The Maid Dreams Of The Sunset - Chapter 41

Isaac, who was gently looking down at the cliff, began to walk slowly around the area, as if he were wandering.

 

It was a dangerous place where it was easy to fall because the bushes were thick right before the cliff. Nearby, a white ribbon, a symbol of remembrance, was tied to a tree branch; raindrops dripped through it.

 

Isaac swept the rain-soaked leaves with his hands and turned to the memorial built next to the cliff. The name engraved on the black marble tombstone looked particularly bleak due to the rain.

 

“How do you feel when you die, Lady Oubric?”

 

Isaac asked, fumbling for the name engraved on the tombstone.

 

He had no answer, of course.

 

Isaac, who found the answer himself in the silence, laughed and continued.

 

“Yes. It’s going to feel like a beggar. I wouldn’t even have the courage to die.”

 

The self-deprecating whispers disappeared in an instant, buried in the sound of rain.

He brushed back his wet hair, which was clinging to his forehead. The raindrops, hanging on to the tips of his black eyelashes, brushed his eyes and flowed down like tears.

 

‘How should I do it?’

 

‘…Topple?’

 

‘Should I break him before ruining him…?’

 

“You will be satisfied, too.”

 

Isaac murmured, looking at the tombstone. There was no one, but he felt like someone whispered that they would be.

 

The worry didn’t last long.

 

Isaac, thumbing the markings carefully, one by one as if to engrave the engraved letters on his hand, glanced at the tombstone with tired eyes and took a step back.

 

It was Max who carried out the attack first.

 

It was Max who touched the plague.

 

It was also him, who criticized and threatened with vulgar words, which Isaac could not even dare to say without thinking about it.

 

“…I can’t help it.”

 

I’ve been working so hard on Count Newett…’

 

‘I’m afraid I’ll have to turn to Viscount Oubric.’

 

A smile bloomed on his expressionless face. Through the cracks in the rain that rang through the forest, a faint laugh mixed in and fell over the cliff.

 

***

 

As always, the servants were the first to sense the bizarre atmosphere in the mansion.

 

Max, who had been locked in his room and was drunk with alcohol and women, at some point began to pretend to be the owner with dignity. And after that, Isaac, who had promised Max, followed him like a shadow and worked hard to help him.

 

The atmosphere of the mansion, which had been tensely sharpened by the competitiveness, was quickly reversed.

 

There was no time to think it was strange. As if waiting, the Duchess, who had been living in seclusion in the right wing, came out with a bright face and commanded the mansion, and the servants had to spend a busy day and night fulfilling the orders of the capricious mother and child.

 

However, only Dahlia spent her leisurely days without feeling the atmosphere.

The duty of this maid in charge was different from the others. Dahlia’s only job was to sit in the study and wait for Isaac, who was always absent due to outside work.

 

She read books, had a knack for sewing, and spun clothes to send to her colleagues and younger sister. After spending a day like that, her daily routine was to eat at a restaurant in the kitchen, and rest in the dormitory around 6 o’clock.

 

It was hard to sit in the dormitory since she was alone. She was just as observant, helping out at the restaurant or doing the laundry that the other maids had piled up.

 

She had come into the dormitory early today and was sewing the apron of Johana and Ella.

 

“Edina. Are you done now?”

 

Dahlia spoke in a bright tone when she saw Edina entering the room with drooping shoulders. Edina threw her apron and head cap on the bed and buried herself in bed.

 

“Ah… I couldn’t eat anything all day. It’s so hard.”

 

Her murmuring voice was suffused with fatigue. Dahlia put down her sewing thread and looked at Edina with a worried face.

 

“You said you’ve been sick lately. Is it because of that?”

 

“Yes. It’s been like this ever since I ate potatoes the other day and got sick. If something goes in, I feel nauseous and can’t eat it.”

 

“Even so, you need to eat something to gain strength. I’ll bring you some soup, so wait a little bit.”

 

“No, Dahlia! It’s all right!”

 

Dissuading Dahlia from standing up, Edina raised her body.

 

“No matter what you bring, I can’t eat it anyway. I’ll just go to sleep.”

 

“Do you know how bad your face looks these days? You’ve become so picky…”

 

Dahlia sat down beside Edina and caressed her rough cheek.

 

The warm warmth sank on cheeks where the freckles fell. Edina, who was staring up at Dahlia, turned her head and buried her face in the pillow.

 

“Don’t worry, I’m fine. Let’s go to sleep.”

 

“Are you going to sleep already?”

 

“…Yes. I feel tired. Dahlia, you go to bed early, too.”

 

Without taking off her work dress, Edina pulled up the blanket and wrapped it around her body. Edina turned her back and looked at the wall, mumbling, “Good night.”

 

She closed her eyes as tears ran down her face.

 

Dahlia, who was standing stunned, tiptoed to remove the sewing and turn off the lamp. She could hear a rustling sound of blankets, and in a very small voice she said, “Good night to you, too.”

 

A gentle greeting brushed Edina’s ears. Edina prayed with all her might to fall asleep quickly by shutting her eyes tight.

 

The sound of breathing lingered in the air. As she usually fell asleep easily, Dahlia seemed to have fallen asleep as soon as she put her head on the pillow.

 

“Dahlia, are you sleeping?”

 

“…”

 

“…Are you really sleeping?”

