MHMMS 10

Chapter 10

Thinking about it, Tilda realized that because she had woken up late, a young child was going hungry.

“Go have your meal with your younger brother now.”

At Tilda’s command, Stella waved her hands.

“I can’t do that! It’s my job to attend to you so you’re not uncomfortable while you eat.”

Tilda gazed at Stella and spoke.

“I still don’t understand your race. So for now, I feel more at ease being alone.”

“Ah…”

Stella’s face flushed with embarrassment.

Tilda couldn’t let her guard down just because the girl before her looked young.

Most Turin were born with special abilities unlike ordinary people. That meant even a delicate-looking girl like her could put a blade to Tilda’s throat in an instant.

The wariness she had been holding back burst forth.

“…Then, please call for me when you’ve finished your meal.”

There had also been the intention of letting Stella eat with her brother, but Tilda didn’t bother adding a gentle explanation. Her nerves were on edge, and she had no room for that.

“Wait.”

At the call, Stella stopped.

“Yes?”

“Would it be alright to take a walk around the grounds? I feel stifled staying in this room all day.”

“The back garden should be fine. There’s no one there.”

Stella bowed politely and left the room.

Tilda ate the food Stella had left behind, little by little. Her empty stomach welcomed the meal.

As her hollow belly filled and her body gradually warmed, she realized once again that she had returned from death.

So she had survived after all.

Even after that crisis, she had tenaciously clung to life.

And yet, despite having revived that precious flame of life with such difficulty, her body remained listless.

The shock of the truth Acleare had laid out hadn’t faded, and the sense of betrayal toward Windsor was still vivid.

How much must they have mocked her behind her back all this time?

Tilda found it utterly horrifying that her husband was that kind of person.

What on earth was he thinking, wanting to remarry the woman who had been his former wife’s stepmother?

Those who cannot overcome their desires are worse than beasts. She wanted to scrub and scrub her chest until the skin peeled off, just to erase the fact that such a man had been her husband.

Tilda realized that the plate before her, which had been full, was now empty.

Still, she had forced herself to fill her hungry stomach in order to live.

Staring blankly out the window, Tilda watched the residence’s employees tending to the garden with bright smiles.

Their hair and eye colors were all ordinary hues, but they too were probably Turin who had changed their appearance with their abilities.

Beyond the window, she could see Stella together with a small boy beside her.

The boy holding Stella’s hand and toddling along seemed to be the younger brother she had mentioned.

Hopping and skipping as if delighted about something, he looked just like a sparrow.

A High Priest’s residence where a young boy who wasn’t an employee wandered around looked oddly unfamiliar, like an ordinary family home.

Then suddenly, Tilda furrowed her brow.

‘…Surely not.’

Could that boy be Cales’s hidden child?

Given that scoundrel’s notoriously dissolute private life, it was more than possible.

Tilda pulled the bell cord while thinking such thoughts. Since Stella was outside, another employee came instead.

This employee also didn’t seem flustered or surprised, as if knowing her identity.

“Yes, you called?”

“Bring me today’s Imperial Times.”

“Yes, ma’am.” The maid bowed her head and disappeared.

Feeling somewhat stifled, Tilda took the newspaper and went out to the residence’s back garden.

Beneath a large willow tree, a small pond was filled with a school of fish stained with vermilion.

Tilda glanced at the pond briefly, then settled onto a flat rock and opened the newspaper.

The front page was sensational.

[Missing Tilda Valinea Nokquila: Where Has She Gone?]

It had only been a single day since she’d disappeared, yet the newspapers were full of nothing but stories about her.

It was unnatural for her disappearance to have already filled the papers like this.

Acleare must have informed the newspapers directly.

She needed to announce Tilda’s disappearance and have her body found so the funeral could be held, and then she could remarry Windsor.

‘Though she won’t be able to remarry immediately, since public opinion would be watching.’

Even if the remarriage was delayed, Acleare, convinced that Tilda was dead, would be at ease.

Thinking that, Tilda felt a slight sense of satisfaction.

What kind of face would Acleare make when Tilda appeared before her alive?

Her mere survival alone would be quite a significant revenge.

‘The goddess Valinea said that revenge only breeds emptiness.’

Tilda felt a twinge of guilt at these thoughts, but she couldn’t deny that her heart was leaning toward wanting to return the wounds she had received.

