Chapter 71

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Translator: Harry Potta

Chapter: 71

Chapter Title: The Count I Met Again (1)

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It was early dawn. The mansion was in an uproar. Servants rushed out of their rooms one after another, hastily donning their uniforms. Those still rubbing sleep from their eyes were personally roused by Audrey. I washed up in a flash and shook Alicia awake from her slumber.

Scrambling into my own uniform, I hurried after the others. As we stepped outside the mansion, everyone had already gathered in front of the entrance. Audrey stood at the head of the two neat lines of servants. And right in front of her was Joelly.

All eyes were fixed on the distance. I slipped quietly into the ranks and peered in the same direction. Moments later, a sleek car rolled in from afar. It glided smoothly to a stop right before the mansion.

A man climbed out of the driver's seat and opened the rear door. A leg emerged from within, planting firmly on the ground.

"You've arrived."

Audrey bowed at once. Every servant followed suit. I bent at the waist on reflex.

"Welcome back!"

Joelly's voice brimmed with delight. Footsteps approached the figure stepping from the car. Click—the door shut behind them.

"You've had a rough time. Glad you're here. Nothing out of the ordinary happened while you were away."

"......"

To us, heads bowed low, it sounded like Joelly was chattering to herself. No reply came during her entire spiel, yet she bubbled on excitedly. Alicia beside me kept stealing glances upward. She wasn't alone—the servant on my other side was furtively rolling their eyes too.

The one-sided banter cut off abruptly. Everyone held their breath, ears straining.

"I saw you yesterday."

A deep, resonant voice broke the brief silence.

Alicia's eyes widened round. Then they narrowed. She seemed to be puzzling over the speaker's identity. The other servants, facing this for the first time, wore equally baffled expressions. Amid them, I—the only one who recognized the voice—froze stiff.

How could I forget?

That voice I'd once heard until it made me sick.

Thud, thud—footsteps drew near.

"No need for such a lavish welcome."

"Oh, come on. I had to see you. How have you been?"

"What."

"How are you feeling?"

They halted nearby. I clenched my joined hands tighter. My heart thundered, threatening to punch through my ribs. Two or three people stood before me. I knew it was safe, but I bowed my head deeper still.

A prickling stung my scalp.

"Your numbers have grown."

"It just sort of happened."

"Don't overdo the fun. It'll come back to bite you later."

"Don't worry. I won't let it affect you."

"I hope you mean that."

The sarcasm hung heavy as the footsteps receded. Only after distance had opened did the servants dare lift their heads. Eyes were meant to stay forward, but curiosity won out for some—they stole quick glances aside. Alicia was no exception.

I ventured a sidelong peek. The moment stretched eternally. There stood the man opposite Joelly.

A large hand ruffled his neatly swept golden hair. The gesture carried a hint of annoyance. Mid-conversation with Joelly, he suddenly turned our way.

Our gazes collided.

I saw him. He saw... not me, but the crowd of servants. Yet my eyes were locked on him. From the instant they met, they never wavered.

Those emerald eyes fixed sharply here, that face aimed precisely our way—I realized it anew.

His eyes could truly see.

And with that, I knew. The death that tore my heart just to recall, the one I shunned remembering, yet fretted over in some corner of my soul, wishing his happiness above all else.

'Lucas...'

I knew of your death.

My eyes burned. Terrified the welling tears would spill, I didn't dare blink. My view of Vincent grew hazy and blurred. The gaze pinned on us withdrew swiftly.

Vincent turned away. Thud, thud—the steps faded. Every servant stared at him. Now they all knew who he was. The women flushed and averted their eyes at their dashing, impressive master.

"Sister."

A dazed murmur. I turned—Alicia stared at Vincent too. Her unblinking profile felt foreboding.

"That man's the master here, right? Is he?"

"......Yeah."

"Oh my god."

The mansion's lord departed, and servants dispersed to their duties. Dazed as she was, I slipped away from Alicia without a word. My pace quickened to a jog, then a sprint. Even the warning against the forest slipped my mind.

I plunged into the woods and ran for what felt like ages. Then veered downhill. My skirt billowed, clothes rumpled, fallen leaves clung to me—but I ignored it all. Instinct guided me. I barreled downward endlessly, shoving through underbrush until the forest spat me out entirely.

