The Serpent of Paradise - Chapter 70

When Mikhail hurried to the stables, Igor was examining the collapsed men with a grave expression. Even to Mikhail, who wasn’t a physician, the coachmen’s condition appeared serious. Even the man who looked the least affected clutched his stomach and broke out in a cold sweat, while the worst of them lay unconscious with foam at his mouth.

Igor was examining the man whose condition appeared most severe.

“What happened?”

“They’re showing signs of poisoning. It seems something they consumed was spoiled.”

“Are you saying there was something wrong with the food?”

At that moment, Mikhail immediately turned his head toward the annex. If so, perhaps Anastasia was also….

Just as Mikhail hurriedly turned to leave, Igor realized what he was worried about and quickly said, “It’s only the stable hands. The people in the estate should be fine.”

“How can you be certain?”

“Because I already identified the source.”

Igor instructed another servant beside him to give the collapsed men the medicine he prepared, then explained the situation to Mikhail.

“The stables are quite far from the main building because of the smell, so it’s difficult to fetch water every time. That’s why the coachmen made a separate water barrel for themselves.”

Igor showed Mikhail a wooden water barrel near the stables. When he opened the wooden lid, it revealed a barrel filled with clear water.

“It looks perfectly fine.”

“It only looks that way.”

Igor pointed toward a dog lying in front of the stables.

“I gave it some water from this barrel, and it ended up like that.”

Looking at the dog lying weakly on the ground with foam around its mouth, Igor clicked his tongue.

“It does happen occasionally in summer. It may look perfectly fine, but it’s often already spoiled. It’s rare in Novgod because our winters are long, but in Ils and Flanre, people are always advised to boil their water during summer, aren’t they? The same applies aboard ships.”

“That’s true.”

“I suspect these blackened, rotting sections are the cause… but we would need to examine them with the proper equipment in Sokolov or the capital to be certain. The estate doesn’t use wooden barrels, and the water is replaced daily and inspected by the head cook, so there shouldn’t be any problem there.”

“I understand. How are the coachmen?”

“Honestly, not well. We can treat those with milder symptoms here, but I think it would be best to send the ones in worse condition back to Sokolov for treatment at the hospital there. No matter how much medicine we bring separately, a place with proper medical facilities would be better.”

“…All right.”

Every one of them came from Sokolov and was loyal to him. As their master, Mikhail needed to take responsibility for his employees’ well-being until the very end and repay their loyalty.

“Send those with milder symptoms to Sokolov as well if they wish to go.”

“Understood. Fortunately, it seems only two horses drank the water. The others are unharmed. Still, they’ll need more meticulous care because it’s summer, and it will take some time to bring new coachmen from Sokolov.”

Then, as though suddenly remembering something, Igor spoke, “What about those coachmen who said they used to work at Edenhurst, the ones you summoned recently? Why not employ them temporarily? No matter how diligently the other servants look after the horses, I think it would be best to have men who originally cared for them handle the work.”

“That would be better.”

Mikhail fell into thought for a moment. They were the men who watched his expression without revealing everything they knew. And they wanted to work at Edenhurst again.

‘I was wondering what to do with them….’

He hadn’t expected to bring them in this way. Until new coachmen arrived from Sokolov, it seemed best to summon the former coachmen and have them manage the stables. Of course, in the meantime, he could also subtly question them about the past.

Watching the coachmen being carried toward the estate, Mikhail ordered, “Tell Yuri to summon them.”

***

Yuri opened the door to the study. He carried several new books in his arms. They were all books sent from Sokolov. It seemed the books they couldn’t obtain during their last visit to the capital finally arrived and were now being forwarded here.

There were books for Mikhail, books Igor requested, the later volumes of a novel Yuri secretly ordered, additional travelogues Mikhail ordered according to Anastasia’s tastes, and even books requested by the Lauderdales.

“It’s not as though I’m a librarian.”

His back began to ache after he laboriously sorted the books unloaded from the carriage. Yuri dropped the books he brought onto the desk with a thud. Just then, he sensed someone inside.

“Huh?”

Startled, Yuri looked between the bookshelves. Someone he never expected to find there emerged from farther inside.

“Miss Elizabeth?”

At Yuri’s words, Elizabeth walked silently out from between the shelves without so much as nodding her head.

“There’s no need to look so surprised. Have I come somewhere I’m not allowed?”

Yuri scratched his head awkwardly at her words. Because Mikhail and Anastasia were the primary users of the study, the Lauderdale women stayed away from it of their own accord. As a result, everyone at the estate regarded it even more strongly as a space belonging solely to the two of them.

“It’s not that, but….”

“No one seemed to be using it, so I merely stopped by. Then….”

Elizabeth turned around and immediately left the study. For some reason, Yuri thought she seemed to be in a good mood.

‘What was she looking at?’

Yuri approached the bookshelf where Elizabeth stood. Like most noble ladies, he expected her to have been looking at books about art, music, or perhaps the Ils language. Surprisingly, however, the shelves where Elizabeth stood were filled with specialized texts.

“What is this? The Fundamentals of Sailing Ship Construction… Geological Survey of Eastern Novgod….”

The shelves were filled with books that hardly anyone would ever open. Which of them could possibly have interested Elizabeth? Yuri continued reading the titles packed tightly across the shelves.

