The Night of the Monsters - Chapter 25

“I saw a woman with white hair in the garden. I was so scared and ran away, but she kept calling me back… I never wanted to go again, but I couldn’t help myself. They say witches eat children. I thought Chloe had been taken.”

“Now that you mention it, Chloe said she saw someone there too.”

“Yes, I did. Tasha and Andrew were with me. It was an older girl—she had white hair and red eyes.”

Uneasy glances were exchanged among the villagers. Until now, no child had ever gone missing. Moreover, they hadn’t been lost in the deep mountains but had mysteriously fallen asleep right near the village. It was impossible to make sense of it.

Before the situation escalated further, the village chief clapped his hands and spoke.

“It’s getting late. Tomorrow, we’ll check with Tasha and Andrew, and depending on the circumstances… it might be best to visit that mansion. Chloe and Allen must have been very frightened. Take care of them and get some rest for today. Thank you all for your efforts.”

“I’m sorry… I fell asleep….”

“As long as you’re safe, that’s all that matters. But for now, you should avoid wandering around alone.”

“Okay. Allen, stop crying. I’m fine now.”

“Sniff… I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, Chloe.”

Allen, now being comforted by Chloe, finally stopped crying. Seeing this, some of the villagers let out small chuckles.

After returning home with his parents, Allen explained the mansion incident to his father once more before heading to his room. Lying on his creaking bed and staring at the ceiling, he felt both relieved that Chloe was safe and unsettled by a vague sense of unease.

‘It felt like… someone was asking for help…’

But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t remember who it was.

And with that lingering uncertainty, Allen drifted off to sleep.

* * *

The first place Ian headed upon returning to the mansion was the bedroom where Hugo had taken Giselle before leaving.

As soon as he opened the door, the thick scent of passion filled the air, making him click his tongue in irritation. He approached the bed, expecting to find Giselle asleep, but instead, she sat up.

“Ian? You’re back?”

“Yes. Is my brother asleep?”

“Yeah. Just a little while ago…”

Ian could guess what had happened. Hugo had likely held Giselle in his arms without rest while he was away. Ian sighed as he glanced at the round marks left on the sheets before sitting on the edge of the bed.

Before, she would have been embarrassed to the point of being unable to bear showing her bare skin or being in a situation like this. But now, even when Ian reached out and gently stroked her cheek, she didn’t react much. It wasn’t resignation—rather, it was acceptance.

The thought that this face would soon be stained with sorrow made his heart ache. And yet, at the same time, it thrilled him.

“Giselle.”

“Hmm?”

“The children who came to the mansion before—have you seen them again since?”

“Ah, no. I haven’t been outside…”

“I see. Actually, when I stopped by the village briefly, I noticed a strange rumor spreading. They’re saying a witch lives here and eats children.”

Strictly speaking, it wasn’t a widespread rumor yet, but by tomorrow, it certainly would be.

As soon as Ian finished speaking, Giselle’s face turned pale. She trembled slightly, clutching her hands together tightly. Ian watched her reaction for a moment before continuing in a calm tone.

“You seemed to enjoy talking with those children so much that I hesitated to bring this up… But today, one of them got lost while wandering, and the other kids started saying it must have been the witch’s doing.”

“A… witch?”

“Yes. Apparently, there’s a picture book in this region about a witch who eats children. Since it’s just children talking, the adults didn’t take it too seriously. But the thing is, this mansion has been abandoned for a long time. And because we used magic to move in, to the villagers, we must have seemed like outsiders who suddenly appeared overnight. They said they would gather people and come to check on the mansion at dawn, so I rushed back.”

As Ian explained the situation, Giselle gradually lowered her head.

All four of those children were timid but kind. They had apologized multiple times, saying they were mistaken. When she told them she didn’t know how to get out, they had struggled to open the iron bars for her.

She had only spoken with them for an hour—at most, a single day. It wasn’t enough time to judge them properly, but still, she couldn’t believe it.

Rather, it felt more likely that Ian had done something…

‘No… No, he wouldn’t.’

As that thought crept into her mind, Giselle bit her lip and tried to clear her head. She had already expressed that she no longer considered herself their teacher. But even so, Hugo and Ian were precious to her.

Even if they had betrayed her trust, she believed it was only because she had failed to understand their feelings.

Shaking off her unease, she asked carefully,

“…The child who got lost—did they return safely?”

“Yes. I looked just in case and found them wandering the mountain path. I put them to sleep and left them near the village, so you don’t need to worry.”

Her tense expression softened slightly with relief.

Giselle was foolishly kind. She trusted too easily, never doubted others, and even when she was hurt to the point of breaking, she would heal quickly if shown just a little affection. Of course, having lived alone for hundreds of years, she had to be mentally strong. But right now, the most important thing was leaving this place.

“That’s why, Giselle—I think we should leave here.”

“Then… Are we going back to the forest?”

“We could, but since we have the chance, why not travel freely without settling down anywhere? You like the outside world more than the forest, don’t you?”

Since there was nothing wrong with what Ian had said, Giselle nodded in agreement. Ian had thought she would be reluctant to leave, given how easily she grew attached to places, so he was surprised by her response. However, he continued speaking without showing it.

“It would be best to leave at dawn as soon as we’re ready. There’s a chance people might come once the sun rises.”

“…Even if I try to explain things well, it won’t make a difference, will it?”

