Chapter 7: The Devilish Love Pact
Chapter 7: The Devilish Love Pact
I followed Jack home until we finally reached the Liddell estate. Bear was sitting on a stump in front of the gate. He sprung up in relief once he laid eyes on us.
“Do you have any idea how late it is? I was so worried! Where are the other three?”
“Just listen, Bear. They aren’t coming back…”
Bear’s large mouth fell open at Jack’s response.
“What do you mean they’re not comin’ back?! What happened, Alice?!”
“I can’t go into it right now. Please go home for the evening, Uncle Bear.”
Despite my unkind words, Bear continued to trail behind us down the brick walkway.
“I want a real answer first! What happened to the kids?!”
“Bear, just drop it for now.”
I stepped into the house with the sound of Jack’s persistent voice behind me. Reaching my bedroom, I removed my coat and dress before falling straight into bed, wearing only my petticoat.
The sky had turned a vivid orange outside my window. A dark night would soon follow.
Where would the boys spend this night, now that they weren’t coming home?
What if it was someplace cold? What if it was someplace lonely?
“Dum? Dee? Leeds…?”
I called their names but received no response, even though I didn’t expect one. The words just slipped out of my mouth automatically.
Tears spilled from my eyes and down my cheeks, forming dark spots on my bedsheets.
Somehow, it sounded louder than the roar of any rainstorm.
I watched with blurry eyes as the sky lost all color, until the cold night was finally upon me.
“My lady, I sent Bear home… Are you crying?”
Jack entered my room and sat quietly on the edge of my bed. He wiped my tears away with his fingers.
“Don’t cry for things that can’t be undone. It’ll just make you sad.”
“I’m not sad because I’m crying. I’m crying because I’m sad.”
“Is there any difference?”
Jack furrowed his brow in confusion.
Though I disagreed that tears of regret were wasteful, Jack didn’t seem to feel the same. He only saw one problem before him: Alice was crying. But the cause of it eluded him.
This discrepancy only made me feel worse, and I ended up losing my temper.
“Jack. Why did you have to receive my stigma? I should have been reborn as a stigmata like you. Why wouldn’t you let me?”
“It’s not that simple. I couldn’t let you end up in hell while your mother and father are waiting for you in heaven.”
“Do you really think the residents of this house are all in heaven right now?”
“Of course. They’re watching over you from above right this very minute.”
He was so confident. I didn’t even know how to respond.
Jack believed that my mother, father, and all our servants had gone to heaven. He made that deal with a demon, unable to allow the only daughter of the house to end up in hell.
He didn’t even hesitate to bargain with his own life…
Jack’s heart was destroyed on that tragic night…
He wasn’t aware of that fact either. He just continued to faithfully serve me as he always did.
I had no way of fixing him, nor did I have a mind to abandon him.
“Jack, just let me say this much. If it wasn’t right for me to receive a stigma, then it wasn’t right for you either.”
“That shouldn’t bother you, my lady. Nobles and commoners—they all die in the end. Everyone’s life is equally worthless. So what if a few people are reborn along the way? No one would even notice if one of those ‘demon children’ didn’t have a stigma…”
Jack gently laid me down in bed like he was putting a baby to sleep.
He then placed the palm of his hand against mine.
“Forget it. First thing in the morning, we’re going to rebuild the Liddell family from scratch. As long as you’re here, we can start over. As long as we don’t lose you, we can always…”
The stigma on Jack’s hands began to appear. It was like his words were calling it forth.
His skin felt like fire against my palm.
“I’ll take on every burden so that you don’t have to. I want you to stay exactly the way you are.”
He lay down next to me, still holding my hand, and soon I could hear the gentle sound of his breathing as he drifted off to sleep.
A single tear escaped from under his eyelid. It was proof of the same sorrow I felt from losing three of our family members.
“You wanted to cry too, Jack. I’m sorry I didn’t notice…”
I was placing a blanket over him when I suddenly sensed something outside the window.
Quietly, I tiptoed toward the glass balcony door and pulled it open.
A familiar face was leaning against the railing, enjoying the breezy night wind.
“Lovely evening, isn’t it, Alice?”
Dark’s back was turned away from the vast starry sky. He wore an indigo top hat decorated with an armillary sphere and a matching frock coat of the same color. Pinned to his chest was the shiny rabbit brooch.
He could have passed as a messenger from the night sky above us.
I stepped onto the balcony and shut the door behind me.
“You certainly love to show up in front of windows.”
