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Chapter : 5
“Who are you?”
Adel nearly collapsed where she stood. Her legs trembled uncontrollably.
Someone she had failed to notice, hidden beneath the deep shade of the trees, stepped forward.
Step by step, the stranger walked out of the shadows and into the sunlight where Adel stood.
“…I asked who you are.”
His voice was sharper than before as he stopped in front of her.
He was an exceptionally tall young man.
His jet-black hair was as dark as the shade he had emerged from, and he wore an expensive, impeccably tailored suit that radiated elegance at first glance. The gold buttons fastened to the suit were engraved with intricate patterns and letters. Adel couldn’t make them out clearly, but they looked like some sort of family crest.
The blue eyes fixed on her were like an endless sea whose depths could never be measured.
A sharp nose.
A well-defined jawline.
Firmly pressed lips.
Adel stared blankly at the handsome young man before her, as though he had stepped straight out of a painting.
“M-My name is Adelaide Baden.”
“Baden?”
“Yes. I came to the Heightsrind Estate not long ago.”
Karl looked down at the tiny blonde girl standing before him, trembling from head to toe.
Ten years old? Eleven?
A child who didn’t even know this place was off-limits.
She was far too young to be one of the servants, and if she were a servant’s child, she wouldn’t have been allowed in here.
“How did you get in?”
“T-The door over there was open…”
The girl pointed toward the half-open blue gate.
He realized he had probably unlocked it himself earlier with his key and neglected to shut it properly afterward.
The tension in his expression eased ever so slightly.
Karl hated being disturbed whenever he was resting or spending time in his private sanctuary.
Although he had ridden from the train station to the Heightsrind Estate in the chauffeur’s automobile, he had deliberately chosen to walk the rest of the way to the Blue Garden.
After spending an entire semester surrounded by the noisy antics of boys his own age at Schultz Academy, all he wanted was a little peace in his refuge.
On the surface, Schultz Academy presented itself as a refined institution where the sons and daughters of aristocratic families gathered to study with dignity and grace.
In reality, those upper-class students were every bit as loud and unruly as common street hooligans.
“I don’t know how long you’ve been here, but didn’t anyone tell you that this isn’t a place just anyone is allowed to enter?”
“I’m sorry… Is this the Duchess’s garden?”
The Duchess…
Judging by the fact that she referred to his mother as “the Duchess” instead of “Madam” or “Mistress,” she didn’t seem to be an ordinary servant.
Although noble titles had officially been abolished, people still used them out of custom, so calling his mother the Duchess wasn’t exactly incorrect…
“Yes. It’s my mother’s garden. I’m the one using it now.”
Suddenly, Karl felt tired.
Originally, he had planned to return home two days later.
But he no longer wanted to remain at Schultz, nor did he want to return to a Heightsrind Estate that would become noisy and bustling with preparations the moment they learned of his arrival.
So he had quietly boarded the train without informing anyone.
“That’s enough. You can leave.”
With a deep bow, Adel hurriedly slipped through the blue garden gate as Karl casually waved one hand, dismissing her.
Her heart felt as though it might leap out of her chest.
The man had called the Duchess his mother.
That meant the person she had just met had to be Karl Clausen—the very young master Bailey had told her about.
Oh, goodness…
Adel rushed out of the garden and began running.
Her heartbeat thundered so loudly she could hear it in her ears.
As she passed the rose garden and the mansion came into view, her panic only grew.
Then—
“Ah!”
In her haste, the toe of her shoe caught on a stone.
She fell heavily onto the dirt with a loud thud.
The white apron Bailey had tied around her waist to keep her dress clean was instantly covered in dust.
The knees of her stockings tore open, and bright red blood trickled through the holes.
Before long, the white fabric was stained crimson.
The palms of her hands were scraped raw.
The neatly brushed hair she had so carefully arranged before going outside had become a complete mess.
Tears welled up in Adel’s eyes.
It wasn’t only because she was hurt.
She felt ridiculous and ashamed of herself for fleeing as though she had committed some terrible crime.
Just as Bailey had said, Lord Karl was truly handsome and carried himself with extraordinary dignity.
But looking into those cold blue eyes—so much like the Duchess’s—had been incredibly difficult.
It felt as though those eyes had instantly seen through her.
As though they knew the Baden family had fallen…
That her parents were gone…
That she was merely an orphan shamelessly living here through the kindness of others.
At the charity school, Adel had learned something important.
Even when you had done nothing wrong, people could still make you feel small.
Entering the forbidden garden had certainly been her mistake.
But she hadn’t needed to become so frightened that she could barely speak.
Where had the confident Adel gone?
The Adel who had once been showered with love by her mother and father.
A quiet sadness welled up inside her.
She crouched beneath a rose bush, hugged her knees tightly against her chest, buried her face in her arms…
…and cried.
For a long while, beneath the blue sky, surrounded by blooming roses of every color, the little blonde girl remained there like a lonely figure in a painting.
“Miss Adel! Good heavens, what happened to you?”
The Heightsrind Estate had descended into complete chaos.
Everyone was running around in utter confusion.
Bailey was no exception.
With Young Master Karl arriving unexpectedly, she had been so occupied attending to him that she hadn’t even noticed Adel returning to her room much later than promised.
Only after the young master dismissed everyone, saying he wished to rest, did Bailey finally have the chance to check on Adel.
She entered carrying a late lunch consisting of warm bread rolls, chilled vegetable soup, pickled apples, and a Scotch egg.
The moment she stepped inside, she froze.
