Time of the Blind Beast - Chapter 7

“Isn’t your job laundry?”

Her heart sank with a chilling realization.

Of course. He might see this as strange. Rose quickly understood. He didn’t know what she had done. To him, she was just a laundry maid. Her actions must have appeared to be an unnecessary intrusion.

“Who told you to do this?”

“…No one instructed me.”

“No one told you to do this, yet you’re mimicking me. Does that mean you intend to mock me?”

“No, that’s not it.”

“Then what is it?”

“……”

“Do you pity me?”

Ezekiel pressed on, and though he left the rest unsaid, Rose heard his thoughts clearly.

You pity me, someone like you.

You pity me, how dare you?

Tension stretched tight as Madam Serva cautiously stepped in, shielding Rose. “Rose is not that kind of girl. In the days I’ve observed her, I’ve seen few as kind and diligent as she is. I believe she truly wants to help you.”

“If she wants to help, she should stay out of my way rather than make a half-baked attempt at imitating me.”

His frustration was palpable, and Rose dropped her gaze. Ezekiel wasn’t someone she could reason with, and she had no right to attempt an explanation.

Lowering herself humbly, she apologized, “I’m sorry. I won’t make this mistake again. Please forgive me.”

Madam Serva glanced at Rose. She seemed to understand Rose’s efforts to adapt to the unusual situation of serving a blind master. However, Rose had unintentionally touched a sensitive nerve.

“Yes, Rose. If this happens again, I’ll have no choice but to dismiss you from the mansion.”

Madam Serva purposely reprimanded her harshly but sent Rose a subtle signal with a blink. She then intentionally used the childhood term of address to lighten the mood

“Young master, your lunch is ready. You should go now.”

“Don’t act so presumptuous in my presence.”

Ezekiel gave a short warning before striding away.

Rose stood aside, making sure not to block his path, and watched his retreating figure.

As she inhaled deeply, his lingering scent filled her senses. Sleep tea, wine, and medicine—a mixture so familiar that it seemed like a shadow following him.

Madam Serva had personally instructed that the sleep tea be brewed strongly every night for the man who struggled to rest. But the tea wasn’t enough. Ezekiel relied on wine and medicine constantly, and Rose often saw the maid responsible for cleaning his room clearing away empty bottles. The amount was staggering.

“Is it okay for him to drink this much?”

One day, Rose had stopped Madam Serva in the hallway to ask.

“Of course not. He never used to drink at all. He always said a soldier mustn’t be dull-minded. During the war, he even gave away the alcohol sent with the supplies. But ever since he lost his sight, everything changed.”

“…Oh.”

“But there was no stopping him. He was in too much pain. The shock to his mind was bad enough, but the injured eyes caused terrible headaches. There was even a time when his men had to physically restrain him from trying to gouge his own eyes out. In the beginning, he couldn’t sleep at all. It’s only now, after mixing his medicine with the wine, that he’s found some peace.”

“I’m glad the medicine helps.”

“It’s a relief, truly. If it weren’t for laudanum, I don’t know how he could endure such agony. But I’m worried. It’s getting harder to find. Lord Ezekiel’s been using military supplies to get laudanum from his men, but the war has drained so much that even the army can’t get it in large quantities anymore.”

Laudanum, known for its calming effects, was a widely used painkiller.

Rose hid her cold hands behind her back and discreetly massaged them. Every time Ezekiel’s blindness and pain came up in conversation, her heart felt like it was being squeezed.

“…I’ve heard. All the laudanum in the market was seized and sent to the front lines when the war started. But the war is over now.”

“Yes, but many soldiers are still suffering from the aftereffects. Even if you offer money, you can’t buy it.”

“Have you tried other painkillers?”

“No other medicine works. It has to be laudanum.”

Despite relying on strong wine and opium daily, the man still moved with precision, his military training evident in every step.

Yes, he hadn’t completely lost himself.

On the first floor, where he knew every inch of the layout, Ezekiel moved as if he could still see. Rose had heard from the other servants how much effort and hardship it had taken for him to walk so confidently.

