Devil Swan - Chapter 2: The Man Who Resembled a Swan (1)

“I really can’t understand what nobles are thinking.”

Crouched under the shade of a tree, Elise grumbled as she dug up nettles.

It was the conclusion she had come to after spending several days attending to the man.

Elise had once envied those who, through a family or acquaintance’s recommendation, secured maid positions in noble households. But after enduring him, she no longer found such work enviable at all.

Factory work, though physically exhausting, was better—this kind of mental fatigue weighed on her far more.

No matter how thoroughly she scrubbed the floors until they gleamed, he still made her clean more. And the way he always asked her to fetch the most unreachable book in the entire library—it all seemed like a deliberate attempt to torment her. Elise, already weak with letters, spent over two hours searching.

Even after all that time, she failed to find the book he mentioned and eventually had to admit she wasn’t very literate.

“You can’t even read properly?”

His expression then was as if he’d discovered some rare animal. Her face turned beet red as she bowed her head. After a pause, he silently handed her a thin book and a bundle of paper.

“If you’re done cleaning, copy this.”

She had thought all the books in his study were difficult ones, but the one he gave her was a biography of a commoner who became a merchant. The story was interesting even to Elise, and the vocabulary was practical—perfect for study.

“Thank you.”

Elise forgot her embarrassment and thanked him.

“Don’t thank me. I just can’t stand the sight of a scrawny idiot wandering my castle.”

Despite the sneer, when she struggled with unfamiliar words, he even pointed them out and explained.

“Focus. Write it like this. Good.”

Maybe it was because she was so tense in front of him, but in just a few days, she had learned a surprising number of characters. He could be irritating, but he was undeniably a gifted teacher.

Sometimes he watched her writing with amusement; other times, his displeasure was clear. As if something was troubling him, he would stare at her with a scowl and run a hand down his face.

Elise found it strange that even when he looked grumpy, he always made sure she had generous meals. Every morning, she was served dishes she had never even dreamed of tasting before.

Could it be that he was fattening her up to torment her more later?

It wouldn’t be surprising. Since arriving here, she could already feel her waistline thickening by a few inches.

He stared at her like he wanted to tear her apart, and yet never actually made her do anything truly cruel. That made her suspicious—was he hiding some other intent?

He was utterly impossible to read.

He clearly wasn’t a good person, yet there was something ambiguous about him that made it hard for Elise to place him. He didn’t fit neatly into categories like good or bad, kind or cruel.

Well, it’s not like I’ll have to see him once this job’s over. No need to dwell on it.

Elise reminded herself that the best way to avoid pointless thoughts was to work faster. The nettles she had hung to dry near the back gate were almost ready—by tomorrow, she could start spinning thread and begin sewing.

There was quite a bit—possibly even enough—but to be safe, she planned to boil and dry today’s haul as well.

Finally, the sewing would begin tomorrow. Elise was confident she could finish it in a few days if she cut down her sleep and worked steadily.

Smiling at the thought of not having to see that man anymore, Elise felt a strange sense of unease—as if his annoyingly handsome face might still come to mind from time to time.

He was ridiculously handsome, after all.

His silver hair shimmered like it had been spun from moonlight, and his flawless face, untouched by any impure light, glowed like the moon itself in a dark room.

The deep-set eyes and high nose were striking, but the most unforgettable part was his red eyes—gleaming like jewels.

Red eyes weren’t common, but she had never seen any so pure and beautiful. When he gave orders, she often found herself staring into them, dazed.

She knew she’d probably never see someone that good-looking again in her life.

Even her heart, which had never fluttered over any man before, began reacting instinctively the moment she saw his face—though his relentless commands soon crushed any such feelings.

Still, there was one decisive reason Elise couldn’t bring herself to truly hate him.

She didn’t quite understand it herself, but the more she saw him, the more he reminded her of the swan.

That haughty, aloof expression—so much like the swan looking down on her. And those ruby-colored eyes, gleaming in the sunlight, were just the same.

If a swan turned into a man, it would look like him. If he were turned into a swan, it would be that swan.

Perhaps that was why, even when he treated her badly, she didn’t hate him all that much.

Not that it excused everything, of course.

Elise shook her head at the thought of his personality.

Bang. Bang. Bang.

Suddenly, the sharp sound of gunfire rang out—completely out of place in the tranquil forest. It came from across the lake, and all the surrounding animals scattered in alarm.

Some noble must be out hunting.

Elise puckered her lips in disapproval. She couldn’t understand the noble pastime of hunting helpless animals for sport.

But then her face froze.

Her hand, which had been digging up nettles, stopped mid-air.

No… Could it be the swan?

She’d heard of nobles hunting deer or rabbits, but never swans. Still, she couldn’t relax. That swan was so beautiful that even a commoner like Elise could recognize its rare beauty—surely it would be the first thing a hunter’s eye would fall on.

And the gunshots definitely sounded like they came from the lakeside.

