Drenched In Blood (Trash Of The Count's Family/Lout Of The Count's Family)

chapter 5

He was very worried about the young master too but he had to let the duke know first. So he finally willed himself to go to the dining room where the duke and his family were eating, completely unaware of the suffering their eldest child was going through.

He waited outside the door until he was sure the family had finished eating and were only talking to each other. He lightly knocked on the door to ask for permission to enter.

"Duke-nim. May I come in?..."

"Hans? Yes come in. What do you need?"

The duke who was smiling gently at his second son turned to look at the door where Hans was standing with his head bowed. He was a bit confused as to why the deputy butler came to meet him in the dining room instead of waiting outside his study to talk after dinner.

'What could be so important that he came to meet us here instead?'

The duchess Violan who was also watching along with her children could tell that the deputy butler was very anxious looking at his hesitant body language.

"Duke-nim..."

"Speak freely Hans"

Hans momentarily closed his eyes and took a long calming breath. When he opened his eyes again his face was devoid of the earlier anxiety, only a determined expression was in its place.

"Duke-nim it's the young master Cale, he has fallen ill... seriously ill"

"What?...Cale is..."

Duke Deruth's face had lost all its colour. His eyes were wide in shock and the earlier smiling expression had completely disappeared.

Duchess Violan's eyes were shaking in anxiety but she willed her voice to come out and ask Hans for her son's condition.

"How is his condition now Hans?..."

"He is...they think he is not..."

The deputy butler couldn't finish the sentence before his eyes were filled with tears. It was improper for a butler but none of them cared about that. They could only think about what the deputy butler couldn't say.

'He is not going to make it'

All of them felt as if their hearts were crushed to dust.

"Take me to him! I have to see Cale-"

The duke stood up in urgency but he stumbled before he could even take a step.

"Deruth!"
"Father!"

The duchess gently made the duke sit back down before turning to Hans with sharp eyes.

"Prepare for us to leave"

"Yes duchess-nim"

Hans hurriedly left the room to make the preparations, they couldn't bear to waste even a second.

"Cale will be alright don't worry"

Even though the duchess said that herself her heart didn't believe it. She kept feeling as if something really bad was going to happen.

Their children were not in any better state.  Basen was trying to calm his crying yourger sister even though own eyes were filled with tears.

"Oraboni is..."

Lily's face was wet with tears. It was obvious she was scared at the thought of losing her eldest brother.

"It's okay Lily, I'm sure hyung-nim will be okay soon"

Basen then hugged his sister and gently rubbed her back in comfort.
He knew his sister needed the hug,he needed it too.

'Hyung-nim please hold on a bit longer...'