11. The Strange Guest of the Viscount's Family (1)
The Viscount's family receives a lot of letters. Some are from unknown senders, but most are inquiries about Vincent's well-being. Invitations to banquets and parties are also not uncommon.
However, the master never replies to any of these letters. In fact, he never even checks them when they are delivered. As a result, most of the letters are handled by the servants before they even reach his hands.
Among the persistent letters, one name stood out.
[Violet]
It's a woman's name...?
Letters from her arrive every other day, but they are never delivered to Vincent.
Isabella instructed me to store these letters separately. Is this someone special? If so, why doesn't she deliver them to him? Since Vincent never reads them, of course, no replies are sent. Still, the letters from this 'Violet' kept piling up in my drawer.
And there was another one that caught my eye.
[Are you there?]
...?
I found this by chance while cleaning out the fireplace. The partially burned paper fragment had golden letters left on it. When I held it up to the sunlight, the shining letters were elegant and beautiful.
More letters with the same content arrived afterward.
[Are you doing well?]
The letters were written on high-quality paper with a stiff texture. What was strange was that the paper inside the envelope was blank. Did the sender write directly on the envelope because they were afraid I might open the letter?
Still, the golden-lettered letters kept coming every day without fail. They all had the same content, as if insisting on a reply.
Eventually, I had to write a reply at Isabella's command. I hesitated for a moment, remembering the water stains on the paper. I didn't want to write it lightly as before, so I looked out the window. Seeing the buds sprouting on the trees, I moved my pen.
[The bare branches here are starting to sprout.]
After that, replies kept coming, and when I sent another one, another reply came. Before I knew it, I was exchanging letters with someone I didn't know. The content was still the same, and after the first reply, no more water stains appeared.
[Today, I am doing well.]
That's how a slightly unusual day began.
It was a morning where I stretched and greeted a refreshing day, and a day where I worried about the arduous day ahead due to the master's difficult personality. As usual, I changed my clothes, tied my messy hair into a tight ponytail, and opened the door.
"Vincent—!"
But then I heard an unfamiliar voice.
Right next to the master's room, a man I had never seen before was standing there. He was a tall man wearing a top hat, knocking on the door and calling Vincent's name desperately.
"Vincent! Open the door!"
Despite no answer from inside, the man kept knocking. I looked at him in confusion when he suddenly turned his head, sensing my gaze. His brown eyes widened when he saw me.
For a moment, we sized each other up. The unfamiliar man and I both openly scrutinized each other, wondering who the other was.
Then the man finished his inspection first.
"Oh, a new maid?"
Reacting to his words, I immediately bowed. It was almost like an instinct I had developed recently.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Pola."
I waited for him to acknowledge my greeting. I recalled being told that I shouldn't straighten up before hearing a response if the other person wasn't a fellow servant. I waited until he acknowledged me.
"Ah."
The man sighed and approached me. His shiny shoes appeared in my field of vision, which was directed at the floor. He took one of my hands, which I had been holding out, and gave it a light kiss.
"Nice to meet you, Miss Maid."
His pleasant, youthful voice. When our eyes met, he raised an eyebrow.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Eitan Christopher."
"U... Yes..."
I answered stupidly, trying to gather my wits.
His action of straightening up and releasing my hand was gracefully simple. Even after his hand left mine, my hand remained suspended in the air. The back of my hand, where his body heat had touched, felt warm.
"Vincent has locked the door. Can you open it?"
"Ah..."
I finally came to my senses and lowered my hand. I scratched the back of my hand awkwardly and headed for the door.
Vincent's door was occasionally locked, though very rarely. I had always wondered how he locked it, but I found out that one of the several ropes hanging on the wall beside his bed, when pulled, would trigger a mechanism that locked the door.
The ropes were like snakes, winding along the walls and connecting to various points. At first, I hadn't noticed them because the room was so dark and I was busy attending to Vincent. Recently, I had taken a closer look at the room and discovered the long rope that connected from the wall to the door.
When I first saw this, I couldn't believe my eyes. Vincent told me he had installed it to prepare for dangerous situations when he was alone. When I first saw him use it, I was so curious that I asked him about it, but he didn't answer, so I soon lost interest. The other ropes hanging on the wall were probably installed for similar reasons, but he used them differently.
Isabella had given me a set of emergency keys to prepare for such situations. She entrusted me with them, saying that the annex was practically my responsibility. So, whenever his door was locked, I used these keys.
I rummaged through my apron pocket and took out the emergency key. As I was unlocking the door and turning the doorknob, I realized I hadn't asked this man, Eitan Christopher, what his relationship with Vincent was.
"Ah, the master and I..."
At that moment, something whizzed past the opening. Soon after, a loud crash of breaking glass echoed. My words, which I was about to finish, scattered.
Eitan turned his head to follow the sound and was shocked. I also confirmed the shape of the object. It was a glass bottle that had shattered against the wall. I could guess who had thrown it based on past experiences.
Sure enough, a menacing voice came from the dark room.
"Close the door."
Seriously, how dangerous.
I subtly frowned and glanced at Eitan. He was still staring at the broken glass bottle, his face a mix of various thoughts.
Is this the first time he's experiencing the master's difficult personality? No wonder he's shocked. I shook my head and took a step into the room, only to have something else fly out and hit the wall. This time, it was a glass cup. He must have thrown it in a fit of anger.
I closed the door first, worried about the man's safety.
"There's a young gentleman at the door."
"Tell him to leave."
"Who is he?"
Come to think of it, how did this man know Vincent was in the annex? Usually, guests who came to see him went to the main house, assuming he would be there.
Due to the circumstances, it was the butler's job to greet guests at the main house. When the butler was unavailable, Isabella took over his role.
But this man was standing at the annex, right in front of Vincent's door.
"I don't care. Send him away."
"Master, I—"
"Get out too."
Why is he being so moody again?
At that moment, there was a knock on the door.
"Vincent."
It was Eitan's voice, seemingly calmer now.
I immediately checked on Vincent. He had already closed his eyes. Was he pretending to sleep?
"Vincent, show me your face. It's been a long time. Don't you want to see me?"
"..."
"I want to see you."
What is this atmosphere? There's something strange between these two men...
"Don't think strange thoughts."
"I'm not."
"You can tell what I'm thinking just by my breathing."
"I'm not, I swear."
I turned my body to prepare breakfast, only to realize I hadn't brought it. I also realized I hadn't brought the water for washing or new clothes... I had forgotten due to the unexpected commotion.
"I'll go get the breakfast."
"I'm not hungry."
"Please wait."
"I said I'm not hungry!"
Ignoring Vincent's shout, I opened the door. I faced the man who had been knocking desperately. He immediately looked inside the room, and I quickly closed the door to block his view.
"I'm sorry, but the master doesn't want to meet you."
"Come on, I really need to see him. I have something to deliver!"
The latter part wasn't directed at me, but he still received no response.
Eitan slumped his shoulders in defeat. He forced a smile, looking disappointed, and said,
"I'll be staying for a few days."
A guest had arrived at the viscount's family.
"It's been a while. Isabella."
"It's been a while. Mr. Eitan."
Eitan greeted Isabella warmly as he entered the reception room. Isabella received his top hat and greeted him familiarly. The closeness between the two suggested that this man was more than just a simple guest.