Chapter 57

The Sleepless Night of the Maid — Chapter 56

Eva, who finished cleaning up after dinner, returned to the accommodation with warm water. Cecil’s condition had been unusual since the morning, and she had noticeable difficulty breathing. Eventually, she had given up on her stubbornness and stopped working, returned to the accommodation, and was finally resting.

“Are you okay?”

Eva sat next to Cecil, who was lying down in her bed and asked anxiously. Eva covered Cecil, who was wheezing without an answer, with a blanket and put her hand on her forehead. At that moment, Eva’s eyes widened.

“You have a fever! Nanny, did you take medicine?”

Urgently, Eva grabbed Cecil’s shoulder and shook it gently. She saw her taking medicine right after they ran away, but she didn’t remember when she stopped. When she asked Cecil why she didn’t take medicine, Eva thought it was because she said her body got better. If she was so sick again, she had to take out her medicine and eat it. Why didn’t she care?

“It’s okay, don’t worry, my lady. Cough, cough.“

“How can you not care? Where’s the medicine?”

“I’m okay.”

When she saw Cecil waving her hands dismissively, Eva had a strange idea.

“Do you have any medicine? Did you finish eating?”

“There is, cough, don’t worry.”

“I’m going to search”.

“…….”

Only after Eva’s strong threat came in, Cecil stopped answering.

She really ran out of medicine. 

When what she was worried about came true, Eva was scared. When she saw Cecil coughing and having a fever again, she remembered how badly she had suffered at Baronet Biti’s house. Still, at that time, they managed to rest well, eat, and feel comfortable, but now it was the worst situation.

“What’s wrong with you, really? If you don’t have medicine, you should have told me earlier.”

Eva’s voice was full of resentment. Even though she knew she didn’t say anything because she was worried, she was so upset whenever Cecil did this. Of course, she knew that was not all. 

Money. They didn’t have much money. Cecil had a few pennies, and Eva had a little bit of money that she kept since childhood. Cecil wouldn’t have wanted to use it for her own medicine because it wasn’t enough to settle down in the capital.

Where the hell would she get the money? Should she say she was going to work more, borrow money from Rex or sell anything she had? Even if she wanted to sell, she needed something to sell first.

“Oh…”

Eva opened her trunk in a hurry, opening her eyes wide. Then, when a velvet box that stuck out of the corner caught her eye, she hurriedly picked it up and opened it. Even in the dim lighting, the item inside showed off its splendid appearance and shimmered.

A bracelet with small sapphires and diamonds spaced apart on a platinum body. The item that Baronetess Biti stole and returned unwillingly. Wouldn’t this pay for the hospital and medical bills?

Eva’s face, which was hopeful, quickly sank. This was a gift from her father to her mother, and it was the only artefact that her mother left to Eva. If she sold this, the connection with her mother would completely disappear.

What should I do…

Eva, who had hesitated for a long time, but ended her internal conflict and closed the velvet box.

She chose her living mother over her dead mother.

***

Rex’s barracks were very close to Eva’s barracks. This side of the camp was much safer than other areas thanks to the tight patrol of the guards. However, there was no security at all for the patrol now.

Eva, who was looking around in front of Rex’s accommodation, found two guards standing with their backs turned away from the barracks. They seemed to be doing busy doing their own business.

“Hey, Rex, are you inside?” 

Eva turned away from them and called Rex from outside. There was no answer from inside. She carefully called him once again.

“I have something to say. Can I talk to you for a second?”

Once again, there was no answer. A faint light was leaking from Rex’s barracks. She didn’t think he was sleeping yet. Did he go outside? Just in case, Eva decided to stand there and wait for a while.

After a few moments passed, she heard the sound of objects falling inside noisily.

“Are you inside? But why didn’t you answer?”

Eva snooped around with doubts, but her eyes began to brighten up. When she opened her eyes wide, wondering what was going on, a burning smell began to seep out of Rex’s barracks.

No way!

When Eva, who was surprised, entered the barracks, a terrifying scene caught her eyes.

“Mr Rex!”

A bunch of documents and books were burning under Rex’s cot. Rex, lying in bed, was swinging his arms recklessly as if he were having a nightmare. Perhaps he swung his arm in his sleep and hit the candlestick he left next to him. She could see the fire was about to catch on to the sheet that came down from the bed.

“No!”

Eva lifted Rex’s coat from the chair and began to smother the burning flames. Her hair was messy with her frantic movements, but she had no time to care. She was surprised at her own mindlessness.

When the guards jumped inside, the lights had already gone out. Even in the moment of relief, Eva approached Rex, who was still having a nightmare.

“Rex, get a hold of yourself. Hey.”

She shook his chest to wake him up when suddenly he grabbed Eva’s hand.

“Ahh!”

Eva screamed briefly in surprise. Rex’s hands were as powerful as he pulled her towards him.