Whether alone or with everyone, the strange wailing sound was baffling and eerie, making it impossible to discern where it originated.

“I got it!”

The stableman suddenly shouted.

“It sounds like a horse crying!”

“That sound is a horse crying?”

It was hard to believe. Satin looked at the stableman in doubt. Although she had never raised a horse, she had experienced horseback riding. However, she had never heard such a strange cry before.

“Yes, yes, I’m sure. Now that I hear it again, it sounds very similar to the cry of the horse, Spotty. I haven’t heard such a cry often, which is why I was confused.”

The stableman sighed in relief.

“It seems I didn’t properly finish the preparations for the master’s horse earlier. I’m sorry, Madam. I must have left my wits somewhere. If the master had heard it, he would have known right away. Spotty was the master’s favorite horse before he received the new one. I’ll go and resolve the issue immediately since any problem in the stable could be serious.”

The stableman, his face flushed with embarrassment, ran out. Satin was too stunned to even laugh.

Goodness. The source of the eerie wailing that kept everyone awake was just a horse crying. Feeling unsettled, she had been unnecessarily frightened. The other servants looked at Satin with incredulous expressions.

“We’re sorry, Madam.”

“Why did he manage the stable so poorly, scaring everyone in the middle of the night? We’ll make sure to remind him to check the stable more thoroughly next time.”

“It’s fine. It’s a relief that it was nothing serious.”

“Yes, Madam. Would you like to go to bed now? We’ll escort you to your room.”

“Ugh… uuuuuh!”

A different kind of silence fell over them. Satin, frozen in place, slowly turned her head. Pale-faced, the servants stared at her, unsure of what to do.

“It’s Devon.”

Larie whispered, her face ashen. Satin grabbed a lantern and walked to the door. Moonlight streamed through the open door, casting a pale glow. The night outside, illuminated by the full moon, was brighter than the unlit interior of the house.

Even so, it was only a slight difference in shading, but it was enough to see the stableman staggering and stumbling away from something, clutching his neck with his hand, before collapsing to the ground.

The stableman, crawling on all fours, desperately tried to approach. Under the moonlight, a formless shape was vaguely visible. It resembled black smoke. It could easily be mistaken for a shadow.

‘That’ clung to the stableman. A part of it, presumably the head, elongated and bit into his face. The stableman struggled and thrashed. As a red stream of blood spurted out, everyone who had been in a daze screamed in unison.

“Aaah!”

It was an evil spirit. That was the evil spirit. Satin finally understood why they hadn’t recognized it on the first day it appeared. How could anyone identify something so black, so amorphous? The night was its shield.

The stableman’s scream was eerily similar to the horse’s earlier. The energy emanating from both was the same. The terrifying wail had been the sound of a horse crying in fear.

The stableman, spotting Satin, pleaded desperately.

“Madam, please save me! Save me!”

The only remaining master of this house. The descendant of Del Mare who had vanquished demons. Even knowing that she was the only one the stableman could cling to, Satin’s mind went blank.

How, how can I…?

“…Rublier.”

The man who should be here was absent. Even at this moment, the evil spirit was savagely attacking the stableman. Satin looked around at the servants. Some had collapsed, their legs giving out, while others stomped their feet, calling the stableman’s name. But they were all experiencing an evil spirit for the first time. They were too terrified to help the stableman, their faces pale with fear.

“Madam, Madam!”

The stableman called out desperately. Satin snapped back to her senses. She looked at the lantern in her hand and gauged the distance to the evil spirit.

“Throw this, towards it!”

It was a distance she couldn’t cover even halfway with her own strength. Satin handed the lantern to a servant and commanded.

“What?”

“Hurry!”

At Satin’s urging, the servant threw the lantern. The evil spirit flinched as the small fireball flew toward it, releasing the stableman and shrinking back. However, the fire was extinguished by the wind as it flew, and the evil spirit swelled up again.

“Ah!”

“It’s looking this way!”

“Close the door, close the door!”

“Madam, it’s dangerous!”

Chaos erupted. The stableman’s arms went limp. There was no time to tell if he was dead or unconscious. The evil spirit, having attacked the horses and the stableman, now noticed the next victims gathered inside the house.

