IBMDF 08

Chapter 08

Whether Kalios lacked the strength to push me away, or whether he had actually been waiting for someone to reach out first—

he remained still, letting me hold his hand.

I tightened my grip around his and continued.

“I’ll help you.”

* * *

“The doctor looked pale and ran off in such a hurry.”

“He hasn’t even come outside for over half a year. I heard he barely eats properly either. Something must be wrong.”

“If those rumors about his poor health are true… then what’s going to happen to the ducal house?”

It had been three days since Kalios lost consciousness and woke up again.

In the secluded, shadowy corners of the mansion, whispers and speculation spread secretly among the servants.

Technically, talking recklessly about the lord’s family was strictly forbidden.

But there was no way to control every bit of gossip exchanged among servants in private.

“Can someone who’s too sick to even leave his room really inherit the title?”

One servant, chewing on bread, lowered his voice and asked.

“The master doesn’t have any other sons. What if the family ends up being handed over to some random outsider?”

“Shh!”

Another servant jumped in alarm and scolded him.

“Watch your mouth!”

“What’s the point in keeping quiet among ourselves? If the young duke keeps refusing to come out of his room, even the people of the estate will start suspecting something! They’ll think he has some serious illness.”

They weren’t wrong.

No matter how tightly everyone tried to keep things secret, rumors always found a way to leak out.

And once a rumor escaped, it would spread uncontrollably.

Especially the other noble families that constantly kept the House of Levanion in check—they’d be desperate to uncover the truth.

According to the original story, around this time the duke became increasingly anxious about the unstable line of succession and began searching for another heir to replace Kalios.

‘…’

The moment I remembered that fact, my throat tightened, and I clenched my fists.

“Watch what you say! If word gets back to the master that servants like us were gossiping, do you think we’d keep our hea— Gah!”

The servant lecturing the others suddenly gasped in shock.

“…Since when were you sitting there?”

“Me? I’ve been here the whole time.”

The servants discovered me in the corner, quietly chewing bread as well, and all fell silent at once.

Apparently, I’d already been sitting there before they arrived, but they hadn’t noticed me.

Seriously.

Even people with perfectly good eyes sometimes saw less than I did.

“O-Oh… you were here all along…”

Embarrassment colored their voices.

Then they began whispering among themselves.

“That’s her, right? The one serving the young master…”

“What? Then won’t she report everything we just said?”

“Isn’t she blind? She can’t even see our faces. Let’s just leave.”

Excuse me, I can hear all of that, you know?

“Ahem… We’re done eating, so we’ll be going…”

“Yeah, let’s.”

The servants exchanged awkward words and rustled to their feet.

As they hurried to leave, I kindly called after them.

“Good work today too, Mr. Gerard from the stables, Mr. Tom, and Mr. James.”

No greeting came back.

Instead, I heard hurried footsteps rapidly disappearing into the distance.

* * *

To summarize the current situation—

even the mansion’s employees had started questioning Kalios’s condition.

Of course, since I knew the ending of the original story, I wasn’t too worried.

After all, in the original, Kalios eventually left his room on his own and safely inherited the duke’s position.

That was after personally dragging down the father who had brought in a replacement heir.

In the end, it was a happy ending… sort of.

The problem was that the road leading there was devastatingly miserable.

Kalios’s voice—collapsing again and again under despair—echoed through my memory.

A heavy weight settled in my chest, as if a stone had been placed there.

The issue was that I kept empathizing with him too much to simply stand by and watch.

Pressing against my throbbing temple, I headed upstairs to Kalios’s room.

“You have no idea how shocked we were when we heard the young master collapsed.”

The voices coming from inside made me stop instinctively.

“We worried about you day and night, Young Master.”

Recognizing those unwelcome voices, I frowned.

Mary and Dorothy.

“So from now on, we’ll serve you again, Young Master.”

“We’ve gotten quite used to the darkness now too. Right, Mary?”

“Of course, of course.”

What was with that sudden change in attitude?

Weren’t they trying to run away because they hated working here?

I’d heard that after that incident, Mary and Dorothy had been kept busy under the head maid’s strict supervision.

So why were they lurking around here again?

“Young Master, think about it. That girl’s only been here for a month. How can someone with such an unknown background stay by your side all day?”

That was obviously about me.

The two chatted away enthusiastically, unaware I was standing right outside listening.

“Exactly! And I heard she’s an orphan with no parents!”

“Blind and an orphan… The head maid has gone too far! How could she assign someone so lacking to attend you? You must’ve been very shocked too, Young Master.”

The more I listened, the angrier I got.

I wasn’t the real Lizzy Swan, but through Aunt’s stories I knew how kind that child had been when she lived alone with her mother.

Mary and Dorothy had absolutely no right to insult Lizzy Swan like that.

“Compared to her, we’ve worked faithfully here for two whole years.”

“Unlike that girl, we’re proven maids!”

“…”

Kalios hadn’t responded at all.

But unlike usual, he wasn’t throwing things.

Mary and Dorothy must’ve taken his silence as interest.

They became even more excited.

“From now on, we’ll become your loyal hands and feet!”

“Um… But, Young Master. For that, we need your cooperation—no, your help.”

“Could you talk to the head maid for us? Tell her we’d be more suitable to serve you than Lizzy Swan.”

Ah.

So that was the real goal.

Working all day under the head maid’s watchful eye must’ve been harder than attending Kalios, who mostly lay in bed.

After making their transparent request, Mary and Dorothy waited for Kalios’s answer.

But instead of responding, Kalios asked:

“…That girl’s name is Lizzy Swan?”

What the—

You didn’t even know my name?

“Huh? Ah, yes, Lizzy Swan. But there’s no need for someone like you to remember the name of such a lowly gi— Kyaaah!”

Suddenly—

Splash!

The sound of water spilling rang out, followed by screams.

“Y-Young Master!”

“Ah, sorry. I spilled the water.”

Kalios spoke calmly, unlike the panicked maids.

“The blankets are soaked now. Take them and wash them.”

“…What?”

Mary and Dorothy answered in bewilderment.

“You said you’d become my loyal hands and feet. Are you planning to let me sleep in a wet bed? Hurry and wash these. And this too. And this.”

“W-What?!”

“Why aren’t you moving?”

Something was thrown sharply through the darkness.

Then came dull thud, thud sounds—as if pillows were hitting them.

Mary and Dorothy shrieked and scrambled around.

Crashing into things in the dark, they eventually rushed out in panic, brushing right past me.

Huh.

Why does this feel familiar?

I clicked my tongue toward the direction they’d disappeared.

Then, from the room that had fallen silent again, Kalios spoke.

“…Why are you standing there?”

Slightly startled, I asked:

“How did you know I was here?”