The Serpent of Paradise - Chapter 10

It had already been a week since Anastasia had shut herself away in her room in the basement.

Though it was underground, faint light filtered in through a small opening for ventilation, allowing Anastasia to see the inside of her room.

The only furniture inside was an old wooden bed and a broken chest of drawers that wouldn’t even be placed in a maid’s room. There was nothing else.

If anything, she almost wished things were like before, when belongings were piled up so at least maids would come and go. Now that nothing else was stored in her room, Anastasia hadn’t properly seen a single person for an entire week. She could hear the footsteps of the young maid who came once a day to leave her dry bread, but even then, the girl would set it down outside the door and leave, and only then would Anastasia crack the door open slightly and quickly take it inside.

That was only until yesterday. Today was the day the guest would arrive. From early morning, she could hear the footsteps and voices of busy servants. It seemed they were moving about in preparation to receive the guest.

Anastasia looked at the empty bread basket. Normally, by now, the maid would have already come and left bread. But even after waiting for a long time since morning, there was no sign of her.

‘Is she just late because she’s busy?’

If so, she would come very late. Or perhaps she wouldn’t come at all today.

As Anastasia curled up, she bit her lip at the sharp pain in the sole of her foot.

“It hurts….”

The wound she had gotten while running through the forest a week ago still hadn’t healed. Trying to endure it, Anastasia eventually moved toward the light and examined her foot. The torn flesh from a week ago was now inflamed and swollen hard. It was clearly festering.

‘I should go to the forest.’

With spring, medicinal herbs had begun to grow again in the forest. She had used them several times to treat her wounds before, so finding them wouldn’t be difficult. And edible mushrooms had started to appear as well, so she could ease her hunger.

Anastasia leaned against the door, hugging her knees and burying her face. She could endure hunger. But the wound on her foot frightened her. When she was young, she had seen someone in the village leave a wound like this untreated, and it had festered and rotted until they eventually had to cut off the foot.

‘Will I end up like that too?’

Anastasia imagined herself without a foot. Then she wouldn’t be able to walk and would have to crawl. Like a snake. Anastasia recalled the story of the snake from the scripture.

God created paradise in the beginning, and in that place lived many beasts and the first humans. But there was one creature that could not live in that paradise, and that was the snake. It was a creature born with wickedness, so it was not granted a place in paradise. Instead, it always hid in the forest, and when night fell and everyone in paradise slept, it would crawl through it, envying their place.

As Anastasia recalled the opening of the scripture, she buried her face deeper into her knees. She had thought it before, but the snake in the scripture felt just like her. A being that should not exist in paradise, one that must hide from the eyes of others.

Besides, hadn’t both her father and the countess always looked at her and said she was like a snake?

Feeling her throat tighten with a bottomless gloom, Anastasia hurriedly turned her thoughts elsewhere. Beautiful things. Pretty things. Bright and radiant….

“…That person.”

In an instant, the image of the man she had seen in the forest a week ago rose in her mind. Startled by her own thought, Anastasia froze. Whenever her thoughts were swallowed by darkness, what she always recalled was the Edenhurst mansion beneath the sunlight in the forest. It had been the most dazzling and beautiful thing she had ever seen in her life, so much so that she had ended up crying the first time she saw it. Then why was she thinking of a stranger she had seen only once today?

“But… I won’t be able to see him again.”

The Edenhurst mansion was something she could see anytime, something that would remain here forever. But that man had only been a stranger who had lost his way for a moment, someone she would never see again. Forgetting even that she had run away in fear, Anastasia felt a sense of regret.

I should have looked more closely then. If I had, maybe I could at least see him again in my dreams.

As Anastasia tried to recall him, the sunlight filtering in through the ventilation hole gradually changed color. Then she heard footsteps outside the door. Anastasia hurriedly perked up her ears. It wasn’t the footsteps of the young maid she had been waiting for, but anyone would do.

Were they talking about something pleasant? She could hear bright, high voices.

“Did you see that guest too? I was really shocked.”

“I did. I was peeking through the window and almost screamed. I thought he’d look like the men in the village since they said he was a commoner, but… wasn’t he more handsome than any noble who’s ever come here?”

“Right? When I heard about the marriage, I felt sorry for Miss Elizabeth, but at that level, wouldn’t she be satisfied?”

“Come on, he’s still a commoner.”

“So what? Once they’re married, he’ll become Count Lauderdale anyway. And I heard he’s the richest man in Novgod. They say the port of Sokolov, which is even more splendid than the capital, all belongs to him!”

With this new information, Anastasia listened even more intently. But the maids seemed to have found what they were looking for and soon left.

‘Elizabeth is getting married.’

Then from now on, she would become the countess. That meant the task of deciding who would remain in Edenhurst and who would be cast out, like the current countess, would fall to Elizabeth.

‘Elizabeth will throw me out immediately.’

Unlike the current countess, who at least allowed Anastasia to remain in the basement because of her son, Elizabeth had no reason at all to keep her. So if she became countess, Anastasia would surely be cast out at once. The only person who could stop Elizabeth… would be the guest who would become the new Count Lauderdale.

