♚Chapter 4: Waiting for the Chance to be Reunited

 

 

 

♚Chapter 4: Waiting for the Chance to be Reunited

 

ROCK and Phoebe had dinner with Ebel that night. The meal Johanna had pulled out all the stops to prepare was incredibly delicious, but Rock’s thoughts were too preoccupied with what’d happened with her aunt to truly enjoy it.

“She looked just like Mother…” she muttered, recalling the visage that’d been burned into her eyes. Though it seemed Phoebe disagreed as he shrugged off her comment.

“You really think so? You could easily tell them apart, even when they stood side by side.”

“I think they would’ve looked perfectly alike if Mother had lived another ten years.”

“I doubt it. Vale was always the pretty one.”

Apparently, that was the point Phoebe wanted to emphasize.

“Makes sense to me,” Ebel chuckled before Rock could respond. Phoebe shot him a death glare, to which the count raised his hand in apology. “Pardon me… Did you and your wife elope?”

“I’m not sure if you can call her my wife… We didn’t officially marry,” Phoebe replied, sounding loath to admit it as he glanced at Rock.

“I don’t see a problem with that,” Rock said. It was strange for slum dwellers to adhere to imperial capital law. She continued to tell the tale in her father’s place because he seemed uncomfortable recounting it in front of her. “Mother left home to pursue Father, so I don’t think it counts as ‘eloping,’ in the strictest sense of the word.”

“Ah, is that what happened?”

“She fled home for the sake of love! How lovely!”

After hearing Rock’s explanation, Ebel gave an understanding nod, and Johanna’s eyes sparkled. Phoebe became instantly uncomfortable and tore off a piece of his roll with his teeth instead of using a knife.

Unfortunately for him, this was not a dinner table that would be silenced by such behavior.

“I would just love to hear stories about when you and your wife first began falling in love! Were you dressed as a beautiful woman when you first met her too? Who confessed first? I’d also love to hear about the tales surrounding Master Rock’s birth!!!”

Phoebe clammed up as Johanna hounded him with a million questions.

“It’s rude to ask so many questions at once, Johanna.”

On the surface, Ebel scolded his maid for pestering Phoebe, but he seemed equally interested. He turned toward Phoebe to ask his own question.

“Lady Alexis seemed to have a poor opinion of you. Is that because she believes you responsible for her sister leaving the family?”

“I doubt that’s the…only reason why.” Phoebe blew out a long breath, as if preparing himself to tell the truth. Then he looked directly at Rock before continuing. “Lauretta and Vale were never—and I mean ever—on good terms. If anything, I’d say things were always stormy and strenuous between the sisters.”

“Really? But…”

It didn’t seem that way to me, Rock thought.

Lauretta Alexis seemed to lose her composure when she saw Rock. She probably saw a shadow of her younger sister in Rock from when she was her age. Just like how Rock sensed the biological connection between Lauretta and her mother.

She hadn’t interacted with Lauretta enough to know her innermost heart, but her reaction wasn’t that of someone who hated her sister.

“They were always competing for who’d take over the family while the former lord was still alive,” Phoebe explained, the corners of his mouth turned down. “He believed making them compete like that would raise a better heir. Everything was a competition: their studies, how they carried themselves, even how they interacted with their parents. They were even encouraged to knock each other down a peg. Vale was scolded by her parents whenever she was outdone by Lauretta.”

It was suffocating just thinking about living that way.

“Then your wife was also running away from that competition?” Ebel asked as Rock was rendered speechless by the story.

“That was definitely part of it,” Phoebe responded with a sullen look. “But Vale never hated Lauretta, despite being forced to compete with her. Lauretta probably felt the same. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have paid people for years to find her niece.”

Phoebe’s side profile gave away the pain he felt when speaking about Vale. Maybe he knew something more about why her mother ran away. Some secret he wasn’t willing to divulge here.

“I think that’s why…Lauretta directed all her hatred toward me.” Phoebe heaved another tormented sigh. “By hating me, she can pretend Vale didn’t betray her.”

“…There are as many different sibling relationships as there are people in the world,” Ebel intoned in a low, rumbling voice.

The Linus siblings were the siblings he knew the best, and Rock knew just how close Guido and Michaela were. Compared to them, her aunt and mother had a more complicated, twisted relationship.

Perhaps her desire to take Rock in had to do with more than just wanting an heir. Something deeper and more complicated might’ve been driving her.

“I wonder if that was enough to make Lady Alexis give up,” Rock put out there. Neither Ebel nor Phoebe seemed to think so.

“It’s hard to say she will when she left saying you’ll regret it,” Ebel said, his brow furrowing with concern.

Rock couldn’t fathom what she meant by that.

What was she going to regret? She highly doubted it meant she would regret not becoming a member of the Alexis family, in the most basic sense. It’d sounded more like a threat than anything.

“Either way, you should pay extra attention to your surroundings and safety for now,” Ebel instructed. Then he gave her a reassuring smile. “I am prepared to keep you safe no matter what it takes. Rely on me any time.”

“Thank you, Ebel. I’m currently living with my father, so I doubt there’ll be much trouble,” Rock responded bashfully.

Johanna’s expression lit up as if she’d just discovered something absolutely incredible.

“You have two knights in shining armor to protect you, eh, Master Rock?! How wonderful!”

“This girl is impressed by even the most trivial of things.”

Whether she didn’t hear Phoebe’s grumbled jab or simply ignored it, Johanna stomped her feet on the ground for an altogether different annoyance.

“If only I had the abilities of a werewolf hunter, I could’ve protected you alongside His Excellency and Master Phoebe…!”

“Th-Thanks. The sentiment alone makes me happy, Johanna,” Rock rushed out.

She really was happy—spending time around the dinner table with people she loved helped her finally regain her cool after how shaken she’d been feeling since speaking with her aunt.

She reveled in the joy of not being alone.

Ebel also seemed to be of the same mind.

“This has turned into quite the lively dinner, no?” he said with a bright smile. “I would love to sit down to a meal with you all again soon.”

His words meant even more because he didn’t have a family of his own.

“It would be my pleasure!” Rock accepted the invitation with all her heart.

♚♚♚

ROCK and Phoebe decided to leave Mateus Manor after dinner. Ebel suggested they stay the night, but Rock wanted to get home before the date changed because she needed to open her shop early the next morning.

Fortunately, the majority of roads inside the imperial capital were well-lit by streetlights. There were no hindrances to taking out the carriage, and Ebel happily lent his to them—though he was terribly disappointed Rock couldn’t stay longer.

“I’ll have Iniel take you home. You should be back before midnight if you hurry.”

Iniel, Ebel’s coachman, was already waiting for them in the garden. He had the berline carriage all hooked up to the two horses, ready to go.

“Today was a day well spent. Thank you, Roxy.” Ebel longingly took Rock’s hand in his as he saw her off at the carriage.

“I’m also so happy to have spent today with you.”

As Rock smiled, Ebel kissed the back of her hand. Then he whispered in a soft voice so Phoebe couldn’t hear.

“Let’s visit your mother’s grave someday soon too. It’s a promise.”

“Y-Yes…please do come with me.”

It wasn’t just the lingering soft touch of his lips on the back of her hand that made Rock’s heart flutter.

♚♚♚

ROCK stared out the moving carriage’s window at Mateus Manor as it steadily grew more distant. In the dark of night, Ebel disappeared from view in the twinkling of an eye, and that saddened her.

With him out of sight, she leaned back into her seat, and Phoebe quickly pounced with a well-timed question, as if he was waiting for her to finish.

“Planning a trip with His Excellency?”

“What?! H-How did you…?!”

Becoming flustered was the same as saying yes

But Rock couldn’t help panicking, and her father frowned with exasperation at her reaction.

“That’s what’ll happen if you visit Vale’s grave.”

Apparently, her father had excellent hearing on par with a werewolf’s.

“Y-You could call it a trip, but it’s not like any funny business is going to happen…” Growing rapidly more uncomfortable by the second, Rock pulled her feet onto the seat and hugged her knees. “And it’s not like we’ve decided to go alone or anything! Why don’t you join us, Father?”

“You want to take your father on your pre-wedding vacation? I think not.”

“P-Pre—it’s nothing like that! I swear!”

“Says you.” Phoebe grinned like a cat before gently ruffling Rock’s wine-colored hair. “Well, as your guardian, I can’t say I wholeheartedly approve. But I won’t stop you.”

“Uggh… I keep telling you it’s not that kind of trip—”

Trying to defend herself further would only dig her a deeper hole. Despite knowing that, Rock still tried to explain herself.

But her excuse was cut short by the whole carriage shaking in its frame. It shook so hard, Rock and Phoebe were knocked out of their seats.

“What was that?!”

“Whoa! What just happened?”

The carriage ceiling creaked and groaned just as they reacted to the situation. The berline carriage had a solid top that wouldn’t break even if rocks fell on it, but it seemed like something especially heavy was on top.

Even the coachman realized something was off. He must’ve pulled hard on the reins since the carriage tilted to the side as the horses brayed.

“UWAH!”

Rock was about to be thrown into the seat facing her. Phoebe caught her just in time and glared outside the window.

“What happened?!”

The imperial capital’s nightscape spread outside the window. Seeing as it was still a brightly illuminated, clean cityscape, they hadn’t made it out of the aristocrat district yet. Were they in someone’s garden? Or was it a park? Rock could see a gorgeous garden illuminated by the stars beyond a stone gate covered in ivy.

