It was pretty dark in the corner where the wind was blowing at night, but thanks to the candle She brought, it wasn’t difficult to look inside.
“This is me and Sherry’s secret hideout.”
Eugenia took a deep breath and looked around the narrow closet.
“It must be quite narrow for an adult, though there’s a little room for the smaller Selmia and Joshua.”
Inside the closet, there was barely enough room for the three of them to lie side by side.
There was a thin quilt and some breadcrumbs on the sofa bed.
As she suspected, they’d spent there entire time they’d been away from the mansion here.
They probably brought some cookies along with them, as well as some things that have been important to each other for a while, like a doll and a toy wooden horse.
Then She heard the bell ringing in the distance again.
“Oh, come on, look at me. This is not the time to be doing this.
Eugenia quickly regained her composure and quickly picked Joshua up and sat him down on the sofa bed in the closet.
“What are you doing!”
Eugenia couldn’t reply to Joshua’s annoyed outburst because she quickly put the only lantern in the closet to keep the boy from getting scared.
“Master. Just stay in here and keep the door closed. Okay?”
Joshua shook his head.
“Just me? Why, Eugenia can’t come in?”
“It’s too narrow for me to get in.”
“But you can get in.”
“I’m taller than Eileen.”
“That’s true.”
Joshua nodded, apparently convinced, and obediently stepped into the closet, sat down, and looked up at Eugenia.
“So, where are you going, Eugenia, while I stay here?”
“I’m going to…….”
“You don’t think you’ll leave me here and sneak off on your own, do you? I even told you our secret place!”
‘Oh no…….’
‘Why does he have so many questions and doubts.’
Swallowing a sigh, Eugenia spoke in a soft voice to calm Joshua down.
“No, I’ll be back.”
“Really?”
When he still didn’t look convinced, she spoke quickly.
“Yes. Miss Selmia is alone in her room right now, and I thought it would be best if I went and got her, so please wait here.”
If Joshua and Eileen were having a tearful reunion while she was gone, she would leave Selmia nearby and sneak out of the mansion without them knowing.
“This is the perfect plan. It feels so natural!”
Eugenia grinned at Joshua, hiding her inner thoughts.
“If you’re going to do that, I’ll come with you!”
“Oh, no, no, no.”
Eugenia stopped Joshua with a stern glare.
“Master, you’re still too short and have short legs, so I’ll go by myself.”
“Who says I’m short, I’m not young!”
Joshua raised his voice in anger.
Eugenia snorted in amusement and spoke up again.
“Do you really think you’re not a child?”
“Of course!”
Joshua puffed out his chest.
“Then, Master, you can stay here alone until I come back, aren’t you afraid at all?”
“He…… of course!”
“Then please close the closet door and wait quietly.”
Joshua pursed his lips and nodded.
But then he grew nervous and spoke again, a little sheepishly.
“Should you be back soon?”
“Of course.”
Meanwhile, the bell in the clock tower began to ring for the tenth time.
After giving Joshua one last smile, Eugenia hurried back to the twins’ room.
“Miss……?”
The girl was still sleeping, Moving closer, Eugenia spoke in a quiet voice.
“Miss, I know it’s uncomfortable, but you must come with me, Master Eileen will be here soon to take you and your master away.”
Eugenia picked herself up, careful not to wake Selmia, and placed her on her back. The girl’s heat pressed against the nape of Eugenia’s neck.
“?”
Selmia rubbed her fists over her barely-opened eyes and hugged Eugenia’s neck as hard as she could.
And just like that, they were on their way out the door.
“……hhh!”
Eugenia gasped in surprise.
Her eyes widened in disbelief.
“Master!”
“Ah……haha.”
“Master, why are you here? Weren’t you supposed to wait for me in a secret place?”
Joshua scratched the back of his head as if he had no excuse, then spoke up.
“I just thought about it, and I didn’t feel the need to be there.”
He sounded a little hesitant, like he hadn’t expected Eugenia to be so upset.
“And I’m her brother, and my father said I must protect her. I have to keep my promise.”
Ah……
“Ha.”
A deep sigh escaped Eugenia’s lips, and she could feel Joshua’s eyes on her.
“Yeah. What’s a kid to do?”
