9: Confronting the Count
I steadily looked at the man. Then, I slowly exhaled and walked toward him. Stopping in front of him, I forced the corners of my mouth up into a smile to hide my fear.
“Who am I? I’m your daughter, Father.”
“My daughter does not act like you. And the aura is different from my daughter. Don’t lie to me.”
“I’ve decided to live differently now. Living under constant torment was difficult. And this face is due to makeup.”
The Count stared intently at me, his eyes scanning me from head to toe. His expression remained stern, but he didn’t seem completely sure I was an impostor, as he didn’t call for anyone.
The Count blinked slowly, then turned and walked toward the hallway leading to the dining room. I watched him, then started to walk up the stairs, but the Count’s voice came from behind me.
“Are you not going to eat dinner?”
His voice held no invitation or hesitation. It was a tone that simply said, Eat if you want, don’t eat if you don’t. I figured if I went, I might just face cold food again. I’d rather share cake with Lily.
“It’s alright. I don’t intend to face cold food again.”
When that remark reached the Count, silence hung in the mansion for a moment.
“What do you mean by that?”
The Count’s voice broke the silence. And that voice had a subtle tremor, as if it had been forced out after much hesitation. Surely he didn’t really not know about this? The whole mansion was tormenting Celia. There’s no way he didn’t know. Yes. There’s no way. He must have pretended not to know. He hadn’t reacted at all when I mentioned ‘torment’ earlier. It was clear this Count had been tolerating the harassment to some extent.
“You know everything already. Why are you reacting like you just heard it?”
“Because I am hearing this for the first time. Why do you think the food will be cold?”
“So you’re saying I’m lying… Fine. If that’s what you want to believe, then believe it. I’ll be going now.”
“…Don’t cause a disturbance.”
The words, ‘You should manage your son better!’ rose up to my throat at the Count’s command. But arguing now wouldn’t get him to listen to me. If I pull off something big, he’ll have no choice but to try and get on my good side. I’ll just bear it until then. Anyway, starting tomorrow, those who sense danger will surely prepare a proper meal for…
I was too simple to think that.
I wanted a simple salad for breakfast. I decided to go to the dining room as a form of morning exercise. When I got out of bed, Lily, who seemed to never sleep, knocked on the door, offering to help me get ready. It was barely 7 AM, before the sun had fully risen! It made me wonder if Lily had installed a surveillance camera to watch me.
I arrived at the dining room with Lily and sat in a chair. Lily went to tell the kitchen the menu, and the food came out in less than five minutes.
“What in the…!”
Lily gasped as soon as she saw the food and rushed toward the kitchen. On the plate was a salad, which is usually hard to make look unappetizing. But this salad looked so bad that it was difficult to call it food anymore. Before, they at least gave me cold but intact food. Now, they served me something that looked half-eaten by bugs or animals and was almost rotten.
I picked up the plate and followed Lily into the kitchen. Inside, servants with smug expressions were cooking warm dishes, ignoring Lily and me.
Looking at the Count’s reaction yesterday, he seemed unaware that I was being discriminated against with food. Did Kiel order this? Or was it just the servants themselves? They wouldn’t listen if I told them to leave.
Should I test what the Count truly thinks of Celia? I quickly scanned the kitchen, then whispered quietly to Lily.
“Lily, is the Count awake yet?”
Lily turned to me, then quickly came over and took hold of the door I was holding. She spoke with a confident voice.
“He should be having his coffee right about now.”
How does she know all this?
…Is she really keeping watch?
I briefly entertained this thought, then dismissed it. I left the kitchen and, with Lily, headed toward the Count’s office.
Knock, knock, knock.
I knocked on the door calmly, but firmly. Hard enough to make sure someone heard the knock.
“It’s me.”
When I spoke, the knight guarding the door hesitated and didn’t announce my presence to the person inside. Fortunately, the Count seemed to recognize me and spoke from inside the room in an unperturbed voice.
“Come in.”
The door hesitated, then slowly opened. Frustrated by the delay, I grabbed the door, pulled it wide open, and stepped inside.
“Father, I’m sorry to bother you, but could you fire all the people who work in the kitchen?”
