TBKU 11

Chapter : 11

A little while ago, the ladies had gathered in the sitting room, dragging their exhausted bodies along.

The space that had previously held only Sheyla and Lady Ratten had, before long, become a bustling gathering place.

“There seem to be quite a lot of tired ladies today……”

This was the first time Sheyla had attended such a large private ball, so she had assumed this was normal.

When she looked puzzled at Lady Ratten’s muttering, she received a reply tinged with amusement.

“If they really wanted to rest, they would have gone somewhere where there were no people.”

Just as Lady Ratten said, the ladies did not sit down to rest. Instead, they approached and struck up conversations.

Countess Ratten had always had an excellent reputation in high society and knew a great many people, while Sheyla was the wife of Duke Higgins, the finest man in Roches.

Those who wanted to become close to these two women did not miss even the smallest opportunity.

Some were there not only because of personal connections, but also because they had been given special instructions by their husbands or fathers.

Those people, in particular, focused their attention on Sheyla.

“Madam, which dressmaker do you go to?”

“I haven’t found one I like yet.”

“Have you heard of saffron from the southern region? It’s a specialty that grows on our family’s estate……”

“I think I’ve heard of it.”

“We’re also holding a dinner party soon, and I’d really like you to come. It would be even better if you came with the Duke.”

“He may be busy……. I’ll come if I can.”

Just as Sheyla was answering one question after another without a moment to breathe, Lady Ratten suddenly stood up.

“Madam, shall we head back now? It would also be rude to leave the gentleman escorting you alone for too long.”

“Ah, yes.”

In truth, those gentlemen were probably too busy boasting among themselves to pay any attention to the ladies anyway.

Still, Lady Ratten had given Sheyla an excuse to escape the conversation.

Sheyla left the sitting room, promising to speak with them another time.

She had always chosen to be alone at social gatherings.

Now, surrounded by so many people to the point that it was difficult to remember when she had last been alone, she felt completely drained.

“It’s good to politely refuse, but I think you should also learn how to be more firm.”

Lady Ratten whispered softly.

Sheyla gave an awkward smile, looking overwhelmed.

As Lady Ratten had said, Sheyla had tried to phrase her refusals as gently as possible, but that only made the other party more persistent, leaving her rather flustered.

She felt as though she had spoken more today than she had in the past several days combined.

As she sighed and headed toward the ballroom, Sheyla suddenly felt a sense of déjà vu.

She stopped and looked around.

“Why, Madam?”

“It’s just……”

Something about the place felt familiar, as though she had seen it once in a dream.

Sheyla retraced her memories as she looked at the hallway and doors visible behind Lady Ratten.

It had been a mansion where a banquet was being held.

Wondering whether her thoughts were correct, Sheyla hurriedly looked around.

Grayish sky-blue wallpaper covered with tiny white floral patterns.

A painting of a baby angel hanging above it.

The Count’s family crest, delicately carved into every door.

‘……It’s definitely the place.’

Sheyla was certain.

The problem was that the dream had been so terrible that she did not even want to think about it again.

In the dream, someone had staggered out of a room, made it all the way to the ballroom, collapsed, and died shortly afterward.

The people in the ballroom had merely frowned when they saw that she was dressed as a maid, and no one had done anything.

“……I think I heard something coming from in there.”

“Someone is probably inside. It’s a room for guests.”

At mansions where banquets were held, especially rooms close to the ballroom were often opened for guests.

Lady Ratten also remembered looking at the statues inside that room.

“There shouldn’t be anyone in there……”

As though entranced, Sheyla approached the door and grabbed the handle.

“Huh?”

The handle would not turn, and only a dull sound came from it.

Unlike a moment ago, the door was firmly locked.

“Duchess.”

The color drained from Sheyla’s face.

Even as her fingertips turned white and trembled, she could not let go of the doorknob.

Seeing her like that, Lady Ratten carefully wrapped an arm around Sheyla’s shoulder and held her arm.

“Are you all right?”

At Lady Ratten’s voice, the scream she had heard in her dream echoed inside her head.

She began to wonder if that very sound was coming from inside the room right now.

The vivid scene from her dream kept overlapping with what she saw before her eyes.

Lady Ratten firmly took Sheyla’s cold hand.

The warmth brought Sheyla back to her senses.

“We have to open the door.”

Sheyla hurried away.

Not long afterward, she spotted a servant and frantically raised her trembling hand, waving it.

“Excuse me, that room! It’s locked, so could you open it?”

“What? The door is locked? Why would it be? Please wait a moment. I’ll go get the key.”

Even after hearing his words, Sheyla could not completely relax. She anxiously clenched the hem of her skirt.

She felt as though someone covered in blood might burst out of the room at any moment.

If only it were simply nothing more than a dream.

She did not want to feel as though her throat were being squeezed.

Please.

Hurry.

Beside the anxious Sheyla, Lady Ratten continued to gently stroke her shoulder.

She had no idea why the usually composed Duchess had suddenly become frightened, but for now, comforting her seemed like the best thing she could do.

A short while later, the servant from earlier appeared around the corner at the end of the hallway.

Even while searching through the bundle of keys for the right one, Sheyla felt her insides burning with anxiety.

“Is this the one?”

Just as he was about to insert the key—

Click.

The door opened from the inside.

‘It’s her!’

Although her face was pale, it was unmistakably the maid Sheyla had seen in her dream.

Her maid uniform was disheveled, but thankfully, she was not covered in blood.

After looking the maid up and down, Sheyla finally relaxed.

Ah, she’s alive.

The moment relief washed over her, her legs, which had been trembling as she forced herself to remain standing, gave way.

If not for Lady Ratten, she might have collapsed right there.

“What are you doing? Why did you lock the door?”