“I’m scared of all those traps set in your house. And isn’t this way more romantic? I would love to add a bit more passion to tonight’s rendezvous, but it looks like your guard dog is sleeping, so I’ll be sure to keep quiet. Hisui kept insisting that I bring this to you.”
Dark took out the water lantern he’d been carrying under his arm and twirled it on his finger like a basketball.
“I keep telling him that demons can’t enter this house, and yet he still worries.”
“I’m curious. Why is it that demons can’t enter the Liddell estate?”
A creature that takes the form of shadows should have no trouble getting in or out of any house.
Though the world we live in appears to operate on random chance, truly illogical occurrences are almost nonexistent. If a demon can’t get somewhere, then there must be a good reason for it.
“That’s an answer I can’t give you for free,” Dark responded bluntly. “I have something I’m curious about as well. Why don’t we exchange information, Miss Head of the Liddell House?”
“It would be my pleasure, Lord Knightley.”
I turned toward him and stood up straight.
“No need to look so tough,” Dark said with a laugh. “I want to know about the stigmata of the Liddell estate. Did they die in the same place, at the same time?”
“Their deaths were under different circumstances. Jack died with me here in the house on the night of that tragedy. Leeds was the victim of the first case I ever solved, and the Tweedles were already stigmata when I met them. One of my relatives introduced them to me.”
“Who would that be?”
“My uncle Bernard. He runs an orphanage outside of the East End where he took in Dum and Dee.”
“Why do you suppose those twins were the only two he ever brought home to meet you?”
“Because they were…stigmata…?”
Something felt wrong about the statement as soon as it left my lips. I first met the Tweedle brothers during a tour of the orphanage. Since I was one of the nobles who donated money to the establishment, I had been invited as a courtesy.
Bear led the twins over to see me while I was chatting with the manager.
“Alice, these two are a fine pair of boys. They would make great additions to our family!”
“…I took them in at his recommendation.”
My mind was racing, but Dark didn’t allow me the time to collect my thoughts.
“Now it’s my turn to fill you in. How much do you know about stigmas?”
“It’s the mark of a human who has been resurrected. It represents their fate to be sent to hell upon their death. Besides that, I only know that the stigma grants the human supernatural powers that correspond with their manner of death.”
“I see. In that case, allow me to explain in more detail.”
Blue light spilled out of his fingertips and formed a crescent moon emblem on the surface of the water lantern.
“This here is a demon crest, and it’s one that only I can use. If I bestow it on someone who has passed, they will be reborn, and the crest will become their stigma. Superior demons can even use such crests to control the living.”
“So that means you must have resurrected Mr. Hisui, seeing how he bears the same symbol.”
“As clever as always. The stigma’s physical appearance has two purposes. First, it shows that a person is fated to go to hell upon their death. Second, it serves as a demon’s name tag.”
“A name tag?”
“A demon’s job is to guide any soul they’ve branded down into hell. We engrave our names on those people to claim them as our own. When Hisui passes away, I will be in charge of taking him to hell, though it saddens me just thinking about it.”
Dark shrugged his shoulders. It sounded like a demon could never escape their duties, even if they chose to live as humans.
“From what I saw at the Arabian café, everyone in the Liddell family bears the same rose-shaped stigma. Five people living different lives in different places were all resurrected by the same demon, and now they’re living under the same roof. Don’t you think that’s more than a coincidence?”
“Are you saying that someone gathered us together?”
“I don’t think that’s the right word for it. All of you are being protected here.”
Dark turned around to look down at the garden beneath us.
“You don’t seem to have noticed, but the Liddell estate bears the exact same stigma.”
“It does?”
I leaned against the railing and gazed out at our surroundings. There were no rose-shaped stigmas on the balcony floor, nor on the ceramic flowerpots or the house’s brick walls.
“I’ve never seen a stigma anywhere in this mansion before. Where is it?”
He placed his hands on my shoulders and positioned my body toward the garden.
“Think bigger. What about your beloved roses?”
I looked out once more and gasped.
“There it is…”
The thick greenery of the garden drew out a darkened image under the night sky.
The sprawling labyrinth of hedges formed the flower petals. The brick walkways carved out the leaves and stem. Statues lining the paths were the protruding thorns. Together, they all produced the figure of a rose.
Without a doubt, it was an exact replica of the stigma that Jack and the others bore.
“Minor demons can’t get in, so long as you have this seal. You told me the house was remodeled right after you were born. Perhaps it was the entire garden that was built?”