Just then, her vision grew hazy.

The letters in the newspaper blurred as if wavering, and gradually her sight went completely dark.

*Click—*

Soon she was trapped in perfect darkness.

‘…Damn it.’

Cales had said that since the treatment wasn’t complete, she would occasionally lose her sight, but she hadn’t expected it to be this frequent.

She had experienced this phenomenon just this morning, and now in the afternoon it had happened again.

Was she even being treated at all?

Tilda grumbled inwardly and folded the newspaper. She couldn’t stay outside like this.

Everyone around her was Turin, and if they found out she couldn’t see, who knew what harm they might do.

Though Cales had said the Turin weren’t evil, they might still hold grudges against the Valinea family, who had slaughtered their ancestors.

Tilda groped around and rose from her seat.

The unfamiliar path felt like a maze, and Tilda felt as if not only her eyes but her mind was going dark as well.

Just then, someone carefully took Tilda’s hand.

Tilda flinched and assumed a defensive posture.

‘…Who is it?’

Since the seminary taught basic martial arts to everyone, Tilda, even as a woman, could handle an average adult man with her bare hands.

“…I’m sorry, I startled you.”

It was Stella’s voice. At a familiar voice, she felt her body, which had been tense with alertness, relax.

Tilda barely moved her eyes toward where the voice came from. She didn’t want to show that she couldn’t see.

Noticing Tilda’s effort, Stella spoke in a small voice.

“Lord Lizard had already given me advance notice about your condition. So you can lean on me.”

Tilda didn’t like that not only Cales but others knew her weakness, but for now she had no choice.

As Tilda groped the air with her arm, the soft skin of a young girl touched her fingertips.

“…If you’ll excuse me.”

Stella took Tilda’s hand and led her.

“How did you know I was here?”

Tilda asked as she walked along with Stella.

“Since you said you wanted to take a walk, I thought you might be here.”

The timing was far too perfect for that.

Perhaps Stella had been watching her. Seeing Tilda’s hardened expression, Stella added cautiously.

“…I know this is unpleasant, but please bear with it just a little. I’ll take you to your room right away.”

Tilda sighed. She seemed to have frightened the girl unnecessarily.

“I don’t find you unpleasant. I’m just wary.”

At Tilda’s softened voice, Stella’s stiff hand relaxed into a more natural state.

“The Turin here aren’t much different from ordinary people.”

“…What do you mean?”

“It’s known that the Turin have superior abilities unlike ordinary people, but that was in the past. Those with abilities are a minority, like Lord Cales. So you don’t need to be so on guard.”

If that were true, why hadn’t it been made known to people…? If it were true, there would be no need to be so wary of the Turin.

Tilda doubted Stella’s words, but she acknowledged that just as she herself wouldn’t readily believe Cales, no one would believe them either.

Her mind grew complicated once again at the unexpected revelation.

“Please rest. Lord Cales has stepped out for a while, and it will take some time before he returns.”

Stella helped Tilda lie down on the bed and smoothed the covers.

*Click.* She heard the sound of Stella leaving the room.

As the space fell into silence, Tilda slowly closed and opened her sightless eyes.

Stella’s words circled in her mind.

‘The Turin here aren’t much different from ordinary people.’

If that were true, it meant the world had been persecuting innocent people.

Was it too naive to try overturning long-established facts with a single word from Stella?

As time passed, her vision, which had been nothing but darkness, gradually began to show the shapes of objects. Before long, her sight returned enough to see the room properly.

She was relieved.

She had been worried that her vision would only return if she kissed that beast-like man again, but it had returned naturally.

Just then, the door burst open.

Tilda looked at the uninvited guest who had entered without permission.

“Oh, it seems your sight has already returned.”

It was Cales.

He must have been informed of her condition by Stella, but seeing her focused eyes, he seemed to notice immediately.

“I was going to restore it for you.”

Cales said that as he walked toward the bed where Tilda was sitting.

“Is that all that’s on your mind?”

“I’m just faithful to my desires.”

“Having such thoughts while wearing priestly robes is a sin.”

Cales shrugged.

“It doesn’t matter anyway, since I’m not a real High Priest.”

Tilda couldn’t understand why the goddess Valinea allowed such a fraud to exist.

Just then, Cales braced his arm on the bed, leaned down, and asked.

“So, was your time without me today boring?”