She flopped down flat and shook her legs, sending her shoes flying off.
Ah, that feels much better.
“Phew. I can finally breathe.”
It was something a perfect and elegant noblewoman would never do, but who cared?
There was no one around to see her, anyway.
She hooked her knees over the armrest of the sofa and swung her legs back and forth before turning her head to look in the mirror.
Perhaps because it had gotten wet and then dried, the hair on the left side was especially curly.
No matter how much she pulled it straight with her hands, it refused to return to its beautiful, wavy appearance.
When she habitually twirled a strand of hair around her finger, it became even curlier.
“I really don’t want to go back to the ballroom looking like this.”
Her imperfect appearance was bothering her.
But if she simply went home, the Duchess would probably feel hurt. She had even lent her a dress, so leaving without saying anything didn’t seem very polite.
While she was killing time and debating what to do, she heard a sound from the window, like grains of wheat being scattered.
At first, it was so faint that she had to strain her ears to hear it, but the sound gradually grew louder.
Before long, it filled the entire room.
Whoooosh.
She got up and approached the window. Because of the fierce wind, the grass was bent almost flat against the ground, while the trees swayed violently.
The moment lightning flashed, an idea flashed through her mind as well.
“The weather suddenly turned bad, so I can’t help it!”
If the rain got any heavier and she couldn’t make it home, that would be a problem. She would just ask for their understanding and leave quickly!
She absolutely wasn’t making excuses because she didn’t want to stay at the ball any longer.
Of course not.
As soon as she arrived at the mansion and stepped down from the carriage, the butler approached her.
“Madam, did you enjoy the ball?”
She had almost enjoyed herself, but nodded anyway.
“Yes. It was as enjoyable as usual. But why is the mansion so dark?”
“The master went to bed early, so we didn’t light the lamps. Even now, I can—”
The butler turned as if he were about to wake the servants immediately.
She quickly stopped him.
“No, don’t wake them! I’m going straight to bed, too. Ah! Instead, could you tell Cindy to prepare a warm bath for me?”
“Of course, Madam.”
The butler handed her a lantern before leaving.
As the light gradually disappeared into the distance, darkness gathered around her.
Perhaps because the thick clouds were blocking the moonlight, the mansion seemed particularly dark tonight.
It was raining, and somehow the atmosphere felt rather eerie…
Maybe I should have asked him to turn on the lights. No. I should have asked him to send Cindy here instead!
But it was already too late.
The maids had a separate passageway they used, so even if she waited for Cindy, there was no chance they would run into each other.
Let’s hurry. Cindy will be in my room. If I see Cindy, I’ll feel less scared.
She hurried along and entered the second floor.
Splash, swish. Splash, swish.
Even the sound of her dress dragging along the floor seemed ominous. The hallway felt longer than usual tonight.
She was taking deep breaths as she walked when—
She suddenly felt a chilling gaze coming from somewhere.
Goosebumps rose over her skin, and she stopped walking.
She looked around, but there was no one there.
Only darkness stretched endlessly along the hallway.
Did I imagine it?
She tilted her head and was just about to start walking again when—
Flash!
In a brief flash of lightning, a pair of eyes appeared and then vanished.
Someone had been watching her through the narrow gap of a slightly open door.
She was so startled that she froze, forgetting even to breathe.
Then the door slammed shut.
She belatedly opened her mouth to scream, but quickly closed it again.
She had realized whose room the open door belonged to.
“Shyte?”
With a small glimmer of hope, she cautiously called her husband’s name.
The closed door slowly opened again.
Through the narrow gap, she saw a man standing there with a hunched posture.
His posture made him look considerably shorter than he actually was, while his dull gray hair hung messily around his face.
Beneath it, his pale, hollow face was barely visible.
His unfocused eyes, devoid of any real light, looked even more unsettling than usual tonight.
He also looked somewhat ill.
“Are you all right? You don’t look well.”
“Ah… I, well, it’s not that I’m, I’m sick. I just didn’t sleep much, there was some work, so I’m, I’m fine.”
Shyte answered incoherently while, out of habit, sneaking glances over her face and body.
