86. To You, Whom I Couldn't Forget Even If I Tried (10)
I screamed and fell backward. A sharp pain shot through my buttocks and fingertips. It hurts! When I lifted my palms, I saw that the skin had been torn and was soaked in blood.
Confused about the situation, I alternated my gaze between the cut palms and him. Vincent's face, illuminated by the moonlight, was flushed red. He covered his mouth with one hand, seemingly trying to grasp what was happening. I had never seen Vincent so flustered.
"You, you look so much like... so..."
"Huh?"
His stammering voice couldn't form a complete sentence. His emerald eyes, clouded with confusion, looked lost. Seeing him so flustered, I, on the contrary, felt calmer.
"Let's calm down first."
"Ah!"
At that moment, a cry echoed. It was Robert's voice. He must have woken up.
Oh no. I turned to look in the direction of Robert's room, worried about him. Just as I was about to get up quickly, something suddenly pulled at my body. Looking down, I saw Vincent gripping my wrist, as if desperately trying to hold onto someone who was about to leave.
When I met his eyes, which were wide open, he quickly let go, startled. He seemed more surprised than I was. Even in the moonlight, his face, flushed red, was clearly visible.
"Ah, well, it's because it was so dark..."
"Really?"
What does the darkness have to do with grabbing me? But he seemed even more flustered than before and didn't seem to want to answer my question. Just as I was about to frown, Robert's cry echoed again, louder this time.
He suddenly looked up and toward Robert's room. Then, he looked at me again, opened his mouth a few times, and finally managed to say one word.
"Stay with Robert."
"Ah, yes."
I thought he would come with me, but after getting up, he walked in the opposite direction. More accurately, he ran. His steps were so quick that he was soon at the end of the corridor. From a distance, I heard a series of thuds, as if he had bumped into something. He didn't even take a lamp.
But even if he had taken a lamp, it wouldn't have helped much. His lamp had also shattered on the floor. It seems lamps break a lot today. Thinking it must be because of the thunder and lightning, I looked out the window. The rain had already stopped, and the outside was calm.
I sighed, inspecting my stinging palms. Did I cut myself on the broken lamp pieces? This is such a mess. But before I could fully process the situation, I turned my body again. I needed to comfort Robert, who was crying alone.
The strange night passed, and morning came. After comforting Robert, who had been sobbing, I fell asleep on the sofa as soon as I lay down. When I woke up, it was already noon.
"Are you awake?"
The nanny opened the door and came in. I realized I hadn't taken care of Robert's breakfast. As I got up in a panic, she told me to lie back down.
"I'm sorry. I didn't know you had been up all night."
"It's fine. What about the young master?"
"He finished his breakfast and is sleeping in another room. The window in his usual room was in such bad condition that it's being repaired. The rain has stopped now."
"That's a relief. I'm sorry for oversleeping."
"It's okay. You must have been exhausted."
She patted my shoulder. I smiled awkwardly and rubbed my stiff eyes. Even though the nanny said I could sleep more, I shook my head and got off the sofa.
The sofa was spacious, but I had slept in a curled-up position, so my whole body ached. As I stretched my arms, the nanny exclaimed in surprise.
"Oh my. Ann! What happened to you?"
"Huh?"
Her words made me realize my condition, and I was startled. I had slept in my apron, and now it was stained with dark spots. What is this? Looking closely, I saw it was blood. My hands were also covered in dried blood.
"Goodness. What happened?"
"I, I don't know."
I was flustered and inspected my torn hands. I also felt a stinging sensation on my knees and thighs. I must have been injured without realizing it. Where did I cut myself?
Bits and pieces of last night's events came back to me. After Vincent left, I had to take care of the aftermath. I comforted the startled Robert, put him back to sleep, and then went out into the corridor.
The corridor was a mess, with broken windows. It looked like a wooden plank had flown in and shattered the glass. I was once again reminded of the strength of the wind. Fortunately, there wasn't much oil left in the lamp, or it could have caused a bigger disaster.
As I was cleaning up the broken glass, I heard Robert crying again. I quickly finished and had to go back to his room.
"The wind was so strong last night that the corridor window broke. I must have been injured then."
"Oh my. Which window?"
"The one in the middle of the corridor."
I briefly explained what happened last night, of course, leaving out the part about meeting Vincent. The nanny nodded without any suspicion.
"Rest in your room for now. I'll clean up here."
"Understood."
I left the room, leaving the rest of the cleanup to her.
