CHAPTER 23……………………………………

‘This time, I have to confess.’

Irenes strengthened her resolve once again.

She couldn’t let a precious opportunity—one where she could stay close to Raseil for a long time—slip away so meaninglessly.

She had to somehow create a good atmosphere, avoid the ghosts’ interference, and succeed in confessing.

At the very least, she wanted Raseil to start being aware of her.

Confessing out of nowhere and making things awkward between them was the one thing she wanted to avoid.

Since she was planning to stay in the territory for quite a while, she would naturally have plenty of chances to run into Raseil.

If there was a problem, it was…

‘Aren’t I kind of useless?’

Raseil handled everything far too well.

Having come along yet being unable to help was unavoidably painful.

So far, the only thing she had done was decipher the ancient script written on the back of the paper.

“Sir Sieren? Is something wrong?”

“…It’s nothing.”

“It doesn’t seem like nothing.”

Raseil was sometimes quick to catch on in strange situations.

“I don’t think I was much help… I feel like I shouldn’t have come…”

“No, that’s not true.”

Raseil had no idea why Irenes would bring up something like that.

If she hadn’t deciphered the ancient writing, they would have never found out who the jewel’s owner was.

“Just having you next to me was a huge help.”

If he had come alone, he wouldn’t have stayed this composed.

Even lighting the jeweler’s shop would’ve been an issue.

Having someone he could rely on allowed him to act without hesitation.

“Then… um… could you call me along next time too?”

“Of course!”

Hearing his answer, Irenes’ face brightened.

And then, she suddenly realized the situation she’d just created for herself.

‘Did I just walk into this disaster on my own?’

“Sir Sieren?”

Raseil’s turquoise eyes stared directly at her.

Under the light of the aura-flame Irenes had cast, they almost looked slightly violet.

Seeing that, she found herself thinking that being with Raseil made everything else irrelevant.

It just meant more chances to confess.

“Sorry, I was thinking for a moment. Shall we go now?”

Irenes replied with her usual expression.

Her rationality had flown far away—her head was completely filled with thoughts of Raseil.

“Head maid!”

The moment Raseil returned, the first person he looked for was the head maid.

It was late at night—prime time for the servants of the dead to be active.

“Head maid, are you—oh, there you are.”

“What is the matter, Sir Zaen?”

The head maid approached him with flawless attire and precise movements.

As always, her eyes were lifeless, and her voice had no inflection.

‘She amazes me every time.’

“This jewel, could it be—”

“Yes. It belongs to me.”

She answered before Raseil even had a chance to show it properly.

“You used the hair ribbon, didn’t you? You’re here to ask about it.”

“Uh… yeah…”

“This will take a while.”

“That’s fine.”

As long as he controlled his aura properly, going one night without sleep wasn’t a problem.

“Then… best to sit. Follow me.”

The head maid turned and began walking.

Her feet made no sound—it was almost as if she were gliding.

“You know this territory is strange, right?”

“Of course.”

Raseil might be used to living here, but he never thought the territory was normal.

Sometimes he simply forgot what a normal territory was supposed to be like.

“Do you know why it became strange?”

“I’m not sure…”

When he was young, he had asked the residents out of curiosity.

Everyone had only replied that “It was always like this.”

“…A few hundred years ago, a dark mage summoned a demon.”

“A demon summoning? By a dark mage?”

Raseil blinked.

A dark mage attempting something like that was entirely different from the usual low-grade summons.

“What did he use as a sacrifice?”

If a mage could summon a demon capable of killing all life in the territory by its mere presence, that was terrifying.

Considering that all previous summonings involved only low-grade demons, the story was shocking.

“This manor.”

“…Could you elaborate a little?”

“It used to be a normal territory.”

The explanation that followed was something Raseil had never even imagined.

“It was also the place the first Duke Resean cherished the most.”

“So how did it end up like this?”

“A dark mage came.”

“Dark mages. Always the problem.”

Raseil sighed internally.

Unlike regular mages, dark mages used magic that required sacrifices.

People without magical talent attempting magic always led to disasters.

And the dependency from such magic was another serious issue.

“So that’s why they keep committing murders…”

The sacrifices escalate—from insects to livestock, livestock to humans, humans to an entire territory—and still they don’t stop.

“You seem to be putting the pieces together.”

The head maid continued when she saw the way Raseil’s face darkened.

“At first, no one knew what kind of person he was.”

He had looked like an ordinary traveler, so the residents treated him normally.

He seemed a bit gloomy, but appearances weren’t everything.

Even after he settled in the territory, there were no problems for a while.

“The lack of any warning may have been the real issue.”

Eventually, as Raseil already knew, the dark mage secretly attempted a demon summoning in the forest.

He sacrificed the entire territory in the process.

The forest was engulfed in flames; the dark mage burned to death.

The ‘guardian of the forest,’ once a benign spirit, changed completely from that point on.

The demon couldn’t linger without its summoner and soon returned to the demon realm, but…

“All the manor’s people committed suicide that day.”

High-level demons harmed human reason simply by existing.

The fact that everyone died at the same time on the same day—that explained it.

“They all must have died with resentment… so they became ghosts.”

“That seems likely.”

Raseil had never met a ghost without lingering regrets.

“…Anyway, that’s what happened. A territory can fall apart in an instant.”

‘Wasn’t this once the best land?’

He had heard that this place was once the most fertile and prosperous among the duke’s lands.

Thanks to that heritage, even now—despite its cursed state—the territory remained relatively wealthy.

“As for the hair ribbon…”

“It was given to me by my lover… no, by that bastard.”

“What?”

“I misspoke! Not that bastard—my lover gave it to me.”

The head maid quickly corrected herself in a panic.

‘Pretty sure the first thing was the truth.’

“You must’ve had a bad breakup.”

“That piece of trash—no, yes… I was the foolish one.”

She smiled faintly, looking uncharacteristically sad.

“He looked suspicious from the start, but I still accepted the gift without thinking.”

The ribbon was something meant to help her when facing demons.

It could weaken low-level demons, and even against high-level ones, it could buy enough time to escape.

“I should’ve doubted him when he handed me something like this! I never imagined he’d do something so insane—”

“Wait a moment.”

Raseil interrupted.

The more the maid talked, the stranger her story became.

It sounded… like she had been romantically involved with the dark mage.

“If you don’t mind… can I ask one question?”

“Yes! I was dating that dark mage! So what!”

She shouted.

A nearby window shattered.

The teacup on the table flew off and smashed on the floor.

With no wind, the curtains and furniture shook violently.

“I’m the one who wants to kill that bastard the most!”

“Calm down! And you said he’s dead already!”

“They never found the body.”

The head maid muttered with a chilling expression.

“If he’s alive, I’ll kill him.”

‘Didn’t they say the forest burned for an entire night?’

Raseil had heard that on that night, only red and orange flames could be seen—no green of the trees remained.

Finding a body there would have been nearly impossible. Surviving would have been even harder.