Time of the Blind Beast - Chapter 60

“No one knows when or how she disappeared… no one saw a thing.”

Even Madam Serva couldn’t conceal her bewilderment.

Rose, who had been with Ezekiel until the night before, had vanished without a trace by the next morning. After frantically turning over the bedroom, Ezekiel and Madam Serva discovered that the window in the adjoining room where Rose had stayed wasn’t locked. The black curtains customarily drawn in the mansion had, it seemed, shielded Rose’s retreating figure all night as she slipped out through the window.

Had she disappeared along with some of the mansion’s valuables, they might have accepted that she had chosen wealth over love. Of course, it would’ve been entirely out of character for Rose, based on everything they’d known of her, but at least they would have been able to guess her motive.

But Rose had taken only the few belongings she had brought with her. She hadn’t touched a single item belonging to the mansion.

Which made it all the more difficult to accept.

“Rose.”

She had always been by his side like a shadow. Since she had come into his life, there had not been a single moment when he didn’t feel her presence. And now, no matter how many times he called her name, there was no answer.

…Rose.

He wanted to ask.

Rose, what happened to you? Why did you suddenly have to leave? Since when had you been planning this?

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

“Just wait a little longer, Rose. I’ll see you soon.”

He couldn’t even begin to imagine what kind of expression Rose had worn while he had been alone, anticipating and hoping for the future.

He was utterly disgusted with himself for believing he knew everything about her.

Ezekiel pulled out the diamond ring he had been carrying in his pocket, still in its box.

It was the ring he had unconsciously taken with him just before running out of the mansion to chase after the vanished Rose.

He had planned to slip it onto her finger the moment he found her at Milena Girls’ School.

Before asking any questions—or, if she seemed unwilling to explain—without asking anything at all. Just placing the ring on her hand and taking her back with him.

But the ring had never met its owner. And now, he didn’t even know where she was.

Ezekiel stood still, staring down at the ring that had lost its owner. The red diamond sparkled brilliantly, cruelly beautiful. He pictured the slender finger that would have worn the ring, then clenched the gem so tightly in his palm it hurt.

Rose, no matter how much I think about it, I don’t understand you.

If you were going to leave me like this, without a word, then you shouldn’t have given me that love.

You shouldn’t have taught me what love is.

You shouldn’t have devoted yourself to me.

You should’ve taken some time for yourself.

You shouldn’t have made me think—even for a moment—that you’d always stay by my side.

But the truth was, he had already received her love, her devotion, and come to know what it was to be loved.

And even if it had been nothing more than a delusion, he didn’t want to go back.

Wherever she was, he would find her.

Yes, he would find her.

As long as she was a real, living person, she had to be somewhere in Astrie.

She had always been the kind of woman who shrank back in awareness of their difference in social standing. Since she had no idea he had been preparing to propose in secret, she might have misinterpreted the rapidly approaching date of his surgery as an uncertain future.

If that were the case, then all he had to do was clear up the misunderstanding and give her reassurance.

Or perhaps she had come to repay the debt of being rescued during the school siege, but had witnessed him acting violently and decided he was not the kind of man she could entrust her life to…

Ezekiel quickly began counting his wrongs.

He could think of several. Like the time he had failed to recognize Rose’s goodwill and, suspecting her of being a spy sent by Akenaus, treated her harshly. Or the time he had shoved her roughly as she walked blindly down the corridor in an effort to help him—those memories pricked at his chest like thorns.

The one who had tried to poison him had been someone else. Yet it had been innocent Rose who bore the brunt of his wrath. She was a woman who kept things to herself, so she hadn’t shown it outwardly, but surely, deep down, she had been hurt.

He hadn’t even properly apologized to her. He had thought the matter was over. He had assumed Rose understood why he had been so suspicious and on edge, and had left it at that.

Now, he could only realize how selfish he had been in her eyes.

What a pathetic man he was.

Not once had he shown Rose a truly dependable version of himself.

Ezekiel ground his teeth.

So now, give me a chance to prove what kind of man I can be.

He would apologize for the things that had disappointed her.

He would correct the things that made him unreliable.

He would listen to the things she wanted to say, and not press on what she didn’t.

