One Day My Sister Died - Chapter 10

Episode 10: People of the Black Mansion

Although she was a Felice, Yuan was no longer a person of Felice.

As Yuan hesitated for a moment, Henna interrupted.

“Vile! You heard it, right? Yuan Felice, who came from the Felice Count’s Manor!”

“I’m honored to be able to take care of the Felice family. Madam Yuan Felice!”

Vile stood up abruptly from his seat where he had been sitting for a while and bent his waist almost halfway.

Considering the influence Felice had on Yufrees as a whole, it was not an incomprehensible action.

If someone had studied medicine at the Academy, they would have seen Felice’s books as textbooks or read papers.

Vile, with a smile on his face, started combing his spiky hair with his fingers before tying it neatly.

“I will serve you with all my heart! Ms. Yuan! No, Madam!”

“Oh, Vile! That’s great! You always get rejected by the master for treatment!”

“I’m quite busy too. Making painkillers and this time, I rummaged through the entire herb warehouse to make an ointment!”

Vile blushed and made excuses.

Indeed, there were signs of hurriedly making this and that in his hands.

Yuan’s eyes widened, concerned for him.

“It seems like you hurt your hand.”

“Oh, yes. I was trimming an elm tree myself… haha. I’m just a good-for-nothing, so I have to do odd jobs like that.”

It was an injury from hastily making medicine for Yuan.

Yuan looked at his wound with wavering eyes.

It was nothing special, but it was the first time she’d seen someone hurt themselves for her since Louise.

“You’re pretending! I’m the one who actually hurt my back while cleaning this room in the morning!”

“Oh, I’m not pretending. Madam.”

“You are pretending! I’m just telling the truth as it is!”

Yuan quietly opened her mouth as they began to argue about who was more in pain.

“Doctor, can I borrow your medical bag?”

“Do-Doctor…!”

Vile, who had been agitated, eagerly handed over the medical bag with a face full of emotion.

To a doctor, their own medical bag was as good as their life, but for Felice, it was an exception.

“A doctor, you say. A member of the Felice family is calling me a doctor.”

Vile murmured dreamily.

With Vile’s help, Yuan picked up a famous ointment jar known as the ‘All Purpose Ointment’ with her hand that wasn’t bandaged.

It was a multipurpose ointment used for burns, cuts, and sore spots.

Doctors often used this ointment as a base to which they added other herbs to create new ointments, so Yuan’s ointment for bruises was made with this all-purpose ointment as its base.

“It seems like you got hurt because of me; let me take a look.”

“You don’t have to!”

“Madam! Just ask Vile for these things!”

“I’ll take care of it too.”

At first, Vile was astonished, exclaiming, “I’m being treated by a Felice!” But then Henna’s eyes widened in surprise at the mention of being treated.

Unable to resist the strange, warm feeling, Yuan applied the ointment to the places where Vile and Henna were hurting.

The pain seeping through her fingertips was bearable for Yuan, and even that was very slight.

Louise never allowed Yuan to use her abilities on her, and other times Yuan had used her abilities were all at the insistence of her uncle.

So, this was the first time Yuan had chosen to bring pain upon herself.

“Rubbing counter-clockwise seems to work better. I’ve learned a lot, Madam.”

“I, I’ve never shown my body to a doctor like this, Madam. You are also a doctor… right?” (Vile)

“The Felice are a prestigious lineage of medical scholars for generations. And delve much deeper into the study than most doctors!” (Vile)

“I’m saying thank you, so why are you making a fuss, Vile?”

The pain from the small cuts brushing against her fingertips. The ache in her back.

The pain I chose to bear, as much as I could handle, isn’t as unpleasant as I thought.

Yuan expressed her gratitude, looking at the faces of people with sparkling eyes.

She was tired, but for the first time since she was born, she thought it wasn’t so bad to be a little hurt if it made others happy.

 ***

After a brief nap, Yuan woke up to find a hearty meal prepared this time.

“Oh my, why are you making such a big deal out of thanking me?”

“The Emperor personally brought you, a guest, here for the first time! How can we just send the food out without any ceremony?”

The plump kitchen chef, whose face had gained some weight, was an older man.

Though short, his plump body made him quite imposing, and he started explaining how special this soup was with a flushed face.

Assisted by Henna, Yuan sat at the table and looked at the steaming potato soup. When she chuckled softly, her face turned red.

