Episode 77. Adel's Secret Move (2)
Gooooo...
The underground cemetery was quiet, and a distant wind could be heard from somewhere.
And a different chill than before came over me. I heard that there was a secret ventilation shaft somewhere, and that must have been the reason.
The sarcophagi lined up neatly gave off a faint glow even in the darkness. The busts in front of the sarcophagi looked like living people, giving me goosebumps.
“Really... Just try not to...”
Seira’s sobbing voice echoed in the quiet cemetery. At that moment,
“Ouch!”
Seira, who was looking around, stepped on something under her feet and slipped.
Fortunately, she stumbled and regained her balance. And as she looked at the lantern under her feet, she was startled.
At that moment, she realized that if she was too surprised, she wouldn’t even scream.
“I saw skeletons that hadn’t been properly collected. I don’t know if they were animals or people... There must have been dozens.”
Adele's words were true!
***
The next morning.
A carriage with the Oswald family crest engraved on it entered the main gate of the mansion.
At the end of a long road lined with large trees on both sides, a mansion with large and small red brick buildings and a pointed blue-green roof gradually revealed its grandeur.
Adele involuntarily shivered at the familiar scenery outside the carriage.
Even now, it was a place that persistently appeared in her nightmares, along with the day her mother died.
Whenever she dreamed of being trapped in this mansion and unable to leave, she felt as if she were suffocating to death.
In the meantime, the carriage continued into the center of the Oswald family's mansion.
Soon, the coachman stopped the carriage, and the door opened.
Outside, a man in neat clothes led servants and greeted her.
"Welcome, Adele."
Stone Oswald, the main character of her nightmare.
"Do you like it? It was a place my long-dead wife liked."
The last place Stone brought Adele to while walking in the garden was the greenhouse.
To be exact, a secret room inside the greenhouse.
The wall that looked like a mirror from the outside was actually the entrance to the secret room.
Upon entering the secret room, the back of the mirror was transparent like a glass window.
You couldn’t see this place from the outside, but from here, you could fully appreciate the scenery inside the greenhouse.
It was still early spring, but the inside of the greenhouse was bright and beautiful with flowers and trees in full bloom.
Adele had no idea that there was a secret room like this here.
Of course, she couldn’t see such beautiful scenery right now.
“Where’s Tanya?”
“Sit down for now.”
Stone pointed to a fancy tea table and chair in the middle of the secret room.
There were tea and snacks in the finest teacups. It was as if he had invited her for tea time.
“Where’s Tanya?”
“I told you to sit down, Adele. If you want to save Tanya, listen to me first.”
Stone smiled kindly, but there was a maddening, murderous look in his eyes.
Adele had no choice but to sit down on the chair.
In fact, what she had to do now was to buy time.
Christine searched the mansion under the pretext of finding herself, and he found Tanya and the skeletal remains.
“Show me some evidence that Tanya is safe.”
Stone held out a key in front of Adele.
“It’s the key to where that girl is locked up somewhere in this mansion. When I’m done with my business, take it and save that girl.”
Adele quickly grabbed the key.
“What’s your business?”
“To have tea with you. Here, drink, Adele. It’s your favorite black tea and cake.”
But Adele just looked at it and didn’t touch the teacup.
“Why, do you think it’s poisoned?”
“Because you're the kind of person who would still have leftovers.”
Stone laughed out loud as if it were funny.
“Well, no one knows me better than you. If you’re suspicious, should I switch?”
He reached for the teacup in front of Adele.
“No problem. Just drink yours. You probably expected me to do this.”
“You are too suspicious, Miss Adele.”
He drank the teacup in front of him without hesitation. Then he shrugged his shoulders as if it was okay.
“Is it really okay to leave after I finish this tea?”
“Of course.”
But Adele didn’t believe him.
“You really... can’t be the only reason you called me?”
“Of course not. Have you forgotten? I told you I would show you the silver wolf.”
Adele’s eyes wavered at the silver wolf’s words.
Stone didn’t miss that. He knew her weakness better than anyone else.
“If you see the guy who killed your mother, shoot him with your own hands. With that terrifying weapon you’ve been hiding.”
Adele felt a sting. She had hidden the pistol in her garter today in case Stone would search her pouch. But he seemed to have already noticed.
“No problem. Right now, saving Tanya comes first.”