Anastasia straightened her posture, clasped her hands together, and closed her eyes. Since childhood, the only thing she could rely on was God, who saw everything from above.

“Dear God, please grant him mercy. I dare not ask that he take pity on me… only that he not notice me. So that I may continue… continue to live here.”

As heat slowly rose from her wound, Anastasia offered a desperate prayer that didn’t even properly follow its form. While her eyes were closed, the single ray of light that had been entering disappeared, and the room was swallowed by darkness.

Now that night had fallen, it was time for the snake to move.

***

Boring.

That was the emotion Mikhail had felt ever since arriving at Edenhurst. Everything about this estate was boring to him.

‘How can it all be this predictable?’

When it wasn’t the countess but the butler who came to receive him, he heard Igor and Yuri, standing behind him, let out faint snickers. They found it absurd. The countess, whose household was in such disarray that without his support they wouldn’t even be able to buy a single potato next month, was still looking down on him as if she were a noble of standing.

‘She must think she’s in a very advantageous position.’

She likely believed he was desperate to obtain the title of count. And that the Count Lauderdale title was something too glorious for him to even dare to covet.

Mikhail let out a sigh.

It was true that he needed a title. But he had chosen the Lauderdale house because it was the fastest way to obtain one. If he were willing to take his time, there were plenty of other families he could take over. It seemed the countess believed he was throwing himself at Lauderdale out of greed, when in reality he was simply moving quickly before the empress dowager could make her next move.

Mikhail chewed a piece of steak set before him. The ingredients didn’t seem bad, but the cooking was terrible. Yuri had said they couldn’t afford a chef from the capital and had hired someone from a nearby village instead, and compared to the food he ate in Sokolov or the capital, it was lacking.

I should’ve told Yuri to replace the cook as well.

‘If this is how they treat a guest, they should at least feel embarrassed. Yet she doesn’t even bother to say so out of courtesy.’

Was it because she was ashamed of using such a cook, or because she thought this level of treatment was sufficient for a commoner like him?

Considering the countess’s attitude since his arrival, it seemed more like the latter. Even the head maid who poured the tea earlier had been clumsy. And yet the countess had said she was someone experienced in serving tea. After that, she had subtly observed Mikhail’s reaction.

‘She’s probably judging me with every single step I take.’

Mikhail briefly calculated the cost of taking over this household, along with the patience he would need to endure the countess, who would surely continue to cause trouble even after the marriage. No matter how he looked at it, he seemed to be at a loss.

‘Should I just walk away?’

Even if it took longer, it wouldn’t be impossible for him to pressure the empress dowager. Just as he was finishing his calculations, dinner came to an end.

Normally, after a meal, they would move to the drawing room, where someone would play music and they would listen while engaging in conversation.

“Elizabeth plays the piano very well. I’m sure you’ll enjoy it, Mr. Mikhail.”

In Sokolov, he invited performers from the Royal Symphony Orchestra to play for him. There was even a concert hall built solely for his use in his residence. And yet they expected him to be satisfied with this. It was enough to make him sigh at how low they thought of him.

Mikhail had no desire to go to the drawing room. So he looked toward the garden and said, “The garden is quite beautiful.”

It was already too dark to see anything.

Perhaps noticing his disinterest, the countess hurriedly said, “Would you like to take a walk through the garden while the drawing room is being prepared? The garden is the pride of our Edenhurst. Elizabeth, show our guest around.”

“Yes, Mother.”

Elizabeth approached Mikhail’s side. He noticed the faint flush of excitement coloring her cheeks. He was someone whom famous figures of the capital’s high society sought out first. So he easily recognized her interest in him, but Mikhail felt nothing about it. To him, it was something entirely natural, something he was used to.

“This way.”

As the two went down into the garden, two maids carrying lamps followed them. Mikhail observed Elizabeth as she walked with light, careful steps.

‘Not bad.’

Elizabeth had an appearance good enough for the countess to act so high and mighty, and her demeanor was very noble as well. The clothes she wore were slightly out of fashion, but that was something money could fix once he took her to the capital. After marriage, she would be more than sufficient to stand by his side as a noble lady the other nobles wouldn’t dare speak carelessly to, exactly the kind they preferred.

‘But….’

It was still boring. Her gentle manner, her soft voice, and the dull topics of conversation. Mikhail found Catherine, who stood nearby with bright eyes stealing glances at him, more interesting instead. At least she seemed more honest about her own desires than her sister. Of course, that only made her interesting. It didn’t mean he had any intention of marrying Catherine.

As he followed Elizabeth, wondering how he was supposed to endure not only the dull conversation but the dull garden as well, Mikhail’s calculations increasingly tilted toward abandoning the Lauderdale family altogether.

Just as he was about to tell Elizabeth, who was talking about flowers he had no interest in, that he would return tomorrow,

Rustle.

In the darkness, beyond the low shrubs, something moved.