Ella flinched at the familiar voice. She turned around and saw Dr. Addilon staring down at her.
"Doctor," Ella whispered, gasping in nervousness. She nearly dropped the cup she was holding.
"Lady Ella, do you want me to call the servants to serve you? Why are you doing all this work, a noble lady shouldn't do?" Dr. Addilon stated in a mocking tone.
Ella smiled sweetly, trying her best to put on a fake smile. "I'm not raised like a noble, Doctor. Besides, it's rude to wake servants for just milk and bread. I can do it myself," she stated as she continued pouring milk.
"Hmm, alright," Dr. Addilon replied, turning his back to leave, but stopped. "Have you heard or seen something unusual in this kitchen?
The cup trembled slightly in Ella's hand.
'Unusual,' that word echoed far too loudly in Ella's mind. Her gaze flicked just for a fraction of a second toward the corner of the kitchen, where the shadows gathered the thickest. The area where the old door blended so well into the stone that even the servants pretended it didn't exist.
Ella forced herself to breathe.
"No," Ella answered slightly, a little too quickly. She corrected it at once with a soft laugh. "Well, unless you count rats. This place is old. After all."
Dr. Addilon turned slowly. His eyes were sharp, too sharp for a man who claimed to spend his days studying bones and blood. He stepped closer, his shoes clicking softly against the stone floor.
Ella felt the space between them shrink, and the weight of his presence pressed against her chest.
"Rats," Dr. Addilon repeated. "Strange, because I thought I heard movement last night. Footsteps and voices."
Ella's heart slammed painfully against her ribs.
"You were here… last night?" Ella asked, frowning. She knew the doctor was living away from the manor, and that sentence alone threw her into confusion.
"Hmm, just a visit, but it's not that important. What's important was the ones I've heard," Dr. Addilon stated, forcing a small smile.
"A voice?" Ella echoed, feigning confusion. "Perhaps a servant passing through, or the pipes. They groan terribly when the temperature drops."
Ella lifted the cup to her lips to hide the tremor in her hands, but Dr. Addilon's gaze never left her face. He studied her the way one might examine a patient, searching not for illness, but for cracks.
"You've been wandering quite often lately, Lady Ella," Dr. Addilon said calmly. "Hallways, rooms, and kitchen at odd hours."
Ella swallowed. "I have trouble sleeping," she replied. "The house is… loud at night. It feels less suffocating when I walk."
It was a lie, but a reasonable one.
"Loud? That's new. I prefer the opposite," Dr. Addilon hummed thoughtfully. "This estate holds many secrets, and some are better left untouched. Curiosity can be dangerous."
Ella's fingers tightened around the porcelain cup.
"I'm not curious," Ella said softly. "Just hungry."
For a long moment, Dr. Addilon said nothing. The silence stretched until it felt brittle, ready to shatter at the slightest sound.
Then, at last, Dr. Addilon smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes.
"Of course," he said. "Forgive me. I forgot you're still young."
Dr. Addilon stepped aside, gesturing toward the exit. "Do be careful, Lady Ella. Kitchens are not a safe place at night."
Ella inclined her head politely and walked past him. Her legs were threatening to give out with every step. She didn't run, not until she was far from the kitchen, far from Dr. Addilon.
Only when Ella reached her room did she lock the door and sink against it, breath shaking. She pressed a hand to her mouth to muffle the sound of her own fear.
He knows, Ella's mind whispered. Or at least… he suspects.
The image of Dr. Addilon's eyes lingered behind Ella's lids. The sort of gaze that dissected without touching skin.
Ella forces herself to stand, as panic would only make her careless.
"What have I done?" Ella ran her hand over her head in frustration. She knew Dr. Addilon was suspicious of her, and if she did something to confirm it. She knew her life would be endangered.
"But who is that guy? Why is he imprisoned there?" Ella continued, pacing back and forth as she tried her best to think, but all she could think was that Dr. Addilon was behind it.
"Should I report it to Mama? But what if it would put her life in danger too!" Ella exclaimed as she tried her best to think straight.
"No… no, I should keep this a secret," Ella finally decided as she sat at the edge of her bed. She sighed heavily before slumping backwards. Closing her eyes as she imagined the man waiting for her to give him milk.
Ella lay there for a long while, staring at the dark canopy above her head.
Every creak of wood sounded like a footstep.
Ella turned to the side and pulled the blanket closer, but sleep refused to come. Instead, her thoughts circled back to the kitchen, to the hidden door.
'Milk,' Ella thought bitterly. 'I was worried about spilling milk.'
A soft knock suddenly echoed against the door.
Ella shot upright, her heart leaping into her throat.
"Ella?" came her mother's voice, tired and thin through the wood. "Are you awake?"
Relief washed through Ella so fast that her eyes stung. She hurried to the door, unlocking it with trembling hands.
"Mama?" Ella breathed as Eleanor stepped in.
"Ella, the doctor told me you're always feeling hungry and rummaging in the kitchen late at night. Are you feeling well? Have they fed you less?" Eleanor asked as she examined Ella's body.
Ella immediately felt goosebumps all over her body.
"The… the doctor. You met him earlier?" Ella asked, eyes wide in concern.
"Dr. Addilon went to my room to speak about his concern for you. He said he's willing to give you medication or treatment if you feel unwell in any matter," Eleanor explained, holding Ella's arm firmly.