TRHLV | CH 07

Chapter 7: The Nature of Evil

“Elika is a genius? That’s the worst.”

A rare villainess with a beautiful face and a brilliant mind. God had planted a devil’s seed in fertile soil.

“If you won’t sponsor her, I will, under my name,” the Duchess of Blansé said, flicking the ash from her cigarette. Charon thought his headache wasn’t just from the smoke.

“But it would look better if you did it, as the head of the family. And honestly, I don’t see why you wouldn’t.”

Charon held his forehead and thought.

‘I can’t send Elika far away. If she stays here, Grandmother will definitely sponsor her. Then I’ll lose control.’

There was only one option left.

‘I’ll become her sponsor.’

He barely stopped himself from laughing bitterly. Becoming the sponsor of the woman he had killed several times…

After a long silence, Charon finally spoke.

“Yes. I’ll do it. I’ll be her sponsor.”

* * *

“Elika!”

When she entered the room, Marie ran up and hugged her tightly.

“You’re back! Thank goodness!”

“Yeah! I think the lords forgave me.”

“So you’re staying now?”

Elika wasn’t sure, so she just nodded with an uncertain “Mmm.” But Marie, ever cheerful, beamed and grabbed her hand.

“Yay! This is great!”

“Shh! Don’t be so loud at night.”

Senior maid Lucy came in behind them, scolding Marie. She quickly closed her mouth.

“And Marie, since Elika doesn’t have a closet yet, share yours with her for now.”

“Yes, ma’am! No problem!”

“I said be quiet!”

But Marie didn’t care. She grabbed Elika’s hand and ran to the small closet labeled “Marie.”

“You can put your clothes in here. I’ll give you a key.”

The closet was already full with a few old outfits, but Marie stuffed her clothes tighter to make room.

“What’s this?”

Elika pointed to a little wooden figure in the corner.

“Oh, that? I made it. It’s the Goddess of Flowers. What do you think?”

It was a beautiful carving of a woman with angel wings and long hair, sitting with her knees to the side. It was hard to believe a 13-year-old made it.

“Wow! She’s so pretty! You made this? Marie, are you a genius?!”

“Hehe, you’re making me blush.”

“What’s she holding?”

Elika pointed at a lump in the figure’s arms.

“That’s supposed to be a bouquet. I haven’t decided which flower to carve yet, so I just made the shape.”

“Then how about freesia? It’s a yellow flower from the southern country!”

Elika’s eyes sparkled.

“How do you know that flower?”

“A traveler once showed me a dried one.”

The fragile petals that had crossed many lands made her heart race. To Elika, who had lived her whole life in an old hut, that dry flower looked like a whole universe.

“Is it your favorite?”

“Yeah! So much!”

“Alright, let’s go with that. What does it look like?”

“Umm… I’ll draw it for you later.”

“Okay, but show me soon. I want to finish this and send it to my mom.”

“Your mom?”

“Yeah, back home. She’s a bit sick, but she says my carvings give her more strength than medicine. That’s why I work hard to send them. I want to be a sculptor someday.”

Marie has a mom. She has a dream too. I have nothing.

Just as those warm, strange feelings began to rise in Elika, Lucy’s voice called them to bed. Marie quickly hid the carving and the girls rushed to turn off the lights.

“Elika, change into this and sleep in the bed next to Marie.”

Lucy tossed her pajamas and left.

‘This is nicer than anything I’ve ever worn.’

In the dark, Elika changed clothes. The soft fabric felt so strange, she almost cried.

Before going to bed, she turned back to Marie’s closet.

Marie’s goddess statue looked like the mother Elika had imagined.

‘Goddess of Flowers, please let me stay here for a long time.’

That’s all she wished for.

* * *

Sleep at 9 p.m., wake up at 4 a.m. Gather in the lobby for instructions from the head maid, then go to work.

Elika was still assigned to hallway cleaning with Marie.

“You’re doing great, Elika! You learn so fast!”

Marie’s praise made the work feel easy. Before they knew it, the hallway was shining.

