MHLM 27

Chapter : 27

Silence weighed heavily upon the Avoridge Hall. It was like the calm before a storm.

And I’m glad that the storm was about to hit. It’s the first time that Missus Seymour lost her composure to this extent. Even when it was first found out that Theodore lost his memories and started hovering around me, she never acted this way.

She continued to try and raise the corners of her lips into a smile, but her mouth just kept twitching.

Then, I glanced over to Theodore with a pitiful expression, and it was at this time that anger gradually spread over his shocked face.

“What…”

His low voice resounded across the quiet hall.

“What on earth is going on here…? Aunt…”

With his hands clenched into fists, he strode towards this way. Behind him was the knight commander, who was observing the situation with wide eyes.

Missus Seymour blankly stared at the two for a moment, then she opened her lips.

“T-Theo, I just…”

I never thought I’d ever hear Missus Seymour be so bewildered. Moreover, the distorted expression that she had right now was nowhere near what she usually looked like.

I felt very pleased by this. Was this what people call retribution?

I rejoiced inwardly, but Theodore came closer to me before I knew it and carefully examined my cheek.

“…It’s swollen. We need to hurry and get you an ice pack.”

“I’m fine— This much is bearable.”

Almost slipping up and answering calmly as usual, I quickly tried to look as if I was in pain. In a situation like this, it’s better to give them a show.

Theodore let out a pained sigh as if he was the one who was hit. He turned around and looked at Missus Seymour.

Missus Seymour still looked as if she was in shock herself, but quickly enough, she schooled her features and put on a mask of composure.

I’m sure that she’s already thought of a suitable excuse in that head of hers. And I can guess what she’ll say.

“Aunt. What did you say to Lily?”

Theodore’s tone was evidently laced with fury.

It was Missus Seymour he was getting angry at right now, not anyone else. What a strange sight to see. Was this what people meant when they’d say, ‘you can see all sorts of things the longer you live’?

“Theo… You must be very surprised, too, but there’s a reason for this.”

“Whatever your reason is, how could there be any justification in laying a hand on the Duchess of Valentino? Regardless of whether you are an elder.”

Theodore’s anger was not dampened at all, but instead, it turned cold.

Perhaps in a state of disbelief that Theodore was angry at her, Missus Seymour blinked several times as she continued to look baffled.

It’s like she was a mother seeing her son rebel against her. I held back the urge to smirk.

Missus Seymour likened herself as Theodore’s biological mother. And Theodore was aware of this fact.

However, this didn’t mean that he was happy about it.

“I do hope that something like this doesn’t happen again. Do not lay a hand on Lily. These are not empty words, Aunt, so please keep this in mind.”

His words were nothing short of a coldblooded warning. If something like what happened today would be repeated… What was Theodore thinking to do to Missus Seymour?

Missus Seymour’s influence in this household was by no means negligible, so he wouldn’t do anything to punish this behavior, but… If this were to happen a second time, it seemed like he would no longer sit idly by.

In her shock, Missus Seymour covered her lips. She went closer to Theodore as she spoke.

“Theo, please listen to me.”

“There’s nothing more I have to listen to. I’ll be off with Lily.”

Theodore was adamant about not hearing excuses about how the missus slapped me.

He wrapped one arm around my shoulders and led me out of the hall. Charlotte and the knight commander followed behind us.

After taking a glimpse behind me, I briefly explained to Theodore why the situation escalated.

“…I see.”

And after hearing the entire story, Theodore nodded quietly and opened the door with one hand.

His other hand was still on my shoulder. I wanted to take that hand off me, but all I could do was flinch.

“…Your Graces…?”

The scent of medicine entered my senses. Theodore led me to the medical bay of my personal doctor, Jane Thorpe.

With round eyes, Jane Thorpe looked alternately between me and Theodore, then she asked urgently.

“What happened? Madam, are you in pain anywhe… ah.”

The single ‘ah’ held a lot of unsaid words. Jane’s eyes were fixed on my swollen cheek.

She was momentarily shocked, but she soon collected herself and spoke with a serious tone.

“First, please sit over here.”

Not long after I sat down, Jane began treating me. The cold disinfectant-coated cloth was wiped over my cheek. It stung a little, but it wasn’t unbearable.

I had been injured many times in the Everett residence, so this much wasn’t a big deal.

“Does it sting, Madam?”

“It’s fine.”

“Is it throbbing or…”

I shook my head.

Jane Thorpe let out a small sigh, then she applied a cream over my cheek.

After receiving treatment like that, the swelling seemed to have subsided a little.

I rose to my feet and found Charlotte hovering nearby. She came forward and asked.

“Should I get the Madam an ice pack, Doctor?”

“After the cream has soaked in, please apply an ice pack for about thirty minutes before the Madam goes to bed. I don’t think it will be needed tomorrow…”

Jane Thorpe told her instructions as she examined my cheek again, then she handed over the medicine I needed to take. She said that it can relieve the swelling and will help with the pain and throbbing.

“The Madam isn’t in the condition to take any more medications right now, so… Please just take what I’ve given you now, not any other medications.”

As Jane added this, Theodore’s expression grew dark. I knew why he reacted in that way, but I didn’t want to think deeply about it. I brushed away the thought of it.