And Adele drank the tea in front of her in one gulp.
Stone’s eyes narrowed as he watched her.
“Adele, do you know why my wife liked this place?”
When Adele came into this house 10 years ago, Stone’s wife had already died. She died in a fire at the villa, and there wasn’t even a single portrait left. So Adele didn’t know anything about her.
“She must have liked flowers.”
“No, it’s because the scent of flowers was so strong here that I couldn’t find her.”
“What are you saying...?”
Adele wondered as she put down her empty teacup.
“My wife secretly made this secret room. So that she could hide in a place where I couldn’t find her by smell. She was a woman who made me feel so angry and anxious, just like you.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“But there was one thing my wife didn’t know. When you turn into a beast, your sense of smell becomes much more acute, so you can find her right away. Of course, because of that, she unintentionally caught me in my true form.”
Was Stone really a member of the wolf clan?
“And he’ll probably be like that today.”
And Christine too...?
Stone didn’t miss that. He knew her weakness better than anyone else.
“If you see the guy who killed your mother, shoot him with your own hands. With that terrifying weapon you’ve been hiding.”
Adele felt a sting. She had hidden the pistol in her garter today in case Stone would search her pouch. But he seemed to have already noticed.
“No problem. Right now, saving Tanya comes first.”
And Adele drank the tea in front of her in one gulp.
Stone’s eyes narrowed as he watched her.
“Adele, do you know why my wife liked this place?”
When Adele came into this house 10 years ago, Stone’s wife had already died. She died in a fire at the villa, and there wasn’t even a single portrait left. So Adele didn’t know anything about her.
“She must have liked flowers.”
“No, it’s because the scent of flowers was so strong here that I couldn’t find her.”
“What are you saying...?”
Adele wondered as she put down her empty teacup.
“My wife secretly made this secret room. So that she could hide in a place where I couldn’t find her by smell. She was a woman who made me feel so angry and anxious, just like you.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“But there was one thing my wife didn’t know. When you turn into a beast, your sense of smell becomes much more acute, so you can find her right away. Of course, because of that, she unintentionally caught me in my true form.”
Was Stone really a member of the wolf clan?
“And he’ll probably be like that today.”
And Christine too...?
“You probably guessed it to some extent, right?”
Adele didn’t want to hear any more.
Stone was talking as if he were a silver wolf.
It sounded like he was saying that it was a trap set to show her his true form.
“He’ll come to save you soon, right?”
“That’s okay. I’ll just get up...”
Her vision suddenly spun around, and Adele, who had gotten up from her chair, stumbled and grabbed the table.
“Oh. Are you dizzy, Adele?”
Stone came over and quickly grabbed her.
“You didn’t put drugs in my tea...?”
When Adele glared at him with a sad face,
“I put drugs in both glasses. I already took the antidote.”
The man’s eyes, smiling thinly, gleamed like a snake’s evil.
***
“What the hell is going on?”
Seira shouted sharply at the guards who had barged in since morning.
“We’ve come to find my fiancée, who was kidnapped by Marquis Oswald.”
When the heavy voice was heard, the guards quickly split to either side. Christine, dressed in a black uniform, appeared in the middle of them, walking slowly.
“Kidnapping? That’s not happening. Go back!”
“If you want to protest, make it official through the head of the household.”
Seira flared up at the tone of voice that ignored her.
“I’m the head of the household!”
“The same means you're not the head of the household.”
Christine immediately ignored Seira and ordered his subordinates.
“Search!”
But Seira quickly spread her arms and blocked the door.
“Where the hell are you acting like this! If the nobles find out, they won’t stay still!”
Seira threatened, even mentioning the nobles, but Christine just looked at her calmly. His blue-gray eyes were as eerie as sharp blades.
“As you wish. Right now, I’m worried about my fiancée’s safety, so I can’t see anything.”
He pushed Seira away with his shoulder and strode into the mansion.
Dozens of guards followed him like an occupying force. They busily dispersed to all sides of the mansion according to Zimmer and Christine’s instructions.
The Oswald guards also came rushing in after hearing the commotion.
“What are you guys doing! Stop them!”
Seira shouted. However, everyone couldn’t move when they saw Christine standing in the hall of the mansion. Who would dare attack Count Weiss unless they were someone who didn’t want to live?
