the culprit

Hickey left the manor the next day after the earl left, without even eating breakfast.Old Jack and the fat cook took it for granted. They explained to Doris in sign language that the manor lived with an incompetent master and a vampire who barely showed up during the day. The Mueller family has done a lot of dirty work.Doris was brought from home by Earl Muller. She had never heard of these things before, and she didn't even know that the Earl had a younger brother named Hickey.

There are many things you don't know.

The fat cook gestured triumphantly, then turned and walked into the kitchen to prepare breakfast for the three of them.The master is not there, and the vampires don't need to eat, and all the good things that they can't eat in normal times are all theirs.

Doris cleaned the house diligently, and old Jack went upstairs with his hands behind his back, and peeked outside Cyril's room.The boy is still not in the room.

Probably still in Felix's room.

Forgot when he heard about it, the master yawned and walked into the breakfast room, saw the little boy waiting there respectfully, turned his head and gave him a sneaky smile, saying that Felix probably had some shady hobby.He is a mute and a servant, he listens to what the master says, even though curiosity is like a cat's paw scratching his heart, he dare not ask.Perhaps it was due to the lack of people's response, the master's face changed instantly, he was terrified, he raised his hand and gestured to defend himself, but he still couldn't save anything.

What shady hobby does Felix have that his masters know about and they don't?

To say it was shameful, Felix's identity was a secret, but everyone in the manor knew it.

Or Felix would spend the night in the master's room every once in a while, and the servants, although they were all dumb, were not deaf, and the three old men, a couple and a widower whose wife had died, were not stupid children who knew nothing about the world. , whoever listened knew what they were doing in the room.

That's shameful enough.

But what the master said was obviously not that kind of thing.

Old Jack turned to Felix's room.

The owner's secretive smile lingered in his mind, and he wondered what could be more shameful.

He gently pushed the door open a crack, and looked inside with one bloodshot eye against the door.The vampire who was supposed to be sleeping sat cross-legged on the bed, his long golden hair was scattered on his shoulders in a mess.He looked down at the sleeping boy on the bed, and his pale and slender fingers stroked the boy's bruised and bruised cheek like a newborn lamb.

Oh, pet the lamb.

Felix probably has some shady hobby.

Old Jack's heart suddenly tightened.He closed the door anxiously, standing outside the door and kept rubbing his hands.He didn't know whether it was worth telling the master about this matter, maybe the master knew about it a long time ago, so he said those things to him.

While he was swaying from side to side, someone suddenly patted him on the shoulder.He subconsciously slapped the person behind him with his backhand, and when he turned around, he saw that it was the cook.The chubby old man stared at him in disbelief with his pea-sized eyes, the fat on his cheeks was shaking with shock, and his face was flushed with anger or sadness.

Because of too much force, the palm of the hand is filled with pain like insect bites.Old Jack hid his hands behind his back guiltily, put on an embarrassing smirk, and looked at his old friend with a flattering look.The fat cook raised his hands and gestured quickly, his eyes were red with emotion.Old Jack smiled apologetically, raised his hand and slapped himself.The old mutes stood at the door of the vampire's room for a while, but the closed door suddenly opened.

The servants nearly jumped up when the door opened, and Old Jack stood behind the fat cook guilty, fearing that Felix would find out that he was peeping.The cook glanced at the man in the black cloak in confusion, then looked at Cyril who was being held in his arms with even more confusion, made two gestures, and reached out to hug the little boy who seemed to be still asleep Master goes to the breakfast room.

A hand reached out from under the black cloak to stop him.

Felix pulled the cloak tightly over Cyril, and said to the cook, "He has a fever. I'll call the doctor."

Hearing this, the cook turned to look at Old Jack behind him.The two looked at each other.

On weekdays, if the master is sick, they will ask them to ask Dr. Douglas to come over, and they seldom go to him by themselves.If the young master is sick, they will also ride to invite the doctor with an order, there is no need to go there in person.

Although seeing the confusion of the two, Felix did not intend to explain.He carried Cyril to his own room.Pushing open the door, as expected, the dazzling sunlight shining into the room blinded his eyes subconsciously.Pulling up the cloak to cover his eyes, he put the boy on the bed, stared at Old Jack meaningfully for a while before leaving, and then said unhurriedly: "I'll be back soon, prepare hot water and tea .” After speaking, he went downstairs and went out the door.

