Time of the Blind Beast - Chapter 36

“It’s fine. What does it matter?”

“Still… won’t I be kicked out for disrespect once you become the mistress? I’ve only just started enjoying my work.”

“…No, that won’t happen.”

“It’s kind of strange. In this estate, once someone catches the master’s eye, it’s easy for them to naturally take the role of mistress, but you don’t show any sign of that at all. Instead, you just find work to do every day, so everyone hesitated at first, wondering how to treat you, but eventually, we just accepted that you’re the same Rose we’ve always known.”

Rose lowered her gaze to hide the complex emotions she couldn’t put into words. No one in this estate knew how precarious and dangerous her future was.

“Well, it’s not like you have a choice when the master only calls for you. It’s either you or Madam Serva, just the two of you by his side. He never engages in personal conversation with the rest of us. Ah, I should get going. If I dawdle too much, I’ll get scolded.”

Noticing the eyes of the other busy servants around her, Anna finally got up, seeming wary of chatting for too long.

As Rose watched her leave, she continued slicing the remaining lemons. She skillfully hid the peels and cleaned up the area when she suddenly felt a lingering gaze on her.

It was that man.

The unfamiliar man who had supposedly come to deliver fruit.

He removed his hat and greeted her, his movements oddly refined. Rose hesitated for a moment before offering a composed bow in return. Though nothing particularly unusual had happened, she felt an inexplicable sense of unease and hurriedly finished her task before leaving the kitchen.

***

A reply arrived from Dr. Brehman. After reviewing the detailed recovery records Rose had sent, he agreed with Ezekiel’s assessment that the treatment could proceed and specified a date for his visit.

The wait was short. Time passed quickly, and before she knew it, the long-anticipated day arrived, laden with a mix of expectations, worries, and anxieties.

Dr. Brehman arrived carrying his familiar medical bag. Rose led him to the drawing room.

“Miss, you should wait here.”

This was the first time. She had never been apart from Ezekiel during his medical examinations before, but now that they were beginning the full detox treatment, outsiders were no longer permitted.

Even so, Rose remained just beyond the threshold. She paced the hallway outside the drawing room, anxiously awaiting the conclusion of the doctor’s treatment.

She had reached this day without knowing what to do or how to prepare. She had spent the time worrying endlessly, trembling with unspeakable fear, and waiting helplessly for others to determine the outcome.

The dim corridor made it difficult to track the passage of time. Rose strained her ears, trying to discern what was happening inside through the faint sounds of movement.

Anxiety gnawed at her breath, making her feel as if time were flowing in strange, distorted waves. Finally, she heard the sound of the doctor packing up his bag. The moment his shadow flickered across the doorway, Rose quickly stepped forward.

“Did the treatment go well?”

“Well, why don’t you come closer and see for yourself?”

Dr. Brehman gestured toward the room.

Rose turned her head immediately, first checking Ezekiel’s condition. He was leaning back in his chair, his eyes closed.

She hesitantly approached him. The barely audible sound of her footfalls made Ezekiel slowly open his eyes. His sharp gaze stirred a faint sense of familiarity.

“…Major.”

The moment she called out to him, Rose immediately regretted it.

A clear light flickered in the irises that had long lost their focus.

His gaze no longer wandered aimlessly in the void. With distinct clarity, he looked directly at her. Only now did Rose fully realize how much his blindness had distorted his presence. His furrowed brow was both piercing and striking.

He slowly closed his eyes again. Then opened them. Once. Twice. Three times.

Each time his pupils and irises disappeared behind his eyelids, then reappeared, the certainty in them grew stronger.

They were eyes that remembered her.

Even without asking, she knew.

“So, here you were.”

A chillingly cold voice brushed against her ears.

“Do you know how long I’ve been searching for you?”

A foreboding sense of dread crawled up her spine. Rose opened her mouth to speak, to say something, anything. She was even prepared to kneel and beg.

But for some reason, no sound came out.

“And to think, I had you right in front of me this whole time without knowing. So, tell me, was the deception enjoyable?”