“Wow, I think the nobles might slip on this floor!”

Marie wiped her forehead.

“Huh?! What if they do?”

“I’m just kidding! Anyway, let’s move to the next area—”

Just then—

Thunk!

Splash!

A water bucket tipped over, spilling dirty water across the freshly cleaned floor.

“Oh no, sorry. I didn’t see it.”

The voice came from a maid with golden-brown hair and green eyes. She was tall and pretty—one of the most eye-catching maids in the duke’s house.

“Belle! You did that on purpose!”

Marie stomped her foot.

“Don’t accuse me without proof. And it’s just water. You can clean it easily, right?”

Belle stepped in the water, splashing it, and smirked.

“Yeah! I can clean it quickly!”

Elika calmly picked up the bucket and started wiping.

“Hey! What are you doing?! Don’t you have any pride?!”

“Pfft! What’s her problem? Is she stupid? I guess only a fool would hang out with a tomato-head like you. Anyway, have fun~”

Belle turned and started walking away, leaving wet footprints.

“Why you—!”

Marie yanked her hair, and Belle fell backward into the dirty water.

“Ow! You brat—”

Belle grabbed Marie’s ankle and pulled. The two girls wrestled, splashing everywhere. Elika stepped back and quietly watched.

“What is going on?!”

From the end of the hall, Jacqueline stormed over. The girls stopped and stood up nervously.

“Belle kicked the bucket—”

“I told you it was an accident!”

“Quiet! You’re lucky the nobles aren’t in the main hall yet! Belle, Marie—you two clean the floors again. And Belle, someone else will serve at the tea party today.”

“What?! Why? The tea party has nothing to do with this!”

“It has everything to do with it! I can’t let a dirty, fighting maid serve guests. Until you learn your lesson, you’re on hallway duty.”

Belle looked like she was about to cry. Tea service was an upper job. Cleaning floors was one of the lowest. It was a clear fall from grace.

“And Elika, come with me. Madam wants to see you.”

* * *

The Duchess and Duke were sitting on the terrace of the main building. Maids had just brought tea.

“Sponsorship? What’s that?”

Elika blinked and asked innocently.

“It means someone will support your education. Not just reading and writing—you’ll go to a good school and learn many things. Your sponsor will be the Duke of Blansé.”

Even with the explanation, Elika tilted her head in confusion.

“It’s not confirmed yet,” the Duke said, drawing a line.

“This is part of the Empire’s talent development program. The imperial palace has to approve it. An official will meet you and check if you’re suitable.”

“It’s not hard. Just behave well,” said the Duchess as she sipped her tea.

‘Behave well and I get to go to school? That’s amazing!’

She didn’t understand why they were being kind to her, but there was no reason to say no.

“Yes, I’ll be good. Thank you, Duke. Thank you, Madam.”

* * *

Elika kept her promise and behaved. She worked hard during the day and studied reading with Jacqueline at night. She watched other maids carefully and copied their manners, losing much of her awkwardness as a forest girl.

“She’s improved a lot in just a few days. Still rough, but not bad for her age.”

The Duchess could judge a servant’s skill just by the way they bowed or stepped aside. Elika, who had once stood out for being clumsy, now moved more gracefully than the others her age.

‘She really is smart… good at everything,’ Charon thought as he walked with his grandmother.

‘…And that’s what makes me nervous.’

The more Elika seemed “normal,” the more Charon worried about the hidden evil inside her.

‘If I let my guard down, she’ll destroy everything.’

* * *

And then, his fear came true.

The imperial official had just arrived.

And right in front of him, Elika struck Belle on the head with a wooden mallet.

“Aah!”

“Blood—there’s blood!”

Dark red blood poured from Belle’s head and stained the fancy carpet. The Duchess fainted. In the middle of the chaos, Elika just stared at the girl she had knocked down.

Charon suddenly remembered the Empress’s face as she calmly looked at piles of corpses.

His fingers trembled.

“Elika…”

She really was… the seed of a devil.