Rublier grabbed Satin’s hand and stood her in front of him.

“Why are you walking behind me?”

“So I can protect you without losing sight of any direction.”

“Who? You? …No, me? I?”

With Rublier’s body shielding her from behind, his long arms ready to draw his sword to defend the sides, and both pairs of eyes watching the front, it was clearly a safety measure. Even during a few minutes of walking, he never let his guard down. Satin inwardly clicked her tongue.

“Do we have to walk considering all this?”

“Because it’s too late for a walk, Satin.”

“But the sun hasn’t set yet.”

“It’s dangerous once the sun sets. By then, it’s already too late.”

The shadows grew darker as the sun, tinged with orange, began to set. Satin looked up at the sky that was changing color every moment.

“…I was just talking to Larie about that day. The people at the ranch didn’t know anything, right? They heard the goats making strange noises, so they went out in the middle of the night but it was pitch dark, so they thought the goats would stop on their own and went back to sleep. The barn doors weren’t open either. They only found out about the goat that ran out and died after we contacted them.”

At that time, the evil spirit must have been near Satin’s window. Whether it was fortunate or not, those who knew the circumstances kept their words to themselves.

“It was a goat then, but who knows who it will be next.”

“I understand.”

“Make sure to lock the doors well and don’t go outside at night until I come back and open the door. From today on, until I say it’s okay.”

“Are you going out again?”

“I just came to see your face.”

Through past experiences, Satin had realized that when Rublier said he came to see her face, it literally meant he had made time to see her face for a short while. He was always a busy person.

Rublier escorted Satin back home and quickly turned back.

“I’ll be going. Don’t forget what I said.”

Satin stood with the servants, seeing Rublier off. As he left, his repeated warnings darkened the faces of the servants and Satin alike.

Being cautious was good, but it seemed like everyone in the house would spend half the day confined inside. Controlling evening movement and sending back people who were called for extra help early revealed the inconvenience of having a house in the suburbs.

“Do we really have to go this far?”

“Until we figure out what the evil spirit is, how it moves, and how to deal with it, yes.”

“Okay, I’ll stay inside.”

Satin didn’t repeatedly question Rublier’s firmness. The fear created by the evil spirit and the attack subsided during the bright day but revived at night.

Satin stayed inside the entrance hall with the servants. The only one who followed Rublier out was the stableman. After feeding the black horse water and hay and finishing the preparations for Rublier’s departure, the stableman left. Rublier, now on his horse, cast a cautious glance at Satin.

“I’ll be back. Be careful.”

Even though he said he would patrol the area nearby to be able to come quickly, it seemed he couldn’t bring himself to leave. Rublier lingered on his horse.

Satin tapped her waist, where Rublier always wore his sword. Then she mouthed the words, ‘You be careful.’ It was a short signal, but Rublier seemed to understand and nodded with a somewhat relieved expression.

“Are you two exchanging secret codes?”

THE Nosy Larie asked curiously. Satin feigned ignorance.

“We didn’t do anything like that.”

Once Rublier left, Satin was the sole master of the house. She emphasized again to the gathered servants.

“Everyone, make sure to check if your windows are closed before going to bed. Don’t open the curtains either.”

“Yes, Madam.”

As Rublier said, since they didn’t know how to deal with the evil spirit yet, they paid attention to the environment from the time of the sighting.

Do not open windows recklessly at night or stick your body out, as it might attract the attention of the evil spirit that could be lurking nearby. The Holy Knights’ ban on night movement was part of this precaution.

“I’ve already checked Madam’s bedroom.”

Larie reported, running over. These days, when Larie says ‘Madam’s bedroom,’ it means Rublier’s bedroom.

Larie had lit the lamp softly, cleaned the room thoroughly, and drawn the curtains to block out the darkness outside.

Even though it was just a pitch-black night outside, covering the view with curtains made it feel even more stifling. Sitting under the dim yellow light, Satin wrote a letter inquiring about her family’s well-being and sealed it with melted wax.

The servants prepared ingredients for the next day’s meals and turned off unnecessary lights. Everyone moved according to their usual habits. There was barely any conversation, and it was just peaceful.

