Time of the Blind Beast - Chapter 54

“However, my husband wasn’t able to open a medical practice. Instead, he changed fields and now works in a laboratory.”

Only now did Rose understand why Paulina was so fixated on performing only ophthalmic surgeries. It was to heal her husband’s eyes.

“He got hurt while coming in to save me, so I intend to take full responsibility for his eyes with my own hands. That means I can’t afford to overlook even the tiniest detail about the human eye. That’s why I’ve never taken on other patients and have only treated eye-related conditions. People say my career path is unusual, but they still come to me when they injure their eyes. When I was at my busiest, I performed five or six surgeries a day. I haven’t been a doctor for a long time, but at least in this field, I believe I’m not inferior to others with decades of experience. That must be the reason Dr. Brehman recommended me for this case.”

After hearing everything, Rose no longer even noticed the burn scars that marred Paulina’s face.

Her heart felt heavy as she looked at Paulina.

So this is what they mean by a “noble” person. Rose felt endlessly ashamed of her past self, who had come to this house claiming she was atoning for her sins.

And she was envious.

Though both women bore a sense of responsibility for the eyes of the man they loved, Paulina desperately awaited the day she could operate on her husband, while Rose was someone who had to flee the moment Ezekiel’s vision returned.

“In fact, surgeries outside of ophthalmology are nearly impossible because patients often react negatively to me. Well, given how my face looks, it’s understandable. Miss Rose, you didn’t say anything about my face, but not everyone in the world is as considerate. Still, patients with poor eyesight can’t see the doctor’s face, so they receive my surgeries without any prejudice.”

“Ah… I…”

Rose’s lips parted slightly.

A considerate person, she said…

Simply because Rose didn’t react to the sight of her burn scars, Paulina considered her thoughtful. Madam Serva always said she was a sincere and kind young lady, and Dr. Brehman said she was meticulous and capable.

And Ezekiel… this man had practically viewed her as an angel or saint who descended to save his ruined life.

But all of that was just a mask she wore to stay by Ezekiel’s side.

She had to be seen as considerate, sincere, kind, meticulous, and capable to be needed by him. She’d simply done her best to show only her good sides. In reality, she was full of deceit and not all that kind or selfless.

Seeing Paulina made it clear.

She didn’t deserve to be here.

To have blinded Ezekiel and still shamelessly lingered by his side—she felt like a monster without shame.

Compared to Paulina, who had devoted herself to eye surgery with the sole intent of healing her husband’s vision, Rose’s motivations for staying close, driven by a desire to atone, felt cowardly and pathetic.

She didn’t know how to describe this feeling.

After much hesitation, Rose ended up asking an entirely unrelated question.

“…Even though so much time has passed since the accident, is he still waiting for the surgery?”

“Of course.”

“Is that possible?”

“Even if it’s not, I’ll make it possible. I’m not just his wife—I’m his doctor. As long as the patient holds onto hope and refuses to give up, the doctor must never be the first to quit on them.”

Whether it was truly possible or just a hope she clung to was unclear, but Paulina’s answer carried the conviction of someone who had made it her mission as a doctor.

If anyone could restore Ezekiel’s vision and return the world to him, it would be a doctor like this.

That was the feeling Rose had.

***

Merlot appeared with his head wrapped in bandages, hidden beneath a fedora.

The errand boy, who had been lurking around the estate since early morning, summoned Rose outside and bowed his head in embarrassment the moment she appeared.

“I really have no excuse. I’m truly sorry. And thank you for helping me that day.”

Just the other day he’d been accusing her of hiding something, and now, after being clobbered by Ezekiel with a stone, he looked thoroughly deflated.

Watching her carefully, Merlot began to explain.

“I was just so frustrated with how everything was going. I wanted to overhear what you and Lord Ezekiel were talking about. That’s all. I was crouched beneath the wall near the bedroom, and then suddenly you came out for a walk.”

