Archmage's Restaurant - Chapter 49: Hidden Faces and the Dessert (5)
I gave Rurin’s head a firm pat before releasing her from my embrace and resumed walking. She clung to the hem of my robe, trailing closely behind me.
The first person I needed to find was the steward. As I descended the stairs, I spotted him almost immediately.
“Where is the second wife right now?”
“She just returned from visiting the master.”
“That’s good. She asked me to come see her directly, so could you please let her know I’m here?”
“Ah, I see. Certainly.”
The steward nodded and led the way to the second wife’s quarters. Upon arriving at her door, he knocked gently.
*Knock, knock.*
But there was no response. The steward furrowed his brow in confusion.
“She just went in….”
He knocked again, but still, there was silence. The steward looked at me, and I looked back at him. Something was definitely wrong. For someone who had just entered the room not to answer was a troubling sign.
At the very least, she should have told us to leave.
A sudden, ominous feeling swept over me. The countess was in a situation where it was easy to imagine the worst.
I quickly turned to the steward and shouted urgently, “Go fetch the young lord immediately! This is urgent. I’ll explain later!”
The steward, well aware of the respect the young lord held for me, hesitated for only a moment before hurrying off.
Once he was gone, I forced the door to the countess’s room open.
From what I’d heard, it was clear that she was cornered with nowhere to turn. How many options did she have left?
I feared she might have chosen the worst possible one.
As I entered the room and looked around, I immediately noticed the dreadful scene.
There, tied to the ceiling, was a noose—and hanging from it was a woman’s frail, emaciated body.
Without hesitation, I cut the rope and caught her as she fell. Her face was deathly pale.
*Hack, hack, hack.*
Thankfully, color started returning to her cheeks. The violent coughing was a sign that she was alive. The steward had said she had just gone inside.
If I had been even a little later, it could have been fatal.
Life and death are often separated by a mere thread. Fortunately, it seemed fate hadn’t destined her to die here today. I had arrived just in time.
“Are you alright? Can you see me?”
*Hack, hack, hack.*
As she continued to cough violently, the young lord burst into the room, with the steward standing behind him. I quickly gave the steward a directive.
At times like this, it was crucial to avoid spreading rumors.
“Shut the door immediately. This must not be known outside.”
The steward, understanding the gravity of the situation, quickly closed the door, while the young lord rushed to the countess’s side, crying out.
“Stepmother? Stepmother!”
The young lord clutched the countess’s arm, his face full of shock, and then turned to me.
“Master… why… why would she do this?”
“She tried to hang herself. Unable to defy Count Dedran, yet unwilling to harm you, she chose the worst possible option.”
“That can’t be! Why would she… even for a moment, no, for two, three moments! I kept doubting her, yet I’m still alive—so why?”
The young lord trembled as he spoke, but this wasn’t something I could answer for him.
As the young lord cried out, the countess, still bearing the red marks of the noose on her neck, seemed to regain some clarity. She looked at the young lord and spoke softly.
“Dieran? Am I… not dead?”
“Stepmother!”
“Let me die. I’m not someone worthy of being seen by you. I’m… I’m not a woman deserving of the kindness you and your father have shown me….”
“Don’t say that!”
She reached out to caress the young lord’s cheek, tears streaming from her eyes.
“I don’t know how many years it’s been since I last stroked your cheek. I was saved by your laughter when you were a child…. But I’m ruining you, so I must die. It’s the only way to protect you, Dieran….”
“What are you talking about? I still vividly remember being in your arms as a child…. Do you think I’ve forgotten how you stayed up all night worrying when I got hurt while playing? I’ve been endlessly doubting you lately! Endlessly! But I overheard it all. How Count Dedran ordered you to give me that potion! And how none of this was your fault!”
“How… how did you know?”
The countess’s face was a mixture of shock and fear as she trembled at the young lord’s revelation.
“I know everything. I know that you refused him. So all of this is Count Dedran’s fault, not yours.”
“The Count always told me that it was fine if I didn’t love him. But he asked me to look after you until the end. And so I….”
“Please, stop saying such things!”
The young lord’s hands shook as he held hers, both trembling like leaves in a storm. Their conversation was going in circles, so it was time for me to intervene.
“Both of you, calm down. There’s no need for anyone to die.”
The countess and the young lord both turned to look at me. Even the steward, who had been listening quietly, turned his gaze toward me.
“He’s right! Master said there’s a way to handle this. So it’s going to be alright. It’s going to be alright, Stepmother!”
The young lord suddenly stood up and knelt before me. Though he had begun addressing me as his master and showed respect, this was the first time he had ever knelt before me.
This was that first moment.
