Time of the Blind Beast - Chapter 61

“Master, if we want to transplant the cypress and apricot trees to the new residence, we’ll have to dismantle this entire promenade. What should we do?”

These days, Ezekiel spent more time outside the mansion than inside. Madam Serva, having learned through experience where to find him quickly, naturally struck up a conversation as she crossed the garden to approach him.

Ezekiel was gazing at the statue of a pair of lovers kissing. It was the very spot where he had walked hand in hand with Rose in the dead of night while everyone was asleep, and where he had used the statue as an excuse to steal kisses from her cheeks and lips again and again.

He closed his eyes for a moment. With his sight cut off, fragments of a day long past brushed against his face. The softness of Rose’s skin that had touched his lips and the gentle hands that had brushed back his hair were revived through the power of memory.

Truthfully, by this time, he had expected Rose to already be sent ahead to the new residence in a carriage. Until he severed ties with Akenaus, and until Rose’s safety was ensured.

Yes. At most, he had only anticipated such a brief parting. A separation that might require caution but would only last a month or two at most—a goodbye with the promise of reunion at any time should he choose to go see her.

But it was all fantasy.

All the plans Ezekiel and Serva had been preparing were now in ruins. The proposal, the move—everything had collapsed with the disappearance of Rose, the central figure.

“…Don’t touch any part of this garden until I order its removal, Serva.”

Even so, Ezekiel’s order was firm. Madam Serva opened her mouth as if to speak, then chose silence. Her face wore the expression of a faithful head maid, but her tightly pursed lips betrayed an unhidden sadness.

That day, the man who had run out alone to pursue Rose had returned alone. Madam Serva, who had anxiously awaited his return in the faint hope that she might be wrong, was rendered speechless by the sight of Ezekiel completely devastated. Since it had been she who first brought Rose into the mansion, and she who had seen something promising in her and deliberately recommended her to Ezekiel, Madam Serva felt a deep sense of responsibility for what had happened.

“Even when spring comes, there’s no need to re-landscape. Just leave it as it is.”

Rose had vanished without leaving even a trace behind. Ezekiel recalled how, not long before her disappearance, Rose had started sweeping and cleaning her room dozens of times a day. At the time, he had simply thought it was due to her diligent nature—keeping busy with whatever task she could find. But now he thought otherwise. Could it be that even back then, Rose had already been preparing for her departure?

Rose, who hadn’t left a single piece of clothing or even a strand of hair with her scent, had left behind only one thing: the rope that made up the garden’s promenade. The untidy cords crisscrossing the desolate garden were the only remaining proof of the countless nights he and Rose had shared there—the whispered conversations, the slow steps taken together on their walks, the kisses exchanged after coming to a stop.

“From the outside, this place must look like a haunted mansion. Well, at least it’s so grim that thieves won’t bother. And even if they did come in, there’s not much left to steal anymore.”

After Ezekiel removed the curtains, the servants were startled by the garden’s dismal state, which they were suddenly forced to see. Since the area had been covered in black drapes, it had slipped from everyone’s memory, but now revealed, the untouched garden was shockingly barren. It looked like a deserted ruin.

“Serva, I sometimes wonder. What was Rose thinking when she called this a ‘walk’?”

While he, holding her hand, was adventuring through a jungle adorned with fantasy, she had been walking through a garden so neglected that it wouldn’t have been strange to see a ghost pass by. It felt like the difference between him and her.

Ezekiel, having slowly made his way through the garden, stood before the apricot tree and looked back at the mansion.

“A strong-branched apricot tree. I remember this one. If I drew back the curtain in my room even just a little, it was right in view.”

It was in direct view from Rose’s bedroom window.

Surely, at some point, Rose had stood at that window, quietly gazing out.

He had believed that once his sight returned, everything would fall into place—but now, with all the plans unraveled, he felt completely lost.

Madam Serva tried to console him.

“Master, for now, please remain here safely and take your time to consider what to do next.”