As I walked down the corridor, feeling exhausted, a servant suddenly rushed past me. His back looked urgent, and I watched him blankly. Then, other servants followed him, all looking disheveled.
Curious about what was happening, I saw Johnny approaching. He didn't look good either, covered in dust.
"What happened to you?"
"You look worse."
Johnny hesitated, then frowned and looked me up and down. Only then did I realize how I must have looked.
"Are you hurt?" he asked seriously.
I waved my hand, saying it was nothing, and asked him what had happened. Johnny dusted off his clothes, and a cloud of dust rose. This time, I frowned and took a step back.
"A broken branch fell and punched a hole in the ceiling near the central staircase. The servants have been in chaos since this morning, trying to fix it."
"A hole in the ceiling? A big one?"
"Pretty big. They're working on it urgently, but they say it might happen again. The ceiling planks are loose and dangerous, so be careful when you pass that way."
So that's why he ran just now. I had sensed the wind was unusual in the early morning, but I didn't expect it to be this bad. I remembered the window in my room had been blown away. The nanny must have had no doubts because of this.
"I heard a window broke too."
"Yeah, on the opposite side."
"Last time, a wall cracked... This mansion seems to be deteriorating everywhere. It's in bad condition."
Johnny scratched his head, exhausted.
Indeed, this mansion was not well-maintained. The windows rattled and fell out with just a strong gust of wind.
Moreover, although the cleaning was done daily, it focused mainly on the frequently used areas. Other places were cleaned sporadically, so dust accumulated, making it quite dirty. The number of servants here was not large, and even though they were brought in from outside, they received no proper training, making perfect maintenance difficult.
"There's a small storage room at the end of the attic. A maid opened the door carelessly and got a shock. It was full of bugs."
"Really?"
"This place is really old. It feels like we're forcing an abandoned place to be used."
Johnny sighed deeply and said he had to go, moving with heavy steps. He was in charge of the broken windows. I bid him farewell with a heavy heart and continued down the corridor.
As I passed the central staircase, I saw the servants gathered, looking worriedly at the ceiling.
There was indeed a hole in the middle of the ceiling, and it was quite large. A broken plank fell with the rainwater. I could glimpse the servants working on the repairs through the hole. They all looked bewildered. The floor was slippery from the rainwater.
I carefully passed by and headed to my room. It was rest time, and Alicia, who was lying on the bed, was shocked when she saw me.
"What happened to you?"
This was the third time someone had asked me. I must look pretty bad. I needed to clean up and treat my wounds, but I felt strangely exhausted.
"Something happened."
"What exactly happened?"
"I don't know. I'm tired."
I shuffled to the bed and collapsed. Despite having slept, drowsiness overwhelmed me. I blinked my heavy eyes and rubbed my face against the pillow. I heard Alicia clicking her tongue behind me.
"I heard the master visited the mansion briefly in the early morning. Did you see him?"
"......I don't know."
"Did you see him or not?"
"I didn't see him."
I gave a vague answer and curled up. Alicia shook my shoulder, insisting I must have seen him. Too tired to respond, I turned away from her. Realizing I had no intention of answering, she huffed and turned around. Only then did I close my heavy eyelids.
The events of the early morning flashed through my mind. Was it because I was so startled that my memory is already blurry? It felt like the thunder had taken away my memories. Thinking I was alone in the dark, I felt like I was losing my mind. I might have fainted for a moment. When I came to, I was hugging him, so maybe I was the one who had lost it.
Vincent's flustered, flushed face came to mind. He really seemed startled, stammering as he spoke.
Come to think of it, why was he so calmly in my arms? I didn't get to ask him. Did I cling to him? The thought made me feel embarrassed. Ugh, how strange must I have looked? Suppressing the urge to scream, I squeezed my eyes shut. I'll just go to sleep.
I touched my wrist, which he had grabbed. The warmth he left should have been gone, but strangely, my wrist felt hot.
I played with my wrist and fell into a deep sleep. For the first time since I came here, I didn't have a nightmare.
* * *
After that day, I didn't see Vincent directly. He visited the mansion less often, and when he did come to see Robert, he never glanced at me. He still sent letters through the servants, but he no longer asked about Robert directly. He only spoke to the nanny. It was as if he was avoiding me.
I should be the one avoiding him, but since he was doing it for me, I felt a strange mix of emotions. At least I didn't have to worry about being grilled about where I got the ink.
Time passed quickly. The cuts on my hands healed, and the hole in the ceiling was patched up, restoring a peaceful routine.
One day, when only a few days were left in my probationary period, a guest arrived at the Velunita Manor.