# 105
105. Even Coincidences Seem to Be Fate Eventually (2)
The servants stood in a line against the wall. The cheerful voices gradually dwindled until they finally stopped. The nanny glanced at the little head with a troubled expression. Ethan also stole a glance at Robert and tapped the dining table with his fingertips.
The warm food gradually grew cold, but there was no news from Joelly or Vincent. Audrey, who had gone early to fetch Joelly, was also unreachable.
Eventually, Ethan opened his mouth.
"Shall we eat first?"
At that, the little head nodded weakly.
The meal began, but cheerful voices were no longer heard. The long dining table was full of empty seats, and the space, echoing only with the clinking of tableware, was filled with an uncomfortable air.
Robert ate with a sullen expression. The nanny attended to him, bringing him various dishes, but he only picked at his food without eating properly.
Then, the door opened. Robert quickly looked up, but the one who actually entered was the servant I had bumped into in Ethan's room. The servant, receiving everyone's attention, paused and widened his eyes. He seemed to sense the unusual atmosphere.
Hesitantly, the servant approached Ethan and whispered something in his ear. Ethan then made a troubled expression.
"Hmm."
It didn't seem like good news.
A moment later, the door opened again, and the awaited Audrey returned. As everyone's gaze focused on her, Audrey also paused for a moment. Soon, she approached Ethan's side and stood respectfully.
"Where's Joelly?"
"Lady Joelly said something came up and she couldn't attend."
This time, everyone's gaze turned to Robert. His drooping little face was full of disappointment. He usually ate alone or occasionally with the nanny, so he must have been looking forward to everyone eating together today. The process of his expectations crumbling was clearly visible.
Audrey, who delivered the news, couldn't hide her troubled expression. When the nanny stabbed a strawberry with a fork and offered it to him, Robert gripped the fork as heavily as if lifting a stone.
Watching the face of someone eating a strawberry with the greatest sadness in the world, Ethan opened his mouth again.
"Robert, is there anything you want to do?"
At the sudden change of topic, Robert lifted his head slightly. Ethan met Robert's gaze and smiled warmly.
"Shall we play together tomorrow?"
"Really?"
"Really. I'll play with you until you're sick of it. Tell me anything."
"Wow!"
Robert smiled broadly. As if he had never been depressed, Robert's face was full of joy. Seeing that, the nanny and the other servants secretly breathed a sigh of relief. So did I.
The little head moved back and forth. He pondered with an expression asking what to play, then soon his eyes sparkled and he spat out a word.
"Hide-and-seek!"
The mansion was noisy. The source of the commotion was inside Robert's room. The small body slumped on the bed rose and fell significantly. The breaths exhaled were rough, and his face was drenched in sweat.
The nanny, standing by the head of the bed, bent down to wipe Robert's sweat and checked his condition.
The doctor calmly examined Robert. Joelly and Ethan stood by the doctor with worried expressions. I stood behind the nanny and looked at Robert anxiously.
The day after promising to play hide-and-seek, Robert barged into Ethan's room early in the morning. He pestered Ethan so much to play quickly that Ethan woke up early for the first time since coming here.
Still drowsy, he struggled to put on his shirt with his eyes half-closed, seemingly regretting what he had promised yesterday. But it was already spilled water.
Shaking Ethan's hand, Robert smiled broadly.
'Ethan is the seeker!'
'Okay. You have to hide really well.'
'Yeah, yeah.'
Ethan yawned widely, showing an attitude that was clearly not enthusiastic, but Robert was simply delighted, moving with quick, light steps. The nanny followed behind him.
I stared blankly at the small body climbing the stairs, then looked at Ethan. He stood in the central hall, waiting for everyone to hide.
'The seeker isn't supposed to look, right?'
'I won't look. I'll keep my eyes closed.'
'Just don't fall asleep.'
'Isn't Paula going to hide?'
'I told you not to call me that.'
I glared at him in dissatisfaction, but Ethan yawned widely again and waved his hands dismissively. He was telling me to go hide quickly. I let out a deep sigh and turned around. I had to play along with this game for now.
I muffled my footsteps and headed toward the back of the hallway before slipping into a nearby reception room. While hiding behind the door, Ethan's footsteps echoed a moment later. Not long after, a loud noise came from upstairs. At the same time, a young voice burst into giggles. It seemed Robert had been caught by Ethan.
Soon after, the reception room door opened and Ethan came in. Robert, following closely behind him, looked around, then approached the corner where I was hiding and peeked his face in.
'Found you!'
Robert pointed at me. Seeing the nanny outside the room, it seemed they had found everyone at once.
'Nanny's turn next!'
It seemed the nanny was caught first, making her the next seeker. She counted numbers in her spot, and we scattered in all directions, each hiding our bodies. With her exceptional eye for spotting things, the nanny found all the hiding spaces in the mansion one by one. Thanks to that, she found all of us very quickly.
'It's my turn this time.'
'Yes.'
Found first by the nanny, I counted the numbers and set out to find them. While looking around the hallway, I saw a brown head poking out by the window. Looking outside, Ethan was dozing off while leaning against the wall. I tapped and woke his shoulder, which looked like it could collapse to the floor at any moment.
'It's dangerous to sleep like that.'
'You're quick at finding.'
'Did you even think about hiding?'
'Of course.'
Ethan answered shamelessly and climbed over the windowsill back inside. It seemed he had gone straight out the window as soon as I started counting. It looked like he put absolutely no effort into hiding.
'Are you sick somewhere?'
'Do I look sick?'
'You look like a sick chicken.'
'Did you just insult me?'
