Chapter 9
***
He was only seven years old when he was abandoned in a hut on the side of a mountain.
The maid, who had soothed him by telling him to wait patiently, went to fetch food in the morning of the first day and did not return.
He ran out of bread and ate a biscuit. When he ran out of biscuits, he went outside and picked berries from the bushes.
It was the first time he learned that if you eat what the bugs eat, you don't get sick.
When he ran out of drinking water, he went to the valley. Even though he was destitute, he persisted in returning to the hut to fulfill his promise to Elizabeth.
Unlike the maid who ran away, he was a prince, and Elizabeth had told him to wait for Count Boyna.
The day grew colder and colder. There were no more berries to be found.
He climbed up a wooden beam, but he couldn't reach the fruit. The night was terrifying.
On the day he decided to go down the mountain alone, Ferdinand, the Burg Chancellor, appeared. It was not the man Elizabeth had spoken of.
He told Caius that the Marquis and Marquise of Ermoli had been captured, that they could not win the battle, and that they should flee, for they had given away the location of the Count and the hut.
Caius didn't believe him, but Ferdinand forced him down the mountain with his arms around him.
Then he saw the emperor's army at the bottom of the mountain. He had heard the order to stop the child's breathing if they found him on the mountain.
If Ferdinand had been a moment too late, he would have died there.
He should have sold himself, and if he had survived, he should have lived to see the end of his days, so that he could pay them back as a man, as they had wished.
He would show the cowardly pair the weight of their oaths and promises.
Who the hell gave them permission to put an imperial family heirloom in the hands of a daughter they knew nothing about and then leave the world at will?
An irritating headache rose and pressed against his forehead.
Caius sat up, giving up on going back to sleep.
He rang the little bell, and a servant came in with hunting clothes and a rifle. It was early, and he might just catch a fox.
***
-Bang!
Louise jumped at the sound of distant gunfire.
An old-fashioned desk, a half-filled bookcase, and framed photographs of strange landscapes filled her vision.
She was dazed for a moment, as if she were dreaming, and then came to her senses.
She had come to Burg for a job interview, but the sun had set and she was stranded. The former tutor's room was very luxurious.
-Bang, bang!
She wondered if she had misheard earlier, but there were more gunshots.
She wondered if there was a hunt nearby.
It was a manor with private soldiers, so perhaps they were having military training. But she couldn't help but think of Miriam, who had been startled by the knock on the door.
As she was making her bed, I heard a low knock on the door.
Another shot.
The maid who had been her guide since she entered the manor appeared with a steaming basin of water.
"Did you have a restful night?"
Louise was overwhelmed by the extravagant hospitality she had never experienced before.
"You don't have to go through all this trouble."
The maid neatly ignored Louise's specifications and asked.
"Shall I bring you something to eat?"
"Uh, there.................."
She spoke up, just in case.
"Is the old duke, who is said to be ill, also in this mansion? His Excellency is said to always dine alone, so I was wondering who Lady Miriam usually dines with.................."
The maid replied with a smile.
"The great master is recuperating in the neighborhood. Miss Miriam usually eats alone, so you're welcome to eat in the comfort of your room."
Louise was bitter because it sounded as if she didn't have to go to the trouble of dining with Miriam. The maid quickly added.
"By the way, my name is Pauline Price, and you may call upon me for any small errands you may need while here."
"Thank you, Pauline. I'm Louise, as I'm sure you already know, but if the lady is dining alone, may I ask if she wouldn’t mind me joining her ? I'll go and ask her myself."
Pauline's black, pebbly eyes widened in surprise, and then she gave a hint.
"The lady doesn't like knocking, so you'll just have to ask at the door, and if she doesn't answer, she's either asleep or refusing."
"By the way, isn't there a maid assigned to the lady? She was alone in her room yesterday..................."
Pauline sighed heavily.
"She doesn’t have one now, actually, she used to have a dedicated maid, but she followed the former teacher home, and she was the one who introduced me to this place in the first place, so everyone takes turns attending to the young lady."
It was absurd that such a timid and shy girl should lose both her tutor and the maid at the same time, and be under the care of a different employee each time.
Pauline continued apologetically.
"I know the lady is having a hard time choosing a dedicated maid, and while she does make a fuss every now and then, the position is highly sought after because it pays well."
-Bang!
The gunshot rang out again. Pauline was quick to answer Louise's questions before she could ask.
"My master enjoys the hunt. As you'll soon discover if you stay, my master is a light sleeper, so you'll often hear early morning gunshots."
The woods were close by, where the sounds of animals were never far away, so it must be good for hunting.
"But Lady Miriam is not..................."
Pauline shrugged, as if asking the obvious.
"I'm sure she's surprised, even by the knocks she hears every day."
Louise was inwardly relieved to see Pauline's dark eyes sink into a sullen expression. There was at least one person in the manor who cared about Miriam.
***
She lowered the hand she had raised out of habit to knock. Louise asked in as soft a voice as she could muster from the doorway.
"Good morning, Lady Miriam."
Her speech was as slow as Miriam's.
"I'm going to go to Melk after breakfast to pack my things, and I'll probably be back tomorrow."
As expected, there was no answer.
"I'm going to have breakfast before I go, but would you like to join me? It's strange and awkward being alone."
Louise waited in the silence for a long time.
A few minutes passed, and she was about to give up and say goodbye. The door opened slightly, and she heard a small voice.
"Not now, no."
Louise didn't immediately recognize Miriam's meaning. She was about to ask again when Pauline interrupted.
"Miss, it's almost time for the master to return, and I think you can go to the dining room now. If you hear another shot, I'll be here to hold your hand."
Through the peephole, Miriam nodded, and the other maid in the room quickly came over and wrapped her shawl around her.
Louise followed Miriam to a nearby kitchenette.
In the center of the square table was a circular plate decorated with a mixture of yellow and red flowers, and what appeared to be a single serving of food.
Louise was about to take a seat beside Miriam when the smell of perfumed oil assailed her nostrils. The maid who had followed her from Miriam's room recognized it and gave a small shrug, then spoke quickly without excuse.
"I'll get your portion ready."
Something must have happened. Miriam's refusal to wash, or her excessive fondness for perfumed oils.
Miriam, of course, didn't seem to mind.
She grabbed a pink shrimp by the tail with her fingers and was about to eat it when she realized Louise's plate was empty and slipped it to her.
Louise was taken aback for a moment, but she quickly lifted the plate and took the shrimp.
The plump, boiled shrimp were peeled except for their tails, which was a great treat for Louise. Aside from the fact that she handed it to her with her bare hands.
When was the last time she'd seen shrimp this fresh?
It was a lovely meal, and she couldn't help but think of her mother. Her mother loved seafood.
Louise hesitated for a moment before picking up the shrimp with her hands, just as Miriam had done, and smiled.
"Thank you, Miriam, and enjoy."
Perhaps table manners should be taught after they'd gotten to know each other a little better.
Miriam ate a few shrimp and started buttering her bread. She drank orange juice and left the coffee untouched.
Soon, Louise's food was ready.
Louise watched Miriam eat in silence before she spoke.
"When I get back, would you like to start studying with me the next day?"
Miriam flinched slightly and continued eating as if she hadn't heard. Maybe she didn’t like studying.
***
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