“Please, Master. You once told me that it’s pitiful to whine and beg like this, and that I should live like a wild Uba, biting even as I’m dying. But this pitiful fool can’t think of anything to do except confront Count Dedran. As you said, that would solve nothing. But this… this is too much for me. Call me pitiful if you must, but this one time, even if it’s the last, please help me, Master!”
The young lord, with his fists clenched tightly, looked up at me. He may have called himself pitiful, but his eyes still shone with a fierce determination. That resolve was something I could admire.
“Get up, young lord. You shouldn’t kneel so easily. I was going to help you anyway.”
“If you help me with this, I’ll repay this debt for the rest of my life. For as long as I live!”
“You don’t need to repay me, but keep your word. From now on, you must grow your own teeth to bite your enemies. Understand?”
“Yes, Master. I will try. I will try with all my might.”
I helped the young lord to his feet as he bowed his head to the floor.
“First, let’s move the countess to her room and let her rest. Once she’s stable, we can talk. After that, I’ll tell you how to deal with Count Dedran.”
I turned to the steward.
He knew this situation needed to be handled discreetly.
The steward, with twenty years of service to the count’s household, understood immediately and nodded. He checked to make sure the coast was clear before leading us to the countess’s bedroom.
The young lord carried her, and we gave her time to recover. A while later, once we were alone in the room—just the young lord, Rurin, and me—I addressed the countess.
“Countess, are you truly prepared to turn against your father and help the young lord?”
“I thought you were just a cook… but you’re Dieran’s master?”
“Yes, Stepmother. You saw me kneel earlier, but he is not just a cook. He’s a retired wizard, and my master.”
“So that’s it? I was a bit surprised earlier….”
“Yes.”
“So, is it because of him that you’ve become so strong recently?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“I’m so relieved. I’m really relieved…!”
The countess, still lying in bed, tried to bow to me. Perhaps it was the word “master” and the weight it carried for a woman like her that made her feel the need to show such respect.
The young lord hurriedly stopped her.
“That’s enough. What’s more important is that you tell us everything. To save the Grayke family, we need to know all that’s happened between you and Count Dedran. Don’t leave anything out.”
The countess looked back and forth between the young lord and me.
“You want to know my story?”
“Yes.”
She hesitated, but after looking at the young lord again, she nodded.
Recounting one’s own history is never easy. She hesitated and struggled, but to her credit, she pushed through and told us everything.
It was a tale steeped in darkness.
***
“Stepmother….”
At some point, the young lord began to cry.
The more he listened to her story, the more he pitied her for the life she had lived as Count Dedran’s tool.
Yes, the world is full of suffering.
Even now, somewhere, there are children starving to death in the streets.
But she had suffered deeply. It was as if she had walked along a rail built from misfortune.
From a childhood spent locked away in dark rooms to a life as a tool used by others—this was her existence.
The brief happiness she had found was shattered, and the disaster named her father loomed over her constantly. If she had managed to survive this long, it was likely because of Count Grayke’s kindness.
She hadn’t said as much, but from her words, it was clear that she had truly loved Count Grayke.
The young lord must have sensed it too.
As for Count Dedran, he was nothing but trash. The kind of trash that can’t even be burned away—an unyielding piece of scum that defies destruction.
The young lord once again knelt before me. How long had it been since I’d told him not to kneel so easily?
Just as I began to frown, the young lord started speaking his title.
“As Baron Grayke Dieran, acting Count of Grayke, and acting lord of the Grayke estate, I formally request that my master teach me how to deal with Count Dedran. I will do whatever it takes, Master.”
“But before that, I have one question. Countess… or rather, Lady Berna. Can you truly resolve to stand against your father? In the worst case, your father may die.”
The title “Lady Berna” suited her better than “Countess.” But titles aside, what mattered now was the strength of her resolve.
“That is….”
“Oh, and are you aware that your father was the one who did this to Count Grayke?”
“……”
Lady Berna blinked rapidly, clearly taken aback. But then she lowered her head, deep in thought. She must have realized something was off from the moment she was handed that vial. That fear likely drove her to contemplate taking her own life.
“My answer is clear. I belong to the Grayke family. My name is Grayke Berna. If I can protect Dieran from my father, I will do anything. Anything at all.”
“Understood. Then I’ll tell you both how to deal with Count Dedran. The first step is for Lady Berna to carry out Count Dedran’s orders.”
“What?”
“Master?”
The two of them stared at me in shock, clearly baffled by my suggestion. Their reaction was understandable.
“You said you would do whatever it takes to deal with Count Dedran, your father’s enemy, and the enemy of Grayke.”
“Yes, I will…!”
“Then you need to let things play out just as Count Dedran intends.”
The young lord and Lady Berna stared at me, dumbfounded.
I shrugged and began to explain.