39. Request

“Please help me.”

Kneeling before me, the Duke said something absurd.

Naturally, I didn’t understand this situation at all.

“Help you…?”

Thinking that I should first help the Duke up, I looked around, but incredibly, the maids who had surrounded me were all kneeling together with their heads bowed.

Where had that intimidating attitude from just now gone?

“Please don’t do this and get up quickly.”

I urgently requested, feeling very uncomfortable, but he firmly shook his head.

“No, I cannot.”

I had never seen such a situation even in dreams.

Though I wanted to help him up, I couldn’t even dare to touch such a great Duke.

“I beg you. My son……”

The moment I heard his plea, my heart sank.

While the young master, fallen into eternal sleep, was preserved like a wax figure, could he possibly be asking me to resurrect a dead person?

I’m pretty sure I had clearly stated that I didn’t have such remarkable abilities.

But the situation was too awkward to bring that up again.

The Duke before me now seemed like a father of one person, not the master of a duchy. Because of that, I couldn’t bring myself to speak.

“Your Grace……”

My gaze shook wildly, unable to face the Duke.

The young master was already dead. There was no way to bring him back to life.

Such cruel words were too conscience-stricken to utter.

Though I certainly couldn’t do anything, I didn’t want to butcher the wounded heart of a parent either.

“I heard that the child had been doing well all this time. Though he appeared collapsed and covered in blood as soon as you left your position.”

The Duke continued speaking while kneeling on the floor.

“I admit it. At first, I didn’t fully believe in that power, but the moment I saw that child last night, I knew. That your staying by my son’s side all this time has been a tremendous help. That’s why I brought you here urgently, risking rudeness to Count Brienne.”

“……”

“Help me… no, help my child just once more.”

Is this excessive denial of reality?

Perhaps it was understandable.

Having lost his only son whom he cherished so much, it wouldn’t be incomprehensible if he lost his mind.

“Your Grace, I too enjoyed and was happy with all the time I spent with the young master.”

I carefully chose the most rounded words to avoid hurting his feelings.

“However, as I told you before, I’m not a person with such great power. I also think the young master……”

The moment I recalled memories of the deceased, a deep sigh escaped from my core.

It was a sigh of either distress or frustration, I couldn’t tell.

“It doesn’t matter.”

But the Duke interrupted before I could finish my sentence.

I could see a thin ray of hope shining in his eyes, which had been immersed in melancholy.

“Will you… stay by our Jace’s side?”

He asked cautiously.

I had to struggle to manage my facial expression to not show the tremendous burden and difficulty.

I fully understood the Duke’s feelings. But this was too heavy a responsibility for me to bear.

“Yes. But you must not expect miracles, Your Grace.”

I barely managed to say while squeezing out minimal courage.

“That’s alright.”

Then he showed a desolate smile as if satisfied.

At his signal, the kneeling maids all rose at once and began to move.

The Duke, who had slowly risen from his place, approached me.

“I will quickly prepare a new place for you to stay. Thank you for accepting my request.”

I was dumbfounded by what had happened so suddenly.

I couldn’t even adapt to his courtesy, which had strangely become more polite.

The Duke bowed his head deeply in greeting toward me, who was just blinking instead of answering.

“I will take special care to ensure there is no inconvenience during your stay. If you find Madam Wellers uncomfortable……”

“No!”

I quickly answered before he could dismiss Mrs. Wellers as well. I spoke so hastily that my voice even cracked.

“It’s, it’s fine! I’m very satisfied with Mrs. Wellers’s lessons.”

“Really? I heard testimony that the lessons were quite arduous for something that was supposed to just pass time……”

The Duke muttered as if surprised.

In fact, that testimony, whoever it came from, was quite correct.

Of course, it wasn’t that I liked Mrs. Wellers’s lessons so much that I wanted to continue them.

How should I put it? I had grown somewhat attached to her in that short time.

First, the madam took pride in her education.

If I questioned her lessons and caused her to be dismissed, she would be greatly hurt.

Second, she was one of the few people both the young master and I knew in common.

Her face, showing a longing expression while thinking of the young master, was still deeply etched in my mind.

To begin with, Mrs. Wellers wasn’t a person with a bad character. She just had some slight obsessions.

“If you’ll excuse me, I must be going now. After leaving my work for two days, I’m afraid to return to it.”

Only then did I remember that the Duke was an extremely busy person.

Though he cherished his bedridden son so much, he couldn’t even look at him with peace of mind.

“I’ll tell Madam Wellers to lower the intensity of the lessons a bit.”

Just before leaving, the Duke added a word in consideration. His face now even looked somewhat relieved.

“If you need anything, please send word anytime.”

He left with those words.

After he left, I finally felt the tension drain from my entire body.

Being with the young master, who was still too beautiful to be a corpse, was naturally not a frightening thing for me.

❀❀❀

Annie, the dedicated maid of Rosaline Brienne, stopped her steps right in front of the door, swallowing the words “Excuse me.”

Though her tray held snacks and desserts for a light meal, she decided to give up delivering them.

‘The Miss will be fine, probably.’

In Annie’s mind remained the afterimage of what she had just seen.

Just a few steps away was Miss Rosaline. She was sitting in a chair, but she wasn’t alone.

There was a white hand stroking her hair and wrist as she lay with her long hair spread out.

Though it had been a very long time since she had faced that person, there was no difficulty in recognizing him.

He was the only heir and eldest son of the ducal residence.

His surreal beauty remained unchanged from before.

But there were also some differences.

For some reason, there were red wounds on his hand as if torn by something. And above all, the momentary gaze with which he looked down at the Miss was more affectionate than ever before.

The young master’s affection wasn’t so unfamiliar to her.

Even though his kindness coexisted with a cold boundary that couldn’t be crossed.

But now that smile was so pure and gentle that she couldn’t even remember that past fact.

The moment their eyes met, the affection in his eyes cooled coldly, as if it had been her illusion.

Annie didn’t hear any direct orders from him, but she could tell.

She was naturally very quick-witted.

She knew at that moment that she needed to leave that place immediately.

Without hesitation, Annie hugged the tray, turned around, and quickly left the room.

The moment she came out after passing through the long corridor and turning the corner as if fleeing, strength left her wrist.

The tray slipped and fell from the hands of the well-trained maid. The teapot and cookies fell to the floor with a loud noise.

“Are, are you alright?”

Other maids who came running at the sound asked her.

Annie’s face, which had turned pale white, gradually returned to normal.

“Yes.”

The maids who recognized her face showed startled expressions. This was because she was known as a quite capable maid even within the ducal residence.

“Oh my, you’re not the type to do this……”

“I’ll help clean up the pieces.”

“Me too!”

But Annie, who had returned to her usual self, shook her head.

“Everyone go back to your work. This is something I did, so I should clean it up.”

“But……”

“It’s fine.”

At Annie’s resolute face, the maids quickly greeted her and left the place.

Annie sighed and prepared to clean up the broken pieces.