Please Answer Me - Chapter 63

[Thank you, Rigaina. The Elheim and Ark must have been very gracious to send you to us. I am so happy that someone like you is our Rigaina. May you live a long and happy life with Riga.]

Rosetta looked straight at Rashid. Naturally, she couldn’t understand a word she was saying. Rashid translated her long words into something very short: She thanked him for letting her work at the castle.

There was no reason for her to stay in the house any longer now that she had decided to get a divorce. The woman packed only a few essentials and they headed to the castle together.

As soon as they reached the castle, Thelma came running out.

“I was worried you were late, but…”

Thelma’s eyes flickered between the woman and the child in her arms, and though she didn’t show it, the sudden appearance of the mother and daughter caused her some surprise.

“I heard you were short on workers in the castle, so I brought one.”

Rashid’s words struck Thelma as absurd.

“There’s been a shortage of workers in the castle? Since when? And it seems like there’s not one, but two now.”

“I’m glad you’re willing to take them in. It’s late tonight, so give them both something to eat and put them to bed. Tomorrow you can put them in the right place and give them work.”

Rashid only said what he needed to say and left. Rosetta stared after him in disbelief.

God, such a nonchalant demeanor, but then again, maybe that’s what he’d been like all along.

Back then, he’d pretended to spend the first night with her and then took her away with him without telling her that he would send her back, causing a misunderstanding.

Eventually, Rosetta said to Thelma. “Thelma, I’ll fill you in on the details, but for now, I think you should listen to Rashid and let the two of them get some rest, they’ve had a lot going on today.”

“…Understood.”

Thelma immediately ordered the maid beside her. The woman followed the maid, but kept her eyes on Rosetta, bowing her head in thanks. The faint hint of a smile on her face was a relief to Rosetta.

Back in her room, Thelma offered Rosetta a cup of hot tea. Then the interrogation began.

“Now please help me understand what happened. Do you know how worried I was when I heard you had gone out to the town on a simple inspection and didn’t return until long after dark?”

It was something Rosetta had felt last time as well, that Thelma was worried, even though she was trying to hide it. She always waited until after Rashid returned, no matter how late it was. Today was no different.

“Where was Benny before that?”

Benny, where she should have been, was nowhere to be seen.

Thelma shook her head gently. “Sika came back a little while ago, but as soon as he got here, she and Benny got into something, and then they both disappeared. I think they got into trouble, but I can’t figure out what.”

“Sika’s back already? I heard he was meeting with the magistrate, I guess that was over sooner than I thought.”

Thelma took a small breath. “Magistrate? My God, what kind of trouble has Sika gotten himself into? Did he go into town today and kill someone?”

“No, not like that…”

Rosetta calmed the panicked Thelma down. Then she explained in order what happened in the town.

“…That’s how it happened, I’m sorry I freaked you out.”

When Rosetta finished, Thelma let out a deep sigh.

“I knew there were bad guys like that, but this is the first time I’ve actually seen one. Is that why Riga decided to bring that woman and her child with him? That’s a bit surprising, he’s never picked up anything since he had a wolf pup…”

Thelma cleared her throat, realizing she had slipped up. Rosetta caught her slip of the tongue.

“A wolf pup? Did Rashid ever pick up a wolf?”

“Yes. When he was young, he was out hunting and found an injured wolf and brought it home.”

“And that wolf still lives here?”

Thelma shook her head. “No. He released it as soon as its wounds healed, and I’m sure it’s living well somewhere in the woods by now.”

Rashid was about ten years old. When he returned from a hunting trip with Elder Calante, he found an injured blue-eyed wolf pup. Rashid devoted himself to the wolf. He fed it, treated its wounds, and slept with it.

Thelma thought he would keep the wolf. Although wild, it was a long-standing hobby of the upper classes to tame and keep such beasts in captivity. Rashid, however, soon had the wolf leave. He had been told that the wolf would be happiest in the company of his own kind, where it belonged.

“I see… Oh, and it wasn’t Rashid who brought the mother and daughter here, it was me. I asked him to bring them here.”

“……”

It was only then that Thelma realized why Rashid had said such a thing earlier, and it was truly ridiculous. He’d been preempting the question of why he’d brought someone when the castle was already fully staffed. He didn’t want this woman to hear anything bad about it.

