Episode 5
All I did was agree to become Ian Brighton’s only exclusive servant—so how on earth did things end up like this?
“Um……”
The reason I was standing frozen in the middle of the corridor was simple.
Because right in front of me stood none other than the Duchess herself.
“I heard from Margaret. You’re Ian’s new personal servant, aren’t you?”
A gaunt face.
But with beautiful black hair and amethyst-like purple eyes.
“And she said… that child personally chose you….”
Agatha Brighton.
Mistress of House Brighton. Ian’s birth mother.
And the very woman rumored to be a mad scientist.
I quickly pressed my hands together in the most respectful manner and bowed my head.
“It’s only thanks to the young master’s gracious favor that he noticed me. I am indebted to his benevolence.”
“Favor? Benevolence?”
The duchess murmured in puzzlement.
“How long will you really be able to stay by his side, I wonder….”
Her eyes shadowed with worry, she suddenly pressed something into my hand.
With a faint clinking sound, a silver cross necklace was placed in my palm.
“Take it. I hope this protects you, even if just a little.”
She looked as though she were giving a talisman to a knight heading to certain death.
Staring blankly at the duchess, I suddenly broke into a bright smile.
After all, hadn’t I just been given a gift by a noblewoman?
She was worried enough about me to hand me a holy object—
And not just any, but an expensive one made of silver!
Such a thing was unthinkable back at the count’s household.
“Thank you so much, madam!”
I kept bowing again and again. The duchess blinked in surprise at my reaction.
“To be named as the young master’s servant is already a joy, but to receive such a gift as well! The young master and you, madam, are both truly compassionate!”
“Ian… compassionate?”
As though she had just heard the most forbidden of words, the duchess stammered. Her eyes grew curious as she studied me.
“Why are you… No, never mind.”
“Oh—please forgive me. I was being far too frivolous, wasn’t I?”
“It’s fine, don’t worry about it.”
Her lips moved as though she were about to say more, but in the end, she only sighed.
And in her expression—alongside her unease—I thought I saw something else.
The faintest glimmer of expectation.
“sissi, was it? I hope to see you in this mansion for a long time.”
“I also wish to work here for a long time.”
I held up the cross necklace and grinned brightly once more.
“Thank you again, truly.”
Perhaps my cheerful voice reached her in a good way, for the pale duchess allowed herself the faintest smile for the first time.
Then she turned and disappeared down the corridor.
Maybe Ian somehow sensed that I had met his mother, because he didn’t show himself again until late into the night.
And this was my first official day as his personal servant!
He had been the one to appoint me, yet he vanished without a trace.
I did my best to fulfill my duty, searching tirelessly for him.
Until the sun went down, I wandered everywhere calling, “Young Master Ian!”
A few servants, watching me run around so desperately, offered advice.
“You won’t find him. If he disappears, it means he has no intention of seeing you. Just give up, go back, and finish your own tasks. He’ll return when it suits him.”
“But what if…”
Clutching my apron, now stained green from searching even through bushes, I answered,
“What if something happens to him?”
Two servants with brooms exchanged looks—and then burst out laughing, air wheezing from their lungs.
They laughed as though I had just said the most ridiculous thing.
“What? Something happening to Young Master Ian?”
“How could anything ever happen to him, with those things around….”
Their laughter died abruptly. One of them stared at me, scrutinizing me closely.
“…If anything, it’s you who should be worried about something happening.”
His voice was calm, but his words carried weight.
“It’s nearly ten o’clock. You’d better finish your work and get some rest.”
“Yes. Hurry back to the servants’ quarters. Have you changed the bedding yet?”
“Oh my goodness, I nearly forgot!”
The bedding!
“Thank you for reminding me—I almost left it undone while I was busy cleaning the room. I’ll hurry and finish. Truly, thank you again—”
“sissi, was it?”
“Ah, yes!”
“sissi. The bell for nine o’clock rang quite a while ago.”
“…Pardon?”
His tone was flat as he repeated,
“Be back in the quarters before the bell tolls ten.”
Rule One: Never meet Ian Brighton alone after ten o’clock at night.
They say the moment the moon rises, it becomes the demon’s hour.
