Maylily - Chapter 71

After arriving at the annex, Maylily had been sweating cold sweat for a long time, and her chemise was soaked. When he tightened his arms around her body that had gone cold, Maylily wrapped her arms around his back. As their bodies pressed together, the fierce trembling of her slender body became even clearer.

“It’s an illness brought on by fatigue, so with a day or two of proper rest, she’ll recover.”

When Hugh returned home after finishing his work at the company, the family doctor had reported it casually as if it were nothing. But seeing Maylily turning pale and trembling in his arms, he couldn’t take it so lightly.

He’d pushed a woman who probably hadn’t slept or eaten properly for a week far too harshly. A sigh, weighed down by that thought pressing against his chest, fell over her golden crown.

A short yet long time passed.

When the rain that had knocked against the windows all day finally faded, Maylily’s temperature returned and the trembling settled. In the silence that filled the surroundings, their heartbeats, resonating through their joined bodies, sounded loud enough to be distracting.

Maylily suddenly felt embarrassed. If this sound was hers, she didn’t want it to be noticed. She gently pushed against the Count’s shoulder, and he loosened his arms around her.

“Are you alright?”

In the Vount’s eyes, which tilted slightly as he looked at her, the worry flickering there felt overly kind. Her chest fluttered a little.

“Yes.”

Not knowing what else she should say, she hesitated for a moment before adding awkwardly, “I didn’t think you’d come today.”

“Why not?”

“Because I’m sick….”

“So we can’t do that, is that it?”

A faint sneer colored his voice as he picked up the thread of her unfinished words. This wasn’t the kind of conversation she’d wanted. She couldn’t tell how things had turned out this way.

“What exactly do you think I am to you?”

“….”

When Maylily only bit her lip with an embarrassed expression, the Count let out a shallow sigh and pulled her head into his chest.

“You’re sick, of course I should come.”

Warm words followed the gentle lips that brushed her crown.

“Isn’t that obvious?”

Her chest tightened and her breath caught slightly. Maylily closed her eyes, trying to push those sensations away.

Whenever her heart melted at the Count’s kindness like it did now, she had no idea what she was supposed to do. While recalling every kind word and gesture he’d shown her before and searching for traces of sincerity, she struggled not to misunderstand his empty kindness however she pleased.

In those tired moments, a desire to forgive the Count sometimes rose in her. It was a foolish and insignificant thought. He wasn’t even asking for forgiveness, so what did it mean to forgive him?

The times when she’d accepted the Count’s kindness as pure joy suddenly felt like something from a very distant past. A faint longing surged in waves, wetting her eyes.

In the end, crying in the Count’s arms, Maylily wept for a long time before falling asleep. And the next morning, the Count waited until she opened her eyes and checked her condition before finally leaving the annex.

***

It wasn’t until another full day passed that Maylily regained her strength completely.

After eating a light breakfast and taking a bath, she went for a walk by the nearby lakeside to refresh herself. The ground was muddy from the rain that had fallen until yesterday, but the air was fresh and it was nice weather for a walk.

She was listening to the trees rustling in the wind and watching a line of baby ducklings waddling along when Alice came running in a slightly excited voice.

“Miss Aile, Lady Deborah is here!”

Thinking it would be rude to make someone of such high status wait, Maylily ran with Alice, her skirts fluttering, and reached the annex porch.

“I should’ve gone to greet her first…. Is it too late?”

When Maylily asked in a worried voice, Alice shook her head firmly.

“If you had gone to visit Lady Deborah at this hour, Miss Aile, that would’ve been the real discourtesy. Lady Deborah may come here whenever she wishes, of course.”

Wiping the mud from their shoes on the mat, the two of them stepped indoors. As they neared the sitting room where Deborah was waiting, Maylily, who had hurried to tidy her appearance, turned to Alice with a tense expression.

“How do I look? I want to give Lady Deborah a neat impression….”

Like this, to Lady Deborah? Alice, who had intended to help Maylily change her clothes first, flinched. But in the moment it took her eyes to sweep over Maylily’s shabby dress, she changed her mind.

The Count of Everscourt seemed far more interested in stripping Maylily’s clothes than putting any on her, so Alice decided it would be better to appeal to Deborah’s generosity. She wasn’t the type to overlook her nephew’s mistress looking no better than a maid.

