IBDF 2

Chapter 2 I Became the Blind Maid of the Ducal Household

“First of all, you already know it’s bright blonde hair… And of course, you know the eyes are pale green, right? The nose is small and straight, the lips are red and plump. Oh, the tips of your ears are kind of unique? They’re slightly pointed. Have they always been like this since you were born?”

Tilda touched the tip of my ear while examining my face more closely, then said,

“Hmm… With this, you’re quite the beauty, aren’t you?”

At her final verdict, I smiled happily—while secretly feeling a little regretful that I could never see my own face with my own eyes.

And actually, there was one more face I felt this kind of regret about.

“…Tilda, um… what about Young Master Callios? What does he look like?”

“Young Master Callios? Ah, so that’s what you were really curious about, huh?”

Tilda teased me in a mischievous tone.

(Yes, I’m extremely curious!)

I hid my pitiful expression and answered inwardly.

I finally possessed a book, and yet I can’t even admire the male lead’s appearance—how could Tilda ever understand this sorrow even if she died and came back to life?

“Well, I guess it would be frustrating not to know what the young master you serve looks like.”

Saying that, Tilda began describing Callios’s appearance for my sake.

“Hmm… The young master takes after the master completely—silver-white hair like moonlight and blue eyes. And they say his beauty resembles the late madam.”

“Ooh.”

“And…”

Tilda paused for a moment, as if thinking about what to say next. Unable to wait even that short second, I jumped in.

“Is his gaze sharp, by any chance? Sharp jawline? And a perfectly handsome forehead too, right?”

“…How do you manage to pick out only the young master’s exact features like that? It’s almost like you’ve seen him yourself.”

Tilda asked in a surprised voice.

“I just guessed.”

Instead of saying I knew from the book, I brushed it off like that.

“Well, true enough. Our young master’s beauty has been the talk of the town for ages, so you must have heard about it somewhere.”

Tilda replied in a tone free of suspicion.

“Besides, he’s only fifteen years old, yet he’s already so remarkably intelligent. You could feel the dignity of the next duke even from early on.”

Tilda spoke with overflowing pride for the master she served.

“So sometimes he gave off an aura that was hard to approach. Well, that’s how most noble young lords are…”

Hmm, an aura that’s hard to approach? Like an ice prince? That’s perfect!

I freely let my imagination run wild, comparing the description from the original work with what Tilda was telling me.

Even without seeing it myself, one thing was certain: even before the original story began, Callios’s beauty was already at its completed, perfect form.

“He definitely used to be like that…”

Suddenly, Tilda’s voice became heavily tinged with pity.

“But for some reason, he hasn’t taken a single step out of his room… Every time his angry shouts echo through the entire mansion, my heart sinks. I still can’t believe a person could change so much in just half a year.”

Tilda clicked her tongue.

Photosensitivity syndrome was also called “the devil’s curse” because of its characteristic trait: excruciating pain the moment light touched the body.

There was nothing good about it becoming known that the young duke had contracted such an ominous and repulsive disease.

For that reason, the duke had strictly kept the illness a secret from everyone except the butler and head maid among the servants.

He hadn’t even told me—the person hired specifically to care for Callios—the truth.

Moreover, my contract contained clauses like these:

1. Do not ask questions about the young duke’s condition.
2. Do not ask why lights must not be turned on.
3. Do not reveal anywhere anything you hear in the young duke’s bedroom…

Because of this, most of the servants—who had no idea about the situation—couldn’t understand the young duke’s sudden change and were simply puzzled by it.

“Sigh… I wonder how long he’ll stay locked up in that room like that… He won’t be like this forever, right?”

Tilda ended with a murmur that sounded like she was talking to herself.

As someone who had read the original work, my answer to that question would be: “No, he won’t.”

It takes time, but Callios does eventually come outside.

Thanks to long, grueling training where he gradually grew accustomed to the pain.

Though calling it “training” was generous—it was really nothing more than enduring the agony through sheer mental strength.

After enduring that long period of perseverance, when he turns twenty, Callios finally becomes able to stand under the sun.

But the joy of coming outside is short-lived.

He discovers that his trusted father had long since given up on his treatment and had already brought in a replacement heir to the mansion.

Overcome with rage and betrayal, Callios ultimately kills his father and ascends to the position of duke himself.

Later, unable to refuse the emperor’s order to continue the family line, he enters into a political marriage with the daughter of a marquis…

And that bride is none other than the female protagonist, Helene.

Because Callios keeps his heart tightly shut, their married life doesn’t seem smooth at first—but well, this is a romance novel world, after all.

Helene, who awakens as a saint by God’s grace, cures Callios’s photosensitivity syndrome, which no other method could heal.

And with the female lead’s signature loveliness and kindness, she melts Callios’s frozen heart, and the two eventually become a true married couple.

…That is the plot of the original work, The Duke in the Darkness.

So even though right now Callios is trapped in his room, unable to move an inch…

In the future, he will meet the female lead, realize true love, and escape the illness—awaiting a happy ending!

“Anyway, has your curiosity been satisfied now?”

Tilda’s question snapped me out of my thoughts.

“Yes, thanks to you.”

“Then let’s get up. If we sit here too long, we’ll get scolded.”

Tilda put the remaining cloths back into the basket and stood up.

Then she added, almost nagging,

“You’d better stay sharp from now on, okay? We can’t have you passing out because you got hit by a flying vase.”

“Yes, I’ll keep that in mind.”

(Of course, staying sharp won’t necessarily let me dodge vases flying everywhere.)

Swallowing the rest of my words, I followed Tilda out of the break room.

The next day.

I deeply regretted not reporting the other maids’ negligence to the head maid sooner.

After Mary and Dorothy said they would prepare the bathwater and come right back—they suddenly vanished and didn’t show their faces again.

‘What kind of guts do they have? Are they planning to openly dump everything on me now?’

They probably figured that since I hadn’t been here long and, being blind, would have a hard time finding another job, I wouldn’t dare report them to the head maid and risk making enemies of the other maids.

I stood alone in the corridor and let out a deep sigh.

‘I still haven’t memorized the entire mansion layout, so I can’t just go looking for them recklessly.’

In the end, I gave up waiting for them and headed toward the young duke’s room.

Knock, knock.

After knocking, I quietly opened the door and stepped inside.

Even though someone had entered, Callios made no sound. He didn’t even come out from the bed.

But today, I had no choice but to take responsibility and get him up myself—even if I was alone.

Because today was the day he had to take a bath.

Last week, he had stubbornly insisted on bathing alone without anyone’s help, only to fall and injure himself quite badly.

After that incident, he had been lying in bed without washing, refusing to get up.

“Young Master.”

I approached the bed and quietly called him.

“The bathwater is ready.”

Surely he wouldn’t throw something at me just for speaking, right?

I waited nervously for Callios’s response.

But then, something completely unexpected happened.

There was a rustling sound from the bed, and the young duke actually stood up obediently.