 

A regular breathing sound replaced the answer. Edina let out the breath she had been holding in and carefully pushed the covers down.

 

Dahlia was asleep with the covers pulled over her head. Her feet sticking out under the covers looked so forlorn, so Edina reached over and pulled the covers over her feet. Dahlia didn’t even frown as she slept soundly.

 

Edina, who was looking down at her, moved her hand, which was touching the blanket, and gently grabbed Dahlia’s hand, which was curled up.

 

The warmth warmed Edina’s cold hands. At the same time, the confession she couldn’t bring out of her mouth swirled around her throat.

 

Edina opened her lips, which were tightly pressed, and forced her words out.

 

“I’m sorry, Dahlia.”

 

‘You know, I sold you to the Little Duke.’

 

‘Even though we’re friends. Even though we’re best friends, I couldn’t stand it and sold you.’

 

‘I feel like dying… really. It feels like it will kill me.’

 

‘I couldn’t help. You know, if you were in the same situation as me, surely you would…’

 

…

 

“…No, no…”

 

Dahlia wouldn’t have.

 

She was always the one who cared for others more than herself. Every year she bought a new coat for her sick sister, and she herself wore a worn-out coat with only the sleeves mended. Giving money from her own earnings to children selling wildflowers in the city…

 

If someone feigned an illness, she would work tirelessly for that person, and instead of sympathizing with those who had suffered sad things, she would try to take on that person’s burden instead…

 

Unlike herself, who was preoccupied with blaming others and complaining, Dahlia Beroch was the kind of person that kept blaming herself for her shortcomings

 

Edina burst into tears again. She pulled her sleeves and buried her face in her lap.

She knew that all of this was just her self-justification. No matter how many excuses she made, the fact that she sold Dahlia would never change.

 

Even though she knew exactly what that perverted Little Duke would do if she said the wrong name. Whenever she saw Dahlia’s face, her conscience relentlessly sharpened the blade and stabbed Edina in the heart.

 

“Please… I hope nothing happens.”

 

She raised her head and glanced at Dahlia. When she saw an innocently sleeping face, her heart ached again.

 

Edina sobbed softly to soothe the nauseating feeling. It felt like something was bubbling inside her empty stomach.

 

***

 

It was 15 days later that Dahlia heard the sad news.

 

“Edina said she quit her job?”

 

A loud cry spread through her office. Thelma, who would normally have been nagging her to behave civilly, turned her gaze to the chief maid with a surprised face.

 

Mrs. Prada expressed regret with bitter eyes as Dahlia stood with a confused expression.

 

“Because she was not feeling well. She went back to her hometown early this morning.”

 

“How… she didn’t say anything to me.”

 

Edina, who said she was not feeling well, acted awkwardly without making eye contact with Dahlia the whole time. Dahlia was in the dorm all day without working yesterday. She thought it was strange that Edina’s suitcase was out even though it was not the vacation season, but she thought she had something to look for and passed by it lightly.

 

But how could she… disappear like this in one day?

 

“Here is the letter she asked me to deliver to you.”

 

Mrs. Prada pulled out a white envelope from her chest pocket and held it out to Dahlia.

Dahlia hesitated whether to accept it or not, then received a glare from Thelma, who was standing next to her, and quietly accepted the envelope.

 

“I thought it was strange that she didn’t look well these days… She was a diligent and bubbly child, so she had a good reputation. I wonder what the reason for the sudden resignation is. I asked her to tell me the reason because I would write her a letter of introduction, but she refused, saying she couldn’t say anything… ”

 

In order to re-employ at another mansion, a letter of introduction from the previous employer was required. However, Edina refused even a letter of introduction and left, which meant she would never get a job as a maid again.

 

‘Could she have quit because she was getting married?’

 

‘But she said she wasn’t seeing anyone…’

 

The more Dahlia thought, the more strange it felt.

 

In what spirit Edina left her office, she did not know. Dahlia’s mind was filled with only the question.

 

Why?

 

Dahlia couldn’t move her steps, so she was staring blankly at the window in front of the hallway.

 

“You said she wasn’t feeling well a while ago before quitting…”

 

A low whisper rang out in the empty hallway. Dahlia, who thought she had been alone all this time, looked back in surprise.

 

Thelma, who had followed her from the office, stood close and looked down at her.

 

Thelma glanced around the hallway with frowning eyes, and continued with a voice even lower.

 

“I heard that recently Edina had been…had been serving the Little Duke.”

 

“Serving, you say?”

 

Just as Dahlia was about to ask what it meant, she realized when she saw Thelma’s twisted brows, as if she remembered something unusual.

 

There were times when Edina did not come back to the dormitory room, even after Dahlia had waited all night for her.

 

There were times when, around dawn, she quietly opened the door and came in, and Dahlia would hear her groaning.

 

… If all the things she thought were just because of Edina’s mood were evidence of the night service.

 

“…How- She never… she never told me about it.”

 

“Who would she tell that to? Besides, it would have been even more difficult to tell her friends.”

 

Thelma sighed and raised her eyes toward the ceiling.

 

“No wonder… she asked me to find something strange. It’s called Blue Rosette, and it’s a medicinal herb, but you rarely eat it.”

 

At the word ‘Blue Rosette’, Dahlia opened her eyes wide.

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