The Radiant Young Lady of the Dark Family - Chapter 15
In the quiet dining room, Vanwilhelm’s meal was dragging on. Usually, he would have already finished a simple breakfast with his newspaper by now, but Vanwilhelm’s gaze kept drifting to an empty chair as if waiting for someone.
Noticing this, Salam carefully spoke up.
“Master, are you waiting for someone?”
At his question, Vanwilhelm realized how obviously he had been staring at the empty chair and withdrew his gaze.
Since his wife left and he grew distant from his children, he had grown accustomed to eating alone. Waiting for someone at mealtime? Even just a few months ago, this would have been unimaginable, but that child had changed him like this.
Vanwilhelm had been concerned about Hartbisa, who hadn’t been showing up for breakfast these past few days. But as he was about to answer while wiping his mouth, unable to reveal such feelings, Salam spoke first.
“If you’re wondering about the young lady, she visited the kitchen early this morning and personally took a trolley with her.”
At those words, Vanwilhelm froze mid-motion and turned to Salam with a raised eyebrow.
“A trolley?”
Seemingly unconcerned about hiding the fact that he had been waiting for his daughter, he asked with an interested tone. Salam, pleased by this change in Vanwilhelm, tried his best to suppress a rising smile as he answered.
“Yes, she said she planned to eat in her room.”
Vanwilhelm’s expression suddenly darkened at Salam’s response.
“…Has something been making her uncomfortable all this time?”
His furrowed brows showed his seriousness as he seemed to be reviewing recent mealtimes. Worried that his master might start searching for problems with that severe expression, Salam quietly added in a whisper.
“From what I heard, the young lady didn’t take the trolley to her room.”
To this, Vanwilhelm asked with narrowed eyes.
“Then where?”
“To the young master’s room, they say.”
“What? She went to Dayan?”
***
“This is impossible.”
Dayan muttered in disbelief, holding up a piece of parchment filled with dense translations. For the past few days, as part of their deal, he had been eating the meals Hartbisa brought in exchange for her help with his assignments.
From what she heard, it was a final assignment from his Ancient Language class at the Academy, where students had to translate ancient text from randomly assigned papers.
While Dayan had inherited Vanwilhelm’s talent for martial arts and abilities, he seemed to particularly struggle with decoding.
Hartbisa shook her head slightly at her perfectionist brother who was solving the assignment again using the decoding method she had taught him. She wondered if it was this refusal to leave even a single weakness that earned him the title of genius.
But knowing he would likely push his food aside and focus on decoding until sunset if left alone, Hartbisa called out to him.
“Dayan, it’s time to eat now.”
“……”
Though she called, he gave no response, seemingly absorbed in his work. But she wasn’t about to give up just because he didn’t answer. These past few days with Dayan had taught her a few things. Hartbisa cleared her throat with a small cough and spoke in a cool voice.
“Dayan. Are you planning to break our deal?”
At those words, Dayan froze. His lips twitched before he picked up the spoon from the neglected trolley.
“I was going to eat.”
Only then did Dayan obediently start eating. He seemed more comfortable with such businesslike tones rather than gentle words or nagging concerns.
She wondered if, being called a genius, he had also inherited his father’s systematic way of speaking.
Hartbisa slightly shook her head at Dayan, whose eyes remained fixed on his assignment even while eating. Just then, she noticed a spot of stew on the corner of his mouth. This is what happens when you eat while looking elsewhere.
Hartbisa reached out habitually.
“Look at you, getting food all over yourself because you’re distracted while eating.”
As she said this while wiping the corner of his mouth with her thumb, Dayan startled violently at her touch and forcefully struck away her hand.
Smack.
His strength was such that even though it seemed like just a light touch, there was a loud sound as Hartbisa’s hand flew through the air. Surprised, Hartbisa stared blankly at Dayan, who also appeared quite shocked by his own reflexive action.
