Chapter 36: The Hideous Baby

They entered a nearby restaurant and took their seats. The sudden appearance of the two caused a stir inside, but it quieted down at Clive’s gesture. 

What’s happening to me? 

Eirene’s entire body throbbed as though she had been beaten all over, and her teeth chattered from chills. Eventually her stomach turned so badly she felt like vomiting, and then her head began to hurt as though it would split open.

“What’s wrong?”

Clive’s voice, asking with a worried face, sounded close then distant. She also felt a muffled sensation, like someone was covering her ears with their hands. The feeling in her toes was disappearing. 

Her body’s functions were becoming paralyzed one by one, losing sensation from the lower body upward. Her head hurt too much to think about what was happening. 

Why was she becoming so drowsy in the midst of this?

“Clive. I’m so sleepy.”

The words “something’s wrong with my body” disappeared inside her mouth. Though she tried to speak, no voice came out.

“Eirene?”

Eirene had fallen asleep. Clive shook her and called her name, but she swayed lifelessly like a dead person. Alarmed, Clive put his ear near her nose. He heard steady breathing, and her face looked peaceful with closed eyes. 

Perhaps she was extremely tired. For now, he decided to leave the restaurant. He called Ulik and laid Eirene down in the carriage.

“She said she was sleepy and fell asleep immediately. Is that even possible?”

Clive, who suffered from insomnia, couldn’t understand and asked Ulik.

“Some people fall asleep the moment their head touches a pillow, sir. The young lady must be one of them. She looks like she’s sleeping deeply.”

She didn’t appear to be suffering or struggling. As Ulik said, she might have simply fallen asleep from exhaustion. Yet somehow, Clive was gripped by fear that she might never wake up again.

“Ulik. Let’s go to Dave.”

He felt he would only be reassured after having a doctor examine her and confirm she was fine.

* * *

Aishe stood in front of Siaran’s house and knocked. It could hardly be called a house. There was no main gate or garden, just a small building standing alone. There weren’t even other houses nearby, and she couldn’t understand why anyone would live in such an open field. 

He should at least build a proper place to live. Apart from helping Aishe, there wasn’t a single thing about him that she liked. She hated seeing him giving orders in front of her parents and hated how he kept telling her to wait. 

No matter how frightening Siaran was, she had reached her limit. Though she desperately wanted to send someone to teach him a lesson, she had been patient, but this man didn’t even realize it. 

Just wait until this is over. 

She would make sure he could never set foot in the mansion again. Grabbing her dress hem that was blowing roughly in the wind, she knocked again. 

Knock, knock, knock. 

When there was no response from inside, Aishe’s knocking grew louder.

“Lady Aishe?”

Siaran’s voice came from behind her, not from inside. He had several dogs with him, perhaps returning from a walk. There were about twenty of them. Aishe flinched when a few of them bared their teeth and showed wariness. 

Though Siaran was frightening, the dogs poised to attack and bite were even more terrifying.

“I-I came to see Siaran.”

“How did you know where to find me?”

“You think I couldn’t find that out?”

“What brings you here?”

“Can’t we talk inside? The wind is too strong, and it’s hard to stand out here.”

“You won’t like it. It’s messy.”

“It’s better than outside.”

“Very well. If you insist.”

Siaran opened the door and stood aside, and the dogs tried to enter first. At his command to wait, the obedient dogs each took their places, either lying down or standing, staring only at the entrance. 

Aishe, who entered first, pinched her nose with her thumb and index finger because of the smell.

“What is this smell?”

Her nasal voice was full of irritation.

“This is a space where I eat and sleep with those fellows, so there will be odors. That’s why I said you wouldn’t like it.”

Only then did she notice the food bowls on the floor and clumps of fur scattered everywhere. It was hard to believe that someone who appeared incapable of the slightest affection lived with dogs. She couldn’t believe her eyes.

“Please sit.”

There was fur on the chair Siaran pulled out for her. He merely brushed it off, and Aishe hesitated whether to sit or not before reluctantly taking a seat. He brought a boiling kettle from the fireplace and poured water into a cup, asking Aishe:

“I assume you don’t want to drink tea here?”

He brought only his own cup.

“I don’t need anything.”

“Please tell me why you’ve come.”

Siaran held his steaming cup with both hands.

“It’s time to switch my body with Eirene’s.”

“I told you it’s too early. It can’t be done.”

“Why not? You said the switch could happen after weakening Eirene’s body for a while and then letting her regain her health. Eirene is healthy now.”

“That applies to the preparation state of the body donor. Even if Eirene’s body has met the minimum preparation requirements, it doesn’t mean we can switch immediately.”

Bang! 

Aishe slammed both fists on the table. If she’s prepared, isn’t everything ready?

“Do it anyway.”

She couldn’t wait any longer. She might as well have the baby herself. She couldn’t bear to see Clive and Eirene living together as a married couple. 

Even though she would eventually take Eirene’s place, the moment Clive chose Eirene, she felt this wasn’t right. And for some reason, she couldn’t shake the anxiety that she might lose to Eirene without achieving what she wanted.

“I cannot.”

“Just do it!”

“Lady Aishe. Do you want to return to your former appearance?”

“W-what?”

“If you really insist, we can try even in an unstable state. If successful, that’s fortunate, but if it fails, you won’t return to your current appearance but to your former one. And not just return. You would soon face death.”

