Chapter 8
No wonder the girl was too nice! And composed! Thinking that way, I understood the situation at once. Based on my romance fantasy experience, I could easily guess how the original story unfolded.
Here we have the villainess Evangeline, the villainess's faithful servant Donau, and the female lead Kanna, who is the younger sister of a maid serving the villainess.
Evangeline normally tormented the servants of the Count's household, and among them, she must have especially harassed Hena. The bullying crossed the line, and she instigated Donau to kidnap Hena's only sister, Kanna. And then, rescuing Kanna from danger, the first meeting event with the male lead occurs!
Even though I possessed Evangeline's body, did Donau kidnap Kanna because of the original story's force?
Then I understood why Donau had spouted nonsense. He kept muttering that he only did what I told him to do. Wow... The original story's force is terrifying, truly terrifying.
Then did I steal the male lead's entrance scene? Should I have just left it alone? No, but even if they are characters in a book, how could I just watch that situation?
"You have no more questions, right? The young lady is tired, so I'll take my leave first."
Kanna, having finished explaining the situation, cut off the conversation. It was an attitude far too cold for dealing with the male lead.
This must also be an effect of me saving Kanna instead of the male lead? The original female lead clinging to the villainess—this is completely a villainess possession story! As expected of a romance fantasy worldview!
"If any problems arise, please visit the Rohanson Count's house."
Admiring inwardly, I bid farewell to the male lead and turned my steps. Since the kidnapper, the victim, and the rescuer were all people of the Rohanson mansion, I told him to find us if he got stuck writing his report. Good, I earned one kindness point.
Hena offered to guide the way to where the carriage was parked and took the lead. As I was about to follow Hena, the back of my head felt prickly. When I turned around, the male lead was glaring fiercely at me.
I didn't particularly do anything villainess-like, so why is he glaring? Don't tell me he's jealous because Kanna took my side? This is bad. Instead of the villainess route, it seems I've stepped onto the rival route....
***
"Captain, the fire has been extinguished."
"Good work, Raphaela."
Gabriel, who had been continuously watching the alley where the pure white doll-like figure had disappeared, finally came to his senses at his subordinate's call. He must have been so absorbed that the fire had already been extinguished in the meantime. The building swept by the flames had collapsed to the point where it could hardly be called a house anymore.
Unlike the woman who was pure white without a speck of soot despite claiming to have escaped from the fire, they had all worked so hard cleaning up the debris that their uniforms were covered in black soot.
"I apologize. I was investigating the young lady and couldn't help."
"No need. That fire... it went out on its own."
"What?"
When Gabriel asked, Raphaela scratched her head and explained.
"It's true. It was burning fiercely then suddenly died down. From the beginning, it was strange that it only burned this house without spreading to the surroundings...."
Gabriel looked at the debris with an extremely uneasy feeling.
Gabriel had also thought he was seeing things or perhaps bewitched by a demon at first glance. When a fire breaks out in such a narrow and densely packed slum, it usually spreads to the entire surrounding area. That was why he had hurriedly led the knights for the people's evacuation.
Having anticipated a tragedy and rushed over, when he arrived, the people were not evacuating but rather watching a house burning alone as if an invisible firewall had been erected.
However, what captured Gabriel's gaze was not such a bizarre phenomenon but the woman standing before that fire.
At first, Gabriel thought a stone statue had been erected among the crowd. Even though there was no way such delicately carved marble would exist in this slum.
The reason he didn't recognize her as a person was because there was nothing that could be called vitality in it. To compare, a broken tree branch would be closer to a human.
So when he witnessed the strange sight of those bright red eyes that should rightly be considered dead turning toward him, and those red lips speaking human language, he was so shocked he nearly lost his words.
Gabriel feigned composure and conversed with the woman. As expected, it was far from being human.
Even when told that a servant had died, even when looking at Gabriel himself, not a single grain of warmth could be felt. Just as a person doesn't concern themselves with passing ants, Gabriel was merely at the level of an ant to the woman.
The woman seemed to have interest, if anything, in the maid named Kanna beside her. Perhaps because she was receiving the attention of something not human, the maid's condition also didn't appear normal. Her blind and fervent demeanor was like watching a religious fanatic.
"Captain! We found the body!"
A subordinate shouted loudly. Gabriel confirmed the body. Donau, was it? Even after death, the carbonized body with limbs fallen off was no different from a sculpture.
"This is...."
"It's fascinating. Just a coincidence, right?"
Behind the body with its limbs severed, the soot on the ground spread like wings, and behind the head, a holy image was drawn as if emitting light in a circle. It looked exactly like a halo that would belong to angels in masterpieces or to gods.
