Winter Wolf - Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Lysithea woke up in the afternoon. The sound of icicles melting outside her window woke her up.

“Did it… stop snowing?”

Sunlight streamed through the snowy window. Lysithea pushed herself up and walked over to the window, feeling lighter than she had in the morning.

“I’ve dropped a lot of heat. I think I have a low-grade fever.”

Terrence’s care likely contributed to her recovery. He promised to return in a day, but perhaps he will come back sooner. She waited at the window for his return.

The curtains were partially open, as he had asked her to do on their first day, and she could see out over the white snowfields. This must be how Terrence saw her coming, trudging along in a long trail of footsteps.

“Three?”

Lysithea’s eyes widened as she noticed a man approaching the mansion. Three black figures were crossing the snowfield. It couldn’t be Terrence.

Lysithea tensed and took a step to the side, hiding most of her body behind the drooping curtains. She only peeked her head out to observe the approaching man.

Three men neared the manor house, casually talking among themselves as they approached the door.

“What are they doing?”

 Lysithea wrapped her shawl around herself and stepped barefoot into the hallway. She walked up the spiral staircase to the center of the building, pausing at the corner. She heard footsteps as the men opened the mansion’s doors and shook off the snow.

 Lysithea couldn’t see anyone, but she listened to the sounds coming from the first floor.

“I’m freezing; get me a drink.”

“Don’t change the subject, Rio. So how much are you going to pay me?”

You don’t have to worry about the money; I don’t want you to feel bad.

“But I killed him this time!”

A new voice argued with the man named Rio. Lysithea flinched at the sound of something being thrown and shattering; it seemed like an angry man had thrown a bottle.

The person who ran away saw my face! I will be the only one who is going to be punished! I have the right to receive my shares this time.

“You sound like you want some.” “Tommy, go check if there’s any alcohol.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Are you ignoring me? Are you ignoring me?”

Lysithea gulped at the sound of a pistol being loaded. Tommy’s footsteps ceased as he followed Rio’s instructions.

“Oh, come on. Come on, Claude. I know you’re greedy. Who says I don’t know that?”

“How much will you pay me?”

“…Four.”

“Make it six!”

“Oh, I understand. I will do it at six. Take it.”

Clyde put the gun in his holster, and after a few more steps, she heard him rifling through his backpack.

“Tommy, please find some alcohol. I plan to immerse this person in a keg tonight.”

“Yes, sir.”

The situation ended without any casualties. Lysithea breathed a sigh of relief but quickly refocused. This was not a time for complacency.

The men were killers. Judging by their talk about sharing, it seemed like they were street robbers. To them, Lysithea was nothing more than a tempting target.

A sick woman resided in an isolated mansion with a significant amount of money. If they discovered her, it wouldn’t just be a loss of money; it could cost lives. The memory of Bran nearly killing her flashed through her mind.

‘I must remain hidden and out of sight.’

Lysithea hurried back to her room. In the dim hallway, she could see the faint glow of the fireplace in her and Terrence’s room. She took the basin from her room, poured half the water into her fireplace, and then went to Terrence’s room to extinguish his fire with the remaining water.

That was all Lysithea could do. She quietly closed Terrence’s room door and headed back toward the stairs. The men’s voices below were audible.

“Claude, I think there’s someone in the house.”

Lysithea’s heart sank upon hearing Tommy’s deep voice.

“What? Why? What’s inside?” Rio asked.

“Lots of food and signs of recent cooking.”

“People live here?”

A moment of silence followed. As Lysithea covered her mouth and listened, Rio spoke.

“Claude, you search the hallway over there. Tommy, you’re on the other side. I’ll search the hall and the surroundings.”

The three men’s footsteps echoed in different directions. Lysithea’s mind raced.

Should she hurry down the stairs to attempt an escape outside? No, the snowy surface would only make her more visible. Rushing to the ground floor and being seen could be disastrous.

“I can’t… I can’t!”

Lysithea bit her lip, turned back to her room, and quietly locked the door. She then rummaged through her pack with trembling hands and took out her gun.

The gun had three bullets in it, but she hadn’t mastered proper shooting yet. It would be impossible for her to kill three men with a single shot.