'How could I? I'm just worried.'
He didn't believe my words. The truth was rejected. I put on a regretful expression and added that even if he was sick, he should show some sincerity in playing hide-and-seek. Ethan nodded casually, saying he got it, and turned around, saying he'd be in the reception room and to call him when it's over.
Anyway. I clicked my tongue briefly at his retreating figure and set out to find the nanny and Robert. Not long after, I found the nanny hiding behind the curtains in the second room upstairs. She smiled awkwardly and said she was caught too quickly. She seemed unskilled at hiding.
The problem was Robert. Perhaps because he was so small, he was nowhere to be seen. I searched room after room, scanning up and down, left and right to find him. The little guy must have a talent for hiding. Come to think of it, he was quite good at slipping around.
Just as I was about to give up after searching for a long time, I saw a small body collapsed between the decorative item and the wall at the very end of the hallway. It was Robert.
'Master Robert!'
When I gathered him into my arms, Robert went limp without any strength. His face was covered in sweat, and his breathing was rough. Sensing his condition was not normal, I hurriedly went downstairs to find the nanny.
'Nanny! Nanny!'
Whether she heard my voice or not, the nanny came out of the reception room and frantically called for Ethan upon seeing Robert. Ethan, who had a dazed face as if waking up from sleep, snapped to his senses after checking Robert's condition.
Returning to Robert's room, the doctor Ethan had called arrived soon after. Right behind, Joelly, who had heard the news, also appeared.
Everyone waited for the doctor's examination results with anxious expressions. A moment later, the doctor who finished examining Robert stood up.
"How is he? Is his condition very bad?"
Joelly asked urgently.
"Since his physical strength is inherently weak, excessive activity sometimes causes seizures like this. Fortunately, his life is not in danger, so he should recover quickly with a few days of rest."
At the doctor's words, Joelly let out a sigh of relief. The nanny also seemed relieved, pressing a hand to her chest, and Ethan, though still with a stiff expression, looked reassured. So did I.
Only after the doctor left did Joelly sit in the chair beside the bed. She then wiped Robert's face with a towel soaked in cold water. The nanny tried to stop her, saying she would do it, but Joelly shook her head and tended to Robert herself. Her stiffly hardened face revealed her worry for Robert.
"Let's leave them alone for a moment."
Ethan patted the nanny's shoulder and left the room first. The nanny reluctantly followed Ethan out, and I glanced at Joelly once before following the two out.
In front of the door, Ethan and the nanny were having a conversation with serious faces.
"Are his seizures still severe?"
"No. Recently, the number of times has decreased enough to count on one hand, and today is the first time since we came here."
"I see, he's not perfectly healthy yet."
"Will he be alright?"
"The doctor said he could have seizures without reason until he reaches adulthood. He's been fine so far, so he'll pull through this time too."
"...Yes."
The nanny's face was full of worry as she answered. As if understanding her feelings, Ethan patted her shoulder again and suggested she go rest, saying he would be here. The nanny refused, but when Ethan offered again, she had no choice but to move.
Watching the nanny's retreating figure, I approached Ethan's side.
"Master Robert must be in poor health."
"Up until the year before last, he would have a seizure even from moving just a little."
"I didn't know."
Because he ran around so well, I never thought he would have health problems. Besides, when I first saw Robert, wasn't he jumping around on the iron railing?
Come to think of it, I had never seen Robert go out. He occasionally took walks around the mansion with the nanny, but even that was only when Robert insisted despite the nanny's reluctance to go out, so the number of times could be counted on one hand. Furthermore, the nanny had also advised me not to leave the mansion.
"He was born prematurely. Violet had a hard time."
This was another fact I didn't know.
"Violet is busy right now, but until the year before last, she stayed glued to Robert's side and cared for him tenderly. She was always anxious, unable to take her eyes off him for a moment for fear something might happen. Then, after losing her husband and taking over the management of the family, she could no longer stay by Robert's side. Fortunately, around that time, Robert's health improved significantly, and the nanny started caring for him instead."
"...I didn't know that."
"Everyone tends to overprotect Robert, right? Having seen him struggle with illness since he was a newborn, they must still have a lot of worries even though his body is fine now."
I had thought they were being too overprotective, but I assumed it was simply because of Robert's loneliness. But looking at it now, there was a reason related to his health too. Realizing that going into the forest with Robert last time could have been a dangerous situation, I reflected on my past complacency.
"The reason we're staying here now is also because Vincent suggested it, worrying about Robert staying at the mansion without Violet."
"Master Vincent?"
"Even with the nanny by his side, if something happened in the mansion without its master, they wouldn't be able to respond immediately. Robert was also very prone to loneliness. So they had him stay here. Since it's in the forest, the air is fresh and good for his health, and with the nanny and Joelly together, Violet reluctantly permitted it. Joelly also persuaded her hard, though."
Ethan's face turned to Joelly, visible through the half-closed gap in the door. Her gaze never left Robert the whole time.
"Joelly pities Robert as much as Violet does. It's because she wants Robert to go outside and experience more."
"...I see."
"Still, he's much better now. You can tell he's full of life just by looking, right? The doctor said there shouldn't be any abnormalities in his daily life now. If he runs around too hard, he occasionally gets a seizure, but the doctor said even that will gradually disappear as he grows."
Ethan added lightly, as if trying to lighten the heavy mood. But my heart remained heavy the whole time. As if sensing that, Ethan patted my shoulder.
"So don't worry too much. The doctor said it's okay, and he'll get better soon."
"Yes."
But contrary to Ethan's words, Robert suffered from a fever all night.