Vince was staring straight at her; his eyes traveling to the thick and dark blood dripping down her mouth. Then, to the blood that got all over her now shaking hands.

‘Shit!’

Vince’s eyes went blank for a moment, narrowing. Evory suddenly noticed he wasn’t wearing his glasses because of his eyes. They had a bright golden color to them before, twinkling like stars when the light hit them just right. Time seemed to slow down for both of them.

His odd demeanor ceased, “...Lady! Are you alright?!”

Vince turned around, scrambling around the room. Evory managed to catch her breath.

“...Yes. I just need a minute.”

“Ah, Lady, here!” He handed her a dripping wet handkerchief.

‘Why is it so wet…’

Evory wiped her arms and hands down. In the meantime, Vince grabbed his glasses off the counter and placed them on his face.

Vince then offered Evory a hand up, and her shaking hand accepted it with grace.

“How long has this been happening for, lady?” He held pity in his eyes.

‘Good question.’

“For a while now… I don’t have an exact timeline.”

‘That lie might be too obvious so just in case…’

Evory clenched her fists and lowered her head. She began to shake and then… stray tears fell from her eyes.

[System Message: Skill ‘Manipulate’ has been activated.]

“I-I just don’t know what to do!” A seemingly endless stream of tears fell from her face.

‘I hate crying…’

“Oh-oh Lady!” Tears began to fall from Vince’s face as well. He clearly gained a false narrative of how she must have been suffering in pain alone.

A pity party was formed in the dusty lab that day.

****

“... So at least once a day, you cough up blood like this?”

Evory was now sitting on the only stool in the office; she pitifully nodded.

“Oh-Oh my lady!”

‘Please don’t start crying again.’

“I may not be the most experienced doctor, but, would you allow me to examine you?”

Evory examined his face. No hint of malice was evident, so she found nothing wrong with his offer. Evory nodded.

“Then, please hold out your wrist.”

Evory’s arm was still slightly shaky, but she held out her arm for Vince.

He pushed his fingers onto her veins and closed his eyes. A transparent golden light surrounded him. It slowly traveled up Evory as well, starting in her arm, then going all the way down to her legs. It was warm and her shakes ceased. His thumbs moved from place to place and even though his eyes were closed Evory could see the eyes behind the eyelids move in sync with his thumbs.

The transparent golden light circled her chest and a sharp pain appeared there.

“... Found it.” He said with a smile.

The golden light dissipated and so did the sharpness residing in Evory’s chest. Vince’s eyes slowly opened and he simply tilted his head at her.

…

“Did you discover what was wrong?”

“Ah- Yes! Lady, you see-”

Vince suddenly paused. Then he moved forward towards Evory, leaning in towards her ear. Vince’s hair was tickling her neck. His body was pressed against hers; she felt his hot breaths travel along her neck. He smelled like the forest, which was probably because of the various herbs he works with.

“We can’t speak of this here…” He whispered gently. Vince placed a card in her hand and moved away from her.

‘What’s this?’ She suspiciously looked at Vince and he playfully shrugged in return.

Evory then glanced down at the small card in her hand. It was a blank white card with seemingly nothing special about it. Vince pointed toward the door and Evory quickly got the hint. She stood up and made her way there, hiding the card inside her long sleeve.

“T-Thanks for chatting with me, Lady! I hope you can visit soon! Well- Whenever you want o-of course!”

He opened the door and gently pushed her out. Evory turned around, and the door was shut in her face.

“This guy…” Evory glared at the door, hoping it would reach Vince’s eyes.

“I didn’t know you knew Vincent, sister.”

‘Vincent? I thought his name was Vince…’

Evory spun around, her brother was there, towering over her. His eyes were filled with the same malice as before.

‘What? Am I a curse?’

“I hope you don’t kill him,” Lucas said with a genuine voice.

‘Was Evory’s hobby that bad? Everyone keeps mentioning it.’

“He has been quite… useful to me. So please, if you’re going to kill him, do it later.” Lucas sneered at her.

She decided not to respond at all. From her experience, people like this would leave you alone if you didn’t give them attention.

“...” Evory brushed past him and began to walk off.

Lucas grabbed her wrist and tightly squeezed it.

“...What are you doing?”

“Don’t ignore me, Evory.”

She scowled at him, “Let me go, Lucas.”

[System Message: Skill ‘Mind of Steel’ has been activated.]

His tight grip released with a smirk, “Be more careful with what you do. It seems you want rumors to spread about you and a Doctor’s assistant.”

