Chapter 38
On the window ledge where Luirene had set out a teacup for him, a single summer hydrangea was placed each time. Luirene understood it was in place of a greeting, and she cherished them, bringing them back to decorate a corner of her room.
The flowers changed with the seasons.
Around the time the summer hydrangeas turned to autumn salvia, and then to winter snowdrop, news came of Hitaon’s acceptance to the Academy.
And before the next spring’s flowers bloomed, the young master left the mansion.
* * *
The euphoria brought by the young master’s return lasted only a single day. The next morning, when she came down to the servants’ dining hall, a desolate air hung about the place. It was the vicious afterglow of the previous night’s feast—special rations accompanied by alcohol, granted after so long.
“Good morning…”
Sissley spotted Luirene and came to sit across from her. His pallid face, devoid of any healthy color, didn’t match his greeting at all. Good morning, with a face that looked ready to clamp its mouth shut and run off to vomit at any moment.
“Is it a good morning?”
“I’m implying it has to be. It has to be good. Otherwise, the Nanny will summon me and tear me to pieces… ugh.”
His face turned green from a severe hangover. Luirene offered him a glass of water, which he downed without hesitation. Just then, behind him, she saw James the kitchen chef dashing out with his hand over his mouth. Before sneaking off to the shed yesterday, she’d seen him and Sissley clinking a large rum cask together.
“Everyone looks terrible. How much did you people drink to end up like this?”
“I don’t know the exact time. What’s clear is that we all shouted together as dawn broke. The sun rises—it’s the most natural thing in the world. Why did everyone get so excited seeing it?”
“That’s just what alcohol does. It makes you do things you wouldn’t normally do.”
She understood why everyone seated in the dining hall—servants and maids alike—looked half-dead. The frenzied atmosphere had burned hot enough to outlast the harsh dawn. But energy was finite; staying up all night was clearly taking its toll now. On top of that, the hangover had neatly erased all of yesterday’s excitement.
As she focused on her meal, fragments of gossip drifted to her ears. Luirene pricked up her senses, wondering if any of it might include talk of the young master.
Before Hitaon left to study abroad, Luirene had eaten alone. She occupied a somewhat special position for a mere servant, and having been hired at an awkward time, she had no particular acquaintances among the staff—which suited her just fine.
She had started coming to the servants’ dining hall after Hitaon left. Hoping to catch even a single piece of news about him, who had departed without even a proper farewell. That was how much she had already been suffering from longing, even though he hadn’t been gone long.
It was Sissley, the coachman, who had spoken to her back then—when she had been unable to mingle with the maids and just wandered the edges of the dining hall. Since that day, unless something special came up, she always ate with him.
“Now that the young master is back, you’ll be busy too, Sissley.”
Sissley, who had been spooning up only soup for a while and was looking considerably better, made a face.
“Don’t even mention it. I have to go check on and tend to the horse the young master procured first thing this morning.”
“He got one? But there are already horses at the mansion.”
“It’s a racehorse for a riding competition.”
“A riding competition?”
“I hear it’s an event that will be held soon to celebrate the young master’s return.”
Sissley grinned and whispered as if to say keep this between us.
“Perhaps knowing that many lovely young ladies will flock to the event that day, he’s gone and acquired a new horse.”
“I see.”
“Luirene. Do you have anything to do after eating? If not, want to come see the new horse?”
Sissley was lazy by nature. After Luirene helped him put hay into feedboxes a few times, he had taken to coaxing her like this, pretending otherwise. Curious about the racehorse Hitaon would ride, Luirene readily agreed.
Arriving at the stable, she took the bundle of hay Sissley handed her and carried it in her arms. Inside, someone was already there. When Luirene suddenly stopped, Sissley, who had been following behind, grumbled about her stopping abruptly. But when she didn’t respond, he lifted his head to where she was looking and gasped.
“Young master. What brings you here at this early hour?”
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