“Episode 9”
A damp towel wiped over her skin, stirring Ray from her semi-conscious state. The unfamiliar sensation reminded her of the days when a servant named Benet would dab her forehead with a cool towel during bouts of fever. The towel carefully wiped down her tense muscles, passing over the sore areas.
“You were too rough.”
A familiar voice sounded nearby. Unintentionally, Ray overheard snippets of conversation.
“This lady is usually fine, but the master, too… When it gets to this point, he should have let her go.”
The reprimanding voice belonged to Mrs. Mary. The sound of wringing the towel also overlapped with their conversation. It seemed she was the one taking care of Ray.
“Let her go?”
Clothan’s voice replied from not too far away, with an uneasy tone.
“If she still has both eyes intact, look at her, feeling sorry for herself to death.”
“Master…”
“I doubt you can’t even finish properly.”
After Clothan’s words trailed off, the sound of brisk footsteps approached the bed.
“This.”
A long finger touched Ray’s lips, almost fully awake. His voice sounded proud and excited.
“Even while asleep, she moans like this.”
“You’ll wake her up if you keep going.”
Despite Mrs. Mary’s objections, the finger nonchalantly pressed down on Ray’s tongue.
“I’ll make her suck even in her sleep later.”
“Leave her alone for a few months. With what’s to come, the mental shock will be significant enough.”
Mrs. Mary regretted her words immediately after finishing them. She had overstepped. It was a moment of disdain from the master. She crossed a line.
“I’ve been thinking since earlier.”
The conversation between the two people was incomprehensible to Ray, but in her attempt to follow along, she wondered if the window had been left open. The harsh winter wind swept in, chilling the room despite the warmth of the fireplace.
It was bitterly cold, enough to make Ray shiver. Momentarily opening her eyes, she quickly drew in a breath.
“Oh, Master!”
“Why did you forget your position?”
“I-I didn’t mean to!”
What she saw was startling. Clothan, with his hand in his pocket, stood still, while Mrs. Mary, with a pained expression, was bowing her head on the floor. The atmosphere was as oppressive as the scorching sun in the desert. Ray’s joints stiffened from the cold.
“Master, I-I’m sorry…”
Ray couldn’t understand the current situation. Clothan, who stood still, couldn’t possibly be the one causing distress, yet Mrs. Mary, writhing in pain, was begging for forgiveness. Ray, feeling helpless, intentionally made a noise.
“Clo-Clothan?”
As if it were a lie, Mrs. Mary’s whimpering stopped. Mrs. Mary, who had been wiping the floor instead of using a dry cloth, stood up abruptly and approached Ray, while Clothan, smiling brightly, approached her. It was like a breaking dawn. As if dismissing what had just happened as a fantasy.
“Are you okay?”
Ray was confused. Even though the recent incident was momentarily ignored, he had always behaved like someone else, making her miserable all day long. Ray moved slightly away from Clothan’s approaching hand.
“Are you hurt?”
Clothan’s face remained fresh and bright as ever. He withdrew his hand as if without any lingering attachment and pointed to the warming food on the table.
“First, eat.”
“Um, Clothan…”
Ray’s gaze shifted to Mrs. Mary, who was wiping a glass on one side.
“Is anything hurting you?”
Without looking at her, Mrs. Mary replied bluntly.
“No. It happens occasionally. Don’t worry about it.”
And then she left abruptly. Ray, feeling uneasy, couldn’t take her eyes off Clothan standing next to her.
“You’re being presumptuous.”
“Huh?”
“Should I stop?”
Startled, Ray grabbed Clothan’s wrist.
“Why are you saying that? You don’t seem well either…”
“I’ve always found it irritating.”
“Still, you’re kind. You’ve always taken care of me whenever I was sick in this mansion.”
“Well, seeing you act like this makes it even more annoying.”
“Clothan, why… Why do you… Do you dislike me?”
It felt like wandering endlessly in a damp cave. He was bumbling but also felt like a stern man scolding her. Ray forced herself to press her reddening nose. There was nothing but tears and commotion.
Clothan stood crookedly, teasingly lifting the blanket Ray had covered herself with.
“I have a dirty personality by nature, so I can’t stand seeing others happy and I get jealous easily.”
He chuckled as he looked at Ray’s thigh with deep kiss marks.
“Don’t worry about me.”
“Worry?”
Ray felt like her patience was wearing thin. Each word felt like a blow to her sensitive heart. He was a thoughtless man, rough and without consideration, just like on their first violent night together. Ray felt angry for the first time.
“Don’t… don’t treat me so callously.”
Clothan kneeled on the bed, as if finding it amusing.
