I Wish To Die Peacefully

Chapter 6: My Soul, My Other Half

AVA

"My Lady, is the temperature of the water fine with you?" the brown-haired, brown-eyed maid with a kind smile asked me as she poured more lukewarm water inside the tub. She looked a bit familiar but I couldn't quite remember where or when I have seen her.

"The water is fine, thank you," I told her, a little shy.

It had been such a long time since someone actually served me. It felt rather embarrassing for someone else to be taking my clothes off, helping me onto a bath tub and touching my bare skin. After I became old enough to bathe myself, I never bothered the maids to help me since they only willingly serve me whenever there's an important event or I had to attend dinner with the Duke and his sons.

"Oh please my Lady, do not be so polite with me... You don't need to thank me either since this is my job," the maid said, her forehead crinkling a bit amidst her smile. "Really, you haven't changed even a little..." she commented.

I looked at her questioningly, wondering what her statement meant.

"I guess you really don't remember me, my Lady..." she told me while dropping a few drops of fragrance oil on the water. "My name is Kathy and I was once your maid when you were eleven years old. I quit after a couple of months so you may not have seen me much. I mostly stick to laundry duty because of Matilda," she explained.

I began to look around. "Speaking of Matilda, I don't seem to see her anywhere..." I murmured.

"Do not bother looking for her, my Lady. All her sins had been exposed and she's in jail along with every single person who had harmed you for the last seven years," Kathy said quite obstinately. "Rest assured that you're safe from the servants Lady Ava. Everyone here are either new hires or part of the household years ago that got fired from unfair reasons or quit because of the horrendous things happening inside the mansion... The young masters did their best to uncover the crimes of the servants and they even personally interviewed the new batch of employees that replaced them. Many of the current servants have only started working a few days ago while some, just like me, had previously served the Duke's house a few years ago and were reinstated," she told me and smiled.

"I am now the Miss's head maid and I pledge my loyalty to you, my Lady..." she added and gave a light bow. "I will do my utmost best to keep you safe and comfortable."

Upon hearing the sudden revelation about the change in staff, I have to admit that I was stunned to silence. What on earth happened when I was unconscious? Sir Pearson told me that I had been asleep for eight days and that a lot of things had been going on.

However, he wasn't able to brief me exactly on the specifics since I had to eat and bathe first.

"Miss Kathy..." I called softly.

"Only Kathy, Miss Ava. Please drop the honorifics," she told me with a caring tone.

"Then, K-Kathy..." I corrected myself, feeling awkward. "Can I have a few moments by myself?" I asked.

Kathy's shoulders tensed with my request. "My Lady... The thing is... we were told not to leave you alone even for a second..." she replied and clearly looked uncomfortable to continue. "Because... because you might..."

"I understand," I told her, giving a small smile of reassurance. After having seen me attempt suicide countless times, it is only natural that the young masters and Sir Pearson are not taking any chances.

However, this unusual kind of attention got me wondering. Sir Pearson has a reason for not wanting me to die. I am his patient and he personally felt compassion for me which might be innate for him as a healer. He is a very sweet soul thus he must pity me so much after hearing what I had been through.