Chapter 27

‘…He said they’d return.’

In just a few hours, the sun would set, and the Blue Moon would rise in its full glory, ushering in three days of snowstorms that would freeze anyone caught on the roads. If they could at least reach the mountain lodge at the entrance to the range, it would be better. But if they were caught by the night of Magiella mid-journey…

No, no.

The woman shook her head vigorously, trying to dispel the frightening thoughts. There were still half a day left. They could make it to the lodge, or perhaps find a cave in the mountains and secure themselves there…

‘So they’ll definitely return.’

‘We’ve planned our journey to return to Oedel before the Night of Magiella arrives.’  

The woman trusted Winden’s reassurance.

More than that, she believed in Karel’s strength.

She believed in his large and sturdy frame, the solid appearance of the warrior she had fallen for at first sight. She believed in the token he had given her, even though she had failed to notice his hesitation when he couldn’t promise he’d return.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Suddenly, there was a loud knock at the door. The woman’s face lit up as she rushed to the entrance.

“Who is it?”

Without waiting for an answer, she flung the door open.

“Ah! It’s you? Perfect timing.”

“Ah, Sir?”

It was one of the servants from the elder’s residence. His face was flushed red, as though he had run all the way from the elder’s house, which was about half an hour away on foot.

“Well, Selma suddenly fainted.”

“What?”

“She’s burning up with a fever!”

Selma… fainted? 

The woman’s mind went blank in an instant.

“I’ve already sent her to the physician’s house, so hurry over!”

“Yes, yes!”

Urged on by the man’s hurried tone, the woman quickly glanced at the sky. The eastern horizon was already tinged with the colors of evening. She didn’t know the exact condition Selma was in, but since she had been sent to the physician’s house, it seemed she would need to stay there and care for her throughout the night of Magiella.

Without asking for anyone’s help, the woman quickly threw on her fur coat and ran toward the physician’s house. Selma was the closest person to her since her grandmother had passed away.

***

When she finally arrived at the physician’s house after running for a long while, it was completely empty. The fact that the household had left their home before the night of Magiella didn’t strike her as odd. What mattered was…

‘Where is Selma?’

The woman tried to recall the layout of the house, which she had visited a few times before, as she searched for the guest room that was used as a sickroom. 

Was it this room? No, it was the storage room where herbs were kept. This one? No, it was the treatment room.

‘Ah!’

She suddenly remembered that there was a place behind the two-story building where bedridden patients were often treated. Mercenaries who had been injured by wild animals or magical beasts in the Gray Mountain Range would often stay there for a while, either walking out on their own or being carried out as corpses.

Since Selma had collapsed, she must be there.

But even there, all the beds were empty.

‘They definitely said the physician’s house…’

It was the elder’s servant who had told her this, and he had specifically said the physician’s house, not the elder’s. As she thought about this, she looked up at the main building of the physician’s house through the storage room window. Beyond the flurries of snow foreshadowing the night of Magiella…

‘Could it be there?’

There was a single lit room on the second floor.

The second floor was the physician’s private residence, so she hadn’t thought to check there…

‘Well, it is the night of Magiella. They wouldn’t leave a patient in a place like this for several days.’

Before she could finish her thought, the woman dashed up to the second floor. In her haste, she didn’t even knock and simply threw the door open.

“Selma?”

The room was empty.

What was going on?

The woman, flustered, looked around the room. This was definitely the last room at the end of the second-floor hallway. Judging by its size, it seemed to be the master bedroom of the physician and his wife.

That didn’t matter. 

Where was Selma? This was the only room with a light on.

Had I made a mistake…?

At that moment—

Bang!

The heavy sound of wood slamming shut echoed behind her. She instinctively turned around.

“I never imagined it would be this hard to see your face.”

Standing in front of the closed door, a man dressed in extravagant clothing stared at her with yellow eyes that glinted like a snake’s. He had been there all along, as if waiting for her to enter.

“M-my lord…”

“Yes, even after all this time, you still remember my face?”

Randolph smirked, clearly amused by the woman’s trembling voice. His smooth face was filled with a sly, mischievous light.

“S-so, um, where… where is Selma…?”

“Hm, you’re quite the sentimental one.”

“Selma… she’s okay, right…?”