It had been almost a decade since someone personally prepared food for her.

At the Felice Mansion, no one took care of her meals properly, so Yuan and Louise always sneaked into the kitchen when everyone was asleep, cooked soup with whatever ingredients were left, or had to swallow hard bread just before it turned moldy.

With trembling hands, Yuan took a sip of the delicious-smelling soup.

It was a rich meat broth that not only filled her mouth but also satisfied her stomach.

Chewing on the mashed potatoes and savoring the taste, Yuan realized for the first time in days that she hadn’t eaten or drunk properly.

After finishing the soup in the small bowl, she cleaned it up.

“Ah, it’s been so long since I tasted something this good…”

Yuan blushed, thinking she might have eaten too messily, and looked at the kitchen chef.

However, the old man with a wild and messy beard was covering his open mouth, looking much more moved than Vile before.

“Uh… Did I do something wrong?”

“Since I came to this mansion, I’ve never seen anyone enjoy my food this much.”

The kitchen chef shed tears as if he had done something wrong, wiped his nose with a handkerchief, and tucked it into his pocket.

Then, he opened the lid of the soup pot on the trolley and generously filled a huge bowl with it.

“Please have some! I may not show mercy to picky eaters, but for those who eat well, I can cook until they’re bursting!”

“Grandpa Ralph! What’s with the fuss now?”

“Oh, whether it’s Madam or Madam’s grandfather! Everyone who enjoys my food in this mansion should consider me as their grandfather who fattens them up!”

Henna scolded the pensive kitchen chef, Ralph.

Yuan, inhaling the aroma of the potato soup that filled the entire basin, looked at Ralph’s thick hands beyond the steam.

Ralph’s hands, covered in orange hair, were dotted with clumsily applied bandages.

“Did you get hurt while cooking?”

“Madam! Don’t worry about things like this! Usually, he cooks haphazardly for the Emperor, but hearing that the new madam was unwell, he fussed and got these injuries!”

“You little brat. All the food you’ve been eating since you were young is thanks to me. Even your plump belly is my creation!”

“Don’t talk nonsense Grandpa Ralph!”

“Grandpa my foot. You’re a little potato who hasn’t even reached adulthood…”

Even as they bickered, Yuan drank the soup that warmed her heart and body.

It warmed her frozen body and mind.

After cleaning the bowl, Yuan moved it onto the trolley that Chef Ralph had brought and gently held Ralph’s arm as if to encourage him.

“Thank you, Chef. It was the most delicious soup I’ve ever had.”

The pains Ralph endured while working for Yuan had slightly grazed Yuan’s fingers and wrists.

“Looks like you got burned too.”

Yuan sincerely thanked the kitchen chef who had worked so hard for her, seeing him for the first time in her life.

Ralph, who had shed tears earlier, confidently promised to make a new special meal for Yuan every day and disappeared.

***

During a brief period, the servants of the Black Mansion came one by one to greet Yuan.

Mr. Mazarin, the coachman and stable keeper who took care of the few horses diligently. Then there were Monica and Canaria, two young maids. Additionally, a few older servants approached Yuan with stern faces, glanced at her hesitantly, and then shyly disappeared.

After the brief greetings, Yuan, lying in bed, listened to the sound of the wind blowing outside, blinking her eyes.

Whoosh-. 

It sounded like the winter wind, knocking on the carriage door as if urging to cross the river of death.

The sound was eerie, as if it had nothing to do with Yuan anymore.

“Claude Yufrees.”

Finally, Yuan tried pronouncing the name of her husband, a name she hadn’t uttered all day.

What face did that man have?

The backlighting and her half-dazed state left her no room to gauge his mood.

All she could recall were his towering height, shadowed eyes, and the shadow cast by his broad shoulders as he stood behind the black iron gate that had stopped the carriage.

There was no sign of a welcoming demeanor.

One thing was certain, though.

The Black Mansion, which Yuan had been so eager to enter.

That man was the embodiment of this mansion.

His hair sparkled like a precious treasure, making his features pale in comparison.

His aura was almost black and white.

The impression of her “husband” she first met was intense yet extremely lonely.

Rumors said that if you looked him straight in the eyes, your whole body would rot, and your limbs would be twisted, but these were likely just scary stories.

Instead…

Once she endured his infamous terrifying face, all she could see was a normal face.

Come to think of it, he did seem somewhat sensitive.