His lower lip trembling in apparent confusion, Dayan’s expression quickly crumpled as he practically threw down what he was eating onto the trolley and shouted.
“W-who told you to touch me without warning!”
While rubbing the corner of his mouth harshly with the back of his hand until the skin turned red, Dayan continued.
“Do you have a death wish? If you have any sense, look around you. If you wanted to pretend to care about my meals like the others, you could have just left it at the door. Why did you have to come crawling into my room?”
Though he was the one who had struck her hand away, his face showed more panic than Hartbisa’s as he stammered out his angry words. Watching his excessive reaction, Hartbisa’s lips parted slightly as if realizing something.
The family’s blessing was inherited by the firstborn, and as Dayan grew, he was developing the same abilities as their father. Including the drawbacks.
The servants seemed to fear touching Dayan just as they feared touching their father. Hartbisa could now understand why the servants who had looked down on her had trembled before Dayan. She could clearly imagine how they must have treated her brother like a monster, unable to hide their fear.
Hartbisa wanted to grab his hands to stop him from rubbing his reddened mouth, but even that wouldn’t help him right now. She tightly clenched her trembling hands into fists and spoke firmly.
“Stop rubbing it. Dayan.”
Only at Hartbisa’s commanding tone did Dayan stop his actions. Somehow, her chest ached at the sight. Hartbisa swallowed the lump in her throat and continued softly.
“I’m sorry for touching you without permission, but you don’t need to hurt yourself like that while speaking.”
Dayan’s dark eyes wavered. Hartbisa gave him the gentlest smile she could manage and stood up. She left the room after saying she would see him tomorrow.
***
Hartbisa returned to her room with slumped shoulders. She felt she had unintentionally hurt Dayan.
Her heart wavered, wondering if the actions she had taken to avoid the mistakes of her past life were creating new mistakes, if her selfishness was causing new wounds.
As she felt her resolve weakening, Hartbisa slapped her own cheek.
She needed to learn more about Dayan. About his life at the Academy, and what he did alone in the mansion while she was being dragged around by Helena.
As she opened the door lost in these complex thoughts, she saw a familiar figure. The shadow lingering in front of her door quickly turned around. Hartbisa’s face brightened at the welcome sight.
“Tar.”
“My lady!”
Tar came bouncing over with a bright smile.
Tar had returned from her hometown four days ago. When she heard that Tar had come back earlier than her vacation period, Hartbisa had told her to rest for the remaining days.
But Tar had appeared anyway, before her vacation was fully over, perfectly dressed in her maid uniform. Hartbisa smiled with an expression that seemed to say ‘What am I going to do with you.’
“I told you to rest more.”
“I’ve had enough. Mother actually scolded me, asking how long I was planning to stay when I should be returning to my lady’s side.”
Tar imitated Azure scolding her. Hartbisa chuckled at that.
“Is Azure well?”
“Of course. She was truly happy when I told her I’d become your personal maid.”
Tar hesitated for a moment before continuing.
“Mother was truly worried about you. When she left the mansion, you were still so young, and the master was so busy…”
Though Tar seemed hesitant to speak, worried that her words and her mother’s feelings might be presumptuous, she emphasized each word as if hoping her feelings would reach Hartbisa. Watching her reminded Hartbisa of how she had looked at Dayan.
Understanding Tar and Azure’s feelings, Hartbisa smiled gently.
“Thank you, and tell Azure I’ll definitely visit her.”
Only then did Tar brighten up and nod.
“I’ll serve you completely, my lady.”
“Thank you.”
Tar’s face lit up at Hartbisa’s response. Then, as if time was too precious to waste, she became serious and whispered softly.
“With that in mind, I prepared this.”
Tar pulled out a folded piece of parchment hidden in her apron.
“And I told you to rest.”
“I rested while doing this. Even if my body rested, my ears were still open.”
Hartbisa unfolded the parchment she received. It contained a list of names. This was what she had asked for before giving Tar her vacation – to compile a list of people Helena regularly contacted.