Gone was the Ezekiel who had once called her name with the tenderness of handling a delicate flower. That man no longer existed.

A chilling sense of murderous intent scraped against her skin. Rose took a step back, but Ezekiel’s hands were faster.

“I want to kill you right this instant. I should kill you. How should I kill you? I’ve imagined every possible way in my head hundreds of times.”

The grip of the enraged man mercilessly strangled her neck. The shock of her breath being cut off made her vision suddenly flicker.

Rose awoke with a violent start, making the bed jolt. Cold sweat drenched her back. She gasped for air.

Where did reality end, and the dream begin?

Her heart pounded wildly, like a fish pulled from water. Pressing down on her aching chest, she tried to steady herself. It took a moment to reorient her thoughts.

Ah, she remembered now. Everything up to receiving Dr. Brehman’s letter, confirming his upcoming visit, was real.

And yet, every detail of leading Dr. Brehman down the solemn hallway—the dim colors, the temperature and humidity of the air, even the faintest scent—had been so vivid. If someone told her she had truly experienced it, she would have believed them.

“…Rose?”

She had been so visibly shaken that she had woken Ezekiel, who lay beside her.

“What’s wrong? Did you have a nightmare?”

Rose managed to turn her stiffened neck slightly to look at him. His eyes, unfocused, wandered subtly around where her face should be.

But his hands were different. Larger than most men’s by a knuckle, thick and strong, his hands easily found her trembling figure.

The moment his fingers grasped her forearm, instinctively, she shoved his hand away.

A sharp clap rang out from the impact.

“Ah…”

She hadn’t meant to do that. Even though Ezekiel had yet to react, Rose immediately froze.

“It was an accident. You startled me when you touched me suddenly…”

She couldn’t bring herself to say she had just dreamed of him strangling her. Even more so, she couldn’t admit that seeing his hand made her instinctively recoil in the sheer terror of death.

Even now, the nightmare clung to her. The hands that had squeezed her throat with all their might—they had felt more like weapons than human flesh.

“Rose, when my sight returns, the first thing I’ll see will be your face.”

At the time, she had handled those words with calm composure. Though she had been internally shaken, she hadn’t let him notice.

But in the depths of the night, where reason blurred and emotions took hold, the fear she had buried resurfaced, taking shape in her dreams.

“Do you know how long I’ve been searching for you?”

A chill ran down her spine.

It was terrifying because it was something he could genuinely say.

Was this really just a dream? Or was it a premonition? Had she caught a glimpse of an inevitable future?

She knew it was a foolish thought, yet she couldn’t shake the memory of his expression, his tone when he had finally found her. The vividness refused to fade.

“Did a ghost appear in your dream? Your hands are like ice, Rose.”

Ezekiel, unfazed, took her hand. This time, Rose let him.

A man who had never feared nightmares wouldn’t understand. He lacked the imagination for it. He was not a frightened child who saw phantoms lurking in the dark.

And yet, she almost wished it had been a ghost.

If it were just a childish nightmare, she could throw herself into his arms and admit she was scared.

“…I had a dream where everything returned to its rightful place.”

“Everything?”

In the dream, he had regained his sight, and she had paid for her sins.

Yes, it was a dream where everything was set back in order.

“Yes. You returned to where you belong, and I… to where I belong.”

“And where is my place?” Ezekiel asked.

Rose inhaled deeply.

“Valdemaira.”

If there was a single word to define his life, it was Valdemaira. Losing Valdemaira had sent him plummeting to this distant place.

“That’s what your dream was about?”

Ezekiel let out a short laugh.

“In your dream, did I abandon you after returning to Valdemaira?”

Rose hesitated.

Abandon was a mild way to put it. The truth was, he had killed her. Or at least, he had tried to.

He could never imagine the outcome her dream had foretold.

“…Yes.”

She had to choose her words carefully. Be as cautious as possible. Leave room for ambiguity.

“I didn’t realize you had so little trust in me.”

Even as he scoffed, he looked somewhat displeased.

Ezekiel firmly added, “That could never happen. Unless you betray me first, I will never abandon you.”