CH 31

‘What did he say to you?’

It was true that Erna went out secretly. But there was only one reason she acted like that. To pick flowers for a mother who couldn’t go out because of her father, to let her know the world. That was all.

‘I’m sorry, but I…….’

‘Please… please don’t do this.’

‘……I don’t want to live like your father.’

The spineless young man fell for Bill’s words. He left as easily as he did when he came without trusting Erna. There was no note, no greeting.

‘Argh!’

The short time spent with the person who left was all for Erna. She couldn’t accept a breakup with a man she believed would get her mother out of hell.

‘Hey, hey, old man Bill. Erna is…’

Shortly after the young man left, a blue body emerged in Lake Aunue. Erna’s cheeks were clear with tears even though she was wet. The frozen fingertips were so blue. People said her grief was imbued with her.

‘I didn’t mean to. I just… I just…….’

Bill was in despair at the death of his daughter. Even though she was a child who he had not considered as his child for more than 10 years, he could not endure it after she died. But his wife was in more pain than him. The woman who lived in the hell that her husband made, looking at her only daughter, screamed in despair. And she ended up…….

‘Oh, my God, Bill. What can I do about this? Her heartbeat has stopped…….’

She hanged herself by her daughter’s grave. It happened a day after burying his daughter in the cold ground.

‘Ah…Ah…… Argh…!’

Bill tore his heart several times a day at his hand-made tragedy. In front of the tomb of his wife and daughter, he cried and begged forgiveness for his wrongdoing. But what could regret do? There was no wife or daughter left.

The old fisherman rode the boat aimlessly for a while. Seeing him rowing without eating or sleeping, people whispered, ‘Isn’t this how a water ghost will appear?’

‘…… forgive me.’

One early morning, Bill rowed out to Lake Aunue as usual. And he jumped into the blue lake like his daughter, with a noose around his neck as his wife did.

Splash.

The deep water swallowed the old fisherman at once. Perhaps, his sins and regrets were so deep that the lake could not bear them. Thus, the empty boat squeaked alone and occasionally wandered around the lake.

***

Why am I doing this when I’m in a hurry? Ezekiel asked himself why he was listening silently to the death of an old fisherman, but he couldn’t find an answer.

‘Unnecessarily…’

Even if he thought it was a waste of time, he felt strangely uncomfortable in a corner of his mind. In the end, he couldn’t hold back and stared at Lake Aunue with an impression and spat out words as if he was chewing.

“Herace, you’re not that stupid. So you…… You can’t leave me.”

The creepy face seemed to cut through the lake immediately, let’s catch my wife, and drag her in front of me.

Edgar, who was looking at the Lord right next to him, stepped back in surprise. The black horse also trembled as if he could feel the owner’s gloomy atmosphere. However, Ezekiel, the main culprit, only made a crumpled expression, and did not care about the eyes around him.

Ezekiel pulled the reins and twisted the horse’s head. Since they had looked around this village, it was their turn to go to the next place. He kicked the horse lightly in the ribs.

“Let’s go!”

As the black horse began to run, the knights, including Edgar, followed. A group of horses moved, the dry ground trembled, and the dust rose. The man’s persistent pursuit of his wife began again.

***

The castle of Serpence was like a sheet of ice. Everyone closed their mouths like clams out of the water, but is this something to be hidden by hiding?

Two months after the mistress and her son disappeared, the castle’s interior did not allow even a little warmth like the cold wind outside.

“Well…… that’s fine.”

But for only one person, it was like a spring day. Charlotte smiled beautifully as she looked at the frozen Lake Aunue over the window. In her hand, the gold ring glistened, she held an elegant tea cup with a gold frame. Charlotte asked, sipping the tea.

“What about him? When is he coming?””

“That.”

Unlike Charlotte, who was relaxed, the maid standing next to her looked somewhat uneasy. The maid, who looked around the room, sighed secretly and wiggled her fingers.

‘If I get scolded for coming here…….’

The maid’s anxiety was doubled just knowing where she was standing.

The room, which was cleaned to the point of sparkling, was elegant, but somewhat unnatural. The curtains and wallpaper were not in harmony, and the hanging decorations were colourful and precious, but they were somewhat messy. In particular, the luxurious dressing table in the corner of the room was so brilliant that it did not blend in with the room at all.

But in a way, it was natural. The things in this room were in the other room not too long ago.

‘I’m going to stay here from now on.’