Her voice shook terribly.

She understood the situation, or at least thought she did, but she couldn’t fully believe it. He clearly wanted something from her, but he had said before that it wasn’t the case. Yet, this situation… anyone could see…

While her thoughts spun endlessly, Randolph began to move toward her.

The rough wind, heralding the arrival of the night of Magiella, rattled the tightly shut windows.

“I’ve been grateful for the night of Magiella ever since I was a child.”

Randolph raised the whiskey bottle in his hand and drank straight from it.

“No matter what trouble I caused, it would take three days before anyone could scold me.”

Clink. The whiskey bottle was placed on the table. Underneath the table were several unopened bottles of whiskey, along with smoked sausages and cheese. The amount wasn’t much, but judging by the preparation…

‘He plans to keep me here throughout the night of Magiella…?’

The woman’s face turned pale.

“And now, I’ve found another reason to be grateful.”

Randolph was suddenly right in front of her. He was so close that the woman had to strain her eyes to the corners just to catch a glimpse of the whiskey bottle he had placed down. It was already half-empty. Only then did she notice the strong oak-scented alcohol wafting from his breath.

Whoosh—outside, the sound of a fierce snowstorm echoed faintly through the window.

“Such a pleasant sound.”

“……”

“That damned Montferdia brat… I hear he met an untimely end.”

“No! That’s not true!”

The woman, whose lips had been trembling with fear, bit down hard and cried out impulsively.

It couldn’t be true.

There was no way such a strong Knight could have met such a fate. Perhaps something had gone wrong, and he had decided to stay in Adeln instead. Even if he didn’t return to Oedel, she couldn’t imagine that sturdy, unyielding man had perished.

He had to be alive somewhere.

Randolph’s lips curled into a satisfied smirk as he observed the pale expression on her face.

“You know, for someone who’s no longer a virgin, you should’ve been grateful when I offered to take you in. You should’ve come running, wagging your tail like a good girl.”

Randolph leaned in close, clicking his tongue, his yellow eyes glinting strangely. His face was so near that it made her step back instinctively, her focus blurring.

“Once you’ve tasted a man, you know what it’s like, don’t you?”

“I-I don’t know what you mean…”

Step by step, she tried to retreat, her heel sliding awkwardly across the floor as fear slowed her movements.

“A lightweight like you, so pretty… I even put in so much effort for you, didn’t I?”

Thud. Without realizing it, her retreat was blocked by the edge of the bed.

Randolph’s twisted smile deepened.

“How did you even hold out this long without it?”

“Ah…”

His thick hand grabbed her chest over her fur coat with a roughness that made her knit her brows in pain. It wasn’t affection—it was pure hostility. His other arm wrapped tightly around her waist, pulling her closer. The uneasy sensation pressing against her hip set off alarm bells in her mind.

“Your body must feel empty, so here I am, offering to satisfy you, and yet you keep avoiding me.”

“P-please, d-don’t…”

She flailed her arms, but there was no overcoming the strength of a well-fed, grown man. With a harsh tug, her fur coat came undone, revealing the flimsy chemise dress she had hurriedly thrown on earlier.

Randolph’s yellow eyes gleamed wickedly as they roamed over the silhouette beneath the neckline of her dress.

“This was going to happen eventually, wasn’t it?”

“Ah!”

As if savoring the moment, Randolph licked his lips and shoved her onto the bed.

“Even trying to resist…”

Before she could fully grasp the situation, Randolph grabbed a pair of scissors from the bedside table.

“I waited for so long. Do you have any idea how it felt? Hearing about some pretty little thing in the capital, I held out for months, restraining myself. And then, that brat… that greenhorn… took you from me.”

He waved the scissors menacingly, the sharp snipping sound filling the room as he threatened her. Despite the dire situation, the word “greenhorn” made her think of the Knight. Tears began to roll down her cheeks.

Could he really be gone?

She had believed he was a gift sent by the Mother of Fairies to protect her…

If it was not true, now would be the time for him to appear.

‘No. As long as he’s alive somewhere…’

Randolph misinterpreted the tears streaming down her face, and his grin widened.

“So, do you think I have the patience to wait for you to undress yourself?”

The scissors in his hand moved toward the front of her dress.