Chapter 25
The Countess didn’t admit it was her fault.
Choosing which servants to hire was up to the lady of the house, but deciding whether to increase staff or not was the Count’s decision.
He was the one who signed off on the servants’ salaries.
Normally, the Count would just skim through the budget his wife brought and sign it, but this time was different.
“Do we really need to hire new people? You already have four maids following you everywhere. What more do you need?”
“And why does your dress budget need so much money? I thought you weren’t going to parties for a while?”
He wanted to tighten the family budget after the unexpected expenses caused by Charlotte.
But his true reason was different—he no longer trusted his wife. He wanted to watch her closely, to make sure she wasn’t secretly taking money.
The Countess, already irritated, finally exploded.
“You treat me like this, and now even the servants look down on me!”
“Look down on you? What are you talking about?”
“You really don’t care about me at all!”
She began venting, telling him everything.
“Do you even know what happened this morning? There were three dead rats on the stairs in the hallway! Three!”
“….”
“The maids said they didn’t see the culprit, but it’s obvious! They must have planned it together! I can’t believe this!”
“….”
“They definitely hate me. They’re trying to get revenge because I raised my voice and punished them!”
She argued that they should replace all the maids. But the Count was uninterested.
“If you’d managed them properly, this wouldn’t have happened in the first place.”
“What… what did you just say?”
“It’s your fault the servants aren’t afraid of their master. What’s the point of hiring new maids? They’ll all be the same—”
“How dare you!”
Then—
“How can you say that to me! I’ve done everything for this household!”
Her scream filled the study.
The couple’s fight ended faster than before.
The Countess simply didn’t have the energy she used to. Fighting also required strength.
“Fine. If I’m so useless, I’ll just leave this house. That’s what you want, isn’t it?”
But her sharp tongue didn’t die out. Even as she left the mansion, she was still sarcastic.
“Go ahead, live well on your own. See how well you do without me or Charlotte!”
She mocked the Count one last time and left in a carriage, just like Charlotte had.
No one knew if she was headed to Mihlen or somewhere else.
What I did know was that she took some of the most capable maids with her, leaving the Count’s house in complete disarray.
Dust started collecting in the corners of the hallways, and dirty laundry piled up in the laundry room.
At least the kitchen was fine. Those who worked there rarely saw the Countess and hadn’t suffered as much.
The steward tried to keep the household running, but it was impossible. The Count was too stingy about hiring new maids.
In the end, the steward came up with a solution:
He pulled servants from less urgent areas to cover the critical tasks.
Because of this, the maids assigned to Charlotte’s room and the Countess’s room were removed.
This was exactly what I wanted.
‘Finally…!’
The moment the maids left, I slipped into Charlotte’s room.
The door was locked, but that room was also connected to a secret passage.
After a long search—
‘Found it.’
I walked out of the room holding a moonstone necklace in one hand and the shackles’ key in the other.
Now, if I freed Ahfwyn, 90% of my plan would be complete.
I was so happy as I headed down the stairs that I didn’t notice how much my legs were shaking.
Everything doubled and blurred in my vision.
That’s when I realized how bad my condition was.
I had been so excited about sending the Countess away that I had forgotten I was burning up with a fever.
‘Maybe I should… no, I can’t.’
I thought about the medicinal herbs in my room but quickly shook my head.
If I just went a little further, I could see Ahfwyn. I didn’t want to turn back now, so close to the end.
Maybe it was luck, or maybe I was just stubborn, but then—
“Bella?”
I saw Ahfwyn.
The moment he saw me, he stood up and grabbed my shoulders, pouring out words.
“Why haven’t you come all this time? If you weren’t going to visit every day, you shouldn’t have promised… Wait, why do you look so pale? Are you sick?”
“I’m fine.”
Sick? No way.
Today was the day all my hard work was finally paying off. No matter what, I had to enjoy this victory.
I staggered forward until I stood in front of him.
“I… I did it, Ahfwyn.”
“What are you talking about? And why is your fever so high?”
He was asking me something, but I could barely hear him.
I tried to hand him the key in my hand, but my fingers wouldn’t open.
I wasn’t even sure if I’d brought the key at all.
I just wanted to tell him what I had accomplished.
“I… I did it…”
But that was as far as I got.
“Bella!”
The last thing I heard was Ahfwyn shouting my name as everything blurred and went black.
It had been ten days since Bella last came to the basement.
‘What is it this time?’
He was angry that she hadn’t kept her promise, but—
‘She’s not getting beaten again, is she?’
He remembered the day she had shown up with a swollen cheek.
‘Damn it.’
He kicked the wall in frustration.
Tied up in shackles, there was nothing else he could do.
The longer he waited, the more he was forced to face his feelings.
He realized he looked forward to seeing Bella each morning. Those short moments of talking to her helped him forget his reality.
That was why—
“Why haven’t you come all this time? If you weren’t going to visit every day, you shouldn’t have promised.”
He scolded her when she finally appeared after ten days, but deep down, he was so relieved to see her.
But that relief didn’t last a minute.
‘Her face…’
Her already frail face was even thinner now.
He was about to ask what had happened when—
“I… I did it…”
“Bella? Bella! Bella!”
She collapsed.
He instinctively caught her. Her body was lighter than he expected—and burning hot.
“What a fever…”
He cursed under his breath. Under the loose sleeves of her dress, her arms were covered in bruises.
Bella had been beaten again.
He glared toward the upstairs, then looked back down at Bella.
Her tightly shut eyes and the shallow, feverish breaths at her neck all made it clear how bad her condition was.
‘I need to lay her down somewhere.’
But where?
The basement was all cold, hard stone. He couldn’t leave someone sick lying there.
Then he saw the stairs Bella had come down.
The stairs were also made of stone, but unlike the open basement, they were enclosed on both sides.
They would at least block some of the cold wind from the window.
And the door at the top could hide her if necessary.
He made up his mind and stepped forward, but—
Clang!
The chain pulled tight, stopping him in place.
“…Damn it.”
He cursed and looked around for another option.
Then he noticed something glinting on Bella’s finger.
It was a key.
