As time passed and the sun rose high in the sky, Theodoro arrived as the Marquis had mentioned. 

“It’s been a while, my lady.” 

He was neatly dressed and wore a pleasant smile that gave him an approachable air. His curly hair, the colour of the crust of a Castella cake, swayed slightly with his movements. 

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Theodoro began to examine her. During the examination, Ciela watched his every move with meticulous attention. He was the last doctor to visit the Marquis’s estate and had been examining her regularly ever since, so it was highly likely that he had something to do with transferring Lilia’s curse to her. 

‘Nothing particularly suspicious so far.’ 

Just as she concluded that the procedure seemed normal, their gazes collided. 

“Something bothering you?” 

Theodoro suddenly raised his head and asked. His softly set eyes were the colour of budding green shoots, giving him a gentle appearance. Yet the depthless look in his eyes seemed to pierce through her, making the fine hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. 

“You arrived earlier than usual today, which I found strange.” 

Ciela feigned composure. 

“I see. As you said, it wasn’t planned, but the madam contacted me urgently.” 

“My mother?” 

“Yes. She mentioned in her letter that she was worried because you hadn’t been feeling well lately and hadn’t left your room.” 

‘So it wasn’t the Marquis Arcel who had summoned him.’ 

Correcting her misinformation, Ciela rolled her eyes slightly in thought. 

‘Still.’

That innocent expression – it was strikingly similar to someone deeply involved in her life. 

“Still, contrary to what I heard, your condition seems to have improved considerably, which is a relief.” 

Theodoro accepted her condition with a gentle smile. 

“For future treatment, I’d like to determine the cause of your improvement. May I ask you a few questions?” 

“Of course.” 

“Then.” 

Removing his monocle and placing it on the desk, he continued.

“I’d like to start by asking if there was any particular food you’ve been eating.” 

At the question, the image of the fairy apple flashed through her mind. Ciela watched him carefully, her eyes fixed straight ahead. His smiling expression remained unchanged, making it difficult to read his thoughts. 

‘I’ll test him.’ 

Feigning thoughtfulness, she curved her lips into an elegant smile. 

“I’ve been eating a variety of things to take care of myself.” 

“Could you tell me what you ate, if you don’t mind?” 

“Hmm. There was so much, I can’t remember everything right now, but… let’s see.” 

One by one, counting on her fingers, she listed the medicinal ingredients reputed for their health benefits. Each time, Theodoro silently wrote down her words. 

“…and I ate that too. And what else was there…” 

With a groan, Ciela furrowed her brow as if in deep thought. 

“It definitely looked like some kind of fruit.” 

At that moment, the tip of Theodoro’s quill, which he had been holding steadily, wavered. It was brief, but Ciela caught the distinct change. She hesitated deliberately and repeated.

“What was it again? 

Tick, tick.

The occasional ticking of the clock underlined the passage of time. 

“Still can’t remember?” 

“No, it’s a bit fuzzy.” 

“Let me help you remember.” 

Theodoro pressed down hard on the bridge of his nose. The smile that had graced his face was now gone, hidden behind his hand, but his voice remained as soft as a spring breeze. 

“How are you going to do that?” 

“What did it look like?” 

“It looked like several small round grains clustered together.” 

“And the colour?” 

“It was golden.” 

“Ah, that must be Sirka. I’m not sure how you managed to acquire it, but if you’ve ingested such a powerful elixir, it’s no wonder your body is recovering.” 

Theodoro’s voice trailed off as he muttered to himself while jotting down notes. He tapped the paper twice with his quill before studying Ciela carefully once more. 

“Apart from that, was there anything else you took regularly?” 

Ciela’s blue eyes darted sideways, then dropped abruptly. Realising her mistake, she flinched slightly, her shoulders shaking as she quickly shifted her gaze. 

Following the subtle disturbance in her azure eyes, Theodoro shifted his attention to where she had been looking. 

‘Under the bed.’

The corners of his lips curled into a mischievous smile. Theodoro asked a few more questions before finishing the examination. 

“I will inform the butler of the medication and any additional instructions.” 

“Alright.” 

“I hope you’ll be even healthier the next time we meet.” 

“That would make me very happy.” 

After their brief exchange of parting words, he was about to turn and leave when – 

“The cat…” 

“Pardon?” 

“No, it’s nothing.” 

Theodoro, who had noticed Titi perched on the wardrobe, muttered to himself. At her questioning reply, he shook his head slightly and left the room. 

“Meow.” 

Titi leapt gracefully down from the wardrobe and padded softly towards her. His ears were pricked as he listened intently to the fading sound of footsteps. 

“Must have been hard for you with a stranger around, huh?” 

Shake, shake! When Ciela picked him up and asked, Titi shook his head, his eyes wide and fixed. His determined expression made Ciela giggle. 

“You’re such a brave cat.” 

Ciela glanced at the clock and began stroking Titi. When she occasionally cast a suspicious glance towards the door – 

Knock, knock. 

“Young lady, forgive the intrusion.”

The soft clatter of fishing tackle accompanied the voice. 

“The butler urgently requests your presence, my lady.” 

“The butler?” 

“Yes, he asked you to come to your room immediately.” 

“Did Theodoro mention anything in his instructions? Got it.” 

Ciela gently laid Titi down on the bed. 

