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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 17
Chapter Title: A Convenient Misunderstanding
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“Why, why?”
I tugged hard on her sleeve, but Hazel didn’t budge.
Her dazed expression had vanished, replaced by a sharp gaze fixed on the second-floor hallway. She seemed to be staring at something at the end of the dark corridor.
“Emily.”
“Yes?”
“You said no one was home but you and Yulia.”
“R-Right. I did. Why? I think the wind just slammed a window shut. Or maybe it was one of the other servants…”
“No. That was the sound of something breaking.”
“Maybe they’re moving furniture…?”
“Perhaps, but you never know. We should check it out.”
My lame excuses didn’t sway Hazel. Instead, she shook off my hand and started walking slowly down the second-floor hallway.
“Hazel? Hazel, what’s wrong?”
“Shh. Just a moment.”
Hazel mouthed the words, “I think there’s an intruder.”
*Probably not an intruder, just my zombified brother….*
I felt like crying.
*Step, step.*
*Creek.*
*Step, step.*
*Creek.*
Hazel walked down the hall, methodically opening each door. After passing several empty rooms, she reached the one at the very end of the corridor.
I knew my brothers were hiding in there.
*Click.*
When she tried the handle, she found the door was locked. A strange light flickered in Hazel’s eyes.
*‘This is it.’*
Hazel mouthed. Yes, she’d found it, all right.
“It might just be a stuck lock. Our house is a bit old, so it happens sometimes. And if a window was open, a decoration could have fallen and made a loud noise…”
“It didn’t sound like that, Emily.”
This girl was too sharp for her own good.
“It could be dangerous, so stay back a little.”
She pushed me behind her.
As soon as she confirmed I was a safe distance away, Hazel prepared to ram the door with her entire body.
I was out of options.
I was debating whether I should just confess that it wasn’t an intruder inside, but my zombified brother.
“…sac!”
A shout came from within the room. Hazel froze and pressed her ear against the door.
Another, clearer voice rang out.
“Isaac! Stop!”
It was Edmond’s voice. My lie was exposed.
Hazel’s eyes rolled toward me. The divine power within her flared as if reacting to her emotional turmoil.
I forced down the rising nausea.
“Actually… about that. I lied.”
I decided to come clean first.
“About Yulia practicing alchemy.”
“…So it seems. You said your brothers Isaac and Edmond weren’t home. Why would you lie about that?”
Hazel looked utterly confused. And why wouldn’t she? What reason could there possibly be for such a lie?
“Well… it’s something difficult to talk about with others.”
I stalled, trying to come up with a plausible excuse. As I beat around the bush, Hazel’s brows twitched in confusion.
Just then, another noise erupted from the room.
*Creaaak, craaack!*
It sounded like furniture screaming. It was clearly the sound of something being shaken violently.
Hearing it, Hazel’s expression turned grave.
“……Don’t tell me.”
“Hm?”
“Before, when I asked why your brothers were of marrying age but didn’t even have a fiancée, you were so evasive. The reason for that was…”
She seemed to be piecing together some puzzle I knew nothing about.
“Then the thumping sounds… and this locked door… and the fact that they’re home but haven’t shown themselves, it all…”
Only then did I understand what Hazel was implying.
I had to bite the inside of my cheek hard to keep from laughing. It was a real struggle; I felt like a single moment of weakness would let a chuckle escape.
“So, Isaac… and Edmond?”
Hazel asked, as if seeking confirmation. I nodded with a somber expression.
That was all it took.
That small affirmation seemed to give wings to her imagination, and Hazel’s face flushed bright red.
Then, as if snapping back to her senses, she narrowed her eyes.
“……Are you sure you’re not just making excuses? I’ve been in and out of this house since we were children and I’ve seen them both, but I never once saw any sign of that.”
The suspicion didn’t seem to be fading from her face, as if the idea was too preposterous to believe.
I let out a small sigh and knocked on the door.
“Edmond, are you in there?”
If I was right, Isaac might be a mess, but Edmond and Yulia should be coherent.
“Brother, can you open the door for a second? Just show me your face.”
A moment later, the lock clicked, and the door opened a crack.
The gap was so narrow I could barely see one of Edmond’s eyes, and he was blocking the doorway so completely that I couldn’t see inside at all.
“……What is it?”
Edmond’s voice was heavy and low.