Joshua was only nine years old, no matter how grown-up he acted. He must have been very scared to be alone in the dark.
‘So instead of dwelling on the past, why don’t we just make it right?’
Eugenia said quickly, not blaming Joshua.
“For now, why don’t you come back down with me.”
“Yeah.”
Joshua nodded, looking up.
After pulling Selmia’s body up.
“Are you sure you want to follow me and not go anywhere else?”
“Okay. We’re on the same floor anyway, so where’s that place?”
Joshua replied bluntly, his voice low as he crawled inside.
Eugenia began to pace, and the boy grumbled softly as he followed her.
“No, but why is Eugenia so obsessed with it?”
“I don’t have time to tell you now, but I’ll explain later.”
Eugenia practically ran across the hall.
“Eugenia, come with me, it’s too fast.”
“You can certainly keep up with me, Master, come on!”
Eugenia grumbled to herself after her dry encouragement.
“Why didn’t you just stay there and wait for me in the first place!”
Swallowing hard, she sped up her steps.
She got to the closet when the final bell had stopped ringing a while ago.
“Why isn’t it there?
Eugenia exhaled sharply and looked around the darkened room.
At this hour, Eileen should be here…….
But in the twins’ room, and in front of this closet…….
She couldn’t even find Eileen’s shadow.
“Did she go somewhere else to look for them?
Her mind raced.
‘Should I start looking around this mansion for Eileen, too?’
‘Umm, no. That would be foolish, no matter how urgent.’
The mansion was large, and it was more likely that they would get lost than find Eileen.
‘Since it’s such a special spot for all three of them, I’m wondering if she’ll swing by the closet one more time before she takes off from the mansion. Just for old times’ sake, you know?’
If so, it would be best to wait and hope.
‘If it were my nature, I would have left them here and gone to find Eileen by myself…….’
Eugenia’s gaze returned to Joshua.
‘It would be a waste if he followed me.’
“Phew…….”
Eugenia decided that she might as well stay here if only to reduce the chances of the three of them getting separated.
Meanwhile, Selmia’s limp body continued to slide down from her upright position.
“Let’s get her down.”
Eugenia turned to Joshua for help.
“Master, can you help me? I think we need to lay Lady Selmia down.”
“Oh, yes!”
Joshua scurried over and climbed into the closet.
He cleared away the things on the couch and placed one of the low pillows flat.
“There you go, lay Sherry down here.”
Eugenia carefully laid Selmia down on the sofa bed.
The girl had fallen asleep with difficulty, stirring only slightly but not opening her eyes.
Only after she had laid Selmia down and pulled the blankets up to her chest to cover her, did Eugenia slip out of the closet and stretch her back.
Joshua’s eyes widened as she stretched.
He slid down from the sofa bed in the closet, his small hands clutching the hem of Eugenia’s skirt as she stretched.
Eugenia looked down at the tug on her dress and realized that Joshua was looking at her anxiously.
“Master, what’s wrong?”
“I’m afraid of …….”
“What?”
“I’m afraid Eugenia will run away.”
There was a deep anxiety in their whispered voices.
Joshua’s mouth went dry, and after a few times of pursing his lips, he whispered in a small voice.
“I’m sorry, I promised to wait in the closet, and I didn’t…….”
“Master.”
“Actually, I thought Eugenia was going to use Selmia’s excuse to get away.”
At that moment, Eugenia felt as if she’d been hit in the back of the head with a giant hammer.
“Is that why you snuck up on me to spy on me?”
Unable to answer out loud, she nodded slowly as Joshua lowered his gaze.
“……Sorry.
No matter how many times she told herself not to be mean, Eugenia’s weakness for the One-Eyed Child never failed to anger her at his assertive behavior.
In the end, she swallowed her displeasure and said in silence.
“Let’s wait together first.”
“Wait for what……?”
The question left Eugenia speechless for a moment.
‘Should I tell him that Eileen will come?’
‘And if she doesn’t?’
Even in the dark, Joshua’s face was suddenly too clear against the dead grass.
Eugenia bit her lower lip.
‘There are no guarantees.’
Even in a fictional world where the future is set in stone, things don’t always turn out the way they do.
In the original novel, she hadn’t even been possessed.
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Translator Note:
This chapter was translated by Gon. Next post will be released on March, 17.
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