“What?”
At my words, the Count froze for a moment, showing a flash of surprise on his face. But he quickly returned to his calm expression from last night and looked at me.
“The reason? It won’t happen without a valid reason.”
“If you don’t believe me, I’ll leave. Instead, if it’s a valid reason but you can’t fire them, I would like money to buy food outside.”
“I’ll listen first and then consider it.”
At the Count’s reply, I nodded and placed the plate I had brought onto his desk.
“This is the food I just received for breakfast. What do you think?”
His gaze dropped to the desk. His eyebrow twitched, and he slowly rose from his chair and looked at the Head Butler standing by the door.
“What do you think about this, Head Butler?”
The middle-aged Head Butler bowed, his body tense with nervousness.
“I apologize for failing to manage things properly. However, I definitely instructed everyone to prepare all meals correctly. I will find the person responsible for this matter immediately. Could you grant me a moment?”
The Count stared at the Head Butler for a long time, then nodded.
“Thirty minutes should be enough, yes? Of course, even if you find the culprit, your debt won’t completely disappear. If you fail to find them, you will have to pay the price for that responsibility.”
“I will keep that in mind. Thank you for your mercy.”
The Head Butler, with a complex expression, closed his eyes, bowed, and left the office. Silence and cold air filled the room. I felt nervous too and swallowed hard, waiting for the Count to speak first.
“…Celia.”
After a few minutes, the Count finally spoke. I carefully cleared my throat and looked at him.
“Yes.”
“First, I must apologize, though I know I have no right to. I am sorry.”
“…”
“I don’t expect your forgiveness. I have a conscience, after all. And regarding the firings, I cannot dismiss the entire kitchen staff. However, I can fire the chef, the Head Butler who manages the servants, and the Head Maid.”
“Is that so.”
“Yes. Instead, as you said, it seems some instruction is necessary for you to receive a proper meal, so I will give you money to use for dining expenses.”
The Count’s expression hadn’t changed at all. I couldn’t sense any remorse or anger from him. Yet, I felt a kind of sincerity in his words.
Even so, it didn’t lead to forgiveness. It just felt… strange. If emotions had height, mine felt like they were irregularly rising and falling, churning inside me.
I watched the Count silently, then sighed and looked away.
“Yes, I’ll leave it to you then.”
In the renewed awkward silence, I paused, then decided to voice the question that had risen to my throat.
“May I ask you something?”
“Go ahead.”
“You knew I was being tormented, didn’t you?”
“Yes.”
“Then why did you pretend not to know?”
“…It’s not a good reason, but when I brought you here, Kiel had many complaints. I thought I shouldn’t interfere between you two until Kiel grew fond of you.”
“The servants also tormented me. They often framed me, and I doubt you were unaware of this, Father. Despite that, why did you always scold me?”
“You always simply repeated ‘I’m sorry’ without any excuses. I thought accepting the blame and enduring the responsibility was also your choice.”
I wasn’t Celia, but the grief that welled up made me feel like crying. I wanted to cry out loud, though I didn’t know how. My chest felt tight. I struggled to hold back the tears that were gathering. Taking a deep breath, I forced a strong smile. I raised my voice to a cheerful tone, trying my best to suppress the sound of impending tears.
“I want to live differently than before now. Since you won’t listen to me right now, I have a request for you, Father. Please help ensure that all the servants in the mansion treat me properly. I don’t want to live being ignored and insulted anymore!”
At my words, the Count’s eyes widened for a brief second, then returned to normal. Soon, his eyebrows furrowed with determination.
“If that is what you want, I will help you to the best of my ability. If they torment you, it will be considered an act of disrespect toward me.”
Knock, knock, knock.
Not long after the Count finished speaking, a knock was heard. The owner of the voice that followed was the Head Butler who had left earlier.
“Count, it’s the Head Butler. I have brought the responsible parties.”
It hasn’t even been 10 minutes, so why is he back so quickly? The Head Butler clearly did not want to pay a heavy price. When the Count told him to enter, the door opened. The Head Butler entered, followed by a middle-aged woman. And at the very back, a man was being practically dragged in by a knight.
That man is definitely…
