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Chapter 10
“Shouldn’t we call the family doctor right now?”
At Hale’s question, Arina shook her head in disgust.
“Are you trying to get someone punished? Forget it. She just fainted for a moment, that’s all.”
“She’s right, Hale. She just needs to rest. Why make a big fuss over it?”
Lindsey agreed with Arina, waving her hands dismissively.
But Hale, who had her hands clasped tightly in front of her, hesitated, then took a step forward.
“With all due respect, she’s lost too much blood. Her white clothes are completely soaked from the blood that came out of her nose. What if something serious happens? Who’s going to take responsibility then?”
“Oh my, listen to this girl talk!”
Arina jumped, spinning around.
“Responsibility? Are you saying this is my fault? What responsibility would I have to take?”
“Then just call the doctor. The family doctor is here in residence—why not just call him?”
At Hale’s words, Arina frowned and glanced over her shoulder at the unconscious Leticia.
How could she possibly admit she had been watching from the second floor of the annex while Young Master Chandler was tormenting the girl?
Of course, it wasn’t her place to interfere in the young masters’ affairs, but if people started questioning the bruises and scrapes on Leticia’s knees, elbows, and palms, she knew only trouble would come of it.
Especially with the head of the house present—it was better not to stir up unnecessary commotion.
“She’ll wake up by morning.”
“But—”
“If she doesn’t open her eyes by tomorrow morning, then you can call the doctor or even the master himself.”
“Lady Arina…”
“You! You’re just a housekeeper. Are you really talking back to me, a second-class maid?”
With Arina pulling rank on her, Hale bit her lip and turned away.
Leticia’s pale face, drained of color, didn’t look like someone who’d wake up easily. She was already frail and malnourished.
Fearing that something might truly go wrong, Hale clasped her trembling hands together.
Seeing the expression on her face, Arina’s irritation grew; she placed her hands on her hips and lifted her chin.
“You—have you finished all your chores yet? Didn’t you drop the laundry earlier? Weren’t you supposed to finish that today?”
Clearly eager to get Hale out of the room, Arina glared. Hale sniffled as she looked once more at Leticia lying in bed, then murmured, “Yes,” and turned to go.
“Finish it all before the day’s over. Otherwise, no dinner for you.”
At that threat, Hale nodded and quietly left Leticia’s small room. Hugging the basket of dropped laundry from behind the annex, she trudged away.
And then—
“Hey, who’s working out he—ah.”
A group of men were coming out from behind the garden. Hale froze, dropping her laundry basket again when she saw the well-dressed men.
“What the—”
“Oh, looks like she’s a maid from the annex, Lieutenant.”
“Ah, we’re the administrative officers from the main estate. Don’t be alarmed—”
“The main estate?”
“That’s right.”
The man addressed as “Lieutenant” looked young—barely past the age of maturity.
He wore glasses and had a tired, drawn face, making it hard to guess his exact age. Without the glasses, he might have looked like an ordinary boy, not yet grown into adulthood.
But—
“Administrative officer?”
Hale hesitated, unsure whether to speak.
What if saying something caused trouble? The thought made her throat tighten.
But Leticia’s condition was too dire to ignore.
She was only six.
Something about her frail, small figure reminded Hale of her own younger sister. Clenching her lips, she finally looked up.
“Excuse me.”
The young officer’s eyes darkened as they met hers.
“Lady Leticia is sick.”
“She’s such a nuisance.”
Arina wrung out a towel hard, then roughly wiped Leticia’s hands and feet, scrubbing her blood-stained face and neck without care.
“No one’s watching us.”
“Still, why do I have to clean up after some bastard’s illegitimate child?”
“She’s not technically illegitimate.”
“If her parents were, then so is she. Her mother was a commoner, wasn’t she?”
“That’s what the rumors say.”
Lindsey nodded, pouring warm water into the basin.
“Still, the mistress is being ridiculous. What’s so special about this little thing that she needs to be treated with such care?”
“Probably because the master’s here.”
“Ha.”
Before Leticia had collapsed, Elin—one of Lady Velia’s close maids—had personally ordered them to treat the girl with the utmost devotion, to make her completely dependent on them, unable to do anything on her own.
And above all, they were to constantly remind her that everything she had was thanks to her uncle and aunt.
“If you do that,” Elin had said, “your own futures will be secure.”
Remembering Elin’s words, Arina rolled her eyes and grabbed Leticia’s tiny wrist roughly, scrubbing her skin with the towel so hard it looked like she meant to peel it off.
“Her skin’s so pale—why won’t this blood come off? Ugh!”
Just as she was about to scrub harder, Lindsey gasped—someone was standing at the doorway. Through the half-open door, they saw a head of brown hair.
“Lieutenant?”
Arina froze. No one who had ever worked at the main estate could fail to recognize him.
Bennet.
The young lieutenant stared back at her in silence.
More precisely, he was staring at the scene before him—Arina clutching the girl’s thin wrist in one hand, a bloodstained towel in the other, and Leticia’s reddened skin.
It didn’t take much to understand exactly what had been happening.
Bennet stepped inside slowly, scanning the room.
The fireplace was cold, covered in a layer of dust.
The blankets were rough, the wallpaper cheap and peeling, the curtains threadbare.
Cobwebs stretched across the corners of the ceiling.
This wasn’t the room of a noble girl—it screamed neglect, abandonment.
And—
“Ha…”
Bennet rubbed his brow with a finger as his eyes landed on Leticia’s still form.
“Comet.”
“Yes, Lieutenant Bennet?”
“Go to the main estate immediately. Bring the on-duty physician.”
“Yes, sir.”
“L-Lieutenant Bennet!”
Arina jumped up in panic.
“No, it’s not what it looks like! The young lady was just tired—”
“…”
“She doesn’t like doctors, sir. We were only watching over her for the night, and if she didn’t wake by morning, we were going to call for help! Look—look here!”
Desperate to prove her care, Arina pointed at the basin and towel with a strained smile.
“She bled so much her white dress was soaked through. I cleaned her up completely! Look—there’s not a single drop of blood in her hair now!”
“She bled that much?”
“Yes! I was shocked to see so much blood—”
“And you didn’t call a doctor.”
“Well…”
“She doesn’t like doctors.”
“Y-yes, that’s right.”
Arina nodded frantically, Lindsey behind her bobbing her head even faster.
Bennet let out a long breath and turned toward the bed.
The child’s small chest rose and fell with shallow, labored breaths.
How am I supposed to report this to the Duke?
A direct heir—possibly a gifted one—treated this poorly.
He couldn’t escape blame either.
Even if the duchess handled the household affairs—
That’s no excuse.
And—
“Bennet, look after Leticia from time to time, will you?”
He could still remember Lord Charlier’s request.
“Damn it.”
Bennet rubbed the corner of his mouth in frustration.
He had seen her a few times in the main estate—smiling, playing with her cousins, seemingly well-adjusted.
He’d thought she was fine.
Sure, she was small and thin, but he had dismissed it as just her constitution.
Or maybe—if he was honest—he simply hadn’t wanted to get involved.
He’d turned a blind eye.
There wasn’t a single part of this that wasn’t his fault.
“Ha…”
As he sighed and turned back, the little girl on the bed stirred.
“Uh…”
“Young Lady?”
Bennet bent down quickly as a faint voice escaped between her breaths.
Sensing his warmth close by, the girl reached out weakly and gripped his hand.
“No…”
“…”
“No…”
Her tiny hand clutched his fingers tightly—as if clinging to life itself.
As if she were pleading silently: don’t let me die.