“That’s right. Father told me he wanted to plant a rose garden that would grow up alongside me. But why does our house need a stigma to…”
I stopped midsentence when a realization hit me.
“…Was it to protect me from other demons?”
On that tragic night, the murderer left a trail of carnage during his search for me.
Hisui even said that I was being targeted by demons.
And then there was the group of shadows that found the Tweedles and me on our way back from the archives. At the time, I assumed they were there to stop us from investigating the Sleeping Beauty cases. But what if they had been waiting for me to leave the mansion so they could have a chance to attack me?
I could hardly believe it, but all the evidence was adding up.
“Your noble, uncorrupted soul would make a fine treat for any demon. The reason your father studied demons was to protect you, and the one who put this stigma here must have taught him what he knew. Perhaps that helpful demon was even like family to the Liddells.”
“Like family…”
Someone’s face flashed in my mind. If a demon really was going out of their way to keep me safe, then it could only be “him.”
“…Dark, can I ask a favor of you?”
“If it’s within my means, I would love to be of service.”
“I want you to take Jack to the Knightley residence. He’s a very heavy sleeper, so you should be able to carry him there.”
Dark was visibly startled by my request. He turned to peer into my bedroom.
“I don’t like the sound of carrying a man in my arms as I sail across the sky…but I understand. I’ll do it. Now can you tell me what you’re planning without him?”
“I lost my family, but I have no intention of keeping silent. Wrongdoers must repent. Wouldn’t you agree?”
A smile spread across my face. My heart was pounding with a determination darker than the night, more vivid than blood.
In times like these, I could feel the Liddell family name weighing heavy on my body. I was the only descendant of a long line of nobles who worked in the shadows to ensure the eternal peace of Great Britain.
I would send any fool who harmed my family straight to hell with my own two hands. No matter what it took.
“That’s how we Liddells get things done.”
♥♥♥
DARK left with Jack that night, just as I requested.
The next morning, I ate breakfast alone, dressed myself, and left for town in the afternoon.
My destination was the Silent estate, where I intended to check in on Madeline. Her mother guided me through the house with an unusual spring in her step, and along the way, I caught the scent of soot in the air.
“I couldn’t help but notice a strange smell in the house, Madam. May I ask what’s going on?”
“A spirit medium arrived here this morning. He told me the Sleeping Beauties weren’t awaking because their souls had left their bodies to wander London…or something of the sort. He has to perform a ritual to call her soul back, so we lit candles all throughout the house.”
“A ritual…?”
I was reminded of the mediums I knew from my past life.
They were swindlers who persuaded people their illnesses were caused by evil spirits. These mediums could sell you a cure, but of course, their “medicine” was never anything more than water or a hunk of stone. Maybe it worked through placebo effect on occasion, but that didn’t make it the real deal.
It was an obvious scam to anyone thinking clearly, but to a mother whose daughter had fallen into an endless slumber, the medium probably seemed like an angel straight from heaven. I certainly couldn’t blame her for being desperate.
We entered Madeline’s room, and I saw that the floor was now covered in a mass of candles. Their flames stretched up into the air, thinning the oxygen in the room.
A tall man wearing a clergyman’s robe stood at Madeline’s bedside, holding a wooden cross in one hand. He looked like he could have come straight from a real church, but the bright pink shawl around his neck told a different story.
“Is there any chance I could assist the medium with his work? I’ve always wanted to witness a spiritual ritual.”
“Very well. Please welcome my daughter home if you’re able to bring her back.”
“Do you mind, Mr. Medium?”
I stared up at him with a demanding look. The medium, or rather, Leeds in disguise, let out a quiet sigh.
“That will do. Madam, please gather the servants and wait downstairs. Under no circumstances should you come to check on us. Avoid making any loud noises as well. We don’t want to scare away Miss Madeline’s soul before it can return.”
“I understand.”
Madame Silent gave a small nod before exiting the bedroom.
When the clacking of her heels was no longer audible in the hallway, I broke the silence in the room.
“I didn’t think I’d be seeing you here. That’s a nice outfit.”
“Heehee. I’m pulling it off, aren’t I?”
Leeds held up the fabric of his clergyman’s robe and stuck his tongue out playfully. I could see the familiar rose shape of his stigma. He must have used his Liar’s Tongue to convince Madame Silent that he was a medium.
“Miss Liddell, what brings you here today? And all alone?”
“I came to see how Miss Madeline was doing, and maybe dig up an important clue along the way, if I’m lucky.”
I pulled back the fabric of the bed’s lacy canopy. Madeline was still sound asleep, just as she’d been when I visited her the other day, but her cheeks looked much hollower. Her eyes were more sunken too.