The small window connecting to the coachman’s seat opened, and Iniel shouted to them while Rock was still trying to process the situation.

“Something’s wrong! Please get off!”

Hearing those orders, Phoebe reached out to open the carriage door. But a huge, dark figure loomed over the window just as he was about to wrench the door open.

Glittering gold eyes, pointed ears, a large mouth full of fangs, and a body covered in black fur—

“…Ebel?” Rock instinctively uttered that name when she saw the werewolf peering in through the window.

The werewolf suddenly took a step back and then swung up its large arm that was thicker than an oak log.

“Watch out!”

Phoebe yanked Rock to him just as the carriage was struck by a powerful force and fell sideways with a bang. They were tossed around inside the carriage and slammed into what used to be the ceiling. Shortly after Rock lifted her head, the door was ripped off, and a massive shadow fell on them as they collapsed in a heap inside.

“Wha—? What’s going on?”

The werewolf silently peered into the flipped-over carriage, ignoring Phoebe’s moaned question. As soon as its golden eyes landed on Rock, it gently scooped her into its arms.

“Th-Thank you…very much,” Rock thanked it in a daze.

Rock believed the werewolf was Ebel up until that moment.

She didn’t know what went wrong with the carriage, but she wholly believed that he’d transformed into a werewolf and ran to her rescue.

But this werewolf held her under one arm and jumped into the air, leaving Phoebe pinned under the wreckage. It leaped onto the vine-covered stone gate and cautiously assessed the sideways carriage below.

“Why…?”

Something’s wrong, Rock thought.

Ebel would’ve helped Phoebe up and checked on Iniel and the horses, not just escape with her.

She could see the toppled, broken carriage on top of the road illuminated by the round streetlights. It looked like Iniel cut the white horses loose at the last second as they both stood there unharmed. But Iniel himself was lying face down on the ground, and Phoebe was finally starting to pull himself out from under the carriage.

Doubts rising fast, Rock fearfully looked up at the werewolf.

Unfortunately, werewolves were indistinguishable from each other.

So far, aside from Ebel, the only other werewolf she had seen was Guido Linus. There was almost no difference in their appearance, except for Guido looking a little bigger, which might’ve had more to do with their original physique.

And the werewolf holding her now was—

“Not him…”

Tailor Rock had measured Ebel in his werewolf form as well. So she was able to tell that the werewolf holding her wasn’t him. This one had narrower shoulders and was slightly shorter.

In other words—

“Father!” Rock screamed at the top of her lungs. “It’s not him!”

A terrifying look flashed across Phoebe’s face as he raised it to look at her.

“I’m coming for you right now!”

However, his reliable words were dashed by the werewolf abandoning its perch on the stone gate to hop over to one tree branch and then the next inside the garden.

---

---

“Let go! Let go of me, you mutt!”

Rock thrashed around, trying to free herself of the stranger’s furry arms. But the werewolf didn’t relax his hold on her even as she struggled with all her might. He stood perfectly still on top of what should’ve been an unsteady branch, despite it being a large tree.

“Would you mind not struggling so much?” it said in an unfamiliar voice. “I want to transport you safely. Please.”

A not-so-young male voice came from the fanged mouth.

“Who are you?! What do you want with me?!”

The werewolf jumped again without answering Rock’s questions. This time, he leaped on top of an off-fountain inside the garden. Then another branch. And then he sprung on top of a wooden gazebo roof that’d looked much farther away a moment ago at an unbelievable speed.

“Father! Father!” Rock screamed for Phoebe until her voice went hoarse, even though she couldn’t see him anymore.

The nighttime garden was rapidly growing more distant.

Rock knew she was being carried away—kidnapped. She couldn’t escape.

“Roxy! Damn you! GIVE ME BACK MY DAUGHTEEEEEEEER!”

Phoebe’s enraged shout echoed from a hopeless distance.

♚♚♚

THE werewolf bounded through the starlit imperial capital carrying Rock.

Compared to the overcrowded slums where poorly constructed dwellings were crammed into any open space, the use of land in the aristocrat district was luxurious, to say the least. The streets were wide and there was plenty of space between the houses. It must’ve been hard remembering where to go, Rock thought, with so few buildings to use as landmarks and just the streetlights to guide the way.

“Put me down!” Rock continued to shout as her last means of struggle. “Return me to my father!”

The werewolf shook his head as he lopped down the road.

“Quiet. I don’t want anyone else to see me.”

“Mmph…!”

A hairy werewolf hand covered Rock’s mouth. After that, she was carried off somewhere without even being able to scream.

How long was she stuck in that position?

A blinding light suddenly stung Rock’s eyes that’d grown accustomed to the dark. She inadvertently squeezed her eyes shut, just as she felt the werewolf land softly on something.

It appeared he’d descended on the balcony of some mansion. The large window leading indoors from the balcony was left open, and the dazzling light was spilling out from there.

The werewolf strolled inside through the opening with her in his arms.

Inside was blindingly bright. But Rock strained her eyes despite the pain because she wanted to know where he’d brought her.

It looked like someone’s bedroom.

She saw a canopy bed, an exquisitely carved dresser, and a round table decorated with a full bouquet—clearly a young lady’s room. All of the furnishings were made of finely polished, expensive wood, and the sheer silk hanging from the canopy and the bedding were unified by the same soft coral color. Given the furnishings’ splendor, she suspected it was a mansion in the aristocrat district.

“We’ve arrived, Roxy.”

The werewolf spoke Rock’s real name. Then he gently lowered her onto the plush rug.

Rock immediately jumped back and glared daggers at the werewolf looming in the coral pink bedroom.

“Who the hell are you?! Why’d you bring me here?!”

The werewolf stared back at Rock with his gold eyes. But the bedroom door quietly opened before he could answer.

Rock’s eyes swung toward the door, and she was rendered speechless by the person standing there.

“…Lady Alexis!!!”

It was Lauretta Alexis—the aunt who looked frighteningly like her mother.

She ran over to the werewolf, placed both hands on his broad chest, and cried out in a shaky voice.

“I’m so glad you’re safe, darling…”

The werewolf’s expression softened as he stared lovingly down at Lauretta.

“I was able to get the job done without a single injury, thanks to this power.” He looked over at Rock and continued in a satisfied tone, “And our precious child is safely with us now too.”

“H-HUUUUUUH?!” Rock raised her voice in utter disbelief over that.

Lauretta looked at Rock. Those gray eyes that were identical to her mother’s misted.

“Aaah, Roxy… You finally came back to us.”

Her voice sounded terribly gentle, loving, and even compassionate—the complete opposite of the frigidness that’d permeated it at Mateus Manor.

“W-Wait just a minute! I didn’t willingly come—”

“This is your home now. I had this room prepared just for you. Isn’t it lovely?”

Lauretta smiled, completely ignoring Rock’s protests.

Her smile was beautiful but deranged. Or perhaps it was Rock not knowing her true nature that made it seem that way.

Chilled, Rock shuddered.

“I will make you happy now that Valencia cannot.”

The werewolf nodded along with Lauretta’s seemingly kind words.

“You needn’t worry about a thing anymore. We will protect you.”

“Go to hell!” Rock was indignant. “You’re bloody insane, trying to act like my family after you attacked my carriage and kidnapped me! I’m not your damn child and I never will be! I’m the daughter of Fredericks Berwick and Vale Floria!!!” she snapped as loud as her voice allowed.

Lauretta gave the werewolf a confused look as if to say, “Why is she reacting like this?”

The werewolf placed his furry hand on her shoulder to soothe her.

“Roxy is still confused, it seems. It’s very late. We should let her rest.”

“You’re right, darling…”

They seemed to be husband and wife, but neither of them was in their right mind as far as Rock could tell. Not only did they seem to have no guilt over kidnapping Rock, but they actually acted as if they were in the right. As if they’d some sort of legal claim to bring her home as their child.

Who the hell is this werewolf anyway?

Thanks to her interaction with Ebel, she wasn’t scared in his presence, but werewolves were still oddities. Did this man also unleash the power of the statue and end up cursed?

And if this man truly was Lauretta’s husband, then that’d mean Lord Alexis was a werewolf.

First Ebel, then Guido, and now Lord Alexis—Rock was horrified that the werewolf curse was steadily taking hold of the imperial capital’s nobility.

“I don’t want to be here! Let me go back to my father…!” Rock shouted as she held a hand to her aching head. “Please let me go! This isn’t my home…!”

Lauretta looked pleadingly at the werewolf after hearing Rock’s complaint.

“Darling, Roxy is acting funny…”

“She is. She must be terribly confused.” The werewolf took a breath, then called outside the door. “Danilo, can you come in here?”

“Yes, my lord.”

The door opened and in stepped a short, middle-aged man. Judging by his well-kept attire, he might’ve been their butler, but Rock recognized him from elsewhere. He was the man she’d seen praying in the sanctuary when she’d visited the holy church district with Ebel.

“I want to let Roxy get some rest. She probably doesn’t know her way around yet, so please tell her what she needs to know,” the werewolf instructed, and the stubby man called Danilo swept into a respectful bow.

“As you command, my lord,” he said, then courteously suggested, “Perhaps you should change soon… The little miss probably can’t relax with you in that form.”

Being called “little miss” was the final straw that pushed Rock over the edge.

“That’s true. Although Roxy seems rather used to seeing a werewolf.”

Or so she thought until the werewolf said that. She was shaken to the core.

He saw through me.