“But it’s the only way.”

Lysithea stood in the doorway, gripping the gun with both hands and shaking, then stepped aside, remembering Terrence’s instructions to shoot the intruders where they couldn’t see her.

Her fever was rising again, and she was so nervous that she was sweating and lightheaded, fumbling with her gun. She could only hope that the robbers wouldn’t try to break into every locked door.

“I’m on the second floor!”

A moment later, Claude’s high-pitched voice echoed from far down the hall. Lysithea came out of her daze and holstered her gun.

Claude checked the locked doors, and the thudding sound echoed down the hall.  He was getting closer.

Finally, he reached a nearby hallway. Terrence’s door opened with a click. Lysithea pressed her ear against the wall, listening for any sounds from Terrence’s room. Meanwhile, Claude searched the room and shouted into the hallway.

“Hey, come on here, it’s this room! The second room is located at the end of the second floor! I think a person was living here.”

Terrence’s room was bound to be discovered since Lysithea didn’t have a key to lock the door. She heard Claude rifling through Terrence’s room.

“What, is that all you got?”

That’s when she heard Rio’s voice. It was unclear if Tommy had made it upstairs. Lysithea moved back to stand by the door, gun drawn. She heard the two men’s voices talking.

“It doesn’t look like there’s much to steal. No money, either, by the looks of it.”

He left without any luggage. Where did he go in the dark?

“Will he catch us when he comes back?”

“Perhaps he will return when he sees there is food.”

“I don’t know what he’s doing. Should we catch him, interrogate him, and then kill him?”

“I’d prefer that. You kill him this time, Rio. I’ve done my job for the day.”

“That’s a nice idea.”

“Cough!”

The conversation stopped suddenly. Lysithea was furious and covered her mouth, but it was too late. Her condition worsened as the night went on, and she was once again feverish and coughing, just like the day before.

“What is that? Did I hear it coming from the next room?”

“It sounded like a woman; come here!”

Thumping male footsteps gathered in front of her door. Lysithea felt dizzy and squeezed her eyes shut.

Thud. Thud.

The doorknob rattled. Fortunately, the door was sturdy enough to resist their attempts to kick it open.

As Lysithea reached for her gun, a crack echoed through the room. The doorknob had been shot.

“Oh, sh*t. It’s not coming off.”

“Take a good shot at it. Do you want me to do it?”

“No, I’d rather shoot at the hinges. Hey, are you in there? Can you hear me? Please open the door!”

Leo giggled and knocked on Lysithea’s door. She tightened her grip on the gun when she heard the man reload again.

“BANG!”

Then, like a thunderbolt, the sound of a gunshot echoed down the hall. It wasn’t a pistol.

“No!….”

Rio’s scream was drowned out by a second gunshot. Lysithea shuddered as she heard his body crumble to the ground. Even without seeing it, she was sure.

‘Terrence Cadas.’

The man she’d been waiting for so desperately was hunting the intruders, just as he’d shot and killed the wolf that night.

“Ugh….”

Lysithea dropped to the ground like a limp doll. She coughed raggedly, and her vision blurred. Blood started to flow through the still-closed door.

“Ugh…!”

The tension and the smell of blood made her gag. Lysithea leaned back against the wall, her face white with exhaustion. Over the sound of her own rapidly diminishing breathing, she heard Terrence approaching.

“Lysithea, answer me.”

‘I’m here.’  She wanted to answer, but only a ragged breath escaped her throat.

She eagerly anticipated seeing Terrence, having him shield her eyes once more, and cool her down from her fever.

His footsteps stopped in front of her door. The heavy steps caused the floors to rise slightly and the blood to crackle. Lysithea frowned, cocking her head to the side.

“Lysithea, it’s me; don’t shoot.”

He had been mindful of her panic. Lysithea pushed herself to her feet.

“Not yet; don’t come out.”

Terrence’s raspy voice grabbed her and held her down. Why…? Lysithea looked up at the doorknob, puzzled.

“BANG!”

Suddenly, the door to the next room burst open. There was no sound of loading or gunfire. Instead, there was a loud clatter as something hit the floor as if Terrence had thrown the long gun.

‘Tommy…!’

