Chapter 92
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 92
Chapter Title: The Cursed Mansion (1)
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*Drip, drip.*
Even at a glance, the hot tea dripped endlessly onto her hand.
Steam billowed from it, a clear sign of its scalding heat.
Once all the tea had been poured out, she set the teapot down and stood up.
Liz approached, wearing a white dress so pristine it could have passed for a wedding gown.
After a slight bow, I introduced myself.
“My name is Ruin.”
“I heard you’re quite skilled.”
“You’re too kind.”
“My escorts have been changing so frequently lately, it’s become a problem. I’m actually shyer than I look, you know. I hope you’ll be with us for a long time.”
The corners of Liz’s lips curved slightly upward.
Pale white skin, crimson lips. Her eyes and face were like a sculpture.
There was a reason Lee Eun-hee was making such a fuss.
It wouldn’t have been strange to call her a living doll rather than a human.
“Of course.”
Her fingernails, adorned with brilliant jewels, pointed toward my bandaged eye.
“It’s a shame about the eye, though.”
Everyone I met said the same thing, making me think it was a very good idea to have covered it.
“Did something happen this morning?”
The woman was still kneeling, her hand outstretched.
The scalded skin was already turning a fiery red.
Lee Eun-hee, standing behind me, was trying her best to ignore the situation.
Heath nudged me in the ribs, signaling that it was a waste of time.
“It was nothing important.”
“It doesn’t look like nothing.”
“You’re amusing. See this?”
Liz brought a finger to her lips.
“The tea was too hot, and it burned my lips.”
“That’s a serious problem.”
“So I was just thinking about how I should punish her.”
Liz lowered her finger and smiled sweetly.
This didn’t seem like a topic for smiling.
“Haven’t you already punished her?”
“Oh, this? This was just to vent.”
Hey.
Most people don’t admit to someone’s face that they’re just venting, you know?
“It makes me wonder if she made the tea hot on purpose.”
“N-No! Never…”
“Ah! You’re here as my escort. What should I do with the one who burned my lips?”
Liz brought her fingers together slightly and smiled at me.
The weeping servant begging for her life seemed to be the last thing on her mind.
“What were you planning to do, my lady?”
“Me? I was going to cut out her tongue.”
Liz’s dark eyes sparkled.
I couldn’t tell if she was genuinely this naive or if it was all an act. If it was an act, this woman was no ordinary person.
“Will that really be enough to make an example of her?”
“An example?”
“Yes. There’s no guarantee a similar mistake won’t happen again.”
Liz looked at me with interest.
She spoke to the trembling woman.
“Did you brew this tea?”
“N-No. I only brought it from the kitchen.”
“Who boiled the water?”
“I-I don’t know that much. I’m sorry.”
“Then you should hold everyone responsible, from the one who boiled the water to everyone who was in the kitchen at the time. If you’re going to cut out a tongue, it should be the head chef’s, and you should question the head maid.”
“Wouldn’t that make things too complicated?”
“Then would you like to have your lips burned by tea again, my lady?”
“Of course not.”
“That’s why you must make an example. To ensure this never happens again.”
At my response, Lee Eun-hee’s eyes widened.
“But the head maid and the kitchen staff had nothing to do with it.”
“I believe failing to check the water temperature and failing to properly train their subordinates are sufficient grounds for punishment.”
“Heh, hahaha!”
Liz took a small step back, clutching her stomach as she burst into laughter.
After her laughter subsided, she carefully wiped away the tears that had formed in her eyes.
“Your point is valid. But my friends are coming over this afternoon. I can’t ruin a long-awaited tea party by punishing the kitchen staff and the head maid, can I?”
“Then how about cleaning the stables?”
“The stables?”
“Yes. The pain of cutting out a tongue is fleeting. But making her clean the stables with that hand will cause her considerable suffering. The choice is yours, my lady.”
“I asked for your opinion. I’m against punishing the kitchen and the head maid, but if that’s what you think, then so be it.”
At Liz’s words, the maid beside her bowed her head.
*‘She probably has a potion, right?’*
Knowing Lee Eun-hee’s personality, it was highly likely she would secretly slip the woman a potion.
Liz sat in a chair and extended her foot.
As Liz chose a pair of shoes that matched her dress, I quickly helped her put them on.
*‘What a princess.’*
The prestige of the Peilia family, the Emperor’s maternal relatives, was beyond imagination.
The imperial family had to be careful about their conduct due to the many watchful eyes, but here, there were no such constraints, allowing for even more willfulness.
Aside from the minor incident early in the morning, the rest of the day was fairly uneventful.
Liz’s life was, in every sense, that of a luxurious noble lady.
She would check the dresses and jewels ordered from the capital, view collections from designers who visited her personally, place orders, and then have lunch.
After lessons in imperial etiquette and piano, she would host tea parties with the noble ladies who started to arrive one by one.
They called it a tea party, but it was more like a product review session.
They sampled and evaluated handmade desserts and various teas prepared by renowned patissiers from the capital and noble circles.
Apparently, their sales depended on the evaluations they received here.
It was all a world away from my own.
“I heard the rumors about the new escort. They say he’s quite skilled.”
“I know. Though the eye is a bit of a shame.”
I can hear you, you know!
Stop talking about my eye! It’s perfectly normal!
I forced an awkward smile at the ladies looking my way.
