I Wish To Die Peacefully

Chapter 3: Destiny to Die

GREYSON

"This has gone on far too long!" I slammed a fist down on the wooden desk, making everything on top of it jump an inch.

It had been a month since the incident when I found Ava almost lifeless in her room. She awoke the morning afterwards just as I was about to investigate on the reason why I found her on such suspicious circumstances.

However, I was sidetracked because the moment she woke up, she started behaving in a hysterical manner, crying and laughing like a maniac. No matter what I did, she wouldn't calm down. In the end I was forced to summon back the healer who attended to her and have him sedate her.

The healer, Pearson Radcliffe, had told me that Ava suffered from severe dehydration and a very high fever that could easily take the life of an average adult. When I questioned the servants while Ava slept in a sedated stupor, they told me that she got sick the week before and because she didn't want anyone catching her cold, she ordered everyone not to enter her room apart from delivering her meals.

One of the maids said that they insisted for Ava to have them call a doctor but she refused, saying that she would be fine after a few days of rest. Since they were unable to defy her orders, they let her do as she wished. The servants were unable to convince her to go out of her room even once and she dreaded going out to the point of not even bathing for the whole week. She also didn't want to have anyone nurse her and only asked for painkillers from time to time.

Another maid told me that Ava was fine the hour before I arrived for she had knocked on the door to bring her breakfast. "I talked to Lady Ava with the door closed so I haven't seen her, but she clearly said that she doesn't feel too good and she didn't want breakfast. The last thing she told me was that she was going back to sleep and to have tea ready in two hours," Matilda, the oldest among Ava's personal maids, informed me with a shaking voice.

Michael, the lad I sent to inform Ava of my arrival admitted to lying that Ava had told her to tell me that she was feeling sick and could not see me. After knocking on the door twice and getting no response, he went down and made up the lie because he had been scolded by Ava before for ruining her nap and he was scared to be scolded again.

I was extremely suspicious of the behaviors of the servants, especially after seeing the state of Ava's room, all dirty and dusty as if it hadn't been cleaned for quite a while. The stench from her body was also so strong that recalling it made me question how I was able to hold onto her so closely. The servants told me that she refused to take baths but they should have cleaned her with damp towels at the very least.

However, despite the gnawing suspicion in my gut, I had to consider that the explanation that the servants told me made sense of the situation and the circumstances I have seen. Ava is quiet but she could be very stubborn once she decides on something. She even declined every invitation to social gatherings ever since she became a lady of the house and her personal maid Matilda stressed out that Ava did not want to socialize. If she wanted to be left alone, no servant could change her mind nor force their way in her room.

On the next day, Ava woke up much calmer. But there was something in her demeanor that gave me a bad feeling, thus, I sent word to the capital for the Mage's Department, informing my professors that I wish to take a temporary leave from the academy.

My gut feeling proved true after lunchtime. I had just finished my meal when a maid went shrieking down the stairs in a panicked frenzy, shouting that Ava had slit her wrists with the cutlery. I went upstairs and saw her state for myself, all pale, the bed covered in blood, her food untouched aside from the spot where the knife should have been.

I administered first aid and Sir Pearson was called again to heal her. When she woke up the next morning, the first thing I did was ask her why she did such a thing. But the girl only stared at her wrists, good as new and devoid of any scratches, with a disappointed look on her face and didn't even spare me a glance. Frustrated at her silence, I ended up yelling and walking out, telling myself that perhaps she needed time to reflect on her actions.