“She’ll die if she stays like this. We need to find out what put her to sleep…”
“I was just about to ask.”
Leeds took hold of Madeline’s limp hand and lowered his lips down beside her ear.
“Reveal the truth to me. You will show me the person who put you to sleep.”
Madeline’s body suddenly went tense.
Her arms, shoulders, and legs all stiffened into frightening poses. She heaved ragged, frantic breaths. It was an extreme reaction, but Leeds paid it no mind and continued his pursuit.
“Place your body in my hands, and the path to heaven will be revealed.”
“Ngh!”
She flailed her legs and kicked at the mattress. It felt like I was in my past life again, watching an exorcism scene in a movie.
“Miss Madeline, calm down!”
Leeds’s eyes went wide as I reached out to stop her.
“Don’t touch her, my lady!”
“Kyah!”
As soon as I made contact, I felt an explosion at my fingertips. The sensation was like static electricity rushing through my body in a wave.
I automatically shut my eyes and was met with a vision of Madeline standing frozen in a dark space, still dressed in her nightgown. A rose crest was spread out on the ground beneath her feet.
The Rose Demon is holding you captive, isn’t he?
My question never made it past my lips. The sound of a voice calling out for me pulled me back to reality.
“Miss Alice! Wake up!”
Slowly, I opened my eyes. I had fallen to the ground, but Leeds now had his arms wrapped around me.
Leeds was staring at my face with tears in his eyes. The look he gave me when he abandoned me was gone; his true, kind heart was now shining through, clear as day.
“You can’t touch someone I’m using my powers on! Who knows what that might do! You could have been killed…!”
Leeds was unable to hold back his sobs. I lifted my hand up and placed it gently on his cheek.
“I’m a demon child too, so I’m not as delicate as you think… Leeds?”
“What…?”
“Thank you for calling me ‘Miss Alice’ again.”
I smiled softly at him and felt his arms tighten around me.
“In the end, I just can’t be apart from you. I thought if I came here and found something that could lead to the culprit, then maybe you’d let me come back to the Liddell estate. But I knew that if I used my powers on the victims, they could die…”
Leeds wasn’t just searching for the perpetrator out of the kindness of his heart. He was desperate to regain my love, even if it meant killing the Sleeping Beauties to obtain it.
“I don’t care what lies you tell me, or how badly you deceive me. I don’t even care if you turn your back on me in my last moments. Please, my lady, just allow me to die by your side…”
It wasn’t a pledge to spend our remaining days together in bliss and harmony. Those weren’t the kind of lives we lived.
My heart felt warm upon realizing Leeds felt the same.
“Of course. I’ll never let go of you, be it in life or in death.”
“Thank you, my lady.”
Leeds beamed his happiest smile at me as he helped me up. I sat across from him on the floor and explained what I had just seen.
“Madeline is being held captive by a demon’s crest. It’s the exact same rose that Jack, Dum, Dee, and you all bear.”
“Then the demon who resurrected us must be our culprit. What on earth could his motive be?”
“This whole thing might be about me… All the victims are young women who have connections to Dark. They also hold quite a bit of contempt for me, to the point of bullying. I know that the Rose Demon placed his stigma at the Liddell estate to protect me after my birth, since many demons were after my soul, so I believe he targeted these girls because of their harassment toward me.”
It was my first time talking to anyone about the bullying I’d faced, like those times at the ball and tea party. I was scared it would make me seem weak if anyone knew how it affected me. As the head of my family, that was the last thing I needed.
I always believed I needed to hide my troubles away for the sake of my new family. Only now did I see how wrong I was.
Our bond couldn’t survive on lies and deception. We needed to be true to one another, even if it made things bumpy along the way.
A real family is the people who still want to be by your side, even after you’ve stripped yourself bare to reveal every one of your ugliest truths.
“That must have been so hard for you. Thank you for telling me, my lady.”
Leeds’s voice was colored with sadness. He pulled me into a hug.
“If that Rose Demon caused all this ruckus just to protect you, well, maybe I’m not so different from him. Demon or human, we all just want to save the ones we love.”
“A demon who loves me…”
It rang true with my theory. I slipped out of his embrace and looked at the bed.
“Leeds, when you were receiving your stigma from that demon, did you happen to see what he looked like?”
“No, I never saw his face. All I could make out from his silhouette were these round, sheep-like horns
“That’s all I needed to know.”
Dark’s horns were long and sharp at the top. They looked like rabbit ears.
