Chapter 60
Chapter 60
Then, he ran to Hilde and abruptly knelt.
“Why… why are you doing this…?” Hilde, startled by the sudden action, instinctively recoiled. The maid frantically grabbed her ankle.
“Please, please help me.”
“…!”
“You can save him. You can save my child!”
Hilde’s eyes widened with confusion.
“Is someone ill…?”
“What is the meaning of this?!”
Just then, a thunderous roar erupted. Lady Greta, her expression stern, was approaching. Quickly closing the distance, she bellowed at the prostrate maid.
“I’ve warned you repeatedly to behave yourself! If you continue to act so recklessly, I’ll have no choice but to dismiss you!”
The weeping maid abruptly lifted her head and cried out in anguish.
“Are you saying I should just let my child die, poisoned by a monstrous beast?!”
Hilde, her face etched with shock, looked back and forth between the two women.
Poisoned by a beast?
“B-But I heard they were all defeated…”
“They were!” the maid shrieked, her voice laced with venom. “After a few of them broke into the village and hurt several people!”
Having lost all reason in her outburst, she suddenly collected herself, clasped her hands together, and began to plead.
“I beg you. Even now, my child is dying. I saw it myself that day. You healed the servant’s severed arm… Mmph!”
“You’ve truly lost your mind! Have you forgotten the order of silence?” Greta clamped a hand over the maid’s mouth and turned around.
“What are you waiting for?! Take Hilde inside at once!”
Even as she was dragged away, Hilde kept looking back. Tears streamed silently down the gagged maid’s face.
***
“That story just now…”
“Don’t get involved.” The maid who interrupted Hilde’s question added, “That would be helping her. You haven’t forgotten what happened last time, have you?”
But Hilde couldn’t shake her unease. The more she thought about it, the heavier her heart grew.
A child, poisoned by a monstrous beast…
She looked out from her bedroom, but the confrontation seemed to have been resolved; no one remained in the courtyard.
Fretting, Hilde finally pushed her bedroom door open slightly. The guard stationed outside turned around.
Taking a deep breath, she spoke.
“Is it… possible to see the Master?”
***
Standing before the mahogany door that reached the ceiling, Hilde took a slow, deep breath.
It will be… alright.
Anxiety and nervousness parched her lips. It was always like this when she faced her master. Yet, Hilde found her courage, trusting in him as the lord.
He rode out as soon as he heard the spider beast was attacking the territory. So… perhaps he won’t stand by and watch an innocent villager die.
The heavy door opened silently, and Moritz nodded, signaling her to enter. Hilde gave him a small bow and stepped into the study.
The room was quiet. If not for the scratching of a quill, she might have thought it empty.
As soon as she spotted Benedict, Hilde caught her breath, stopping herself from calling out to him.
The man sat with his back to the large window. The afternoon sun streamed deep into the room, but his face remained obscured by the backlight.
Hilde could only see his broad, angular shoulders and his impeccably straight posture. The series of movements—reading a document, writing something down, and setting it aside—were remarkably fluid and precise.
After observing him for a long moment, she finally came to her senses.
“Master.”
The scratching stopped. For a fleeting instant, Hilde thought the room had fallen into complete silence.
But Benedict was already looking at her.
“You’ve come.”
The Master is a busy man. Having finished her thought, Hilde quickly spoke.
“I, I have something to tell you…”
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