‘Did he see Vincent when he gave me the card? He was very close to me, so I guess misunderstandings could happen...’

“Next time, visit with a maid. Also… I’d prefer it if you didn’t threaten our Estate’s doctor.”

Evory grit her teeth.

“Of course, brother.”

Evory then quickly spun around. She gracefully walked down the hallway, away from her brother; certainly not letting her annoyance show. With every step she took, Evory still felt his sharp gaze following her.

***

“Phew.”

Evory let out a breath that she had been holding ever since he appeared.

‘Crazy bastard… He even threatened his sister. Was he watching me? Also, how could he have known about me threatening the doctor? He must’ve had to have visited him… Did Lucas visiting have to do with why he was in such a rush?’

There were lots of unanswered questions Evory had, but first, she needed to find a way back to her room.

“This house is seriously too big…” She mumbled. She was in a hallway that split into three other directions like a maze. To make things worse, the wallpaper and flooring were all the same.

“My Laaaa-ddyyy!” An out-of-breath voice was heard throughout the empty hallway. Evory turned to her right and saw Bella running towards her.

“...Bella?” She said with a little shock in her voice.

“My la-” She breathed in, “-dy!”

“I was so worried about you! That doctor’s assistant had me running around trying to help him, and then he suddenly disappeared. So I tried to find him, and then couldn’t, so I went to find you!”

Bella was genuinely worried, anyone could see that by just listening to her or by looking at her face. But, Evory still had an ounce of suspicion for Bella. The original Evory wasn’t a good person, at all. She frequently would abuse maids and other types of servants. So why would a maid, the people she often mistreated, like her? For power? Money? Something wasn’t adding up. Nonetheless, she did run to find her, so it did score her some points with Evory.

Evory gently smiled and pat her on the head, “Thank you.”

Bella’s eyes lit up and Evory imagined her like a puppy with a tail wagging.

‘Someone this devoted has a reason to be. I’ll keep her by my side just in case.’

Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer. Possible enemies in this case. Evory glanced down at her bashful expression with cold and calculating eyes. Bella couldn’t have seen this, though.

“Bella, could you escort me to my chambers? I’m feeling quite tired.” She said with a warm smile.

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

“Of course! Right this way!”

****

Evory arrived at her bedroom away and waved Bella off.

“Wait- Um, my lady…”

“Yes?”

‘Are her true colors going to show now?’

Evory’s eyes narrowed.

“You asked for my name earlier… Does that mean that you…” She was mumbling a little. Bella was acting much more bashful than before.

Evory just tilted her head, waiting for Bella to finish.

“Does that mean that you… accept me as your personal maid?”

‘It was like this? Calling a servant by their name is more important than I thought…’

Truth be told, Evory didn’t know what to do. She had to take responsibility for her actions since she had obviously misled her. Bella was useful, sure. But, if Evory said yes to this then she would most likely have to take her with her to Thaun Academy. If Bella was a spy then every one of her actions would be reported to whoever she was working for.

“Ah- Um, It’s okay to not give me an answer right away!”

‘What is this a confession?’

“Yes, I’ll respond to your question later…”

Bella’s shoulders drooped, and she seemed to be sulking. Was that the wrong answer?

“Of course… have a good rest, lady.”

****

Evory was now alone in her chambers.

‘For now, I’ll save the matter of Bella for later. I need to figure out why Vince gave me that card.’

Her cheeks slightly flushed remembering how he had given her the card. She wasn’t used to that kind of intimacy. Evory pulled the card out of her sleeve and reexamined it. The card was still blank, but looking closely, she realized it wasn’t blank at all. The writing was all in a light yellow.

‘The writing is just extremely hard to see…’

Evory recalled what Vince had said as she left.

‘He wants me to visit soon. I don’t think I’ll go tonight, as there might be eyes on me. I’ve been acting too unlike the original Evory… I’ll need to cool off and wait for the attention to shift off of me.’

Her mind wandered, and she sat on the edge of her bed.

Evory put the suspicious card inside her pillowcase. She was exhausted and her muscles were aching from just walking around.

‘It’s not like I’ll be checked up on… I can just take a quick nap and gather my thoughts later. Just being in this world for a few hours exhausted me. I’m worried I might pass out from exhaustion if I stay up any longer.’

Evory climbed under her sheets and laid her head down on the soft pillow. Exhaustion quickly crept up on her. Before she fell asleep, though, she saw a sliver of a system message.

[System Message: New death det…]

****

“Evory!”

The door was slammed open.

Evory was startled out of her nap. Her head was rested on the small table, and she lifted it slowly, looking the intruder in the eye. A built man with light blue hair stomped his way in.

