The Count's Strange Guest (3)
“-Isabella, you are still beautiful. There are no changes.”
“Sir Ethan, you have become more courageous since I last saw you.”
“Ah, you don’t need to flatter me. I’m just getting old.”
Ethan rubbed his chin and sat down on the couch. Isabella winked at Paula. She stood there with a plate and quickly placed the drink in front of him.
" - Thank you".
He smiled good-naturedly at something that didn't really matter. At first glance, it was very strange that a man who seemed to be a man of high status in luxurious clothes was kind to her, who was just a maid.
"Vincent's condition has gotten a lot worse since I last saw him. It wasn't that bad that time. How long has he been in that room?"
“About six months have passed.”
“- Six months ago... okay.”
Ethan smiled bitterly.
There was concern in his smile.
Apparently Ethan knew about Vincent's condition.
That he is blind.
If he knew where Vincent was hiding, which even the servants did not know, then they had a very deep relationship.
“ - I am friends with Vincent and am a very close friend of his.
Ethan kindly added an explanation as Paula was looking at him without realizing it. The girl immediately lowered her gaze and bowed her head.
“ - Sorry.”
“Haha, you don't need to apologize. I heard you're new.
“-Yes.”
“Well, you don’t look at all like the maid I saw before...”
He looked at Paula as if he were studying her.
The girl was so tense that even her whole body tensed.
Fortunately, the topic quickly changed.
“Is Vincent still alone in the room?”
“-Yes.”
" - Now the situation... The situation just described is telling. I heard the news. Even after I left, several more bad things happened. I was away for a while due to business issues, so I am worried."
“Sir Ethan did everything he could.”
Ethan smiled bitterly as he touched the cup.
" - Isabella. I chose family over friends. It's true. It wasn't the right time, but in the end, it's just an excuse. I came to the conclusion that Vincent could handle it just fine on his own, and I left. But I never wanted Vincent to be like that...”
“ - Ethan.”
"I've never seen Vincent like this before. When Count Bellunitto and the Countess died in an accident, his condition didn't seem so bad."
Ethan's face darkened.
The expression on his face showed concern and sadness for his friend.
In Paula's opinion, it looked very strange.
He felt someone else's grief as if it were his own.
[Is this what they call friends?]
[What? You pretended to be the only one in the world and you were scared when you had such a good friend.
Paula was a little surprised that her terrible master had such a friend.
" - Isabella, this time I have to see Vincent's face. If I go back, I think I will have trouble sleeping every night."
“I will prepare a room for you where you can stay.”
Isabella looked at Paula.
Paula nodded and left the living room.
" - Do you like it?"
“ - Almost everything.”
Vincent sighed and put the food in his mouth. The unique elegance of the aristocrat was felt in the way he chewed slowly, without making a sound.
Vincent recently started feeding himself. It was truly an amazing change. The day after that terrible night, as usual, she held the spoon in her hand out of politeness, and he slowly began to eat the rice. Paula was shocked to see this.
"Wow, what happened? Feeding in moderation really helped."
"You're squeezing your Adam's apple until it's choking. Aren't you tired and exhausted? If you eat like that, I feel like you'll choke and die someday."
“You joke really well.”
“I'm not joking.”
Well, not to that extent. Paula was grumbling inside, but she couldn't help but be touched by the scene of him eating rice. It was like when she tamed a street cat that appeared in front of Uncle Mark's bakery.
“Does it hurt anywhere?”
“- Shut your mouth before I kick you out.”
Although his character remained the same.
However, it was true that what was happening was an exciting change. However, the amount of food he ate was disappointing. Paula suggested cautiously, looking at the bowl of rice that wasn't even half empty.
“How about a little more?”
“I'm full.”
“A little more.”
“I'm full.”
Vincent frowned. Paula licked her lips regretfully and took the bowl.
“You need to take medicine, master.”
He calmly took the cup of medicine when she pulled and placed it on his palm.
The girl looked at him with delight. When he had emptied the bowl, she took something round from her pocket. She took the wrapper off the candy and placed it in his mouth.
" - What?"
" - This is candy. You always say that the medicine is bitter, so I brought some sweets because I thought it would be nice after taking the medicine."
“Am I a child?”
[Outwardly you may have grown up, but to me, inside, you are still a child.]
And yet Paula did not say these words...
“What happened to him?”
“Who are you talking about?”
“The one who came in the morning.”
“Ah, Ethan Christopher said that he would stay here for a few days. He said that he would like to see the master’s face.”
