s what I said at that time.”

“Ah, I see.”

While Mrs. Wellers was talking, Robin Wellers openly yawned. Though he didn’t make a loud sound, the sound of him inhaling air was loud enough for everyone in the room to hear.

However, Mrs. Wellers didn’t seem to notice her nephew’s behavior at all. Indeed, the darkest place is under the lamp.

“How embarrassed Mrs. Winsen was then. Ah, all children must be properly taught when they reach the appropriate age. Being young is never an excuse in our world.”

Mrs. Wellers’ chatter continued for quite some time. Her visit seemed to be not for checking on my illness, but for this passionate speech she had been holding in for a while.

❀❀❀

“I’ve confirmed everything. A plausible reason about issues with the recently changed drinking water was spread, and there was no sign that anyone noticed anything strange.”

There was no response through the slightly open door.

“I apologize for not completing the task you assigned last night properly. I made a big mistake. I should have regulated the amount of sleeping drug better.”

Robin Wellers finished his report toward the closed door beyond and bowed.

An uncomfortable groan spread in the silence. Robin Wellers’ body stiffened upon hearing that sound.

“A mistake.”

Along with those words, the sound of something heavy being dragged and moved was heard through the door crack. Robin Wellers was inwardly disheartened.

The moment for his disposition had finally come.

“I apologize.”

Robin Wellers knelt on both knees, waiting for the punishment his master would impose. He never expected to be forgiven in the first place.

But he didn’t regret serving by his side all this time.

The iron door showing a very small gap opened bit by bit. And from there, daylight poured in like a flood, as if to judge him.

And in front of it stood Young Master Riverton with his back to the sunlight. He looked down at Robin silently for a moment.

Then at some point, something black fell between him and Robin.

Robin, kneeling on the floor with his head bowed, couldn’t dare to look at it.

“Look at what that is.”

Once that command was given, he had no choice but to follow it.

What had tumbled in front of him was a large raven with black feathers. Its vitality, writhing vigorously, was gradually fading away.

It was meeting a powerful death, enough to devour all the effort of its twisting and struggling.

Between the raven’s beak, a shattered black marble was visible. It was the same as what he had been ordered to retrieve from Rosaline Brienne’s residence last night.

The poisoned beast was struggling with all its might with its gradually diminishing survival instinct.

“You almost made an even bigger mistake.”

Robin Wellers couldn’t understand what that meant.

However, he could see Jace Riverton, smiling brightly, extending his hand toward him as he lay prostrate on the floor.