~Chapter 13~
“Sir Brian!”
It was late afternoon.
Brian, the family doctor, had been leisurely reading when he suddenly heard the panicked voice of a maid. He immediately stood up and grabbed his medical bag before rushing to Rachel’s room.
But then…
‘A girl?’
Lying in Rachel’s bed was not Rachel herself, but an unfamiliar little girl.
Brian quickly realized that the girl must be Rachel’s playmate, who had been visiting the villa recently.
What caught his attention next was…
“Miss?”
Rachel’s face, filled with fear.
“…Please.”
“…What?”
“Please… save this child…”
Rachel’s trembling hand clutched the blanket, and her blue eyes shook as she looked at the girl.
Seeing this, Brian was taken aback.
It was the first time Rachel had shown such emotion, ever since she had witnessed Isella collapse from her worsening illness. Since then, she had concealed her feelings.
Even at Isella’s funeral, Rachel had not cried. She had acted like an emotionless doll.
As one of the few who knew Rachel was actually a boy, Brian had been worried about her. He had feared that, like the way Rachel concealed her identity by hiding it beneath her long hair, she might also hide her emotions.
He feared that Rachel might erase herself completely.
Therefore, it was a relief that Rachel had shown emotion for the first time in a long while, but…
‘This is not a good situation. It’s trauma-inducing.’
Brian reassured Rachel, who seemed frightened.
“Based on her complexion, it doesn’t seem to be a very serious issue. Let me take a look.”
Brian asked Rachel a few questions about when and how Vivienne had fallen ill before beginning his examination.
Rachel blankly stared at Vivienne, who was lying on the bed.
She couldn’t understand how she had carried Vivienne all the way here.
The sight of Vivienne, lying unconscious, reminded Rachel of her mother’s death. She was consumed by the thought that she needed to save this child.
At the same time, the words and actions Rachel had spoken to Vivienne passed through her mind.
[That’s unnecessary, so go away.]
But…
‘I’ll accept a parting with Vivienne more gladly now… I just hope she’s safe.’
Having learned about ‘death’ too early because of her mother’s passing, Rachel was terrified of death.
Rather than losing Vivienne forever because of a momentary impulse, it seemed better to believe that Vivienne, who had turned away from her, was somewhere still alive.
While anxiously waiting for Brian’s diagnosis, Rachel suddenly heard a knock at the door.
It was Margaret.
“Miss, it’s time for your etiquette class…”
Margaret, upon entering the room and seeing Vivienne lying motionless, was taken aback.
“Oh my, what happened to this child?”
“She suddenly collapsed. There are no external injuries or obvious symptoms, but I need to examine her more closely.”
“My goodness…”
Margaret sighed as she covered her mouth, but no one could see the sly grin that crept onto the corner of her lips.
Looking at Rachel’s pale complexion, Margaret gently suggested,
“Miss, you seem to have been quite startled. Would you like to rest for a bit? You’ve just finished your training, so perhaps a bath would help as well.”
“…No, I’ll stay here until the examination is over.”
It was rare for Rachel to insist on her opinion, as she usually listened to Margaret’s suggestions.
‘But to think she’s insisting just because of that little girl…’
Margaret was a bit irritated by that thought, but she quickly smiled and calmed Rachel down.
“If that’s what comforts you, then so be it. I’ll postpone today’s etiquette class until tomorrow.”
“Thank you, Nurse.”
Before leaving the room, Margaret glanced at Vivienne lying in the bed.
‘This is the perfect opportunity.’
Margaret had been slowly manipulating Rachel ever since Isella’s death five years ago.
[If you go outside the mansion, even the emperor and others will look at you unfavorably.]
Margaret had been keeping Rachel isolated from others, using fear to sever her connections with other people, ensuring that Rachel would rely only on her and Sally.
[If anyone ever finds out you’re a boy… Miss, and everyone in this mansion could be in danger. If that happens, the Duke may even cast you aside to protect the family.]
[But don’t worry too much, Miss. I’ll be by your side until the day I die.]
Because of Isella’s last will, Kalts had only cared about Rachel’s survival, not the girl herself. Controlling someone with nowhere to turn was easy.
Margaret’s goal in all this was simple.
Although Rachel pretended to be a girl, as she grew older, hiding her true identity would become increasingly difficult.
Kalts, aware of this, had secretly been training Rachel in magic.
Soon, Rachel would grow strong enough to protect herself and stop pretending to be a girl. She would eventually step forward as a young nobleman from the Edelbein family.
‘Once that happens, if Rachel has no one to rely on except Sally and me, Sally might become the young mistress of Edelbein.’
But Vivienne’s appearance had begun to shake this long-term plan.
How could a commoner like Vivienne, who had no business getting involved with Kalts, have gotten his attention and drawn him to her side?
And now, she had even taken Rachel outside the mansion.
And then, Vivienne’s illness had surfaced.
‘This is the perfect chance to get rid of that girl.’
Kalts had brought Vivienne into the picture to keep Rachel’s secret, but if Vivienne was ill, there was no way she could stay.
‘Just like I made Rachel’s other friends run away, I could scare Rachel by telling her that if she keeps associating with Vivienne, the emperor might punish her…’
This would make things much easier.
Margaret left the room with a satisfied smile and headed straight to Kalts’ office.
“Sir, it’s Margaret. I have something to discuss. Do you have a moment?”
The door opened, and Owen stepped out.
“Isn’t it Miss’s lesson time now?”
“I actually came to talk to you about that.”
Entering the office, Margaret saw Kalts sitting at his desk.
With a very concerned expression, she began to speak,
“It’s about the girl who came to play with Miss. She suddenly collapsed while playing with Miss.”
Kalts raised an eyebrow in surprise at the unexpected news.
“Suddenly?”
“Yes. Sir Brian is examining her, and Miss insisted on staying by her side, so I told her to do so. But…”
Margaret hesitated before continuing carefully, watching Kalts’s reaction.
“Of course, I hope it’s nothing, but if the girl is really sick… I fear it will be a great shock to Miss.”
So, they needed to separate Vivienne from Rachel.
Kalts immediately understood the unspoken part of Margaret’s words.
‘That makes sense.’
Rachel understood the concept of ‘death,’ and if Vivienne were to die… ‘It would definitely be a huge shock for her.’
Both Kalts and Owen’s expressions turned serious as they considered the matter.
Margaret smiled contentedly at the two men.
Everything was going according to plan.
“Ugh…”
When I opened my eyes, I saw an unfamiliar ceiling.
‘What happened?’
As I blinked, trying to gather my thoughts, my last memory came back to me.
I had felt a sudden sharp pain in my chest, and my consciousness had become hazy.
So… was I knocked out?!
I had experienced sharp pain before, but this was the first time I had actually fainted.
Looking out the window, I saw that it was still daytime. It didn’t seem like much time had passed.
‘Then… what about Rachel?’
I suddenly remembered that I had been with Rachel in the last moments, and I quickly sat up.
At that moment, I locked eyes with Rachel, who was staring at me.