Ugh, making a living is tough.
It wasn’t until after dinner, when Liz had retired to her room, that I could finally rest.
Fortunately, there was a separate guard who stood watch outside her room all night.
After a brief greeting, I left with Heath.
The hallway was lit by lamps placed at regular intervals.
“Eek!”
“Oh. My apologies.”
I bumped into a servant who suddenly emerged from the room next door.
I quickly grabbed the cup she was holding as if it were a sacred relic.
“Thank you! Thank you!”
The startled woman clutched the cup and bowed her head.
She seemed more relieved that the cup’s contents were safe than she was about the collision.
The woman bowed again and headed toward Liz’s room.
“What was that just now?”
“Ah, medicine?”
“Medicine?”
“A restorative tonic, something like that.”
My eyes met Heath’s.
Heath glanced around, making sure no one was listening.
“This morning, you should consider yourself incredibly lucky that Lady Liz wasn't offended.”
“Haha. So, about the tonic?”
“Nobles can be hard to figure out sometimes.”
Heath looked away from the direction of Liz’s room.
“You’re trying to become a noble yourself, aren’t you?”
“Aren’t you?”
“Well, yes.”
“Then just leave it be. It’s better not to know than to find out and get yourself in trouble.”
“Hmm, alright.”
“You go on ahead. I’ll do one more round just in case.”
“In that case, I won’t be polite. I’m heading in to rest.”
“You could stand to be a little polite. It’s not like we’ve known each other long.”
“We’ll be seeing a lot of each other from now on. Good work.”
I patted Heath on the shoulder and went into my room.
As dawn broke, Lee Eun-hee arrived as expected.
I quietly slipped out through the window.
“You don’t have to dress in all black like that.”
I was too preoccupied to mention it yesterday, but Lee Eun-hee’s attire was suspicious to anyone who saw it.
“It’s better than having my face recognized.”
“I suppose.”
I kept my mana detection active while talking with Lee Eun-hee.
I would know immediately if someone approached.
*‘No need to tell her that, though.’*
I took off the eyepatch and blinked.
Lee Eun-hee stared at me intently.
“Is there something on my face?”
“Ah, no… That look. It suits you.”
“Want to hear something funnier?”
“What?”
“It suits my original self even better.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Lee Eun-hee pouted, unable to understand.
If Kang Han-gyeol’s looks were considered handsome, my original appearance was much better.
I only focused on studying because of my family’s opposition, but otherwise, I could have—
I was almost a child actor when I was young!
“What happened to that woman from this morning?”
“I forgot to tell you. She has to clean the stables for a month, but she’s safe, thanks to you. I secretly gave her a potion I had for her hand.”
“I figured you would.”
Lee Eun-hee shrugged lightly.
She didn’t seem to approve of the process, but the outcome was good, so her expression said she’d let it slide.
“Right. Do you know anything about the medicine Lady Liz drinks?”
“The one she has every evening? I heard it’s a restorative tonic.”
“Restorative tonic, my ass.”
“What’s wrong?”
“You said you smelled blood in the mansion, right?”
“I did say that.”
Lee Eun-hee had mentioned it, but she didn’t seem certain.
When I bumped into the servant, I got a quick look at what she called a tonic.
“That’s no restorative tonic.”
“Then what is it?”
“It smelled of blood.”
“Blood?”
“Yes.”
Heath had tried to hide it hastily, but he couldn’t fool my eyes.
“It’s definitely not a normal tonic.”
“Could it be animal blood or something? People drink that sometimes.”
“If you’re going to drink blood, you might as well drink human blood. Why bother with animal blood?”
At the mention of human blood, Lee Eun-hee’s expression soured.
“Fine, let’s say it’s human blood. Then where in the world is she getting it?”
“Where else? People are everywhere.”
This mansion alone employed over a thousand servants.
It wouldn’t be strange if one or two of them disappeared without a trace.
“The servants’ blood? So it’s Myuel blood?”
“Could be, could not be.”
“What do you mean?”
“Aegis said Myuels went missing. He never said that non-Myuel servants didn’t go missing.”
Lee Eun-hee and I were considered Myuels because we possessed mana.
Aegis and Eruel, who gave us the request, were also Myuels.
So, they couldn’t care less how many humans below them went missing.
*‘Though it’s possible they hid it on purpose.’*
The option that those two still suspected us wasn’t off the table.
But I didn’t want to confuse Lee Eun-hee unnecessarily.
“Those bastards.”
Lee Eun-hee bit her lip.
Unlike my cautious approach, it seemed she had already made her decision.
“They hid it on purpose.”
“Why do you think so?”
“It’s not because we’re Myuels. After investigating that much, there’s no way they wouldn’t have found that information.”
“They might have judged it wasn’t important. For now, let’s not be too suspicious.”
“You were suspicious yourself.”
“I’m being cautious.”
“Do you really think that’s human blood?”
“I’m telling you it is.”
Why couldn’t she just believe me when I told her?
Lee Eun-hee wore a displeased expression.
“This is completely insane.”
I just laughed nonchalantly at her words.
Why is a madman called a madman?
Because they don’t think like normal people.
There’s a simple way to understand the thoughts of such a mad person.
You just have to go mad with them.
Lee Eun-hee still seemed doubtful, but I could say with certainty.
“That is human blood.”
“I’m going to lose my mind.”