“Episode 25”
The sun was shining brightly enough to illuminate the gloomy mansion. Thus, Mary, feeling refreshed, went downstairs to Ray’s bedroom to make tea and warm up the scones she had baked earlier in the evening. However, before leaving, she noticed that the door, which she had checked ten times, was open. It was a moment of the owner’s erratic behavior. Mrs. Mary looked helplessly at the wide-open bedroom door and hurriedly ran to Philip.
“Philip! Philip!”
Philip was busy reprimanding the newly hired troublemaker, John. Even though his posture of chopping wood was unimpressive, his habit of consistently finishing things half-heartedly was the bigger concern.
John had his own reasons, he claimed. It was beneath him to be involved in such trivial matters without even a single blister on his hands. It was one of the most pathetic excuses Philip had ever heard.
“Philip!”
Seeing Mary, who was sweating profusely, John clicked his tongue. Despite the lack of hierarchy in the mansion, he found the servant girl shouting loudly quite annoying. Of course, he didn’t show it. It hadn’t been long since he realized that his rank was far below hers.
“Something big has happened.”
“Something big?”
Philip, who had taken off his dirty jacket, paled as he pondered deeply.
“Where’s the master?”
Abashed, Philip, staggering down the stairs, rubbed his throbbing head.
“He seems to have disappeared.”
“With the young lady?”
Mary’s astonished words piqued John’s interest.
“Are you talking about my sister right now?”
For a moment, John disappeared and Haysch took his place. He was equally anxious. If there was a problem with Ray, the escape route would be permanently closed.
“What? That monster, I mean, the master, did something wrong? Is that it?”
“Just shut up!”
Caught off guard by Mary’s sharp voice, John turned his anger towards Philip for no reason.
“Do you mean to turn my sister into a monster too? I’d rather kill our siblings. The descendants of the Lisburne family shouldn’t all suffer miserably!”
Responding to John’s verbose speech, Mary replied with a tone of condemnation.
“So you wanted to leave your sister here and run away?”
“Run away? What a misunderstanding. I was planning to come back anytime to ask for help and take Ray with me.”
“What good would that do if we became monsters like us in the meantime? Huh? You’re a heartless god. If you’re going to connect siblings by blood, you might as well do it with healthy ones.”
“What, what? How dare you, a mere servant girl, speak…”
“Servant girl?”
Mrs. Mary’s pupils dilated sharply. Her calm brown eyes split vertically, and her slender neck elongated like a giraffe’s. Her neck stretched out like a greedy snake coveting its nest.
“Say it again.”
“I, I mean…”
John froze like a chicken in front of a fox, stumbling over his words at Mrs. Mary’s terrifying transformation. Just then, Philip, who had finished descending the stairs, intervened. Mrs. Mary glared menacingly at John and nudged him.
“Say it again!”
“Is this the time to argue? If things go really wrong, you’ll be glad you’re not making a fuss anymore.”
The commotion subsided quickly. There were separate issues threatening them. For John, it was barely a sigh of relief. In the tense atmosphere, Mrs. Mary, who had carefully disguised her appearance, asked gloomily.
“What could have happened?”
It was a question Philip couldn’t definitively answer. The master during the peak of his curse had a low tolerance and a strong impulsive nature. No one knew how he had approached Ray. No matter how much they worried about where the missing two were cuddling, nothing would change. That was the saddest fact.
Fortunately or unfortunately, the master and Ray returned to the mansion within two days. Upon careful examination of Ray, Mrs. Mary found no broken or bruised areas. It was clear that they had undoubtedly spent a difficult night. Thankfully, Ray remained as kind as ever.
However, Mrs. Mary’s sense of relief was short-lived. It was three days later that she felt something was amiss. Ray, who usually delicately transferred meat or fish to plates during meals, was affectionate and considerate. But now, instead of eating, she simply stabbed at the plate with her knife, almost shattering it.
“Is it to your liking?”
Mary tried to speak, even though the words felt awkward. As expected, the changed Ray didn’t even raise her head to reply.
“It’s delicious. Thank you.”
This time, Mrs. Mary glanced at the master. She observed him closely while pouring well-aged wine, trying to discern his complexion.
The conclusion was astonishing. It was unbelievable. Surprisingly, it was Ray who had become indifferent, and the master who cast her a worried glance a couple of times. Even while slicing meat, he briefly followed Ray’s fingertips, and even glanced at her while swallowing wine. It was agonizing for her.
A rough sketch formed in Mrs. Mary’s mind. The cursed master must have kidnapped Ray and treated her roughly, unable to speak. Disappointed, Ray was trying to suppress her feelings, and the master, while burning with desire, didn’t know when he would turn violent.
