'How did you...'
She knew he was looking for Madam Marsha, right?
Jane's toes became tingly.
When he saw Jane's white face, he turned his head in the other direction.
Since no one knew even after asking, it seemed like he was planning to go find it himself.
Jane barely managed to speak with all the courage she mustered.
"Every evening, Mrs. Marsha buys flatbread from the bakery down the street and returns home. It is where the red-leafed twin trees are planted."
His body stopped at her words.
The man nodded weakly and muttered softly.
"Thanks."
Jane watched the back of the man going down to the village until he disappeared and then returned to the mansion.
Even though she locked the door, the goosebumps did not go away.
Dorothea, who had been asked to run a strange errand, was sleeping with a peaceful face.
For some reason, Jane felt strangely relieved to see that face, so she buried her face next to her and tried to sleep.
After the young maid fell asleep, the water in the water bowl at the bedside shook lightly.
Contrary to the peaceful atmosphere inside the room, the man's sword was causing a wind of blood outside.
***
In the middle of the night, Jane woke up with an eerie and cold feeling.
Dorothea was half-rising, glaring out the empty window.
"Why are you up, Lady?"
Despite Jane's surprised question, Dorothea instead of answering, pushed away Jane's hand that was outstretched to support her.
Even if she looked again a second or third time, Jane saw nothing special other than the swaying tree branches outside the window.
"Miss...?"
Jane's heart sank.
Dorothea's eyes were shining more intensely than ever before.
Jane, embarrassed, blocked Dorothea's path toward the door with her arms outstretched.
"What are you going to do?"
"Jane."
It was only for a moment, but Dorothea's pale pink eyes seemed as dark as shining red rubies.
"I have to go."
Jane jumped at the clear voice.
"Where are you going?"
"If it's too late, the guests might leave."
Jane stomped her feet towards Dorothea, who was still speaking enigmatically with her eyes fixed outside.
"What on earth are you talking about? Who is that guest?"
"We have to go now so we can properly stop him."
Before her eyes, a whitish, barely formed road appeared.
Something was guiding her to the guest.
Looking at its precarious appearance, as if it would turn into smoke and disperse at any moment, she felt that if she delayed, she would miss the opportunity.
'That's why it's so difficult.'
She had to correct it before he crossed the line. The sword fed with blood becomes murderous.
The sword, filled with resentment from the blood of countless people, will thirst for more blood regardless of the man's will.
Eventually, it will not stop until it kills its owner's will and takes control of its spirit.
You start off as a human, but you have no choice but to become a monster.
She had to intervene now to break the vicious cycle of resentment.
"There's no need to see more blood, right? We have to move first before the guests leave."
Something crossed Jane's mind as she tried to dissuade Dorothea once again from her persevering words.
Guest. Surely Dorothea had called the man Jane met earlier as a 'guest'?
A man who looked suspicious and dangerous.
"Can't we just let him go?"
There was earnestness in the eyes full of question.
Just because she was young, Jane couldn't have sensed the man's unusual aura.
Dorothea held out her hand, pretending not to hear her worried words.
"Please support me."
From the faint traces of the road, the ferocious cries of a once-human spirit could be heard. An intense resentment was wafting like an earthy smell in the air.
Her nose is going numb. If It's too late, her eyes and ears will also be blocked.
Dorothea patted the frightened maid.
Whether she liked it or not, she couldn't move on her own, so she had no choice but to get help from this child.
"I'll give you an amulet."
Jane gasped as she tore off a corner of the intact paper.
"Go, take some expensive paper."
Despite Jane's groans, Dorothea's touch did not hesitate.
The maid let out a painful groan in a different sense than before when she was frightened.
A piece of paper costs more than three meals. Dorothea was handling such expensive items without any care.
The paper, which had been torn a few more times into thin pieces, fluttered helplessly. No matter how much she looked at it, it was just a tattered piece of paper, but Dorothea smiled and handed it to Jane.
"Now, here is the amulet."
Jane received a tattered piece of paper called a 'talisman' with a frown on her face.
Although it was only a temporary account, it was sure to be helpful since Dorothea had put a lot of effort into making it herself.
"We have to leave now."
The interval between cries was increasing. Vengeful spirits flocked to the road buried in the black darkness far away.
If there were too many blind ears, it would be difficult to organize them.
'Because the body is shaped like this.'
After receiving the coin from Dorothea, Jane went out the door, crying while supporting her master.
"To the river. We have to go to the river at the end of the alley."
"Yes."
Dorothea pinpointed exactly where the river was.
The steps toward a place she had never been to before were unstoppable.
"What on earth are you going to do there in the middle of the night? What does it mean to meet a guest?"
"You just have to struggle a little more."
Jane, with Dorothea's body wrapped around her, almost shuffled forward.