He’d realized Rock had seen a werewolf before—not only that, but he seemed to notice she was so familiar with werewolves not to be scared out of her wits by one.

I can’t let them find out about Ebel.

Rock steadied her breathing and forced herself to calm down.

In the meantime, Lord and Lady Alexis seemed to have finished handing over control of the situation to Danilo.

“Take care of her, Danilo.”

“Please be extra careful with my daughter.”

The werewolf put a supportive arm around Lauretta’s shoulders and escorted her out of the coral pink room.

“Young Miss, I am Danilo,” the man gingerly introduced himself to her. “I hope we can get along—”

Obviously, Rock wasn’t interested in being friendly with him. She leveled him with a penetrating glare.

“You were the man I saw at the church.”

Danilo instantly paled.

“Y-Yes…I am.”

“According to the priest, you are a very devout believer who often attends Mass. Can you truly turn a blind eye to someone being kidnapped right in front of you…?”

Imitating her father’s way of threatening people with words had an immediate effect. Danilo instantly fell to his knees to beg forgiveness.

“Please forgive me…! I certainly do believe in God.”

“Then please bring me back home.”

“I…can’t do that.”

“Why not? Do you believe God won’t judge you for this sin?”

Finding Danilo particularly tractable, Rock doubled-down. She normally didn’t even like talking about God, but she was willing to do so to get out of this situation.

“Does God approve of kidnapping?”

All the color drained completely from Danilo’s pudgy face with that last remark.

“Please forgive me, Young Miss. I haven’t forsaken God. I just—” He paused, as if needing a moment to pick the right words. “Um…if you know about werewolves, then you should also know the kind of power His Lordship has acquired.”

Rock didn’t respond. She gnawed her inner lip in silence.

Of course she knew about werewolves. She had a good idea of their power too. She’d also seen the moment that power was acquired once before.

“We committed a grave sin,” Danilo continued to confess. “His Lordship turned his back on the natural order and offered himself up to the werewolf curse of his own volition.”

“Wh-Why would he do that?” Rock asked despite herself.

Danilo said it was of his own volition, but Guido had also acted like unleashing the curse was what he desired most in the world too. But once he’d regained his senses, it became apparent that he was being controlled by the werewolf statue.

With that in mind, wasn’t it also possible that Lord Alexis acted like it was what he wanted when that really wasn’t the case?

“It was all for his wife,” Danilo revealed, his voice shaking. “He did it to support and protect his dear wife.”

“Oh, come on. He didn’t need the werewolf power for that—”

“But he did,” Danilo vehemently interrupted Rock’s objection. “It is only with the werewolf’s power that His Lordship and Her Ladyship were able to obtain you, Young Miss.” He held up his hand to prevent Rock from arguing and deeply bowed his head. “I understand your side of things. I do. But it is my hope that you will at least hear them out. They were distressed and prepared enough to make this sacrifice,” he insisted, keeping his eyes on the ground to escape further questioning from her.

“It’s unreasonable to ask me to listen to a bloody thing they have to say when you guys KIDNAPPED me! I don’t give a damn about you people! Send me back! Let me go home to my father!”

No matter how much or how loud Rock complained—

“Please forgive me, Young Miss.”

Danilo just apologized without further explanation.

♚♚♚

AFTER Rock grew tired of questioning him, Danilo pulled out a nightgown for her to use before hastily leaving the room.

“Please let me know if you need anything. I will be in the room next door.”

In other words, he was letting her know he’d come running if he heard her making a break for it.

To make matters worse, he locked the door behind him, trapping Rock in the bedroom. She could open the window, but she learned she was on the third floor when she stepped out on the balcony. There weren’t any trees for her to climb down, and she wasn’t brave enough to jump for it just yet.

“I guess I could make a cloth escape rope…”

She raked her gaze over the room for anything she could use, but the only useable cloths were the sheer silk canopy, thin sheets, and the nightgown. She doubted silk could support her weight, and the nightgown wouldn’t get her past the third floor.

Rock stepped forward to see if there was anything else when her legs suddenly buckled. She fell back on her butt and hugged her quaking knees.

“What the hell…?”

Nothing made sense.

Her carriage was attacked, a werewolf kidnapped her, and her aunt was trying to force her into becoming her daughter. And if that wasn’t bad enough, the werewolf was her uncle—Lord Alexis.

He’d supposedly purposefully gotten himself cursed for his wife…

“He’s crazy… A curse is just a bloody curse!”

Rock was indignant. She’d seen Ebel’s suffering and Guido’s change up close.

There was no good reason in the world to rely on the power of those accursed statues.

On the other hand, Rock was becoming more aware of her current powerlessness.

She’d been ripped from her father without even getting a chance to make sure he was all right. The same went for Iniel. Had Ebel heard the news yet?

Will they find me?

She hated wanting someone to save her.

If only I’d the strength to escape on my own, I could get out of this situation without getting anyone else involved.

Maybe this is the kind of situation that makes people seek power. But I will NEVER rely on that curse to save me, no matter what comes my way, Rock vowed to herself as she tightened her arms around her knees on top of the floor.

♚♚♚

A new day dawned before she knew it. Apparently, she’d fallen asleep on the floor.

Rock cautiously raised her head from her knees and scanned her surroundings. What she saw was a warm, coral pink bedroom, which inevitably reminded her of the prior night’s events and her role as a prisoner in this gilded cage.

“Ow…”

Her head hurt. Maybe she was more worn out than she’d realized.

After all, a lot had happened yesterday. She’d visited the Mateus family mausoleum with Ebel, entered a church, met Lauretta for the first time, and then got kidnapped all before the day ended. It was hard to believe all that had happened in a day.

Rock staggered to her feet and started thinking of her next move with her aching head. Obviously, she didn’t want to stay there long. She needed to do whatever it took to escape.

She opened the window and stepped out onto the third-floor balcony again. The rising morning sun was unquestionably starting to illuminate the gorgeous aristocrat district townscape. The emperor’s palace was within sight, and Rock strained her eyes to see it and its surroundings.

Somewhere in this district was Mateus Manor, which she’d visited several times. All she had to do was make her way there. If she just knew where it was in relation to her current location…

But she heard a noise come from the hallway before she could pinpoint it. It sounded like a rolling cart and two pairs of feet approaching her room.

Rock quickly pulled back inside the bedroom, closed the window, and braced herself. There was a knock at the door seconds later.

“Good morning, Roxy. Are you awake?”

That voice belonged to Lord Alexis, the werewolf who’d kidnapped her.

Rock took a steadying breath and answered, “Yes.”

“I’m coming in then.”

The door opened.

But it was a man Rock didn’t recognize who stepped inside.

He looked older than her father with his deep gray hair. He was on the short side with a thin build and wore fine, black velvet clothing with gold thread embroidery. A smile lit his thin eyes, which stood in contrast with his stiff, thick eyebrows.

His eyes were gold.

“You already finished getting dressed? It isn’t proper to wear the same clothing you had on yesterday,” the man lightly scolded her in a familiar voice as he pointed to the chest of drawers beside the bed. “You’ll find several outfits inside. They all belong to you. Wear what you like.”

Rock didn’t respond. She cautiously assessed the man’s face, which finally made him realize what was wrong.

“Oh, right. This is our first time meeting like this.” He swept into a courteous bow and introduced himself. “My name is Placido Alexis. I’m Lauretta’s husband and your uncle.” Then he looked over his shoulder and introduced the young girl who’d followed him in. “This is our maid Alice. You can ask her for help with things you may feel uncomfortable asking Danilo about.”

The maid with walnut-colored hair bowed silently.

Alice looked to be around Johanna’s age. She seemed oddly nervous as she kept her face blank but blinked an awful lot.

“Alice, prepare breakfast.”

“Yes, milord.”

Upon Placido’s orders, Alice rolled a large cart into the bedroom. She quickly moved the plates from the cart to the flower-decorated round table. During that time, Placido watched Rock with a soft smile that twinkled in his gold eyes.

“I bet you’re hungry. How do you feel about eating while chatting with me?”

Rock was certainly famished. But she didn’t have an appetite.

“Are you telling me to eat the food prepared by my kidnapper?” Rock couldn’t stop herself from sniping back. Alice’s hand stopped in the middle of laying out the food. “I think not.”

Placido glanced over at the maid before returning Rock’s question with one of his own. “I had a delicious breakfast prepared for you, but…are you saying you suspect the food?”

“I can’t trust anything served by you,” Rock boldly affirmed.

Placido’s smile didn’t waver as he told the maid, “Alice, you can return to your other duties.”

“…Are you certain?”

“I’ll take care of the rest. Roxy still needs time to calm down.”

Rock snorted. There was nothing to calm down about, but Alice said nothing as she expressionlessly left the room.

After seeing the maid out, Placido promptly continued her work. He poured water from the pitcher into two china cups and held them both out to Rock.

“You can choose which one you want. I’ll drink the other.”

Rock was hesitant. He seemed to just be after gaining her trust. Next, he asked Rock to choose her own lightly baked bread, soup, and fruit. He placed what she didn’t select in front of his own seat. It seemed like he was accustomed to serving food as the table was swiftly set with breakfast for two.

“It’s ready. Come, let’s eat,” Placido said, pulling out a chair for Rock to sit. When she didn’t move, he flashed a knowing smile and changed out the chair for another. “Did you want to choose your own chair too? Forgive me for not noticing sooner.”

That wasn’t why Rock didn’t move, but it seemed the conversation wouldn’t get anywhere until she sat down.