The servant holding the key scolded the woman as she came out of the room, clearly bewildered.

Now that she looked more closely, the maid appeared to belong to Count Duff’s household.

The maid stammered as her lips trembled.

“I-I went in to tidy up, but I think I locked it without realizing it. I’m sorry.”

“Tidy up? Is this even your assigned area? Hey! Where are you going!”

Without saying anything, the maid bowed deeply and hurried away as if fleeing.

“Ah, I am truly sorry. Please forgive her—no, please forgive that girl’s rudeness. I would be extremely grateful. I’m sorry!”

“Could you check whether there’s anyone else inside the room?”

“What? Inside the room?”

Sheyla’s only concern was what had happened inside that room.

Rather than having someone who knew nothing about the mansion investigate, she thought it would be better to have a servant who knew the place well check it.

She did not even care whether the maid had run away or not.

Seeing her running away perfectly well without any injuries was actually a relief.

The servant looked around the room with a puzzled expression before coming back out and assuring her that there was no one else inside.

Sheyla asked him twice, then a third time, to confirm that there was nothing suspicious.

Only then could she finally turn away.

Tap, tap.

Tap.

A little while later, footsteps echoed through the now-quiet hallway.

Someone was staggering along, and the footsteps led not toward the ballroom, but toward the passage used by the servants.

After returning to the ballroom, Sheyla felt her strength gradually leaving her.

Even though she thought she had to stand upright, her body would not cooperate.

Kael, who had made his way through the commotion and approached them, supported Sheyla in place of his struggling mother and called for Lennen.

“What happened?”

Lennen crossed the ballroom and approached at once, asking Lady Ratten.

While the lady struggled to find the right words, Sheyla waved her hand.

“No, it’s nothing……”

There was no proper way to explain the situation.

Lady Ratten truly did not know what to say, while Sheyla could not tell them about the dream.

In the end, the two women remained silent.

“Ah, anyway, we shouldn’t keep standing here. Wouldn’t it be better to leave now?”

Kael continued to examine Sheyla’s pale complexion.

She looked as though it would not be strange if she collapsed at any moment.

“I’ll take care of my wife.”

Lennen’s voice was flat and emotionless.

Only then did Kael realize that he had continued to hold Sheyla close.

“Uh, y-you should go.”

Startled, Kael handed Sheyla over.

After all the commotion, everyone was probably looking in their direction.

Without hesitation, Lennen lifted her into his arms, deliberately making sure everyone could see.

Sheyla nearly screamed in surprise, but quickly covered her mouth with both hands.

Her head was spinning, as though the entire world were turning around her.

She could not tell whether it was because she felt as though she were floating or because the scent of him, which she could smell while being held in his arms, was simply too strong.

The banquet at Count Duff’s estate came to an anticlimactic end after the Duke and Duchess left early.

It seemed that whether the two of them attended had also determined whether the others would stay.

After carrying his ailing Duchess in his arms and taking her home that day, Lennen became known as the most devoted husband in the world.

Invitations now poured into the ducal residence addressed to Sheyla.

Thanks to this, Donovan was kept busy using the scraps of paper Lennen tossed away as kindling.

If he collected them until winter, they might be able to survive the cold without needing firewood.

Sheyla was bedridden for two full days after that day.

The extreme tension from enduring such a demanding day had left her body needing time to recover and function normally again.

“Ah, I was trying to come in quietly……”

Kate, who had been sneaking inside, spoke awkwardly when her eyes met Sheyla’s.

“It’s all right. I was already awake.”

When Sheyla shifted in bed, Kate placed the basket she was carrying on the table and hurried over to her.

Only two days had passed, yet seeing how much thinner Sheyla had become made Kate feel sorry for her all over again.

After helping her settle into a comfortable position, Kate began taking things out of the basket one by one.

They were things she had gone out to get early in the morning for Sheyla, who was an early riser.

“Would you like some peaches? They’re properly ripened, so I heard they’re perfect to eat right now.”

“Yes.”

Kate pulled a small chair beside the bed and sat down. She placed a tray on her lap and chatted away while peeling a peach.

Most of the stories she told were about the daily lives of the servants at the ducal residence.

As Sheyla listened to the rumors circulating among the maids, she suddenly remembered what had happened at Count Duff’s estate.

What had happened to that maid?

She must be safe and doing well by now.

Even when Sheyla tried to think positively, she strangely could not shake the feeling of unease.

“Whew, with all the incidents and accidents lately, the atmosphere in the capital has been so unsettling…… Anyway, everything feels strange.”

“Incidents?”

“It’s better that you don’t know. They’re so horrible that they’ll only put you in a bad mood for no reason.”

Sheyla nodded.

It probably had nothing to do with her.

Besides, her mind was already filled with something else.

That day, while Lennen carried her back to the carriage, Sheyla had remained stiff, unable even to cool her flushed face because she was so embarrassed.

She even wondered whether her heart was beating properly.

And why was the sound of that enormous pounding echoing in her ears?

Worried that he might hear it too, she placed both hands over her chest as though she could somehow block the sound.

Whether he knew what she was thinking or not, Lennen said something absurd to her again.

‘Pretending to be sick is quite an old-fashioned method, so others will notice it right away as well. Besides, you were practically clinging to me in plain sight…….’

‘……What do you mean?’

‘As I said before, be careful so that my name is not affected by this. Do I have to say more?’

‘There won’t be anything like that, now or in the future.’

Her voice trembled, but Sheyla spoke firmly.

She could not understand why he always thought of people in such a way.

She waited for Lennen to say what would come next, but he simply fell silent.

Completely exhausted, she could no longer fight against her heavy eyelids.

The last thing she saw before falling asleep was his face, which was as cold as ice.