Chapter 019: The Rose Garden
“You must have been really startled.”
“…Yes.”
Haha, a cheerful laugh echoed loudly through the quiet hallway.
– ‘Everyone, get out.’
– ‘…What? Me too?’
– ‘Yes, you too.’
Just moments ago, the two had been amicably chased out together.
Well, that part was fine.
They had been about to leave the bedroom anyway.
The problem was that Robin’s aimless curiosity, having nowhere else to go, was now entirely focused on Deborah.
Unable to withstand the sharp gaze piercing her cheek, Deborah finally began to stammer out an explanation.
While tidying the bedroom, the duke had suddenly entered, and just as she was about to leave after witnessing him change, Robin had walked in.
There was nothing more to add or subtract.
That was really all there was to it.
“He’s a bit sensitive—well, honestly, more than a bit…”
Haha, haha.
Robin, about to say something, suddenly wore an awkward expression.
It seemed he had tried to phrase it diplomatically to avoid speaking ill of his master, but lying outright must have been too difficult.
A small chuckle escaped Deborah’s lips.
Seeing her cover her mouth and laugh softly, Robin scratched his head with a sheepish grin.
“He can be a bit cold, but he’s not entirely heartless.”
“…”
As they continued walking, Robin spoke calmly.
Deborah’s expression gradually turned serious.
“Just take this incident, for example. Honestly, it’s something he absolutely shouldn’t have done…”
For a moment, Robin’s expression darkened slightly.
As someone who should carry out the duke’s will without question, his actions naturally weighed heavily on his mind.
Trying to shake off the gloom, Robin continued.
“I got upset and questioned him without thinking, but honestly, I never expected him to go that far.”
“…”
“It’s rare for a noble to show such leniency toward a servant…”
“…”
It was a bitter truth, but it was reality.
In an era where value was determined by the “status” and “birth” assigned at birth,
the hierarchical and authoritative relationship between the ruling nobles and the servants beneath them was entirely natural.
Though there were rare cases of close relationships, they were, as the phrase suggests, “extremely rare.”
Thus, requesting a doctor’s visit solely for a housemaid was highly unusual.
As Robin’s words came to an end, Deborah nodded quietly.
Then, as if recalling something she’d overlooked, her gaze lifted upward.
“By the way, I heard from Lady Charlotte earlier, but I was too distracted to say… I’m sorry for the late thanks.”
“Thanks?”
Robin tilted his head slightly, completely clueless about what she meant.
“That day, you were the one who changed the duke’s mind, right?”
“Oh…”
“Thank you so much. That couldn’t have been easy… Thanks to you, I wasn’t sent away and can keep working here.”
“No, it wasn’t that big of a deal…”
Scratching his head with an embarrassed look, Robin prompted a gentle smile to curve Deborah’s lips.
Some say the world constantly throws harsh trials at people, putting them at the crossroads of life and death, but surely, it also sends a helping hand to endure those moments.
That’s probably why, with these bare, scarred feet, she could still stand firmly.
In that moment, Deborah genuinely believed so.
* * *
Time had flown by since that stormy day.
Whether it was the ointment she was told to apply diligently twice a day or the break from hard labor, the wound on her palm was healing quickly.
Her wrist, too, could now move freely without the support of a bandage.
So, she was about to go to Lady Charlotte to say she could resume her regular duties starting today.
But she absolutely hadn’t anticipated this situation.
Looking into the cold blue eyes glaring at her, Deborah recalled what had happened earlier.
* * *
As soon as she woke up, Deborah checked the condition of her hand, tidied the bed, and stood up.
Hanna’s bed, which she had hurriedly left around dawn, was already empty.
Due to the continuous rain over the past few days, they had been instructed to tackle the mountain of laundry today.
After glancing around the neatly organized room, Deborah was about to leave the attic.
*Click.*
Suddenly, the door opened from the outside.
Seeing the face of the person who entered without knocking, Deborah blinked her golden eyes.
“Good, you’re awake.”
The face looking down at her with a slightly raised chin and narrowed eyes was one Deborah recognized well.
It was the person who always stood by Lady Cecilia’s side, keeping watch when Deborah went to do her hair.
It was none other than Cecilia’s lady’s maid.
What could she want, coming all the way to the third-floor attic?
Suppressing her curiosity, Deborah nodded slowly.
“…Yes, I was just about to go to Lady Charlotte…”
But before she could ask what the matter was, the maid seemed to understand the unspoken question.
With a displeased expression, her lips twitched.
“Lady Cecilia is requesting you.”
“…The young lady?”
“Yes.”
“…Right now?”
“Why else would I come all the way up to this attic so early in the morning?”
“…”
Perhaps annoyed by the repeated questions, her already sharp eyes narrowed even more fiercely.
Caught off guard by her fierce demeanor, Deborah hesitated briefly before speaking again.
It almost sounded like a sigh slipped out between her words.
“…Where should I go?”
‘This is the place…’
Inside the dome-shaped gazebo in one corner of the rose garden, Deborah kept looking around.
– ‘Come to the garden. The young lady wants to have her hair done outdoors today, for a change.’
As if reluctant to walk together, the maid had curtly thrown out that single sentence and left the attic first.
After standing there with a dazed expression for a moment, Deborah snapped out of it and hurriedly followed.
But the strange thing was, when she reached the garden, no one was there.
Not a single person, not even an ant, could be seen in the eerily quiet surroundings.
She was certain she had been told to come to the garden…
No matter how many times she recalled it, it was the same.
Unless she had misheard, she was definitely told to come here.
– ‘Don’t be late, and wait there first.-
While pondering what to do, she recalled the maid’s final words.
Oh, maybe she hasn’t come out yet.
After thinking it over for a while, Deborah decided that was the most likely answer and let out a sigh of relief.
With her worries eased, the garden’s scenery finally caught her eye.
She had only passed by it a few times, catching glimpses from a distance.
She had never come this far in to look properly.
The rich, almost suffocating fragrance filled her lungs deeply.
Looking at the garden shimmering with red roses, Deborah let out an involuntary gasp of admiration.
“Wow…”
As if enchanted, Deborah stepped out of the gazebo and slowly began moving toward the outside.
As if enchanted, Deborah stepped out of the gazebo and slowly began moving toward the outside.
– ‘The late duchess loved flowers so much, especially roses. That’s why the duke assigned ten gardeners to always keep this rose garden well-maintained for her.’
Even someone unaware of the effort poured into this garden could easily guess its beauty.
Looking at the lush roses, blooming as if every ounce of care had been poured into each one, Deborah suddenly recalled a distant memory.
A very old memory.
The face of a beautiful boy standing beside a high-ranking noblewoman who regularly visited the orphanage.
Even now, thinking of it felt as vivid as if it had happened just days ago.
His golden hair, gently swaying in the breeze, so soft it made her think he might be an angel.
The refined nose, and those blue eyes sparkling beneath Irish eyelashes.
Despite his young age, he stood so proudly and upright that the way people treated him made it clear how noble his status was.
Deborah still couldn’t forget the shock of seeing that boy for the first time.
Despite the headmistress’s stern warnings to stay hidden like a mouse when important visitors came, Deborah would sneak out of her room without fail on the days the boy visited, stealing glances at him.
Crawling through the dark, foul-smelling underground passage, she stood on tiptoes until her heels ached, searching for him.
For years, every single day, until the two stopped visiting the orphanage.
She only realized much later that it had been her first love, but back then, she didn’t understand such things.
Deborah waited and waited with a pounding heart for the boy to come.
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By Anna 💓