Humans are selfish. After deviating once, they busied themselves finding a safe solution. Although the cause was the master, the soft one was Ray. With a clear mind, Mrs. Mary, who had waited for the end of the meal, immediately put her plan into action.
“Miss.”
Normally, it was time to stick close to the master, reading or mixing bodies. It was rare to see Ray walking alone from the dining table. The master remained at the table. Whether he was actually eating or not, more than half of the meticulously prepared food remained untouched.
After assessing the situation, Mrs. Mary grabbed Ray’s arm and led her to a secluded corner.
“What’s wrong?”
Ray stubbornly sealed her lips. Mrs. Mary thought that perhaps the master was more at fault than she thought. She gently stroked Ray’s back like a butterfly.
“The master seems to have been very rough with you. But, Miss, it may not be sincere. Sometimes he’s like that. To me, too…”
“I don’t like it.”
“Yes. You may not like it… Miss?”
Ray, who had been staring daggers while walking through the dining room, shed a tear. It was a gaze more pitiful than hateful.
“Why don’t you tell me anything?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Last time, it was because of Clothan that my wife collapsed, right?”
The tone of conviction in his speech was unusual. Everyone could tell. The situation was verging on the worst imaginable. If Ray, who had distanced himself from the master, were to flee with his belongings, the aftermath would be solely left to deal with.
Mrs. Mary felt like a prisoner awaiting her execution date. The only thought that came to her was that they had to somehow resolve this situation.
“It seems there’s a misunderstanding. That was due to my illness, and the master is not such a bad person.”
In truth, she couldn’t have been more shaken. Even now, a grim aura hung over the mansion, making it impossible to enjoy a proper meal. It would have been better to face it head-on. Back then, when the master was stable enough to nap peacefully in his study, she had even enjoyed the company of Ray.
“Still… I thought you were different, Mrs. Mary.”
“Sir.”
“I’ll be fine as long as I pretend not to know anything and go about smiling. Whatever happens, I can just brush it off and move on.”
She messed up. As Mary carefully chose her words, Ray, now cold and distant, rejected her hand and fled without hesitation. There was no hesitation. She had squandered the privilege of being Ray’s confidante in the mansion. From now on, she would have to be cautious in every word she spoke, as her honesty would surely be doubted.
Mary, left with empty hands in the air after her companion disappeared, clicked her tongue. Perhaps she had chosen the wrong person. There was a culprit to begin with, and involving a distant person in convincing them had only complicated matters.
Mary felt a distaste for the master, who casually sipped wine in the dining room. He wasn’t exactly admirable to begin with, but now he seemed more inadequate than anyone else. It was time for the determined Mrs. Mary to return to the dining room.
“Oh!”
The master was leaning against the wall. Ray had barely left his spot, taking only a few steps. Everyone had overheard. With her pounding heart calmed, Mary tried to confront the master as calmly as possible.
“It seems you’re not easily appeased.”
The master’s gaze was fixed on the spot where Ray had disappeared. It was a pitiful sight, but Mary, in her haste, spoke quickly.
“Perhaps it would be better to approach him first and try to resolve things.”
Whether she advised against meddling or begged and pleaded, the master remained silent, which felt strange to Mary.
“Master.”
“What do you want?”
“Did you overhear everything? Still, since you’re kind, if you just talk to him nicely, things might go back to normal.”
Only then did the master let out a wicked laugh. He had already prepared for this. But the master remained silent.
“Do you want me to beg?”
“Not for pity, but…”
“Do you think he’s a cursed imbecile who goes into heat at the slightest provocation? Or a monster who’s been alive for centuries, asking to be looked at nicely? How should I phrase it? Huh? What can I say to soothe Ray?”
It was a fact that Mary had forgotten, thanks to Ray’s cheerful demeanor. Now, feeling suffocated, Mary lowered her head. There was no way out. Once her mind was made up, there was no turning back, and she found herself in a pitiful state with nothing to offer.
“It’s better this way.”
“What?”
She couldn’t believe it, but the master spoke jokingly.
“You have a wicked side.”
“I don’t understand what you mean.”
“Are you willingly offering Ray to me for your own comfort?”
“It’s what you want too!”
“Dealing with such monsters won’t end well for you.”
Clothan repeated the same words.
“It’s better this way.”
Mary resigned herself. His words were true. By offering Ray to him for her own comfort and occasionally worrying about the situation, she had pushed him away. But why did he seem to be fading away with a sense of relief? Should she really give up like this? Wouldn’t there be any lingering attachment to Ray?
Mary decided to try one last time. If he still didn’t show any sign of remorse, she would no longer pay attention to him.
