Chapter 2 – A New Beginning (Part 1)

“Please open the door!”  

A lively woman’s voice was heard.  

‘Was there someone else here?’  

Ellerdin ran to the window in surprise.  

Looking down, she saw a woman around her age standing outside the castle gate.  

‘She shouldn’t be dressed so lightly in this cold weather.’  

Ellerdin grabbed a blanket and opened the door.  

“Oh, Madam!”  

Mollek’s face lit up when he saw her.  

“There’s a woman outside right now.”  

Ellerdin said urgently.  

Mollek sighed with a weary face.  

“So she finally came…”  

She couldn’t understand his words, but now wasn’t the time to ask.  

Ellerdin left Mollek and hurried down the stairs.  

“Mollek, please prepare some warm tea.”  

Mollek went into the drawing room at the shout from below the stairs.  

Ellerdin quickly opened the door.  

Celine smiled brightly as the cold wind blew in.  

“Hello! Madam! I’m Celine, and I’ll be assisting you from today!”  

“Assist me…?”  

Ellerdin’s eyes widened in surprise at the unexpected words.  

She had many questions, but it was too cold outside to talk.  

“Please come in first. Aren’t you cold?”  

Ellerdin wrapped the blanket she had brought around her. Celine looked at her with a touched expression.  

“Madam… you’re so kind.”  

‘Kind?’  

That word suited the Duke more than her.  

Ellerdin waved her hand, denying it.  

Following her into the castle, Celine shouted in shock.  

“What a mess this place is!”  

Ellerdin turned to look at her.  

Celine began to inspect the castle with a shocked expression.

The castle was not much different from when Ellerdin first arrived.  

Although she had tried to clean, the castle was so large that it hardly made a difference.  

Maybe even more dust had accumulated.  

‘The problem isn’t the monsters right now!’  

Celine swallowed her frustration.  

‘Living in such ruins.’  

‘These demons must be collectively insane.’  

Celine said angrily.  

“Madam! How did you manage to endure here? I couldn’t live in a place like this for even a single day!”  

“Oh… it’s very dirty, isn’t it? Haha.”  

Ellerdin laughed awkwardly.  

Seeing this, Celine became even more frustrated. It was obvious that she had been living here without voicing a single complaint.  

“Scold the Duke! Tell him you can’t live in this filthy place!”  

Celine shouted with a worried expression. But Ellerdin’s face brightened a little as she spoke.  

“The Duke is the best person I have ever met. And this is the best place.”  

Celine stopped in shock at Ellerdin’s words.  

‘So, she really did have many wounds.’  

‘The Duke is the best person? She likes this wretched place?’  

Celine swallowed the frustration rising in her throat.  

At that moment, Mollek, who was coming down the stairs, caught her eye.  

As soon as she found a target for her anger, Celine glared at him fiercely.  

Noticing her murderous gaze, Mollek stepped back in surprise.  

“Wh-what! What!”  

“You, aren’t you cleaning this place properly? How can people live in such a place?”  

“What are you talking about? Where can you find a place as clean as this! The only dirty thing here is your temper!”  

“Did you just say everything you wanted to say?”  

Ellerdin, caught between the two who were growling at each other, tried to calm them down in a fluster.  

“Wait a minute, calm down, both of you.”  

“Hah… I need to deal with that guy soon. Madam, I’m sorry for causing a fuss from the first day.”  

Celine immediately changed her attitude and smiled brightly.  

It wasn’t as bad as she had thought.  

Ellerdin felt relieved and asked.  

“Do you know Mollek?”  

“I stayed here for a while when I was young. It’s a memory I’d rather forget.”  

Celine said cheerfully, pushing away Mollek, who had come closer.  

Although they said they didn’t get along, to Ellerdin, they seemed like close childhood friends.  

Feeling envious of their relationship, Ellerdin smiled faintly.  

“Isn’t your luggage heavy? Let’s go upstairs first. I’ve prepared some tea.”  

Ellerdin moved towards the stairs.  

Following her, Celine grabbed Mollek by the collar and whispered.  

“Humans are prone to getting sick in such environments, so clean everything up by today.”  

After speaking, Celine followed Ellerdin like a puppy.  

***

They were chatting over tea in the drawing room when there was a knock on the door.  

“Come in.”  

Mollek, looking as if he had aged in an instant, opened the door weakly and entered.  

He spoke with a tired face.  

“These are the people who will manage the castle. If you need anything done, don’t hesitate to ask.”  

Celine’s eyes widened as she saw the maids standing behind him.  

She had expected humans, but all these maids were demons.  

Celine growled and glared at Mollek.  

Mollek avoided her gaze, pretending not to notice.  

