Episode 15 –
‘She must be an angel pretending to be human.’
Rosemary, who had been staring blankly at the spot where Elena had disappeared, finally snapped out of it.
Clutching the scone Elena had given her as if it were a treasure, she walked through the alley. The sun had set, and darkness blanketed the streets as a biting wind howled through. She arrived at the most secluded area, where a small wooden door stood. Not a sliver of light seeped from within.
‘He’s not home again today?’
Quietly opening the door and stepping inside on tiptoe, Rosemary lit a candle with a match. In the faint glow, she saw a man sitting in a chair.
“You’re home? Why didn’t you turn on a light or something…”
Rosemary froze in shock. Her husband, who had rarely come home due to his obsession with a cult, was suddenly there—glaring at her with a piercing gaze. As she drew nearer, the stench of alcohol emanated from him.
“Time to finally take care of my wife.”
“……”
He placed both hands on her shoulders and locked eyes with her. In the dim light, his eyes gleamed ominously.
“Aren’t you even happy to see your husband back home for once, huh?”
“W-Welcome back…”
“Don’t tell me… you still haven’t forgotten that bastard?”
“Ow! That hurts!”
He gripped her shoulders tighter, and Rosemary writhed in pain.
“That bastard died because of you. I prayed to the cult leader to take him as a sacrifice.”
“W-What are you saying…”
Rosemary knew that Smith had been one of the victims in a recent string of murders. A mysterious case—no clues, no suspects.
‘No way. So the serial killer is… the cult leader?’
“Exactly.”
Her husband flicked her face with his fingers.
“If you don’t want to end up like him, you better listen to me. Try meeting another man, and he’ll suffer the same fate. Got it?”
“…sob.”
Tears rolled down Rosemary’s cheeks as she nodded silently, too terrified to speak.
Smith… the herbalist who sometimes shared his food with her. She had met his wife a few times, but not often since she was usually busy with their child. Smith had been the only one to show her kindness when her unemployed husband left her in financial ruin.
Rosemary had harbored a small, quiet affection for him, but never expressed it. She had only tried to repay his kindness. She never refused his goodwill—like letting him walk her home when she received food—just simple, polite gestures. His wife knew everything and treated Rosemary with sympathy.
‘Because of me… Mr. Smith…’
Believing her husband’s words, Rosemary was consumed with guilt. She wouldn’t be able to face Smith’s widow ever again.
A few days passed, and Dr. Scott’s back had mostly healed. Though the scars remained, at least the wounds had closed.
During that time, I didn’t stop researching. But the results…
“This is harder than I thought.”
Failure after failure.
Maybe I should talk to Dr. Scott and get his advice. If I kept going like this, I felt like the third victim would appear before I had a solution.
“Well, nothing to lose, right?”
Eventually, I gathered all my research notes and headed to Dr. Scott’s room.
“Doctor, it’s me.”
As I knocked on his door, it opened immediately.
“What now?”
“Could you take a look at this?”
I handed him the bundle of documents and stepped inside.
Dr. Scott read through them slowly, and his eyes grew wider with each page.
“This is groundbreaking. If the experiment succeeds, the symptoms could disappear completely.”
“Right? But this part just doesn’t go well. I don’t know if the dosage is wrong or if I need to add a different ingredient.”
I pointed to the section where the experiments always hit a snag. It felt like an ingredient issue rather than dosage. Wasn’t there something better I could use?
As I was deep in thought, Dr. Scott suddenly asked,
“But why are you doing this kind of experiment?”
“If we can eliminate the Duke’s symptoms, wouldn’t that be great? Isn’t that what doctors are supposed to do?”
“Treating illness is our job. But what you’re doing is more like symptom suppression—no different from what we already prescribe daily.”
“Still, if I succeed, the Duke’s quality of life would improve significantly.”
“But if that happens, we both might lose our jobs. Do you think a fully recovered Duke would keep employing us?”
“……”
He had a point. Even if the Duke kept one of us, there was no need for both.
Which meant… at least one of us would be let go.
Maybe I’d stay since I developed the drug. Or maybe Dr. Scott, who had been here longer and had more skill, would be the one to remain.
And honestly, wasn’t that exactly what I wanted? I had been looking for a reason to leave this scary place anyway.
“But I already promised to make the medicine.”
Besides, if I succeeded, I could probably leave with more money.
Just as I was steeling myself to finish the formula faster, Dr. Scott rained on my parade.
“Just drop it. Stick with the current treatment.”
“But…”
“The Duke’s already functioning fine. Plus, jobs like this with good benefits aren’t easy to come by.”
“……”
“Your idea is good. But there’s no reason to work yourself to death over it.”
Uncharacteristically, he patted my shoulder in consolation. What was up with him?
“So just go rest now.”
He pushed me out of his room. His determination to never give up this cushy job was practically oozing from him.
With no other choice, I trudged back to my lab and plopped into my chair when—
“My research notes!”
I had left them in Dr. Scott’s room!
“My blood, sweat, and tears! Well, maybe not, but still—they’re important!”
I hurried back, but it was too late. He had gone out, and the door was locked.
“If I run out now, I might catch him.”
I threw on my coat and dashed out of the Duke’s mansion.
The only place he’d likely go was the bustling downtown area. I asked the coachman to go as fast as possible—but no luck. I couldn’t find him.
I didn’t even know which shops he frequented…
After getting off the carriage, I looked around frantically, trying to trace his steps. But he was nowhere to be seen.
Maybe I should try the few places I could think of—like the bookstore, the medical supply shop, and maybe a pub. Since I was already out, it wouldn’t hurt to check.
I hurried toward the bookstore. If I got lucky and found him, maybe we could head back together and I could get my notes.
I searched the biggest bookstore in the area top to bottom—but no luck.
As I stepped out and continued down the road, the delicious smell of freshly baked scones wafted toward me.
Ah, there was a scone shop nearby, wasn’t there? I wonder how Rosemary’s doing?
As I walked, thinking about Rosemary, someone suddenly called out.
“Angel!”
It was Rosemary.
I approached her with a smile.
“Oh, hello. We meet again.”
“Are you here for scones? Why don’t you come inside?”
“I was just passing by.”
“Come on in! I’m pretty good at baking now. I’ll sneak you a free one.”
“Haha. That’s alright.”
“Please? I wanted to thank you for before. Let me do something nice for you.”
She gently tugged on my sleeve.
“Well… I’ll stay just for a bit.”
“Great! Come in, come in!”
In the end, I was dragged into the scone shop by Rosemary. Surprisingly strong, that one.
She seated me, and soon two warm, fragrant scones and a cup of tea were placed on the table.
Since I was already here, I might as well find out what was going on. It could even help me track down another potential victim. And I wasn’t finding Dr. Scott anytime soon anyway.
“Would you have time for a chat? If you’re too busy, I understand.”
I asked as I glanced at Rosemary sitting across from me.
