Time of the Blind Beast - Chapter 69

“Ugh!”

It came back to him. It was that man. The unidentified intruder who had sneaked into the garden and screamed when struck by a rock thrown by the sharp-eared Ezekiel.

“Rose, if you see anyone nearby, tell me.”

“I-I think they’re gone. I don’t see anyone.”

After that, no sign had been heard, yet she had said he was already gone, which had seemed suspicious. But it was nighttime, and Rose was not a professionally trained soldier. Besides, the untended garden must have looked quite overgrown, making it hard to distinguish anything with ordinary eyesight—so he had simply not added more to the matter.

Now he understood why Rose had denied it so adamantly.

It was someone she recognized.

Even after witnessing the errand boy sent to intimidate her, Rose had helped him get away unscathed for the sake of Valdemaira’s reputation.

Ezekiel lowered his long gaze and tipped his chin.

“So we’ve met before.”

The errand boy flinched.

“Do you know that Rose is the one who saved your life?”

Brought in without knowing a thing, now suddenly face-to-face with Ezekiel, the errand boy hesitated before meekly acknowledging it.

“…Yes, I do.”

“Rose showed unnecessary compassion. She shouldn’t have helped you.”

“……”

“She’s so kind it’s almost worrisome how she always ends up on the losing side. She even turns malice into kindness. Sometimes it’s excessive. Considering she never even mentioned a word of this to me.”

The errand boy’s eyes flicked toward the rifle leaning at an angle. Known as a sharpshooter, Ezekiel might point the muzzle at him at any moment. Clearly nervous, the man cautiously opened his mouth.

“You may very well think I acted rudely toward the young lady while invoking the name of the Valdemaira family… and that would be an understandable misunderstanding, but I assure you, that never happened. It was the young lady who clearly said that her role ended there, that she would step back. I was the one taken aback and asked her two or three times to confirm. It’s true. As for the memorandum stating she would leave, she offered to write that first, and I simply accepted it.”

Even those few words seemed to exhaust him, and cold sweat dripped from his face. But amid that, one word caught Ezekiel’s ear.

“Memorandum? Rose even wrote a memorandum?”

“Ah, yes… It should be around here somewhere…”

Only after calling a servant to search the shelves in the study did Ezekiel finally hold in his hands the memorandum Rose had written and signed herself. It was so carelessly discarded among piles of documents that it took some effort to find.

The moment he confirmed Rose’s clearly written name on the memorandum, Ezekiel crumpled the corner in his hand.

It was infuriating and sickening. A prestigious family, supposedly the most distinguished in Astrie, had pulled a petty stunt on a young, defenseless woman.

While Rose had struggled in the face of storms to protect him, Valdemaira had done nothing but sit and watch from a distance. And then, once she succeeded in saving him, they quietly stepped in to collect this ridiculous memorandum. Ungrateful and shameless, how dare they.

The more he thought about the unjust treatment Rose had received, the more his blood boiled, then chilled again in repeated waves.

Rose, you should have demanded something.

After sacrificing so much for him, why didn’t she ask Valdemaira to acknowledge all she had done—why didn’t she get angry, argue, express her grievances?

If she had, he wouldn’t have let her go so helplessly.

He would have proved to her just what she deserved to ask of him.

“…Father. Do you know how Rose saved me?”

At the peak of his rage, his heart instead settled into quiet.

“Even now, I don’t fully understand the phenomena I experienced. I was lost in confusion, wrecking my body with alcohol and opium, not even knowing what was happening to me. How much more overwhelming it must have been for Rose, who witnessed it all. And yet, instead of running away or giving up on me, she locked the door and stayed by my side every moment.”

Even blood relatives wouldn’t easily make that choice. In fact, his father, claiming it was to save him, had tried to cast him out of the family—and it was Rose who had stopped and persuaded him. Even now, he could not fully grasp how much courage it must have taken for Rose to do that.

“The pain of my muscles being crushed was so unbearable that I slammed myself against the wall to self-harm, and Rose—she blocked me with her own body. I don’t doubt she was covered in bruises from head to toe. She was such a delicate woman, and I was a strong soldier. And yet, Rose never once showed fear or pain.”

Was that all?

While various symptoms gnawed away at him, Rose found every possible means to help him endure.

“One day it was unbearably cold, and another, my body burned with such fever it felt like I was on fire. Hallucinations came crashing in, and I couldn’t tell what was real. Each time, Rose was by my side.”

Whenever he was cold or hot, he held Rose’s naked body, transferring his chills and fever to her. Thinking back, it was shameful behavior. He had survived day to day on her life’s blood. To Rose, he had been an utterly selfish man.

“I’ve never in my life received such devotion from anyone. I probably never will again. Because I no longer need Rose’s sacrifice.”

Ezekiel stared directly at his father and declared, “You will have to accept Rose. I have no intention of marrying or planning an heir with any woman but her.”

Still in his pocket was the ring he had never been able to give Rose. He kept it on him at all times, ready to place it on her finger the moment they met again.

“Ezekiel!”

Ignoring his father’s shout, Ezekiel strode across the mansion. Though it was a half-formed return, it was too early to despair. This was only the beginning.

Valdemaira would have to pay the price for losing its moral compass. He would find Rose and bring Valdemaira to its knees before her.

***

Where to begin searching for Rose?

Ezekiel studied a military map of Astrie.

It was a vague attempt. But like a dragnet scraping the riverbed for fish, if he combed through Astrie thoroughly enough, he would eventually find a trace of Rose.

He dispatched errand men from the House of Valdemaira to the North. They were to visit all the girls’ schools and inquire after a student named Rose, one with red hair and green eyes. If they weren’t sure, they were to confirm with Madam Serva in Derosa.

Madam Serva had declined Ezekiel’s offer to return to Claris together and remained in Derosa.

“This body is far too old for long-distance travel. I wouldn’t be able to keep pace with your horseback speed, and even if you slowed down for me, a carriage journey would be too taxing. Besides, I like this estate. It’s a quiet, peaceful place to spend my twilight years.”

Of course, it was possible Rose had already left the North. She wasn’t a fool—she’d have known Ezekiel would search the North first. Rose, who tended to be excessively earnest, would have done everything she could to uphold the written agreement she had signed herself, even if the House of Valdemaira treated it like scrap paper. She might be hiding somewhere completely unexpected.

So, after completing his military training, Ezekiel once again instructed his scattered subordinates to be on the lookout for “that woman.” Even if they didn’t find someone identical, if they came across a woman resembling Rose, they were to bring her to him by any means necessary.

He didn’t need to see her face. Just hearing her voice, or even the sound of her footsteps approaching, would be enough for him to know it was Rose.

Rose, wait for me.

If you don’t appear, I’ll come find you.

Winter always unfurled its white hem from the North. And so it was, on a day when even Claris, which had lingered in late autumn, finally entered full winter after Derosa had already met an early chill.

Before dawn’s light had fully lifted, Montcalm burst through the gates of the Valdemaira estate in a rush.

“Major, I’ve found her!”