The moment the shopkeeper took the Black Lace Gloves, her fingers brushed against the lace surface. She arched an eyebrow and murmured in a low voice.
“This material… the texture is truly unique. It must be quite precious.”
“Yes, it is one of my most cherished possessions. I only wear it on grand occasions,” Elianna replied with a smile.
Iluse’s pupils suddenly constricted. She could see the pitch-black Malevolence coiled around the gloves wriggling slightly as if it were alive, seemingly responding to Elianna’s words.
Iluse’s heart nearly hammered its way out of her chest. ‘Will a normal person be alright after touching that?’
Furthermore, those gloves… Iluse replayed Elianna’s words in her mind.
She said she would only wear them on grand occasions. For a demon, what kind of occasion would be considered the most grand? The question was not difficult at all. After thinking for a moment, Iluse arrived at an answer she was ninety percent certain of.
For a demon, that would naturally be the moment they took a life! No wonder the Malevolence on those gloves was so thick. ‘Could she be wearing them every time she kills someone?’
Iluse trembled slightly, her body involuntarily retreating a few steps.
“Please rest assured, I will repair them so that no trace of the damage remains.”
The shopkeeper carefully set the gloves aside and turned to record the order. She had no idea what kind of thing she had just touched.
Iluse’s gaze was somewhat vacant. Just then, Elianna stepped forward and patted her shoulder.
“Miss, it is time for us to leave.”
“Oh, right…”
‘Damn it, I was so lost in thought that I let this demon get close to me without even realizing it!’
As they stepped out of the tailor shop, the afternoon sun remained bright, but Iluse felt a chilling cold throughout her body.
The carriage was close at hand, yet she felt as though the short walk was terrifyingly long. Elianna followed half a step behind her, maintaining the perfect distance for a servant—silent, yet possessing a powerful presence.
“Miss,” Elianna suddenly spoke in a soft voice just as Iluse was about to step onto the carriage floorboard. Her voice was so low that only the two of them could hear it.
‘What… what does she want to say?’ Iluse’s heart skipped a beat.
The girl paused in her tracks. With her back to the maid, her fingers tightly gripped her skirt.
“Please head back first. The shopkeeper mentioned that the Black Lace Gloves will not take long to repair, so I will wait for them here.”
“Alright.”
Having gained a rare opportunity to be rid of Elianna, Iluse was naturally overjoyed. As the carriage slowly moved away, Elianna’s figure gradually blurred in the distance.
Sitting inside the carriage, Iluse patted her chest and let out a long sigh of relief.
Elianna needed time to wait for the gloves, and she herself needed time to find a way back to the Duke’s manor. This window of time was long enough for her to once again investigate Elianna’s lair.
The girl should have felt at ease, yet an ominous premonition made her feel increasingly flustered. It felt as though… some crucial detail had been overlooked.
Iluse knitted her brows. Suddenly, her expression shifted. She hurriedly shouted to the coachman in front.
“Stop the carriage!”
Without waiting for a response or caring about etiquette and elegance, she ignored the coachman’s confused look, grabbed her skirts, and ran back.
‘No, no, no! Since Elianna wants to repair those gloves, it means she is preparing to kill someone!’
Most of the servants in the Duke’s manor knew each other, making it too troublesome to act there. Therefore, picking someone outside the manor was the easiest option, and today’s outing was her best opportunity to hunt.
‘I have to stop her!’
Iluse bit her lip.
However, when she arrived back at the shop, the owner was still inside, but Elianna had vanished without a trace.
‘Where could she have gone?’ The girl looked around anxiously. As she looked toward the crossroads, a familiar figure flashed by and disappeared down a street.
‘That direction!’ Iluse did not hesitate and followed immediately. By her count, this was the second time she was stalking Elianna, but the level of danger this time far exceeded the last!
Turning the street corner, Iluse knew Elianna’s intuition was incredibly sharp, so she intentionally kept her distance.
However… as they moved, Elianna’s path became increasingly desolate. This road led to an Orphanage on the outskirts of the Capital City, and there were not many people passing by.
Because of this, Iluse had no choice but to slow her pace.
‘Has she noticed me? Why are there fewer and fewer people? Should I keep following her?’
Worried for her own safety, Iluse’s expression was full of hesitation and conflict.
Ever since she arrived in this world, her only wish was to survive. If she was discovered and ended up dead, wouldn’t that be incredibly stupid?
Right then, the voices of nearby passersby drifted into her ears.
“Have you heard? There has been a Serial Killer in the Capital City lately!”
“I know. Several people have died already. The bodies were all found in the wilderness.”
“Exactly. It’s better to avoid those remote areas.”
‘A Serial Killer?’ ‘Could they be talking about Elianna?’ She had gone out a few times before. Iluse’s heart thudded wildly; she was already starting to lose her nerve.
‘But… but if Elianna’s targets are the children in the Orphanage, can I really harden my heart and turn away?’
Iluse squeezed her eyes shut. She only wanted to save her own life!
At that moment, the bells of a nearby Chapel began to ring. Iluse shook her head vigorously and took a deep breath. As she stepped forward, she placed both hands over her heart.
“God, please protect me…”
She hurried through the narrow streets and turned into the secluded path leading to the Orphanage.
The scent of soil and grass mixed with the warmth of the afternoon sun should have been relaxing, but now it only made Iluse’s spine tingle with cold.
The branches of the old trees by the road stretched out, casting mottled and twisted shadows. Every step felt like walking on the edge of an unknown trap.
The girl hid behind a tree and looked ahead. Elianna was there.
The outline of the Orphanage gradually became clear. It was an aged stone building with exterior walls covered in vines. The faint sounds of children’s laughter drifted from the courtyard.
Elianna stopped outside the gate. After a moment, the gate opened. She took out a package and walked inside, after which the gate was shut heavily.
Simultaneously, the sounds of the children playing and shouting vanished.
‘This… this won’t do!’
Iluse scrambled forward. Going through the front gate was likely impossible. If that was the case…
The girl’s gaze landed on an old tree near the wall, and the corners of her lips curled into a faint smile.
‘Please forgive my unladylike behavior for a few minutes!’
However, after exerting a massive amount of effort to climb the tree, Iluse hadn’t even found her footing when she heard a *snap* beneath her feet.
“Eh? Wait, wait—”
*Thud!*
The expected pain did not arrive. A net caught her, preventing her from having an intimate encounter with the ground.
“Wow! We caught a thief! We caught a thief!”
Several excited young voices came from below. A few young girls were staring at her, their faces flushed with excitement.
“Children, I’m not a thief! Quickly, let me down!”
Fearing she would attract Elianna, Iluse began to struggle, but the more she moved, the tighter the net became.
As if hearing the children’s voices, there was soon movement inside the house. Unable to move an inch, Iluse thought with a sense of despair.
‘Oh boy… I’m doomed…’