Ah, so she did have lingering attachments, even if she wasn’t showing it. Ian smiled wryly and replied,

“You’re not the problem—Hugo is. If people so much as say something he doesn’t like, he’ll probably try to kill them all.”

“…….”

“Leaving quietly is the best option, even for the villagers’ sake. Or… do you want to stay here?”

“N-No. It’s just… This happened once before, back when I left to live in the forest. And now, it’s happening again.”

Still, unlike before, even if she was called a witch and rejected by people, she wouldn’t be as deeply hurt this time.

And when she thought about how Hugo would likely be more enraged than she was, the negative emotions lurking at the bottom of her heart melted away like snow.

Ian smiled as he moved the hand that had been stroking her cheek up to her head.

“…What are you doing?”

“I’m patting your head. It doesn’t matter anymore, does it?”

Well, yes, it didn’t matter… but for some reason, it was embarrassing.

As her cheeks flushed slightly, Giselle fidgeted with her fingers in silence. Just then, Hugo, who had been asleep, suddenly sat up.

“Hugo?”

“I want to do it too.”

“…?”

“I want to pat her too.”

Yawning and blinking, he casually knocked Ian’s arm aside and placed his own hand on Giselle’s head.

Hearing Ian grumble irritably and Hugo respond indifferently, Giselle oddly felt like things had returned to normal.

Yes, this was normal.

She liked that feeling.

And so, once again, she erased the nagging sense of unease from her mind.

Just as when they had left the forest, Giselle and the brothers departed from the mansion before dawn.

Since they had no need to settle in one place, as Ian had suggested, they decided to head to a large city and stay at an inn for the time being.

Giselle, having no sense of money whatsoever, couldn’t follow their conversation about expenses. But in truth, she wasn’t even interested—she was too busy gazing at the passing scenery while being carried by Hugo.

And when Giselle, who had been sleep-deprived for several days, finally closed her eyes, Hugo and Ian began discussing their plans in more detail.

“So, do you think it’ll work?”

“Yeah. If we can erase magic, we can also implant it. Right now, our bodies have absorbed some of Giselle’s magic just from being around her. By using spirits, we can increase that amount. I did a little experimenting in the forest, and it seems promising.”

“How exactly?”

“We have to eat them.”

“Eat them? You mean the spirits?”

“Yeah, we just have to swallow them. It’s not that strange.”

“Wouldn’t it be the same as what happened with Giselle—just staying around spirits would naturally increase our magic?”

“It would, but that takes too long. We’d grow old before we got anywhere.”

Hugo grimaced slightly. Perhaps it was because he had heard directly from Oswald that witches were born through a union with spirits.

“The spirits you ate… one of them might have been Giselle’s parent.”

“Like I’d know. Once it’s in my mouth, it’s all the same. Besides, you drank the blood Giselle released—why are you suddenly acting like a rational person now?”

“So, no more menstruation?”

“…Can you actually listen when someone talks? Unfortunately, it’s not possible anymore.”

At Ian’s firm response, Hugo clicked his tongue in disappointment. That overwhelming scent that made his head spin, the smooth liquid that clung to his throat—it had been truly exquisite.

Letting out a sigh, Ian glanced at him sideways and continued in a disinterested tone.

“Magic can be replenished that way, but there might be side effects. I’d like to test it on someone else first. The knights were useful because they’re sturdy, and even if they get a little broken, it doesn’t really matter.”

“Then why don’t we just head to the capital?”

“Huh? Are you saying we should go to the royal palace?”

“The sickly one is next in line for the throne, right? Who knows when he’ll drop dead? So, we either kill him and control his corpse, or you cure his illness and turn him into a puppet. That way, we can take some strong knights and experiment on them. Plus, we can check the palace library for more information and use the military to search for things we couldn’t find in the forest.”

Hugo didn’t care what happened to the kingdom or its people. In fact, since they were being called a calamity anyway, maybe it would be fun to actually become one.

Initially, he had been annoyed by all the people coming after them for reasons he didn’t understand, but if there was no need to avoid them anymore, living as royalty until the kingdom collapsed didn’t sound too bad.

Ian stroked his chin, lost in thought.

Though similar in nature, he was far less impulsive than Hugo and preferred to avoid unnecessary entanglements. He also didn’t care about the fate of the kingdom or its people, but if they were going to go that far, then perhaps…

“Hugo, what was that kid’s name again?”

“My little brother?”

“I’m your little brother. I meant the one who’s dying.”

“What was it again? Something like Parsley?”

“…Anyway, it would be better to keep that kid alive and use him as a puppet. If we make him feel indebted and gradually alter his memories, we can keep him useful for a long time. And since we’re going to live for a very long time, we might as well start reshaping the royal family to suit our needs from now on.”

“Do whatever you want with that part.”

“Then let’s also make sure our story matches regarding why you killed the priest. Knowing you, you probably just cut off his head and left right away, but there might be wanted posters up by now.”

Just as Hugo suggested, their destination was set for the capital.

By the time Giselle woke up, more than a full day and several extra hours had passed. They had already arrived at an inn.

Before falling asleep, she had been looking up at the sky, but now, when she opened her eyes, she found herself staring at a high ceiling. The situation was just like when they had left the forest—she had been moved while she slept.

Rising from the bed and glancing around, Giselle cautiously stepped down and walked toward the window.

Pulling aside the sheer silk and layered lace curtains, her eyes widened in surprise.