But what kind of ears do a sheep’s curled horns look like?
“Before we confront the true culprit, we need to track down Dum and Dee. Leeds, won’t you accompany me to the dueling arena?”
“Of course, but I don’t think you’ll find the little ones there.”
“Why is that?”
Leeds broke into a pained smile, seeing my confusion.
“Those two are much craftier than I am.”
♥♥♥
FOR what felt like the millionth time, I was staring up at the same white marble walls.
Leeds and I had arrived at the Knightley residence just as the sun was getting ready to set. The old butler greeted us with a smile and a confusing statement. “We’ve already prepared your dinners for the evening,” he informed us.
Dark always had an impressive amount of foresight, but apparently, so did his butler. Perhaps he had played Evil Alice’s Lover as many times as I had…
“By chance, did you ever play an otome game about an evil heroine in your past life?” …No, I can’t ask him that.
If I did, I’d be casting myself as the total weirdo of the story.
As we walked through the hallway, Leeds whispered into my ear. “Is it just me, or is that butler a little shady? It felt like he knew we were going to show up here.”
“The man works for Dark every single day. With a job like that, I’m sure anyone would develop a good sense of intuition.”
“Maybe that’s all it is. I’d just love to be like him when I’m that age. That way I could be of more use to you, my lady.”
“I can’t imagine you as an old man, Leeds…”
Leeds was someone who cared deeply about his looks. He would probably be beautiful at any age. I could picture him with gray hair and wrinkles, still living his own unique way of life as neither an “old man” nor an “old woman.”
“Well, I hope you’re looking forward to it. I’ll be the kind of chap you want to show off to the world!”
Leeds flashed me a wink. At that moment, he was more beautiful than I had ever seen him before.
♥♥♥
I opened the dining-room door and heard a piercing wail.
“WAAAH!” “WAAAH!”
Objects went sailing across the room with each wail. Finely polished silver utensils, teacups, and even biscuits were being thrown in all directions.
It was the Tweedle twins who were sitting on opposite sides of the room, launching whatever they could get their hands on at each other. Hisui darted back and forth between them, his face full of panic as he tried to console the boys.
Dark…isn’t here?
The dining room housed a long table that could seat as many as ten guests. The Knightly family crest was embroidered into an indigo table flag on the wall, and white lilies were carved into the wooden mantelpiece. It was a fine room, but the owner was nowhere to be seen.
I made my way to the back wall, dodging projectiles along the way.
“Maybe he’s disguised as a chair?”
The white tablecloth flapped up in the air in response to my wild guess.
“Welcome, Alice. I’ve been waiting for you.”
Dark had been lying prone on the stone floor to avoid the barrage of dinnerware, apparently. Despite the state of the room, he grinned at me.
“See? Our boys are doing just fine.”
“Please don’t make it sound like they’re our children. And I would never raise them so laissez-faire.”
I took my pistol out of my bag, aimed it toward the ceiling, and pulled the trigger twice. The twins stopped crying when they heard the gunshots. They turned toward me in perfect unison.
“A-…”
“-lice…”
Their faces lit up in joy to see me. They started to call out to me as if nothing had changed, but then their shoulders slumped mid-greeting.
“…What’s the matter?”
The twins looked at me with pained expressions.
“We’re not the same as you, Alice.”
“We were never like you, Alice.”
“Yes you were. The three of us are all humans who have been resurrected by a demon. Even without a stigma, I’m still a ‘stigmata.’”
Jack believed I would ascend to heaven upon my death so long as I didn’t bear a stigma. But that wasn’t how I saw it.
Being resurrected by a demon and cheating death only to end up in heaven would be the ultimate affront to God.
“When I die, I’ll be going to hell just like you two.”
“Really?” “Really?”
Their eyes, still red and puffy from all the tears, stared up at me. I nodded back.
“That’s right. We’ll all be together forever.”
Hearing that, the twins raced up to me and hugged me from each side.
“We don’t hate you, Alice!”
“We were just sad you lied to us, Alice!”
“But you know what?”
“You know what, Alice?”
“We love you so much!” “We love you so much!”
I’d received their immediate forgiveness. I wrapped my arms around their backs and held them close.
“I love you both as well. I’m sorry I kept things from you. Now, what say you two come back to live at the Liddell estate again?”
“Yeah!” “Yeah!”
They pressed their faces into my dress to wipe away their tears.
Dark was mumbling to himself, staring up at us from the floor. “You look like a family of birds nestled together in the winter. I bet it’s nice and warm…”
Leeds stared down at him. What’s with this guy? was written all over his face.