It was an outrageous thing to say. What did he think men and women did in a bedroom, barging in like that in the middle of the night to eavesdrop on a private conversation?

Even in the surge of anger, Rose was relieved that they had only gone for a walk without any serious conversation. And thinking of how Merlot had been trapped in the garden for an hour and a half without a chance to escape, it felt like he’d simply brought the suffering upon himself, making it hard to fault him.

On top of that, he hadn’t just waited—he tried to sneak away while avoiding Ezekiel and Rose’s movements, only to be caught by Ezekiel and have his head cracked open. He’d already paid more than enough for his actions.

“I was really shocked. How could he aim a stone so accurately at me? At first, I thought I’d been shot. I thought I was going to die, it felt so murderous.”

Rose let out a short sigh, sorting through her tangled emotions, then glanced at Merlot’s head.

“Your injury—was it serious?”

“They say head wounds bleed a lot even if they’re minor. It looks bad, but I’m alright.”

“I hope you recover quickly.”

“Yes… I figured it might be suspicious if I kept coming to the estate looking like this, so I plan to lay low until I’m fully healed.”

That was wise. Since that day, the servants under Ezekiel’s orders had been keeping a close eye out for anyone looking unwell passing near the estate.

“Anyway, the surgery is tomorrow, right? So the day finally came. I heard the surgeon is already in the house. I tried to snoop a bit out of curiosity, but I didn’t catch even a glimpse.”

Perhaps because of the noticeable burn scars, Paulina mostly stayed in the guest room reading or took walks in the garden only when no one was around, except during mealtimes.

There was even a time they crossed paths in the middle of the thickly wooded garden late at night. Rose, unaware that Paulina was nearby, had been in the middle of a deep kiss with Ezekiel when she noticed a tall female silhouette. She nearly screamed in shock. Had Ezekiel not sensed it and quickly covered her mouth with his lips, she might have shrieked and woken every servant sleeping on the third floor of the estate.

“I didn’t see anything. Really, I saw nothing, so don’t worry.”

After Paulina awkwardly disappeared, Rose wore a distressed expression.

“Why weren’t you surprised, Major?”

“You didn’t know?”

“Isn’t it weirder that you did?”

“What’s weird is not knowing.”

Ezekiel replied teasingly, “You don’t often find someone whose every movement is so ostentatiously noisy, do you? I hear her husband is blind, but she seems to move noisily on purpose—stomping around like she wants everyone to know where she is.”

“I had no idea. Most people aren’t that sensitive to others’ presence. If you knew the doctor was nearby, then how…”

How could he have been touching her and intertwining their tongues without a care? Rose had always tried to carry herself carefully until now. Even now, because of their extended affection that had started in the bedroom, the front of her clothes was half undone. As she hurriedly straightened herself, blushing, she abruptly swallowed her complaint.

Because even this flustering moment might someday become something she missed.

Because she might someday regret this moment of what now felt like spoiled whining.

“Anyway, with two doctors on the surgery, I believe it will go well. It must. I wish for its success. For the Major’s sake, and for Valdemaira’s sake.”

Merlot, at least, didn’t pretend to say it was for Rose’s sake. He knew. That Ezekiel’s recovery would be misfortune for Rose.

Rose hadn’t expected anything beyond that.

“Yes, I think it will. Dr. Brehman introduced us to a very capable doctor.”

“Yeah, from what I found out, that doctor is very well respected.”

Rose nodded calmly.

He was the man who served as Valdemaira’s eyes and ears. It wasn’t surprising that he’d quietly looked into Dr. Brehman.

Merlot said, “The reason I came today is… I had a feeling this might be the last time I’d see you, miss. So I wanted to say goodbye in advance.”

Suddenly, a chill ran through her.

Ah. So that’s why he came.

In an instant, the reason the errand boy had come all the way in his injured state to find her became clear.

This was a kind of warning. A warning from Valdemaira that once Ezekiel regained his sight, there would be no place for a maid by his side.