🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter 10
After developing his madness, Theodore had never once made a decision on his own.
Whenever he was consumed by frenzy and violent urges erupted, he would try to attack anyone who entered his room. In fact, he had caused both minor and serious injuries to servants and maids before Claire arrived.
That’s why I couldn’t even choose my own people.
The count had not returned from the border, and the heir, Theodore, had become a madman. In name he was still the successor, but in reality there was almost nothing he was allowed to do within the estate.
But still.
The one and only time he had taken action was when he opposed the head butler to keep Claire assigned as his personal maid.
“Claire.”
“Yes.”
“What did you do before becoming a maid?”
At his question, Claire thought for a moment before answering.
“I usually hunted, ate, and slept.”
“……? Were you a hunter?”
“No. Not a professional hunter. I just caught things to eat. Ah, I did sell skins and horns sometimes, so I suppose you could loosely call me a hunter?”
Theodore’s expression turned oddly puzzled.
“Surprising. With your strength, I thought you’d be associated with knights or mercenaries.”
“Oh, I did meet mercenaries often. I also learned a bit of swordsmanship, but fists were more comfortable for me.”
Claire said this and raised her fist slightly.
Knowing full well the power behind that fist, Theodore quietly averted his gaze.
“Let’s resume chess.”
“Yes, sir.”
The two returned to the game.
Theodore leaned lazily against the headboard of the bed, while Claire sat beside him on a wooden chair placed next to a side table.
A comfortable silence settled in the room, filled only with their breathing and the heavy sound of rain.
Hm, this round is over too.
Claire let out a small sigh of defeat after losing her queen in a moment of carelessness.
I want to flip the board.
As a small impulse began to sprout in her mind—
KWA-KWA-KWANG!
A thunderclap so violent it turned the room white exploded through the space. The lightning was so strong it nearly shook the chessboard.
“Oh, the mana lamp.”
The impact seemed to have blown out the light illuminating the room.
Now’s my chance.
Claire pretended to check the mana lamp, then knocked the chessboard over with her knee while pretending to move.
“Hey!”
“It was an accident.”
Before Theodore could scold her for her shameless excuse, another loud thunderclap roared outside.
“How noisy.”
“Indeed.”
Not only thunder, but the wind itself howled fiercely.
Is the annex tree going to get uprooted at this rate?
She worried that lightning might strike one of the old trees. While picking up scattered chess pieces, Claire spoke casually.
“Is Lady Isabella safe? There are many old trees around the annex, I’m a bit worried.”
“The annex? Is it even used these days? I thought there were no visitors.”
“Pardon? Lady Isabella is staying there.”
“What…?”
Another flash of lightning split the sky. In the blinding white light, Claire met Theodore’s wide, shocked eyes.
“W-why is Bella in the annex? I was told my uncle would be taking care of her. Why is she still here?”
“Young master?”
Seeing Theodore completely shaken, Claire cautiously stepped closer.
“Claire!”
As if remembering something important, Theodore suddenly grabbed her wrist.
“Go to Bella right now! She’s terrified of thunder more than anything!”
On the day Count Voltaire and his wife—their parents—had their carriage accident, there had also been thunder.
Isabella, who had been in the same carriage, survived, but ever since then, thunder triggered severe panic attacks in her.
On nights like this, she could not be left alone.
Claire quickly freed her wrist from Theodore’s trembling grip and stood up.
* * *
Claire ran.
The relentless wind and rain made it impossible to see even a step ahead. Thunder roared so loudly it caused ringing in her ears.
But thanks to that, she was able to reach the annex without being noticed.
There are hardly any people here.
The annex was eerily quiet.
The only sign of life seemed to be near the kitchen on the first floor, where the servants gathered. But it was unlikely Isabella was being cared for there.
Claire rushed upstairs and headed straight for Isabella’s room.
“Miss!”
She burst in without even knocking.
“Miss…?”
But Isabella was nowhere in the room.
Then where? The mana lamps are out too.
The room was pitch black, just like the hallway.
Where could a child who feared storms possibly go in a place like this? There was no way she could have left the annex alone in this darkness.
Impossible.
Claire concluded firmly and focused her senses. Her beastkin instincts caught a faint sound beneath the rain.
“Sniff… sob…”
A faint, trembling cry.
It was coming from—
“Under the bed.”
Claire dropped to the floor and looked underneath. As expected, Isabella was curled up tightly, covering her ears and crying.
“Miss! Lady Isabella!”
“Sniff… ahh…”
Even hearing Claire’s voice, Isabella, overwhelmed with panic, could not calm down.
Should I lift the bed?
Claire hesitated. It would be faster, but she didn’t want to scare the trembling child even more.
“M-mom… dad… brother…”
During a brief lull in the wind, the child’s sobbing voice slipped out.
Claire froze on the floor.
The sound reminded her of someone.
Ten-year-old Claire herself.
Alone in a silent cabin, that small version of herself had once cried just like this.
A flash of thunder snapped Claire back to the present.
Lady Isabella.
That small Claire belonged to the past.
Isabella was here, now.
Claire reached under the bed immediately.
Dust and mold hit her sensitive nose, but she ignored it completely.
Her hand gently touched Isabella’s shoulder.
“Miss Isabella.”
“Eek!”
But Isabella panicked at the sudden contact and curled up even tighter.
Thunder kept crashing. The child kept trembling.
In the end, Claire could only hold onto the hem of Isabella’s sleeve to keep her from retreating deeper.
“Miss Isabella.”
Another flash of lightning struck. Claire, now anxious, recalled the nickname Theodore used.
“Bella!”
“Sniff?”
This time, there was a response.
Isabella’s hands loosened slightly from her ears.
“Bella. It’s okay. Come out, alright?”
Only then did Isabella slowly turn her head.
“Claire?”
Another thunderclap hit. Claire, not wasting time, carefully pulled the screaming child out and into her arms.
“Bella! Stay with me!”
“M-mom… Claire…”
Isabella clung to her briefly, then suddenly recoiled in confusion.
“No.”
“Bella?”
Claire tried to keep her from crawling back under the bed. Even in the darkness, it wasn’t an issue for her beastkin eyes.
Ah.
The floor beneath the bed was damp—warm, wet liquid soaking the ground.
Isabella tried to pull away again, but Claire instead tightened her grip and pulled her fully into her arms.
“No! It’s dirty! Let go!”
“It’s not dirty at all.”
She meant it.
Feeling the child’s trembling gradually ease against her, nothing else seemed to matter.
“It’s okay now. Calm down.”
Claire pulled the blanket from the bed and wrapped it around Isabella’s body and ears.
The two of them held each other tightly, waiting for the storm to pass.