His face was etched with fatigue, as though he’d just been through an ordeal. His clothes were disheveled, as if he’d thrown them on in a hurry.
Most importantly, a clear set of teeth marks was imprinted on the exposed skin of his neck.
“I-I-I’m so sorry!”
Hazel promptly bowed deeply. The tips of her ears turned bright red.
“I, uh, I didn’t mean to interrupt…. I didn’t realize, that the two of you, I mean…”
“…It’s fine. Just be more careful next time.”
Edmond replied curtly before closing the door again.
*Thud.*
Standing before the closed door, Hazel couldn’t bring herself to lift her head for a long time.
It fell to me to console her as she stood there dazed, and eventually get her into her carriage to go home.
“Please, tell them I’m sorry again.”
“Yes. I will. And I’d appreciate it if you didn’t mention this to anyone… if that’s okay?”
“Of course. I won’t tell a soul.”
Hazel nodded solemnly, as if she’d just received a divine oracle. She looked ready to take the secret to her grave.
“Well then, I’ll see you next time.”
I smiled slightly and waved, and Hazel waved back.
With a final farewell, the carriage carrying Hazel departed. I watched its back until it disappeared into a tiny dot before turning around.
*Step, step.*
I went up the stairs and stopped only when I reached the end of the second-floor hallway.
*Knock, knock.*
“It’s me.”
The door opened as soon as I finished speaking. Edmond looked like he had a lot to say, but there were more important matters at hand.
In the center of the room lay Isaac, his eyes stained a dark crimson, his limbs bound.
Yulia’s legs were broken, likely from trying to subdue him, and Edmond’s arm was twisted at an odd angle.
The room was covered in scratches from fingernails and teeth. There was even a chunk bitten out of the corner of the desk, perfectly matching the shape of a jaw.
Isaac seemed to have lost his mind completely. He kept squirming as if to resist, but with every movement, the ropes only dug deeper into his wrists and ankles.
“Grrrrr…”
He was even growling like a beast.
Swallowing a rising sigh, I managed to ask.
“What on earth happened?”
The moment I spoke, Isaac flinched again. A gruesome crack echoed as the rope twisted his wrist.
“I’m not sure. He just suddenly turned violent…”
Edmond answered, his face weary.
“He kept trying to run somewhere. I think it was in Hazel’s direction. We were this close to being discovered.”
Yulia, her face pale, added her part. She was sprawled on the floor, unable to move due to her broken legs.
“Grrrr…”
I slowly approached Isaac. Even in his frenzied state, he seemed to recognize me and quieted down.
When I reached out my hand, he even nuzzled his cheek against it, like a puppy seeking affection.
His behavior was completely different from before.
“What? Why is he like this with you…?”
The faces of the other two, who had been battered while trying to restrain Isaac, turned strange.
—It is instinct for a familiar to obey its master.
*Thud.*
Lev slipped through the broken window and landed inside the room.
—And to protect its master from a Holy Knight.
Lev let out a long, drawn-out *meow*, a languid smile on his face.
“Lev. It’s dangerous. Get over here.”
—Hmph. Don’t change the subject!
“It’s okay, it’s okay.”
I treated him like a normal cat, hugging him tightly. At that, Isaac shied away from Lev.
“I don’t know the exact cause, but I think it was because of Hazel.”
“I did get an unsettling feeling from her.”
“He’s reacting to her divine power. It’s making me feel a bit sick, too.”
My stomach, upset by the divine power, was still churning.
“And I did tamper with Isaac a second time.”
Yulia and Edmond must have also felt an aversion to the divine power, but they didn’t lose their minds trying to protect me like Isaac did.
That had to be the only reason Isaac had overreacted so violently.
“So because we’re zombies… we have an adverse reaction to divine power, to the point of losing our sanity?”
“It seems so.”
I lied with a straight face.
If I hadn’t been so close to Hazel, Isaac would never have lost control like that. He would have felt an instinctual aversion and suffered, but that would have been the end of it.
*Reacting to divine power is one thing, but reacting because of me is another story entirely.*
But there was no way Edmond or Yulia could see through my lie. They were almost completely dependent on me for information about black magic.
Besides, Hazel was scheduled to be dispatched to the Frostwood soon, so we wouldn’t be seeing her for a while.
My words must have sounded plausible, because Edmond simply nodded slowly.
—You still haven’t managed to fix that bad habit of yours.
Lev stared at me, his pupils long, vertical slits.