The fat cook was always obedient. As soon as Felix left him, he dragged his chubby body into the kitchen to boil water. Doris came in after him and stood at the door with a shy face.Realizing that she might be hungry, the cook hastily cut some bread for her, poured out another bowl of haggis soup, and swallowed two mouthfuls of bread before old Jack followed him in again, telling him that the doctor was coming.

The water is not boiled yet.

If you go on horseback, you will arrive in the afternoon.

Even when the master was sick, Felix was so impatient.

Old Jack grabbed a piece of bread and stuffed it into his mouth, becoming more and more certain of his guess.

The fat cook boiled the water, and sent Doris to entertain the doctor.She went upstairs with tea and pushed open the door of the young master's room.The young master was still lying on the bed, his face was covered with bruises and tiny wounds, and there was a chaotic moan in every breath he took.The doctor was "placed" on a chair beside the bed, with one hand resting on the armrest, and the upper body hung obliquely on the other armrest.It looks like it was brought here by someone knocking out.

The maid put the tea on the table, carefully walked around the medicine box on the floor, and pushed the doctor awake.

"Get me back!"

The bearded man jumped up and shouted as soon as he opened his eyes, and the maid was so frightened that she couldn't stand still and fell to the ground.Panting and pressing his chest, he looked around vigilantly, then looked down at the shivering Doris, swallowed his body fluid, and asked, "Who are you?"

Doris waved her hand, pointed to her throat, opened her mouth, and waved her hand again to show that she was dumb and could not speak.

Frowning fiercely, Douglas kicked away the medicine box at his feet and strode to the window to look out, finally heaving a sigh of relief after recognizing that this was Hucken's manor.

"Are you a new servant?" The doctor finally relaxed his tense emotions, took a long breath, took out a handkerchief from the breast pocket of his jacket, and wiped his glasses, "The man in the black cloak too? Impolite?"

Doris could not answer his question.

"Okay, I know you're dumb and can't speak. What's the matter, is Heken sick?" He put on his glasses, wiped his sweating forehead with a handkerchief, turned back and picked up the medicine box and thought leave the room.

The maid hurriedly grabbed his sleeve and pointed to the bed.The doctor finally noticed the boy on the bed.The bruised face made him gasp, and he strode to the bedside. He first put his hands on the boy's forehead to test his body temperature, and then he lifted the blanket on his body and unbuttoned his clothes.

Not only his face, but also the boy's body was covered with bruises and interlaced scars. The man's expression became solemn and dignified. He took off his coat and rolled up his sleeves, and asked the maid to fetch a bucket of hot water.Doris immediately turned around and ran out of the room when Doris heard the words. Douglas checked Cyril's injuries and found that one of his legs was broken. He hurriedly took out a handkerchief and wiped his face, and then fed him some fever-reducing medicine. medicine.

Douglas had never seen any children at Hucken's estate.Heken didn't have a wife, so the child couldn't be his son—but the doctor thought about it, maybe a prostitute gave birth to Heken.Heken is lustful and promiscuous, and often stays in brothels. If a prostitute is pregnant with his child, it is not impossible if he thinks about it carefully.

As soon as this idea came to his mind, Douglas couldn't help but stop what he was doing, and couldn't help but look at the boy's appearance.Heken had an ordinary appearance. Although the boy was still in a coma and his face was bruised and pitiful, he had fair skin and delicate and pleasing facial features. Anyone who saw him would sincerely praise the beautiful boy.

"Maybe it looks like my mother..." The doctor muttered in a low voice, rubbed his hands and glanced out the door, complaining why the hot water hadn't come yet.He poured himself a cup of tea, took a sip and put it down, staring anxiously at the boy's broken leg, and couldn't help guessing why he was beaten so badly.

Heken must not like this illegitimate child, the child in the womb of a prostitute, it is hard to say whether it is his son or not.Maybe it was just because he saw that the child was born beautiful and Heken was reluctant to take him in, but he was always resentful and would always find various excuses to punish and punish him.