“What an unexpected visitor.” She sneered at the man.

“You!” He angrily roared. He gripped her neck, choking her. She could see his veins bulging on his forehead. He slammed her against the wall, leaving her feet dangling midair.

“What did you do?!” His fingers pressed in harder, suffocating Evory faster than before.

“What- Do you mean?” She raspily managed and clawed at his hands. Evory felt her consciousness waning, and she gasped for air. The man released his hands, and she fell to the floor with a thud, gasping, tears coming down her eyes. What was odd though was her twisted smile.

“Don’t play coy! I know you Evory. I know every single thing you do! So why? Why did you poison her?!”

“She touched what was mine. She should’ve known better.” Evory let out a low laugh.

“Mine?” The look in his eyes changed in less than a second. His eyes became cold, he unsheathed his sword and bloodlust was thick in the air.

Evory backed up against the wall, using it as support, she shakily stood up.

“You promised me. You promised me you would be mine. Ever since that day…”

He finished her sentence.

“I’ve been yours?” He humorlessly laughed, “Are you an idiot? That promise was for when you had potential. The potential to be the greatest paladin there is!”

He slammed one of his arms against the wall; the other held his blade against her neck. She was trapped. Like a fox, Evory leaned in, letting the blade just slightly cut her. She left her lips hanging right in front of his.

“You know you want it.” She let out a deep and deranged chuckle, “Just be mine already.”

His cold eyes closed, and he leaned in, their lips touched. Their kiss was passionate, as rough as the waves in a turbulent sea. The sword lowered, and Evory wrapped her arms around his neck. He wrapped one of his arms around her waist, pulling her closer. Everything was hers.

But then she felt it. A sharp sensation came from her stomach. Then the sharpness mixed with a burning sensation. A burning sensation that slowly got hotter and hotter. She felt as if she were on fire, that she might melt. The sensation was the same as the one she felt when she was a child.

She pulled away from the kiss, “You…”

Evory crumpled to the floor and shakily watched her white dress turn red. She watched her blood escape from her body and pool around her.

“I could be praised as a hero now.” He said, watching the blood leave her body.

“It burns. It burns. It burns! What did you do?” She angrily yelled, fueled by the fire-like sensation spreading all over her body.

“What did I do?” He scoffed and folded his arms.

“Isn’t it obvious? I killed a…”

****

Evory shot out of bed in a cold sweat. She shakily pulled down the sheets and checked her stomach. She felt the same pain the old Evory did in the dream. Leaning over the bed, Evory vomited up her breakfast. Nausea filled every inch of her body. Evory clearly remembered that sharp pain and the burning the original Evory felt. It was disgusting but familiar.

‘A nightmare… I felt all the pain she did in the dream, though.’

Evory shook her head.

‘How long have I been sleeping?’

Looking through one of the windows, Evory saw that it was dark out.

‘No one came for me? Not even Bella? She must’ve had a reason. Oh, maybe what I said earlier today upset her…’

A crackling of flames interrupted Evory’s thoughts. She looked forward, and a maid was squatting, her back turned to Evory. She was watching the fireplace intently.

“Oh… my lady. You’re awake?”

It was Bella. Evory slightly relaxed and let out a breath.

‘I can’t put my finger on it but something feels…off.’

The atmosphere was off. Something was wrong, but there was no proof that anything was.

“Yes… Bella, Why didn’t you wake me up? It’s dark out.”

“You were sleeping so peacefully. I didn’t want to ruin that, since...” She mumbled something inaudible toward the end.

Bella turned around and began taking small, evenly lengthed steps toward Evory.

Badum. Badum.

Flight or Fight. One of the key instincts that are present in every organism. That sleeping instinct had now awakened in Evory.

“Please just wake me up next time, no matter how peaceful I look...” Evory slid farther back in bed, now pressed against the headboard. The darkness of her room was covering Bella’s figure, but she could still see it. Something was sticking out of Bella’s hand.

She mumbled something inaudible again.

“...I didn’t hear you, can you speak up?”

Bella stood still.

“I don’t think there will be a next time.”

Evory froze.

“It’s really not funny to joke like that. I’d prefer some alone time now, so-” Her voice was now shaking.

“No.”

Bella was now right in front of Evory’s bed.

“...Sorry?”

“No. I’m not leaving, not until you give it back.”

Her hands began to tremble remembering the feeling of death. The burn that spread over every inch of her body, the fire that seemed to have fun melting her flesh down into ash. Evory stared at the fireplace behind Bella with shaky eyes.

