One Day My Sister Died - chapter 41

Chapter 41: “Are You Sure You Won’t Regret It Later?”

“You said the master didn’t reach out to the madam, but just showed his face, right? When madam first came to the mansion. That’s because the master didn’t want the madam to die here in the mansion. Even if it’s not inside the mansion, but outside its walls. Usually, when someone sees his face, they run away on their own, so he made the effort. People do that, but Oliver, whom he’s ignored for so long…”

As Yuan’s face darkened, Henna tightly held her hand.

“I know you’ve grown attached to Oliver. You’ve spent so much time together, and so have I. We can’t inform the master or allow him to die here, but we’ll be by your side.”

Yuan modded mechanically, but she couldn’t hide the sadness welling up inside her.

Oliver’s pulse grew weaker by the day.

Yuan stopped cleaning the annex, which was only about a third clean, and focused all her attention on caring for Oliver.

Thankfully, the painkillers seemed to work, as Oliver groaned less when Yuan wasn’t around.

The problem was that no matter how much pain Yuan absorbed for him, Oliver could no longer eat or drink, let alone take his medicine.

Meanwhile…

In stark contrast to the dire and sorrowful situation in the west annex, the atmosphere between Yuan and Claude remained quite calm.

***

The reason for the relative peace between the fallen prince and his wife was simple.

At night, Claude slept soundly, and during the day, with his aftereffects subsiding, he was well enough to handle some of the work he had been neglecting for the past 10 years.

His once dark brown, half-disfigured skin had lightened to a caramel shade.

Since he rarely looked in the mirror, only the butler and Lancelot, who saw him daily, were secretly thrilled by the changes.

‘With things so peaceful, can I bring up Oliver?’

Henna had heard rumors that on the night the mansion burned, Oliver had been severely injured while trying to save Princess Apollini. Whether or not that’s true, it didn’t change the fact that Oliver hadn’t met his master once since that day—how pitiful.

‘Since that day when His Highness lost my grandmother, Lady Margaret, Princess Apollini, and his close childhood knights, he has been extremely averse to anyone dying in this mansion.’

Whether it was a terminally ill patient or a rat caught in a trap on the brink of death, there were no exceptions.

Claude Yufrees had sent everyone out of the mansion. That’s how he’d lived for the past 10 years.

‘Don’t cross the line.’

The voice that flashed through Yuan’s mind made her tightly shut her lips, which had been about to open.

What had she said to that composed face that spoke without anger?

‘’…There was no need to think. She had probably just said, “Yes.”

“Why are you acting like a dog that needs to pee?”

“Pardon?”

“You keep picking at your hangnail.”

Startled, Yuan looked down at her thumb.

The wound that had healed after coming to the black mansion had reappeared.

‘What am I so scared of?’

When she had been overwhelmed by the sight of so many sick people gathered in the annex…

When Louise, sent on an errand by her uncle, didn’t return late into the night…

When Louise left the mansion with two large suitcases and didn’t return for a year…

She had declared she didn’t want to live or die here, only to tremble with anxiety in the marquis’ carriage.

Her mind wandered to Claude, whose eyelids always drooped and whose gaze remained indifferent.

Had she found a place for herself in this mansion? Was there a place for her in that man’s eyes as well?

‘If I bring up Oliver again, will he drive me out?’

For some reason, she thought he wouldn’t.

Even if she caused him pain, he wouldn’t cast her out.

Whether it was out of necessity or something else.

At that moment, Claude’s hand, which had instinctively reached out to stop Yuan from picking at her hangnail, froze.

“Oliver—!”

Henna’s sharp scream cut through the sound of rain that had been tapping on the window, spilling into the bedroom.

Yuan froze for a moment, then quickly stood up.

She pulled back the curtains that let in the pale light of the overcast sky. Wiping away the fog that clouded the window, she could see Oliver.

Oliver, who had visibly weakened, staggered through the rain, heading somewhere.

It was in the direction of the mansion’s iron gate.

“Master.”

Yuan’s nose tingled with emotion, and she held back the tremble in her voice as she called to Claude.

“Master. Oliver is really sick.”

The silence that followed was unbearably heavy.

“They say it’s not unusual for an old dog to die suddenly.”

“…”

“Did you know? Oliver always lies down facing your bedroom.”

Seeing Oliver walk slowly, dragging one of his hind legs as if he could barely manage, made Yuan’s heart ache.

“He whines and whimpers, no matter how many tasty treats I give him. Lately, he doesn’t even eat those. He’s just been waiting for you.”

Yuan’s sorrowful voice seemed to shatter Claude’s room into fragments.

“Oliver is leaving the mansion right now.”

At her accusatory tone, Claude finally rose from his rocking chair and stood beside her.

