5. Chivalry - The maid who killed the count

5. Chivalry

_

When the cotton soaked in disinfectant touched her neck, Mary grimaced as if it stung.

이안 룩펠

Are you sick?

메리 앤

No... it's okay.

rustle-

이안 룩펠

That's it. The bandage should be changed at least once every half day.

Ian said as he organized the medicine cabinet after completing the light treatment.

Judging by the way he naturally took out items like medicine, it seemed like he had been here more than once or twice.

메리 앤

...

Come to think of it, how did I know there was a medicine chest in this study filled with thick books?

이안 룩펠

By the way, do you have any questions?

메리 앤

...yes?

이안 룩펠

I've been looking at you with those eyes since a while ago.

Mary started talking nonsense to Ian, who noticed her gaze as if she had eyes behind her, as if she was looking at him with her back turned.

메리 앤

No, I was going to say... thank you for looking at my wounds.

이안 룩펠

Haha, I've received thanks before.

메리 앤

That's true, but...

Ian smiled slightly at her sagging tone and asked casually as he pulled out a red-covered book from the bookshelf.

이안 룩펠

Why am I friends with Will?

이안 룩펠

Isn't that what you were wondering?

Ian and Will's relationship.

It was a completely different conclusion from what Mary had been holding in her heart until just now, but this was also one of the things she was secretly curious about.

메리 앤

Are you...a friend?

이안 룩펠

Yes, we haven't known each other for very long, but I'm probably Will's best friend right now.

Despite his fame in high society, Will Branton had a tendency to keep aloof from both men and women.

People said that this gave Will the dignity and class to become the next Earl, but it was already a well-known fact within the mansion that no one had entered his office in the past few years.

메리 앤

I'm glad you have someone you can confide in.

He did not miss Mary's mutterings to herself and repeated them back to her.

이안 룩펠

Are you compassionate?

메리 앤

!

메리 앤

Not at all, it's not even worth it! How dare I...!

"What the big deal is this?" Ian burst out laughing at Mary, who was shaking her hand.

이안 룩펠

Ugh... no.

메리 앤

...?

이안 룩펠

I'm not saying I'm angry, I just wanted to say that in some ways, you're right.

He looked beyond, as if briefly recalling past events.

이안 룩펠

To be honest, it wasn't easy to become close. He was so thorny at first.

메리 앤

...

이안 룩펠

If I hadn't been a Knight Commander, Will and I probably wouldn't have had a connection.

이안 룩펠

Although his originally prickly personality never went away, it seems like he trusts me and relies on me now, just like he said.

Mary nodded in agreement, but then suddenly paused at the word 'Commander of the Knights.'

메리 앤

But, you're the commander of the knights?

Come to think of it, before Mary entered the training hall, he had been engaged in a swordsmanship match with Will. She widened her eyes at Ian, who smiled calmly, saying, "That's right."

메리 앤

So that's why you're so good at this kind of treatment...

이안 룩펠

I'm not an expert, what is it?

Dang-

Dang-

The bell ringing at 4 p.m. rang through the study where Ian and Mary were.

이안 룩펠

Oh, it's already this late. I have training later, so I'll be heading back soon.

메리 앤

Today's work... I was really grateful.

Mary nodded and stood there until Ian's hand, slashing through the air, disappeared from the study. Then, at some point,

메리 앤

Oh no. I shouldn't be here doing this.

I walked hurriedly to the central area of the mansion, remembering that my day's work wasn't over yet.

_

_

There was no doubt that Will was the person Mary feared more than anyone else. This may have been due to the real threat, or it may simply have stemmed from Mary's guilt.

The fact that someone as kind as Ian had Will Branton as a friend suggested that Mary, at least, wasn't the only person he knew.

메리 앤

But I can't say I'm completely positive about it...

Mary furrowed her brow as her thoughts grew increasingly more complex the deeper she fell into them.

메리 앤

By the way, when will you come back again?

I absentmindedly touched my neck with my hand, and I could feel the delicate touch of the bandage on my skin. As the Commander of the Knights, it was only natural that he would be busy.

Of course...