And he would do only one thing—secure a promise that she would never leave him again.

Now that his sight had returned, he was confident he wouldn’t lose her again.

Ezekiel climbed back onto his horse.

***

Even though a miracle had occurred with the return of the blind master’s sight, the Valdemaira mansion in Derosa remained sunk in silent desolation.

It was because fortune and misfortune had cunningly tripped each other up. For a while, as Ezekiel became wholly absorbed in Rose, the atmosphere had relaxed, but in the past few days, it had rapidly frozen over.

Rose’s disappearance had come as a massive shock even to the servants who had worked alongside her. Without any hint or sign, Rose had vanished without a trace after faithfully, affectionately, and attentively caring for Ezekiel up until the very last day.

“I was just starting to enjoy work again, and now this—what a bolt from the blue.”

Coming out after her meeting with Madam Serva, Anna clutched her hair in frustration. Even Anna, who had been closest to Rose, hadn’t expected such an outcome at all.

Had she ever gotten a strange feeling from Rose? Had Rose ever said anything secretive? Throughout the barrage of questioning, the only answer Anna gave was that she knew “nothing at all.”

She really didn’t know anything.

That girl—Rose—hadn’t said a word. And no matter how close she and Rose had been, she could never have known more than the master who had shared a bed with her. If the master hadn’t noticed anything, how could she?

And since Rose’s absence, several changes had occurred in the mansion.

The biggest change was undoubtedly the complete removal of all the black curtains that had surrounded the mansion. When it was discovered that no one had noticed Rose’s final trace because of those curtains, Ezekiel, in his rage, personally tore down all the curtains in the mansion that very day.

Now, one could see the mansion grounds and gardens clearly from anywhere. And the moment sunlight, which had been blocked by those heavy curtains, poured brightly into the mansion, the servants realized just how deeply they had been living in darkness.

Everything was light, wherever they looked. The world was too bright. It took time to adjust to the sunlight that followed them around all day. The servants blinked frequently and sometimes deliberately sought out the shadows.

But the master, who had once been completely blind, now roamed outside as if those dark days had never existed. He even left home for several days in search of Rose. No one knew what advice the doctors had given him, but judging by Madam Serva wringing her hands in worry, it was likely still too soon for him to be going out. Still, since he was not one to voice complaints—though he spoke harshly to others—no one could say for sure how he was truly doing.

They said that on the day of his surgery, even the observers found their eyes stinging and watering from watching, but the patient had borne it all as if it were nothing.

You must have that level of endurance to make a name for yourself as a soldier, they thought—but still, it was puzzling how such a hardened man had somehow let Rose slip away. And what had he shown of himself all this time for kind-hearted Rose to have run away, leaving him behind?

Still, problems in a relationship are something only the people involved can truly understand, and Anna, as an outsider, had no way to guess.

“Ah, what a surprise.”

Just then, the master came riding into the garden. Anna flinched and turned to flee but stopped herself when she realized she wasn’t even on his radar, and instead quietly watched him.

His biggest obstacle—his sight—had returned, he was a Valdemaira who would live in luxury, extravagantly so, for the rest of his life, and most of all, he was so handsome… what on earth could have been the problem? After living under the same roof, maybe there was some major flaw that neither looks nor wealth could cover?

“Hmm… his personality…”

…Yes, that could be it.

He had served on battlefields where a single mistake could lead to death, and as a soldier who clearly distinguished between ally and enemy, Ezekiel was far from being a tolerant man.

Anna recalled how, before Rose’s arrival, the staff had lived in constant tension, trying not to upset him. He was the kind of man who could be utterly ferocious if provoked—perhaps too much to handle over a lifetime. But just as he had devoted his life to guarding the borders for the country, once he gave his heart to someone, he would surely take full responsibility for them as well…

Anna stole a glance at him.

Ezekiel hadn’t returned to the mansion, but instead stood still in the middle of the garden, staring off into the distance.

What is he looking at?

Following the direction he faced, Anna rose on her tiptoes and jumped a little to get a better view, then let out a small sigh.

Though Rose had vanished without even a word of farewell, there was no way to see into her heart. Still, it was clear that the master harbored deep feelings for her.