“It’s always warm at the Liddell manor, so long as Miss Alice is there.”
“You don’t have to tell me that. I’ve experienced it too.” Dark crawled out from under the table and grimaced as he took in the state of the room. “I think I’m too impressed to be angry, actually. Hisui, get this cleaned up.
“Understood.”
Hisui began to collect the scattered silverware from the floor when a ringing sound drew our attention. Jack was standing in front of the servants’ door with a bell in his hand.
“Dinner’s here… Hurry up and sit before the soup gets cold.”
I had no doubt that Jack was making history as the most unpleasant servant to grace an otome game.
Dark quickly took his seat at the head of the table. Leeds grabbed Dum and Dee by the scruffs of their necks and placed them at the center of the table.
I was last to take my seat and ended up opposite Dark.
Jack placed a spoon on the table in front of me, followed by a bowl of clear soup. The scowl never left his face.
“Are you upset with me, Jack? I sent you here without any warning…”
“I know you had your reasons, but try imagining how I felt when I woke up in bed with him the next morning. I wanted to jump off the balcony.”
“Oh my… Dark, you slept next to Jack?”
“It was the only option,” he said sadly as he took a sip of wine. “I didn’t feel like dragging him to a guest room in the middle of the night, and I couldn’t bear to just leave him on the floor. Not to mention, he was crying the whole time.”
“No I wasn’t.”
“Always the tough guy,” Dark murmured as Jack glared at him.
Jack had been angry when he first learned that Dark was a demon, but I didn’t sense that either of them were in danger now that they lived under the same roof. They almost seemed to be opening up to each other, which was a relief to me.
“You look like you’ve had a weight lifted off your shoulders, Alice. Did my information prove useful to you?”
“It did. I was able to determine that the culprit behind the Sleeping Beauty cases is none other than the demon who resurrected the five of us. He’s been protecting the Liddell estate ever since I was born, and was also the assailant during that tragic night three years ago.”
“WHAT?!”
Jack let out a shout and dropped the serving knife from his hand. It hit the floor with a loud clang.
“Jack, you told me that the demon who appeared to save you was led there by the smell of blood,” I continued. “But at that point, the Liddell estate was already being protected by a demon’s barrier. He was the only one who could have entered the mansion on that night, making him the true culprit.”
“That can’t be… So the demon that slaughtered everyone was the same demon who saved me?”
I turned my eyes from Jack’s shocked face to the Tweedles. They were calmly sipping glasses of juice on either side of Leeds.
“Dum, Dee. Now that we’re friends again, would you like to try something different? How would you like to help the Liddell family host a party? We can work on all the preparations together and invite our favorite people. What say the three of us be in charge of the cake, the sweets, and decorations?”
“Let’s do it!” “Let’s do it!”
The twins lit up in excitement and clapped their hands to their faces. Jack and Leeds exchanged glances and nodded.
“If you’re in the mood to party, I’ll be here to help.”
“You’re gonna need a servant, right? I’ll help too.”
“Thank you. Let’s make it a party for the ages. Lord Knightley, I have a favor to ask of you as well. The Liddell estate isn’t suited for a party, what with all the traps throughout the grounds. Would you allow us to host it here at your home?”
“But of course. You can use the Hall of Mirrors where I held my ball. I was planning on renovating it anyway, so feel free to decorate it to your heart’s content.”
“I appreciate it, and I’d like to show my gratitude. Will you accept me as your fiancée?”
I let it slip out casually. Dark clearly hadn’t expected my proposal. His eyes went wide and he gulped down the champagne that was in his mouth.
“Wait, do you really mean that?”
“My lady, that’s not funny!”
“He’s right. Don’t rush into it, my lady.”
“It’s not a joke, and I’m not rushing into it. I’ve given it a lot of thought.”
I cut my family members off before they could further object. This was the greatest gamble of my entire life.
“You wish to marry me, right, Dark? I’ll agree to it, so long as you promise me something. I don’t want you laying a hand on the perpetrator of the Sleeping Beauty cases. If you get in my way, I’ll have to shoot you.”
Under the table, I placed my hand inside the heart-shaped bag that contained my pistol. This stipulation seemed to help Dark sense my resolve, and he agreed to my demand.
“I can tell that you mean it. Is there anything else I can help with?”
“I need you to teach me how to kill a demon.”
Everyone in the room gulped when they heard me.
“Right now, that’s the greatest challenge I face.”