That’s when the ‘demon’ inside Ian begins to stir.
And servants who encounter Ian then—
They either go mad, vanish entirely, or end up discovered as corpses in some far-off field.
Even so, I couldn’t just neglect my duties.
I hurried to Ian’s room with the new bedding in my arms.
By the time I had finished tidying his bed, the hour was five minutes before ten.
I dusted my hands off, satisfied—
When suddenly the door burst open.
At the same time, every candle in the room went out.
Moonlight poured in from behind, illuminating Ian Brighton’s silhouette… as he stood right there before me.
“Eek!—I mean, good evening, young master…?”
Four minutes before ten.
His face was cast in shadow, unreadable—
But his ruby-like red eyes glowed clearly, piercing straight into me.
‘This looks exactly like a horror movie scene, doesn’t it?’
Swallowing hard, I carefully tried,
“I’ve prepared everything for your rest. If there’s anything uncomfortable—”
Before I could even finish, Ian seized my wrist.
Haah…
‘If I’d known this would happen, I should’ve asked for overtime pay too.’
Three minutes before ten.
Two minutes…
“Young master, um… perhaps you could let go of my wrist first—”
“…Interesting.”
DONG.
The bell rang.
There was no denying it now. It was ten o’clock.
And the Ian Brighton before me was…
“sissi.”
“Yes, young master.”
His red eyes curved into a crescent, gleaming.
“Let’s play.”
Click. The door closed shut behind me.
Just like that? In the middle of the night?
“You want to play? Are you having trouble sleeping?”
But if the boss orders you, a servant obeys.
And if that boss is a demon—then all the more so.
“Yes. Shall we play hide and seek?”
Now?
The question rose to my lips, but I bit it back.
“If that’s what you’d like, young master. Still, I think sleep would be better… you are at an age where rest is important, after all—”
“You’re it.”
So much for reasoning.
Ian gently guided me to the wall, his hand on my shoulder.
“Stand here, close your eyes, and count to a hundred.”
It was already pitch dark—yet now he wanted me to close my eyes too?
Sigh… being a lowly servant is truly miserable.
“One…”
In the end, I shut my eyes tight and began to count.
While I mouthed the numbers, my mind was racing.
The usually prickly young master suddenly felt… gentle.
But it was a kind of gentleness as dark as tar.
Which could only mean one thing.
‘The demon…’
The night was the demon’s time.
At night, when his crimson eyes glowed, the demon would choose a powerless servant as his plaything.
Surely those servants who disappeared after meeting him at this hour had been made to play games just like this.
Hide and seek among them.
One servant had given me advice:
“If the young master ever suggests playing at night, pretend to go along—then run. Don’t think about what comes after, just run.”
Such a helpful tip.
Except…
What if there’s nowhere to run?
I finished counting and opened my eyes.
The room was dark as ink.
I stretched out my hand. Before closing my eyes, I’d been standing by the wall. I should’ve felt hard stone under my fingertips.
But there was nothing.
Swallowing nervously, I crouched down on the spot.
I knew how this story went.
No matter how far I walked, I’d never find an exit, until at last I collapsed from exhaustion.
But sitting still wouldn’t help either.
As if mocking me, giggling laughter rang out all around.
Not just one laugh—many. From every direction.
No doubt it was the demon’s doing.
I hugged my knees tightly and buried my face against them.
‘Well, this isn’t new. Back at Grington, I got locked in dark storerooms more than once.’
The attic I stayed in at the count’s house was just as dark at night.
And it was never quiet either—always full of noises.
Thinking of this as no different from sleeping in the attic, I felt oddly comforted.
I even thought I could doze off here.
‘Mm… maybe I really will take a little nap…’
The floor felt surprisingly soft.
Could this be a bed prepared for me?
Maybe it was meant as a surprise gift for his new exclusive servant?
Of course, what kind of demon would do that?
But I decided to interpret it that way and flopped down.
If I couldn’t escape anyway, I might as well enjoy the “benefits” provided by my boss.
From within the surrounding darkness, I could feel it—
A gaze fixed on me, as though saying, “You can’t be serious.”