“Which way is the underground ossuary?”
Seira flinched at the sudden question.
“The ossuary?”
“I think my fiancée was taken there.”
Seira seemed to know the real reason he had barged in like this.
“You, looking for Adele, is just an excuse...”
At that moment, Zimmer shouted from the end of the north corridor.
“This way! We will search!”
“No!”
Seira ran to stop them. Of course, it was not enough to stop the guards who were rushing down to the basement.
At this point, the search seemed to be over.
However, Christine could not shake off his ominous feeling.
He had definitely been able to smell Adele’s scent as he entered Oswald’s mansion. However, at some point, that scent had disappeared.
As if she no longer existed here.
He went out to the garden where he had last felt Adele’s traces. He closed his eyes and concentrated all his senses.
But he still could not feel anything.
Her voice, her scent, nothing...
What was even more ominous was that Stone’s traces had also been erased.
‘Is this the limit for humans?’
When you become a wolf, your wildness is enhanced, and your senses become much more sensitive.
The problem was that it was broad daylight, so he might be discovered by people.
And if he went wild, it would be difficult to control himself.
However, he had to decide.
Should he continue wandering around looking for Adele, or should he find her quickly, even at the risk of being discovered?
If he thought about what the cruel Stone might do to her even at this hour...
In the end, he made up his mind.
After finding her, he would deal with the aftermath later!
***
“Adele? Adele?”
Stone, who had Adele, who was lying limply, sat down on the chair, and gently tapped her cheek.
Adele did not move, only slightly frowning.
Stone, very satisfied with the sight, put his pocket watch down on the table.
“Are you listening to me? Don’t worry. It’s not that dangerous a poison. You’ll just be unable to move for about an hour.”
“...!”
“But you can hear and see without any problem. That way, you can see the silver wolf you’ve been wanting to meet so much.”
Then Stone turned the chair Adele was sitting on so that he could see the greenhouse entrance well.
If the silver wolf came in there, she had no choice but to see it, even if she didn’t want to.
“Now, he’ll be coming in here soon. You can see it very well, right? So look carefully. Who is your enemy?”
Stone closed his eyes.
He could hear footsteps coming closer from afar.
“Yes, just a little bit more...”
He waited anxiously for Christine.
If his hunch was right, it was definitely the silver wolf.
His own clan had been exterminated.
But the reason he wanted to meet his clan so much was because of Adele. Because she was so similar to that woman who had turned her back on him and chosen death. He would torment her for a long time. Just imagining Adele, who would think of him as her mother’s enemy and suffer, brought on a surge of joy.
Clink!
“...!”
The cold metallic sound he heard at that moment.
“Put your hands up.”
“How...?”
Stone panicked as if something impossible had happened.
“Quick!”
Feeling the muzzle of the gun against the back of his head, he had no choice but to raise both hands.
“The anesthesia can’t have worn off already...”
“I already took the antidote.”
Stone’s face distorted.
“That’s ridiculous... How...?”
“Have you forgotten? I was the one who cleaned your room every day. And I memorized all the notes you studied. What kind of poisons do you like to use, and how to make the antidote...”
Stone looked like he had been hit hard in the back of his head.
“You memorized my notes?”
“Yes, I already guessed that you would poison the former Marquis. I could have used an antidote, but I didn’t.”
Adele muttered in a dark voice after a pause.
“He had to die so that I could leave the Oswalds. And the Marquis... knew everything.”
It was one of the reasons why Adele had silently endured the false accusations that she had poisoned her husband.
Stone was the one who killed him, but she couldn’t be free from guilt.
Moreover, he, who had been comforting her as he died, already knew everything.
“Adele...! You... you evil bastard!”
Adele laughed out loud.
“It feels good to hear that from you. It was worth taking all these risks.”
Stone felt a chill for the first time. He could really feel the killing intent from Adele.
This time, it seemed like she was really going to blow his head off.
“Adele... think about it again for a moment. Don’t you really want to see the silver wolf? Huh? The one who killed your mother...”
Stone slyly tried to persuade her, his eyes shining brightly.
Of course, the response he got was sarcastic.
“Now go to hell, Stone!”
Bam!
At that moment, the door to the greenhouse beyond the glass window opened.
Adele turned her gaze without realizing it and saw it coming in through the door.
It was all dazzling silver...
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