She reluctantly plopped down on the second chair he pulled out for her.

“Enjoy,” Placido said, sitting opposite of her.

He took a sip of water and bit into the bread. He also elegantly scooped up some of the steaming hot soup on his spoon and closed his eyes as if savoring the taste.

This was probably his way of showing her it wasn’t a trap. Poison or no poison, Rock wasn’t in the mood to eat with her kidnapper.

“You aren’t going to eat?” Placido eventually asked.

“I don’t feel like eating,” she answered with a scowl. “I just want to go home.”

His expression grew awfully gentle then.

“I’m willing to let you go back from time to time if you become our child. Back to your father, Fredericks Berwick.”

Rock’s eyes went round with shock.

She was surprised not only by the fact he said she could go back but also that he’d called himself her uncle and Phoebe her father.

This was the same man who’d referred to her as “our precious child” when speaking to Lauretta.

“And here I thought you were trying to become my father yourself,” Rock shot back, and still Placido responded with a sort of warm kindness.

“Of course, it is my and Lauretta’s greatest desire for you to become our child. But I also want to respect the life you’ve lived thus far, including your biological parents.”

Talk is cheap, Rock thought.

He might be trying to cajole her into letting down her guard with every intention of going back on his word once he won her over.

Honing every skill she’d learned in the slums, Rock cautiously listened to what he had to say.

“Lauretta has been moping about near always these days.” Placido frowned with pain when he mentioned his wife. “As you know, we don’t have any children. She has become more hurt by that fact as we’ve aged. I told her I’m fine with adopting an heir, but she’s obsessed with it being blood-related.”

“And that’s where I come in?” Rock asked.

“It seems Lauretta became terribly depressed when your mother, Valencia, left the house,” he solemnly told her. “It became even worse after she learned your mother ran off with a mere mercenary. But she still tracked her down and sent people to keep an eye on her so that she could offer a lending hand if she ever needed one. I remember her being very pleased when she heard the stories of you growing up.”

That all matched up with what Phoebe had told Rock about spies poking into her and her mother’s life while they lived in that rural mountain village.

“But we lost all track of your whereabouts after your mother passed away. Lauretta nearly lost her mind, she was so frantic. She tried every means possible to find you, but there wasn’t so much as a trace for years.”

She probably never imagined her niece was living in the capital slums disguised as a man. Phoebe’s plan to hide in plain sight worked like a charm.

“Then we heard the rumors about you attending Duke Linus’s daughter’s birthday party a few weeks ago.”

Rock was shaken at this. She definitely remembered standing out more than she should have at that party.

“Rumors had it that there was a beautiful, young lady with wine-colored hair at the party. Count Mateus was her chaperone for the evening, but her identity was a mystery, and she was said to look a lot like Lauretta in her heyday.”

Placido stopped speaking to see Rock’s reaction.

When she pressed her lips in a flat line, refusing to speak, he let out a light chuckle.

“We’ve been searching ever since—for you, Roxy.” Then he began to plead with her. “Won’t you please grant Lauretta’s greatest wish? Her deepest desire is to have her own child. If you do, I’ll do whatever I can to make your wishes come true too. I don’t even mind if you go see your father. Lauretta won’t be happy about it, but I believe it’s the right thing to do.”

Rock couldn’t help but marvel at the whole thing after hearing the chain of events that led to this moment. When she spoke with him like this, Placido Alexis came across as a kindly gentleman who loved his wife.

But this was the same man who’d attacked Ebel’s carriage last night and abducted her while leaving Phoebe and Iniel to die on the roadside.

And then there was what Danilo had told her about Placido willingly offering himself up to the werewolf curse for Lauretta’s sake.

Rock stared back at Placido’s gold eyes from across the table. It was the exact same golden shade Ebel and Guido had.

“Do my eyes bother you?” Placido pointed to his eyes, noticing the intensity of her gaze. “You likely know this already, but this isn’t their natural color. They became this way the day I obtained the werewolf curse.” He took a sip of water, breathed in, and then straightened in his chair. “Roxy, I’ve been meaning to ask you—you know another werewolf besides me, don’t you?”

Rock knew he was already on to her, but she still didn’t answer him.

Placido also seemed to guess the reason for her silence.

“From what I heard from Lauretta,” he looked straight into Rock’s eyes and gave away what he knew, “it appears the young Count Mateus has the same color eyes I do.”

I can’t answer. I shouldn’t answer. I must never let my words destroy Ebel’s reputation or life.

Placido smiled as he saw Rock bite her lip.

“You don’t want to tell me, eh? I wonder what he is to you,” he said, then lightly shook his head. “Rest assured, I’m neither trying to pry into his life nor spread bad rumors about him. I simply wanted to see whether he was a kindred soul or not.”

Kindred soul. Those two words nagged at Rock.

Was he implying all werewolves shared the same motives? That certainly didn’t seem the case to her.

“As far as I know, the werewolf curse can only be obtained from an ancient relic—the werewolf statue—which houses it,” Placido explained. “The Brotherhood gifted me one such statue from which I received the curse. I just want to know if there are others like me out there.”

“…The Brotherhood?”

Rock accidentally broke her silence.

She had a terrible feeling about where this was going. She’d heard about the Brotherhood from Phoebe, Ebel, and even Johanna.

“I’m speaking of the Werewolf Brotherhood, Roxy.” Placido spoke the cult’s full name, exactly as she’d heard it before. “Lauretta and I offered up our prayers there, all so that she could have peace of mind and that her wish would come true.”

No matter how hard Phoebe and Ebel searched, there were only a few measly records left about the Brotherhood. Johanna’s werewolf hunter family only had their torture devices to go by, and Rock had come to believe that the truth about them had been forever buried in the past.

However, the Werewolf Brotherhood still existed.

The person sitting across from her had sought out the werewolf’s power to grant his desires—and succeeded.

“But you already knew that, didn’t you?”

Placido was smiling.

It was a gentle smile without an ounce of malicious intent.

Even Rock, who’d come across every kind of human in the slums, saw a genuinely good person in that expression. His was the face of a man who wholeheartedly loved his wife every minute of every day.

“Werewolves aren’t monsters. This is a wonderful power that gives hope to the powerless. If you’re already acquainted with one, then you should know that too. Am I wrong, Roxy?”

Rock found herself wavering as he pressed her for an answer.

She had no intention of ever becoming their child. Fredericks Berwick was her only father, and Vale Floria was her sole mother.

But if she stayed, maybe she could figure out where those accursed statues were coming from when Phoebe and Ebel couldn’t.

The Werewolf Brotherhood… If I could only infiltrate it…

“Will you give me time to think about becoming your child?” Rock requested, masking her true intentions to uncover whatever information she could. “I still don’t know anything about either of you. I don’t even know how I should behave in your presence.”

“I’m delighted just to hear you’re willing to think about it.” Real happiness showed in both his words and his softening expression. He took another sip of water and placed a hand on his chest in relief. “I really am glad. I’d be too ashamed to see Lauretta if you continued to be stubborn.”

“I’d love to speak more with my aunt.”

That part was true. Granted, she had self-serving reasons for wanting to talk.

“Wonderful. I’ll set up a meeting between you later. Lauretta will be thrilled.”

Placido gave the okay, so Rock plastered an awkward smile on her face.

And then she finally reached for the food on the table. She drank the water, ate the bread, and sipped her soup. She had no appetite but had to choke down the food no matter what.

She couldn’t spy on an empty stomach, after all.

“Is it good? I sure hope it suits your tastes.”

Placido’s golden eyes brimmed with unadulterated affection as he watched Rock eat.

♚♚♚

AFTER breakfast, Placido recommended Rock take a hot bath.

“There’s a particular outfit I’d love for you to wear. Feel free to wash up before getting changed.”

Just like that, Rock was led out of the room by Alice and shown to Alexis Manor’s bathroom. Alice didn’t leave the room, even after she’d finished showing her the way.

Noticing Rock’s reluctance to undress in front of her, the maid broke the awkward silence first.

“I have been ordered to assist you.”

“I-I don’t need any help! I can dress and bathe myself, thank you!” Rock frantically explained, but Alice looked like she didn’t believe a word of it.

“I’ve been told you spent most of your days living in a rural village, Young Miss. Pardon my rudeness, but I thought you might not know your way around a bar of soap…”

“I know how to do that much! I’ll be fine, thank you,” Rock refused her offer, resenting the maid’s jab.

Alice also seemed less than pleased to deal with the sudden arrival of her new “Young Miss.” She grudgingly accepted Rock’s request and quietly left the changing room.

“Make sure to not only wash your whole body but also behind your ears.”

Rock simmered with anger over the maid’s last comment that was more appropriate for a young child than a full-grown, adult woman.

The bathroom was magnificently constructed using two rooms. A smaller room equipped with an imperial-capital-style steam bath was next to the room with a claw-footed bathtub filled with hot water. Owning a private steam bath was a surefire way to show one’s wealth.

In the capital, steam baths received tremendous support and business from citizens from all walks of life, and even the slums, where most people lived day by day, had public bathhouses. Justia’s bakery’s second story served as one such place, and it was said to be a fantastic facility where you could enjoy the smell of freshly baked bread from the water heated by the ovens downstairs.

Rock and Phoebe were envious every time they saw customers enjoying a good meal after their baths. They were envious because public bathhouses were segregated by gender, and there naturally weren’t any for “Ladies Dressed as Gentlemen” or “Gentlemen Dressed as Ladies.”

