A maid, who was placing a plate on a tray, jumped in surprise when Ariella suddenly appeared and asked.
“Yes, yes?”
“That patient’s meal.”
Ariella’s index finger pointed to the bowl containing the easy-to-eat liquid food.
The maid, realizing which ‘that room’ she was referring to, slowly nodded.
Ironically, it had recently become almost taboo to mention David’s name within the Bedford mansion. This was because they were afraid of provoking the Duke and incurring his wrath.
“I’ll take it today. Give it to me.”
The kitchen maid’s eyes widened again.
“The young lady herself?”
“Yes. Is there a problem?”
There was a problem. Everyone knew that Miss Ariella and Master David had been at odds since they were very young.
However, as she was just a lowly kitchen maid and the woman before her was the noble lady of the house, she couldn’t possibly reveal her true feelings.
She wished there was another senior maid around to answer for her, but unfortunately, everyone except her had gone to lunch or disappeared to attend to other duties.
“W-Well, you have to put the food directly into his mouth, and clean up any spills. I’m afraid it might be too strenuous a task for the young lady.”
The maid spoke, hoping her voice sounded as polite as possible.
Ariella gave her a faint smile.
“I know. But I want to do it. I just feel like I should.”
“Pardon?”
“David and I haven’t been on good terms until now. It’s no wonder you’re worried. But… still, David and I are family.”
The smile on her neatly shaped lips seemed somehow forlorn. Perhaps it was because even the voice that mentioned family sounded so frail, but the maid felt a strange sense of pity for Ariella.
“It pains me to see the child I’ve considered my brother my whole life is sick. I regret never having cared for David before… I’d like to serve David’s meals, just for today. Would that be alright?”
It was a heart-wrenchingly kind thing to say. The way she cautiously asked for her opinion, even as a lowly maid, deepened the maid’s sympathy for Ariella.
“Of course, young lady. I’ll prepare everything right away.”
“Thank you, Sophia.”
The young lady knows my name! And she even thanked me!
The maid, Sophia, was so moved that her eyes widened.
She quickly gathered a spoon, a handkerchief, lukewarm porridge, and water onto a tray so that Ariella could serve David’s meal as comfortably as possible.
Ariella thanked Sophia one last time before leaving the kitchen with the tray.
As she walked, the savory smell of soup faintly brushed her nose. Even though a lid was placed to prevent dust from entering or the warmth from escaping, the smell seemed to seep through the gaps.
Although David would soon be removed from his position as heir and become a nuisance to the family, the quality of his meals, even as a patient’s diet, was excellent, as he was still the son of Duke Bedford.
Of course, it was food that David wouldn’t have touched if he were healthy.
She straightened her back and carried the tray up the stairs. David’s room was to the right from here.
But Ariella headed in the opposite direction.
Walking down the hallway to her own room, she placed the tray on the table and opened the lid. Then, she picked up the shallow dish containing the soup and removed it from the tray.
Turning her head to look around, she saw food placed on a low cabinet in the corner.
It was the food she had asked Amira to bring her in advance. Amira had left the food and left, probably out of consideration that she might be embarrassed.
Ariella approached the cabinet, took the food Amira had prepared, and placed it on the tray. After closing the lid, it looked perfectly normal.
‘Oh, goodness, look at me. I need to take the gift too.’
Smiling contentedly, she was about to leave the room when she hurriedly turned back and picked up a beautifully wrapped gift. It was difficult to carry it along with the tray, but by using her elbows and everything else, she managed to hold it somehow.
Knock, knock.
Finally, Ariella arrived safely in front of David’s door and knocked politely.
“It’s me, David. I’m coming in.”
It was a strange thing. She was knocking on David’s door, and David was silently quiet instead of telling her to get lost.
Opening the door, she saw David lying on the bed like a corpse in the distance, his eyes rolling.
“Young lady? What brings you here… And is that perhaps Master David’s meal?”
One of the servants attending to David asked with surprised eyes.
“Yes. Could you excuse us for a moment? I’ve decided to serve David’s meal today.”
“Yes, yes. I understand.”
Unlike Sophia, the servant didn’t bother to ask any further questions and quickly retreated. Even though the master he was supposed to serve was groaning and expressing his refusal,
The change in attitude was only natural. The closer someone was to David, the better they knew how foolish he had become and how he would be treated in the future.
‘The smell…?’
Even if they sensed that the smell of the food seeping through the lid was somehow unusual, they left without saying a word for that same reason.
Thud. As the servant closed the door and left, Ariella slowly walked towards the bed.
“Ugh… ! Uh! Guh!”
As she approached, David struggled as much as he could. It was truly miserable that he couldn’t properly express his anger or even utter a single curse at the person who had made him this way.
“Yes, David. It must be very painful. It would have been easier if you had just died back then, but what can you do? It must be so hard.”
Ariella placed the gift and the tray on the bedside table and chair, respectively, and clicked her tongue as if in pity.
“I heard they’re going to move you to a much smaller and narrower room soon… Then you’ll really lose everything.”
The bedroom where David was currently being cared for was the one used by the heirs of Bedford in the past, and it was the most luxurious and largest after the Duke’s bedroom. However, it was not convenient for nursing.
As a result, the servants were waiting for the day they could ask the Duke to move the room.
When the Duke’s anger had subsided a little more, and when there was a proper plan for the heir. Around that time, David would surely lose even this room.
“A life of being trapped in a small room for the rest of your life, receiving tasteless food, and watching your body become thinner and thinner. Even a dog’s life would be better than that, wouldn’t it?”
“Ugh, ugh…!”
David’s face turned noticeably pale at the mention of dogs.
Although he felt little pain below the neck due to the paralysis, he would have felt the pain in his face, and he would have watched the dogs tear him apart with a clear mind, so it was only natural that he would be traumatized.
Ariella, pleased with the sight, smiled brightly and helped David sit up. Then, she sat on the chair by the bed and placed the tray on her lap.
“David, I’ve brought you food especially for you in your pain.”
Saying that, she opened the lid, and the soup in the shallow dish sloshed. At the same time, a stench that made one want to vomit assaulted her nose.
The soup in the dish was rotten and covered in white mold.
David’s blue eyes trembled upon seeing this.
“It’s not as fresh as what you brought me, but you’ll eat it all for my sake, won’t you?”
“Ugh! Ugh!!”
“Oh, you. Are you that happy?”
Ariella smiled shyly, as if embarrassed. She knew very well that his screams were a request for help from the servant outside the door.
“Now, eat up quickly.”
She stirred the moldy soup carefully and brought the spoon to David’s mouth.
David tried his best to keep his mouth closed, clenching his teeth. But even that was not enough, and when Ariella reached out and pressed his cheeks tightly, his lips soon parted.
“Ugh! Ugh!”
