The Fake Madam Disappeared

It was as exactly as the artists who had seen Eddmund praised in unison. With Edmund’s perfect facial proportion, he was truly a muse for every artist. The rumor that most artists dreamt of seeing Duke Winters face before they die was not unfounded.

‘Come to think of it…’

Why did His Excellency dismiss me instead of describing the Duchess? He looked as if he encountered an unexpected obstacle. ‘But what could someone like me do about it?’

Quickly shaking off his thoughts, Philip went to bed early and prepared for the hardships he would face.

…….

“Your Excellency.”

“...”

“Your Excellency?”

Only after several calls did the focus in Edmund’s eyes return. Edmund looked at the empty chair in front of him and asked, “Where’s the painter?”

“Your Excellency sent him away.”

Edmund was so lost in thought that he had forgotten he sent the painter away. And again, Edmund fell into thought again, rendering Johann’s patient calls useless.

Edmund was confused by the situation, and rightfully so. He couldn’t remember anything – just her plain brown hair and plain green eyes – nothing else.

‘I’m going crazy.’

Pressing his throbbing temples, Edmund let out a faint sigh. It wasn’t that he had a poor memory, but he couldn’t remember anything about Daphne. Even though they only see each other once a month, they had been living under the same roof for five years – a whole five years.

Edmund tried to recall Daphne’s face again, but all he could remember was her hazy green eyes – nothing more. It was as if someone deliberately messed with his memories, specifically with Daphne’s appearance.

“... Before the wedding,” Edmund suddenly remembered something,

“There was a painting I drew five years ago.”

That painting was something he drew before the wedding to hang in the hall. Although he hadn’t taken it out since the wedding and couldn’t guarantee its condition, it will at least help him recall what Daphne looked like.

“I’ll bring it right away.”

Johann suddenly recalled that painting as well and headed straight to the basement, but returned empty-handed.

“I apologize, Your Excellency. I’m also trying to find out what happened.”

“The painting… disappeared?”

The only painting of Daphne that no one had touched vanished into thin air.

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

It was quiet in the northern castle. While it was never particularly a lively and vibrant place, the castle’s people were more reserved and hushed than before. However, when the Master was away, they would whisper to each other of rumors they had heard.

“Madam was found in the den of beasts?”

“But I heard it was Madam’s robe that was found in the den.”

“Isn’t that the same thing? Madam is not His Excellency nor the Young Duke, so how could she survive alone in the den of beasts? The point is, Madam’s dead.”

Listening quietly to their conversation, Anna bit her lips.

Anna wasn’t originally from the North. Her family, who were merchants for generations, headed North to conduct business. However, they were attacked by beasts during their journey, and Anna was the sole survivor, saved by a knight of the Winter family who happened to pass by.

It took two full years for Anna to adapt to the northern castle, which was a tight-knit community. Having grown accustomed to the warmth and beauty of the capital, Anna found it hard to endure the coldness of the North. That was until she met the Lady of the house.

“You do it.”

“Angela, are you pushing this to me?”

“Then are you telling me to go to that woman? Are you kidding me?”

Angela’s sharp voice made Anna, who was wiping the window frame, raise her head. It was Angela Murry who was in charge of cleaning the Madam’s room today.

_‘I wonder what kind of person the Madam is.’ _

Anna had yet to properly see the Madam’s face even though she had become a servant of the Winter family. Being always ostracized by other maids, Anna was always too busy doing other maids’ work instead.

“Anna, you can do this for me, right?”

Just like now. Anna rolled her eyes at Angela’s words and nodded. No one who crossed Angela, the Chambermaid’s niece, ever came out unscathed.

Strictly speaking, as an outsider and not particularly skilled, Anna was well aware she was a thorn in the Chambermaid’s side. Thus, Anna was left to clean the Madam’s room. She gathered her cleaning tools and arrived at the door.

All she knew about the Madam was that she also came from the capital and wasn’t very well-liked by the servants. But it had been so long since she met someone from the capital. With a mix of anticipation and half nervousness, Anna knocked on the door. It wasn’t long before she heard a small voice.

“Come in.”

Anna walked in with quick steps and her head down. Having been doing odd jobs such as laundry and hallway cleaning, Anna had no idea how to clean the room. Naturally, no one was kind enough to teach her.

Just as she was fumbling with the cleaning tools, unsure on where to start, someone approached her.

