Chapter 63: "Why did he have such a bad fever?"

"Why did he have such a bad fever?"

"...I don't know the exact cause."

Ben readily admitted and explained, addressing Yelena's allegations.

He didn't seem to feel the need to hide anything from Yelena anymore.

"But once a year, he would unexpectedly suffer from such a high fever."

"Since when did it start?"

Yelena asked with a stiff face.

The Duke's tone had been calm, but the memory of his abuse couldn't be easily forgotten.

Perhaps the body remembered the pain of that time...

Ben replied as if he had read her thoughts.

"He's been like that since he was a child. Even before the dead laid their hands on the master."

"I see..."

So it was not trauma from abuse.

Yelena thought about it and suddenly recalled what she had just heard.

"Huh? Wait, did you just say 'the dead'?"

"Yeah, what's the matter?"

"...you didn't use honorifics?"

No matter whether or not they were dead, they were the previous duke and duchess. They were even Ben's master during their lifetime.

Ben snorted.

It was the first emotional reaction from the butler that Yelena had ever witnessed.

"I only use honorifics to those who are qualified and fulfill their duties as my master. Of course, I don't speak up to brutes."

The former Duke and his wife were not even human.

"Ben, now that I look at you, there's something that I quite like about you."

"I guess you didn't see it until now."

"You know how to joke around."

Yelena stared at Ben with a renewed impression.

"You seemed to have changed a little?"

"I'll be honest with you. I didn't know when you were going to completely leave from this place."

"..."

"It was last night that changed my mind."

"...I see."

It would be difficult to treat her as an 'outsider' anymore after seeing such a scar.

Yelena nodded her head.

"Let me introduce myself again. I'm Ben, the butler of this castle. I look forward to your kind cooperation."

"..."

"Forgive me if I've been rude so far."

Yelena looked at Ben's face that was stained with time and then opened her mouth.

"I think you're going to be a lot ruder than you have been so far."

"You saw through it right away."

"Well, yes. Be comfortable. Because I like it that way, too."

Yelena chuckled.

Now she felt that the butler had truly regarded her as the mistress of the castle.

It wasn't a bad feeling.

"Well, Ben. While we're at it, let me ask you something."

"Please speak."

"...Why did the carriage accident happen that day?"

"If it's about the carriage accident..."

"The accident that happened nine years ago."

The former Duke and Duchess of Mayhard died in that carriage accident.

But, it wasn't just the two of them.

The carriage also carried the Duke's brother, who was a year younger.

In the end, all of the family members, except Kaywhin, lost their lives in the carriage accident.

Yelena had so far assumed that the incident was just an unfortunate accident caused by bad luck.

However, after learning of the former ducal couple last night, her thoughts changed.

"It wasn't just an accident, was it?"

It occurred to her that there must be some other truth hidden behind the accident, which the public said was caused by Duke Mayhard's curse.

Ben answered, his eyes slightly widened in surprise.

"What makes you think that way?"

"It's a hunch. Am I right, or not?"

"...You're right."

Ben seemed to hesitate before opening his mouth.

"A month before the accident, a maid went missing from the duchy."

"A maid?"

"She was a very young maid. I think I was around fourteen years old at the time."

"Why did she go missing?"

"Actually, it wasn't a disappearance. She was reported missing, but was actually killed."

"Killed?"

Yelena paused, startled.

But the real surprise came after that.

"The culprit was the brother of the current Duke, the second young master at the time."

"...!"

"He didn't intend to kill her in the first place. The second young master was very young. Perhaps, out of curiosity, he tried to touch a maid his age... That's what happened, whether it was a mistake or not."

"..."

"After learning the truth, the former Duke and his wife immediately concealed the maid's death. They claimed that the dead maid went on an errand and disappeared."

Ben's voice was calm as he revealed the disgrace of his master's family that he once served.

Yelena furrowed her eyebrows.

It was a horrendous story.

"...is the maid's death related to the carriage accident?"

"That's right. On the day of the accident, the servant who drove the carriage was the dead maid's brother."