After we left the ward, Charlotte returned the gold brooch to the knight commander. He exchanged a few words with Charlotte while looking quite elated, then he glanced this way and looked at Theodore.

Shortly after, he recalled that there was something urgent he needed to do, and so he left as though he was running away. Theodore turned to Charlotte and spoke.

“You must have had a hard time.”

“……!”

It was the first time he said something like this to her. Charlotte stared blankly at him in shock, but she immediately nodded awkwardly. It’s clear that she wasn’t all that pleased by Theodore’s kindness.

“…Lily, it would be better for you to return to your room and rest now. I’ll take care of the rest here, so don’t worry.”

I was going to just agree, but then I recalled Adeline belatedly. However, if I face her again while looking like this, it’s going to be a problem.

I thought about it for a moment, then I opened my lips and explained.

“The Young Lady of the Alvinith Duchy is still in the drawing room. Would it be alright if you relay my message? That I’m not feeling well so I need to retire. I ask for her understanding, and I apologize that I kept her waiting.”

“……”

Theodore’s brows furrowed when he listened to my words. It looked like this was the first time he’s heard that Adeline was here inside the Valentine Castle.

There even seemed to be a hint of annoyance on his countenance, but he answered right away.

“Don’t worry about Lady Alvinith. All you have to do is rest well.”

“……”

And Theodore escorted me to my room. His kindness, which was so unlike him, still made me very uncomfortable.

After he left, the goosebumps on my forearm disappeared as well.

I felt so mentally fatigued. I let out a deep sigh and collapsed on my bed.

Charlotte hurried to examine my cheek.

“Madam, does it still hurt?”

“No, I’m quite fine. Just get me a cup of tea please.”

“Yes, yes!”

Soon enough, Charlotte brought me some tea and told me about what happened with the commander earlier.

“…That’s why I went into the Commander’s room and waited, but he didn’t come after ten minutes, so I just went out again.”

“I see.”

To summarize, here was how it went.

The commander seemed to have gone out in a rush because he was accompanying Theodore on an outing. He returned momentarily and asked Charlotte, who he encountered in the hallway outside his room, to go inside first since it might take ten minutes for him to come back again. Still, it took more time than he expected. It was within that timeframe that the theft happened.

It must have been after Charlotte left the room when Serena and Ayla stole the gold brooch. Serena happened to see Charlotte at that time and thought of pinning the crime onto Charlotte. After both Charlotte and the brooch were out of the room already, she was going to snitch to the commander once he returned.

‘But when Charlotte was called by Missus Seymour, the Commander was out on urgent business again.’

It got so convoluted and twisted that it became the perfect situation to misunderstand Charlotte. If not for Jenna running to me and letting me know about what was happening, Charlotte would have certainly received the lashing.

“…I can’t believe that she was going to proceed with the lashing without even any definite proof. I’m getting angry just thinking about it again.”

Charlotte’s eyes widened as she heard what I murmured with a low voice. For some reason, she hesitated for a while, but then she glanced at me with tears welling in her eyes.

“…Thank you, Madam.”

“?”

“I-I’ll go pick some flowers from the rear garden! You’ll fell much better once you see fresh flowers, Madam. I’ll be right back, so please rest well!”

Then, like an arrow, she shot out of the room.

By the time I finished my cup of tea, Charlotte returned with ten flowers. They helped me feel a lot better.

* * *

I had no choice but to go to the commander personally because Charlotte couldn’t deliver my message to him during that mishap.

As I talked to him, the commander’s eyes the entire time were glancing towards Charlotte with an odd gaze.

Besides that, there was no progress in the conversation because Charlotte kept apologizing, saying that it was her fault that she had almost gotten falsely accused.

It was only after this conversation that I was able to take a look at the military records that the commander handed to me.

Originally, he would have needed to ask for Theodore’s permission before letting anyone access the records, but he pointed out Theodore’s attitude towards me yesterday and deemed that it would be alright.

It wouldn’t be my responsibility if the commander would later be reprimanded by Theodore though. And it’s all because the commander was distracted by Charlotte.

I took a close look at the records detailing Theodore’s injury, memorized what’s written, then returned the documents to the commander. Then, I asked indirectly.

“Other than what’s written in these records, was there anything suspicious or strange when he received that injury?”

Still furtively glancing towards Charlotte, the commander grew flustered as if he’d been caught doing something wrong, then he replied.

“That’s, well… there was nothing. I don’t recall, Madam. There were a lot of monsters going through the rift, that’s why.”

“I see.”

After talking to him, I left through the door. I started to head towards my room with Charlotte, thinking about eating a few refreshments, but then I heard the commander’s voice behind me.

“Excuse me, Miss Charlotte.”

It seemed like there’s something he still wanted to say to Charlotte. The commander tried to gauge my reaction. Aloofly, I nodded.

Immediately reddening a little, the commander turned towards Charlotte.

“If you don’t mind, perhaps next week…”

I watched from the side as the commander timidly asked Charlotte on a date, but she hastily turned him down.

The rejected commander soon became sullen. He looked like a large hunting dog that lost his master.

After a while, we returned to my room and I was left alone with Charlotte. She sighed loudly.

“I’m busy. Of course, I’ll always be by the Madam’s side.”

Smiling without saying a word, I drew the window curtains close. The sun was unusually bright today, prickling against my eyes.

Four days later, the crown prince’s hunting banquet commenced.