Then Vincent closed his eyes tightly. It was a face that had seen hell. In addition, he did not sigh often and even rubbed his face with both hands. Seeing him like this, Paula remembered the man from the past. He seemed genuinely concerned for Ethan, but she couldn't understand why the master hated him so much.
“Would you like to meet him?”
" - Don't. Never let him into the room."
Vincent removed his hands and lay down on the bed. Looking at him like this, Paula started talking about something she had been thinking about for a long time:
“Mister, you need to wash yourself.”
“-...”
But he turned away without answering. He didn't seem to want to wash at all as he squatted on the bed against the wall. The girl turned her gaze to his back and crept up to him, poking him on the nose. Then he frowned.
She grabbed his hand and placed it on her shoulder, helping him out of bed. Vincent, who was dragged along on a whim, soon twisted his body. A few days ago he was screaming and angry, but this time he asked in a surrendered voice:
“What are you doing.”
“You smell.”
She squeezed his hand. This time the girl could not let him go. It was the same smell she had smelled from the moment she first walked into the room. It was strange at first, and she ignored it in her haste to please him, but then she got used to it. At least she brought a wet towel and wiped the exposed areas like his face, neck and hands, but it was no use. Even today the stench was giving her a headache.
“ - When was the last time you washed? The stench stings my nose. If you don’t see anything, why don’t you wash yourself with the help of a servant?”
“Stop talking nonsense, take your hands off me.”
“Only if you wash yourself.”
As soon as she entered the master's room, she immediately went to the bathroom and filled the bath* with water. She was definitely going to wash it today. Vincent waved his hand, which lay on her shoulder, but it was not difficult to subdue the weak man. She grabbed his hand, which was lying on her shoulder, and put the other hand behind his back, grabbed him around the waist and led him into the bathroom. As if she were the lead horse, he was almost being dragged along like a carriage. Even at the moment when he entered the room and headed towards the bath, he continued to stubbornly resist.
(Bathtub* - meaning a bathing tank.)
As he approached the bathtub, she took his hand and made him touch her. He tripped over the bathtub and grabbed onto it tightly. Surprised, she grabbed his wrist, but the man refused to let her go.
He tried to get out of the bath and a power struggle ensued as she tried to hold him back.
The struggle for dominance continued for some time and ended when he lost his balance. The girl, still holding onto his shoulder with one hand, also fell.
Cotton!
Paula sank to the bathroom floor with a thud. When she turned around in surprise, Vincent was stuck in the bathtub. Soaked through, she made a surprised face, then shuddered with anger.
“...Are you okay?”
“You-you...”
Seeing that he couldn't speak, she was also speechless. Grabbing her hand, he struck her furiously. He then tried to get out of the bath himself. However, due to the water, he was unable to get up and fell back. Each time the water rose and washed over her. She didn't think he didn't need a bath anymore.
“-...”
Suddenly his attempts stopped. It was at this time that she watched him with alarm, without even knowing it. Suddenly there was the sound of a door opening. Footsteps were heard and Isabella entered the bathroom. She stopped when she saw Paula and Vincent in the bathroom.
It was clear from her face that she was a little surprised, but at the same time calm.
“I think next time you’d better take off your clothes.”
“-...
“ - I have to tell you something. I'll take care of the rest.
Then she looked at Paula. Paula arched her back and quickly turned around. She took the collected laundry and left the room.
I survived!
“Did I hear that Sir Ethan came?”
Asked Renica, who came to pick up the laundry from the laundry. Since they saw each other once a day, they had a simple conversation. Paula replied, looking at the things she had brought:
“Do you know him?”
"He is a friend of the Master. He is also the second son in the Christopher family."
“He must be a famous person.”
“He is famous. They are a high-ranking family compared to us servants, but he is good.”
Renika brought her hand to her face and waved it up and down.
Was he handsome? Well, he turned out to be great.
The girl saw that he was polite to servants like her.
“He seemed kind.”
" - Yes, he is kind. Why are people like us often ignored by our superiors? But Sir Ethan? He never ignores us and treats us kindly. That's why he is known among the maids as a very good man."
“-Okay...”
“I only saw him from afar. Wouldn’t it be great if you could get close to such a person at least once?”
Renika grinned, cupping her cheeks with both hands. She imagined Ethan talking to her and her face lit up with delight.
" - Ethan Christopher in the guest room in the annex. If you want to see him, can't you go and see him later? You can even casually say hello."
“Oh, no. We can’t go into the annex.”
Renika waved her hand and told her not to say such terrible things.
Paula opened her eyes wide.