Aishe recalled her original appearance, which she had forgotten.

* * *

She was hideous. A baby born without skin. She heard her mother fainted the day the baby was born with raw flesh exposed. The baby screamed in unbearable pain at the slightest stimulation. 

As time passed, skin formed, and the pain lessened. She wanted to feel grass and soil under her feet and run around under the sky, but going outside was forbidden. There were no mirrors in the mansion. 

When it got dark, the indoor lights were kept off so she couldn’t see her reflection in the windows, and the maids were busy drawing curtains. 

When the baby was six years old, she saw her reflection in a mirror for the first time. What was in the mirror was a monster. Her skin was so tangled that her eyes, nose, and mouth were indistinguishable. 

She had believed she would be beautiful like her mother. She thought she would be as pretty as the maids with beautiful faces. Her mother always told her she was pretty, but it was a lie. Now everything made sense. 

The new maids who were horrified when they saw Aishe. The servants who looked at her with pitying eyes. The reason they avoided her, trying not to face her despite their pity. 

After that, the child never looked in mirrors again and lost her desire to go outside. But being confined became increasingly difficult. When she was growing weary, her mother invited relatives. 

The child’s mother shouldn’t have done that. The moment children her age screamed and ran away, she realized she couldn’t live in the world with this appearance. 

That’s how she came to have her current body. Beautiful but imperfect, requiring Eirene’s help.

“Then, continuing to live in this state? That’s not possible either? Try something! Aren’t you supposed to be the world’s most skilled dark mage?”

Aishe rose from her chair and grabbed Siaran by the collar.

“I’m fine with marrying Clive in this state. If you can’t switch me with Eirene, make it so I can marry him as I am!”

“If your current body were perfect, Eirene wouldn’t be necessary. I cannot do it. Find another mage.”

“You’ve been taking money regularly, and you can’t even do this?”

“It’s because I’ve been taking money regularly that you exist in your current state, isn’t it?”

Aishe released Siaran’s collar, her chest heaving. Her breath, rough with excitement, wouldn’t calm down. Her head felt like it would burst from confusion. She stood up and paced around the house, biting her nails, then:

“We still need to switch.”

“I cannot.”

“Eirene is dying.”

Finally, Siaran showed a reaction.

“What do you mean she’s dying?”

“I told you I couldn’t wait. Do it quickly before she dies.”

It was a situation Aishe had created. Clearly, they were in a state where she could switch bodies with Eirene. Aishe remembered it because she had experienced it once before. 

Just like what was done to the owner of her current body, wouldn’t it be the same for Eirene? 

Weakening her severely, then restoring her health, then killing her. When she crosses the threshold of death, Siaran’s magic would exchange their souls. So she had directly created the situation where Eirene was dying. 

She bribed one of the shop employees to coat a pin with a powerful poison. She was told that a small amount would take days to cause death, so there was plenty of time.

“There’s still time before she dies.”

“Foolish lady. What will you do if Eirene dies?”

“That’s why I’m telling you to do it!”

“I cannot. What cannot be done cannot be done.”

“Are you insane?”

“I’m not the insane one, you are. I knew you were reckless, impatient, and not very bright, but today you’ve reached a level of pathetic that I cannot overlook.”

“Shut up. How dare you, a mere mage.”

She glared at him, grinding her teeth, but Siaran’s sneer didn’t disappear. He had always known this day would come. Aishe, worn out by her own actions, entering the pit of hell by herself. 

He had somewhat anticipated this, as she had been losing her reason and acting out more frequently lately, but he hadn’t expected her to directly attempt to kill Eirene.

“Leave.”

“What? You need to go to the mansion right now and switch me with Eirene.”

“I said leave.”

“Siaran!”

“Our trust has been broken. Therefore, I will no longer be involved in the affairs of Count Phineas’s family.”

“You really are insane. Don’t you value your life?”

“Would you prefer to be chased out by the dogs, or will you leave on your own?”

Aishe, who had been trembling with anger, had no choice but to leave. She was probably going to call her parents. 

Siaran went outside and watched Aishe’s carriage disappear into the distance, then whistled. All the dogs that had been lying down stood up at once.

“Let’s go to our home for a while and rest.”

* * *

“She’s sleeping.”

The doctor who examined Eirene’s condition said.

“She won’t wake up even when I try to rouse her, and you’re saying she’s simply asleep?”

“It doesn’t seem like simple sleep. Whether intentional or not, she must have taken an excessive amount of medication.”

“It’s too sudden to be caused by medication. She was moving actively the whole time, then suddenly said she felt unwell, and shortly after, she became like this.”

“Wait until evening. In her current state, I can’t find anything abnormal.”

Clive nodded. In the carriage on the way, he had examined Eirene’s eyes, mouth, hands, and feet, but it didn’t seem to be the poisoning he suspected. If it were poison, symptoms would have appeared in the whites of her eyes, tongue, or fingernails. 

He had never heard Eirene mention taking any medication. That would mean someone from the Phineas family had put something in her food or drink. He needed to decide whether to send Eirene back to the Phineas mansion in this state. 

Knowing Clive’s inner thoughts, Ulik subtly suggested:

“It would be better to take her to Dervel, sir. If you send her to the Phineas family, Your Highness will not be at ease either.”