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Chapter 14
Rosha, who had returned to the Baldwin Count’s estate, went straight into her room without checking on Joshua, who would be alone. The Count already knew she would be staying here anyway, so there was no need to report it, and more than anything, she didn’t feel like facing Joshua right now. On a day as foul as this, how fortunate it was to be able to rest without dealing with anyone…
It was actually a relief for Rosha that there weren’t even any servants in the annex because Joshua was frightening.
She couldn’t explain what state of mind she had been in. Even so, the fact that she had washed up cleanly and lay down on the bed was almost laughable.
‘Lily….’
To be honest, there were times when Rosha grew tired of searching for Lily.
No—she was always tired.
She believed Lily must be alive because that belief was the only thing keeping her going, but sometimes…
She wished she could just think Lily was dead and forget everything.
But even so, Rosha could not give up searching for her younger sister. There are things in this world that you simply cannot abandon, no matter how hard they are.
But on a day like today…
She had thought that this time she would finally find her, yet now that she had missed her so futilely—
Rosha felt more mentally exhausted than ever. She resented the orphanage director, but even more than that, she resented herself for not arriving sooner. She also resented Noah for not telling her about Lily earlier.
But what was the use of resenting everything in the world? She had already lost Lily.
On her way back, she had asked around about a blonde-haired girl, but she couldn’t find any clue about Lily.
Anger at herself for failing again made tears well up in her eyes. But Rosha buried her face in the pillow and wiped away the tears that streamed down for a long time. She kept telling herself stubbornly that she hadn’t cried since she hadn’t sobbed out loud.
Exhausted in both body and mind, Rosha eventually fell into a deep, dreamless darkness after crying for a long time.
Swish, swish, swish—
Rosha began to regain consciousness when she felt something brushing against her body as if tickling her, touching and then pulling away. It came from below, sniffing as if smelling her, moving upward.
‘…Sadrach?’
The thing sniffing her had reached her face.
Annoyed, Rosha tried to ignore Sadrach and go back to sleep.
Woof! Woof-woof!
…That is, if it hadn’t been for the sound of a puppy barking.
Sadrach was barking. That meant the thing climbing on her and sniffing her wasn’t Sadrach.
Now that she thought about it, for something sniffing her at such close range, it didn’t feel soft or furry at all.
The moment she realized that, Rosha opened her eyes.
A demon, its entire body covered in red protrusions, stood over her, its arms and legs planted on the ground beside the bed as it looked down at her.
Kkareureu, kkar.
From the demon’s mouth came a cry that sounded eerily like the bright laughter of a young girl.
The filthy creature’s breath—its disgusting stench—washed over Rosha.
Her face slowly twisted in disgust, but she reached out her hand toward the demon’s face. Flames burst forth from her hand, and the demon’s skin began to burn.
Its flesh melted gradually, thick liquid dripping down her wrist. The heat was enough to burn even her own skin, but Rosha endured without letting go.
Even if my body is crushed and burned to death, I won’t let this demon live.
Kkareureureu!
But Rosha couldn’t kill it. The demon violently shook its head and broke free from her grip. With its long limbs like a spider’s, it retreated a few steps across the bed, writhing as if in pain. Taking that chance, Rosha grabbed the trembling Sadrach from the corner, shoved him into the wardrobe, and shut the door.
She quickly tried to grab her staff, but she had lost too much time hiding Sadrach.
Kkaret!
The demon suddenly shot out its long, frog-like tongue.
“Ghk!”
The wet tongue wrapped around Rosha’s neck. The more she struggled, the tighter it constricted.
“Urgh…!”
At this rate, her neck would snap before the demon even dragged her away to devour her. Rosha tried to cast magic by placing her hand on the tongue wrapped around her throat, but her vision was fading—she was losing consciousness—and there was no way she could use magic in that state.
Magic could only be manifested while the caster still had mental strength and stamina. Using it on the verge of fainting was impossible.
“Ha… hhk….”
Tears streamed from her eyes reflexively. Desperate to live, Rosha clawed at the demon’s tongue with her nails, even knowing it was futile—but it was useless.
She had let her guard down. Even though she knew that carelessness could lead to death.
A sense of helplessness overtook her. Crack—she felt as if her bones were about to break. The focus in her eyes gradually faded.
Crash—!
At that moment, something shattered through the window and flew in.
Kkareut!
The demon was attacked, and its long tongue loosened from Rosha’s neck.
