The next moment, she could hear someone’s rough footsteps through the bedroom door. After she put her index finger to her lips and shouted a small ‘shh!’, he hid his body behind a curtain. The sound of footsteps stopped in front of the bedroom door.
Then, the bedroom door quietly opened without a sound.
Azela put the scented candle, which had fallen on the rug, kicked it under the bed with her feet, and quickly lay down and covered herself with a blanket. Cold sweat ran down her forehead, perhaps because she was nervous.
…No one would have visited her bedroom so recklessly at this late hour.
Soon, the bedroom door opened, and she could feel someone walking cautiously. She was able to feel this level of presence again thanks to the fact that she had been holding the sword at the Zagnac’s training ground for a while.
It wasn’t Daniel’s footsteps as it wasn’t heavy. Azela furrowed her eyebrows and turned to the side.
Someone entered the bedroom and cautiously walked up to Azela’s bed. The uneven breathing sound didn’t seem like a professional assassin or a skilled knight.
Perhaps, trying to make sure Azela was asleep, she reached out and gently placed her finger on the tip of her nose. In an instant, a strong floral scent bloomed. It was a familiar scent that she couldn’t forget.
Convinced of who the other person was, Azela reached out and grabbed the wrist tightly. Her eyes lit up in a flash.
“Gasp…!”
Sylvia, who had been covering her nose and mouth with a handkerchief, inhaled a harsh breath and rolled her eyes.
Surprised, the strength in her legs loosened, and she sat down.
“Sylvia.”
Azela called her name without emotion.
Sylvia let out a rough breath and clenched her shoulders. The drops of sweat running down her jawline seemed to tell that she was very nervous. Still, she continued without letting go of the wrist she was holding, fearing that Sylvia might run away like this.
“What are you doing in my bedroom?”
“Ma, Ma, Madam.”
Sylvia’s face flushed with horror and astonishment, apparently ignoring the awake Azela. Her sullen eyes were showing her anxiety.
Azela frowned at the sight. What if… what would have happened if Zagnac had not come to visit her, if he had not awakened her? What did Sylvia come to do to her…? At the thought, she bit her lower lip hard.
“What did you come here to do?”
“I, I have nothing… I just passed by…”
“You just passed by and sneaked into the bedroom where the Madam of the mansion was sleeping, without knocking, and came into the night alone?”
“That, that—”
“You know that there are no excuses, right?”
She glanced up at Azela with frightened eyes as Sylvia was still sitting down and unable to stand up from the floor. Even though she was obviously trying to do something, why did she have such a frightened expression?
Azela, displeased, frowned and squeezed her wrist tightly.
“Ah—! I, I was passing by… I think I heard strange noises from inside, so I just came to see!”
Even though she tried to shake off her red, swollen wrist, she couldn’t. Sylvia answered in a raised voice. It was an absurd excuse.
As if she knew it all too well, she did not meet Azela’s gaze. Seeing that, she didn’t say anything. It was because she already knew that no matter what she said here, Sylvia would be consistent with her excuses.
As the bedroom was gritty with silence, Sylvia grabbed her wrist.
“Let, let go…! How, how can you do this to the person who came because of worry?”
“…Worry?”
Azela gave a mocking sneer to Sylvia’s excuse and let go of her wrist roughly. When the grip on her wrist was released, she hurriedly stood up from where she was sitting. She spoke as she turned her body and wrapped her arms around her stomach.
“It seems that there is a misunderstanding between what happened today, so let’s move on.”
Sylvia spoke briefly, glancing at the scented candles one last time, and before Azela could speak, she hurriedly left the bedroom.
Watching her leave, Azela did nothing. She just kept still and sat on the bed.
“…You’re not going to catch her?”
Zagnac, who had been hiding behind the curtains, came out only when he heard the sound of Sylvia’s footsteps disappearing in the distance.
Azela shook her head to his question.
“Anyway, there is no evidence, and it won’t change even if we turn it into a case and call the guards and start an investigation. As she says, she can just say she was worried, and that’s enough for a visit. Besides, if Sylvia, who is in a corner before I can move, moves first, I will be in trouble.”
Zagnac nodded his head as he stared for a long time at the locked bedroom door. His eyes were shining dangerously.
“Well. Perhaps she will no longer move on her own anyway.”
“…What?”
“It must have taken quite a bit of courage to come here today. She will try not to do anything that is not good for her body anymore.”
He then stared at the still closed bedroom door and smiled.
…She was not going to do anything that was not good for her body? Listening to his words, Azela turned her head to look at the bedroom door that Zagnac was looking at. Perhaps, he knew something?
“…Is Sylvia ill somewhere?”
“Well, I’m not quite sure yet. I only felt it for a brief moment.”
He shrugged his shoulders playfully.
Did he know or didn’t know? She frowned at the always vague answer. Anyway, she had to bring the doctor who had examined Sylvia and ask directly. Azela nodded her head indifferently and glanced away.
“Anyway…”
Saying so, she then picked up the extinguished scented candle that had been under the bed. It was Lina who brought the scented candle to her and lit it. Lina was Sylvia’s former handmaid…
Azela stared at the scented candle in her hand.
“When she saw my face, hair, and bed wet, she didn’t ask why, and she covered her nose and mouth with a handkerchief… Perhaps, it is safe to say that she knew about this.”
Glancing alternately at the scented candle in her hand and Sylvia’s handkerchief lying on the floor, Azela didn’t know what she was trying to do. Regardless, she used this to try to do something to her.
‘…Is Lina involved?’
Azela frowned at the thought.
If it was Lina… Why would she do that? Sylvia was not a good master for her. It was her, who watched over her now. In addition, she knew well from the testimony of other maids. Because of that, Lina couldn’t have been loyal to Sylvia.
Still, did she really try to harm her for Sylvia?
If Lina lost her in this mansion… The shield that would protect the girl would be gone.
Azela frowned and sighed heavily. Even if she thought about it, she couldn’t come up with an answer. It was the best choice to call Lina as soon as dawn came and ask her. As she placed the scented candle in her hand on the side table, she turned her head to look at Zagnac.
“…You acted like you’d never see me.”
“It was you, not me.”
Zagnac smiled playfully and took the towel from the glass cabinet, and handed it to her. At that, Azela took the towel and wiped her face with a calm attitude as if there was never a harsh atmosphere between them.
Zagnac snorted as he sat in a nearby chair.
“…It wasn’t that I didn’t want to answer, I just needed time to think.”
“What were you thinking?”
“What should I answer you?”
With his sincere reply, she lowered her gaze. Come to think of it, he was like that from the beginning. He was not accustomed to explaining, and she always lacked understanding. Was it because of that that he shut his mouth…?
Azela nodded her head as she tucked her hair into her ear.
“So, are you ready now?”
“Yes.”
“…Will you answer my question?”
“That’s right.”
Azela nodded her head and sat across the bed as she gazed at him. He looked like he was about to explain. Zagnac exhaled lightly and mumbled a small ‘Hmmm.’
“…First of all, what you think is right.”
“What do I think?”
“Recently, your skin has improved, it’s glowing. The atmosphere has also changed, and your body smells good — everything… It has to do with me.”
She thought that it was just the scent…
Azela touched her forehead. Although she was surprised, she didn’t show it. As if she knew everything, she nodded her head casually, beckoning him to continue.
“By making a contract with the devil… the contractor fills in the energy that the devil lacked.”
“I know, you told me.”
“Then, what will happen to humans who are periodically deprived of their energy by the devil?”