“You’re not from the northern castle, right?”

The Madam approached Anna. A faint but pleasant scent emanated from the Madam. Anna tried to discern what it was, but the fragrance quickly faded. As Anna felt a pang of disappointment, the Madam knelt down and began cleaning. Shocked, Anna hurriedly spoke up.

“M-Madam, this is something I should do…”

“It’s just that I am tired of being inside my room all day.”

Facing the Madam, Anna found herself unable to stop her.

After that, their seemingly secret yet not-so-secret meetings continued. Perhaps due to homesickness, the Madam enjoyed hearing Anna’s stories about the capital. Even though it had been only two years, the Madam listened as if she were hearing about it for the first time, her eyes sparkling.

Anna thought those green eyes were truly beautiful.

Anna, who had no close friends in the northern castle, and the Madam, who was not well-received, grew close. Others sneered at the Madam for not caring for the Young Master, her nominal son, even though they shared no blood.

However, Anna trusted Madam.

Contrary to rumors, the Madam’s personality was not eccentric, and her face, which others found plain and unremarkable, seemed delicate and lovely to Anna. After the Madam disappeared, Anna became a much busier person, albeit in a different way.

It was only after the Madam’s disappearance that it became known Anna had been close to her, and she was dragged around for questioning. At first, Anna was simply glad to be of help to Madam. But lately, Anna had begun to doubt her actions – all because of the Young Duke.

“Is… Young Master asking what Madam usually did?”

“Yes.”

Anna found herself thinking the Young Master was really shameless. Shocked by her own impudent thoughts, Anna quickly suppressed the thought.

The Young Master deserved respect. Even if he wasn’t gentle, he possessed extraordinary swordsmanship skills, enough to join in the beast subjugations at a young age, and was highly competent in assisting His Excellency with paperwork, and yet...

_‘He really doesn’t know anything about Madam.’ _

It would be more accurate to say he had never been interested.

Madam would send a gift for the Young Master's birthday every year. Although he refused the gifts with the Madam’s name, since three years ago, she had no choice but to send them anonymously, and the Young Master used them well.

The quill on his desk, the pocket watch, the gloves for sword training – all the items he used in his daily life without realizing it were gifts from the Madam. This meant that the Madam had always been watching over the Young Lord from the beginning.

The Madam’s days began and ended by the window. Frankly speaking, the Madam’s room was far from what one would expect of a lady of the house. In the castle, shaped like a ‘ㄷ,’ the Madam’s secluded room, where even maids would rarely reside, barely received sunlight and was poorly ventilated.

Anna had often wondered why the Madam had chosen this room instead of the Mistress’s chamber, but the Madam seemed to like it, saying it was quiet and peaceful without people. The only things visible from the window in the Madam’s room were the training grounds and the dense forest. Every time His Excellency or the Young Master used the training grounds, the Madam would sit by the window, watching outside for hours without moving.

“… Madam loved to look at flowers.”

Not the ones beautifully cultivated in the greenhouse, but the wildflowers growing in cracks between the walls. Sometimes, on days with good weather, the Madam would leave the window open. Then, wildflowers growing between the walls would come into view. She would gaze at the flowers intently, and Anna once asked, “Shall I pick them for you?” but the Madam shook her head.

“Everything is most beautiful when it is in its place.”

Was what she said.

“And?”

“And…”

She felt a wave of nausea. Anna bowed her head.

“My apologies, Young Lord. I can’t seem to think of anything else.”

Her heart pounded violently as she lied to her master for the first time.

Not expecting much, Damian looked down at Anna before dismissing her.

Anna, trying to hide her sweaty hands, moved quickly to leave the room.

“Wait.”

Even though she knew the lie hadn’t been discovered, her heart sank. Anna cautiously lifted her head slightly. To her surprise, Damian wasn’t looking at her but out the window. After blinking a few times, he suddenly stood up and walked to the window.

And then Damian muttered, “... Mother?”

“Pardon?”

Ignoring the puzzled Anna, he headed straight for the mansion’s entrance. The Mistress’s carriage was parked there, and as he got closer, his heart began to race. He had never run through the mansion like this before.

“Young Master?”

He ignored the servant calling out to him and finally reached the carriage. Just as the carriage door opened, Damian forced himself to take a deep breath. The moment he swallowed dryly, someone took a step and emerged from the carriage.

“!”