He had memorized the exact length and width of the halls, dining room, and reception room by walking them hundreds of times. Only the bare essentials of furniture remained on the first floor, allowing him to navigate alone. While he still needed assistance with more delicate tasks, he wasn’t so defeated as to require help with every basic need.

Rose had come to this mansion with the intention of becoming his eyes, his hands, and his feet for the rest of her life. Though she had been coerced by Akenaus, it was her own actions that had left Ezekiel blind. She wanted to take responsibility as much as she could.

Derosa had become her second home, the place where she would spend the rest of her life.

She couldn’t afford to make any more mistakes. She couldn’t be thrown out of this mansion.

Resolving to do better, Rose made her way to the laundry room. She needed to focus on doing her assigned tasks thoroughly and faithfully.

The laundry room was always filled with warm, steamy air. Rose winced as she wrung out the soaked clothes with both hands. Her shoulder and wrist had been throbbing since earlier, and now they were visibly swollen. It seemed she had injured herself badly when she fell.

Despite the aching pain, she pressed on with her work, but it was slow going. Normally, she would have already gone to the kitchen for lunch by now, but because she hadn’t finished, she was still stuck in the laundry room.

“Rose, Rose, are you there?”

Suddenly, the laundry room door flew open.

“Oh, look at all this steam. It’s suffocating in here.”

A familiar voice called out for her.

Still immersed in the humid, warm air, Rose lifted her head. It was Anna, a colleague who had taken a liking to her, mentioning she had a younger sister around Rose’s age.

Rose raised her voice in response. “Yes, I’m here.”

“Stop what you’re doing and come out. There’s been an incident.”

“What happened?”

“Well, just now…”

From what Anna explained, it seemed the dining staff had upset Ezekiel. They had been carefully setting the table, trying not to draw attention to themselves, but today, for some reason, he was especially on edge. Someone had made the mistake of placing a glass incorrectly.

When Ezekiel reached for his wine, his hand groped the air. His fingers searched the table for the glass but couldn’t find it.

Finally locating the glass, he immediately knocked it over. The chilled red wine spilled onto his chest, and the startled servants screamed.

What happened next was inevitable. Furious at the incompetence of his staff, Ezekiel flipped the entire table over, ruining both the dining room and his clothes.

“If Madam Serva hadn’t stepped in to stop him, things would’ve gotten even worse. She sent me to fetch you. She wants you to come to his bedroom and collect the wet clothes. Bring a fresh change of clothes, too.”

After hearing the full story, Rose bit her lip. She couldn’t help but feel that her earlier encounter in the hallway had put him in such a foul mood, causing him to take it out on the other servants.

Anna sighed. “They pay us well, so we stick around, but this place feels like walking on thin ice every day. I’m thinking of asking to be moved to the laundry room, like you. It’s quiet and far away from all the trouble.”

Rose, who was partly responsible for the tension in the house, kept her conflicted feelings hidden behind a calm expression.

“I’d better go since I’ve been summoned.”

“It’s still before lunch, right? Come back afterward. We haven’t cleaned up the dining room yet.”

After delivering her message, Anna left to finish cleaning the dining room. Rose gathered a set of dry clothes and headed to Ezekiel’s bedroom.

Taking a deep breath, she knocked on the door. Madam Serva’s voice answered.

“Come in.”

Rose opened the door. The room greeted her with the familiar scent of opium and the fermented fruitiness of wine. Though the maids aired out the room regularly, the master’s constant drinking ensured the smell never completely went away.

“I’ve brought fresh clothes.”

“Ah, Rose, you’re just in time. Could you help me?”

Madam Serva sounded pleased to see her.

“I need to help him change, but as you can see, my body isn’t up to the task.”

Her cane tapped against the floor. Between her bad knees and stiff, aging shoulders, Madam Serva couldn’t lift her arms very high anymore.

“Yes, I’ll take care of it.”

Helping the master change was a task any servant could do. Rose set the clean clothes aside and began unbuttoning Ezekiel’s shirt.

As she peeled away the shirt, now soaked in red wine and clinging to his skin, Rose unconsciously drew in a sharp breath.

His body was a blend of beauty and scars.