I Belong to House Castielo

Chapter 5

Lord Karl must have finished eating too, right? I wonder if he came outside.

I thought I might be able to see him again. Not only that, but I also reasoned slyly that getting on his good side wouldn’t hurt. After all, I’d be serving him in the future.

He must not be here.

I looked everywhere in the garden, but I couldn’t find him. However, my disappointment was brief. I made up my mind to head to the bridge that I hadn’t been able to reach earlier.

The manicured garden led to a low meadow. Trees were planted here and there, and it was overgrown with shrubs. It looked wild and untouched, yet subtly polished, and that was its charm. Clusters of what looked like wildflowers bloomed everywhere. Walking between them on a path meant for both carriages and pedestrians, I found myself feeling happier.

Wow, the flowers are so pretty.

I gasped in delight when I came across a bed of pink flowers that looked like clovers and dandelions.

“Should I make a flower crown?”

Pink Eyes had no idea how to make one, but Seoyoung did.

Snapping the stems of the freshest-looking flowers, I gathered a bunch and focused intently on making the crown for some time. It was more difficult than I remembered, and I didn’t recall the exact technique, so I fumbled through it. The finished result, however, was pretty decent-looking.

“Hehe.”

I carefully placed the pink flower crown on my head and began walking again. I even found myself humming. The sweet scent of the flowers drifting down from my head tickled my nose.

“A girl saw roses blooming in the field. So charmed was she by the lovely, fresh scent...”

I sang as I walked, but the bridge just didn’t seem to get any closer. My energetic pace gradually slowed, and my legs began to hurt.

“Looks like it’s farther away than I’d thought...” I let out a small sigh and pulled the crown off my head. It felt like the pink flowers had wilted. “And the sun’s going down...” I saw the sun hanging low between the branches. “I should turn back.”

Putting the flower crown back on my head, I turned around and saw the house in the distance. It seemed I’d miscalculated. The sun set much faster than I expected, and my legs were too short. My heart murmured with fear as the area around me, which had been a garden until a moment ago, transformed into a dark forest.

“L-let’s return quickly. It’s okay. I can see the lights from the house in the distance, so it’s not like I’m going to get lost. It’s okay. It’s okay,” I told myself in a forced, high-pitched tone.

Although I wanted to walk faster, my feet, knees, shins, and back hurt. It felt like my entire body ached, but I forced myself to move my limbs without stopping.

Just then, light spilled from the house. When I froze in surprise, the light seemed to scatter.

“Miss―”

“Miss Estelle―”

Surprised by the yelling, I waved my arms and said, “Over here!”

“Miss!”

“It’s Miss Estelle!”

“Where are you?”

“I’m over here!”

“I hear her!”

As I kept shouting, people rushed over to me.

“Miss!” Annie ran over to me and wrapped me in a hug. Grabbing both my shoulders, she exclaimed, “What are you doing out here at night? Do you not know how scary the woods are when it’s dark?!”

“I’m sorry.”

I clutched the skirt of my dress and lowered my head. I hadn’t imagined they’d come looking for me. Nobody ever cared if Pink Eyes returned to her room after wandering outside all day. I’d assumed things would be the same here.

“You’re in for a big talking-to when we return to the house.”

“Okay.”

Annie threw her arms around me again.

“I was really worried.”

The warm concern she showed me made tears leak from my eyes. I had been scared—really scared. I tried desperately to hold back the tears, but it was no use. Annie saw me crying silently while biting my lips and pulled me into another hug. Then she stood up, holding me in her arms, and began walking.

“It’s all right, miss. It’s all right,” she said in her kind voice. I sniffled, clinging to her as I buried my forehead in her shoulder, and my tears stopped falling. As I held on to her tightly, she said, “You were scared, weren’t you?”

“Yes.”

“Poor thing.”

Those two words almost made me cry again, but I held it in. Some people hated being pitied, but not me. I could sense her sympathy, kindness, tenderness, and affection. Annie patted my back as I struggled to hold back the tears.

When we entered the house, I heard a familiar voice.

“Did you find her?”

“Yes, Young Master.”

It was Lord Karl!

Surprised, I lifted my head and saw him standing there solidly. When I met his red eyes, I quickly lowered my head. I was going to be scolded. However, the anger I anticipated never came. Instead, he sighed and walked away, and Annie took me to the bathroom to remove my clothes.

“Here, you’ll feel much better after a warm bath.”

After pushing me into the wooden tub, she sprinkled powder into it, making the water smell sweet and turn pink.

“What’s that?” I asked.

“It’s a bath powder that helps with exhaustion.”

Only then did I notice the sting in my legs. Looking down, I saw small cuts all over them. I must have been so desperate to keep walking that I didn’t even notice them before.

Annie looked at them and said, “The grass must have scratched you up. Cuts like these can be painful. I’ll put ointment on them once you’re out of the bath.”

“Okay.”

She poured warm water over my shoulders and back several times, washed my hair, wrapped me in a towel, and then lifted me out of the tub. The maids who had been waiting dried me off and rubbed fragrant oil on my skin, while Annie retrieved an ointment and applied it to my legs.

“Are you hurt anywhere else?” she asked.

“No.”

“Okay.”

“Um...”

“Yes?”

“Is Lord Karl... mad?”

I was sure that he was. I had left recklessly and wasted manpower. On second thought, he might be disappointed instead, and that scared me even more. Annie looked up at my face and smiled.

“He’s not mad.”

“But...” I muttered.

Dressing me in pajamas, she said, “He was worried.”

“But...”

“Now, you should hurry up and go to sleep. You must be tired. Everything will be all right come tomorrow.”

