Episode 4
“Did you finish washing up?”
In the hand of the Duke who said so, there was an unidentified instrument. The aesthetic purpose was a large iron tong that one doesn’t normally see.
I looked down at my clean and shiny two feet.
“No!”
After answering in a loud voice, I applied a lot of perfume oil to both hands. If he comes close to me and asks why it takes so long to wash a single foot, I plan to poke his eyes with these oily hands and run away.
Of course, Duke Janus wouldn’t be a great man if he would just let the little child escape from his hands just because he couldn’t see well.
I don’t jump into impossible plans.
But, if it weren’t for those hideous torture tools that the boy had carefully cleaned, I would have laid flat without thinking about this nonsense.
But as soon as I saw those torture instruments, I had no choice.
‘Psycho-like child. I should have completely killed him while he was in the well.’
“Why does it take so long to wash foot?”
“Oh, hey, w, wait…”
Seeing the boy approaching, not too different from what I expected, I hurriedly washed my feet with a frightened voice.
“Huh? Your feet are going to swe…”
Now!
I stretched out my oil-stained hand toward the duke’s face, which passed by the side of his shoulder.
“Are you trying to poke me in the eye?”
And my last chance, which will never come back, was thwarted.
I smiled awkwardly holding both hands together.
“No!”
“Are you sure?”
As the boy tilted his head slightly to the side, his face drew closer.
If I had only seen that smiling and questioning face, he would have looked just like a sly prankster. But I knew.
The fact that this guy was smiling, was a really bad sign.
I’ve already drawn enough interest from him. If I act out more here, it might really turn irreversible.
‘Let’s never provoke him. Don’t provoke him.’
As I was looking down at the floor with my mouth closed, I got lifted.
“I think you’ve washed your feet enough.”
As he went to the bed with me dangling in his hands, I saw the ugly tools I had seen earlier. I feel my body losing strength as the shapes of the tools becomes clearer.
The duke placed me on the bed with so much ease, and sat down next to me, pulling a tray lined with torture instruments.
I just watched as he wiped the balm with a towel on his pale white hands.
However, the boy’s hand, pulling his lip up and smiling, turned towards the tray.
My soul spat out words like a final scream.
“Oh my gosh, you’re gonna cut my stomach with those scissors! Pull out the intestines little by little with that skewer! Tie me up so I can’t escape! Use those little tweezers to pull out my nails! Just for fun! If you get tired of playing like that, then you’ll use that saw to cut my skull!”
The duke, who was listening to me blankly, quietly opened his mouth as if he was dumbfounded.
“……No, I won’t.”
“……”
“It’s just a surgical tool. I don’t have to use it if it’s confirmed that there’s no brain damage.”
“……”
“How can such a cruel…… What’s in your head?”
Is he lying to let my guard down?
The Duke’s expression is too bland to think like that.
The instrument, which I had no idea what its purpose was, came up from the side table and shone brightly. The duke made sure to shine it on my face and literally just checked it out.
I opened my mouth and rolled my eyes up to make an ah- sound as he told me to.
The duke, who seemed to be doing some kind of inspection, lifted his hand from me. And the lights went out from the tools on the night table.
After the examination, the Duke shook his head with a slightly stiff face.
“Betty, this isn’t really good. I guess…”
“……?”
“I think I need to open your head.”
“What?”
“Your left eye hasn’t even moved. I’m going to cut open your head and look at it.”
That was so unrealistic that I feel like getting sick and just looked up at him.
‘It doesn’t make sense.’
It’s not believable.
Apparently, he’s thinking of performing surgery himself, who’s not a doctor, and that is no different between torturing people for fun.
I forced my mouth shut and smiled.
“Hey, are you lying? To make fun of me…”
Seeing her hardened face without a single smile, I was terrified. I asked more strongly.
“Th, that’s ridiculous! There’s nothing wrong with my sight… I can see everything?”
“It’s because the optic nerve is still connected. It’s going to slowly break off and then you’ll go blind.”
He’s just trying to scare me for no reason because I’m trying to run away. I turned my head around to find a mirror. I’ll have to check for myself whether my left eye is moving or not.
But there was no mirror in the room. It was a luxurious guest room as much as the room I woke up in earlier, but I couldn’t find a mirror.
All I could see was the boy’s face looking at me with a straight face.
He reached out and grabbed my cheek, fixing my face.
“Don’t keep your head moving, look down.”
For now, I looked down obediently as he told me to.
“Look to the ceiling.”
I was raising my eyes so much that it hurt, but he gently pressed around my left eye.
“Can you feel me pressing it?”
“…No.”
“If it’s normal, you should have a little bit of a dull ache. Your left eye is slowly getting necrotic.”
Huh?
My vision, which had been shaking since I had lost which way to look, changed in an instant, and a runny nose started to flow. I asked in a trembling voice.
“Then… what will happen?”
“Fortunately, one of my numerous hobbies is medicine. Feeding, putting someone to sleep, and even performing surgery myself if you are sick, even if an angel is equipped, they can’t do better than this, isn’t it?”
“Heungg…!”