“Give… what back?”

“My master.”

Bella dashed forward, her body was quick, almost too quick. A knife was swung at Evory from above. She dodged at the last second; a strand of her hair was cut instead. Under the moonlight that spilled through the window, Evory saw what she couldn’t before. Two large horns were protruding from Bella’s head.

Bella was a demon. The man-eating beasts that had originated from the Archdemons.

‘Why didn’t I notice it before?!’

Evory was right under the demon now. A sharp blade was in Bella’s left hand, and it was slowly swinging at her again. This time, though, aimed for her neck. She was in Bella’s grasp, about to die. Alone. She would die alone again.

Time slowed, and the crackle of the fire permeated through Evory’s body. She wouldn’t die alone again. She wouldn’t let that happen.

Crackle.

[System Message: Skill ‘Fire Monarch’ has activated.]

“Burn her.”

A pea-sized flame appeared in front of Evory’s eyes. Time had slowed for everything but Evory’s mind.

She saw everything. The knife a few inches away from her neck, a door slamming open, a smirk forming on Bella’s face. She saw her small flame. She saw her small flame grow and grow. That small flame wasn’t small anymore.

In less than a second, Bella was engulfed in a bright flame. Its heat radiated through the whole room and Evory was slammed off her bed, pushed to the floor from the pressure the flame emitted. High pitched piercing screams rang out, slowly becoming distorted. They were the only thing that reached Evory’s ears, and she couldn’t look away from the burning body. The ear-splitting screams turned to maniacal laughter, insane high-pitched laughter. Evory was sprawled on the floor. watching Bella spasm and twist with no end. The fire was dancing along every inch of her body.

“You…” Bella locked eyes with her as she burned, “You dev-”

A sword stabbed through Bella’s throat.

“That’s enough.”

It was finally silent in Evory’s room. The dancing flame dwindled to nothing.

A man with white hair removed the sword from Bella’s throat, putting it in its sheathe. Bella soon dissipated to ashes.

Evory was frozen. What just happened? What was that? Bella? She felt dizzy and sick like she was about to keel over. The stench of Bella’s body burning still filled her nose. Her skin melting off, her muscles tearing. Tears slowly rolled down Evory’s cheeks.

This wasn’t supposed to happen. Did she do that? Was she the reason Bella burned like that? Bella’s screams were etched into her mind, the earsplitting and pained screams. Evory covered her mouth with her hands, nausea filling her to the brim. Her vision was shaky.

The man with white hair stepped off of her bed and walked up to her. Evory shook like a leaf. He was getting closer. Too close. What could she use to defend herself? Should she summon that fire again?

She crawled backward and hit the wall; she had no escape. Evory couldn’t stop trembling.

“I’m not going to hurt you.”

She flinched as soon as he spoke. The sound distorted in her mind.

“I’m not leaving, not until you give it back.”

He offered her a hand, but she just sat there, quietly shaking. Evory couldn’t focus, everything was spinning. Everything was too loud, too quiet. Her view of the world was distorted.

The man squatted down in front of her, “I promise I won’t hurt you. But we need to clean things up in here. To do that, I need to get you out of here.”

He offered her his hand once more, Evory’s vision spun just a little less. It was enough for her to see straight. Evory took his hand, and he gently helped her up. Her legs were trembling too much to stand, and she fell again.

“I’m going to carry you since you can’t stand.”

He wrapped one of his arms under her legs and used the other to support her back. He was bridal carrying her. Evory was still frozen. She just looked straight ahead, still trembling like a leaf.

“...It must’ve been scary, but you did great.”

‘Scary?’

Tears began to well up in Evory’s eyes. It wasn’t just scary, it was terrifying. She buried her head in his chest, and a floodgate of tears was released. She was so scared, and no one was there to help her. The fire monstrously burned Bella. Bella had intended to kill her; she didn’t show any hesitation. Evory remembered the smirk Bella wore before she was set on fire. The idea of killing Evory had excited Bella. Evory’s fire was the thing that scared her the most, though. It seemed like it was devouring Bella. It danced across her flesh, consuming her. She wasn’t scared because she had killed Bella, but because she had experienced that flame herself. She knew exactly how it felt.

“I was scared- I was- so scared!” She gripped his chest. This was the first time she had felt real fear since she was here. She could handle being undermined and bullied, but killed? She wasn’t prepared for that.

“I know, I know.” He gently rubbed her back, comforting her. Evory’s consciousness was going in and out. Her vision blurred, and she passed out; safe in the unknown man’s arms.