Chapter 2. Things That Get Discarded

That man is cruel.

There was a reason she had felt chills from the very first moment she saw him, a complete stranger. Instinct was telling her. This is someone you must not get close to.

The vague sense that he was like a ghost made sense too. The way he kept appearing without warning unsettled her. Whenever he stared at her for too long, a damp, oppressive energy seemed to cling to her skin.

The morning after the lodge, Lisa came down alone. She had dozed off briefly and when she woke, Renato was gone, and a trail of footprints through the calf-deep snow stretched all the way back to the manor. She had wanted to avoid speaking to him anyway, so it suited her perfectly.

When she returned, the atmosphere was already busy. Count Maldini himself had come out to watch as the butler organized the staff and arranged a cart to carry Titan’s body.

The count was speaking with Renato. She hadn’t meant to eavesdrop, but the spot where she stopped happened to be uncomfortably close.

“The important thing is that you weren’t hurt.”

“Not at all. I’m deeply sorry to have cost you such a fine horse. I’ll compensate you for the loss.”

“Slipping on an icy path can happen to anyone. And to think our maid was there to help, what a relief.”

It seemed Renato had bent the truth slightly to cover for her. He could have pinned the whole thing on her, so it was unexpected.

Was the count not going to fault him for euthanizing the horse without calling a veterinarian? She listened carefully, but the count said nothing critical to Renato at all. The wealth of Trieste Bank must be extraordinary. Perhaps the relationship made criticism unthinkable.

“I won’t accept compensation. We’re past that sort of thing.”

“I’d feel better if you did.”

“No, let it go.”

“Then I’d like to give you a new horse as a gift. I have an acquaintance who runs a business with thoroughbred horses.”

The count’s mouth fell open as Renato described a stable of distinguished breeds and numerous race champions. The joy of acquiring a new horse seemed to far outweigh the grief of losing Titan.

Lisa turned away from the sight of the workers pushing and pulling the cart up the hillside and headed back. She was about to step through the servants’ entrance when Renato appeared out of nowhere and raised his arm to block the door.

She couldn’t understand why he kept materializing in front of her. And now he was openly picking a fight.

There was no way around it. Getting through would mean ducking under his arm. Unable to contain her simmering frustration, she held her head up straight.

Renato twisted one corner of his mouth in a sneer. Whatever he found amusing, his fingertips drummed a light rhythm against the doorframe.

“You heard, didn’t you?”

The way he opened the conversation was already ominous.

“What do you……”

“I didn’t mention that the horse died because of you.”

Lisa’s eyes narrowed involuntarily. How petty. She wanted to knock herself on the head for having thought, even briefly, that he was a gentleman.

Was he blocking her path and making a show of his generosity because he intended to demand something in return?

It was the most likely explanation. In her short life, she had never received a kindness that didn’t come with a price.

She had no idea what Renato could possibly want from someone as insignificant as her. At best she could run errands or wait on him, and even that would probably fall short of what this wealthy man expected.

Rather than ask first, she kept her mouth shut and waited. She wasn’t foolish enough to volunteer payment on her own. She watched for any opening to escape.

Everyone was in the middle of their work, and the area around the servants’ entrance was deserted. The strange standoff continued in the empty space.

“Why were you on the mountain in the first place?”

“I was running an errand.”

“What kind of errand?”

Why does that matter to him? She couldn’t read Renato’s intentions, but Anna’s warning to keep it secret came back to her.

“It’s a little difficult to say.”

She gripped the bag hanging from one shoulder. Renato’s gaze settled on the leather strap pulled taut.

Inside the bag was the letter she hadn’t been able to deliver. She would need to ask Smila whether to go to the Servillo estate by stagecoach tomorrow, even if it was a day late. Failing to deliver it on time nagged at her. She hoped this wouldn’t cost her the study post.

Just then she heard someone calling her name from inside. Someone had a task for her.

Renato shrugged with a grudging air and stepped aside. The moment the way was clear, Lisa turned and left without looking back.

Her heart was beating faster than normal, probably from the unpleasant interrogation.

* * *

She had been witnessing a lot of adult grumbling lately. Everyone complained that this winter was harder than any before it.

While collecting food from the kitchen, Lisa overheard the head cook and a maid lamenting.

The head cook had been reprimanded by the countess for the guest’s meals being inadequate. He was called in and scolded nearly every day. Matching the family’s desire for the finest possible table was a stretch for a cook who prided himself on honest, traditional flavors.

Having spent his whole life in this region, producing the latest fashionable dishes from the capital was beyond him. He desperately wished the guest would leave soon.

Mel, the maid assigned to the guest room, complained far more vehemently. She understood he was a guest to be treated with respect, but there were limits.

According to Mel, he could spot a single speck of dust with the eyes of a hawk. Everything had to be in perfect order, and even a slightly misaligned object drew a look of displeasure from him. On top of that, he showered twice a day, morning and evening.

The maid, raging that he would scrub his own skin off at that rate, finally burst into tears.

Not wanting to catch any stray sparks, Lisa hurried to ladle out her soup. She was gathering two portions, one for her brother, when a sharp hook of a voice snagged the back of her neck.

“Lisa, come give me a hand.”

The head cook waved her over. It was his usual habit of putting her to work.

Even though she now had a clear assignment, unlike before when she had only done odd jobs, the people around her hadn’t changed their view of her. Lisa couldn’t bring herself to refuse outright and stood there awkwardly with two bowls in hand.

“I have something Miss Smila asked me to do.”

“I know, but that takes no time at all. Come back when it’s time to prepare dinner and scatter some flowers on the plates.”

He had said plating was nothing, and no matter how much effort she put into it, she was always dismissed. Even now his tone was condescending. Still, given the head cook’s blunt nature, this was practically a plea for help.

Mel, who had been blowing her nose into a handkerchief, snapped her head up. She rolled her wide eyes at Lisa and then suddenly clapped her hands.

“Oh, right. You helped the young lord at the lodge, didn’t you? So you two are on decent terms?”

“Not at all, we’re not……”

“No, you’re a hundred times better off than me.”

Mel cut her off, jumped to her feet, and grabbed Lisa’s arm. Her manner had flipped entirely, as though she had found a savior, and she coaxed Lisa along with soft persuasion.

“I won’t make you mop or anything like that. Just stand next to me with the feather duster.”

“But……”

“If he says anything, just answer for me. That’s not so hard, is it?”

Mel shuddered, saying his eyes were exactly like a predator’s. Lisa wanted to confess that she found the man just as uncomfortable and difficult to deal with, but the decision was being made regardless of her wishes. She couldn’t get out of the kitchen until she had heard the full schedule of when to stop by the guest room.

First she had to finish her assigned duties. Lisa went to the study at the time Smila’s lesson was due to end, the letter still tucked against her body.

Smila had finished her lesson early and was spending the free time at leisure.

“I…… I was the one who went on the errand with the letter yesterday. But I got caught in the blizzard and couldn’t deliver it.”

She carefully produced the letter, and Smila’s expression changed at once. She snatched it from Lisa’s hand and hid it behind her back.

It was clearly a secret letter, as she had suspected. Lisa was troubled by having failed her first assigned task. The envelope getting wet from pushing through the snowstorm bothered her too. She kept talking, hoping to at least show she had made an effort before Smila decided on any punishment.