The reason she recognized this strange woman as May was because of her hostility. The clear animosity directed at her. Her body trembled with this familiar hostility. It wasn’t usually this severe… She had been hiding it all this time so as not to be caught by her.

“Judging by your reaction, it seems you’ve realized who I am now.”

“…….”

Why did May appear before her now? Amelia tried to make sense of it, but the current situation was incomprehensible. And what about this appearance? It was too dark to see clearly, but the limp hair touching her neck, the stench assaulting her nose, the voice gone hoarse.

She was not in a good state. Amelia grimaced at the musty smell. It was like the scent of a cellar that had been rotting for a year. Didn’t she quit because she got sick?

“Why……, why have you come.”

How did she sneak into the castle? The walls of Siegfried were solid. Even without Raphael, it wasn’t a place that could be breached.

“What do you think I came for?”

“First, let go of me.”

“You still haven’t grasped the situation?”

The moment she touched her forearm to ask May to let go, May tightened her grip on her throat, and Amelia choked. This was not just malice; it was murderous intent. She had been lying in wait, ready to kill her at any moment.

“Ugh…….”

“You must be curious about how I appeared.”

There was not a hint of hesitation in the hand that was choking her. She even seemed amused. Though she couldn’t see her face, she could feel the excitement in May’s voice. It was so shrill that it made her ears ring.

“Ah, you can’t talk like this.”

“Cough, cough.”

She tried to escape when May’s grip on her arm loosened, but she was caught again. Her strength was so strong that it made her wonder if May had always been this powerful.

“Where do you think you’re going.”

“Khk….”

“You’re in no state to talk.”

That was the phrase she wanted to throw back at May. What on earth had she been doing to end up in such a state? And May seemed out of her mind right now.

“Where did you… appear from.”

It made no sense that May alone could breach the stringent security of the Siegfried family. Even the imperial family couldn’t just enter as they pleased…

“And I was sure, ugh, that you quit.”

Amelia struggled to speak as the arm pressing on her throat tightened with every word. It felt like she could ring the bell if she moved just a bit more…, but she couldn’t take a single step because of May, who was restraining her forcefully.

“Give up. No one is coming to help you.”

“…….”

“Amelia… Seraphin. You’re going to die right here today.”

***

She wanted to argue back, but something was thrown over her face. At the same time, her hands and feet were tightly bound with something like a rope.

“Mmph, mmph…!”

The situation was similar. A disgusting cloth that made her want to vomit was stuffed in her mouth, making it impossible to speak. She struggled fiercely, but all she could hear above her head was mocking laughter.

“Filthy b*tch.”

“Mmph!”

The pain of being kicked in the stomach made Amelia curl up and gasp for breath. How many kicks followed? When it finally quieted down, she blinked her eyes, trying to see, but only silhouettes were visible through the dark cloth.

“Hmmph.”

The sound of someone gleefully humming. It was different from the crazed woman from before. What was she doing? She still lay on the floor.

“Raphael should see you in your pretty state before he arrives.”

She even hummed and trailed off her words as if she were enjoying herself. Judging by the clicking sounds, she seemed to be doing something at the dressing table. Tying someone up and then putting on makeup? She was no ordinary lunatic.

“Mmph, mmph!”

“Be quiet!”

Another kick came as Amelia writhed again, and she stopped moving, groaning in pain. There was no way she could withstand an act filled with such raw emotion.

“I don’t like it when you squirm like a dirty bug.”

The metallic scraping sound still sent shivers down her spine. Why isn’t anyone coming despite the noise?

“No one will come to save you. They’re all busy with themselves.”

“…….”

“I spread a sleeping scent throughout the castle.”

Spread a sleeping scent? She had been targeted deliberately.

“So just lie there like a dead mouse.”

After giving her another kick, May headed towards the vanity with an excited tone. Why was she targeting her? Was all this just to tie her up and do makeup at the vanity? She didn’t understand what the talk of killing was about.

Why had May, who was supposed to have quit, appeared before her in such a disheveled state…….

“Raphael…….”

The eerie voice from before was gone, and Amelia got goosebumps from the coquettish voice that now seemed squeezed out to its limit. It was a tone so pitiful that it was grating. The disgust rose in her at the sight of May behind the mask.

If only it weren’t for Amelia…

After indulging in her delusions about him for a while, she suddenly started lashing out at her. The unpredictability of her emotions was baffling. One thing was certain: May was not stable.

“I want to kill you right here, right now, but I can’t.”

“Mmph, uh!”

“Because this is the room that Raphael and I are going to use.”

What kind of nonsensical talk was this? It seemed like she was caught up in delusions beyond belief. Amelia had not realized the extent of May’s obsession with Raphael. She knew May was persistent, but… to the point of destroying her own sanity.

“Actually, it would be easier to just set fire to everything.”

“…….”

At the mention of setting fire, Amelia held her breath and started to look around nervously. She was unable to move at the moment. If a fire were set now…

It would definitely die.

Wasn’t I supposed to live until at least next year? It wouldn’t be strange if I died right away. She said she would burn me to death. There wasn’t a single moment of peace.

“It would be convenient to say you died in a fire, wouldn’t it?”

“N–, mmph!”

She writhed violently, trying to say no. It didn’t matter if she looked like a bug. What wouldn’t she do to live?

“Don’t worry. As if I would burn our marital bedroom.”

Our marital bedroom? In May’s delusion, she and Raphael were already a married couple. And she was like an annoying bug they wanted to get rid of, an interference. The immense hostility directed at her naturally made her terrified.

“There’s a place fitting for something like you.”

She couldn’t ask what it was because her mouth was blocked. The stench of the cloth made her feel nauseous. It was clear that May had torn the clothes she was wearing.

“Mmph…!”

She felt her body floating. It wasn’t someone lifting her to move her; it was magic. She was floating in mid-air by magic. Did May know how to use magic?

Of course, since she was working as a maid, she thought May wasn’t a mage. In fact, mages were so valuable that even those with little ability to use magic could earn a lot of money. And she was doing the job of a head maid? Anyone would think it’s crazy. She had never even heard of someone who could use magic working as a maid.

“…….”

Her threat of killing her wasn’t just an empty boast. Amelia’s body stiffened with tension. May really could kill her right here. Where was she being taken? She felt her body moving while suspended in the air.

Was she being taken out of the castle like this? Were the guards outside the castle also asleep? Since she couldn’t see, her hearing felt more sensitive. It didn’t seem like they had left the castle by the sound of it… She considered screaming loudly but decided against it.

Now that she knew May could use magic, any further resistance could indeed lead to her death.

“Aren’t you curious where I’m taking you?”

“…….”

Amelia shook her head desperately. She made no sound, pleading for her release.

“Are you not speaking because you’re afraid I might kill you?”

“…….”

“It’s useless.”

The whispering voice in her ear was chilling. She couldn’t believe how May had managed to hide her true nature until now. She tried to ignore the trembling of her body. Showing fear would only provoke her opponent.

“I wouldn’t kill the b*tch who stole my man so nicely.”

My man. To May, Raphael was her man.

“I have to kill you slowly, in excruciating pain.”

If she had known she would die so meaninglessly, what had she been struggling for all this time? It wasn’t even a death foretold by the original story. The sound of May’s footsteps walking beside her stopped. And then a strong stench began to emerge, one that she could smell even beneath the cloth.

It was the smell that came from May.

A damp and musty scent. The humidity felt like it would soak through her entire body.

“Ah…!”

As the cloth was violently ripped away, a face appeared right before her nose. Precisely, her eyes. Dull grey eyes. May’s eyes flickered with madness.