Welcome to the Rose Mansion - Chapter 35
“What kind of fever…”
Alan’s delicately sharp eyes furrowed in displeasure. Richelle mustered all her strength to stand properly.
“I’m sorry…”
“Save your apologies. Follow me.”
Despite telling her to follow, Alan Otis himself grabbed Richelle’s arm and led her away.
But contrary to his harsh words, his touch was gentle. Too stunned to resist, Richelle simply matched his stride.
It didn’t take long for their footsteps to halt. Alan opened a door and pushed Richelle inside.
“Sit there.”
Alan nudged Richelle. Not with much force, but Richelle wobbled and ended up half lying on the sofa. Leaning on something eased the dizziness slightly.
She straightened up and looked around. The room was small, barely fitting a sofa, a small table, and a wardrobe. Alan was rummaging through the wardrobe.
“This is a fever reducer. This is cold medicine.”
“…What?”
“I’m not a doctor, so I’m not sure, but you look like you have a fever and a cold, so let’s deal with the fever first.”
Two small bottles fit snugly in her hand. The coolness from the glass surface helped her regain some awareness.
Richelle clutched the medicine bottles tightly and bowed her head.
“Thank you. For helping me, and for the medicine…”
Alan didn’t reply. Instead, he took out ointment and bandages from the box.
“Your arm.”
Suddenly mentioning her arm, Richelle was puzzled until Alan firmly grabbed her left arm. His movements to roll up her sleeve were decisive.
“What…!”
Startled, she tried to pull away, but then she saw a vivid bruise under her sleeve. It must have been from when the maid grabbed her earlier.
Alan lowered his long eyelashes and carefully applied ointment over the bruise, his skill in wrapping the bandage looked very practiced.
“You’ll be able to find first-aid medicine only in this room.”
He said calmly as he organized the medicine box.
“There are no patients in Bertrand.”
It was that statement again. The sentence that the butler, Frederick, had repeated three times.
The difference was, whereas Frederick’s words felt like a doll reciting recorded information without any emotion, Alan Otis’s words carried a hint of resignation.
‘…Has he been treating his own wounds here all along?’
Richelle licked her lips and then cautiously mustered up some courage.
“I, um… Young Lady Penny and Young Lord Nero also got wet in the rain. If I’m suffering from a fever as an adult, they might also…”
“Hah!”
A clear scoff came from Alan Otis. The calm atmosphere surrounding the young man changed instantly.
“Look, Teacher. I told you, if you want to survive, drop that misplaced concern.”
“This isn’t misplaced concern, it’s my duty as a tutor to Young Lady Penny and Young Lord Nero…”
“Oh, right. Tutor. That oh-so-important title of tutor.”
Alan leaned in close, his blue eyes flashing with an unusual intensity of anger.
“It seems you’re putting quite a lot of effort into those things, but it might be best if you stopped.”
He referred to them as ‘things’. His younger siblings.
For a moment, the face of Alan Otis overlapped with that of Madam Otis.
Richelle, involuntarily provoked, raised her voice.
“We’re talking about your siblings, aren’t we? How can you speak so coldly?”
In this strange mansion, under the abuse of parents, those children have no one but their older brother to rely on.
And you’re the same.
“Siblings?”
But then, in the next moment, Alan Otis gripped Richelle’s bruised wrist and pressed down hard. A sharp cry of pain escaped her involuntarily.
“Ah!”
“You can’t even take care of yourself.”
“Young Master Otis.”
“What do you think you know, spouting off like that? Ah, maybe you want to play house?”
“Please, let go…”
“But you said you’re a tutor, right? Then do your job as a tutor. Oh, I’ve noticed you’re particularly friendly with Rogéros.”
The sneer on his lips deepened.
“Did you come here intending to find a husband? Huh?”
“It hurts!”
Alan released Richelle’s arm as if throwing it away. Richelle gasped for air, hastily retreating.
The boy’s icy blue eyes looked down on her, filled with undeniable hostility.
The fever that had been boiling away seemed to freeze over in an instant. Richelle clenched the glass bottles in her hand.
“If I’ve done something wrong to you, Young Master Otis…”
“The mistake you’ve done was coming to this mansion in the first place.”