Satin hurriedly closed the door. The people gathered around the single lantern, trembling and holding each other. Satin also pressed close to Larie for warmth.

“What’s happening outside?”

“I don’t know.”

Larie whimpered.

“Is that really an evil spirit? Madam, I’m scared…”

Satin felt the same. She sank to the floor. Even seeing it with her own eyes, she couldn’t believe it. What had she said to Rublier the day he warned her about the evil spirit? She had responded in disbelief, saying it was just a two-hundred-year-old legend. Rublier had countered:

‘It’s not just a legend. It was a reality back then.’

Such things were indeed real in the past. That’s why the first Pope, who had vanquished the demons, became a hero in history. In a world where evil spirits and demons roamed freely, every night would have been a nightmare.

The quiet outside made it even more frightening. They needed to check on the stableman, but without knowing where the evil spirit was, they didn’t dare open the door. Satin’s back felt cold. Should she open the door or not? The internal conflict was agonizing. Each minute and second felt like an eternity.

Then it happened.

“Madam! Look over there!”

Someone shouted in horror.

“Aah!”

“Oh, my god, my god!”

“Dear Lord…”

“Madam, get back!”

A narrow shadow crept through the gap in the door. Upon closer inspection, it was a shadow crawling in, riding on the darkness. Satin’s heart sank. Her hands trembled, almost dropping the lantern. The people, crouched on the floor, pushed each other. Panic ensued.

What should we do, what should we do?

Demons. Evil spirits. Satin struggled to collect her thoughts, which were in disarray. What had they taught about these creatures at the academy? Even in an era when such creatures roamed, people had survived. There must have been a way to endure. Surely, the descendants of those who lived two hundred years ago, the people of Caldeblanca, could think of it.

Satin frantically searched her memory. She had recently discussed this topic with Rublier.

‘Do you remember what we learned at the academy? Demons slip into shadows when you let your guard down.’

Evil spirits were said to be the minions of demons. Therefore, they couldn’t overcome the weaknesses of demons. She suddenly recalled how the evil spirit had flinched when she threw the lantern.

“Madam!”

Satin approached the evil spirit creeping through the gap. She shone the lantern’s light on it. The evil spirit shrank back as if it was burned by the light. The shadow wasn’t just a metaphor for a person’s dark side. It literally hid in shadows, and when deprived of shadows, it hesitated.

“Everyone, calm down.”

Satin raised her voice. Larie, noticeably relieved, encouraged them.

“That’s right, the Paladin will be here soon!”

The servants of Del Mare often referred to Rublier as the Paladin, while those from Ka Dillon called him the master. But in this moment, Larie’s choice of the title Paladin carried more weight. There was no one more reliable against an evil spirit than a Paladin of the Holy Knights.

Yes, Rublier. Rublier will come. He is my husband who worries about me. Satin nodded.

The evil spirit relentlessly sought to slip into the shadows. Each time, Satin erased the shadows, pushing it back.

“Quick, disappear!”

Encouraged, a servant shouted at the evil spirit. The evil spirit, finding fewer opportunities to slip in, behaved more erratically than before. For a moment, Satin hesitated.

…No.

She had forgotten about the nearby ranch and houses in her fear of the evil spirit. And the evil spirit had taken its first victim, a goat, from that ranch. It would know the location. If it couldn’t hunt in this house, it would move on to an easier target.

Her mind was conflicted. Was it right to ignore the danger to the ranch and houses just to save themselves? The guardian family fought demons to protect people and were tasked with safeguarding the country. That was why Rublier was on night patrol, driven by that sense of duty.

The evil spirit had tasted blood near this city. It might have been luck that it had stayed nearby so far, but Rublier had warned that if it entered the heart of the city, the damage would be severe. Moreover, if the evil spirit hid elsewhere, Rublier’s night patrols would never end.

If they were only on the receiving end, she wouldn’t have been able to muster the courage. But fortunately, she had discovered a weakness. The evil spirit feared fire. This was the only shield this house had that the nearby residents didn’t know about.

They had to settle this with the evil spirit tonight, here.

“…Let’s open the door and let it in.”

The servants were aghast at Satin’s command.

“What?”

“Madam, what are you saying!”

“We need to capture it.”

Satin continued firmly.