“Please take good care of us.”  

Ellerdin stood up and greeted them.  

The maids bowed simultaneously and said.  

“Please take care of us, Madam.”  

In the past, she had not been treated as a human by the maids, but here, she was always greeted politely.  

Feeling awkward being respected, Ellerdin hurriedly left the room.  

“I’m a bit tired, so I’ll go in first.”  

After Ellerdin left, silence filled the drawing room.  

Celine glared at each of them with sharp eyes.  

“They’re all adapted to the human world! Madam will feel more comfortable with them than with someone like you!”  

Mollek passionately defended his colleagues. Celine sighed at his pathetic appearance and glared at them.  

“Clean the castle properly. You saw how weak Madam looked.”  

As soon as Celine left the drawing room, the remaining demons began whispering among themselves.  

“Hey, she’s really scary. What should we do? Did we come here for nothing?”  

“Mollek, can you handle her?”  

“Mollek can’t beat her. How can he beat a human? She’s the granddaughter of the hero Leston.”  

The demons huddled together and murmured.  

***  

‘Hoo… there’s no time to stay close.’  

He had to tell Ellerdin that he would soon leave for the place where the monsters would rise.  

He would be away for a while, and leaving without a word would make Ellerdin sad.  

‘I don’t want to make her sad.’  

Fernan, having returned to his human form, massaged his stiff shoulders and entered his office.  

“Master, shall we start right away?”  

As soon as he sat down, Mollek came in with thick documents and asked brightly.  

Fernan nodded roughly and dipped the pen in ink, saying.  

“Tell Ellerdin that I’ll visit her briefly tonight.”  

“Yes, sir!”  

Mollek energetically opened the door and left.  

And then.  

“Huh?”  

“Ugh.”  

Celine, who was standing in the hallway, frowned when she saw Mollek. Mollek glared back at her.  

It was rather confusing for him, but she reacted first, making him feel unjustly accused.  

“What brings you here?”  

Mollek grumbled.  

“I was waiting in case Madam needed anything. Don’t worry about me and go your way.”  

Celine replied curtly.  

“Damn.”  

Mollek trembled with frustration.  

But suddenly, he thought of a way to get back at Celine and smiled triumphantly.  

“What do you know~? I’m on my way to Madam on the master’s orders. You’re the one who should step aside.”  

“What?”  

Celine’s face hardened as she looked at Mollek.  

Feeling victorious, Mollek whistled and pursed his lips.  

“Well, I’m busy, so I’ll be off- ack!”  

Just as he was about to leave, shrugging his shoulders, Celine grabbed him by the nape.  

“Cough! What the… cough!”  

As his breath was slowly cut off, Mollek turned to look at Celine.  

“Tell me why you’re going to Madam right now if you don’t want to die.”  

Celine glared at Mollek with a terrifying expression. Intimidated by her murderous intent, Mollek whimpered and bowed his head.  

***  

Celine cheerfully hummed a tune as she knocked on the door.  

“Celine? What’s the matter?”  

Ellerdin, who opened the door slightly to check the visitor, looked puzzled.  

“The Duke said he would see you tonight.”  

“Oh… I see. Okay.”  

Her face fell instantly.  

Ellerdin closed the door and sighed deeply.  

It wasn’t that she didn’t understand what he meant by visiting her at night. No matter how much it was a contract, it was natural for a married couple.  

‘Don’t make a mistake.’  

She had been a burden until now, so she mustn’t make a mistake today.  

She might be kicked out.  

Step by step. Each step from the door to the bathroom was weighed down by past memories.  

“I’d rather be with a corpse!”  

“If you can’t even handle the night, what can you do?”  

“I didn’t know tormenting could be this fun. At least you found a use! Yes, yes. Don’t think of getting up until I allow it.”  

Baron Brian’s shouts echoed in her mind.  

“Ugh.”  

Nausea surged up instantly.  

Ellerdin staggered to the bathroom and started retching.  

Having eaten nothing, only white stomach acid came up her throat.  

Her legs started to stiffen.  

‘…Again.’  

Before her return to this life, her legs, broken by the Baron, often stiffened like this when faced with trauma.  

Ellerdin sat down and massaged her numb legs, but they showed no signs of loosening.  

Then, there was another knock on the door outside.  

“Yes, come in!”

Ellerdin stopped massaging and barely managed to stand up straight.  

“Madam! I’ve come to prepare your bathwater.”  

Celine entered the bathroom with a bright smile.  

“Oh, thank you.”  

Having been used to doing things alone, such kindness felt unfamiliar.  

Not wanting to reveal her weakness, Ellerdin hid her pain and smiled.