“An Illustrated Guide to Novgod’s Poisonous Plants… A Phonological Study of the Cleringian Language…. Good grief.”

Yuri shook his head at the book titles that made him sleepy merely from reading them, then returned to the desk.

Mikhail and Anastasia, who practically lived here for a while, hadn’t used the study recently.

‘Now that they’re living together in the annex, I suppose they have no reason to come here.’

Yuri picked up the next volume of the novel he ordered and approached the plush sofa. This was where he would be lying down today.

***

“Shall I put these down here?”

When Natasha returned from the main building carrying an armful of books, Anastasia looked at her in surprise and took half of them from her arms. They were heavy enough to make her stagger.

“Why are there suddenly more books?”

“A carriage arrived from Sokolov. Mr. Yuri gave these to me separately and said they were for you.”

“I see. I’ll have to thank him later.”

Both Yuri and Mikhail, who told him to purchase them.

After Natasha left, Anastasia examined the newly stacked books. Travelogues, which she usually enjoyed most, made up a large portion of them. Then she noticed a book she’d never seen before.

“Hm?”

It was a thin book with a narrow spine. Anastasia pulled it out and read the title.

“Lady’s Salon, Summer Issue?”

She saw it once when Catherine summoned her to her room. More precisely, it wasn’t called a book, but a magazine. At the time, Anastasia was illiterate and merely thought it was a book filled with pretty pictures. Only today did she finally learn what it was called.

“I think this came by mistake….”

Anastasia considered sending it back to Catherine immediately, but decided to take a quick look first and cautiously turned the opening page. Beneath the heading From the Editor was an explanation of the magazine. It described the publication with considerable pride as a type of educational periodical that showed women the many paths they should pursue in Novgod as the nation rapidly developed and welcomed a new era. When Anastasia looked at the editor’s name below, she was surprised to discover that the editor was also named Anastasia.

“So she’s a woman.”

Anastasia was pleased that they shared the same name, but she was even more fascinated to have her prejudice that such work belonged to men shattered.

Anastasia slowly leafed through the magazine. When she saw Catherine’s shelves packed with these magazines, she once wished Catherine would discard even one and give it to her. But although Catherine quickly grew tired of her other possessions, she never threw away a single issue of this magazine.

Now that Anastasia was looking through it, she understood why.

“Filled with the finest furniture imported from Ils. Vasily’s Imported Furniture, 62 Poltava Boulevard….”

A standing lamp with a silk shade, a sofa covered in richly patterned fabric, a mirror framed by intricate ornamentation…. Beside illustrations of many kinds of furniture were words unlike anything she saw in other books.

“So this is an advertisement.”

She read about advertisements in books, but couldn’t quite understand what they were or how they worked. Looking at the magazine made it clear. Accustomed to books that always began with solemn prefaces, Anastasia found the advertisements filled with illustrations tremendously entertaining.

There were many kinds of advertisements. Some sold furniture, cosmetics, and clothing, while others announced a newly opened park near the capital. Whenever Anastasia looked at advertisements for houses being bought and sold, she counted the units of currency several times. Having never spent money in her life, she found it difficult to grasp how large those sums truly were.

After the advertisements came articles on the latest fashions and gossip from society. Captivated by the concise sentences and vivid subject matter she never encountered in books, Anastasia continued reading. They described a vivid, living world unlike anything she found in her books. After finishing the articles and turning the page again, Anastasia discovered something else new.

“Employment listings?”

The section was filled with advertisements from people seeking work and people seeking workers.

Nanny wanted. Five rubles per week. Experienced applicants preferred.

Cleaner wanted. Three rubles per week.

Ils language lessons. Up to two students per session. Five rubles per week desired. Former resident of Ils.

Anastasia studied the section intently. There were many kinds of work she could do besides serving as a maid. Then her gaze stopped on one advertisement.

Copyist wanted. Neat handwriting preferred. Payment based on hours worked. Starting from three rubles. Anyone capable of writing in the Novgod language may apply, regardless of age or education.

After staring at the advertisement for a long while, Anastasia turned back to the advertisements for houses and clothing.

“Then one, two, three….”

After counting the figures, Anastasia released a short sigh. The items weren’t exactly the same, but to purchase the clothes she currently wore, she would need to work for at least an entire month. And the price of even a small house….

“Haah….”

Anastasia realized anew just how much she enjoyed while doing nothing at all.

‘When I go to Sokolov….’

Couldn’t she work too? Right now, she only received what Mikhail gave her. But perhaps she could give something to Mikhail as well. Then perhaps she could hold her head a little higher.

Anastasia stared at the advertisement seeking a copyist for a very long time.

***

“Here is a letter for you, Lord Ilya.”

Ilya accepted the letter delivered by the underbutler. It was addressed to him in the academy’s name. He hurried back to his room, closed the door, and opened it. A long while later, he smiled.

‘This is perfect.’

He didn’t know who his patron was, but the person was capable of compassion. After reading Ilya’s letter, the patron said he deplored Mikhail Sokolov’s behavior and would offer assistance for the peace and safety of the Lauderdale family.

Ilya examined what the patron wanted. The patron wanted Anastasia Lauderdale, who was in the most difficult position of all, to escape Edenhurst.