To Those Who Regretted After I Died - Chapter 10
“…I’m sorry… I shouldn’t be telling you things like this, putting you in a difficult position.”
“If it’s me, I’ll always listen to you, Madam… So please, don’t say you’ll leave the estate.”
“……”
“I can see that Lord Alec and Miss Emily are causing you pain. We servants are on your side. There may be things you can’t share with us, but please don’t bear it all alone.”
The maid, with teary eyes, spoke earnestly, and Sophia gave her a gentle smile.
“…Thank you… Emily will be passing by soon, so let’s go to my room.”
“Wait, Miss Emily will?”
The maid followed Sophia into the room. Sophia sat on the bed, her gaze fixed on the door.
“Madam, how do you know that Miss Emily will be walking down the hall?”
Just then, the faint sound of a door opening from the annex echoed through the hall, followed by footsteps passing by Sophia’s room.
“Madam… someone just walked by…”
“…It was Emily… She’s heading to my husband’s room.”
“To the Lord’s room?” The maid, incredulous, opened the door slightly and peeked out. She saw Emily’s figure walking straight down the hall, stopping in front of Alec’s room. When Alec opened the door, smiling, and ushered Emily inside, the maid stood frozen in shock.
“Wh-What…?”
Sophia’s voice was calm yet heavy. “Every night, after everyone goes to bed, Emily sneaks into my husband’s room.”
“Every night?”
“She goes to his room and doesn’t return until morning.”
“M-Madam, that’s…”
“I know… But I can’t bring myself to confront them. I’m too afraid that if I ask, he’ll ask me for a divorce. Part of me wonders how much easier it would be if he did… and yet, there’s another part of me that still wants to stay, even if he doesn’t love me.”
“Madam…”
“I don’t know when I became so afraid… so weak…”
“Madam… If this continues… Miss Emily will…”
“Yes… I know… You all will be troubled too. I should consult with the head maid…”
Suddenly, Sophia’s vision blurred, and she collapsed, fainting onto the bed.
“Madam!? Madam!!”
The maid’s desperate cries echoed through the room.
The maid, in a flurry of panic, hurried to inform the head maid about Sophia’s collapse.
“Head maid, the Madam—she’s… she’s collapsed!”
Upon hearing this, the head maid quickly instructed the butler to summon a doctor and gathered five other maids as they made their way to Sophia’s room.
“Madam! Madam!?”
Seeing Sophia unconscious, lying as though asleep, the head maid began directing the maids. After ensuring Sophia was attended to, she turned and headed for Alec’s room.
Knock knock.
“It’s the head maid. I apologize for disturbing your rest, my Lord, but there’s an urgent matter.”
There was no response.
“My Lord, the Madam has collapsed.”
“Ha?!” came an irritated voice from within.
Startled by his tone, the head maid hesitated for a moment but then stepped back, assuming Alec wouldn’t emerge.
Click!
The door creaked open.
“My Lord!”
The head maid showed a brief smile, thinking that Alec had finally come to check on his wife.
(Perhaps the Lord does care for the Madam after all…)
But as Alec stood in the doorway, the head maid’s smile faded. Alec appeared disheveled, beads of sweat running down his face, hastily donned in a robe that barely covered his skin. His chest bore several red marks, and the sight left the head maid frozen in shock.
“…What’s wrong with my wife…?”
Shaken back to reality, the head maid stammered her report.
“The Madam, she has collapsed, my Lord. Please, come to her room.”
“Did you call a doctor?”
“Yes, the doctor should arrive soon…”
“If the doctor’s coming, that’s enough. I have to leave for a supplier trip tomorrow. Handle the rest.”
“W-What?! My Lord…”
“I’m tired… Just leave it to the doctor.”
Alec shut the door, leaving the head maid trembling, her mind swirling with disbelief. Faint murmurs of conversation filtered through the door as she stepped away.
“…The Lord… doesn’t care about the Madam…”
Instead of returning to Sophia’s room, the head maid strode directly to Emily’s room. Without knocking, she opened the door.
The scene before her was a mess—discarded dresses and shoes strewn across the floor, various garments and more shoes scattered on the bed. The maids had often complained about the difficulty of cleaning Emily’s room, and now the head maid could see why.
“…No wonder the maids who left… were falsely accused…”
She had long known about Emily’s nighttime visits to Alec’s room, yet had been powerless to confront Alec. As someone who had served the Palris family for generations and had cared for Alec since his birth like a son, it pained her to see how he had changed since Emily’s arrival.
“…Lord Alec… you’ve changed since Miss Emily came into this house…”
The head maid returned to Sophia’s room. Sophia lay unconscious, pale on the bed. The head maid approached and clasped her hand gently.
“Madam… have you woken up?”
“No… not yet. Head maid, will the Madam be alright?”
The maid’s worried question was met with a soft smile from the head maid.
“She’ll be alright… The doctor will arrive soon, so let’s make preparations.”
“Understood.”
With the room now empty save for Sophia and the head maid, she knelt by Sophia’s bedside, holding her hand tightly.
“…Madam… I’m so sorry… so terribly sorry…”
Tears welled in the head maid’s eyes as she whispered her apologies to Sophia, knowing she could do nothing more.