“Retch — retch — Eliana, don’t blame me… don’t blame me…”
The girl bent over, her hand supporting her against the wall. As if possessed, she dry-heaved while continuously muttering those words.
“Elose… Elose? Elose! Are you deaf?”
Sensing someone calling her, Elose snapped her head up. She looked at Lady Vanessa standing before her, a flash of tension and worry appearing on her face.
“What are you doing here? You’re out of your mind. I call you and you don’t even react. How rude!”
Lady Vanessa stood with her arms crossed, looking at Elose in front of the woodshed. A flash of disappointment and disgust flickered in her eyes.
“Ah… Mother, it’s nothing…”
Elose’s voice trembled slightly. Only now did she fully return to her senses. Just moments ago, she had killed the demon! She had even dragged the corpse into the woodshed.
In order to clean up the trail of blood, she had forgotten all about going to the study to see Lady Vanessa. That was why the woman had come looking for her.
Now that she was lucid, a massive sense of exhaustion, accompanied by an even more intense surge of fear and lingering dread, swept over her. The girl’s stomach churned. She dry-heaved a few more times, but nothing came up.
“Oh? Are you sick now?”
Lady Vanessa used her fan to cover half of her face. Her gaze grew colder. Clearly, she was furious that her daughter had taken a maid to the church to pull such a stunt.
In the past, Elose might have felt a slight fear toward her mother’s words. But now, the stimulation of having killed Eliana, the fear of the corpse being discovered, and the ecstatic joy of finally being rid of the demon were all intertwined. All these emotions left her basically speechless, and she could only lean against the wall while continuing to gag.
Seeing her daughter lose her composure like this, Lady Vanessa finally lost her patience. She grabbed Elose and dragged her toward the study.
“Speak! What was all that about today?!”
Lady Vanessa didn’t have the slightest intention of showing concern for Elose; she got straight to the point.
‘This woman really treats me like a tool,’ Elose thought. Once inside the study, she felt much calmer. She gripped the edge of the desk, trying her best not to collapse while letting out a cold sneer.
“What happened today?”
In any case, the demon Eliana was dead. She finally didn’t have to worry about her own life. No matter what the future held, it was better than being turned into a dish by a demon.
She felt as if the haze over her head had suddenly vanished. After the thrill and the worry passed, what remained was a joy intense enough to drive one mad.
“You have the nerve to ask me?!”
Lady Vanessa slammed her hand on the table, her cold voice laced with even more rage.
“Is it fun to take your own maid and play at water-fighting with a bunch of commoners? Hmm? I see you really want to disgrace the family name, Elose!”
After saying this, Lady Vanessa’s face showed a hint of surprise. What was going on? According to her previous experiences, Elose should have looked fearful and apologized to her. That was the behavior that fit her educational philosophy.
But this time, she didn’t read any fear on her daughter’s face. Instead, she saw a smile.
It was as if something wonderful had happened to her, and she could hardly suppress the upward curve of her lips.
“You —”
Lady Vanessa wanted to say more, but she seemed stunned by Elose’s abnormal reaction. For a moment, she couldn’t remember what she had intended to say next.
“Mother, I know I was wrong,” the girl admitted quite bluntly.
“You don’t think a simple apology is enough, do you?”
“I will go to the family’s repentance room to reflect tomorrow, Mother. May I leave now?”
After the events of the day, a now-settled Elose only wanted to celebrate for an entire night. The demon was dead, and the heavy boulder pressing down on her heart had finally fallen. At the thought of this fact, she couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
“Leave?”
Lady Vanessa found her voice again, her anger completely ignited by this anomaly.
“You think this is over? You’ve completely disgraced the family, and yet you have this unrepentant attitude! Starting today, you stay in the repentance room. You are not allowed to step a single foot out without my permission! And that Eliana — that fool who doesn’t know how to advise her master — tell her to get over here right now!”
Elose froze for a second when she heard Eliana’s name. Then, the corners of her lips curved into an involuntary arc. Eliana… she probably won’t be able to come.
‘How am I supposed to call a dead person?’ she thought.
On the surface, however, she nodded in agreement.
“Fine. Now get out!”
“Yes, Mother.”
Pushing the door open, Elose walked toward the direction of the cellar. Although that area was damp and cold, Elose felt as if she were about to burst into flames with excitement.
Walking down the corridor, she even started humming a song under her breath, her footsteps feeling much lighter.
No one would ever guess she was someone heading to a cellar.
At that moment, Lady Vanessa’s scolding voice drifted down from upstairs again. Hearing it, Elose shook her head with a smile.
‘I wonder which unlucky soul is getting yelled at now. It definitely won’t be Eliana, at least. I wish them luck…’
Over the next several days, because Lady Vanessa was in a towering rage, the daily food consisted only of coarse bread and cold water. Life in the cellar was very difficult, but Elose was filled with hope every day. She even practiced the dance steps she had learned inside the repentance room.
After all, the moment she walked out, she would never have to worry about her life again.
She could slowly enjoy her life as a noble daughter in the Otherworld, carefree and free.
The only thing that made her feel confused was that several days had already passed. Why hadn’t her mother come to ask her where Eliana was?
Given her mother’s petty personality, she definitely wouldn’t have let Eliana off that night. But why? Why hadn’t she come to ask where Eliana had gone?
Furthermore, the maid who usually delivered her meals also knew Eliana. Logically speaking, shouldn’t they have asked about her after she went missing?
Everything felt as if the Duke’s mansion wasn’t missing a person at all. It was impossible for her to have come back to life. Elose had personally confirmed it at the time — Eliana had definitely breathed her last. Therefore, Eliana could not have survived!
But… everything was too quiet.
The more Elose thought about it, the more she felt something was wrong. This wasn’t the reaction there should be to Eliana’s disappearance.
That maid who always wore a smile, who seemed gentle but controlled her — the one she had killed. That accomplice who, in Lady Vanessa’s eyes, had brought shame to the family. How could she disappear like a drop of water evaporating into the air, leaving no ripple behind?
The Duke’s mansion was strictly managed, and the movements of the servants were recorded. A living person, and a maid who received quite a bit of attention from her mother, suddenly vanishing should have triggered an investigation, or even a commotion.
But why was there no sound? The seeds of suspicion were planted, making the girl restless. Finally, one afternoon, Elose couldn’t take it anymore. She whispered a question to the maid delivering her meal.
“Eliana… how has she been lately?”
The girl asked tentatively. A look of disdain immediately appeared on the maid’s face. She set the food down and clapped her hands.
“Miss, you have no idea how good she is at sucking up. The Lady was so flattered by her that she was dazed. I heard she’s even getting a promotion and a raise tomorrow.”
“What?!!!”
Premium Chapter
Login to buy access to this Chapter.