Although she grumbled and cried, the maid faithfully carried out her orders.
Dorothea smiled and looked at the sky behind Jane.
Fortunately, the road to the top had not yet opened, so she thought she would be able to arrive in time.
'I'll have to hope that it can be a good kite.'
Next to her, a shapeless fog followed them, whitishly following them.
She found herself humming along the way to get strong, healthy legs.
***
The man washed the sword in the flowing river.
Because his entire body was covered in blood, the blood that flowed from his sleeves fell back onto his sword.
Finally, after washing his body in the cool river water, the man came out and picked up a sword. There was some light blood left here and there, but it looked more acceptable than before.
Even though the blood was washed away, it was not possible to remove all the bloody smell from the body.
'It's not as easy as I thought.'
A tired breath escaped from the man's mouth.
Just as the little girl had told him, the woman he was waiting for passed by the alley to buy bread.
The woman, who had a smile on her face, perhaps to feed her children, did not give up her life easily. Perhaps because she knew that her children would be aimed at the tip of the sword, she retreated backward while still being stabbed by the sword and desperately escaped.
Thanks to this, blood was everywhere.
When the day dawns, it's hard to not notice the blood stains in the alley.
'I guess I'll have to leave here early.'
He wanted to leave right away, but the question was whether he would be able to pass through the gate with his body covered in the smell of blood.
The gauging man's brows narrowed.
Since he couldn't finish the job, he couldn't get caught yet.
"Alrin..."
The man closed his eyes while quietly repeating his dead sister's name.
When his eyes opened again and he was filled with determination toward his next goal, he felt a clumsy show of affection approaching the person who was becoming more and more sensitive.
As he turned his head, he saw two small figures steadily approaching him.
It wasn't because it was far away.
Looking at the clearly visible shapes, the people approaching him were two girls so young and small that they did not even fit around his waist.
Leaning on each other, they slowly and desperately approach this direction.
It was as if it was coming for him.
He glanced at his condition.
Even if they were a child who didn't know anything, they might be embarrassed if they saw him.
'I deliberately looked for a place with few people.'
How on earth do children come here at this late hour?
The eyes of the girl who was being supported from afar met the eyes of the man.
At that moment, his mind, which had been clouded due to fatigue, gradually became clearer, as if a fog had cleared. The girl looked at him and smiled.
'I found it, my leg.'
Her puffy mouth clearly said so.
***
Dorothea smiled at the man who froze after making eye contact with her.
Jane, who had helped Dorothea all the way here, was very tired.
She was so busy trying to keep the girl's feet from dragging on the ground that she didn't notice that someone was standing by the river.
Dorothea ordered Jane, who was breathing heavily.
"Now stop."
Jane stopped in confusion and looked at the Young Lady.
Her heart sank as she thought maybe she had called her because she couldn't stand it because her body was in pain.
However, Dorothea was breathing relatively evenly, even though she had a blank face and bright blue lips.
Jane turned her head to follow Dorothea's gaze and involuntarily took a breath.
"Miss, that person..."
The man approached without hesitation in the direction where the two people were. His entire body was soaked and dripping with river water, and in one hand he was holding a sword with a blue spirit flowing from it.
Jane's body stiffened from the bloody smell carried by the wind.
She should have run away right away with Dorothea in tow, but to his horror, his body froze and did not move.
On the other hand, Dorothea, who was receiving the man's burning gaze, was smiling.
The sound of the sword ringing Ioudly rang in her ears, but she liked the man's sharp and shaped eyes, so she let it go.
All that was shed into the water were drops of blood.
The lives he had killed were clinging to his body like ghosts, squeezing him terribly.
A foolish man who doesn't know this will wash himself in the river again and again. There's no way he'll feel refreshed like that.
'It is a deadly sword.'
The man's blood-soaked sword was already consumed by fraud.
If left like this, it will become a monster that craves more blood and destroys its owner.
"It's late at night. It's not a place worth coming to with two small children, so go back."
A low, cracked voice commanded the two. Jane took a couple of steps back, hiding the Lady behind her.
In fact, Dorothea remained calm, as if she could not see the man's distorted face or the bloody sword.
She gritted her teeth, patted Jane's back, and asked the man.
"Have you sorted out your affairs with Madam Marsha?"
"..."
"I was not feeling well, so I sent this child instead, but I was secretly worried that she might not have been able to give you proper directions. Fortunately, it looks like you came to the right place."
Death poured out of the man's eyes, but Dorothea remained calm.
"Are you relieved to end a long-standing bad relationship?"
Dorothea was curious.
What would have happened if the 'Jae-shin' of her previous life had gone in the direction of harming all those who used her instead of throwing herself away?
The man in front of her did just that.
All those who drove her sister to death would have ended their lives with that sword.
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