Chapter 4
***
The first reaction the head maid, Matilda, showed after facing Lalit was a deep sigh.
"………………Ha."
A moment of subtle tension hung between them. Just that alone made Lalit think Matilda was a good person.
If she had said something like, "I knew you'd become such a great doctor," or "I could tell you were smart from a young age," Lalit would have been terribly disappointed.
Evan explained the situation and left. After hesitating for a long while, Matilda asked in a low voice.
"Why on earth did you come here?"
Matilda was meticulous in her work and treated all the maids equally coldly. That's how she earned Eleanor's trust and rose to the position of head maid.
Still, Lalit hadn't expected a formal speech.
In any case, her use of formal speech meant she intended to treat Lalit not as the young maid from her memories, but as an official physician.
Lalit quietly observed Matilda. Her stiffly ironed clothes, her hair neatly pulled back without a single stray strand, and her stern-looking features remained unchanged.
Yet, as proof of eight years passing, wrinkles had multiplied on Matilda's face, and nearly half her hair had turned gray. Now that they were similar in height, Lalit no longer had to look up at Matilda.
Matilda stared intently at Lalit, whose lips were tightly pressed together, then touched her forehead and murmured.
"What will you do when the Lady regains consciousness?"
Considering that Lalit was the one who had come to help Eleanor regain consciousness, it was a rather contradictory reaction.
Matilda never showed her feelings, yet she had sighed with worry in front of Lalit exactly twice. The first time was eight years ago, and this was the second.
"What on earth will you do?"
At Matilda's repeated low sigh, Lalit tightened her grip on the old bag strap and spoke.
"If that happens…”
Then she answered politely.
"I'll receive a performance bonus."
Matilda, who had been pressing her forehead, fell silent for a moment, looking utterly bewildered. Then, after a brief pause, she said with apparent incredulity.
"You know that's not what I meant, don't you?"
"But nothing else matters to me."
She was honest with Matilda. Truly, nothing mattered except money. That was why she came. If she maintained that resolve and attitude consistently, everyone could avoid being swayed by the past.
Treat, get paid, leave.
It was an utterly ordinary thing, something any noble family could do just the same.
Finally, Matilda muttered, 'Hah, I don't know………………….' and returned to her previous cold expression.
"Understood. Dr. Jansen is on vacation, so we can pay our respects the day after tomorrow."
Lalit's eyes widened instantly at the mention of 'Jansen' from Matilda's lips.
Jansen was the elderly physician who had been stationed here as the Duke's personal doctor since Lalit first arrived at the estate.
'I thought he'd retired given his age!'
He always used to say, almost like a mantra, that he was more of a patient than a doctor himself. On top of that, he was the sort of person who constantly muttered, "I can't do this anymore. I should quit soon and go back to my hometown," whenever he got the chance, so everyone assumed he had already retired.
Finally, Lalit couldn't contain her surprise and asked.
"Is Dr. Jansen still the primary physician?"
Matilda nodded once. Instead of saying, 'Dr. Jansen did care for the Lady,' she opened her mouth with an expressionless face.
"Please follow me. I'll show you to your room."
Lalit didn't bother telling Matilda she didn't need to use formal speech either. Instead, she quietly followed behind her.
***
That evening.
As always, Matilda reported any unusual matters to Adrian.
"Gardener Melvin completed pruning the garden trees today. He says he will tend to the flower beds in the east garden starting tomorrow."
Reporting even the smallest household matters to the master daily was a rule established by Eleanor for the duke's residence.
"How can one protect oneself in turbulent times if they cannot even manage their own household? Managing the Duke's household is the lord's foremost virtue."
Over the past decade, the emperor had changed three times. During this period when the imperial court was steeped in bloodshed, Eleanor managed every detail of the Duke's residence without flaw, preparing for any possible conspiracy or crisis. Adrian respected this family tradition and adhered to it meticulously himself.
