Chapter 14
The next day, Helena didn’t get out of bed until the sun was high overhead.
Truthfully, if she had her way, she would have stayed in bed for several more days and indulged in all the laziness she’d been denied.
But the horrifying sight she’d seen on the first floor the day before kept her from lying there any longer.
Just imagining that beneath her bed—separated only by a wall—thick cobwebs hung like drapes made it impossible to remain.
After getting up, Helena looked toward the table beside the bed.
She expected to find a bell to summon attendants, but there wasn’t one.
Her eyes moved upward. A frayed pull-cord dangled above the headboard.
“Oh, so this is it.”
Helena reached up and tugged the cord.
The rope slid down with a soft hiss before dropping onto the bed with a thud.
“…What?”
Examining it, she realized it had rotted through and snapped in the middle.
“Then how am I supposed to call a maid?”
She was dumbfounded.
Still, there was no other obvious way to summon anyone. Left with no choice, Helena had to get out of bed by herself.
There weren’t even slippers beneath the bed.
As she bent down to look for some, she discovered several mysterious objects underneath.
“What’s this now?”
Taking a poker from the fireplace, Helena dragged them out.
The dust-covered items turned out to be two shirts and five socks.
“Why…? Why are there so many socks under here?”
She couldn’t understand.
Leaving the dusty socks scattered on the floor, she opened the bedroom door and called out.
“Hello? Is anyone there?”
After shouting, Helena waited quietly.
But apparently, there truly was no one.
Not a single sign of life.
“This is unbelievable.”
With no other option, she threw on what seemed to be one of Benjamin’s indoor robes over her nightclothes, found the shoes she’d taken off yesterday, and stepped outside.
Amazingly, the entire floor looked abandoned.
With anxious eyes, Helena stared down at the first floor below.
In broad daylight, the scene downstairs looked even worse.
The soot-covered sculptures and paintings appeared grotesque, while dusty cobwebs hung heavily over them.
The carpet spread across the floor was in such miserable condition she hesitated to step on it.
As Helena started down the stairs, she instinctively reached for the banister—
Then froze.
A thick layer of gray dust covered it as though snow had fallen.
This is driving me insane.
Closing her eyes in dizziness, Helena suddenly opened them wide.
Wait…
That bastard didn’t leave me here and run away with the dowry, did he?
Her face instantly turned pale.
Having no choice, she descended the stairs as quickly as possible while trying not to touch anything.
Fortunately, the castle wasn’t completely empty.
Voices drifted from somewhere.
At the sound, Helena felt the tension in her chest loosen.
The existence of another person had never seemed so comforting.
The voices came from the castle kitchen.
There, Helena found the maid who had helped with her bath the previous day.
The maid was sitting outside the kitchen, washing potatoes with a bucket between her legs.
Helena stopped in front of her.
The maid looked up.
“Oh my, milady! What brings you here?”
“Forget ‘oh my.’ What exactly is going on here?”
“Pardon?”
The maid looked up at her with dull confusion.
Helena had countless questions.
Why hadn’t anyone brought water for washing?
Why was the call cord broken?
Why were there socks stuffed under the bed?
Why was the castle in such a state?
But asking this maid would probably be useless.
After taking a deep breath, Helena spoke again.
“Bring me the highest-ranking person here.”
* * *
The person the maid brought back was, unexpectedly, the cook.
The man introduced himself as Jones.
After guiding Helena to the cleanest seat by a window in the dining hall, he carefully prepared warm tea for her.
With teacups between them, Jones began his confession.
“To tell the truth, I wasn’t even a cook. I was only a kitchen apprentice responsible for preparing ingredients. I was just about to be promoted to vegetable cook.”
Helena waved a hand impatiently.
“Skip the unnecessary details. There are things you need to tell me. Just tell me those.”
At her words, Jones looked as though the moment he had long dreaded had finally arrived.
“Everything changed five years ago.”
He began speaking immediately, like someone who had waited a long time for this chance.
“Five years ago, I took leave and left the county estate for a while because I heard my father had fallen ill. At the time, everything was normal.
That is to say, normal under the previous Count—Count Damon Ishpern.”
Jones swallowed hard before lowering his voice.
“When I returned two weeks later, everything had changed.
The brilliantly beautiful castle had been burned black by fire.
All the servants who worked here had vanished.
The only people roaming the castle were terrifying mercenaries.”
“Mercenaries?”
“Yes, milady.
I was devastated and came to the kitchen—here—just to check the place where I’d worked.
As expected, nobody was there.
I was sitting here in shock, unsure what to do, when those frightening mercenaries wandered over and demanded food.”
“And then?”
“They terrified me… so I had no choice but to cook for them.
After they ate and left, an extraordinarily handsome man came and asked for food as well.
I served him the same meal.
Then he said this:
‘At least one cook is necessary.’
That’s how I became the only cook in this castle.”
“…That man must have been Count Ishpern.”
“That’s right, milady.”
Immersed in his story, Helena shifted in her seat and asked:
“Do you know what happened during those two weeks? While you were gone?”
Straining to recall old memories, Jones answered carefully.
“I heard the mercenaries talking.
They said there had been a fire at the castle, and because of it, the previous Count and all of his family died.
I know nothing beyond that.”
“I see.”
Helena stared into the steaming tea in thought.
What this cook doesn’t know is probably the important part.
I need to find out what really happened that day.
There was one person who likely knew the entire truth.
Benjamin Ishpern.
As the one directly involved, he would know everything.
Yet asking Benjamin about it…
Well, it didn’t seem like a good idea.
To summarize:
The castle burned down.
The previous Count and his family died.
Benjamin became the new Count.
There was no way that transition had been smooth or innocent.
Perhaps Benjamin had coveted the title, brought in mercenaries, slaughtered the Count and his family, and seized the estate.
If she innocently asked,
“What happened that day?”
Benjamin might not answer.
Instead, he might lock her away in an uncleaned annex.
Then I’ll have to find the missing servants.
A castle this size must have employed many people. It shouldn’t be impossible.
Fortunately, she had the authority to search for them.
No matter how hollow the title seemed, she was still the mistress of House Ishpern by marriage.
Straightening her back, Helena turned a gentler gaze toward Jones.
“You said your name was Jones?”
“Yes, milady!”
“You’ve protected this castle all this time.”
At her words, countless emotions flickered across Jones’s face.
From that expression alone, Helena could roughly imagine how difficult things had been for him.
Continuing in a dignified voice, she said:
“Remaining in this den—where who knows what may have happened—must have required loyalty to House Ishpern.
Thank you. Truly.”
Jones immediately lowered his head, eyes brimming.
“S-sniff… Milady…! Those words alone are enough for me…!”
Helena placed a hand on his shoulder.
“Now that I am the mistress of House Ishpern, I have no intention of leaving the castle in this condition.
But I cannot do it alone.
If we are to restore the glory of the count’s family, I’ll need people willing to help me.”
Jones raised his head.
His face was still worn with exhaustion and smeared with grease, but his eyes shone brightly with purpose.
“Three years ago, the former head butler of the family, Mr. Kurt, came to visit.
He didn’t say much, but he told me that if help was ever needed, I should come find him!”
Helena’s green eyes gleamed.
“Good. Then I need to meet this man.”
