When they returned to Elaine's room, she ordered Mariam to go to the kitchen and inform the cooks of her meal preferences. Once the young maid left, only she and Cecil remained. Elaine pulled a piece of ashen-colored paper from her dress pocket and handed it to him. The blond-haired young man accepted the object and tucked it into his sleeve. They exchanged no words yet understood each other. It was a secret communication that only they shared.
"I have relayed your instructions to the kitchen, milady," Mariam reported when she returned.
"Good," Elaine nodded. "You may retire to your quarters, Sir Ascania." She waved, dismissing Cecil.
"As you wish, milady." He bowed and retreated outside.
Hours later, as the sun relinquished its throne and replaced by the night, Elaine sat on the writing desk in her room, studying a small booklet. In her free time during imprisonment, she had copied a portion of the secret journal and brought it on the journey to consult whenever needed. Unlike Étoile, she was unfamiliar with Léonas' court politics. Fortunately, the main characters visited the other empire several times in the original story. She could use those events as frames of reference before approaching Nickolas.
Several soft knocks sounded behind the door. "I have brought your meal, milady," Mariam called.
"You may enter." Elaine closed the booklet and returned it to her luggage. Though the meals were served in the ship's dining cabin, she preferred to consume hers separately. She planned to avoid interacting with the male protagonist wherever possible, even without Gerard monitoring her. Given their clashing trajectories, it was the best path forward.
After dinner, Elaine sauntered back to the writing desk and opened the list she had received from the Caispean crew. It contained ten rules in total.
1. Do not sing or whistle in the rain.
2. Do not draw on the mirror.
3. Do not notify others if you see a lone island in the distance.
4. Do not stare too long into the ocean.
5. Do not open the door for the whispering woman outside your room.
6. Do not search for the person calling your name after midnight.
7. Refrain from stomping on the walls.
Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.
8. If you see your doppelgänger, kill it immediately.
9. Do not knock under the bed.
10. Take shelter when the clouds turn orange.
Though some rules sounded nonsensical, most were bizarre yet terrifying. Elias had explained the horrid reason behind the fourth item on the list. However, after scanning through, Elaine realized the Locrzen might not be the most frightening creature she could encounter on the voyage. The story centered on significant events and did not delve deep into other aspects, such as traveling from one location to another. The main characters always reach their destinations in one piece. Thus, Elaine never learned about the dangerous journeys before arriving in the book's world. However, her experiences in the magician's portal taught her to never ignore the warnings, for the consequences might be more than she can handle. Elaine tugged the list back into the envelope and headed to bed, taking care not to violate any rules.
The first night passed without incident. Bright light rays seeped through the windows as Mariam's chirpy voice awakened Elaine. "Good morrow, milady. I have brought your breakfast." She set the tray on a small dining table in the center of the room.
"Thank you." Elaine sat up from her bed. After completing the morning hygiene and eating breakfast, she decided to tour the ship. Even if Elaine dreaded the lurking dangers, it was neither logical nor practical to isolate in her quarters for the entire voyage. When she and her maid opened the door, Cecil was waiting on the other side. He joined them as they continued toward the upper deck. A few minutes later, their group reached the main deck, and Elaine noticed a large crowd gathered at the foremast. "What is going on?" she asked a nearby servant.
"A maid found a body hanging on the sail, milady," the servant replied.
"A body?" Elaine repeated, walking toward the crowd. A maid noticed her and alerted the other servants. Everyone bowed and retreated, opening a path for Elaine's group to enter. Elias and Rowan were already at the center when they arrived. Behind them stood a young female with lustrous, raven-colored hair pulled into a high ponytail. Her worried, amethyst-colored eyes fixated above. Elaine followed her line of sight to an unidentifiable, naked male body hanging upside down from a rope. The body had no torso or intestines, like a skilled butcher had meticulously cut and cleaned it. The scene was grotesque yet peculiar. Some crew members climbed the mast to untangle and drop the body. It hit the ground with a loud thud. Elaine observed the others. The incident neither surprised the male protagonist nor the Caispean crew. It appeared they had already solved the mystery.
"This is why I advised everyone to follow the rules," Rowan lamented, shaking his head.
"Which rule was broken?" she inquired.
"The fifth rule," Elias glanced at her. "Human males are especially vulnerable."
Elaine recalled the items on the list. "The whispering woman," she mumbled. "Is this the consequence of opening the door for her?"
"Sometimes," he said with a slight nod. "The woman likes to play with her victims after eating. Similar to a mischievous child."
Elaine frowned and returned her gaze to the deformed male body lying in front of her. Despite Elias' depiction, the corpse's condition made the culprit look more like a depraved killer than a child's antics. "Who or what is the whispering woman?" she quizzed, overcome with morbid curiosity.
The black-haired young man watched the crew carrying and throwing the body overboard before shifting his head to answer her, "An entity known to some as the Hëxia, a sea witch."