Hetherson, faced with a gaze that was almost fearful, hurriedly explained himself.
“I was just ordered by the lady to lie…!”
Ah, that was something I shouldn’t have said.
Once again, he had to cover his mouth with his own hand.
“Serafina told you to lie?”
Oh, I don’t know.
“Yes, that’s right. If the patient doesn’t want it, the doctor should keep quiet. Trust between the patient and the doctor is a very important matter. The Duchess wishes to keep this matter a secret. So, I kindly ask for your understanding. In any case, with time… the Duke will naturally come to know.”
Having laid out a suitable truth, Hetherson took out a handkerchief and wiped the sweat from his forehead.
It was the same handkerchief he had used to wipe the juice of the Hosan fruit off his hands earlier.
Seeing the red stains on the drooping handkerchief, Dante’s expression went blank.
The fierce demeanor faded away, overwhelmed by intense despair and lamentation.
In his heart, he wanted to grab the doctor by the collar and demand a proper explanation about Serafina’s condition.
〈The Duchess wishes to keep this matter a secret.〉
Remembering how Serafina must have pleaded with Hetherson to keep the secret even in pain, he couldn’t bring himself to ask any further.
All he could do was clench his teeth and stifle his groans.
“Then let me just answer this.”
“Yes.”
“…Is there no positive outcome?”
Hetherson was flustered by Dante’s question.
Positive outcome?
What is he asking about a positive outcome?
Does he know something and is asking?
What if the Duke has already figured everything out, and only the Duchess is unaware?
It seemed like a reasonable assumption, but he couldn’t dare to test the Duke openly.
Fine. Let’s just answer this truthfully as well.
“…I’m sorry.”
After all, today was the first time he had seen the Hosan fruit, so there was no positive outcome to speak of.
There was nothing particularly new to report.
Fortunately, the Duke’s questioning ended there.
“Wait a moment.”
“…Yes?”
Just when he thought he could finally go home, the Duke grabbed him again.
What more could he possibly want to say?
Looking at the Duke with a nervous heart, he handed him something.
“This is…”
“A bonus. Please take good care of my wife from now on.”
The thick envelope of money and the accompanying encouragement melted his fear away, rising sweetly like syrup.
“Don’t worry. I will do my best!”
With a spirited reply, Hetherson left the office, carefully putting the envelope of money into his bag.
All he could think about was getting home quickly.
But his troubles were far from over.
“Can we talk for a moment?”
“Just a moment is fine.”
Two maids suddenly blocked his path and dragged him into a corner.
With their eyes wide open, the two bombarded him with questions like, “You met with the lady, right?” and “How is the lady doing?”
Amid the whirlwind of questions, he could hardly contain his sorrow.
The financial treatment he had barely achieved with the envelope of money felt like it was going to waste again.
He hugged the bag of money tightly with his hands and answered, choking back tears.
“I… can’t say… anything.”
His voice trembled like a sheep, and Sienna and Marie exchanged glances simultaneously.
The doctor is crying and saying he can’t say anything?
That means…
“Oh, what should we do?”
“Wah, wah! Marie, what are we going to do?”
What’s going on? Why are they like this?
Hetherson was greatly bewildered by the two maids suddenly shedding tears.
Ah, I don’t know.
I don’t know anymore.
Hetherson began to cry along with them. It was just the right moment for tears to flow naturally.
Seeing the three of them huddled in a corner, sobbing, someone hiding behind a pillar let out a sigh.
“…Huh.”
It was Barhan.
He had followed them out of concern that something might happen when he saw Marie and Sienna dragging Hetherson in front of the mansion.
Faced with the unexpectedly sad scene, he could only hide behind the pillar and let out a sigh filled with worry.
“Lady…”
Only bad thoughts crossed his mind.
If the doctor is crying like that, how serious must the lady’s condition be?
With each negative thought, the wrinkles on the old man’s face deepened.
* * *
It seems that the Richter mansion is collectively feeling the autumn blues right now.