메리 앤

I want to meet you again.

아셀 브랜튼

Who?

Wow-

메리 앤

Do, Do-ryeon?

Asher, who had come close to Mary, raised his eyebrows with interest.

아셀 브랜튼

I thought the grass would be dead, but it wasn't.

메리 앤

...

아셀 브랜튼

Is this an injury mark?

Swish-

As Asher gently stroked her wound, Mary's eyes closed tightly. Even if she had stepped back belatedly, what she encountered was a solid wall beneath her heels.

메리 앤

stop...

아셀 브랜튼

I have so many questions I want to ask you in the short time we haven't seen each other, I'm having trouble deciding where to start.

He took a step back, stroked his chin, and pretended to think seriously. "Aha," he thought. His eyes lit up, as if a memory had just occurred to him.

아셀 브랜튼

How about we have tea time?

메리 앤

...

아셀 브랜튼

Hmm... there's something about that face that makes me really dislike it.

메리 앤

...there is still work to be done.

Mary gasped softly, the breath she'd been holding without even realizing it. She looked up and saw Asher standing there, blocking her path.

Yes, it's not just Will. There are others here to be wary of.

아셀 브랜튼

Mary, this is difficult.

Snap-

메리 앤

Ugh...!

Asher, who had been wearing a regretful expression, suddenly grabbed Mary's wrist and pulled it.

아셀 브랜튼

At least while you're here, you have to please me.

메리 앤

Let go, please...

아셀 브랜튼

It's almost like I don't have one, but Miss Mary has a family to look after.

아셀 브랜튼

Right?

Mary's pupils dilated sharply at the word "family."

메리 앤

No family...! Please...

아셀 브랜튼

Well, I'll take it you're willing to talk.

"See you in the living room at 5 o'clock." He said with a bright smile before disappearing.

메리 앤

ha...

After Asher left with his threats, Mary reached out to support her trembling legs, but lacked the strength and collapsed in the middle of the hallway.

dump-

메리 앤

Hailey......

_

_

When Mary entered the living room where Asher was, what she saw before her eyes were none other than three teacups.

메리 앤

This is...

아셀 브랜튼

I told him to prepare everything first because I didn't know what he would like.

Unable to hide her embarrassment, she awkwardly sat down across from Asher.

아셀 브랜튼

How are you feeling about your injury? Are you feeling a little better?

"Who was it that had been poking my innocent wounds just a moment ago?" Mary bit her lip at his casual question.

메리 앤

...are you okay.

아셀 브랜튼

Come on in. The tea will get cold.

Although hesitant about the untimely urging, Mary could no longer ignore his request, so she lifted the teacup on the far left.

The smell was unpleasant.

메리 앤

...

The smell of the poisonous plant I happened to smell once was exactly like that.

아셀 브랜튼

It's amazing, Miss Mary, your thoughts are reflected in your expression.

메리 앤

I need a spoon to... stir the tea.

Asher, who had been watching with his chin resting on his hand, soon began to laugh faintly. Perhaps he saw the trembling hand holding the teacup. Mary slowly set the cup down.

아셀 브랜튼

What should I do with this?

아셀 브랜튼

I need to have the maid bring it, but I just told her not to let anyone come up to this floor.

메리 앤

...

아셀 브랜튼

I have no choice but to just drink it.

Her face was reflected on the surface of the yellow-stemmed tea, rippling with anxiety.

Did Asher poison it here?

메리 앤

master...

As she hesitated in front of him, Asher touched his silver ring and said.

아셀 브랜튼

I read something interesting in a book a while back: People often project their own image onto others.

아셀 브랜튼

Isn't it funny? All the happiness, sadness, worry, and anxiety I believed I experienced because of others actually came from me.

메리 앤

...

It was suffocating. Mary found it difficult to bear each and every word Asher spoke, strangling her throat with a quiet, almost suffocating silence. The doubt, "Could it be?", threatened to tear through her swollen lungs.

A fear gripped Mary, something she would never have felt if she hadn't been involved in this incident, if she hadn't killed the Count. Perhaps it was by killing people that she began to think about being killed herself.