“No.”

Ezekiel answered, locking eyes with the Rose in his imagination.

“It’s time to return. To Claris.”

First, he had to reclaim his rightful place.

It was only due to Rose’s unexpected disappearance that he had been briefly delayed, but his resolve had never wavered.

Rather, returning to Claris might make it easier to search for Rose. After all, that was where people and resources were concentrated.

Yes, he would meet Rose not as a blind beast in desolate Derosa, but as the rightful heir of the Valdemaira.

“You’re returning to the main house? When?”

“Today, immediately.”

“Please wait. It’s not that I don’t understand your urgency, but…”

Even in this situation, the cautious Madam Serva voiced her concern.

“If your plan was to return to the main house and strike the traitor from behind to seize Valdemaira, you shouldn’t have gone to Cielsa to find Rose. Your appearance is very noticeable. Eyewitness accounts are likely already making their way toward Claris. Rumors travel faster than feet.”

Ezekiel quickly understood what Madam Serva regretted. Because he had fled in disgrace to protect his life, she had hoped that he would suddenly reappear in his restored form, shocking Akenaus. But by revealing himself first in Sielsa to track Rose, news of Ezekiel’s recovery had likely already reached Claris.

Despite this reasoning, Ezekiel didn’t bat an eye.

“Then he must be waiting in agony, wondering when I’ll appear before him.”

“Since there’s already a delay, wouldn’t it be better to prepare more thoroughly?”

“Serva, my preparations are complete.”

A horse and a rifle—those were all Ezekiel needed. Even if surrounded by enemies on the battlefield, he had nothing to fear.

Akenaus was nothing compared to that.

Ezekiel sneered.

“Things are about to get very interesting.”

***

In the middle of tossing back a strong drink, Akenaus looked around. Was it just his imagination? The glances people cast his way seemed… strange.

Of course, Akenaus was used to unfriendly stares. Or rather, he had no choice but to grow used to them. Ever since he had expelled the war hero Ezekiel from the main house, some who had been fond of Ezekiel—especially those in the military—had sent icy looks his way for a while. But such gazes didn’t matter to Akenaus. Most of those people were hardly worth comparing to Valdemaira, and he had dismissed them with a snort. Besides, as time passed, the discomfort directed at him had significantly faded.

“Akenaus, um… you know that person…”

His mistress began with an oddly hesitant tone.

At first, Akenaus didn’t realize who she was referring to. Naturally. Ezekiel, cast away and now a blind cripple banished to the North, had long since vanished from his radar. In fact, since going down to Derosa, news about Ezekiel had all but ceased. Still, unable to rest easy, Akenaus occasionally sent errand runners from the main house to check on him. The reports were always the same. Attempts had been made to treat him, but all had failed, and he was said to be in a pitiful state. Living like a corpse that couldn’t die.

“Who? You think I know only one person?”

“Valdemaira… I mean, the Major.”

His mistress continued in a whisper, “They say he was seen walking around the North perfectly fine. Is it true?”

Akenaus furrowed his brow.

Who was the Major of Valdemaira again? Not me, for sure.

Wait—if another war breaks out and the army is mobilized, who would take that post? Me?

Then should I get married early? No, if I have a child, they might think there’s an heir and forcibly recall me, so I should delay marriage and having kids as long as possible?

Anyway, he couldn’t understand why people clung so desperately to something as trivial as honor.

After wandering through those scattered thoughts, only “Valdemaira” remained in his memory.

He replied vaguely, “Must’ve been a mistake. I’ve never been to the North.”

“My god, are you that drunk? He’s hiding in the North. Ezekiel Valdemaira.”

Even if she clung to Akenaus for his money and family power, she couldn’t outright disrespect a former hero. With a tone full of unease, his mistress muttered Ezekiel’s name.

Akenaus tilted his head. With his alcohol-clouded mind, it took a moment for her words to sink in.

Ezekiel Valdemaira? The blind man was walking around the North… in one piece?