Time of the Blind Beast - Chapter 104

Madam Serva’s funeral was held quietly among those who remembered her. Lisanne could not attend, but Anna, whose life had been saved by Madam Serva, attended and cried until her eyes were swollen. Lisanne, left alone in the bedroom, was cared for by Paulina.

After the funeral, Ezekiel quickly dealt with the postponed matters. First, he issued an expulsion order to Merlot, who had been under house arrest. Initially, he had intended a far harsher punishment when the man was first apprehended, but as the whereabouts of the errand boy he had used so comfortably became uncertain, his father, having learned the circumstances, intervened.

“He deceived you under my orders. So what, are you going to retaliate against me too?”

It wasn’t entirely wrong. Merlot had deceived Ezekiel, not his actual master, the father. If anything, his obedience to orders had backfired on both Lisanne and Ezekiel.

Paulina’s view—that a servant’s safety depended on having a sensible master—also influenced Ezekiel’s judgment. Besides, even Lisanne herself had never truly tried to hide the fact that she was Rose. Ezekiel couldn’t say he didn’t understand how Merlot had so few choices.

More than anything, his subconscious had already warned him. He himself had seen Lisanne, with her red hair and green eyes.

If guilt were to be assigned, everyone had contributed a little.

When Merlot heard Ezekiel’s decree never to return to Claris or set foot in Valdemaira again, he actually looked relieved. He must not have had the resolve to remain in the main house after falling out of favor with its future heir.

By the time Ezekiel had rushed through the backlogged tasks, the sun had already set. It was time to return to the bedroom, check if Lisanne had fallen asleep properly, and prepare to endure another long night.

However, Ezekiel remained in his office a while longer. The errand runner who had gone to the northern camp to retrieve Lisanne’s parents had returned alone.

When Ezekiel finally opened the bedroom door after wrapping up all his duties, Lisanne was already asleep. Anna, who had been keeping watch after switching shifts with Paulina per Ezekiel’s instruction never to leave Lisanne alone, rose quietly and whispered her report.

“She drank some sleep tea and just fell asleep. I told her the funeral went smoothly. She looked sad, but thankfully didn’t cry. She seemed physically okay, too. …Well then, I’ll take my leave.”

Lifting her heels, Anna tiptoed out of the bedroom.

Ezekiel quietly looked down at Lisanne, curled up uncomfortably in her sleep. Even with someone familiar from Derosa at her side, Lisanne’s sleeping posture showed no signs of change. He wanted to gently straighten her hunched shoulders and rounded back, but he was reluctant to touch her for fear of waking her.

…Still, it seemed she had read a little.

Ezekiel picked up the book left open and facedown. Perhaps she had been reading just before falling asleep; Lisanne, who normally kept her surroundings tidy, had uncharacteristically left the book at her bedside. Catching a glimpse of her ordinary routine like this brought him a strange sense of relief.

Come to think of it, Lisanne had once been the older sister who cared for younger girls at school and a diligent worker at the Derosa estate who helped her peers or built walking paths. But lately, her days had been no different from that of a still life. Even beside Anna, she seemed relaxed enough, yet whenever he appeared, her energy would suddenly fade. Each time he sensed the shift in her demeanor, Ezekiel couldn’t help but recall the message she had left him.

I don’t want to receive treatment.

I already know what I’m supposed to say.

But I’m not confident I can say it.

The feelings Paulina had conveyed from Lisanne were even more constraining than Ezekiel had imagined. Aside from checking in on her well-being, there was little else he felt allowed to say. And since even daily life was still a struggle for her, he had to be careful not to bring up heavy topics.

“Lisanne, the greenhouse is full of flowers. Don’t you want to see them?”

“Lisanne, have you ever raised a cat or a dog?”

Whenever Ezekiel sat by the bed and offered his carefully prepared suggestions, Lisanne would avert her eyes or clutch the edge of the blanket. Classic signs of tension and guardedness. In those moments, she looked like a piece of furniture misplaced in the wrong room.

So Ezekiel had Paulina bring her a few light novels. That way, if she ever needed an excuse to escape the discomfort of his presence, she could pretend to be engrossed in a book.

Fortunately, it seemed the books he’d selected suited her taste. Lisanne had folded some corners, showing signs of having read them.

Relieved, Ezekiel slid a bookmark between the pages and placed the book on the bedside table.

Beside it sat a teacup Lisanne had apparently left unfinished. The familiar bitter herbal scent of the sleep tea lingered.