It was uncannily reminiscent of the previous Riga, who was also very dear to his wife. So much so that everyone in the castle shook their heads.

Glancing at Rosetta, Thelma smiled a little bitterly, “You remind me of her in so many ways, Rigaina.”

“Her?”

“Elysia. The previous Rigaina, Master Rashid’s biological mother.”

Thelma hesitated for a moment, then looked Rosetta straight in the eye.

“Do you happen to know that I was originally a slave?” she asked.

Rosetta’s eyes widened. “No, this is the first I’ve heard of it.”

“I was originally a slave to Elder Calante. One day, I was being beaten by the servants and maids of the mansion because I was literate, and Elysia saved me, and taught me everything I ever wanted to know. When she married Riga at the time, she pulled me out of that hellhole and brought me here.”

Thelma paused for a moment, and then continued, “And in time, it was Master Rashid who gave me, a born slave, the position of butler.”

“Rashid?”

“Yes, I was freed from slavery by Elysia, but until then I was just Riga’s nanny. Then the longtime butler died, and Rashid chose me to take his place, and there was a lot of opposition.”

In a country where slavery was highly discriminated against, even if you became a free man, the label of slave would always follow you. The idea of giving a woman, not a man, and even a former slave, the high position of butler was bound to generate opposition. And at the time, Rashid hadn’t even fully established himself as a Riga.

“Elysia saved my life, and Master Rashid is the one who gave me a reason to live. Today, that mother and daughter have also received a great favor from you, Rigaina.”

Rosetta blushed at the words. “What I’ve done is not so great, in fact, it’s not even technically my doing. It was Rashid who gave her a job and a place to stay.”

“Rigaina, one will never forget the person who reached out to him when he needed it most. If it hadn’t been for you, Master Rashid would never have thought to take them in, but you did, and you did well. If you had left the woman and child in that house as they were, the man probably would have taken out his anger on them because of the punishment he received.”

Rosetta smiled brightly. “It’s very kind of you to say that.”

After the story was finished, Thelma asked, “So what would you like to do first, eat or take a bath?”

“Bath. I’ll just have a quick meal in bed, it’s late anyway.”

“Well, since Benny suddenly disappeared, I’ll help with the bath today.”

Rosetta smiled and waved a hand. “That’s okay, I have a lot to think about today, so I’ll just bathe by myself. Go check on that mother and daughter. I’m sure they’re very anxious being in an unfamiliar place all of a sudden.”

“Yes, I’ll get the bath water ready right away then.”

At first, it was awkward for her to undress herself before a bath, but over time, Rosetta has come to enjoy the occasional unattended bath.

It was better than I thought.

Especially when she was alone in the hot water, her thoughts seemed to be more organized than usual. Even when she was in Lysa, she often found herself wishing for a bath alone.

A warm, steamy bath was delivered to the room. Rosetta took off all her clothes and stepped into the water. Her body was quickly tired from today’s events.

As she splashed away the water droplets, she began to organize tomorrow’s plans. First, she would have Sika go to town and buy a pretty doll. It broke her heart to see the child holding a piece of wood in her hand.

Then I would apologize to Rashid for being so angry with him. I regret all the words I said to him; saying he was despicable, saying I was disappointed in him, and criticizing him for being the chieftain but not trying to change anything.

Not that he did nothing. On the contrary, he was thinking more about it and trying to change things one step at a time.

There was no case of a former slave becoming a butler in Lysa. Nor was there anything even remotely like it. For a former slave to rise to such a high position was unheard of in Lysa.

It wasn’t Rashid who did nothing, it was me…

No sooner had her thoughts traveled that far than there was a knock on the door. Rosetta smiled. Looks like Benny is back now.

“Come in.”

She heard the door creak open behind her. It was eerily quiet, when Benny should have started a storm chant the moment she opened the door.

“If you’re afraid of getting scolded, don’t be. Just come in.”

But it was still quiet. With a puzzled thought, Rosetta slowly turned her head.

“……”

“……”

It wasn’t Benny standing in the doorway.

It was Rashid.

His gaze rested on Rosetta’s bare back and shoulders in the tub. The only sound was the droplets of water falling onto the floor from the ends of her disheveled hair.

While Rosetta was frozen in shock, unable to speak, he spoke first, “You are in the bath. I’m sorry. I’ll come back later.”

-bang.

The door slammed shut.