The imaginative doctor was almost convinced by his own story, and looked at the boy with more pity.He stroked the boy's soft hair, thinking that if Hucken didn't like it, maybe he could get him to be an apprentice.But this child is still too young, it's too shameful to take it away now, but it will be fine in three to five years.

He drank all the tea in the teapot while thinking about it, when heavy footsteps came from behind him, he turned his head, and saw old Jack walking into the room with a wooden bucket, followed by the maid.They poured hot water into the bucket, bowed to him respectfully, and left one after the other.

Putting down the teacup, the doctor began to treat the boy's wound.He did it very carefully, lest he hurt the poor child.He also found that besides the recent scars on the boy's body, there were also some old scars. Most of those scars were concentrated on the back of his head, caused by hard objects and covered by hair. won't find out.

"This is too much, Hucken, this is too much." He brushed the hair from the back of the boy's head, adjusted his glasses to observe the scar carefully, shook his head and muttered to himself, "Who would have the heart to hurt such a cute child?" ?”

The child had so many wounds that he even began to worry that the gauze he brought was not enough.While treating the wound on the boy's leg, he suddenly heard a scream mixed with sobbing, looked up, and the boy woke up, staring at him with a pair of blue eyes full of panic.

"Please, please don't...don't hit anymore..." The boy desperately tried to retract his legs, using hands and feet together, trying to get under the quilt, as if in this way he could avoid all the upcoming injuries.He couldn't help murmuring "I beg you, father" and "forgive me", restrained but trying to break free from the hand holding his ankle in a panic.

Douglas was now fully convinced that he was Hucken's illegitimate son.

He tried his best to comfort the boy with a kind expression, pointed to the medicine box on the chair beside him and said, "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid, I'm a doctor and I'm here to treat you." He also praised himself The gauze and the homemade medicinal oil in his hand, "Don't move around, little guy, I took great pains to wrap up those wounds on your body."

But the boy kept digging into the blanket as if he didn't believe his words at all.Sighing, he had no choice but to let the boy hide in, then rolled up one end of the blanket, and continued to treat his wound.

The blanket bulged into a small bundle, like a small hill.Douglas didn't notice that the hill was trembling and shaking after he bandaged all the boy's wounds. He scolded Hucken once more in his heart, bent down and pulled down the blanket, and said in a coaxing tone: "You have a fever, kid. And your leg was broken, I fixed it for you, don't move around. I will keep the medicine in your room, take it every day, and it can't be broken. I will apply the wound oil and change the gauze. Give it to the dumb maid, the gauze has to be removed and washed every day, so don’t be lazy.” Seeing that the boy was still trying to hide under the blanket, he had to put on a ferocious expression, and shouted viciously, “Do you remember what you just said? ?”

The boy seemed to be really frightened by the vicious bearded doctor, with tears in his eyes, he even stopped breathing.He suddenly thought of his father who walked into the room with a cane, and he was lying on the bed so weak at that time. His father's arrival made him both surprised and happy, waiting for his father to speak with full expectation, waiting for his father to say that he would take him home.

"remember."

But my father didn't.

The left hand wearing a white glove pulled him from the bed to the ground, and the right hand raised the cane and slashed at his neck, which was even more painful than the last time he was bitten by Felix.He crawled over and hugged his father's leg, crying and apologizing, begging for mercy, but his father kicked him away, letting the cane fall heavily on his welted back.

Father said that this time he came here specially to teach him something.

As he spoke, his father beat him with a cane. His voice became louder and louder, overshadowing his begging for mercy, and his strikes became heavier and heavier.

"As long as he is still a servant of the Mueller family, as long as his contract with our Mueller family is still valid, if anyone with family blood kills him, the whole family will die with him! Got it, idiot!" The man went mad Roaring, the last hit landed on his calf.He twitched in pain, his body was wrapped in sweaty clothes, and he couldn't exert any strength.

"You want to kill me, don't you? You want to kill me!"

The cane fell on his forehead and chest, and the pain was stuck in his dry throat. He raised his misty tearful eyes to look at his father, whom he had been thinking about day and night, but the furious man in front of him was as strange as if he had never met him before.

"no."

He thought about it.

It is you who want to kill me.