There is nothing I can do

Severin ran away.

He had packed all his stuff and ran away from the mansion before the servants could find him. He probably used the chaos caused by the fire in the young master's room to sneak out, or maybe he had a secret path to escape to.

Whatever the method was, the fact that he ran away was the most important thing.

'God damn it!'

I wanted to tear the beddings on my arm to pieces, but I held back. I neither had the strength nor was in a situation to suddenly tear some expensive fabric.

'It wasn't supposed to go like this!'

Keeping a straight face that had some hints of shock on it, I concealed my anger and looked away from the count and Ranger who was busily giving orders to the others to search for Severin. Liam was still searching the room and young master Alaric seemed to be deep in thought.

'If Severin runs away, then there is no way Dr. Reeve will get caught!'

That servant was the only person who could testify that the intruder was that doctor, and then, using that as a basic, they could find out about the possible involvement of Dr. Reeve in the attempt to murder young master Alaric through his medicine, and then they could finally have some evidence about young lady's actions... But now Severin was gone!

'Did he run away because I made a scene in the staff room?'

But that was merely less than 10 minutes ago. How could he go to the servants' residence, pack all his stuff, and run away from the mansion in such a short time?

'This means that he wanted to run away even without me making a scene or starting a fire...'

Then that also means that he had a secret way to pass the guards and leave the mansion.

'Well, there is nothing I can do about it now.'

It's not like I could track down Severin and find his whereabouts or something like that. Also, Alaric seemed to want to do something about his sister, so it's best for me not to do anything.

'Not like I can do anything anyway!'

I sighed and moved out of the room with the sheets in my hands. I handed the beddings to the maidservants responsible for laundry and headed out of the mansion. I had done a lot already. Making the young master a little bit alert was enough. I didn't plan to stay here for long anyway, so why would I care if Dr. Reeve was found or if Severin ran away?

"Ian!"

When I was just about to walk down the stairs and head back to my room, I heard Ranger calling for me from behind. I stopped and turned back as I responded to his call.

"Yes, old man?"

"Why were you in the garden?"

"...."

I tilted my head to the side.

"Yes?"

"Why were you not in your room but in the garden?"

Ranger stood in front of me, observing me with a sharp gaze.

"Were you the one who told Ralph to close the curtains?"

I was found out!

"I wanted to get some fresh air," I said as I walked down the stairs. "So I thought I'd take a walk in the garden. I felt fine enough to go out a little bit, but since I was scared that you might not allow it I asked Ralph to close the curtains for me."

I answered him honestly since there was nothing wrong with what I did. Well, except for sneaking into the young master's room, stealing money, and starting a fire. Walking beside me, Ranger asked as soon as I was done tlaking.

"How did you trick Ralph?"

"..."

You call it tricking, I call it a deal!

"I gave him some cookies."

"They were given to you by the doctor to eat."

"I'm not a kid! I don't like cookies!"

Ranger's glare sat down on my face. His eyes were so cold and deep that I couldn't help but look down.

"You said otherwise just a few months ago."

"...."

Yeah. I used to like sweets. No, I still like sweet, but not any kind of it! I'm a man who had seen a lot, the cheap and tasteless cookies of this mansion are not to my liking anymore.

"I've changed!"

I blurted out just to escape the conversation and find a chance to return to my room.

'Why is he talking as if he is interrogating me?'

Besides leaving my room without his permission, I had done nothing wrong... nothing wrong that Ranger knew about.

As if waiting for this chance, Ranger spat out a few words that seemed to be prepared previously.

"Yeah, you've changed. Changed a lot in such a short time!"

His words made me halt and look up at his face.

"Yeah?"

"In just a few days, you seem to be a whole other person."

"...."

Lowering my head, I scratched my cheek and shone a smile at the old man.

"Maybe because I'm sick these days... I actually feel a little bit dizzy right now so if you'd like to postpone our conversation-"

"Ian!"

"...."

"You are acting in a way and doing things that I can not understand anymore."

The old man's deep blue eyes were calm, but there were some hidden emotions in them that were hard for me to understand. When I said I was feeling dizzy, I wasn't lying. After all, my physical body is not in the best condition it can be. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes for a brief second, before opening them again and looking at Ranger.

"Hasn't the young master changed more than me? Isn't he acting like a different person rather than I?"

"He has lost his memories. You can't compare him with yourself."

Look at this old man! Wasn't you the one who was apologizing to me for doubting me just a few days ago? Well, I'm sure he will later feel guilty about the things he is now saying as well. Ranger is that kind of a person. He can't overlook things and acts all so strict, only to feel bad about his actions and regret them later. Remembering that personality of his made me chuckle and forget about the slightly hurt feelings I got for a moment.

"You are doubting me? Does that mean you don't trust my words?"

I resumed talking before the old man could say anything.

"I came out to walk because staying in that small room all day in such a summer isn't really pleasant even if you are sick. Are you indicating that I am lying about it? Or maybe you doubt my words about the things I saw in the garden? Is it because of Severin? Do you think it's my fault that he ran away? Maybe, you even think that I was the one who entered young master Alaric's room, huh? After all, I have the keys to the pathway to the young master's room. It's much more likely for me to go in rather than someone like Severin, right? I see so-"

"Ian!"

I closed my mouth at Ranger's shout and straightened my back out of reflex. When I looked at Ranger, there was a deep frown on his forehead and he was looking at me with a complicated gaze.

"That's enough." The old man turned around. "Go back and rest."

"Yeah!"

I started walking to my room as soon as I was permitted to leave.

'What was wrong with him!'

People treat me like an imposter when that Alaric is the most suspicious one!