“How am I being callous?”
“You want to torment me. Even when I’m struggling, you do strange things and speak rudely.”
Clothan neatly brushed aside Ray’s tangled hair.
“You asked for it, saying you wanted it rough.”
“That’s… that’s…”
“It’s because you’re mine, right? So I can torment you a bit. Isn’t that right?”
“Look at this! You’re doing it again.”
“You don’t like it when I’m like this?”
Ray was speechless. All he did was cover her with the blanket again.
“I’ve always been like this.”
Ray silently disagreed.
“You should compromise.”
“I don’t understand what you’re saying.”
“If you just compromise on that, we could be pretty good lovers.”
Lovers. Ray blinked rapidly for a few seconds, then suddenly understood and choked up. While waiting for Ray’s response, Clothan asked softly.
“Do you dislike it?”
At that moment, Ray sprang up like a startled frog and embraced the surprised Clothan. Before she could fully embrace him, she slapped his chest and left grey tear stains on his shirt.
“I thought you were just angry. You kept saying mean things and treating me coldly! Even if I thought it wasn’t real, I was scared. I’ll never… never again in my life…”
After adjusting her posture and firmly hugging him, Clothan kissed Ray’s ear.
“That’s why you dislike it.”
“What…?”
“Because I always make you feel like I’m going to kill you.”
“Clothan, I…”
“And you still haven’t figured it out?”
“What?”
Clothan’s gaze drifted downward. Ray looked down at her ankle, where a strange object was tied. Wrapped around the bell at the center was a unique anklet made of silver grapevines, especially with the centerpiece carved from amethyst. Ray gently shook her ankle.
“Wow. It’s really beautiful.”
“I made it, myself.”
“You, Clothan?”
Ray stroked the amethyst part with her hand and added with admiration.
“You made it really well.”
Suddenly, Ray remembered the meager offerings she could provide with her empty wallet and Hershey’s.
“I wish I could do something for you too.”
“You asked for it earlier.”
“Huh?”
“To compromise.”
“Just that? But… I have debts…”
“Just that? Do you even know what I’m asking you to compromise?”
Clothan said in a teasing tone. It was a disheartening remark that anyone could understand. Ray, who had been silently pondering, carefully chose her words to avoid mistakes.
“Well, if we go to a restaurant, I could try the food first and give you the best menu. I can always compromise on that.”
“What?”
Clothan tried to suppress his laughter, covering his mouth with the back of his hand.
“Again.”
“Well, and… oh! Even if you act impatient with me, I can tease you back. I’m good at apologizing. I can compromise on that too…”
“Again.”
“Can’t you tell me slowly? If I tell you everything now, then later…!”
Ray’s cheek was suddenly slapped without delay. The slow and deliberate movement of Clothan’s tongue slowed down visibly when he noticed Ray’s movements. Ray, who was inexperienced, found it a good pace to follow and learn.
On the first afternoon with her lover, the amethyst light shimmered on her ankle.
—
Philip walked down to the basement, holding a single candle that was about to go out and a basket containing freshly baked bread or grape juice in one hand. Despite the dimly lit basement where one could hardly see a foot ahead, Philip walked on nonchalantly, only yawning.
“It was your turn today, wasn’t it?”
Philip met the gardener on his way out, a man who was usually silent and sometimes mistaken for a mute. Even now, he was greeting with his eyes instead of words. He was hard to read.
“Then go.”
Philip, whose ribs were hurting, was about to pass by when, by some chance, the gardener sent a signal for conversation. Philip handed the candlestick to him.
“For what.”
“That.”
It was a voice he hadn’t heard in almost 50 years. It was a new experience. Philip, who had become more lenient, didn’t rush for a slow response.
“The woman.”
“Which woman.”
The one person stuck in Philip’s mind.
“Ray Lisbon?”
“That.”
“Why do you care?”
“Because she wants to see it.”
“Oh, oh, oh.”
The sound of Philip’s tongue filled the basement.
“Do you want to become like him?”
Philip pointed with his chin to the corner where an unconscious figure lay chained.
The perplexed gardener waved his hand.
“No. It’s not that.”
“Pay no attention to anything like that. The master is merciless. After all these years, haven’t you learned?”
Philip tapped his lips against the gardener’s shoulder.
“I’ll come here in the future. You do your job.”
The silent gardener, who had his words eaten again, just nodded and left. He seemed more dismantled than reflective. Philip, with wrinkles on his nose, muttered quietly.
“He won’t last long either.”
After sighing in place, Philip continued on his way. The master didn’t pay attention to insignificant ants. It was one of the key secrets of longevity in the cursed mansion.