There was one more person in the group. A man of few words, it was hard to tell if he was there or not. Tommy is Rio’s henchman.

All three intruders were on the second floor. Only Tommy had survived by hiding in Terrence’s room.

Tommy pounced on Terrence, and the wall Lysithea was leaning against vibrated with the sound of someone falling with a thud. Even Lysithea’s back against the wall shook with the force of the crash.

Lysithea froze. She heard the hiss of a sword being drawn. The blade snapped through the air and embedded itself in something with a dull thud. It cuts through someone’s body and flesh.

“Terrence!”

“Aaahhh…!”

The woman screamed, and the man’s breathing stopped at the same time. The hallway, which had been filled with noise from their struggle, suddenly fell silent.

Lysithea heard a knife being drawn again. It was being ripped from a body. Fear overcame her fever as she felt a chill run down her spine.

‘Please, it had to be Terrence killing him.’ 

She wanted him to kill them all and survive. She wanted him to make it to the end and come back to her, so she could be cured of her fever.

The doorknob turned slowly. The thick smell of blood wafted through the open doorway.

Lysithea looked up at his face like a dog waiting for its master. His top was covered in blood.

“Terrence….”

She stretched out her arms as if for a hug. Terrence went straight to his knees and shook his head, slightly restricting her reach.

“Lysithea, stay where you are. My whole body is covered in blood.”

But Lysithea ignored him and stepped into his arms, the hot blood on his clothes staining her white nightgown, but her body was still hotter.

Terrence stood still in the unexpected embrace, and then he laughed. Unable to help himself, he held her body close to his, covered in blood.

“Lysithea, are you okay? Are you hurt?”

“No, I’m not hurt. Are you? Are you with the knife?”

“Don’t worry, it’s not my blood.”

When she pulled away, she saw that he wasn’t even cut, let alone torn. Lysithea was both relieved and surprised.

Tommy defeated three men without getting hurt. He threw the last man against the wall and stabbed him.

“You’re hot. You have a high fever again.”

He gently stroked her arm and searched her face. Lysithea looked like someone who had died of a fever and come back to life. Her forehead was sweaty, disheveled, and even bloody.

She was struggling to keep her mind together. Without him, she would have fainted from the disgusting smell of blood and fear.

“Terrence, I’ve been waiting. I’ve been waiting for you a lot.” I think it’s too late; I think I am going to die.”

He smiled coolly. Lysithea felt relieved at the sight of his smile, despite his ghastly appearance and bloodstains. Although there were three dead men outside, the blood on the floor had soaked her knees.

Terrence had survived and come to her, and that was enough.

“Lysithea, take some medicine first; you’re running a fever again.”

Terrence handed her a handful of compresses from his arms and pressed them into her hands. her hand from his grasp until her knuckles were white.

“Eat, get some sleep, and I’ll do some organizing.”

“Clean up…?”

“The bodies out there. The bloodstains. I’ll clean it up in a minute.”

“I’ll… I’ll help you too.”

“No, you stay here. It’s easier for me to clean up, and it’s not a pretty sight for you to see.”

His voice was firm. Lysithea looked up at him as he stood up and left the room.

“Have a good sleep, Lysithea.”

He smiled, as if to reassure her, and closed the door behind him.

Left alone again, Lysithea rose to her feet. Her blood-soaked clothes were damp, and a fever boiled inside her.

She walked over to the table and swallowed the powdered pill with the rest of her chicken soup. She turned her head to look out the window, and she realized it was almost dusk. Her figure, clad in bloodstained clothes, was reflected in the cloudy, scarlet-colored glass.

“Hmm, I look like a ghost.”

Lysithea berated herself as she stripped off her clothes. Lysithea tossed her blood-stained nightgown to the floor and climbed n*k*d into bed. Despite Terrence’s advice to go to sleep, she found it difficult to do so with her clothes on.

‘When I wake up, there’ll be no blood, no bodies. I’m sure there will be because that’s what he said.’

Lysithea buried herself under the blankets. She felt a deep sense of trust and had no reason to doubt him anymore. She was happy to believe him.

‘I want him to stay by my side…’

She couldn’t stop thinking about it. A fever without any medicine was killing her.