When the Villains Unite - Chapter 15; Part 2
He shook his damp hair out of his face and walked over to me. He sat on the bed and I blow-dried his hair.
He looked so content with the warm breeze, but as soon as I placed the hair dryer down, he pulled me into a hug.
“Dami, are you tired?”
“… A little….”
“You sound so sleepy. Come here, let’s go to bed.”
“No. It was hard not seeing your face all day.”
Where the hell did he learn to say that? I burst out laughing at his cute whimpers as he burrowed deeper into my arms.
“Pfft, we’re traveling together in a week. So, get some sleep now.”
I rolled over and pushed Damian’s back onto the book. He had quite the disgruntled look on his face, but the fluffy comforter was wrapped around our bodies, letting my drowsiness take over. It was quite a pity though, considering I was enjoying him holding me tight and refusing to let me go.
“Oh, but the way, Dami. I’m going to the palace later, so brother’s office is in the first building, right?”
“Yeah… Come to me first, not Bellamy…”
“Okay, okay, go to sleep.”
Damian was mumbling, but his eyes were completely closed. Every once in a while, he’d open them to try to stay awake, but they quickly closed again.
It’s been a long time since I’ve seen him sleep. I fluffed the covers and stroked under his eyes, paying attention to the obvious signs of fatigue.
“… Do you want me to pick you up…”
“How far is it? I can go by myself, plus I don’t know what time I’m going yet… Dami, are you sleeping?”
Was he sleep-talking? Damian’s breaths were even and his eyes were shut tight.
I smiled as I carefully pulled the blankets over him. The warmth of his body against mine forced me to drift off into slumber.
The next day, Damian left for the palace early in the morning as usual. Bellamy hadn’t come in before dawn, so it seemed he was still trying to solve the case of the leaked documents.
Before heading to the annex, I called Bellamy, worried that he might stop by the mansion in the middle of the day. However, his voice was mild and he told me to have dinner with Damian. Before I hung up, I heard a loud bang on the other end of the line, so I knew things weren’t looking good.
“I have something important to do today, so please pass it on to the servants on the third floor.”
“Yes. ma’am.”
I couldn’t have the servants noticing my absence and reporting it to my brothers.
Sebastian bowed to me as I ascended the stairs, turning around to call for my handmaids. I rushed back down the steps and walked over to the other side of the hall.
Fortunately, Sebastian didn’t seem to notice because his attention was elsewhere. As I stepped onto the stairs leading to the basement, I made eye contact with someone glaring at me from the bottom.
“Hey….! Princess….”
“Shhhh.”
It was a freckled, red-haired servant. She was selected during the latest round of recruitment. I had firmly instructed the butler to not allow the servants to set foot in the storage room, but I guess she hadn’t received the message yet. Even though it was her first time in the mansion, at least she recognized my identity by the color of my hair.
“Keep it a secret that you saw me here.”
“Yes, yes!”
“Quietly. Go upstairs and you’ll see the head maid right away. She’ll give you a job.”
“Thank you, Mistress….!”
She quickly bowed and I watched her disappear. Luckily, it seems she’ll keep quiet.
I was caught off guard by the unexpected variable, but at least it was manageable. I was only a little nervous.
Once more, I began my descent. I could smell the moldy odor. The warehouse was untouched and filled with dust. I opened the door to the passageway and watched a cloud of dust arise.
“Kolok, Kolok!”1 i had not a SINGLE idea on how to spell a coughing sound so IM SORRY
I erupted into a coughing fit from inhaling all of it.
I quickly covered my mouth and closed the door. It was either to breathe now that the air wasn’t so dry. The humidity seems to have increased as the days warmed, and it was especially noticeable underground.
The eerie atmosphere, as well as the bloodstains, still haven’t disappeared, or gotten easier to see. If anything, my fear was increasing as I aged.
“Ah, I don’t even have a flashlight…”
I hurried my steps through the underground tunnel. As I entered the annex, I was greeted by a peculiar, yet gentle feeling. But was it just my mood that made the peacefulness in this place seem a bit forced today? Or maybe it’s just because I walked through that passage. Either way, the air feels uncomfortable, as if someone was watching me.
However, no one except me and the Orca brothers ever set foot in this place.
I’ll just do my business and go back to the mansion.
Maybe I was just paranoid, but my intuition was telling me not to stay here long.
This place was as familiar as any other place to me in this world, but it had a vacant feel to it. It was like it had been deserted and a lost spirit took up residence in it, raising goosebumps along my arms.
When I went to go back through the passageway, I didn’t wish to continue because it felt worse than the annex. I sighed and decided it was best to just do what I came to the annex to do.
Why do I feel this way?
I was tense as I made my way up the stairs, pretending to be unaffected by the abnormal atmosphere. It was dark inside the annex in the early morning hours.
I pushed through the shadows and entered my room, opening a drawer and pulling out the book that was my mission. Inside was the material about the Count that I thought would be integral for when I left the estate.
Should I just burn this too?
It would be bad for my mental state to keep it as a memory and look at it later. I wouldn’t have any use for it anyway, now that the Count was deceased.
After sorting through the papers, I went back downstairs toward the fireplace. I threw a bunch of books and papers into the pit.
However, I forgot a tool to light the fire.
I remembered feeling a sense of pride when I first brought flint here eight years ago. It was especially true when I saw the weary faces of the Orca brothers. However, the object has outlived its usefulness, especially when Bellamy mastered basic magic, leaving the menial tasks to him.
I wonder if it is still in the room at the end of the third floor. I looked around the fireplace just in case I found something, but there was nothing to start a fire. It would have been nice if I was able to cast a simple spell, but unfortunately, I had no talent for magic.
I was glad on my way down the steps that the distance seemed so short, but now I found myself loathing it all. I sighed and went back up the stairs. All I could think about was getting this over with.
I huffed and puffed my way up the steps with my poor physical aptitude. As I entered the third floor again, I remembered how Bellamy and Damian stopped me at the end of the third floor before the New Year.
At the time, I thought they were hiding something from me. I had no basis for that suspicion; I was just bothered by Damian’s awkwardness at my gaze.
I thought it would be okay if they just told me; even if they did have something to hide from me, I didn’t think it would be catastrophic. In Damian’s case, even as a child, he often tried to hide his immaturity.
I soon realized that was my own wishful thinking. Once I entered the room, I couldn’t help but reevaluate.
The room was a disaster. It wasn’t just that things were in disarray. It was what I saw in it; a man in shambles. It made me realize the reason that the brothers were so hell-bent on preventing me from coming into this room.
He was a man I recognized. His bloodshot eyes seemed to have been staring at the door the entire time he has been here. His cloud, sky-blue eyes were directed at me as I stood in the doorway.
The blood that flowed out of him had spread and congealed all over the room. The smell of blood and decomposing flesh reached my nostril but despite the nausea overwhelming me, I was frozen.
Count Wright was in a condition where he could die at any moment, yet he was alive. His chest, dug out by a knife, was faintly rising and falling. It must have been the magic of Bellamy; the magic that traps the living.
double chapter drop because i totally thought i had more chapters uploaded ahead but i was very wrong. my apologies i just been lazy
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