This was why Phoebe lived on the inconvenient fifth floor, his apartment’s top floor, because it came equipped with its own bathroom. Meanwhile, Rock’s apartment had no bath, so she borrowed Phoebe’s or washed up using the washbasin.

How would she react now that she was granted access to a bathroom with its own private, luxury steam bath?

“What the heck?! It’s so hot!”

She tried sitting in the steam bath but lasted less than five minutes in the high humidity before fleeing the room.

Rock finished bathing in the normal bathtub without ever truly comprehending why the steam baths were so popular. She cleaned every crevice of her body using the soap the right way, of course.

Once she exited the bathroom, she saw an unfamiliar dress left out next to her clothes.

Made of dull green, shiny silk fabric, it retained an old-fashioned design with its crochet collar, puffy bell sleeves, and long, dragging hem. It was as outdated as the dress Rock had borrowed from Phoebe yesterday.

Being a tailor didn’t make the dress any easier to put on alone, so Rock asked Alice to come in from where she waited outside the room to help her.

“It suits you,” Alice said in a deadpan voice as she tied the sash in a bow.

Rock wasn’t going to dignify that with a response and instead glared at herself in the changing room mirror.

It wasn’t just the design, but the dress itself seemed just as old. While it’d been stored well, there was no hiding the deteriorating silk fabric. The green fabric should’ve originally been a more vibrant shade.

It didn’t seem like a dress that was custom-made for Rock, but then who did it belong to?

“I will wash your other clothes for you.”

Alice pointed to the clothes Rock had changed out of for her bath.

“I’ll do it myself, thank you,” Rock quickly refused.

“But—”

“It will be fine. I’m good at taking care of clothes.”

Rock managed to return to her room with her clothes after stubbornly refusing the maid. This was the dress Phoebe had lent her.

I’ll absolutely bring it home and return it with my own hands, Rock silently vowed.

♚♚♚

ONCE she finished getting ready, Rock was told to go to the living room where Lord and Lady Alexis were waiting.

“May I come in?”

Lauretta jumped to her feet from the chaise lounge when Rock bowed in the doorway.

“Oh my…!”

All the blood drained from her face as she covered her mouth with both hands.

Placido immediately rose and put a supportive arm around his wife’s shoulders.

“Lauretta, get a hold of yourself, dear.”

“I’ll try, but…but I was taken by surprise. She looks just like Valencia!”

Rock didn’t know how to react when her mother’s name came into the conversation.

“The dress you are wearing was tailored by Her Ladyship’s younger sister,” Danilo helpfully added. He was also in the room waiting to serve them.

“What…?”

Rock was also rendered speechless.

I can’t believe I’ve not only come across something of Mother’s but that I also put it on without realizing it… But now that I know, the workmanship is similar to my own.

Her mother had taught her how to make pleated sleeves and how to crochet patterns.

Lauretta let out a grieved sigh while Rock was taken by the dress.

“Valencia loved to sew ever since she was a little girl. I still remember her confiding in me that she’d rather become a tailor than take over the family headship.”

Lauretta began speaking of Vale’s childhood, which Rock knew little about.

“But our father—your grandfather, he’s no longer with us—had many enemies. His brothers were after our family title, so he forced us to compete, insisting we had to excel in every way to succeed him.”

Her expression was dark as if she was sick to her stomach just talking about the past. Placido firmly held her hand.

“I thought Valencia had betrayed me when she left with that man.”

Placido shot his wife a warning look when the vitriol entered her voice. He was probably worried the topic and bitterness there would upset Rock.

Lauretta nodded, seeming to understand she was entering rocky territory.

“But I am positive that sweet girl…just didn’t want to fight anymore. That’s what I believe now.”

Rock sensed this woman, who looked like a more worn-out version of her mother, had felt the same way as Vale deep down. It must’ve been the height of misery being forced by their parents to viciously compete for approval.

“Besides, Valencia left me so many things. Dresses, memories, and you.” Lauretta raised her head. She smiled as she looked at Rock, a sort of desperation in her eyes. “Don’t you want to see the dresses Valencia left me? You can wear them as much as you want.”

Rock was too dismayed to respond.

Every detail that Lauretta shared about her mother made her time in this house feel so real, it frightened Rock.

To Rock, her mother was a poor woman who ran a tailor shop in a rural mountain village. But there was another side to her mother that only existed here. She was saddened to get a glimpse of her mother’s childhood, which seemed less than happy.

Lauretta probably felt the same way about the stories only Rock knew about Vale.

Sensing it was making Rock upset, Lauretta ceased to speak of her younger sister for the time being.

“This is your home now. Spend your time here in whatever manner pleases you.”

That wasn’t just a kindly put, empty offer—they actually allowed Rock to freely roam the mansion after that. They didn’t prevent her from entering any of the rooms.

Only leaving the house was frowned upon.

“It’s not that we don’t trust you, but could you please refrain from any outings until my wife is in a better place mentally?” Placido gently refused Rock when she asked to see the garden. “Lauretta will break down for real if she loses you.”

Is that really something a kidnapper should ask his kidnapped daughter? Rock wryly thought. But she wasn’t going to disobey his orders. Not because he’d broken her or because she’d given up hope, but to achieve her objective.

“I will behave as you’ve requested until Auntie feels better,” Rock said with a fake, daughterly smile.

“Thank you,” Placido responded, looking genuinely relieved. “But I sure hope you will call her ‘Mother’ someday.”

She’d never give in to that request, but she intended to curry as much favor with her aunt and uncle as she could without compromising herself.

Rock was a businesswoman. She’d flatter a customer as much as she had to if she knew it’d land a sale.

What she’d obtain this time was not money but the information Ebel and Phoebe desperately sought. That information should have more value than money to them all.

♚♚♚

ROCK spent the next two days at Alexis Manor.

The emotional distance between her and her aunt and uncle didn’t shrink visibly, but she’d go with Danilo into the garden to pick flowers for her aunt and spend time drinking tea with her, which made her look like an obedient daughter on the outside. Lauretta was delighted by her niece’s attention, and this, in turn, reassured Placido.

Meanwhile, Rock was no closer to obtaining the information she sought.

Since she’d decided to save directly questioning the lord and lady for last, she started by prodding the servants, Danilo, and Alice first. Unfortunately, Danilo’s guilty conscience seemed to make him flee every time he saw her, and all the maids, especially Alice, gave her a wide berth. She couldn’t blame them for being suspicious of some country girl brought in from God knows where and who lacked basic etiquette lessons.

Searching every nook and cranny of the mansion didn’t turn up anything of note either. Her impatience grew when she couldn’t find the werewolf statue or any items that could be connected to the Werewolf Brotherhood.

Rock constantly looked out the windows for those two days.

Maybe someone has come for me? She’d looked hoping to see the people she loved the most there to rescue her.

Sadly, her desired visitors never came, and only merchants frequented Alexis Manor during that time.

Rock frantically tried to keep her hopes up and her thoughts positive.

There was no way Ebel and Phoebe would abandon her. If anything, they were both the type to sacrifice whatever they had to in order to rescue her. So there must’ve been a good reason why they didn’t show up right away.

In fact, there was an interesting article written up in the newspaper that’d been thrown into the wastebasket the day after Rock was kidnapped.

The article was about an accident that caused a carriage to topple on the main street running through the aristocrat district. It clearly indicated the carriage belonged to Count Mateus and reported that the coachman sustained minor injuries while the single passenger was unharmed. The accident report said it was caused by the bridle disconnecting from the horse’s bit—obviously, that wasn’t what’d really happened.

Ebel and Phoebe couldn’t publicly announce the carriage was attacked by a werewolf either. Placido was likely counting on that when he attacked. Still, Rock hadn’t given up hope.

I’m not alone.

She never stopped believing that.

♚♚♚

CHANGE came the third morning Rock woke up in Alexis Manor.

She was yawning in the coral pink bedroom she still hadn’t gotten used to when there was a dainty knock at the door.

“Roxy? Are you awake?” Lauretta asked through the door.

Rock quickly combed out her bedhead and slipped a robe over her nightgown before answering.

“Come in, Auntie.”

Lauretta was accompanied by Alice, who was holding two brand new dresses, which Lauretta made her hold up high so Rock could see their splendor.

“We have guests today. Choose the dress you like best and get ready to go downstairs.”

Her options were an elegant, dark-green velvet dress or a glossy strawberry pink sateen dress. Judging by the exquisite quality of the fabrics, their guest was likely of higher rank.

“I’m supposed to meet these guests?” Rock cautiously inquired.

“Yes,” Lauretta said, nodding. “But don’t worry, dear. One of our guests is a young lady near your age.”

“But—”

“It will be all right. She’s a very well-behaved and kind young lady,” Lauretta said in soothing tones, as if trying to encourage her teenage daughter to make new friends. “You need friends too. I’m sure it will take you a while to get used to life here, so you need someone you can relax around.”

Her expression was so caring, it threw Rock for a loop.

Besides, Rock was a commoner girl who’d spent her life living in a poor village and the slums. Relaxing was the last thing she’d be able to do in the presence of snobbish nobility. She was well aware that Ebel was the exception that proved the rule.

“Who might this guest be?” Rock asked, already dreading the day ahead.

“Someone who you are already acquainted with,” Lauretta said with a mischievous smile.

“Really?”

“Yes. It’s Duke Linus’s daughter, Lady Michaela Linus.”

At that moment, Rock experienced every kind of emotion:

Surprise over seeing an acquaintance in her situation.