Elise, who had come a bit further down today because she had already cleared most of the nettles near the lake, turned pale. Grabbing her large basket under one arm, she bolted toward the fence near the water.

From the moment she started running, Elise kept praying—Please, let the swan not have come to the lake today.

Gasp.

Contrary to her hopes, just as she had feared, the swan had been shot. It lay beneath the fence, bleeding from its wing, unable to even hop over to the other side and hiding weakly in the grass.

“A-Are you okay?”

With trembling hands, Elise gently shook the swan, but there was no response.

The swan, who had always stood tall in elegance, was now curled up in unconscious agony. Her heart sank.

Yap. Yap.

Just as she bent down to check the injury, the sound of barking dogs rang out again—just like the ones she had heard recently.

If hunting dogs had been released, they would quickly catch the scent of blood and chase after it. Elise dumped the nettles out of her large basket and gently laid the swan inside, then hurried toward the castle. Afraid that the dogs would follow the trail of blood, she covered it with dirt and grass to hide any trace.

She ran so desperately that her legs gave out as soon as the castle’s back gate came into view.

After first getting the swan inside the door, Elise leaned against the wall and tried to catch her breath. Fortunately, the path leading back into the forest was still quiet—no one seemed to be following.

As soon as she returned to the basement, she lit every lantern she could find to examine the swan’s wound. A bullet had passed through the chest and wing. If the wing had been any thicker, the bullet would have lodged inside—but thankfully it had passed straight through.

If it had struck just a few centimeters inward, the swan would’ve died. Elise exhaled in relief.

Still, it wasn’t over—the wound continued to bleed.

All the medicine she had in the basement was ointment for nettle pricks, so Elise tore her underskirt to make a bandage. She applied a thick layer of ointment and wrapped the wound tightly. Only then did the bleeding finally stop.

Do animals get fevers when they’re hurt too?

The swan’s body felt just as hot as freshly boiled nettles. Elise soaked a towel in cool water and wiped the swan down until her arms ached.

The fever was so high that steam seemed to rise as soon as water touched the swan’s skin.

A vet would’ve been nice, but this was a wild animal—not a pet—and it was unlikely anyone would treat it. She certainly couldn’t afford it, nor could she ask for help, since she was technically a guest worker herself.

Please, live.

Elise prayed desperately as she kept wiping the swan down with wet cloths.

Suddenly, a memory surfaced—of the time she had fallen sick while living with her grandmother. Her grandmother had wiped her down like this too.

There hadn’t been any medicine in the forest, but somehow her fever had gone down. How?

Then she remembered—when the water cloths didn’t work, her grandmother had crushed a white wildflower and fed it to her. The next day, her fever had vanished.

She’d been amazed, and her grandmother had told her the name. It had been so funny that Elise remembered laughing for ages.

Dogtooth violet!

Now that she thought about it, she had seen a few white flowers blooming along the forest path. Spring flowers were already rising early, so surely one of them was the same.

She grabbed a small basket and ran outside, digging up every white flower she could find and bringing them back to the basement. She remembered the bitter, astringent taste and chewed a few petals to identify the right one. Once she found the closest match, she squeezed out the juice and carefully poured it into the swan’s beak.

Even unconscious, the swan twisted its head at the bitterness, staining its feathers with green juice—but the medicine must have worked. By the afternoon, the intense fever had faded to a mild one.

The bleeding had stopped too—the bandage remained clean.

Whew.

She had spent the entire day treating the swan, but Elise’s face was filled with pride and relief. It was the first time she had saved a life with her own hands—and her first connection in this forest. She was truly grateful.

You can’t look down on me anymore, can you?

Feeling bold, she reached out and touched the swan’s beak. Even if they grew close, she doubted it would ever let her touch it—so she quickly brushed it while she had the chance. It was hard, but smooth.

She couldn’t help but giggle, imagining how the swan would shudder if it knew she had touched it.

Once the swan’s condition was stable, Elise cleaned up the mess in the room.

She was picking up the last damp towel from the floor when her head suddenly spun.

Between carrying the swan and pushing herself too hard while treating it, she could feel her body heating up. When she touched her forehead, it was only a low-grade fever, but her belly felt unusually warm.

There was also a strange ticklish sensation between her legs.

Is it… that time of the month?

She thought about taking more of the herbs she had fed the swan—but decided that would be overkill. Instead, she lay down next to the swan, hoping to rest a little before heading to the study.

Wait… is that scent…?

A familiar scent clung to the swan. It was one Elise had only recently grown used to. But that made no sense.

Maybe the scent just rubbed off from me onto the bedding, she thought, shaking her head before drifting to sleep.

“Elise.”

It felt like she had only closed her eyes for a moment, but Rebecca was already waking her up.

Since the basement had no windows, it was hard to tell whether it was day or night. Elise blinked, dazed, then jumped up.

Her body still felt hot. Even hotter than before—and her mouth was parched, as though she hadn’t had a drop of water in days.

“You’re here?”