Adel’s hair was in complete disarray.
Her apron was torn.
Most alarming of all…
The little girl looked utterly lifeless.
“I’m sorry… I fell on my way back.”
Adel spoke in a tiny, timid voice.
Bailey hurried over to examine her.
The girl’s hands had only minor scrapes, but both knees had taken a serious fall.
Blood had already soaked through the neatly tied handkerchiefs wrapped around them.
Fortunately, Adel had washed the wounds with clean water before bandaging them herself.
Since no medicine had been applied, Bailey quickly fetched the first-aid box and carefully removed the handkerchiefs.
The wounds were larger than she had expected.
Bailey frowned.
“My goodness… You left them like this?”
“I wanted to find the medicine box, but everyone looked so busy…”
Naturally they were.
The unexpected arrival of the young master—who had returned to Heightsrind two whole days ahead of schedule without telling anyone—had thrown the entire household into chaos.
Without another word, Bailey disinfected the wounds before sprinkling medicinal powder over them.
The antiseptic fizzed against the cuts.
It must have stung terribly.
Yet Adel remained perfectly still.
Bailey carefully wrapped both knees in clean gauze bandages.
They would probably leave small scars.
Still, considering how wide the wounds were, she was relieved they weren’t very deep.
“You should have called for me at least. It’s fortunate you only hurt your knees. What if that pretty little face of yours had been injured?”
At the words pretty little face, Adel smiled shyly.
“Lord Karl has arrived, hasn’t he?”
“He has. He’s always been a quiet young man, and it’s impossible to know what he’s thinking, but I never imagined he’d come back without any notice. Thanks to that, everyone’s been running around all day.”
She looked down at Adel’s bandaged legs.
“Stay quietly in your room today. Not that you’re going anywhere with those legs.”
Watching Adel pick up her spoon and begin eating her soup, Bailey clicked her tongue and gathered the dirty clothes.
The instant she picked up the torn apron and draped it over her arm—
“Ah!”
Adel cried out and quickly snatched it back.
“You shouldn’t get up while you’re eating.”
“I’m sorry. I left something in the apron…”
Rustling sounds came from the pocket as she carefully pulled out a small paper bag.
Bailey immediately recognized it.
It was the bag of cookies she had given Adel that morning.
“So you never ate your snack.”
“I wanted to… but I couldn’t find a good place to eat it. Would it be alright if I read my book and had them after lunch?”
Seeing the girl hug the little bag as though it were a precious treasure, Bailey simply smiled and nodded before gathering the laundry and leaving the room.
She imagined Adel spending the day happily running around outside after so long.
Compared to that, a torn piece of clothing hardly mattered.
Bailey had raised six mischievous children of her own.
She knew children’s clothes were meant to end up this way.
They tore while playing.
They got holes in them.
That was simply what happened.
She much preferred seeing children lively and healthy than sitting stiffly in ribbons and lace, pretending to be little ladies.
She made a mental note to ask Norman to have several new outfits made for Adel.
The clothes the girl had brought with her were already worn out.
Even the nicest dress she owned now had a hole in it.
Children needed to run and play.
And with the new school term beginning in September, Adel would need proper clothes for attending school as well.
After dropping the laundry off at the washroom, Bailey hurried away once more to supervise preparations for the Duke and Duchess’s dinner with Lord Karl.
It had been an exhausting day.
“Karl!”
“Mother, you’ve returned.”
Daniela von Clausen happily embraced her only son.
The Duchess had rushed home the moment she heard that her precious son had returned to Heightsrind earlier than expected.
In this joyless place, he was like the water that sustained her life.
Her eighteen-year-old son had become a fine young man.
Yet, compared to his childhood, he hadn’t really changed.
He still possessed the handsome nose inherited from her side of the family and the thoughtful eyes that had always belonged to Karl.
Karl gently returned the embrace before greeting her with a kiss on the cheek.
“You’ve become thinner again, Mother. Have you been sleeping well lately?”
“I’ve been sleeping just fine. Don’t worry about me.”
Karl noticed Daina, the ever-faithful attendant standing behind his mother, frown almost imperceptibly.
So Mother still isn’t sleeping properly.
His mother had always been a sensitive person.
She hadn’t been quite so fragile when he was young.
But at some point, she had begun suffering from insomnia and frequent headaches.
She even carried tranquilizer pills with her at all times.
Like most sons, Karl had never wanted to know too much about his parents’ relationship.
He only vaguely understood that they weren’t particularly close.
From listening to his classmates at Schultz Academy, it seemed many noble couples lived much the same way.
It never bothered him much.
His father was perpetually occupied with business.
His mother had her own life to lead.
As long as each of them continued living their own lives…
That was enough.
Just as Karl Grant Clausen intended to live his own.
“How could you come back without saying a word? If you’d let us know, we could have prepared for your arrival.”
“I’m sorry for not telling you beforehand. I just wanted to rest.”
Daniela looked up at her son with gentle concern.
Each time she saw him after months away at boarding school, he seemed to have grown even taller.
His black hair, inherited from his father, suited the blue eyes he had inherited from her remarkably well.
It was no wonder the young maids at Heightsrind blushed whenever they saw him.
“Karl, are you hungry? I’ll have dinner prepared a little earlier today.”
He wasn’t particularly hungry, but he nodded anyway.
Without him at home, it was unlikely his parents ever shared meals together.
Since he had finally returned, he was willing to play the role of a warm, happy family for a little while.
Satisfied, Daniela smiled and quietly left Karl’s room.