Fear of Lauretta, who knew Michaela was her friend.

Hope that Ebel might have sent her here.

And also suspicion that Lauretta was letting them meet like this.

As Rock struggled to conceal the bilge of emotions, Lauretta giggled behind her hand.

“I see, so you do know her. We had learned of your whereabouts from her, you see.”

From what Rock had heard, the Alexises learned of her existence from Michaela’s birthday party. So it made sense they’d ask the Linus family about her.

“I heard you were with Count Mateus when you met Lady Michaela,” Lauretta continued in a surprisingly innocent voice. “Lady Michaela is His Excellency’s former fiancée. She said they barely see each other anymore now that they’re no longer engaged, so she had no way to find you, but when I told her we found you ourselves, she said she’d love to see you again!”

That’s a lie.

Michaela and Guido still spent a lot of time with Ebel, and Michaela knew exactly who and where Rock was after her party.

The duke’s daughter was willing to pull the wool over the Alexises’ eyes just to make contact with Rock.

“I would love to see her again myself,” Rock responded mildly, keeping the emotions that threatened to cause her to tremble in check.

Then she chose the dark-green dress and waited for Michaela Linus to arrive.

It wasn’t long before a familiar carriage rolled up outside the window. The carriage slowed to a stop as it entered Alexis Manor’s courtyard, and the door opened from the inside.

The familiar faces almost made Rock nostalgic as she watched. A tall man with black hair was the first to step down—Guido Linus. He extended his hand inside the carriage, and a white-gloved hand reached out and took it.

Exiting the carriage with the help of her older brother, Michaela stared up at Alexis Manor as if searching for something. Following his sister’s lead, Guido’s gold eyes also scanned the windows.

Rock was about to wave to them when—

“Young Miss, your guests have arrived.”

Danilo had come to get her, so she couldn’t wave them down.

But she hadn’t given up hope.

She impatiently waited for the coming reunion.

♚♚♚

ROCK went to the foyer to welcome her guests with Lord and Lady Alexis.

The Linus siblings entered through the door Danilo held open. They immediately noticed Rock. Guido flattened his lips in a straight line and Michaela’s eyes widened.

But their shock lasted for less than a second before they both shifted their gazes to the lord and lady of the house.

“Thank you very much for inviting us into your lovely home.”

Guido swept his tall body into a dashing bow and greeted them with what appeared to be a genial expression on the surface.

Lauretta and Placido both bowed back.

“We are honored by your visit, Lord Linus,” Placido said, placing his hand on Rock’s back like a father would. “Thanks to you, we were able to welcome our daughter back into the fold. Her name is Roxy.”

“Oh, you’re the lady from my party…!” Michaela cried out with pretend surprise.

“Lord Alexis has been searching for you for a long time,” Guido said in a velvety soft voice Rock never imagined him capable of. “While I regret not being of assistance in your discovery, I am terribly happy to see you safe.”

And then he smiled at her with his stern face.

---

---

Although Rock knew he was acting, she couldn’t help feeling uncomfortable being on the receiving end of Guido’s smile. That being said, one wrong move here could ruin everything. She silently smiled back at him and hoped the others would just assume she didn’t know how to act around a future duke.

“It isn’t much, but we’ve prepared tea and snacks for you,” Lauretta said in tones befitting the lady of the house. “Please enjoy them while I tell you about my daughter.”

“Gladly.” Guido was about to follow them down the hall when Michaela tugged on his sleeve.

“Brother, must I join you for tea too?” she asked in a soft yet deliberately loud enough voice for all to hear.

Guido frowned on cue.

“Of course you do. You were invited as a guest too, weren’t you?”

“But I get ever so bored listening to stuffy adult talk.” Michaela pouted. “Besides, I have a gift for Lady Roxy. It’s not appropriate to bring this little one to tea, is it?”

She held up the bird cage she had been carrying. A white dove quietly sat on its perch inside.

“Oh, might this be a dove?”

Lauretta crouched in front of Michaela and peered at the bird inside the cage.

“Yes, my brother breeds them,” Michaela answered with angelic innocence. “This gift is proof of my newfound friendship with Lady Roxy!”

Her tone sounded much younger than the Michaela Rock knew. Lauretta didn’t seem to notice she was acting.

She looked over at Rock and said, “In that case, please show Lady Michaela to your room, Roxy. The rest of us adults will be conversing in the parlor.”

“…Yes, Auntie.”

Rock gave a quick but polite response to prevent her from catching on to her internal excitement. Then she hurried with Michaela to her bedroom.

The first thing Michaela did when Rock led her into the coral pink room was rest her hand on her chest with relief. As soon as she ascertained no one else was around, her expression shifted from cherubic to serious.

“I am so glad to see you safe, Roxy Floria,” she whispered in Rock’s ear.

She had used Rock’s true name—the one she took from her mother. As soon as she heard those two words, she relaxed, and tears spilled from her eyes.

“Ah…”

She thought she was being brave all this time, but maybe she was just enduring everything to get through the moment. Rock had been granted good food and a certain level of freedom within Alexis Manor, but spending time in her captor’s strange home definitely wore on her nerves. She’d also noticed how haggard her face was starting to look every time she saw herself in the mirror.

Rock was glad from the bottom of her heart to know Michaela had come to help her.

“You mustn’t cry. The others will catch on.”

Tears misted Michaela’s eyes too, even though she was trying to console Rock. She gently wiped away Rock’s tears with her palm. Then she pulled out a slate and pencil from her little bag.

She used the pencil to write on the slate first.

(Let’s write down the things we don’t want heard.)

Rock nodded when she read that.

Michaela smiled and enthusiastically raised her voice, “Oh, I’m ever so happy! I didn’t know what to do if you didn’t like my present!”

This was her way of telling Rock to continue the conversation in case anyone was spying on them. Catching on, Rock responded in kind, her face damp with tears.

“You needn’t worry about that. I am very happy!”

She accepted the slate pencil from Michaela and wrote down her true feelings.

(I’m doing well enough, as you can see. Lord and Lady Alexis are doting on me as if I were their own child. I’m fairly sure they won’t try to physically harm me.)

Michaela’s expression softened as she read that.

“I’m truly relieved to hear that… It’s what worried me the most.”

“Thank you for worrying about me, Lady Michaela,” Rock said aloud, earning a giggle from Michaela, who had loosened up now that she knew Rock wasn’t being physically abused.

“Say, may I call you Roxy?”

“Yes, please do.”

“Then you must call me Michaela as well.”

“What? I couldn’t…”

Rock was flustered by her request.

She was speaking to a powerful duke’s daughter, while she herself was a tailor from the slums who’d been kidnapped by a noble family.

But Michaela plucked the pencil from her hand and mercilessly wrote:

(You can’t when you call Ebel by his first name, without any title?)

The heat rushed to Rock’s cheeks when she saw his name.

Perhaps Michaela was teasing her. This wasn’t the time for joking, but Rock still found herself smiling.

“Please don’t tease me.”

“…You finally smiled, Roxy,” Michaela whispered, the relief apparent in her voice. She squeezed Rock’s hand when she returned the pencil and flashed her an adorable smile. “But I truly do want you to call me that. Aren’t we friends now?”

Her smile felt incredibly reliable and reassuring.

“We are, Michaela.”

That was why Rock spoke her name like she would an old friend’s.

After that, the girls giggled and chatted like friends would, all while passing the slate back and forth, writing and erasing their more serious conversation.

“This dove here is a present for you,” Michaela said in a cheery voice. “Give it a name.”

“It’s so hard to come up with a good name…” Rock groaned.

“You struggle coming up with names too? You sound just like my brother.”

“Lord Linus is the same way?”

“Oh, yes. If something is white, he’ll call it ‘Whitey,’ and if it’s black, he’ll call it ‘Blacky!’”

“Haha! I was just about to call the dove ‘Whitey’ too!”

(Is my father all right?)

Rock wrote on the slate and handed it to Michaela.

(He’s in good health. He didn’t get a single scrape from the accident. Brother and I were astonished to learn your shop assistant was your father, but Ebel seemed quite comfortable with it.)

(Then Father is with Ebel right now?)

(He is. Actually, both he and Ebel are extremely close by.)

Rock instinctively looked out the window. Unfortunately, all she could see from inside the room was the balcony rail and the midday sky.

But Father and Ebel came for me.

Just knowing that warmed her heart, and she had to fight back another round of tears.

(They’ll move into position if we give the signal. They came to save you.)

Michaela handed the slate over as she gave Rock a reassuring smile.

I knew it! They came to rescue me. And not just them. Even Michaela and Guido have come to my aid.

Rock closed her eyes at the overwhelming joy she felt—she knew this wasn’t the time for rejoicing.

(I’m delighted you all came to help, but it’s dangerous. Placido Alexis is a werewolf.)

Michaela’s beautiful brows knitted in a frown when she read Rock’s warning. She might have already guessed that when she met Placido.

(He has the same gold eyes as Ebel and Brother.)

(He also became a werewolf using one of those cursed statues.)

(There are even more of those statues out there?)

(I didn’t see it for myself, but there’s definitely more than the ones we destroyed. He’s also in communication with the Werewolf Brotherhood.)

Michaela gasped. Pure hatred and anger flashed across her lovely young face.

“No…!”

She’d every right to be furious. Both her beloved older brother and her childhood friend and ex-fiancé had their lives derailed by the werewolf curse.

And that curse came by way of the Werewolf Brotherhood.