Then she pushed me into bed and started singing a lullaby. I hugged my rabbit doll close and its pleasant scent filled my nose. Between that softness and Annie’s lullaby, I fell asleep quickly.

❖ ❖ ❖

The next day, I woke up feeling much better, perhaps because I’d had a good night’s rest.

Over breakfast, Annie said, “I had a discussion about your education. Starting tomorrow, a reutni will come.”

“Reutni?”

What was that?

When I opened my mouth to ask, she explained, “Someone who will teach you how to read and help you study.”

Ah, a teacher!

I would finally be able to understand this world properly.

Annie made a peculiar expression, then poked my cheek.

“You like the idea that much?”

“Yes.”

“You’ll hate it soon enough when you get homework. But you’ll have to work hard, since you were the one who said you wanted to learn.”

“Okay!”

“Today’s your last day to play, so make the most of it.”

I nodded excitedly and asked about the tutor. “What kind of person are they?”

“His name is Hadel Kreutz. He does not have a title, but he’s well-educated enough to have taught noble children at the academy.”

“What an incredible person.”

Was it really okay for someone so accomplished to be a primary school tutor? All sorts of thoughts swirled in my head.

I asked Annie another question, but she only smiled and said, “Ask him yourself when he arrives.”

Feeling like I was on cloud nine, I walked out of my room with light footsteps. Knowing this was my last day to play freely, I felt like I had to do something different.

But what?

What kind of special thing could I do? I’d already explored the mansion thoroughly during my stay here, and much of the garden as well.

What if I went to the bridge? I shouldn’t...

If I caused trouble like that again, I might really be kicked out of the house. I wanted to avoid that. I had enjoyed the concerned touches and comforting tones enough to make my heart ache, but I knew it would be foolish to try something like that again. I was scared of making the people who liked me turn against me.

When I stepped out into the garden, the morning sun was already beating down, but it was still chilly in the shade.

I hate both summer and winter, but I hate winter more.

I trembled as I remembered the inside of the box and the balcony. When certain clients came, my mother didn’t stop at putting me inside the box—she’d leave the box out on the small balcony. I never knew what she did with those clients, but I did know it couldn’t be anything good. When those clients left, my mother’s face would be bruised, and she’d have rope marks on her wrists and ankles. Then she would take her suffering out on me.

“Useless leech!” she would say.

But I made her twenty thousand gold. I wasn’t a leech after all!

I quickly reined in my gloomy thoughts.

She must have sent me out so I wouldn’t hear anything. She probably did love me a teeny-tiny bit.

I reframed my mindset and stood in the middle of the garden.

Come to think of it...

There was a very big tree in the garden. It stood so close to the balcony of the room next to mine that I felt like I could climb up and down if I tried.

Should I try climbing up first?

I ran around the mansion until I found the tree I wanted. One of its branches reached close to a second-floor balcony, and red flowers had begun to blossom on it. Taking off my shoes and socks, I placed them neatly to the side, spat in my hands, and latched onto the tree trunk.

Ugh...

Climbing trees was harder than I’d expected. Or maybe I just wasn’t strong enough. That much was true, but I would never have imagined that I couldn’t even climb fifty centimeters up. Maybe there was a trick to it. I racked my brain as I ran my hands over the trunk.

It’s impossible to climb with my arm strength, so I’ll have to use my legs. If I can just figure out the right way, I should be able to do it.

My body felt drained of energy after making several attempts.

Maybe I should try climbing down instead.

I felt like climbing down would be much easier than climbing up, so I grabbed my shoes and lightly trotted back into the mansion through the back door.

It didn’t take long to find the right room, as it was next to mine. When I opened the door carefully, I found myself looking at a tidy library. I called it a library, but it felt more like a drawing room or a place to study. The actual library, with shelves packed with books, was on the third floor. It made me sad that I couldn’t read those books though.

The soft carpet tickled my bare feet as I put a lot of effort into forcing the balcony door open. It was less greased than the one in my room and made a terrible creaking sound as it opened. Darting through the door, I slipped out onto the balcony and peered through the gaps in the railing to look at the tree.

It looks a bit risky, but I think I can make it if I jump to that branch.

When I heaved myself up onto the railing, the ground seemed so far away. Strangely, that made me excited instead of fearful. The cold marble railing was wide enough to support my feet.

All right, then.

“Three, two, one!” I shouted and flung my body forward.

As my stomach and chest slammed into the branch, I grunted. Then my body spun, and I clung to the branch with all four limbs, startled.

How do I get up on top of the branch from here?

After several desperate, sweat-soaked attempts, I managed to grab hold of another branch nearby. I hoisted myself up and finally perched on the branch.

“I did it!”

The thrilling achievement put a smile on my face. I gripped the branch and pushed my butt toward the trunk. Grabbing another branch nearby, I slowly stood up.

“Wow!”

One would expect the view from the top of the tree to be similar to the one from the balcony, but it was completely different. Everything seemed more sparkly from up here.

“So pretty...”

I found myself muttering as the sun’s rays bounced between the dark green leaves and the large red flowers. I could see the endless green garden in the distance through the gaps they left.

I stood there for a while before deciding it was time to climb back down. After making my way to the middle of the tree where the branches were, all that was left was the trunk. The tree hadn’t seemed so tall from the ground. Why did it seem so high from up here?

As I spat on my hands and grabbed a branch, I worried about my predicament. Carefully, I placed my feet against the tree trunk.

I’m going to let go of the branch and then quickly hug the trunk.

“Here goes nothing!” I shouted and quickly latched onto the trunk.

I did it!

Now all I had to do was climb down. That was all I had to do...

I can’t go down.

My arms began to tremble. I tried to press the bottoms of my feet firmly against the trunk, but they kept slipping.

“Estelle?!”

A surprised voice rang out like a savior.