It’d be nice if this became a chance for Maylily’s wardrobe to finally be filled with something splendid, even if only for Alice’s vicarious satisfaction.

As Maylily waited for an answer, her clear eyes shining with expectation, Alice smoothed down the loose strands of hair beside her cheek.

“You look lovely. You can go in just like this.”

Bathed in the bright sunlight spilling through the sitting room window, Deborah studied Maylily’s radiant face for quite some time.

Strange. She looks so familiar.

If she thought a little longer, something might have come to mind. But feeling as though she was unintentionally making Maylily uncomfortable, Deborah lifted her teacup and finally spoke.

“I wanted to come sooner, but I didn’t want to bother someone who wasn’t feeling well. Since I heard you got up today, I came right away.”

Only then did Maylily lift her gaze from her lap to Deborah, offering a gentle smile. Her face was brighter than the day she’d first arrived in Prowden, blooming like a flower.

“I was planning to visit this afternoon to greet you, so thank you for coming first. Thanks to your consideration in many ways, Lady Deborah, I was able to recover quickly.”

Perhaps because she was a singer, her soft, careful voice of gratitude was pleasant to hear. Deborah nodded gracefully and changed the subject.

“Does the food suit your taste?”

“Yes, to the point I have to remind myself not to overeat every time.”

At the childlike honesty, Deborah let out a short laugh.

“While you stay in Prowden, tell Alice anything you want to eat. I’ve already spoken to the kitchen. The same goes for anything else you need.”

“Thank you, Lady Deborah.”

“There’s just one thing I want to ask of you, Miss Aile.”

At the word ‘ask,’ a flicker of tension crossed Maylily’s face. Deborah tilted her teacup to her lips, lowered it again, and continued.

“Make Hugh smile a lot.”

Hugh had returned to Prowden only three days ago, and in that time, Deborah had already seen him unconsciously give faint smiles at the dining table several times.

It was a completely different expression from the polite, formal smiles she’d always seen from him. Deborah was certain that the one who’d taught Hugh that bright, emotional expression was Maylily.

“As dazzling as Hugh’s life is, it doesn’t mean it’s full of happiness. I hope you’ll be the one to fill that space for him. There’s a limit to what I can do on my own.”

At that moment, Victor’s face flashed across Maylily’s mind like an instinct. She forced out a reply that didn’t come easily.

“…Yes, Lady Deborah.”

“And also.”

Deborah’s harmless gaze swept lightly over Maylily from head to toe.

“I’ll call for a seamstress, so have new clothes made. Not just dresses, but undergarments and nightwear as well.”

“I appreciate the offer, but the clothes I have now are enough. I don’t want to impose any more….”

As Deborah set her teacup down on the saucer with a gentle smile, she cut Maylily off firmly.

“It may seem that way to Maylily Aile, but not to the woman of the Count of Everscourt.”

The Count’s woman. The words struck sharply through Maylily’s mind.

The Count had introduced her as his sponsored singer, but in the end, everyone in Prowden clearly knew the truth beyond that. It wasn’t as if she hadn’t expected it, yet Maylily still felt her face heat with the sudden sensation of being branded as a dishonorable woman.

“Soon the summer guests will arrive in Prowden. Shouldn’t you leave a good impression on them? With just a little dressing up, you will look as beautiful as a flower.”

Deborah’s tone was gentle, like teaching an ignorant child. There wasn’t the slightest hint of insult, yet Maylily couldn’t stop the bitter feeling rising inside her.

“I understand your intentions, Lady Deborah, but I have to return to Roden soon….”

At the difficult words Maylily finally managed to bring out, Deborah tilted her head.

“Did you get Hugh’s permission for that?”

“Not yet. I was going to tell him today.”

It won’t work. Deborah murmured it quietly, almost too soft to hear, but a strange smile curved her lips.

“Regardless of your future plans, you should still have the clothes made. No matter where you are, the fact that you’re Hugh’s person won’t change.”

She didn’t like it, but there was no room for another answer. This was Everscourt’s domain, and she had no choice but to follow their rules.

“Yes, Lady Deborah.”

A shadow fell over Maylily’s face, one that hadn’t been there when she first entered the sitting room. In the bright weather, that darkness stood out even more.