“I’ll be back soon.” 

“Meow!” 

After giving him a firm pat, she walked past the maid, her shoulders stiff with tension. The maid froze, only letting out a sigh of relief as Ciela disappeared around the corner of the corridor. 

“Haa.” 

Clutching her chest to calm herself, the maid re-entered Ciela’s room. 

‘Let’s just carry out the madam’s orders and leave quickly.’

The cat was sitting in front of the bed, making her hesitant to approach. Gripping her skirt tightly, she forced herself to move forward. 

‘I just need to check.’ 

With that thought in her head, she approached the bed, crouching down and bending over until her face almost touched the carpet. 

‘There must be something here, she reminded herself.’ 

She looked under the bed, but found nothing. The unexpected result had her scanning the area intently, her eyes darting back and forth, looking for anything out of place. 

“What are you doing?” 

“Eek!” 

Startled, the maid shot to her feet. 

“L-Lady Ciela.” 

Turning, she saw Ciela standing there, arms crossed, staring down at her. Meeting her cold, icy gaze, the maid swallowed nervously. 

‘How…?’ 

She had clearly seen the young lady approach the butler. There hadn’t been the slightest hint of suspicion. 

“I asked what you were doing.” 

“When I was here earlier, I thought I saw some dust and came back to clean it.” 

“You didn’t think that flimsy excuse about looking under the bed in such a short time would actually work, did you?” 

Ciela’s sharp voice cut through the air like a blade, her tone icy. The maid, who had been opening and closing her mouth as if to explain, finally let her shoulders drop. Continuing to lie would only make her situation worse; it was better to admit her mistake and ask for forgiveness. 

“My lady, I was wrong.” 

“Why did you look under the bed?” 

“I… I was struggling with financial difficulties and… I was tempted to do something bad.”

“Why the bed? Especially when there’s a perfectly intact jewellery box in plain sight? Feels like there might be another reason.”

The maid, taken by surprise, bit her lip nervously. 

“I thought there might be jewels hidden under the bed. I was wrong to act on such an idea. Please, punish me as you see fit.” 

The maid reminded herself that this matter would eventually go to the head maid and then to the madam, who had the final say. Even if she was punished, she’d probably just be fired. With the bonus the madam had promised her for her work, she wouldn’t have any trouble making ends meet. But she soon realised that she had seriously underestimated the situation. 

“Take fifty lashes and crawl out of the Marquis Arcel’s estate on all fours.” 

“Normally, punishments for someone like me are decided by the head maid or the mistress…” 

“And who do you think I am, standing before you now?” 

“…” 

An Arcel, a member of the household with full authority to discipline servants. The maid tightened her lips. In the past, no matter what had been whispered or done in the background, Ciela had always left punishments to the head maid. But why, all of a sudden…?

“There’s no need to look so wronged. You said it yourself – you would accept your punishment.” 

“Please, show mercy, my lady!” 

“Normally, someone who tries to steal from their master would lose their hand. I thought this was merciful by comparison, but if you don’t like it, we can stick to the law.” 

As the sharp, threatening shadow closed in, the maid instinctively stumbled backwards. Her foot caught on the bed and she toppled over, her backside hitting the edge. 

“Kyah!” 

“Hiss!” 

The cat on the bed let out a chilling growl, causing the maid to shake violently. In her panic to get up, her legs gave way and she collapsed, trembling and pale, tears streaming down her cheeks. 

Ciela tilted her head to look at the maid, who was now trembling under her gaze. 

“If you were to endure all one hundred lashes, you’d probably never stand again.”

Smiling softly, Ciela spoke again, her voice almost teasing. 

“This is your last chance. Why did you look under the bed?” 

Fifty lashes and the madam’s promised reward weighed heavily on the scales. With Ciela’s knowing behaviour and no way to escape, the scales tipped decisively. 

“The madam ordered me to secretly look under the bed.”

“Proof?” 

“There is a jewel in my room that the mistress gave me. She promised to give me more if I completed the task.” 

Ciela straightened and crossed her arms over her chest. The effort to feign curiosity in front of Theodoro by looking at the space under the bed had paid off. 

‘She knows about my condition.’ 

If Theodoro, who wasn’t the family doctor, knew about the curse, it only added to her suspicions.

‘Was it Theodoro who revealed the method of transmitting the curse?’ 

At the very least, he must be connected somehow. Ciela tossed her hair back as she looked down at the trembling maid. 

“What’s your name?” 

The unexpected question, coupled with a softer tone than before, sparked a glimmer of hope in the maid’s heart. Could she be forgiven? Clinging to that faint hope of mercy, the maid replied. 

“My name is Dana.” 

“Dana, following orders does not absolve you of guilt.” 

“Yes, I understand.” 

“But it’s not all your fault either, so I’m giving you a chance to earn forgiveness.” 

Ciela crouched down and helped Dana to her feet. The unexpected kindness, after all her dashed hopes, left Dana wide-eyed like a startled rabbit. 

“You’re really giving me a chance?” 

“Don’t you want to?” 

“No! If you give me a chance, I’ll do my best at whatever it is!” 

Seeing the maid stiffen and respond with all her might, Ciela grinned, her lips curling into a wry smile. 

“First go and finish the task the Marquis’ wife has given you, then come back.”