She now drank the sleep tea he once used to down like water. Paulina recommended it, saying its sedative effect also calmed the mind. Since Ezekiel had never felt much from the tea himself, he had tilted his head at her advice and asked:

“Even when I drank sleep tea, it never worked on me. Does it affect Rose differently? Does lemon tea have a similar effect?”

At the Derosa estate, Lisanne had often brought him lemon tea, saying it would help with his insomnia. The memory surfaced so vividly that he mentioned it without thinking, and this time, Paulina tilted her head in confusion.

“Lemon tea? This is the first I’ve heard of it.”

“Really? Then who usually drinks lemon tea?”

“People concerned about skin care drink it often. Oh, and when there’s an excess of lemons, they’re frequently used to make tea, since it’s a good way to use them up.”

Ezekiel nearly let out a hollow laugh at the mention of skin care but fell silent again at Paulina’s continued explanation.

“Women who must not get pregnant sometimes use the lemon rind for contraception, and the leftover parts are used in food or tea.”

“Contraception? With lemons?”

“It used to be dismissed as an old wives’ tale, but so many have seen results that it’s spread quietly by word of mouth. In fact, the living proof is… the Major’s…”

He didn’t hear the rest.

She must have been constantly on edge. Disguising her appearance for fear of being found out, terrified of the revenge that might strike at any moment, yet desperately hiding her fear.

She must have thought it a hopeless relationship.

Terrified of pregnancy, relying on lemons for contraception, secretly using his insomnia as an excuse to brew lemon tea for him, then casually offering it to him as if nothing was wrong…

Lisanne, what must you have been feeling?

She tried not to get pregnant, and yet miscarried the child of the man who eventually mocked her. How painful that must have been.

As he looked down at the sleeping Lisanne, he found himself revisiting all the days she had endured alone. He could turn it over again and again, and it would never end.

Ezekiel reached toward the fragile, crumbling Lisanne with a dazed expression.

Lisanne, what must I do to draw you back to me?

He had placed a small hope in her parents. If they returned safely, perhaps Lisanne would regain a bit of strength. At least until the errand boy came trudging back empty-handed.

“Why are you alone? What about Lisanne’s parents?”

“Well…”

“They’re dead? Both of them?”

“No, sir.”

“Then what is it?”

The errand boy, clearly troubled, began to speak.

“When I arrived, tuberculosis was spreading through the camp. That day alone, I saw three bodies of people who had died coughing and spitting blood.”

“Tuberculosis?”

Ezekiel was familiar with the disease nicknamed the white death. A nearly incurable illness, where the body wasted away, the face turned pale, and the patient eventually died coughing blood.

“Are they infected?”

“The guards said they weren’t sure. But since they were in the same room as patients, there’s a chance they were exposed. It seemed dangerous to bring them into the estate, so I left them in the carriage for now.”

From that moment, Ezekiel moved quickly. He summoned a doctor to consult on the situation and had Lisanne’s parents, who were quarantined in the carriage, relocated to an unused guest house far from the servant quarters. Everyone who entered or exited the guest house, including the doctor and the staff, was instructed to cover their faces to guard against infection.

After seeing the parents from a distance, the doctor returned to Ezekiel to deliver his report.

“We’ll have to observe them longer to confirm signs of tuberculosis. It’s too soon to say anything for certain.”

“If they really have tuberculosis, can it be treated?”

“Well… there’s no definitive cure for tuberculosis. People who recover tend to be large and robust. Eating high-quality meals every day and staying somewhere clean and warm, that’s about the only treatment.”

“Can Lisanne see them briefly?”

“That would be dangerous. She hasn’t fully recovered her strength. If she catches tuberculosis, her life could be at risk.”

A sharp headache crept in.

He had found her parents, yet couldn’t even tell Lisanne. If she learned that her parents, taken to the perilous northern camp, might have contracted an incurable disease, she would become even more despondent.

Even imagining it made his heart ache. He needed a sedative.

Ezekiel took out his emergency medicine and added a few drops into the sleep tea Lisanne had left behind. Just as he reached to lift the cup, he hesitated.

Lisanne was right-handed, so she would’ve hooked her index finger through the handle and cupped the round body of the teacup with her other hand.

He mimicked her grip exactly—right index finger through the handle, left hand encircling the cup. Then he pressed his lips to the spot where hers had touched. Tilting the cup, the cooled, bitter mixture flowed into his mouth.

The moment he drained the medicated tea in one go and lowered the cup from his lips…

Lisanne, now awake, was silently watching him.