Episode 8
The doctor clicked his tongue and added a few words.
“This child was worked far too hard. If you make a nine-year-old do nothing but work without feeding or letting her sleep properly, then of course…”
At that, the nanny cut him off coldly.
“That is not something a mere doctor should concern himself with. And be careful with your words. If someone overheard you, it would sound as if our Atherion family abuses servants to death.”
The doctor clicked his tongue quietly.
The nanny acted arrogantly, as if she herself were a member of the Atherion family.
“And besides, you haven’t been at this mansion for very long, have you? You should not speak carelessly when you do not know the full situation.”
“….”
“That child was already small and weak when she was brought from the orphanage. Our lady treated her so well, and yet… if she was born weak, that cannot be helped.”
Her claim was simple:
The child was weak, and she died because she was the kind of child who would die anyway.
Anyone who had spent even one day in this mansion knew that was nonsense.
But there was no servant here who could go against the nanny—or rather, against the precious young lady behind her.
The doctor obediently agreed.
“She certainly was very small for her age.”
Though she was supposedly nine years old, the child was so small and thin that she looked no older than seven or eight.
‘And after abusing a child like that…’
But the nanny showed not even the slightest pity for the little girl.
She only sounded annoyed and worried about cleaning up the aftermath.
She asked bluntly,
“What illness did she die from? It isn’t something contagious, is it?”
“It was a type of fever. This kind of illness is usually quite contagious, and it is dangerous when young children catch it.”
At that, the nanny’s shoulders jerked, and she covered her mouth before rushing out of the room.
“Throw her out at once! If it spreads to me or the other maids, our young lady could be in danger too!”
“Understood. I’ll take care of it immediately.”
The doctor covered the small child’s body with a clean white cloth.
After the nanny repeatedly told him to make sure the matter was handled properly, she hurried out of the attic for fear of catching the illness herself.
Because of that, she failed to notice one strange thing:
that it was odd for the doctor to know that Tii was nine years old.
“……”
The doctor watched the nanny’s retreating back for a while, then carefully wrapped the child’s body in the white cloth.
Even so, he made sure not to tie the area around her head too tightly.
Then he lifted the wrapped child onto his back and left the attic.
No one paid any attention to the doctor leaving the mansion.
***
When the nanny brought the news, Tiseriel answered with little interest.
“What? She died?”
“…Yes, my lady.”
The nanny whispered calmly,
“It seems it was a fever.”
That was what she said, but both of them knew the truth.
During the month since Tii had entered the mansion as a maid, she had been bullied terribly—so badly that even an adult would have had trouble enduring it.
They splashed water on her, beat her, and made her work through the night as if it were routine.
This time, they had even stripped her and made her stand there for a long time under the excuse of searching her body.
And that was after already overworking the child by making her clean the sunroom all night the day before.
If you treated a young child like that, of course she would collapse or fall sick.
She had never been given medicine or proper care.
In the end, it was practically the same as Tiseriel killing her.
But of course, no one said that aloud.
“She must have been weak, just like her low blood.”
“I guess so. How unpleasant.”
“It’s because your heart is too soft, my lady. Just forget about it.”
Then Tiseriel suddenly lifted her head and shouted,
“Wait, then what about me taking out my anger? What about my rage? I’m so angry it feels like my chest is burning!”
Unable to control herself, Tiseriel began wildly cutting apart the dolls piled on her bed with a pair of scissors.
Fine silk and expensive cotton stuffing were left scattered all over the floor.
But even that was not enough to calm her anger.
She threw the scissors aside and flung herself into the nanny’s arms.
Clang!
If the scissors had flown just a little farther, they would have hit the nanny’s leg.
Even while breaking into a slight cold sweat, the nanny did not forget to comfort her young mistress.
“Our poor little lady.”
“Waaah! I’m so angry! I’m crying! My chest feels like it’s burning, I can’t sleep!”
“That low creature should have held on a little longer.”
“What should I do? What if I wake up tomorrow with swollen eyes and look ugly? It’s all that low creature’s fault!”
Even if she bullied the dead child, there was no way to relieve Tiseriel’s anger over losing the Lady’s Ring.
Holding the upset Tiseriel and soothing her, the nanny whispered,
“Don’t worry, my lady. As soon as morning comes, I’ll send someone to the orphanage and have them bring a new ‘toy.’”
“…Mm, all right, Nanny.”
Even then, Tiseriel did not stop whining.
Then suddenly she lifted her head.
“Oh, right. We still have that one!”
“Pardon? That one?”
“Yes. The one who broke my flower vase yesterday.”
In reality, the vase had been safely caught by Tii.
The one who actually broke it was Tiseriel herself, when she had gone into a rage after losing the ring.
But of course, there was no one here who would point out such an obvious fact.
Soon, the maid who was already half-dead in the underground cell was dragged upstairs.
And her screams and crying continued for quite a long time.
After Tiseriel had vented enough of her anger,
they were just about to send a message to Fullos Orphanage to bring a new toy.
Then Tiseriel remembered something amusing.
“That’s right. Do you remember hearing something strange when that dead little rat first came here a month ago?”
“Yes?”
“They said there was someone who insisted on coming instead of that little rat.”
“Ah! I remember now. As expected, my lady, your memory is amazing!”
The child who had brought the dead little rat maid had said something like that.
It had been unusual enough that the nanny remembered too.
Until now, no one had ever cared so deeply about any of the children sent here as toys.
“Well, then I’ll grant his wish.”
Even though the child he wanted to protect so much was already dead.
“What kind of child would want to come here in someone else’s place?”
And there was one thing Tiseriel especially looked forward to.
‘When will the new one regret saying he wanted to come here? What kind of twisted expression will he make?’
Life returned to Tiseriel’s dark blue eyes.
***
Rattle, rattle!
A carriage carrying a small wooden box left the Atherion mansion.
After traveling for quite a while and reaching a deserted place—
Knock, knock!
A small sound came from the box loaded on the carriage.
The Atherion mansion’s doctor, who was driving the carriage himself, checked the surroundings and then stopped by the side of the road.
Then—
Thunk!
The lid of the box, which had been used in place of a coffin, opened lightly.
That was because it had deliberately not been nailed shut.
As soon as it opened, a small head popped up from inside.
“Pwah!”
The doctor crossed his arms and silently watched what the little brat would do.
The child squirmed and climbed out of the box that was almost the same size as her body.
Then she stretched with effort.
“Ah, I thought I was going to die from how cramped that was!”
The doctor stared at the bold little girl in disbelief.
The whole time he had been carrying her out wrapped in cloth, he had been tense.
If even one person had tried to check whether the child was really dead, it would have been dangerous.
Because she was completely alive.
But thankfully, just as the child had promised, no one had gone near someone said to have died from a contagious illness.
‘She said that if people thought she died of an infectious disease, no one would care and no one would even try to touch her… She was exactly right.’
It had been two days ago that the girl, looking like a drenched rat, had appeared in front of his room.
The day before the lady’s tea party.
If she had not blackmailed him then using the secret she knew, he would never have helped her.
The doctor asked again the same question he had asked back then.
“How do you know who I really am?”
At that, the little brat made the same sly expression she had made two days ago and crooked her finger at him.
Then she said something very similar to what she had said back then.
“That’s a secret, Mr. Doctor Cony. Or rather, Sir Marco, shadow knight of the imperial family!”
Seeing her wink, Cony—no, Marco—let out a sigh.
