THGA 21

Chapter 21

It can’t be helped. I just have to postpone leaving for a while.

I sat on the bed, stretching, and gazed out the window. Outside, the long rainy season had finally ended, and the sun was shining for the first time in a while.

“What nice weather.”

Even as I said it, I chuckled bitterly. This wasn’t exactly the time for such carefree words. Still, maybe it was a relief—my mood had been as gloomy as the recent weather.

I used to love listening to the sound of rain as ASMR to lull myself to sleep. But now, I hated rainy days. Terrible things always seemed to happen when it rained here.

Lost in these complicated thoughts, a soft knock came at the door.

“Come in.”

I said, and the door opened. Unexpectedly, it was Phantom who had come to see me. I had thought it would surely be Sren, so I tilted my head in confusion. He wasn’t in his usual small form either.

My eyes narrowed as I realized something.

Ah, so Phantom isn’t hiding his identity from me anymore?

The more I looked at him, the more infuriating he became. I crossed my arms and asked coldly,

“So you weren’t the small one?”

Phantom grinned brazenly, showing his teeth. My expression twisted further.

I had no idea how far he had been deceiving me. Even feeling the sharpness in my gaze, Phantom stubbornly bowed politely.

“I formally greet you, Lady Rachel. I am Phantom Rishah, responsible for overseeing this mansion.”

Good grief, what a shameless man. My lips curled in a cold twitch.

“Wait.”

I raised a hand to stop him. He, as if expecting it, listened leisurely.

“You haven’t answered my question yet.”

Phantom shrugged and replied slyly.

“Well, does it matter?”
“What?”
“I didn’t particularly inconvenience you, Lady Rachel.”
“That’s not the point.”
“Don’t worry. You won’t suffer any disadvantages because of me.”

Ugh. I wanted to hit him—hit him where it already hurts, hit him again, hit where it doesn’t, and still not be satisfied.

Somehow, I let out a small laugh. Right, I was foolish to expect a kind answer from him.

Ah, now I understand why he has stubbornly sided with Sren all this time.

“You want a beating from me?”

I cracked my knuckles, the bones popping, and asked. Phantom rubbed his hands together slyly and added an excuse.

“Ah, Lady Rachel, why are you so scary all of a sudden?”
“Suddenly?”
“I-I’ve always been on your side, Lady Rachel!”

I smiled coldly, nodding.

“Yes, of course you should be.”
“Yikes!”
“If not, I’ll get twisted too.”

I would absolutely not die alone. Phantom clicked his tongue at my resolute determination.

He’s really untrustworthy. Yet the most frustrating thing was that, for now, he was my only potential ally.

Phantom then glanced me up and down before smirking unpleasantly.

“Sren seems to love you very much.”
“Shut up.”
“You two seem very close.”
“Stop changing the subject. It won’t work.”

Phantom cleared his throat at my irritable response. Still, there was something to thank him for—last night. I sighed and spoke again.

“By the way, thanks for yesterday.”
“Eh?”
“At Sren’s office. You knew I was there and deliberately made excuses on my behalf.”

Though I was ultimately found out, it slightly eased my guard toward Phantom. He wouldn’t have intervened if it weren’t to support me.

“I’m a gentleman, after all.”

Wow.

Phantom rubbed his head with his fingertips, muttering as if troubled.

“Could it be… you’ve fallen for me?”
“……”
“How troublesome. I’d like to get along well with the Master.”

Damn. I shouldn’t have said anything.

“Lady Rachel, I apologize. I don’t see you as a romantic interest—”
“One more word from you.”
“…!”
“I’ll sew that mouth of yours shut.”

Receiving my murderous glare, Phantom cleared his throat and corrected himself.

“I was just joking. Truly, your personality is unbearable.”

Should I really just kill him?

Sensing my ominous aura, Phantom quickly changed the subject.

“But why did you go there yesterday?”

Though his question seemed casual, it carried a subtle sting. I answered calmly.

“To find the Moonstone.”
“Hmm…”

Hmph, did he really think I’d tell him everything?

I decided to keep my call with Kanghyun a secret. Even though he might help me, I couldn’t fully trust Phantom.

Sensing something from me, Phantom eyed me suspiciously, then smirked crookedly.

“You remind me of an extra in a horror movie.”
“Eh?”
“The troublemaker who always dies first.”

My expression instantly contorted in anger.

Damn Phantom. Was that an insult or advice?

He had told me to hurry and find the Moonstone to escape!

Thanks to him, my gratitude vanished immediately. Phantom then tilted his chin, smirking weirdly.

“Well, it’s good to see you working hard.”
“Sigh…”
“But be careful. Sren is far scarier than you think.”

I grimaced at his annoying advice. With that, Phantom’s business with me concluded, and he turned to leave. I glared at his back and defiantly gave him a double middle finger.

Not long now. On the day Sren leaves for the royal palace, I’ll find all the Moonstones and escape without leaving a trace!

Adenhar was having an endless dream far beyond consciousness.

In his dreams, he always died at the hands of a man. The ways he was killed varied greatly. Yet none of it frightened him. More than that, he was furious that he couldn’t protect Rachel from him.

“Rachel…”

He reached out to her, though she could not feel him.

“Don’t look at me…! Hurry, escape from here!”

The man, laughing with a blood-smeared face, cut his own body in countless ways. He seemed utterly insane, forcing a twisted form of love upon Rachel.

He must protect Rachel. He had promised the Duke of Paminion. He would save her no matter what.

Yet the words stuck in his throat. He sank again into the long, familiar darkness.

The stench stung his nose. Adenhar lifted his heavy eyelids. His surroundings were pitch-black, a basement without even a single ray of light. Bloodied, he hung from the ceiling.

“…Ugh!”

Dizziness hit him hard. He gritted his teeth, barely holding onto consciousness. Breathing heavily, he looked around, and everything was pure darkness.

‘Where am I? Am I trapped?’

His body, soaked in sweat, ached all over. And as soon as he entered the mansion, the image of Duke Crochet smiling and stabbing him with a knife replayed vividly in his mind.

‘Things aren’t looking good.’

More than anything, he worried about Rachel. The thought that she might be held somewhere in this mansion like him made him anxious.

As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, the dim vision gradually cleared. He sensed someone nearby. Adenhar raised his head and swallowed in shock.

In front of him stood Duke Crochet, polishing his knife. A smile spread across his face the moment their eyes met. His strangely relaxed demeanor was eerily unsettling.

“Had a good dream?”

Then, using the back of the blade, Sren roughly lifted Adenhar’s chin and whispered in a sweet tone,

“You looked quite pleased. Almost infuriatingly so.”