“Use this, Michaela.”

Rock placed the pencil in Michaela’s trembling hand.

Michaela stopped herself from saying more and furiously scribbled her feelings down on the slate.

(I didn’t think they still existed!)

(I don’t know if they’re the exact same organization. But Lord and Lady Alexis relied on them and received power from the werewolf statue to grant their deepest desires.)

(That being your kidnapping???)

(Sadly, yes. Lord Alexis did it to heal his wife’s broken heart.)

Rock hesitated to write what she had in mind next.

She wanted nothing more than to leave her gilded cage. To ask for help. How wonderful it would be if just one word to Michaela would have her back in her father’s warm embrace and in Ebel’s arms.

But if she left, she’d be letting go of a chance to uncover the truth.

Mustering all her courage, she wrote:

(I’m so grateful you came for me. But I want to stay here a little longer to see what I can find out about the Werewolf Brotherhood.)

Rock handed Michaela the pencil.

Michaela’s eyes wavered and she hesitated to write anything for a long moment. But then she made up her mind like Rock and wrote her reply.

(Ebel would’ve never allowed you to do that. He’ll probably try to whisk you away from here no matter the personal cost because he doesn’t want you to suffer more than you already have. But—)

Michaela’s pencil stopped there, her expression distorting with anguish. She finally pushed through it to write:

(But I want to know the truth. I want to sever the curse that afflicts Brother and Ebel at its root. Those are my true feelings on the matter. I know this is cruel to ask of you, but you are our only hope.)

“That’s not true, Michaela,” Rock reassured aloud, forcing a smile as she took the pencil back.

(I also want to know the truth. As long as those statues exist, there’ll be no end to people like Lord Alexis, who will give up everything in the pursuit of power. This is an opportune moment. Please tell Ebel and my Father to come rescue me after I’ve found some information we can use.)

“Roxy, you…” Michaela’s voice quivered.

Tears threatened to spill from her eyes this time, so Rock silently placed her hands on her cheeks. Understanding she was nearly about to do the same thing she’d warned Rock about, she blinked away the tears.

“I’m sorry. I’m all right.”

Then she glanced over at the dove she’d brought as a “gift.”

(That dove will fly straight back to our house once you let it loose.)

(So, I should release it when I want help?)

(Exactly. But please remember it will only work once.)

(In that case, I’ll let it free as soon as I have something we can work with.)

(When you do, we’ll use all our power to rescue you.)

Michaela marked that promise by looking into Rock’s eyes.

Rock could sense her guilt from her gaze that seemed to both plead with her to do this and beg her for forgiveness. The thing was, Rock was choosing to stay behind of her own volition. There was no need for Michaela to feel guilty.

“I’ve made a very good friend today,” Rock said, hoping her voice would convey how she felt. “I hope we continue to have a great friendship going ahead too, Michaela.”

“Roxy… So do I,” Michaela said with a firm nod. Then she picked the pencil back up and scribbled on the slate, her expression warping with the pain she was trying to keep at bay.

(Do you remember what happened before my brother was cursed?)

Rock blinked in confusion over what she was getting at with that question. Michaela continued to write.

(Brother was acting strange right before it happened. I don’t know what possessed him, but he became obsessed with Ebel and fascinated by werewolves. But what’s even stranger is that after he was cursed and came back to his senses, he said he could only vaguely recall his behavior beforehand and that he doesn’t know what got into him.)

Rock got the chills as she read what Michaela wrote.

Michaela’s expression was equally grim.

(Do you suppose the same thing might be happening to Lord Alexis? Like, what if those statues not only turn people into werewolves but also amplify their desires, making them uncontrollable?)

Her theory fit.

Placido deeply loved Lauretta and was trying to bring her out of her depression. But kidnapping his niece to make that happen seemed too shortsighted and reckless for his personality. That night almost seemed a lie with how good of a husband and lord he was at home.

What if that duality was also brought on by the curse?

What if he was also going crazy like Guido had?

Or what if the same was happening to Lauretta?

It must be stopped. The chain of misery being brought about by the curse must be broken.

Rock’s resolve was strengthened.

Writing took much longer than talking did.

Rock still had a mountain of questions for Michaela. She wanted to know how her father was faring at Mateus Manor, how Iniel’s recovery was going, and how Ebel was handling everything—but there was a knock at the door before she could ask.

Both girls froze for a fleeting moment before Michaela tucked the slate and pencil into her bag.

“Come in,” Rock said only after she made sure the slate was out of sight.

The door opened and Guido stepped in after being escorted there by Danilo.

“It’s time to go, Michaela. It’s rude to stay too long.”

“Aww, all right, Brother.”

Michaela reluctantly stood up.

Rock also rose to see them off, earning an approving hum from Guido when he saw her full figure clad in the pretty deep-green dress.

“Very nice…”

He looked impressed.

When she thought about it, this was the second time Guido was seeing her in a dress. And he was probably too enraged the first time to pay much attention, so it wasn’t strange for him to be surprised this time.

“Brother, isn’t it rude for you to stare so hard?” Michaela laughed at her brother. “Roxy’s future husband wouldn’t approve. I can hear him now: ‘To think you would become smitten by my bride!’”

“I’m not smitten,” Guido promptly objected before boasting, “Besides, you can’t find a more beautiful woman in this world than my sister. Lady Roxy isn’t half bad, but nowhere near on par with Micha—”

“OH, BROTHER!” Michaela fumed, cutting him off, her face redder than a tomato.

It appeared the Linuses were still the world’s closest siblings.

Thanks to them, Rock could truly laugh from the heart for the first time in days.

♚♚♚

ROCK saw Guido and Michaela off in the foyer where she’d welcomed them. Lord and Lady Alexis were watching them, so they couldn’t say anything suspicious in parting.

“I had a wonderful time. Let’s meet again soon, Roxy.”

Rock looked right into Michaela’s smiling eyes and nodded.

“Yes, it’s a promise.”

Michaela curtsied after hearing Rock’s reply and then left the manor accompanied by her brother.

Rock was struck by the desire to chase after them as she watched them leave the house. But Danilo closed the door behind them before she could act on it, shutting off Rock’s connection to the outside world once again.

Michaela had said Ebel and Phoebe were close by. So Rock hoped she could at least step outside to show them she was doing well, but she wasn’t even allowed that freedom. Suffocating sadness filled her, but she closed her eyes and blocked it out.

“Come, dear. It’s time to go back to your room. Show me the gift you received from Lady Michaela,” Lauretta said with a big smile.

“Yes, Auntie,” Rock responded. Then she suddenly noticed a loose thread on her sleeve. “Weird…?”

The cuffs were shamefully frayed, which was odd, considering it looked brand new when Lauretta had gifted it to her that morning.

“What’s the matter, Roxy?” Lauretta asked.

“My dress cuffs are frayed,” Rock answered honestly.

“You’re right, dear. This was supposed to be a brand new dress I had tailored just for you, though.”

“At least I can still repair it.”

Rock always carried a sewing kit on her, so she’d never miss a chance to make some coin. She’d had it with her when she visited the mausoleum with Ebel too.

“I have a sewing kit in my room, so I can repair it now,” she said.

“You can do that too?” Lauretta’s eyes widened with surprise.

“Yes, Mother taught me.”

“I see…” she uttered in a low voice, then fell into deep thought.

Placido pensively walked past Lauretta as she seemed rooted to the ground.

“Say, is it all right if I watch you mend it?” Lauretta eventually asked after what felt like a long pause.

Rock thought it was an odd request, but she’d no reason to turn her down.

She returned to the coral pink bedroom with Lauretta and mended the dress’s cuffs under the watchful eye of her new dove friend. All she had to do was take off the loose thread and resew it, which was a thousand times easier than fixing the fray.

Even so, Lauretta was beyond impressed by it.

“You’re good… You have such skill with your hands, I wouldn’t be afraid to call what you’re doing art.”

Her eyes twinkled with childish delight as she sat next to Rock, watching her hands work. She was like a child being shown a flashy magic trick.

From Rock’s perspective, this skill was how she made her living, and she felt a giddy kind of embarrassment when it was praised. It wasn’t a bad feeling, being complimented.

In the coral pink room illuminated by the setting sun, Rock mended the dress sitting side by side with her aunt. There was something strangely comforting about the way their shadows seemed snuggled up together on the floor. It almost reminded her of when her mother taught her how to sew as a child.

“Something like this happened before…” Lauretta seemed to be reminded of the past as well. She slowly began recounting the incident. “Valencia mended my sleeve after it caught on something and tore. She said, ‘I can handle something this simple, Sister.’”

There was something gutting about realizing those were once her mother’s words. Her aunt seemed to truly know a side of her mother she didn’t.

“When it came to sewing, her hands really did work magic. She seemed happiest when she had a needle and thread in hand…”

Loneliness crept into Lauretta’s expression as she dug through her memories—the way everyone gets a little sad when they reminisce about the past.

She must’ve cherished and missed those long-gone days that she could never return to. Regardless of their fighting leading to their separate paths in life, there was once a point when they were close sisters. And there was no way to return to that time.

“I didn’t know how sad it’d be to lose her back then,” Lauretta muttered, her eyes locked on Rock. “My precious little sister did a wonderful job raising you.”

Tears lightly misted her gray eyes. Her expression, which seemed so inhuman and cold the first day they met, had regained human warmth and emotion.

“…Thank you, Auntie.”

Rock was uncomfortable because she was starting to feel guilty about deceiving her aunt by playing along with what she wanted.

