A voice laced with suppressed anger seeped out, chillingly. Even if I had a hundred mouths, I had nothing to say, so I remained silent. He let out a short, hollow laugh.
"It's over now."
"Maybe Lady Violet will understand."
"Understand? What understanding? Could you understand if your fiancé became a blind cripple? How could you understand that? You'd have to take care of him for the rest of your life once you're married."
"……"
His words were too true, so I closed my mouth again. I hadn't intended for things to turn out this way, but I was the one who had set the fire.
A heavy silence filled the room. Vincent rubbed his face, and Ethan seemed lost in thought for a moment. I just watched them carefully.
"I can't even look at you. Get out."
"Vincent, calm down."
"You too, get out."
Ethan sighed.
"Why are you being so stubborn? We need to figure out a solution. Kicking us out won't change anything."
"……"
"Why are you making it so complicated? Just meet her."
Vincent looked at him as if he were speaking nonsense. I agreed. Under everyone's gaze, Ethan calmly explained.
"Why? It's not that hard. Just pretend like before."
"But back then, you could still see something."
"Sure, but it was just blurry shapes. You saw them as blobs of light, right? You still managed to have conversations. You figured out what they wanted and what they were thinking. They didn't even know you couldn't see them. You're good at that, aren't you? Pretending to be fine on the surface."
"So what?"
"Let's pretend like before."
Ethan clapped his hands. His smiling face was as light as usual.
"Are you joking?"
"To be honest, there's no other way."
Ethan shrugged. Vincent narrowed his eyes but didn't argue, only sighing. I didn't know what Ethan meant by "before," so I just alternated my gaze between the two of them.
"Did you do that on purpose just now?"
"Yes."
To my whispered question, he answered immediately. Ethan, who admitted to deliberately exposing my mistake, was shameless. Could he have done this to make things turn out this way? I wanted to understand his intentions, but he was the most inscrutable person I had ever met, so I gave up. Ethan just smiled.
"Even if you get us both hated. We seem to have a good working relationship, don't we, Lady?"
No. He's just someone who enjoys tormenting others. No, why are you all treating me like this? What did I do wrong? Being a maid is so hard, really.
"Should I just quit?"
"Oh, don't say that. We've just become friends, and I'd be sad to lose you."
"Why are you saying that? I'm not the one who's doing this."
I shook my head firmly and took a step to the side. Ethan glanced at me and moved closer by the same distance I had moved. When I took another step to the side, he followed. I moved again, and he followed once more. A pointless argument ensued.
Finally, I stopped.
"Still, thank you for helping me."
Honestly, if he hadn't stepped in, I would have been in trouble. In that sense, I was grateful. Ethan shrugged.
"Don't mention it."
His casual attitude seemed like a considerate way to ease my burden. Maybe he's deeper than I thought?
"By the way, Lady. Can I ask you one thing?"
"Yes, go ahead."
"Is your fringe intentional?"
He pointed to the hair that covered more than half of my face. Instinctively, I grabbed my fringe. It was a way to hide my face.
"What a waste. You have such a pretty face."
"You're good at making jokes."
"I'm serious."
"Really? Really? If you're lying, I'll burn your lips with a hot iron."
He rolled his eyes and covered his mouth with his hand.
"I meant inner beauty."
"But you said face just now."
"Inner beauty within the face."
"Thanks for the empty words."
I cancel my previous statement. He's not serious at all.
I pressed my fringe tighter to my face and bowed. Then I approached Vincent, who was now ready. Vincent looked quite tense, as if he had just heard a suggestion to take a step out of the room.
'Why are you acting so cowardly, unlike yourself? Are you losing your nerve? Has the great Earl of Bellunita become so timid after being cooped up in a room?'
'Shut up.'
'So let's do it. Meet Violet, have a few words, reassure her, and send her away. I'll direct, the maid will prepare, and you just act. Let's put on a perfect performance. What do you say?'
While subtly pushing Vincent's buttons, Ethan subtly guided him in the direction he wanted. In that sense, Ethan was skilled at persuading Vincent. And Vincent, knowing this, didn't argue. His silence was a form of agreement.
The result is the current situation.
We are in a reception room near his room, which can be considered the stage for our performance. Ethan is the director, I am the preparer, and Vincent is the actor.
The plot is as follows: Vincent will call Violet to this reception room. When she arrives, Vincent will be waiting on the sofa. Then, Violet will sit opposite him. Vincent will start the conversation with the lines we prepared. The conversation should be short. The longer it goes, the more likely it is to go wrong. After a brief conversation with Violet, Vincent will pretend to be tired and leave the room first. Once he's out, I'll quickly lead him back to his room. Of course, Ethan will help.
"Okay, the most important thing is eye contact. You need to give her the impression that you're looking at her."
"I know."
"Sir, don't worry. If you just make good eye contact, she won't even imagine that you can't see. Even when you throw things and get angry, I sometimes forget."
"……"
"Really, how angry do you get that the maid forgets you can't see? And why do you throw things? It's dangerous. You're really too much. Don't go around calling yourself a gentleman."
Ethan clicked his tongue. I signaled him to stop. Vincent felt around. It seemed he was about to show me what it means not to be a gentleman, so I gently took his hand.
"First, I'll show you where the teacup is. While sitting up straight, if you lean forward slightly, your palm will touch the edge of the table. Like this."
I placed his palm on the edge of the table.
"Then, if you extend your fingers, you'll touch the teacup."
As I said, he extended his fingers and touched the teacup. He reached out a bit more and hooked his fingers around the handle. Then, he smoothly lifted the cup to his lips.
"When you touch the table, you can feel around a bit. But don't be too obvious about it."
"Just touch it lightly with your fingertips. That way, it won't be too noticeable."
"But don't tap it too much with your fingertips. That's more noticeable."
"Just a slight movement should be fine."
"What kind of rhythm are you talking about?"
He frowned and put the cup down. The clink of the cup against the saucer was particularly grating. Given the situation, everything felt heightened.
I checked the positions of the teacup, vase, and pastries. The vase should be in the center, and the teacup should be here, considering the distance when he leans forward. The pastries should be neither too far nor too close to the teacup.
"Now, let's practice eye contact. Lady, come here."
Ethan gestured to me. I approached him, puzzled. He sat me on the sofa opposite Vincent, where I could face him directly.
"Vincent, look this way."
"Where?"
"Directly in front. I've placed the sofa directly in front of you. Lady Violet will sit there."
He turned his head to follow my voice. He was roughly facing the right direction, but his eyes were wandering, unsure where to look. I stood up and gently held his face, guiding his gaze.
"Like this."
I grabbed his face, and he flinched in surprise. Then, he furrowed his brow at my voice. I ignored it and adjusted his face.
"Just look straight ahead like this."
I released my hand slightly. His eyes were still looking elsewhere.
"Look this way."
His emerald eyes, which had been blinking, gradually moved. They hesitated before finally meeting mine.
He's looking at me.
My heart sank.
Being this close, it felt like he was really looking at me. His slightly cloudy emerald eyes seemed to sparkle, and I had the illusion that they were seeing my face. I took a step back without realizing it.