At first, it had made her uncomfortable, but she had gotten used to it by now. It wasn’t as though he was doing anything bad to her. It seemed that he simply had a habit of looking at people sideways like that.
What caught her attention instead was something else.
“Are you going somewhere?”
He was wearing a cloak.
Which was extremely, incredibly rare for him.
Shyte was the kind of person who kept even his laboratory hidden inside his room and ate all his meals in there.
Hardly anyone even entered that room.
Occasionally, the butler would come and go to deliver something, but that was about it.
Seeing him merely step into the hallway was already a rare sight, so why was he putting on a cloak and leaving his room?
And on a rainy night, no less, wearing a traveling cloak!
What could be going on?
Without realizing it, she took a step toward him.
Shyte immediately retreated as if fleeing and slammed the door shut.
The draft from the door hit her in the face.
Her hair flew up before settling back down.
At the same time, she heard the click of the lock from inside.
She had just been rudely shut out right in front of her face.
Seriously, how rude! What am I, someone who’s going to eat him?
Her feelings were hurt, but they weren’t close enough for her to chase after him and complain about it.
Besides, she was tired.
I’ll just go to my room and sleep.
She let out a soft sigh and walked past Shyte’s room.
The moment she entered her own room, her personal maid, Cindy, came out of the bathroom.
“Young Lady. Ah, no, no. Madam, you’re back? I’ll help you with your bath.”
Cindy had instinctively called her by the name she had used before the marriage, then quickly corrected herself.
“Thank you, Cindy.”
As she sank into the warm, fragrant water, all the tension left her body.
The unpleasant feelings and fatigue soon disappeared as well.
After finishing her bath, she threw herself onto the soft bed.
Cindy turned off the lights and left the room.
She thought she would be able to fall soundly asleep just like that, but…
The memories of her childhood came to her in the form of a nightmare.
“Mother, Father! Did you come back to celebrate my birthday? I just happened to have a cake today—”
“We’re busy right now. We’ll talk later, Arpes.”
“My name isn’t Arpes…”
“Child, is your name more important than the affairs of the family?”
Her parents coldly cut her off before slowly turning their heads to look directly at her.
“Or do you think the dead will remember your name?”
“A name we never even properly called you when we were alive?”
“How amusing.”
“We’ve never loved you.”
Her parents’ perfectly normal faces gradually twisted into something horrifying before collapsing apart. Their bodies twisted in unnatural directions, and blood flowed from them.
Just like the moment they had died after being crushed beneath the carriage that had overturned.
“Gasp!”
She jolted awake, sucking in a breath.
Her heart was pounding violently.
She ran both hands through her hair and rubbed her face, trying to calm herself, but it did nothing.
After hugging her trembling body, she checked the time.
Four in the morning.
It was still dark outside.
I need to sleep some more…
But there was no way she could fall asleep again.
The more she tossed and turned in bed, the more awake she became.
Eventually, she sat up.
Maybe I should take a little walk.
Normally, she would have gone horseback riding, but the weather was too bad for that today.
I’ll just walk around the hallway for a bit and then go back to bed.
She slipped on a silk robe and stepped outside.
Crash! Bang! Shatter!
From Shyte’s room came the heavy sound of something toppling over, followed by the sound of something breaking.
Did someone break in? Or did something happen to Shyte?
She quietly pressed her ear against the door.
As though the commotion from moments ago had never happened, there was nothing but silence beyond it.
She held her breath and listened for a long while, but there wasn’t the slightest sign of movement.
Then she suddenly remembered Shyte’s pale face.
Could he have collapsed from something like anemia?
Worried, she knocked on the door again.
“Shyte. I heard a loud noise. What happened?”
As expected, there was no answer.
He wasn’t exactly a responsive person to begin with, but this time, she had a bad feeling about it.
Before she could even think, her hand moved on its own.
She had expected the door to be locked, but the handle turned.
Creak.
A sharp scraping sound rang out as the door slowly swung inward.
A metallic, unpleasant smell suddenly wafted through the opening.
The smell of iron? No. It’s more like… the smell of blood…
At that exact moment, lightning struck.
Flash!
Revealed in that fleeting burst of light was a man lying there, covered in blood.
It was her husband, Shyte Henniswald.