In the end, I couldn’t stand it anymore and covered my face with both hands and burst into tears.
I really hate surgery. In particular, the surgery here is really scary and I hate it.
The medical level of this era could be seen as staying in the transitional period from the Middle Ages to the modern era.
Surgical operations such as cutting the bones, cutting the flesh, and tearing the internal organs were mainly performed, and the concept of disinfection and anesthesia had not been established for a while.
One day, Uncle Bob, a retired soldier, said, ‘I’d rather be a torturer. Then I can do whatever I want and I’m done.’
The Duke, who was looking at me sobbing, clicked his tongue and said, “Don’t cry, Betty. I told you to wash up so I can open our head, and because you’re dirty.”
Does he really have to open my head?
The Duke used his handkerchief to wipe the mixture of tears and runny nose that had run down my palms and cheeks. Even in the midst of this, this guy kept his mouth shut, holding back his laughter.
“Stop crying and lie down now. I’m going to put anesthetic cream on your forehead.”
There is no way that I can endure such a terrible thing as a 10-year-old.
‘I’d rather lose an eye!’
I struggled desperately at the hand trying to lay my body back.
“Why? Stay still.”
“Will you really cut it with a saw? How about my hair?”
“Of course I’m going to cut your hair. There’s no one else here but you who would get a haircut because of eating poison.”
“Please… please! Do I have to do it? I’m just….”
The duke made a fuss at my refusal.
“What are you talking about, Betty? You’re only 10 years old. Do you want to lose your eyes?”
“No, no, it’s not that it’s not… it’s just… Even if I don’t have to go under surgery, I’m…”
“What, are you serious? Is it better to go blind like this?”
“But I have two eyes…”
“If one goes blind, the other will soon start to go blind, too.”
“…Really?”
‘I can’t get caught being scared!’
I shook my head vigorously to shake off my feeling of weakness.
The duke, who hesitated slightly, was lightly surprised by my logic, soon shrugged.
“Well, I’ve decided to do the surgery anyway, and your doctor isn’t that important.”
What bullshit!
The person involved said she doesn’t want to get surgery!
I did my best to struggle with the hope that I would interfere with the surgery even a little.
“Nooooo! I don’t want to get surgery!”
“Don’t you like surgery?”
“I hate it!”
“Do you really hate it?”
“Euuugh…!”
“Then promise me you won’t run away from me.”
The boy, who was struggling with my hand, said in a low voice as if giving in to me. I nodded, not understanding what the words meant.
“You have to say it yourself. ‘I’m not going to run away’.”
“I… I won’t run away!”
“What about injuring my head?”
“Sob sob… …I’m sorry!”
“What were you trying to pierce my eyes with?”
“I was wrong! I won’t do that!”
“……”
“Huaaaah! Mom… Mom…”
I bawled out while calling my mom, whom I had never even seen before. The duke, who was staring at me, soon shouted in surprise.
“What’s this? Betty! Your left eye is back to normal!”
“What…”
The duke, who was trying to fix me in bed, suddenly pushed a small hand mirror in a lively voice.
“Look, Betty. Your eyes are as pretty as a fairy!”
I held the mirror tightly and looked into my eyes even when my eyes were covered with tears.
Both eyes moved fine and well.
Hooh.
‘That’s a relief.’
My head, which had been frozen for fear of surgery, began to slowly return.
The duke made a fuss with envy as if he were handling a 10-year-old who was easy to fool.
“I wonder if such a miracle can happen in the world. The world must have been moved by your sincere promise. Pray hard before going to bed.”
Look at this punk.
I’m serious, but he’s here pinching other people’s cheeks and stretching them.
“You lied, didn’t you?”
“What do you mean I lied? If you doubt others recklessly, you’ll be punished by the heavens, Betty.”
I couldn’t contain my anger and looked at him. I wanted to crush that smiling face so that the dimples on both of his cheeks were widened.
It was only then that the Duke, who saw my gaze, gently admitted.
“…yeah, that’s right. I was lying.”
“……”
“I was joking around to make you laugh. Wasn’t it fun?”
“……”
“Was it not fun?”
I stared intently without a word and he raised one eyebrow. As if reminding me to be aware of my position, I quickly lowered my eyes.
I can’t say anything when I’m among the lowest rank maids.
“……It was fun.”
“Why aren’t you laughing?”
“Ha.”
“That’s the least sincere laugh I’ve ever heard.”
“……ha.ha.ha.”
He’s a bad guy.
I should have killed him properly when he was in the well.
“You got caught trying to run away, but you’re glad everything went well thanks to your angel-like owner, right? Do you know why I kept you alive?”
I shook my head, wiping my eyes from crying. It seems that there was more runny nose than tears, but it must be because of my mood.
The duke took out another handkerchief and wiped my nose and continued to talk.
“Because this benevolent lord doesn’t waste any talent in the territory. Especially if that talent is a rare guide.”
What does this mean?
Looking at him with my eyes wide open, he picked up a fist-sized mineral on the tray. When he put it on my forearm, a faint purple light spread from inside the mineral.
“It means you can at least be a C-class guide.”
