19. Twisted Desire
My residence, which I had finally reached, was brightly lit with lights. Someone seemed to have taken care of this place while I was away.
Every place my eyes touched was brightly illuminated with candles.
Who could it be? Come to think of it, when I left this place, there was certainly no one left. But my question didn’t last long.
This was because Annie, holding a lamp in her hand, soon walked out.
“Miss. Did you enjoy your outing?”
Annie greeted me with her usual perfect attitude and showed me a shawl draped over her arm. She had returned sooner than expected.
I wanted to immediately ask about her well-being, as I was very concerned about her after she had been nursing her sister for quite some time, but the gazes of people still reaching us restrained such movement.
When I blankly stared at her, Annie whispered “Excuse me” softly and wrapped the shawl around my shoulders.
“I…… had a good time.”
Recognizing the cozy shawl draped over my shoulders, I also greeted her in response.
“I’ll guide you inside. I’ve prepared bath water and refreshments.”
She treated me with her usual perfect attitude. But I intended to ask her about her sister’s well-being as soon as we were alone.
I exchanged greetings with Martin and Watson, who were waiting in front of the carriage. As soon as they left, I whispered to Annie.
“How is Marie?”
Annie’s gaze wavered at my question.
“First, shall we go inside? The night air is cold.”
Annie’s attitude of changing the subject created anxiety in my heart. What if Marie had become more critical since then?
But I decided to follow Annie’s guidance for now. Since it was about her family, it was right for her to choose the timing.
Hoping it wasn’t as serious as something to worry about, I followed her.
As always, her perfectly ironed black uniform was as neat as her silence. There was not a single flaw in Annie’s back view as she moved forward without hesitation.
Neither Annie nor I said anything throughout our walk down the corridor. In contrast to that silence, my inner self was noisy.
Countless question marks and worries arose and disappeared repeatedly in my mind. They were mainly about the various confusing situations that had occurred today.
Among them were things I truly couldn’t understand but eventually did. There were also things I tried hard to understand but could never comprehend.
Nevertheless, I wished for peace for all of them. I truly meant it.
❀❀❀
Ice-cold water fell with a sound.
The light brown hair, once transparent like sunlight, became soaked to a yellowish-brown.
Dark red blood flowed down over the wrists and the tops of both feet, paler than ivory.
That blood will sink into the sewage treatment facility below this shower and never return. Just like its owners.
The traces of sl*ughter hidden under clothes were diluted into the cold water.
Jace Riverton slowly opened his tightly closed eyes. His wet, dark brown eyelashes heavily pointed upward.
The planned schedule had already been perfectly completed.
People who needed to disappear had all vanished. Everything had been cleanly erased without leaving any traces or blemishes. All of it had been handled by himself without going through anyone else’s hands.
‘P-please spare me. I’ll go abroad and live as if I don’t exist.’
‘I won’t tell anyone about what I saw today. Please, just my life……’
He no longer felt any emotion at the sight of people screaming and begging.
He was just finishing what needed to be done.
‘It’s madness. There’s a high possibility it’s genetic.’
Bernardo Hardy had once said that.
‘You desire sl*ughter without any clear reason, don’t you?’
He had considered it a nuisance, but never asked to fix it.
It wasn’t much of a problem for Jace Riverton.
He never had any goodwill or belief that would suffer from the need to fulfill his desire for sl*ughter. Also, since he had no petty emotions like revenge or hatred that might interfere with a complete job, resolving the symptoms was a very easy task.
To him, the act of m*rder was merely a means and an end.
With just one exception.
Jace’s fingers curled inward. A distinct ticklish sensation was clear in his palm.
‘Young master.’
The beating pulse that would stop if severed immediately, the ephemeral breath that could be killed and vanish at any time, was layered over his senses.
Jace’s emerald eyes trembled with ecstasy, and his cherry-colored lips slowly curved into an arc.
“Rosaline……”
Jace’s trembling laughter scattered into the cold air.
At that moment, a wind as faint as a breath brushed past his wet cheek.
‘I’m not afraid.’
In that instant, the smile disappeared from Jace’s lips. An illusion bloomed in the mirror, facing him and smiling.
The fluffy cream-colored hair was so vivid it seemed touchable. The soft pink eyes, subtly sparkling as if embedded with rose quartz, were filled with consistent goodwill toward him.
Jace averted his gaze from the mirror and slowly dropped his head. He tilted his head back enough for his wet bare feet to be visible in his line of sight, yet the strange gaze of the illusion still seemed directed at him.
His expressionless lips, from which the smile had disappeared, remained frozen.
“No, Rosaline. You’re wrong.”
Jace raised both hands and struck the mirror violently.
As the wavering illusion at the end of his focus disappeared like smoke, the sound of the mirror cracking was heard.
The surface of the mirror, once like a calm lake, became sharp blades, and the broken fragments cut into and dug into Jace’s hands.
Blood redder than Rosaline Brienne’s eyes flowed down his hands. The fallen blood diluted in the water pooling on the floor and quickly disappeared.
“I’m just saving you for now.”
Jace imagined strangling Rosaline’s neck with both hands and directly caressing her carotid artery. That moment of fully touching her physical being would probably be the last memory of her life.
His breathing quickened at the thought of the blood vessels hidden under the skin protruding outward.
The rose-colored blood that subtly tinged her cheeks would bloom more red than ever.
The screams for help had to be kept secret so that no one would hear them. He was confident in that regard.
Those small lips of hers, which only spewed false words, would say the same things as others when that time came.
Begging to be spared.
Saying she would do anything for him.
And her eyes would probably say something else.
‘I’m not afraid.’
“No, actually, you are afraid.”
Imagining a face turning pale at the crossroads of life and death, Jace slowly raised his hands, torn by mirror fragments, and covered his wet face.
“Right? I know you’re just like everyone else.”
Diluted blood smeared across Jace’s face. Small laughter gradually burst through his fingers, which covered him without gaps.
Her voice, begging for life, would sound a bit different.
“Well, what should I do…… Hmm.”
Then I should keep her in suspense for a moment.
“If you beg more desperately, I might spare you.”
What face would she make if he gave her hope with words he didn’t mean? Whether it was contempt or admiration, it would surely be satisfying enough regardless of which direction it took.
This feeling was a first.
Jace, drained after the ecstasy that boiled over and extinguished in an instant, slumped against the wall.
The cold shower water was still pouring down on him. Jace felt his heart beating.
“Haah……”
What expression would settle in those light pink eyes as life faded away?
What would it feel like to see her lifeless and stiffened?
Just imagining it, an electrifying thrill seized him as if electricity were flowing through his body.
So, he hoped it wouldn’t be too boring. It was still too early to hastily confirm Rosaline’s reaction.
Therefore, he was delaying the execution of this plan.
Otherwise, he couldn’t guarantee when he would feel this anticipatory thrill again.
