Compared to the last time she came, the malice seemed to have grown even more condensed. Through the perspective granted by the necklace, the entire room appeared several shades darker. The space was filled with a red mist so deep it had begun to turn black in some places.
‘My goodness, what does this demon Eliana usually do in this room? How could it become like this?’
One could even call this a haunted house! Eliana was simply a focal point for concentrated malice!
Eluse shuddered and prepared to start her search. Very quickly, she noticed two locations that seemed particularly off.
One was on the bookshelf, and the other was in the nightstand.
While other areas only held the simple red mist—or a slightly darker, blackish tint where the mist was thicker—these two spots were pure, abyssal black. It was the exact same color Eluse had seen on Eliana’s person before!
‘What on earth is in here? How can the malice be so concentrated?’
Just as Eluse was about to walk over to investigate, she suddenly froze, her small face turning deathly pale.
‘Oh no! This is bad!’
There was only one reason: footsteps were echoing from the hallway outside! Could it be Eliana?!
At this thought, Eluse felt her mind go blank. Last time, she had only disrupted the woman’s plan, and the maid had lashed out in a fit of rage to teach her a harsh lesson. If she were caught sneaking into her private room, what would happen then?
She would probably be skinned and eaten alive on the spot.
As the footsteps drew closer, Eluse’s heart leaped into her throat. Could she really be that unlucky? Was it truly Eliana and not some other maid?
‘No, I can’t just sit here and wait for death. I have to find a place to hide…’
Outside the door, exactly as Eluse feared, the person arriving was indeed Eliana. Because her white silk stockings had been slightly damaged, the Head Maid had specifically allowed her to return and change into a new pair.
‘I really am something,’ Eliana thought, shaking her head and sighing. She had been so focused on her young mistress lately that she hadn’t even noticed a small hole in her stockings.
But it was all worth it. She was going to work hard to raise her mistress to be fair and tender. If she did that… hehe…
As if thinking of something, the demon let out a silly giggle.
Reaching the door to her room, she was about to twist the handle and enter when her gaze suddenly sharpened.
‘Hm? The position of the handle seems slightly off.’ She had made a specific mark; could there be someone inside?!
Eliana’s face immediately darkened, and her pale gold eyes shifted into vertical slits. Had a thief entered her room?
However… after a few seconds of brief reflection, Eliana’s pupils returned to normal, and the hair-raising aura radiating from her vanished without a trace.
‘Could I just be being careless again?’ She hadn’t even noticed a hole in her stockings; it was entirely possible she hadn’t aligned the handle properly when she last closed the door.
‘Whatever, I’ll just go in and look.’
Eliana stepped into the room. She first scanned the area with her eyes, and after finding no abnormalities, she walked straight toward the wardrobe.
At that same moment, Eluse’s little heart was practically in her throat because she was hiding right inside that wardrobe!
She could clearly hear the demon’s footsteps approaching the wardrobe one step at a time. The girl’s breathing nearly stopped, and she desperately covered her mouth and nose with her hands, terrified of leaking the slightest sound.
Eliana stopped in front of the wardrobe.
Through the crack in the door, Eluse saw those familiar small black leather shoes standing just inches away, their toes pointing directly at her.
The demon didn’t seem to open the door immediately but stood still, as if deep in thought.
A moment later, Eliana reached out—
‘It’s over, I’m going to be found!’ Eluse could already imagine the tortures she might face.
‘Maybe I should just bite my tongue and end it myself.’ It wouldn’t be as much suffering as being skinned and eaten by Eliana.
However, the expected scenario did not occur. The creak of a wardrobe door echoed in her ears, but Eliana had not opened the one Eluse was in; she had opened the one to her left.
She pulled a brand-new pair of white silk stockings from a row of neatly hung maid uniforms and then closed the door.
“I’ll change and go back. I need to finish the assessment quickly; My Lady still needs to be looked after.”
The demon spoke to herself as she began to change her stockings.
Eluse waited in the darkness with bated breath, listening to the rustle of fabric. Every second felt as long as a year.
Through the crack in the wardrobe, she could have clearly seen how Eliana removed her stockings step by step, revealing her long, beautiful legs, and how she slid the new ones on.
But Eliana possessed a perception that surpassed ordinary people; she might be able to feel Eluse’s gaze.
At that thought, she simply closed her eyes and pretended to be a piece of clothing, quietly waiting for Eliana to finish changing and leave.
Eluse didn’t know how much time had passed, but when she heard the sound of the door opening, she finally found the courage to look through the crack again.
Yet, that one look nearly scared her to death. As Eliana took one last look at the room before leaving, she glanced directly at the wardrobe where Eluse was hiding. Their eyes met for a split second.
‘Did… did she find me?’ Eluse’s head was buzzing, terrified that Eliana would suddenly walk back and fling the wardrobe door open.
But contrary to her fears, Eliana did not come. She left immediately, and there was no hesitation in her movements as she locked the door behind her.
‘She must not have noticed me… I hope…’
Hearing the lock click shut, Eluse waited another full five minutes before she dared to crawl out of the wardrobe.
She was soaked in cold sweat and her legs were so weak she nearly collapsed. The demon’s pressure was too intense; she felt like she was playing a horror game where a single mistake would trigger a “Game Over.”
Though she was terrified, the goal she came for still had to be completed. Otherwise, wouldn’t this trip be for nothing?
With that in mind, Eluse looked toward the black malice on the bookshelf. She walked over, pulled out the books concealing the malice, and retrieved a pair of black lace gloves.
‘Aren’t these the ones I took out to be repaired before? Why is there such heavy malice on them?’
Eluse brought the gloves closer, and a scent of rust immediately flooded her nose.
‘Could this be the smell of blood?’ The girl’s body trembled slightly. Did Eliana wear these gloves whenever she killed someone?
Then what was the other black malice? Eluse walked over and pulled open the nightstand drawer. When she saw the item inside, her pupils dilated instantly.
Lying quietly in the nightstand was an exquisitely crafted silver steak knife—the exact same one Eliana had used to stab her in the chest in her dream!
‘This knife…’ Eluse picked up the steak knife. With just a light touch to the blade, her fingertip began to bleed.
‘It’s this sharp?’ Eluse couldn’t help but shudder. She didn’t want to know at all what it would feel like to have this blade plunge into her chest.
‘Eliana probably won’t need these two items in the short term, so maybe I… should just take them away?’
With that thought, Eluse restored the room to its original state and quietly slipped out the door. What she failed to notice was a faint, nearly imperceptible purple glow that flashed for a brief moment behind her…