The Count's Strange Guest (6)
But she couldn't say it directly to his face.
" - How are you?"
" - Unexpectedly. I thought you would be upset."
“Someone who knew another person’s secret continued to threaten him?”
“Did that seem like a threat?”
“If another person forces you to do something you don’t want, that’s no different from a threat.”
[I know this is arrogant, but let's consider it a threat.]
“Yes, this is a threat.”
Ethan had the nerve to admit it.
Terrible guy.
“You are a bad guy.”
“-...”
He saw right through all her thoughts and squinted. Paula pretended not to know and wiped the window.
" - I'm serious, lady. That's why I came to this mansion. I couldn't just idly watch from the sidelines as my friend, Count Bellunity, fell apart. To be precise, it would have been a waste of life."
Paula sighed and looked at him again. Ethan continued.
"My words may seem cold, but Vincent is in a position where he has no choice but to make this decision. For the sake of Vincent's safety, this state of affairs is a problem that I cannot accept. I do not want him to continue like this. Before we became friends, we also acted in the interests of our own families."
Ethan smiled slyly. He didn't seem to be the same one who looked at Vincent's condition and was still sad. The man looked like a really bad person. Does this mean that he did this on purpose?
“I hope the lady will calm Vincent down so he can leave the room.”
“I don’t have such strength.”
“Well, I think you have enough power.”
“I’m very flattered.”
Paula nodded and returned her attention to cleaning the window. Laughter came from behind. She pretended she didn't hear it and continued doing her work.
After cleaning the floor, she laid out the cleaning supplies. Then she checked the time and headed to the office. I had to choose a book to read to Vincent today.
Ethan followed her.
[Why do you keep following me?]
[Relax.]
He didn't care if she showed any signs of discomfort. Eventually, Ethan followed her into the office, looked inside and asked.
" - What are you doing?"
“I’m going to choose a book.”
“Will you read?”
“I'm going to read it to my master.”
Ethan's eyes widened. Paula walked over to the bookcase where the fairy tale books were kept and looked through the titles. Last time she decided to put everything in one box, but she had already read them all. It didn't take long to read because the content of the books was short.
Fortunately, Vincent allowed me to read the book. This could also be considered one of the victories. He didn't express dislike for the dull content of the stories as he had done at first, and he no longer acted as if he didn't want to hear it. The man simply listened calmly and from time to time pointed out her pronunciation and breathing.
[ - Too fast. I can't keep up with it.]
[- Oh, I'm so sorry.]
[ - You must read each letter clearly. You have to imagine the story in your head to understand its essence. I want you to be able to recreate this scene in your head.]
[- I will try.]
Reading alone and reading to others were definitely different. Her eyes read letters faster than her mouth, and all the while she draws pictures in her head and imagines. But not him. He must connect the pieces and understand the essence of the words based on her speech, as if putting them together, like a puzzle.
She claimed that she could read books simply because she could, but that too was not an easy task. Taking a real book to tease him was definitely a good idea. True, I had to listen dozens of times to him pointing at something, telling the entire content of this short story.
“Are you going to read this to Vincent?”
“-Yes.”
“Is Vincent just listening...?”
" - At first he refused, but in recent days he listens calmly. I have already read him a book of fairy tales before, but this time I’m thinking of doing it a little differently."
“-...”
She was going to change the book with fairy tales. So, as she looked at the books on the top shelf, the one with children's stories, she felt a tingling sensation on her cheek. Turning around, she noticed how Ethan made a strange grimace. His face gradually distorted and became tearful, and the corners of his mouth twitched. At that moment.
“- Ahahahahahahahphahahahp”
There was loud laughter.
Paula stared at Ethan with wide eyes. Ethan clutched his stomach and laughed.
“He listens to a children’s book with such pride, haha. Phahahahaha.”
Ethan squatted down and laughed. He couldn't stop laughing at her questioning look. Paula didn't know what made him laugh so much, but she shrugged and looked away. What she felt while watching Ethan until now was that the man was a very strange person. And the thoughts of this strange man were initially difficult to understand.
The book she was going to read to Vincent today was in her hands. She carefully selected the best among the many, opening them one by one, studying long and short sentences.
“I think this book is much better.”
Ethan, who had stopped laughing before she realized, took out a book and held it out to her. Looking at the title, she thought it was some kind of adventure story. The book was not very thin or thick, so it would be useful for Vincent to listen to it.
“This is the book Vincent read when he was young.”
“-Ah.”