Even on such a quiet night, knowing there was an evil spirit somewhere made everything feel suddenly unfamiliar. After finishing her tasks, Satin lay on one side of the large bed. Even without Rublier, her sleeping habits didn’t change. She squeezed herself into the narrow part she had designated as her own and hugged the blanket.

She blew out the lamp with a huff.

Even though they had only been together for a few days, the bed felt both comfortable and uncomfortable without him. Adjusting her pillow and pulling up the blanket, Satin changed her position. Knowing that Rublier always looked at her while falling asleep, she deliberately lay with her back to him.

Lying on her back and staring at the ceiling with her eyes closed, Satin turned over to the other side. She glanced sideways at the neatly arranged half of the bed where Rublier usually slept. It was strange. She couldn’t sleep when he was there, and she couldn’t sleep when he wasn’t. But she couldn’t stay up all night either. Forcing herself to close her eyes and try to sleep, some time passed.

Hooooooong!

A terrible wail, whether it was a scream or a howl, whether it was made by a human or an animal, or something neither human nor animal, suddenly echoed. It was an eerie cry she had never heard before.

Suddenly, her limbs froze. Satin stiffened under the blanket. She was so shocked she couldn’t even breathe. The fear that surged like a wave penetrated her entire body.

An evil spirit…? Is it an evil spirit?

“Rub…?”

Instinctively, she called for Rublier, but then she remembered he was out on night patrol. The chilling howl that made her forget even the obvious facts swirled in her head.

Hiding under the blanket, Satin waited to see if she could hear any other sounds. If it were anyone else, Larie at least would come and call her. But the house was deathly silent. The eerie stillness made her feel even more suffocated.

Did no one else hear it?

Or… did I hear it wrong? Or, could it be… only I heard it?

Satin blinked. Her limbs still felt heavy as if they were paralyzed. Maybe she heard it wrong. She tried to calm herself.

If it was a problem she couldn’t immediately solve, it was best to dismiss it as a mistake. She wanted to open the curtains and look outside, but Rublier had been so meticulous about every little thing that she didn’t feel like disobeying him.

She wished it would be morning when she opened her eyes. If it were morning, Rublier would be back, and she could say with relief, ‘I heard a strange sound last night, but it must have been a dream.’

“Hooo… hooooong!”

All her efforts to calm herself were in vain. Satin threw off the blanket and sprang up. The room was too dark, but she didn’t have the time to look for matches to light a lamp. She groped her way through the dim darkness, fumbling out of the bedroom.

“Ah! What is this here!”

“That’s the cabinet, Devon.”

“Hasn’t anyone brought out a light?”

“We all ran out in a hurry; who had the presence of mind for that?”

“Madam! Are you awake?”

The dark hallway was noisy with the murmurs of the servants who had woken up in shock. Amidst the commotion, Larie’s voice, worrying about her, could be heard. Satin responded to Larie.

“I’m here.”

“Madam, you’re awake? Did you hear that sound earlier?”

“I heard it. What was that sound?”

It was less scary with everyone gathered in one place.

“I don’t know. No one seems to know.”

The house was pitch dark because they had covered all the windows with curtains to prevent anyone from looking in. Only the faint outlines of people and furniture could be discerned as their eyes adjusted to the darkness.

“Here, I brought a lamp.”

One of the servants brought a lamp from the bedroom. Two lamps; that was enough to see clearly. The servant in charge of cleaning opened the drawer of the cabinet and took out matches. With two lit lamps in the middle, Satin faced the servants. They murmured among themselves.

“What’s all this fuss in the middle of the night?”

“I thought I heard it wrong since everyone was quiet.”

“At first, it was so creepy I hid under the blanket, but when I heard it a second time, I thought I had to come out, and everyone else came out at the same time…”

“That’s not a sound a human makes, right?”

“Maybe it’s the wind blowing hard.”

Having been ordered not to leave the house until morning, everyone was uneasy and didn’t know what to do. They tried to quell their anxiety with endless speculation. Still, they deliberately avoided the most dangerous possibility. They were busy guessing that it was the wind, or something in the house had broken, and so on.

“Huuuuu… Hooooong…”

Everyone fell silent at once. Their eyes darted around nervously. Satin took a deep breath.