Chapter 028. Once Again, on the Stairs
As Raymond made his way toward the second-floor terrace overlooking the garden, a faint sound caught his attention.
The noise came from the bottom of the staircase leading to the first floor.
At this time in the morning, maids typically bustled about cleaning each floor, so Raymond soon turned his gaze away.
His distracted glance halted again when he caught sight of brown hair at the edge of his vision.
Soft chocolate-colored hair, cascading in waves down to a slender waist.
His gaze fixed on it, Raymond’s steps came to a complete stop.
“…….”
The moment he recognized the person struggling with a basket larger than herself, Raymond’s brow furrowed instantly.
How, every single time, did they keep running into each other like this, tiresomely so?
It was as if someone were playing a cruel prank, placing the two of them together.
Whether it was the piercing gaze or the shadow cast over her, the woman climbing the stairs stopped abruptly two steps below.
“…….”
“…….”
As her pale face tilted upward, their eyes quickly locked in the air.
She clearly hadn’t expected to encounter him here, and Raymond silently watched as her golden eyes slowly widened.
‘Of course, even I find this moment absurd and ridiculous—naturally, you would too.’
A fleeting smirk passed over Raymond’s lips.
How much time passed like that?
As he stared at the face standing frozen, unsure of what to do, his gaze suddenly shifted downward.
Following the slightly parted, rosy lips, he noticed a red mark at their corner.
Seeing the stain in stark contrast to her pale skin, Raymond’s brow twitched fiercely.
‘Where on earth, and what has she been doing to—’
His gaze, suddenly cold as if he’d seen something filthy.
Once the thought arose, it grew uncontrollably, swelling in his mind.
Raymond’s thoughts were swept back to the memory of that night a few days ago.
* * *
That night, his nerves had been on edge from the day’s picnic.
Raymond was heading to the second-floor terrace to clear his cluttered mind.
How long had he been walking along the corridor lit by soft light?
His steps halted at the faint sound brushing past his ears.
The sound came from the third-floor staircase.
Who could be descending the stairs at this late hour? He stared into the darkness for a long moment.
Finally, a silhouette emerged at the end of the stairs.
The distance was too great, and the wall lanterns didn’t reach that far, making it hard to identify the figure immediately.
But the long, swaying hair beyond the slender outline told him it was a woman.
That made it all the more suspicious.
The staircase led to the third-floor attic, where the maids’ bedrooms were located.
If a young maid was wandering in the dark past midnight, when everyone was asleep, her intentions were as clear as day.
He had strictly warned that such sordid behavior within the estate would not be tolerated.
Clicking his tongue, Raymond strode toward the woman.
Intending to hand her over to Mrs. Charlotte at dawn, he approached, but his steps halted not long after.
“…….”
At first, he thought he’d seen wrong.
Perhaps it was because that face had been incessantly disturbing his thoughts, causing a momentary illusion.
But the notion that it might be someone else vanished the moment light fell on the cautiously moving woman’s face.
That face, laughing brightly on the lawn earlier that day.
The face that, from the first moment he saw it, had inexplicably consumed his thoughts with incomprehensible emotions.
That lowborn orphan, a mere housemaid.
It could be no one else—that face was glowing vividly in the darkness.
Ha, a short laugh burst from Raymond’s lips.
Of course, that’s why base origins can’t be helped. It’s only natural. And I forgot that for a moment.
Scoffing with self-deprecation, Raymond continued his thoughts.
Seeing it with his own eyes actually brought him relief.
It was absurd from the start.
To think that he, the head of the great Cheister family, Raymond von Cheister, could be swayed by a mere orphan.
Staring at the woman descending the stairs in a sheer white chemise, Raymond finally turned away.
His face, as he strode back the way he came, felt strangely grim.
* * *
That was what happened a few days ago.
The next day, Raymond summoned Mrs. Charlotte to the study and brought up the previous night’s incident.
Questioning how she managed the estate’s servants, he issued a cold warning to tighten discipline from the ground up, and Mrs. Charlotte bowed with a pale face.
But even now, there was one action he couldn’t comprehend.
He had never answered her question about who the person was.
It would have been simple to name her and have her dismissed.
To cleanly remove someone who had disturbed his peace and the estate’s discipline with such sordid behavior.
So why, why hadn’t he?
“…….”
The delusions that had plagued him that night only grew larger with the sight of those lips.
Raymond’s face, which had been staring intently, began to twist fiercely.
Tch, at the sound of his low tongue-click, Deborah’s shoulders flinched, frozen two steps below.
Her tightly closed lips parted and closed several times before finally, after a long pause, they slowly opened.
“The second-floor guest rooms… for cleaning……”
Her voice came out strained, as if squeezed out, but it soon faded back into her throat.
Well, he didn’t need to hear the rest to guess.
She was only here to clean the second floor, unaware he was there, so don’t misunderstand—
It was likely no different from the excuses he’d heard before.
That was exactly it. The reason this person irritated him so much.
Why did this insignificant maid, of all people, make him feel as if a thorn were stuck in his throat every time he saw her?
He could just ignore her like any other servant. So why, every time, couldn’t he let it pass?
Just like now.
Perhaps it was the whirlwind of incomprehensible emotions, but his gaze on the woman grew sharper and more piercing.
For a while, a suffocating silence hung heavily over the staircase.
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By Anna 💓
