The Marquis of Highclere was a man who made no exceptions.
His 'discipline' applied in the military was equally applied within the mansion.
The employees went to work with the same level of tension as if they were on thin ice, and the children played quietly in the corner of the room.
It was Dorothea who changed the mansion.
One day, a little girl appeared with Colin and completely changed the atmosphere of this dull and stiff mansion.
The garden, which had only been formed, was filled with colorful flowers, and benches and play areas were provided for children.
The curtains, which had been uniformly dark in color, were changed to bright and pale pastel tones, and the tablecloths were changed to cute patterns.
It was all thanks to Dorothea that everyone's faces began to slowly become more relaxed and smile.
And now, in the mansion that used to smell like people, the atmosphere was once again as rigid and uncomfortable as before.
“Chief maid.”
The young maid who opened the door hesitated before opening her mouth.
“I got a call saying Chloe is sick today and can’t come out. From what I heard, the fever is boiling over.”
The head maid, who heard the news, nodded with a dark face.
She gave instructions calmly, folding the letter she was holding.
“Please ask Belle to do Chloe’s part today. Also, they said there was a problem at the top that supplies ingredients from the kitchen, so I let the butler know.”
"Yes."
The maid, who was licking her lips as if she had something to say, looked at her and left without a word.
The head maid let out the sigh she had been holding in.
There wasn't even a single ant outside the mansion.
When on earth did people start calling this place a ‘haunted mansion’ or a ‘cursed mansion’?
The maids busily moving around the hallways tried to hide their expressions as much as possible, but they could not completely shake off their fear.
The head maid, who tried to calm her agitated mind and opened the door, almost screamed when she saw the small child in front of her.
"Miss."
“Is grandma still sick?”
She smiled and knelt down, making eye contact with Dorothea.
“Yes, Madam is still sick. She is weak and should not go near her.”
"This."
Shocked, she accepted what came out of Dorothea's arms with a forced smile.
“It’s a pretty flower.”
“Yes, I thought it would be good to give it to my grandmother.”
“I will give it to her.”
Dorothea nodded as she stared at the head maid who was desperately trying to stop her.
In just a few days, the way people looked at her changed.
'It reminds me of the old days.'
A long time ago, people used her but were also afraid of her.
Selfish people who rely on Dorothea's 'strange power' to make a profit, but are always busy avoiding the arrow in case it comes back to them.
'Still, I'm different from them.'
What she saw in their eyes was pure fear.
The fear of the ominous bondage of an ominous child is placed on Dorothea.
Dorothea clearly felt the malice directed at her deep in her lungs and turned around, pretending not to notice.
It would be nice to have that flower by her side. The flowers of the prickly pear tree chase away the nightmares of those who sleep.
However, it was clear that the flower would be discarded by someone before it reached the Marchioness's bedside.
"You!"
When she turned around at the loud shout, she saw Wood wheezing.
His forehead was full of sweat as if he had been looking for her the whole time.
“You damn kid. I told you not to go outside for a while!”
“I didn’t go out. I was at the mansion.”
“That’s not it...”
Wood, unable to continue speaking and scratching his head, looked even more stupid today.
Dorothea looked up at him blankly.
His misfortune reminded her of the lay families who kept watch over her, preventing her from taking a single step outside of the golden line.
'No, not like them.'
Wood was afraid of her intangible power, but he was not afraid of her and did not find her taboo.
“I know you’re worried.”
Wood closed his mouth at the sudden remark.
"It's okay. It won’t be much of a problem.”
As soon as she could say those words, a loud crashing sound came from somewhere.
Wood's face hardened.
For the past few days, the strange things that have been happening in this mansion have only happened around Dorothea, as if they were planned. Moreover, rumors spread suspiciously quickly and people's eyes were turned on.
There was more than one uncomfortable corner.
The problem is that the Marchioness who manages the mansion has collapsed.
Because of this, the Marquis was visiting a doctor every day to treat the Marchioness, and other people were also confused and unable to properly respond to incidents and accidents at the mansion.
From around that time, malicious rumors began to take root.
'It's true that this kid is strange, but she's not the kind of kid who would hurt anyone.'
The problem was that it was hard to know where to start looking into the events that occurred simultaneously.
Dorothea, who had been calmly reassuring Wood, turned her head in the direction of the loud noise.
"Jane."
As soon as she called the other person's name in one beat, she saw Jane running out from the commotion in the distance with a face that looked like she was about to cry.
"Miss!"
It was clear that the maids had gathered together and spread rumors about Dorothea's misfortune, or had seen Jane's misfortune.
Dorothea stroked her maid in silence.
Hair slipped out between her thin fingers like a withered branch.
"It's okay."
While everyone was angry, only Dorothea remained calm.
“Go back to your room...”
As soon as she finished speaking, Jane stumbled and fell.
Wood quickly lifted her up, but the young maid's body was already a ball of fire.
"Shit!"
Wood's face was extremely grim as he looked down at Jane, who was muttering "Miss, Miss," even though her face was red and she was breathing heavily.
“Bring her to her room.”
Dorothea tilted her head as she watched Wood walk away with Jane in his arms and disappear toward the end of the hallway.
A girl dressed as a maid approaching her with a smile caught her eye.
It was a face she had never seen before in the mansion.
“Miss, I will take you to your room.”
A child with a warm and friendly smile held out her hand.
If a hand like this were extended to a child who had been ignored and looked at in the mansion for the past few days, of course, she would be so happy that she would not know what to do.
They might just grab her hand and follow whatever she says without any doubts.