"To appear like this, it's just like an angel."
It wasn't just Gabriel who thought so. Gabriel groaned. An angel... The wings made of ash would break before even flapping and fall into the abyss. That halo was the same. To him, that round halo felt as if it would flicker out at any moment.
***
"Shall I give you a room at the mansion?"
In the returning carriage, Lady Evangeline spoke. Hena doubted what she had heard, but couldn't bring herself to ask again.
"You must be scared to return home. I'll take care of you."
Indeed, she hadn't misheard. Hena, who was about to decline saying it was fine, fell silent when she noticed the young lady's gaze was directed not at herself but at her sister.
She was asking for Kanna's opinion, not Hena's. Hena gripped Kanna's hand tightly. In her heart, she wanted to tell her to refuse. But what if she gave offense and upset the young lady's mood?
She could still clearly see how Donau, who had offended the young lady, had died. What was even more incomprehensible was the fact that Kanna was satisfied with that gruesome and nauseating death.
The young lady didn't press for an answer.
At the consideration that didn't suit her at all, Hena's spine went cold. Wearing a human skin and pretending to be a merciful person—it would be strange not to be afraid.
Lady Evangeline was somewhat generous to Hena as well, but she was especially lenient with Kanna. Though it looked no different from taking in an animal caught in a trap.
"Can my sister stay with me too?"
"Of course."
"I want to choose my own room too."
"You may do as you please."
And Kanna was the same. Chattering excitedly in front of the young lady—Hena's breath caught in her throat.
She had been particularly fearless since childhood, but she never acted so boldly as to have lost her wits in front of a young lady. Hena glimpsed a fragment of the past in Kanna's satisfied smile.
When their father was still alive, the lovely Kanna would sometimes throw her food and throw tantrums to confirm affection. After their father passed away, she grew up and matured enough not to do that anymore.
Did she open her heart because the young lady saved her?
She had made excuses that the holy water was given by Lady Evangeline while stealing it, so she might think she had been saved twice. Actually, that wasn't wrong. If it hadn't been for the young lady's cat, Kanna would still be bedridden, and if the young lady hadn't gone today, Kanna's wounds wouldn't have ended at her neck.
"Then, is the room right below yours all right?"
The young lady told her to choose a room excluding the 4th floor where she stayed, and Kanna chose the room directly below the young lady's room on the 3rd floor.
Kanna had never worked at the mansion, so she probably just chose it randomly, but the 3rd floor was where the late Countess Rohanson resided. Moreover, wasn't that room the one the Countess used? Of course, Lady Evangeline wouldn't care about the dead blood relatives of the shell she inhabited.
"My lady. That room was used by the Countess."
"She's already passed away and there's no owner now, so it doesn't matter. The furniture is already there, so it'll be convenient to stay in right away."
Hena explained cautiously, but the young lady simply nailed it down, saying it didn't matter since there was no owner and the floor was empty. She even said she would inform Count Rohanson and the butler.
Hena unconsciously nodded, unable to object to the words that she would give the Countess's room to a maid's sister, then hesitated.
The butler knew that Hena's sister was seriously ill. He would find it strange if he learned that the sick girl suddenly recovered overnight and was walking around. He might think of the holy water and discover that it had been stolen.
'That mustn't happen....'
"My lady. I'll speak to the butler myself."
"Do that. Then I'll only inform the Count."
At least, don't let the butler find out. Hena recalled the butler's usual routine. The butler stayed on the 2nd floor and didn't come up to the upper floors. Especially since the butler avoided Lady Evangeline, if Kanna stayed near the young lady, she wouldn't be found out.
She just needed to hold out a little. There was no way Count Rohanson would allow a mere maid's sister to use the Countess's room, so she would be driven out before long. Just stay quiet until then.
Once arrangements were made, they turned the carriage around and stopped by Hena's house. At the house, Hena and Kanna gathered enough luggage to stay for a few days. Actually, since neither of them owned much, it didn't take long even though they packed almost all their clothes.
After loading the luggage, they drove for a while and arrived at the Rohanson mansion.
Usually, a maid would go out first to escort, but Evangeline stepped down without hesitation.
"Pudding! You came to greet me."
And discovering the cat draped over the gate bars, a smile spread across her formerly indifferent face.
Lady Evangeline cherished that bizarre creature dearly. The sight of the monster being reduced to nothing more than a pet in the young lady's arms was strange no matter how many times she saw it.
The cat's three eyes gleamed as it looked at Hena and Kanna, then leisurely closed them. Kanna murmured in a small voice.
"The eyes disappeared?"