“Johan, I… I’m feeling tired, so I’ll go up first…”

Johan blinked slowly at the voice breaking the leisurely tea time.

“It’s not even five in the afternoon yet.”

“Is, is time important when it comes to fatigue?”

The woman who said this looked more anxious than tired. Johan’s eyes narrowed briefly as he glanced at her lower abdomen.

He could see the purple energy pooled there, unpleasantly rippling and churning inside her.

‘It’s because of the thought-form again.’

This situation had become quite familiar by now.

“I suddenly feel very unwell… I have a fever, I’m dizzy… and I think I might throw up… If I keep sitting here, I might spill something on the table…”

The hurried excuses that followed when no response came were also familiar, as if she had stepped on her own foot. The woman’s face, waiting for an answer as if seeking permission, showed no awareness that she was the master and he was the servant.

“It’s true…”

Johan inwardly clicked his tongue at the unnecessary and timid murmur she added.

‘She really can’t lie.’

And even as this was happening, the woman’s condition was worsening. Her cheeks had turned a rosy pink, and her eyelashes were quickly becoming damp with unshed tears.

“…Can I go?”

Her choked breath was laced with intense desire. Someone unaware of her situation might have thought she was trying to seduce him.

Looking at her pitifully wet black eyes, Johan finally opened his mouth.

“You certainly look unwell. I’ll take care of cleaning up, so please rest well, my lady.”

“Yes… thank you. You should rest comfortably too, Johan.”

With the final greeting, she hurriedly moved away. Her appearance was like that of a baby wild animal fleeing from a predator.

Johan slowly got up when her figure disappeared. It was to cast a light sleep spell on the woman who was vaguely enduring.

Although its effect would be very slow due to the influence of the malevolent thing, even a small help would be better than nothing.

‘By the way, are the symptoms getting worse?’

Considering how she was leaving her seat more and more frequently.

And Johan had been thinking this point was strange all along. It’s not that he hadn’t seen owners of thought-forms suffering from indiscriminate lust before.

It’s rather natural for humans to suffer consequences for meddling with things they shouldn’t touch. Especially since the nature of those damn things is inherently evil.

However, Johan had never seen a case as frequent and troublesome as May’s. She looked more like she was under a malicious curse.

‘Why do such inefficient things?’

The power of thought-forms is not infinite. While it’s true that they grow stronger by making their owners unhappy and feeding on that unhappiness, paradoxically, such efforts require energy.

And most thought-forms were greedy. That means they’re obsessed with accumulating power. Therefore, they usually use efficient methods, using minimal power to drive their owners to the brink. It was natural, as they needed to grow stronger and soon find another prey to move on to.

This was reliable information gathered from cases experienced over hundreds of years in Johan’s religion.

‘But why?’

Is that compass different? Is it so strong that it wastes power unnecessarily like that?

It was certainly a stronger thought-form than he had expected. The fact that he still hadn’t been able to deal with it was proof of that. It even came with the ghost of a senile old man as a bonus.

“……”

Johan stopped pondering after a while of deep thought about its identity, reaching no particular conclusion. There was no point in mulling over the questions any further. It seemed he would have to gather more information and then go see his father.

That would mean continuing to play the ill-fitting role of a servant for a while longer… Well, it wasn’t difficult being under such a gentle master. It was easy to investigate when she just smiled even as he rummaged through the mansion under the pretext of cleaning.

Johan stopped in front of the door he had reached. He clicked his tongue, recalling the woman who had been curled up, wrapped tightly in a blanket, sniffling.

‘How foolish.’

Soon, magical power began to gather in his hand.

‘At first, I thought she was at least m*sturbating…’

She vaguely endured her symptoms in a ridiculous cocoon-like state. When he realized this, he was a bit dumbfounded. It’s not like she was a priest who held chastity as a doctrine.

It was quite fitting for her, who sometimes seemed not just innocent but even a bit slow, but still foolish.

Of course, it might be because of this foolishness that Johan, who had not an ounce of consideration for others, was showing such shallow kindness.

After sending the gathered magic through the door, Johan felt oddly embarrassed and scratched his cheek, thinking,

‘Come to think of it, even though she’s easily scared, she’s not particularly afraid of ghosts.’

Is it because it’s her grandfather?

But he heard that she had no memories of the grandfather who had left her the mansion. She must have recognized it as her family based on the old man’s description that the villagers were gossiping about… She was indeed a foolish woman.

To pity that grotesque thing that drooped and wandered due to deep resentment, calling it family, despite having no shared memories.

‘That’s just like dregs caught in a filter.’

Her sympathy was something Johan couldn’t understand at all.

* * *

‘It feels gross…’

May woke up and sat up, feeling a burning thirst.

Her whole body was drenched in sweat. The blanket she had wrapped around herself had come undone, probably from tossing and turning. Even though no light was coming in, the heat wouldn’t subside.

She thought she had gotten better… The heat that had started before sunset hadn’t died down even as night fell.

Once she became aware of it, the sensation hitting her body intermittently intensified. The strange feeling, almost like a burning sensation, repeatedly pounded her lower abdomen crudely before subsiding.

“Ah…”

Although the cloth she had placed over her underwear earlier was already soaked, she felt another gush between her legs.

The compass was hovering around May. Her head throbbed with anger at its deceptive behavior. After swallowing her ragged breath for a moment, May put it in the drawer beside the bed and thought.

‘It’s definitely getting worse.’

It wasn’t just her imagination that the cycles had become shorter and the intensity had increased. At this rate, even daily life would become difficult. …No, it already was.

May, making a tearful face, thought of the man sleeping downstairs. Unlike his suspicious first impression, Johan was diligent and a good person.

However, given her physical condition, being in the same space with an adult man of her age was starting to feel burdensome. Even today, it was so embarrassing when she suddenly felt wetness between her legs while with him. And it wasn’t even the first time this had happened.

It was also a struggle to lie every time, as she couldn’t honestly ask for understanding about such embarrassing situations. The only fortunate thing was that he didn’t ask any questions even when she abruptly left her seat or appeared the next day with swollen eyes…

‘I really shouldn’t extend the employment contract…’

Although she felt sorry, it seemed she would have to send him away after the probation period. Even if it meant cleaning the large mansion alone, there was no other choice. While fortunately she was maintaining some rationality now, at this rate, who knows what trouble might occur.

Clunk, clunk. May closed her eyes again, hearing the sound of the compass opening the drawer, unable to wait even that long.

‘Surely I won’t have to live like this forever…’

I hate that… If it comes to that, I might really die young from stress.

If she dies, will she wander this mansion like her grandfather? Her hazy mind continued these meaningless thoughts. Due to her drowsiness, she even mumbled incoherent words like she was sleep-talking.

Most were complaints about how hard it was, and wishes that someone could be by her side.

She fell into a deep sleep again. The compass quietly returned to May’s side. And a moment later, a golden light began to surround it.

Eventually, the light, which was rippling and expanding its area, touched the purple energy boiling inside her body.

Feeling a sense of crisis, it quickly hid deeper inside her. At the same time, May’s face, which had looked uncomfortable with fever, became much more peaceful.

The light of the floating compass slowly faded. It pressed its cold body against May’s soft cheek, listening to her breathing that had started to become steady. It was a rather affectionate touch, like it was giving her a goodnight kiss.