Until now, they were connected only by family interests. In the end, it seems like a friend is still a friend. Seeing that Ethan knew Vincent's tastes well, Paula bowed her head, thanked him, and politely accepted the book.
" - Vincent loves adventure novels and the like. He's been reading adventure stories like crazy since he was a kid. He especially read stories about adventures to faraway lands. He doesn't like romance stories. He doesn't even look at it because he finds stuff like that too boring."
“Thank you. I will refer to this information when choosing the next book.”
“I will be grateful.”
[What?]
When she looked up, Ethan was smiling tenderly, which was rare. It was not a dark look sent to seduce the other person, but a look of relief that contained pure joy.
“I’m glad that he has a maid like you next to him.”
[What does this mean?]
“Read fairy tales to Vincent.”
Fairy tales.
[Why?]
He bowed his head, covering the laughter that was about to burst out again with his hand.
"What do you think, lady? Can Vincent leave the room?"
“Well, how dare I understand the deep feelings of the owner.”
“Maybe we can make a bet?”
The proposal seemed too sudden.
“- Dispute?”
When asked in surprise, Ethan continued.
“If you make Vincent leave the room, I will fulfill your wish.”
Ethan took a step closer and extended his hand. Paula shook her head, looking at her hand.
“- Sir Christopher. I don’t know why you are telling me this, but as I said recently, I don’t have such opportunities. I’m just a maid, how can I make my master leave the room like this?”
The room was his only place of rest, so the man did not want to leave it. No, he won't even get out of bed. Of course, this could not go on forever; it is not easy to have such expectations.
“So, this is a bet between me and the maid.”
He grabbed her hand. The man did not change his face, even when he held her thin hand. No, rather, he got carried away, as if he didn’t want to let go.
"I want you to agree. For Vincent's sake."
“Why are you doing this to me?”
“I think you are simply the most understanding person here.”
[What do you mean?]
She was annoyed and tried to shake off the caught hand, but he tensed his strength and refused to let go. The strong grip pressed and made my hands go numb. She frowned at him.
“Let me go.”
“Can I count on you, lady?”
“What if I refuse?”
“I hope you don’t do this. I want to remain a good person for you.”
Now he was clearly threatening. Even though she was embarrassed, he smiled as if nothing had happened.
" - Since this is a bet, there must be an assumption that I will win. Well, if I win, then...”
His eyes looked away. He seemed to think for a moment before looking at her again. With widened eyes, he placed a kiss on the back of her hand, just like when he first came here.
“You will have to offer your head.”
[Damn it.]
His hand pretended to cut her throat. A mischievous smile was the face of a terrible villain.
(pp.: I can’t understand. Is he really crazy or pretending to be?)
[Why me? Why me? I'm just a maid who came to serve my master.]
Ethan just smiled happily when he saw her shocked face. Now the man's smiling face seemed terrible to her.
Who said he was a nice person?!
He pretended to be friendly, but the reality was that the man was an unknown person. She couldn't understand why he had come all this way and threatened to announce to Vincent that he had lost his sight, and why he had offered her such a ridiculous bet.
Is he trying to help Vincent or is he asking him to help himself?
This confusion led the girl to Vincent.
“Mister.”
Vincent remained silent throughout the entire reading of the book. Listening to her voice, leaning his back against the wall, he was especially quiet today. She couldn't see the expression he was making because it was covered by his hair. His slumped shoulders looked weak.
The book she brought with her was useless. Seeing that he looked weak, she also lost strength.
“Mister?”
She called, but he still didn't say anything.
" - Don't be discouraged. There must be a way out."
“-...Don’t talk nonsense.”
Finally there was some kind of reaction.
The voice she heard was so depressing. The look was unfamiliar. It would be better if he screamed or got angry as usual. If a man continues in the same spirit, his heart may not stand it.
"What's wrong? You can show how hard you're trying."
" - How can I demonstrate this? Do you want me to show how I fall on the floor and feel pain? Then I will show you as many times as you want."
“Mister.”
“You’re just saying to show others what state I’m in.”
He covered his face with his hands. The shriveled body was aware of its condition and suffered.
Sadness overwhelmed him again.
“Don't cry.”
“I'm not crying.”
“-...”
Vincent exhaled forcefully. Paula was afraid he would have another attack. He was vulnerable, so she worried whenever this happened.
[-You will have to offer your head.]
Moreover, she was worried that the bet was made under pressure from Ethan.
Finally, after grumbling, Paula turned to look at him. She quietly lowered herself to look the man in the face. He didn't cry like he said. But his body looked rather pitiful.
“Let's think together about how to do this.”