Contrary to what others thought, Dorothea was not a simple child, but she took the outstretched hand without hesitation, just as she wanted.
'Because I was waiting.'
Someone ‘out there’ who planted rats in the mansion.
She knew that if she let go and waited quietly, someone would definitely approach her.
The corners of Dorothea's mouth went up happily as she finally had a clue.
“Okay, let’s go to the room.”
The maid holding young Dorothea's hand was startled when she felt that the small hand was so thin that it almost felt like a bone, but soon a smile appeared on her face again.
***
Warm milk and a soft, sweet cake were placed in front of Dorothea, who returned to her room.
The moment she lifted the fork, the maid sitting across from her opened her mouth.
"Miss."
"Yes."
The soft chiffon cake was broken into small pieces by the clumsy use of a fork.
The maid saw this, but instead of serving her, she smiled even brighter and subtly lowered her voice.
“Have you been bored these past few days? Because no one plays with you.”
“No, there’s Jane.”
“Jane? You mean the one who was just carried away?”
Dorothea stopped chopping up the cake and looked at the maid.
“I don’t know if I can say this, but Jane is very sick. Maybe she will never come back to my side again.”
"Why?"
She looked at Dorothea for a moment without answering.
With an extremely sad look.
“You still don’t know what people are talking about, do you?”
"Rumor?"
“There is a rumor that if the Lady stays in this mansion, people close to you will get hurt. You have a very harmful spirit towards you.”
It was unreasonable.
From the first day she came here, it was Dorothea who offered greetings to the landowner, removed stones that could harm feng shui, and took care of the sacred tree with even greater care.
While she was cleaning the mansion, she stopped for a moment because an annoying bug came in.
How dare.
The moment Dorothea, who had put down her fork, made eye contact, the heart of the girl in the maid's uniform suddenly began to beat rapidly.
Embarrassed, she continued to say what she had to say.
“The priest is coming. To check on the Lady.”
"Yes?"
“If he comes, you might not be able to live in this mansion anymore.”
"Why?"
"Because... Bad things are happening to you right now. It’s because an ominous monster has taken possession of the Young Lady.”
The Marquis must have decided to completely block the rumor, calling the high-ranking priests of the temple to personally prove Dorothea's innocence.
Dorothea couldn't estimate the extent of the priest's power, but she knew that if his words had high authority and reliability as people said, those who planned this would be in quite a bit of trouble.
'If my little trick is discovered, it will all be in vain.'
"I see. Is this a big deal?”
Dorothea asked, pretending not to know anything.
“I think so, Lady.”
The maid’s voice became more coy.
“It would be a good idea to hide from that priest for a moment. Outside the mansion.”
“Where outside? I don’t know any place.”
“You have your second uncle!”
Do you mean Colin?
Dorothea lowered her eyes and thought of the family members who had been secluded in his mansion for quite some time.
She was thinking of going to see him now.
'It certainly looks like you can't do anything inside the mansion.'
The Marquis, who was once called the 'sword' of the empire, can't have it that easy.
'Then what do we do now?'
She caught the tail, but if things continued like this, there was a high possibility that the body would slip away again.
It might have been better to follow their wishes and leave the mansion.
If not now, they will hide again and wait for an opportunity, and the long-awaited peace will be disturbed.
'I have to set an example to whoever disturbs my peaceful daily life.'
So that they can never reach into the mansion again.
After thinking, Dorothea held the maid's hand with a smile.
“Yes, I want to go to Uncle Colin.”
The maid tilted her head with some unexplainable reluctance but nodded with a smile.
“Good thinking, Lady.”
***
A maid holding a small figure wearing a hood quickly passed through the back door.
The guards who were supposed to be guarding the mansion were nowhere to be seen, perhaps because they had planned it out in advance.
A black carriage was waiting in front of the door and they exited smoothly.
“We have to get out of here quickly.”
Hearing the anxious voice, the coachman drove the carriage as if he had been waiting.
The inside of the speeding carriage shook violently.
“Going to Uncle Colin?”
"It's noisy."
Dorothea blinked at the words spoken by the sharp voice.
The maid pushed Dorothea off her knees with a rough hand.
She fell on the floor and looked up at the maid who pushed her.
The maid with a cold face nervously untied the hair band that was tying her hair.
'You're younger than I thought.'
About fifteen or sixteen.
When the maid let down her hair and took off the outer clothing she was wearing her original, younger-looking face was revealed.
The look in her eyes when she looked at Dorothea was full of contempt and disgust.
“Something like this is pushing me away.”
“...”
“I tried so hard to get into that mansion.”
Ah, she remembered.
Dorothea heard that when the Marquis could not forget the existence of his youngest daughter and granddaughter, several vassals joined forces to bring a child from the collateral family into the mansion.
It got a little dull thanks to Dorothea's appearance.
Perhaps the woman in front of her is someone who almost became that 'granddaughter'.
'Hmm.'
She was trying to find out who was behind the rat, but unexpectedly, a cuckoo appeared, targeting the nest.
Things were getting more and more interesting.
The carriage stopped only after reaching a considerable distance.
“So what are you going to do with this kid?”
The corners of the girl's mouth turned up at the question of the coachman, who was considered an accomplice.
“I don’t plan on getting my hands dirty.”
Then he looked down at Dorothea, who was looking at her blankly, and shrugged her shoulders.
“I promised to take you to Uncle Colin, so I guess I should take you to the mansion.”
They'll take care of the rest.
The girl laughed and muttered as she picked it.
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