As soon as Ezekiel left the castle, Charlotte ordered the servants to move her things to the room of the Duchess, the room where Herace lived. Her confident attitude led the servants to not seek Ezekiel’s permission.

‘How can I dress up with this stuff? Let’s keep them aside for now and bring them to that room.’

The servants looked embarrassed as Charlotte pushed the dresser and scrambled through the room, but no one could stop her first because the owner was also away. Regardless of her origins, she was now the sole woman of their Master and the mother of the noble child of the Duke.

However, the old butler, who knew the truth, ran up, but it was too late. Herace’s room was a mess. In less than two hours, all the curtains in the room were lowered, and the couches, dressing tables, small tables, and ornaments that contained the owner’s traces were left unattended in the corner of the hallway.

“What are you doing?”

The startled butler chased away the servants who carried the goods with an uncharacteristically red face. And, blocked the door as he said firmly to Charlotte.

“Never. You are not allowed to enter this room without the Lord’s permission.”

“Get out of the way! This old man seems to be mistaken, now I’m the only hostess of this castle. So of course this room is mine.”

Charlotte crumpled her face and spoke to the old butler harshly. However, the old butler, who was strict about discipline, was not easy. He stood upright like a gatekeeper, unmoved by Charlotte’s poisonous eyes. Then he spat out bone-chilling words at Charlotte.

“This room has been used by the Duchess for generations. But you’re a mistress not the Duchess.”

“What, mistress? You old man!”

The word “mistress” blazed fire in Charlotte’s eyes. Unable to hold back her anger, she picked up a small decorative pottery right next to her and threw it without any room for anyone to stop her.

Clink!

With the sound of something breaking, the old butler bent down. Surprised, servants ran quickly to help him, but the old butler who was dripping with blood didn’t say anything.

“What are you doing? Move quickly!”

“But, the butler.”

“Who told you to move the old man? Move these things!”

Charlotte decorated Herace’s room in her own way by ordering the servants when the only one who blocked her disappeared. And she evaluated Herace’s stuff as if they were originally hers.

Just like now.

‘No one’s really useful. They all look pathetic. I was going to teach them a lesson as the Duchess…… By the time he comes back, but, I’ll teach this one first.’

After drinking tea, Charlotte swayed the teacup here and there and let go of her hands. The teacup, which boasted an elegant curve, flew in the air and fell to the floor in an instant.

Clink!

The teacup broke into pieces with a sharp noise. The startled maid looked at Charlotte unconsciously. However, Charlotte stared at the maid with a sharp look as if she was looking at something, and pointed to the floor with a chin gesture.

“What are you doing? Clean it up right now.”

The maid winced at Charlotte’s words. She bent down and began to pick up broken pieces of glass.

Charlotte looked down at the maid kneeling in front of her with a smile. It couldn’t have been this pleasant to lead a comfortable life by hiring others. How upsetting was it when people who were nothing in the past ignored and insulted her.

Charlotte loosened her crossed legs like a plant and pushed the maid’s back.

“Oh!”

The imbalanced maid collapsed and touched the floor. A broken piece of glass grazed the maid’s palm and it started to bleed. Charlotte smiled and said, looking at the side face of the crying maid.

“Are you hurt?”

The maid lowered her head in silence. However, Charlotte was able to read the hostility in the maid’s eyes. Charlotte whispered cheekily with her chin resting.

“It can’t be helped. I mean, I’m not like her.”

As she laughed out loud. The maid’s face hardened as if it was unfair, but why would she care? Charlotte waved her hand as if telling her to clean the glass up quickly and closed her eyes. It wasn’t as big a laugh as it was a while ago, but intermittent smirking laughter leaked out.

‘This is really my life.’

Warm clothes regardless of the weather outside, comfortable couches, and those who work for her.

Charlotte leaned comfortably against the couch, fiddling with the ring on her finger. However, when her body became comfortable, her worries for a while were going through her head.

‘……I wish she would just die while running away.’

Apart from being in a good mood from occupying Herace’s room, Charlotte knew that things were not just in her favour.

The man had not returned to the castle for nearly two months after he left to chase his runaway wife. And it proved that the man was persistent with his wife for whatever reason.

‘Maybe she’s already dead. Otherwise, who they haven’t found so far doesn’t make sense to find now.’

She remembered the face of the last man she saw. The man covered in red blood had a face as hideous as the sinister liquid. Bloody eyes, eyes that can kill anyone right away……. Some people would have thought that he had gone to kill his lifelong enemy, not to catch his runaway wife.