Though she was doing it for the just cause of pinning down the location of the Werewolf Brotherhood, her aunt was sure to get her feelings hurt in the process. Rock’s goal was to discover the truth and then return in one piece to the slums. Lauretta would surely suffer even more when she found out Rock wasn’t planning to stay.

But Michaela seemed like she was onto something when she’d written: (Like, what if those statues not only turn people into werewolves but also amplify their desires, making them uncontrollable?)

If her theory was correct, then uncovering the truth would lead to saving Lauretta and Placido.

They’d kidnapped their own niece to satisfy their desires. Even if they did it out of familial and marital love, they needed to be stopped now before it was too late.

If they were left to their own devices, they might very well commit another crime for their “family.”

While Rock was busy solidifying her resolve, Lauretta interrupted her thoughts.

“Oh, I know! There’s actually another piece of clothing I have that’s frayed and bothering me.”

Apparently, she wanted Rock to mend some clothes for her.

“Would you like me to fix it?” Rock happily offered, her guilty conscience getting the better of her.

“Yes, I’d be delighted if you could.” Lauretta seemed thrilled until her bright smile soured a little. “To tell you the truth, both that item and your dress were made by the same tailor. I’m shocked they both frayed when they aren’t that old yet.”

Auntie must’ve been conned by a bad tailor, Rock thought.

Looking closely at the velvet dress, the sewing work was poorly done in more than one place. Although she’d fixed the cuffs, it was only a matter of time before other sections came undone. As a fellow tailor, Rock was disgusted and infuriated by the sloppy work.

Rock thought of her own shop while she followed Lauretta to her dressing room.

She hadn’t been back to her shop since going to Ebel’s. Phoebe probably didn’t have the time to go back and forth from Ebel’s, so the shop was likely left closed with their away sign for the past few days.

Justia was probably going to start worrying about them soon. Lady Trilian might also be throwing a fit, thinking Rock was shirking paying rent. And then there was Nisha…

What would Nisha think when she realized the second tailor she knew had vanished without a trace too?

I hope she doesn’t get too depressed. Rock couldn’t help wishing for the other girl to stay strong.

“This is the room. Let me pull the piece out of the drawers.”

Lauretta opened a chest of drawers once they arrived in her dressing room. Then she began merrily searching for the clothing she wanted to be fixed.

With nothing better to do, Rock randomly looked around. It was quite large for a room dedicated just to clothing—granted, only nobility could afford to waste a whole room for such things. Judging by all the dressers and shelves, her aunt probably owned more clothes than what Rock had in stock at her shop.

Lauretta finally found what she was looking for in the room that smelled of herbs used to keep bugs away.

“I found it. Roxy, would you mind taking a look?” She pulled the piece of clothing out of the drawers and held it up for Rock to see. “The embroidery on the back is coming undone. I thought I’d never be able to wear it again.”

“I’ll see what I can do.”

Rock turned around with a smile—then froze.

Her aunt was holding up a blue robe.

The wool satin faille fabric had been dyed an eye-catching blue, and its back had an intricate design embroidered in gold thread. As Lauretta had said, the embroidery was frayed, but Rock could tell it was of the foxglove flower.

Rock had seen an order placed for a very similar robe rather recently.

The order recorded in Krister Gionet’s ledger.

“…What’s the matter, Roxy?”

Rock shuddered at Lauretta’s question. She hastily composed herself.

“N-Nothing. I was just taken by the stunning embroidery.”

“It is rare to see such complex embroidery work, even if it is fraying.”

Lauretta gave a carefree response. At least she hadn’t noticed how flustered Rock felt.

“Do you think you can fix it?”

“Yes, I can manage it.”

The embroidery’s quirks were exactly the same as the dress Rock was wearing. It was a really sloppy job, resulting from rushing to finish the end product and giving priority only to the appearance while cutting corners on stitching. As a fellow tailor, Rock could never forgive such shoddy workmanship.

But she’d never felt happier to see it in her life.

“Auntie?” Rock began, accepting the robe from Lauretta. “Is it possible for me to meet the tailor who made this?”

“Why would you want to do that?”

That was the natural thing to ask.

But Rock couldn’t let herself get caught now, so she made up the most plausible excuse she could.

“I’d love to speak to the person capable of such beautiful embroidery work. Learning from them would help me in my studies.”

Rock wasn’t sure she’d succeeded in putting much enthusiasm into her lie. At least Lauretta seemed convinced by it.

“Well then, that works for us too. I’ve been thinking about taking you to worship service at the Brotherhood with me next time.”

“Worship…service?”

“Yes. We wear these robes during worship,” Lauretta said, then added, “The tailor works for the Brotherhood. You’ll definitely see him if you come to church with us.”

That must be Krister, right? What’s he doing with the Werewolf Brotherhood? Was he kidnapped like me? Or…

But Rock had no reason to hesitate.

“I’m looking forward to it. When’s the next service?” Rock asked as cheerfully as she could manage.

Lauretta seemed delighted to see her niece take an interest in her religion. “During the next Market Day,” she told her.

Market Day was a weekly holiday meant to encourage people to take time off work and shop in the markets.

The concept wasn’t particularly appreciated or followed in the slums, but it seemed to have already taken root in the imperial capital, and the area around the shopping district was especially busy on that day. Since it was a day when peddlers and people from all classes walked the streets in large numbers, it was also an ample opportunity for thieves to slip in from the slums to pick pockets or commit other crimes.

It made sense for the Brotherhood to have their worship service then.

♚♚♚

IT was the sunny, windless day before Market Day.

Rock slipped away from Lord and Lady Alexis’s watchful eyes and released the white dove from her bedroom balcony.

“Cute little bird, please let everyone know.”

A thinly folded letter was securely strapped to the rock dove’s leg as it took flight. The letter explained Rock would be accompanying her aunt and uncle to their next Werewolf Brotherhood worship service on Market Day and that she believed Krister might be there.

Rock had no way of knowing if the dove successfully returned home.

Either way, Market Day came, and Lord and Lady Alexis departed their manor by carriage, with Rock in tow, after breakfast.

Their carriage soon left the aristocrat district and leisurely ran through the busy shopping district.

Rock frequently glanced out the window and searched for Ebel and Phoebe. But there were no blatant signs of them pursuing the carriage as it proceeded out of the imperial capital.

“You needn’t worry. We aren’t going that far,” Placido said, assuming Rock’s fixation with the window was out of fear of leaving the capital. “We’ll be back in time for dinner. It’s right outside the capital.”

No sooner did he say that than the carriage stopped on a small hill overlooking the city.

There was a double-leaf stone door hidden behind tall grass in the shadow of the hill. The door, which looked large enough for the carriage to pass through, appeared too old to have been built recently.

The imperial capital was surrounded by ancient ruins that’d been abandoned and forgotten. Most of them were little more than collapsed stone pillars wrapped in thick vines with fragments of their moss-covered foundation left intact, but a few of the buildings remained standing in their original form. During his mercenary days, Phoebe used to explore those ruins for antiques.

Phoebe often told Rock that bandits and other devious groups liked to turn those ruins into their secret bases, making exploring them even more dangerous than just avoiding traps.

This was her first time seeing one for herself, though.

Placido opened the doors just as Rock thought that this couldn’t be the place.

“The Brotherhood’s church is located here. Follow me.”

Beyond the heavy stone door, a set of stairs gently descended into the unknown.

The long stone staircase was intermittently illuminated by lantern light. Although it was an ancient ruin, the air wasn’t stagnant, likely because it had frequent foot traffic. The sweet scent of burning fragrant wood incense drifted up from somewhere below.

The ruins seemed to have retained their original shape, and once Rock descended the final step, she saw the gate of an old cathedral supported by stone pillars. There was a large sanctuary beyond the gate decorated with elaborate wolf reliefs where people clad in blue robes sat on benches with their heads bowed.

“I’m going to go greet the bishop,” Placido said, dressed in the same blue robe.

Lauretta nodded. She was wearing the robe Rock had mended.

“I’ll show Roxy around the sanctuary.”

“Please do. I’ll meet up with you later.”

Husband and wife shared a loving look before Lauretta took Rock into a hallway beside the sanctuary.

The hallway led to several smaller rooms, leading Rock to believe it was some kind of residential area. The simple hearth showed traces of food being cooked recently, and there were shelves lined with pots and plates, giving it a more lifelike atmosphere than the sanctuary. Plain beds could be seen behind the cloth partitions, making it seem like people lived there.

After passing through several wooden doors that looked like they’d recently been installed, they finally arrived at one of the small rooms.

“Pardon me. Are you here, Mr. Tailor?” Lauretta called into the dimly lit room, and the man who’d been sitting on a chair in the corner looked up.

“Oh, Lady Alexis. Hello—”

The man was in the middle of giving a robotic greeting when he noticed Rock standing beside the lady. His cloudy eyes rounded. His sunken cheeks twitched, and his charcoal eyes wavered as if life had been breathed back into them.

“…It can’t be—”

Rock remained a step behind Lauretta and shook her head before he could finish speaking.

Please bear with it a little longer, she urged him with her eyes.

28-year-old male, slender, silver hair, charcoal-black eyes—he’d lost a lot of weight compared to his portrait in the missing person poster.

His silver hair had lost its luster and was a mess of split ends.

But Rock would never mistake the face of the man who was once her nuisance of a rival.

Today marked exactly one month since she’d last seen Krister Gionet and they were finally reunited.

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