Seeing everyone walking around with a shadow on their faces, wearing bittersweet and distant smiles.
“Everyone seems really emotional.”
“…Yes?”
“No, just work.”
I shook my head with a smile at Marie, who replied in a dispirited manner.
Ah, she’s smiling wistfully again.
It was so pitiful that it felt like my heart was being torn apart.
Moreover, perhaps due to the effects of the autumn blues, the overprotectiveness had intensified again.
They worried if I just breathed, worried if I overslept, worried if I woke up early, worried if I left food on my plate, worried if I ate well.
What do they want from me?
They would even make a fuss as if someone was about to die if I accidentally bumped my knee on the desk or bit my tongue while eating, shouting, “Ah! My lady!”
Even if I wanted to say something, they were always wearing that wistful smile, so I couldn’t say anything.
Tsk.
As I munched on herbal cookies while reading a book, I suddenly shivered at the chilly temperature.
Ah, it seems to have gotten cold again.
I thought I had adapted to the weather, but apparently not.
“How is winter in the north? It must be really cold, right?”
In response to my question while looking out the window, Marie, who was changing the water in the vase, answered.
“It will be much colder compared to the capital’s winter.”
“Hmm. I thought so.”
“I’m worried because the lady is sensitive to the cold. We need to prepare plenty of thick clothes.”
Sensitive to the cold, huh.
That was true. I was more sensitive to the cold than others.
Is it because I have thin skin?
But aside from that, I was confident in enduring the cold.
The attic room I stayed in at the Count’s mansion didn’t even have a proper stove, so in the middle of winter, it was practically an ice cave.
That’s when I realized.
Being sensitive to the cold and being able to endure it are two different things.
But here, I wouldn’t have to endure the cold.
“Yeah. I’ll ask for that. I want to use the fireplace a lot. Is that okay?”
“Of course.”
“Wow. I’m excited.”
After throwing a childish tantrum that didn’t suit me, I rested my cheek on the table.
I could see Markovs tending to the garden and my empty field.
Ah, there will be things that will freeze to death when winter comes.
Most of the herbs I planted can withstand the cold winter well, but…
Dante’s flower garden will have a hard time surviving the winter.
“…I wish they could last a little longer.”
The flowers are too delicate to survive.
At that moment.
Clang.
A sharp noise came from behind.
Startled, I turned my head to see Marie, pale-faced, trembling her hands in the air.
At her feet lay shattered pieces of glass.
It seemed she had slipped while changing the water in the vase.
“Are you okay, Marie?”
“I-I’m sorry. I’m fine. I’m fine, but…”
Tears welled up in Marie’s eyes as she stammered.
“Why would you say that?”
“Hmm? What did I say?”
I had only asked if she was okay.
In response to my words, Marie blinked blankly.
“…No. It’s nothing. I’m sorry.”
Then she crouched down and hurriedly began to clean up the broken pieces.
Despite my urging to leave her alone since she seemed startled, Marie quickly and neatly cleaned up the shards and left the room.
Seeing her back hurriedly leaving the room looked so pitiful that I couldn’t help but sigh.
“What should I do? Everyone really seems to be feeling the autumn blues.”
Autumn. It’s a truly scary thing, isn’t it?
I can’t just leave it like this.
I can’t just watch them suffer.
I pondered whether there was a way to lift the spirits of the people in the Richter mansion.
Isn’t this also the Duchess’s duty?
After days of contemplation, a good idea came to me.
Right.
“How about we all plant some trees together?”
Planting trees.
“You want to plant trees?”
Dante asked back, as if taken aback, and I nodded vigorously.
“Everyone looks so down. If we all do something together, won’t it lift our spirits?”
Even with my words, he still had a look of confusion.
It’s good to do something together to lift our spirits, but why planting trees, he seemed to be asking.
It was a perfectly understandable question.
Even as a child, I would look at my grandmother and mother planting trees every autumn with that same expression.