The sunlight, soaked by storm clouds, bathed him softly.

His deep purple eyes mirrored the waves of the encroaching night that were beginning to surround the mansion.

Claude watched as Oliver reached the iron gate, and after a long pause, he spoke.

“He doesn’t want me to see him die.”

His voice was dry and subdued, the complete opposite of Yuan’s emotional state.

“The other one I brought along with Oliver was the same. I worried over him and cared for him while he was sick, but one day he disappeared. Later, I found him in my mother’s dressing room. He had buried his face in the hem of one of her dresses, one she often wore, and died there.”

Claude’s eyes, which shone like stars even on a cloudy day, were filled only with a desolate wasteland.

Though his face resembled the bright sun at dawn, his inner self seemed empty, filled with nothing but harsh, thorny brambles.

Yuan felt as if those thorns were piercing her as well.

“There are deaths like that.”

Claude answered her with a low voice, one that soaked into her ears with surprising tenderness.

It was a voice completely at odds with his expressionless face.

Astonishingly, though he was the master, his words seemed meant to comfort Yuan.

The roles had reversed.

It should have been Claude grieving, and Yuan offering such words to console him.

Yuan felt a surge of rebellion within her and wanted to say something in return.

She wanted to ask why he couldn’t just embrace Oliver one last time.

If you don’t care, you wouldn’t keep him by your side, right? If you care, couldn’t you just show a little affection, hold him, be kind to him?

Even at the very end. No matter how deep or painful the wound is, are you sure you won’t regret it later? She wanted to shout the question at him.

When Oliver finally left through the iron gate, and when Claude ultimately did not follow, Yuan made up her mind.

She would leave the mansion to find Oliver.

She didn’t need Claude’s permission for that.

***

The path to the chapel felt unusually long and cold today.

Oliver, nestled in Henna’s arms, wheezed with each breath.

Henna clutched Oliver tightly the entire way to the chapel, tears streaming down her face.

“I made him a special meal, a feast…”

Ralph, the cook, who had been adamant just days earlier that there wasn’t enough food to spare for a dog, had changed his tune. He had initially refused to prepare anything special for Oliver, saying there wasn’t even enough for themselves. But when Oliver wagged his tail at Ralph while Yuan was cleaning, Ralph’s heart softened. He ended up making a special dish for Oliver, sacrificing his own share of food.

The snacks Ralph brought soon became a regular meal not only for Yuan and Oliver, but also for Henna, who always hovered nearby, and for Vile, who visited to conduct potion research.

Though the special meals consisted of little more than dried meat from the previous year, fruit sent regularly by Marquis Reve, and porridge made from grain taxes, it was made with care.

“I made him a feast, but he can’t even eat it…”

Ralph sniffled, his voice filled with sadness. Mr. Mazarin, who had driven the carriage, gently patted Ralph’s broad shoulders, offering silent comfort.

Yuan, noticing the concern on everyone’s faces, spoke in a worried tone.

“I think we may have pushed ourselves too much. We didn’t get Master’s permission, so the steward might scold us all.”

“I don’t care! I saw the steward pretending not to notice, turning a blind eye!” Ralph shouted through his sniffles.’’

Ignoring Ralph’s emotional outburst, Mazarin turned to Yuan with a serious expression.

“But what will you do, madam?”

“I don’t care if I get scolded, as long as I know this is the right thing to do.”

Yuan answered firmly, rubbing her reddened eyes. Ralph, still sniffling, smiled at her with pride, as if he were looking at his own daughter.

“But why now? Why did Oliver, who never crossed the western annex fence, finally leave?” Yuan asked.’’

“To find a place to die,” Ralph replied, still emotional, but sounding sure of himself.’’

Mazarin squinted thoughtfully, while Ralph widened his eyes, as if Mazarin didn’t understand something so obvious.

“We used to have a lot of dogs back home. A couple of them didn’t want their owners to see them die, so they’d sneak away to die alone. It was… strange.”

“I’ll listen to the cook’s stories. We’ll fetch some water from the well, just in case the steward has something to say about us.”

Yuan wanted to hear more of Ralph’s tales, but Mazarin’s calm voice convinced her otherwise. She nodded quietly.

“May your farewell be without regret, madam,” Mazarin said softly as he and Ralph went to carry water.

***

While Mazarin and Ralph busied themselves hauling water, Henna knelt beside Yuan and began digging a small hole.

The ground was still frozen, so Henna had to place Oliver gently on her lap while she used the small shovel she had brought to break through the hard soil.

They were beside the chapel, in the communal cemetery.

Next to Oliver’s future resting place lay Yuan’s older sister, Louise Felice.

Yuan willingly offered part of Louise’s space for Oliver.