Chapter 30
'At that time, I called the doctor myself, and no one came to see me while I was lying down. Even after I recovered, I didn't hear a single word asking me if I was okay.'
But now, as a servant, the owner of this house called a doctor for me, who watched over me and told me to rest more. He even told me to cry if I needed to and to eat well.
He said that good days would come if he lived this way, and he would stay there a little longer…
Edel held the handkerchief that Lazlo had given her tightly.
'Yes, let's live hard. Good days will surely come.'
Thinking this way, I felt that today was a truly good day. It was a day when I was treated with more humanity than when I was a duchess.
She smiled.
“Edil, are you okay?”
Daisy asked anxiously when she saw her smiling to herself. Idil, feeling happier than ever, smiled broadly.
“Yes. I’m perfectly fine.”
***
After Edel came with a pale face to thank him and then left, Laszlo sat at his desk, lost in thought until late into the night.
'Isn't it strange that someone on the verge of death would come right up and say thank you? What should you be thankful for?'
Although it was Marsha who made Edel this way, the underlying reason was the same. He had thrown her, a fragile noblewoman, into the life of a servant.
He could not understand why she had come to express gratitude.
'Do nobles take etiquette so seriously that they risk their lives for it?'
Even when he thought from a sarcastic perspective, remembering her clear, honest eyes and her calm demeanor, he felt a strange unease.
Ilan's skills are truly impressive. He even managed to make her smile.
When the woman, who always seemed cold and sad, burst into laughter, he felt as if something inside him had exploded too. He didn't know what it was, but it mattered.
However, while he made Ilan Edel smile, he managed to spoil her mood with nonsensical talk about “imperial services.”
He didn't mean to be malicious, but somehow he ended up hitting her most sore spot unexpectedly.
However, Edel responded with her usual dignity and composure, lowering herself and taking Laszlo's situation into account.
'How can she do that?'
He didn't believe in what was called the grace or culture of the nobility. What was so great about setting and following rules that didn't even amuse them?
But Idil was different. She seemed to embody true grace, not as an act but as something inherent in her being.
Therefore, whenever he stood in front of her, he felt as if the scent of the wind on her body had become more polluted.
'Even if it's hypocrisy, it's impressive to this extent. If it weren't hypocrisy… perhaps living like this would have been harder for her.'
The findings of recent investigations into the betrayal at the Duke of Lancaster's house have supported the latter view.
According to the testimony of the Duke's chief butler, Edel Lancaster was nothing more than a duchess.
Members of the Duke's family, including the Duke's mistress, treated her as an outsider, and especially the Duke's younger daughters, who were the same age, openly ignored her.
“However, she never showed weakness. She was kind to the servants and performed her duties faithfully. I even felt that life had become easier for me since she became the Duchess.”
The butler's testimony about Edel was very positive, in contrast to his criticism of the Duke's children.
He confirmed that Edel was unaware of the Duke's betrayal or the secret passages within the Duke's residence.
It was both a relief and a misfortune.
'That's why my feelings have become more unstable.'
The peak of this discomfort was during the moment when Idell cried earlier.
The sight of her tears as soon as she mentioned the word “normal” aroused an involuntary sympathy in him.
Her life, from being born the daughter of a greedy count to becoming a socialite, the wife of an aging duke, and now living as a maid, was far removed from ordinary life.
Although he wasn't sure what "normal" standard she wanted, it was clear that she dreamed of a modest life.
That's why they understood why she was crying.
The surprising thing was that he did not have a handkerchief in his pants pocket or his jacket pocket.
"Damn it, who would have thought I'd need a tissue?"
Fortunately, there was a tissue in the first desk drawer he opened. It looked worn and wrinkled, but finding something else might seem more inappropriate, so he handed it in.
This part was good, but he did not expect the woman to cry even more after receiving the handkerchief.
Her delicate shoulders, trembling with sighs, were utterly pathetic.
"I almost wanted to hug her."
He was really close.
When he was fifteen, he once found a deer trapped in the rain in the mountains and caught it. He never thought he would feel the same way about a grown woman.
He wanted to hold her until she calmed down, just as he would hold that trembling gazelle until the rain stopped.
'But if I did that to a woman, I would be branded a bastard.'
He knew very well that the nobles despised his appearance.
His hair was messy, his beard sparse, his dark skin dried out by the sun and wind, his large build, and the scars all over his body…
He had heard that he was considered handsome, but he was too busy making money to care about his appearance, which led to this situation.
For this reason, he was always aware that he should not approach women or children recklessly.
“However, he immediately pushed her out of the room and uttered strange comforting words… Am I crazy?”
Even the reassuring words he said seemed laughable.
He gave simple instructions – cry in your room, eat until you are full, and get a good night's sleep – yet he declared that to be an “order.”
“The patient should eat and sleep well, but not eat too much and stay awake all night. Ch.”
The embarrassing memories resurfaced, prompting Laszlo to bury his face in his hands.
“Well, at least I was lucky to have sorted things out before my meeting with the Marchesa Celestine.”
Speaking of which, it was almost a disaster.
A few days earlier, they had received a formal invitation from the Celestine family to have tea together, and it was clear that the story of Idyll would be brought up at that meeting.
However, Idil contracted a fever at this very time.
“If the matter had been discovered, even shortly after, and she had died, we would certainly have turned the Celestine family into enemies.”
If that had happened, he might have taken out his anger on Marsha.
“Fortunately, she recovered, so the worst was averted, but if the Marchioness decides to come and see Idil’s condition for herself…”
He could clearly imagine that she was staring at him with a look that seemed to be evaluating his actions.
Edel's response is likely to be seen as a result of coercion.
'The Celestine family is highly respected. The previous Marchioness was weak and quiet for a long time, but they have a rich heritage and a solid foundation. The Marchioness led them well.'
Therefore, he had planned to use this opportunity to build a connection with the Celestine family and draw them into the Emperor's faction. It was a close call.
But he suddenly wondered.
"How far is the Marchioness Celestine willing to go to help Idil?"
While everyone was avoiding any contact with the Duke's family, Barbara Celestine rallied the head of the family to help Edel.
That was unusual. The invitation arrived long after Idell had sent her message, proving that the process was not easy.
“In any case, I need to meet in person to gauge the atmosphere. Perhaps the Marchioness is using Idéal as a pretext to test me through the Emperor.”
Laszlo organized his office without making any hasty decisions.
With no butler, he had to check all financial transactions and inventory himself, and the office was filled with numerous documents and receipts.
Looking at them, he felt an involuntary rise in irritation.
“If I could only marry off Linnea, I would close the palace.”
With such unproductive thoughts, Laszlo put his work aside and lay down on his bed.
Then he suddenly remembered the words he had said to Idil.
“There will be good days in life. It’s tough right now, but just wait there a little longer.”
This was something he could say to himself now, but if someone had said it to him, he would have exploded with anger.
"How long am I supposed to put up with this!"
Why did you say something like that?
Why did he give such advice to Idil, who was already enduring it with all her might?
Laszlo felt another wave of embarrassment and shame, and punched the blanket with his fist.
It seemed unlikely that he would sleep easily tonight.