I halted before the vista sprawling ahead.

My strangled breath eased; I exhaled slowly. Panting subsided as my eyes swept the scene. Mansions of every size dotted the expanse, linked by gardens too vast for one glance. A fountain jetted water skyward, stealing my focus. Beyond it, the forest ringed everything.

Why had I only realized this now?

Why uncover the truth of this bizarre count's estate only now?

No suspicions, not even a fleeting thought. This forest heart lay far from my old home; I knew no one here. A different family altogether.

Yet this familiar sight shattered my false security.

Vincent wasn't a guest. The horde of servants assembled to greet him proved it.

This was the Bellunita Family mansion.

And the Count had returned to his domain.

He had.

Vincent had.

My body, propped against a tree, gave out and slumped. Seated on the ground, I blankly surveyed the breadth. Then... I let loose the grief I'd bottled since fleeing this place.

"Hic."

Tears streamed from my lowered eyes, pattering the dirt. I buried my face in my hands. Curled tight, I sobbed endlessly, crushed by sorrow.

The shock of reunion barely registered—Lucas flooded my mind first.

I might have deluded myself. That he lived, thriving. Despite that nightmare final glimpse, I'd clung to it. Surely he'd forgotten a maid's fleeting crush, found his lovely match, lived happily. Pure fantasy.

But seeing Vincent, his eyes locking clear on us—I recalled Lucas's words anew.

'I'll give my world to my brother.'

The truth veiled by that radiant smile.

What filled his heart at the end? Watching me go, what raced through his mind? Fear blinded me to his death. Yet his kindness lingered; all I could offer was this outpouring grief. I prayed desperately his last moments weren't utter torment.

"Waaah!"

Because that's all I could do for him.

I was a mere footnote in their tale. Powerless, irrelevant. For the first time, I loathed that self. Even recognizing it hurt.

Utterly useless—unable to repay my sole benefactor. No matter my efforts, nothing changed. Pathetic.

Yet relief mingled in. Can't do a thing? Fine to flee. What use staying? Just a burden. Self-consolation.

Am I paying now?

Or did retribution seek me out?

"Useless, useless."

Robert prodded my side with fragmented words. I sat numb, unresponsive. Thoughts whirled chaotically.

Flee? Should I? Maybe. I'd wandered right back into death's shadow. If only I'd known. Insane. Run now?

I sifted memories of the mansion. Every servant was a stranger. True, I'd stuck to the annex back then, glimpsing few. But even those few were absent.

Crucially—no Isabella.

She oversaw all count's mansion staff, second to the butler. Nowhere in sight. Audrey filled her role now.

Stranger still: no butler. Too swamped for this remote woods estate? Fortunate, if so. But unease nagged. As if the entire staff had turned over... Ridiculous. How?

At least absent butler or others meant no instant peril.

But the core issue lingered unsolved.

What if the butler visited—came for me? Vincent's presence made it plausible.

Wait—then who was Joelly? Her tie to Vincent?

"Weird."

"What?"

...Married in the interim? There'd been an engagement notice in the papers.

"Maybe."

"Huh?"

"I mean."

I snapped alert. Somehow, the nanny and Robert flanked me, eyeing me oddly. Their round-eyed stares yanked my thoughts back.

"What's weird?"

"Oh, nothing. Really."

"Useless is weird."

"Haha."

I forced a grin, smoothed my face. Tidied the strewn toys needlessly, backs prickling with suspicion. Nanny, time to work?

"Where've you been tumbling?"

"Pardon?"

Whirling at the abrupt query, the nanny pierced my back with her stare.

"Clothes all wrinkled. And this."

She plucked something off my back. A fallen leaf. I'd brushed them climbing up, but stragglers remained. Grinning stiffly, I snatched it and jammed it in my pocket.

"Played all by yourself!"

"No, not—"

"Unfair! Take me! Take me too!"

"It's not like that."

"Where to?"

The nanny's question locked me rigid. She didn't know I'd dragged Robert into the woods. His knee scrape? "Tripped running"—clothes swapped on return sold it.

Until Robert's wildcard.

"The forest!"

"Young master!"

That mouth never listens. My restraining hand froze midair. A chill voice drifted from behind.

"The forest...?"

I couldn't turn, gulping dryly. Why did everything suddenly feel so cold?