Chapter 10
“Why is that?”
Mars flinched and stared at me. She clearly looked uncomfortable, but I didn’t care at the moment.
“I was wondering if Meria came with you.”
“Meria still hasn’t finished her work.”
“Really? I thought she only had to wrap things up.”
I muttered that it was taking longer than expected.
Mars continued, “No, since Meria didn’t want to do it, Anne took over.”
“What?”
“Meria was grumbling, and Anne must have heard because she came over. Then, with a scary face, she asked if Meria would switch jobs with her.”
“So?”
“Meria agreed right away.”
“Why? Is that a problem?”
Christie looked at me as if to say I didn’t need permission for something like that.
I shook my head.
“No, it’s nothing. Just curious.”
I gave an awkward smile and left the kitchen.
Walking quickly down the hallway, I kept thinking.
The dishes were Christie’s job, so she’d probably take them back to the main house herself.
“But why would Anne switch for her?”
Sure, she could have, but Anne seemed to dislike Lilith the most among the maids.
She had been sarcastic before.
“That’s why she purposely took jobs far from Lilith.”
I felt something was off.
‘I don’t want to suspect anyone unnecessarily…’
After a moment of thought, I headed toward Lilith’s bedroom.
My steps gradually sped up until I was almost running.
The closer I got to the room, the more my heart pounded strangely.
“Huff, huff.”
Anne wasn’t in the hallway. I frowned slightly.
“Where is Anne…?”
I checked nearby rooms and storage but still couldn’t find her.
Had we just missed each other? Or…?
I slowly turned my head. My gaze landed on Lilith’s bedroom.
Carefully, I approached and quietly opened the door.
I heard Lilith’s usual even breathing.
And beside the bed I had seen so many times this past week…
“…Anne.”
I whispered her name softly.
Anne, standing nearby and glaring at the shadow in the bed, flinched and turned her head.
Our eyes met.
A sharp jolt ran through me.
[Hate you. I want you gone. I want to kill you. Kill you. Kill you. Kill you. Kill you. Kill you. Kill you. Kill you. Kill you. Kill you!!!!!!!!!]
What I saw in Anne’s eyes was only resentment, hatred, and hostility—all wanting to kill Lilith.
It felt like dozens of sharp knives were cutting my skin.
I shivered uncontrollably.
The intense emotions flooding in from Anne made me grit my teeth.
‘What on earth happened?’
She couldn’t have such feelings just because she was ordered to kill Lilith.
When I slightly frowned, I caught sight of a sharp metal object in Anne’s hand.
“Huff, huff.”
Heavy breaths escaped between her lips.
She seemed to be struggling to suppress her emotions.
“…Chloe.”
Anne stared at me with bloodshot, furious eyes.
I calmly smirked and replied,
“Anne, what are you doing here?”
Ignoring the metal in her hand, I said,
‘I’ll pretend I didn’t see anything if you just leave.’
I wished she would go away without doing anything.
But I didn’t expect that to happen.
Her feelings were too strong.
‘What happened between you and Lilith…’
I tried to focus only on Anne’s face and slowly moved closer.
I never looked away.
If I lowered my gaze even a little, she might rush at the bed.
“What do you think I’m doing? Can’t you tell?”
Anne raised one side of her mouth.
Then she slowly lifted her hand.
The sharp metal glittered in the light coming through the window.
My mouth went dry.
“Calm down first.”
“I’m not excited.”
“Anne, do you fully understand what you’re trying to do?”
“I came here with this in mind from the start. To kill this demon!”
Anne clenched her teeth, staring at the small figure in the bed.
Her hand holding the metal trembled.
“That demon took my family from me!”
“Family?”
While Anne glared at the bed, I steadily closed the distance.
The young girl was too caught up in her emotions to look around.
“My one and only sister was taken by that demon. So I have a right to take revenge, don’t I?”
I heard her teeth grinding.
Her anger was growing.
Apparently, someone in Anne’s family had died among the maids killed by Lilith.
‘One more step…’
I clenched my lips and studied Anne.
“Don’t think about interfering, Chloe.”
“…Miss Lilith too.”
I forced myself to speak.
“I don’t think she wanted to do this.”
She had lost control of her powers against the maids trying to kill her.
As a result, someone lost their family.
I didn’t want to deny Anne’s feelings toward Lilith.
But I couldn’t put all the blame on Lilith.
The Shainon family was at fault for abandoning the young girl and failing to protect the maids. They should be held responsible.
Lilith was left neglected by her parents and family.
She didn’t know right from wrong and hadn’t learned how to control her power. All she received from her family was negative feelings and fear.
That’s why she reacted so sensitively to the maids’ screams.
I pictured the young girl covering her ears and tightly closing her eyes at the screams.
Rough breaths escaped from her slightly parted lips as her chest rose and fell rapidly.
Lilith trembled, curled into a small ball.
[Scared… Please stop…]
The feelings I saw from her were too faint.
She wasn’t trying to hurt others, just desperately protecting herself.
So Lilith is…
My voice, like a sigh, made Anne turn her gaze to me. Her dry, weary eyes looked at me.
“That’s none of my concern. What matters to me is that the killer of my sister is there.”
Anne, with a dry smile, turned her head to the bed.
I gritted my teeth.
I lunged forward, grabbing Anne’s wrist holding the metal.
Our bodies tangled, and we fell to the floor.
Thud.
My head hit the ground, leaving me dazed, but I didn’t let go of her hand.
I twisted my body to get on top of Anne.
“Ah! Let go of me, Chloe!”
“Ugh.”
A sharp pain shot across my right cheek.
“Why are you stopping me? If only that thing were gone, everything would be fine! Why!”
“As you’re taking revenge on your sister!”
I looked down at her bloodshot, tear-filled eyes.
“I’m just trying to protect my lady as her maid.”
Honestly, I wasn’t sure why I was doing this for Lilith.
But no one understood or reached out, so I couldn’t turn my back on Lilith, who was just a child.
I knew what would have happened if I hadn’t remembered my past life.
‘I can be the one on Lilith’s side!’
I pressed down on Anne’s hand with all my strength.
Her grip loosened, and the sharp metal clattered to the floor.
“Huff, huff. Why… why…?”
Tears overflowed from Anne’s eyes.
I couldn’t say anything.
“…Chloe?”
I thought I heard a door open somewhere.
At the same time, Lilith’s sleepy voice came from above.
The noise from our struggle was loud enough to wake her.
‘Too close to the bed.’
If I raised my head, I’d meet Lilith’s eyes.
Luckily, a thin curtain partially concealed Anne and me.
“…Chloe?”
Lilith hesitated, sensing something was wrong.
