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Chapter 39
The umbrella lifted slightly, and for the first time, I caught sight of the servants who had been hidden from view.
Had they really been standing frozen in the rain all this time?
Soaked to the bone, the servants moved sluggishly, as though only now coming back to life. But the moment their eyes met mine, they froze all over again.
Eki’s pigtails, only half-covered by her spade, drooped heavily, drenched with water.
Jameson, foaming at the mouth, clutched the back of his neck and looked ready to topple over.
Only Alex, crouched under a giant tree and holding onto one of its branches, seemed to be faring a little better—
Crack!
The branch snapped in his hands.
No, but really…
“Could it be… the Duke can’t even see them?”
If flesh had truly melted and bones disintegrated as the rumors claimed, those servants would have already been dead.
Even monsters would have suffered, and yet Eki, too, seemed completely unharmed—just pitifully squinting against the downpour, unable to open her eyes properly.
But the Duke pulled me in even tighter, so I couldn’t look anymore.
“This is… unnecessary! You don’t have to go this far!”
His chest was so firm that my cheek, pressed against it, flattened completely.
Embarrassed, I tried to wriggle free, but his body was like stone—unyielding, immovable.
A rapid heartbeat thudded against my ear.
Thump, thump, thump.
I couldn’t tell if it was his or mine.
“Shasha.”
His gentle voice rumbled above my head.
“You mustn’t step outside.”
Ah… I realized it then.
The erratic pounding wasn’t just mine. Both of our hearts were racing. No—more than two. It felt as though countless hearts were fluttering wildly all at once.
While the servants stood drenched in rain, unnoticed, he was desperately trying to shield only me.
“Could it be… the Duke… likes me?”
That conclusion hit me squarely in the chest.
Me, the heroine of a fresh, awkward romance—
with a monstrous Duke who had never once experienced love.
My cheeks flared hot. I gave up resisting, squeezed my eyes shut, and let myself stay there.
Yes, after all, I’d been trying so hard for his sake lately—
But then—
“If you go out, you’ll die.”
“….”
“A human body will be crushed, Shasha. Bones will disintegrate.”
Ah.
Just like that, my hammering heart snapped back to normal. My eyes, clouded with emotion, cleared into icy focus.
The Duke wasn’t protecting me because he liked me.
He was terrified.
He truly believed that if I stepped outside the umbrella, I might die. His trembling voice betrayed it.
So he actually believed those absurd rumors…?
My chest sank with disappointment.
Meanwhile, the unbearable itch at the crown of my head finally vanished—just from scratching it once.
Perhaps it wasn’t the Duke’s embrace that made me itch after all.
Instead, it was my finger that now tingled strangely.
“Let’s head inside. Cleaning is impossible in this weather.”
At last, the Duke ordered everyone to withdraw.
Still pulled tight against him, my cheek squashed, I trudged forward toward the manor.
“Ugh, my hand… so itchy.”
Unable to endure it, I finally raised my hand to check—
And froze.
“…Huh?”
On my finger clung something black.
It didn’t fall. It clung fast, opaque and dark as pitch.
Was it dirt? Mud?
No.
When I shifted my finger, it slid like liquid, but too viscous to be just water.
Not quite slime, not quite liquid, and no matter how much I shook, it wouldn’t come off.
“Could this be… a raindrop?”
Just before the itching started, a drop had hit my head. Then I scratched—and the itch had transferred to my finger.
It had to be that.
“Don’t tell me… it’s acid rain?”
But my skin wasn’t melting, nor were my bones dissolving.
I stared at the black droplet, wriggling across my fingertip like a living thing.
“Ugh… it itches so much.”
No wonder such ominous rumors spread. Black rain that makes you itch like mad? Terrifying.
By the time we reached the manor, my resolve was set.
“Thank goodness the head maid didn’t get wet,” one of the servants said.
All of them were soaked, including Eki, who beamed at me as if nothing were wrong.
And yet—on their bodies was nothing but clear, ordinary rainwater.
While I… still had this sticky, black droplet clinging stubbornly to my finger.
…
Could it really be just bad hygiene? No, I had bathed today!
Panicking, I clasped my hands behind my back, hiding it from view.
The droplet slid down, circled once around my finger, and stuck again.
The itch was maddening.
“I’ll, um, return to my quarters for a bit!”
I couldn’t endure it anymore.
Blurting out an excuse, I bolted toward the dormitory.
The rain poured down.
I crouched by a basin, scrubbing my finger raw beneath running water. I even lathered with handmade soap.
“Why won’t it come off?!”
No matter how hard I scrubbed, the black thing only spun lazily, refusing to budge.
All it did was itch. Maddeningly.
“Shasha!”
“Kyaa!”
Already screaming inside from the itch, I shrieked out loud when someone grabbed my shoulder.
I nearly toppled backward, but strong hands steadied me.
It was Eki.
“Eki?”
“What’s wrong, Shasha?”
Instinctively, I tried to hide my hand.
“You never run back to the quarters during work hours…”
Her golden eyes, brimming with concern, caught mine.
I faltered.
If there was anyone I could trust not to call me filthy, it was her.
Haltingly, I showed her my finger.
“Actually, this happened—”
But she cut me off with a gasp.
“This!”
Before I could explain, she seized my hand and pulled it to her face, inspecting the black droplet intently.
“Shasha, are you hurt? Does it pain you?”
“N-no, just itchy. I think a raindrop fell on my head, and then—”
“What? Lower your head, quickly!”
Wait, my scalp is fine now—
But Eki was relentless. With surprising strength, she grabbed my head and forced it down, inspecting my crown thoroughly.
How could such force come from her small frame? If she didn’t let go, I’d be stuck like this forever.
And yet… her own pink pigtails were perfectly dry and fluffy, as though she’d never been drenched at all.
At last, she released me and extended her hand.
“Give it to me.”
“…What?”
Polite in words only, she simply snatched the black droplet away.
She… she could take it?
The moment it left my skin, the itching vanished completely.
Relief surged through me—life without that cursed itch felt like bliss itself.
Eki, calm as ever, retrieved a small snake-shaped doll from her maid’s uniform.
She pried its mouth close and carefully tucked the black raindrop inside before snapping it shut.