"Also, a letter has arrived from the Countess of Karins. She wishes to formally proceed with the betrothal arrangements discussed with the Lady during Your Grace's time at the military academy."
Adrian, dressed in loungewear with a relaxed expression, merely listened to Matilda's report while continuing to flip through the documents he had been reviewing. Matilda's matter-of-fact tone continued.
"And we've assigned the new physician for the Lady, Dr. Lalit, to the room next to hers. She examined the Lady immediately today and stated she would report her findings and the formal treatment plan tomorrow morning."
True to Matilda's strict separation of work and personal matters, she consistently addressed Lalit as 'Doctor'.
"………………I see."
Adrian replied with a single word, seemingly uninterested. However, from the moment the name 'Lalit' was mentioned, he had been reading the same sentence over and over.
"Regarding the medicines and herbs stocked at the Duke's residence, Dr. Jansen will return the day after tomorrow and provide the details. As you know, Dr. Jansen is currently on vacation."
Jansen was elderly but a quite excellent physician. After Eleonor collapsed, he had even declared, 'I don't think I can treat her. But then, most doctors probably wouldn't be able to either.'
Adrian still stared at the same sentence as he spoke.
"He... He wouldn't be acting like a territorial old dog, would he? After all, it means there are now two doctors at the duke's residence..."
"He absolutely would not do such a thing. And Dr. Lalit was quite pleased to hear that Dr. Jansen would remain as the attending physician."
"Well, if that's the case."
Adrian nodded calmly without further comment, his gaze still fixed on the documents.
"Is that all?"
"Yes. I'll take my leave then."
As soon as Matilda bowed politely and left.
Adrian flung the papers he hadn't been paying attention to onto his desk.
Then, as if utterly dumbfounded, he furrowed his brow sharply. In truth, the words that had been circling in his head since earlier were entirely different.
"What? 20 silver? Private conversation with the Duke, unnecessary for employment and treatment?"
Even after some time had passed, he was still boiling with anger. At first, he'd been flabbergasted, but now he was strangely furious.
"No, after knowing each other for so long, couldn't we at least exchange pleasantries? How cold-hearted..."
Not as the young maid Lalit, but as the personal physician Lalit?
But she was happy to see Jansen?
She had been overjoyed to know Jansen was still a physician here, yet she couldn’t even bear to ask the young duke—who’d acted like he’d give his liver and gallbladder—how he’d been living? She had to charge money for that?
Humanly speaking, wasn’t this discrimination too extreme? Especially now that slavery had been abolished, when they were supposed to avoid such harsh discrimination between fellow humans.
Lalit's anachronistic behavior made him furious. He couldn't even remember the last time his insides had boiled like this.
‘Ah, wait a moment.’
"Lady Eleonor is over 60 and suffers from hypertension, diabetes, and hyperlipidemia. Dietary habits and stress management are crucial."
Jansen had once mentioned it in passing.
"Right, didn't I have a family history where I shouldn't get stressed?"
“It would be advisable for Your Highness to make exercise a habit from a young age and manage your diet. Naturally, avoiding stressful situations is best.”
"Isn't this level of stress going to cause serious problems?"
He frowned gravely.
The weight of the duke's household now rested on his shoulders. If he became too stressed and his health suffered, it would spell crisis for the duke's family.
He had numerous businesses requiring his direct management, Eleonor was in a coma, and there was no suitable successor in sight.
The Pertiano Duchy, which had only just stabilized, could face another crisis.
‘Come to think of it, this is a truly serious situation.’
He even had a premonition that this matter would continue to weigh on his mind, that he wouldn't be able to forget it, and that stress would steadily accumulate. That was a truly big problem. It was a crisis for the family.
"At this point, maybe... maybe I should see a doctor."
But Jansen was on vacation. Really, of all times, how could this happen, why now, it was utterly lamentable.
This was truly unavoidable. It seemed best to get a doctor's opinion, but there was only one doctor in the household right now.
He stared at the rope for a long moment, then suddenly yanked it.
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