“Haah… haah…!”
As a tear rolled down, her vision cleared.
Lei—who she hadn’t seen since arriving—had smashed through the window and was pecking at the demon’s eye.
At least when it came to fighting these damned demons, fate always seemed to be on Rosha’s side. She reached for her staff—but the demon was faster. Avoiding Lei, the eagle that had gouged out one of its eyes, it fled through the broken window.
Rosha hurriedly leaned out and looked in the direction it had escaped.
The demon, climbing the wall like a spider with its long legs, had already entered another room through an open window.
“That’s…!”
Of all places, it was Joshua’s bedroom.
“Damn it!”
Rosha cursed harshly and rushed toward Joshua’s room.
…Or she was about to.
But something outside the window caught her eye.
A large number of dead white pigeons lay scattered.
“Lei, bring me one of those pigeon corpses.”
As soon as she gave the order, Lei darted out, grabbed one, and returned to her.
Wearing gloves, Rosha picked up the pigeon and sniffed it. It didn’t have the same smell as the demon.
Instead, it carried a different scent—one of evil.
“Lei, stay here and guard Sadrach.”
There was no reason to delay any longer. Rosha hurried to Joshua’s room.
Bang!
The door burst open, slamming against the wall. Joshua, who had been lying in bed, rubbed his eyes and sat up at the sound. His gaze fell on Rosha, whose expression was frighteningly cold.
“Rosha…?”
She strode over and flung open the wardrobe.
“Rosha, what are you doing…?”
Ignoring his question, she checked under the sofa, then under the bed. Joshua, unable to bear her strange behavior, was about to call her again—
“Ah—!”
Rosha suddenly grabbed him by the back of the neck and roughly shoved his small body onto the sofa.
“A demon came into your room.”
“A demon…?”
“A hideous monster!”
“I—I didn’t see anything…”
“Why was the window open while you were sleeping?”
“I-it felt stuffy…”
“In this cold weather?”
Having just been attacked after letting her guard down, Rosha was so agitated her hands trembled.
She didn’t even know whether this agitation came from fear and shock or from anger and disgust.
“The pigeon you touched was dead. Did you know that?”
“Th-that’s….”
As if it wasn’t entirely unexpected, the boy didn’t look particularly shocked.
Well, he knew that animals he touched could die under certain circumstances.
“You knew that when you’re depressed, touching animals increases the chance they’ll die. And you still touched them for comfort?”
“They came to me…”
“If you didn’t want them to die, you could’ve just stayed in your room and not touched them.”
“….”
“Or do you feel a thrill—some kind of pleasure—when you see life die?”
“N-no!”
It had been Joshua who touched the pigeons today. They weren’t even domesticated pigeons—just wild ones. There was no way anyone else had touched them. Besides, hardly anyone came to the annex.
Yet the pigeon corpses carried the scent of evil. A deeper, denser evil than the demon’s. When she was around twelve, Rosha had once smelled it strongly before.
Babel.
That was what they called the forces of evil that sought to mock God. They carried a thick, damp scent—like blooming roses. To others it might be pleasant, but to Rosha, who hunted evil, it was a nauseating stench.
And that exact stench—the signature rose perfume used by the Babel group—was coming from the pigeons Joshua had touched.
“You’re not hiding anything from me?”
“N-no…”
“Really?”
“I—I’m scared, Rosha…”
Rosha thought it was strange. Very strange.
Opening a window wide open in this cold because it felt stuffy?
A massive demon had clearly entered this room, yet now there was no trace of it.
Most of all, the fact that the pigeons Joshua touched carried Babel’s scent was the strangest of all. That distinctive smell—foul to Rosha—only came from those affiliated with Babel.
Rosha took out the pocket watch hanging from her neck.
“R-Rosha…”
“Stay still!”
The frightened boy pleaded, but Rosha pressed down hard on his neck and snapped at him.
“Look at this watch carefully.”
If Joshua wouldn’t confess willingly, she intended to hypnotize him into telling the truth. Even as tears welled up in his eyes, Rosha did not stop.
Just as she was about to slowly swing the pocket watch—
“Stop.”
Someone who had approached without a sound grabbed her arm.
Recognizing the familiar voice, Rosha slowly lifted her head.
“…Kashin.”
Kashin looked down at her with cold eyes.
Seeing the chill in his gaze, Rosha realized it only then—
That she had been acting irrationally.
