The Serpent of Paradise - Chapter 11

In the dim lamplight, he couldn’t make out exactly what it was. He only realized that something was moving, something clearly alive. Startled by the nearby presence, it began to flee. When the sound of low branches snapping echoed, the maids and Elizabeth shrieked and stepped back in fright.

In a situation like this, he knew well that the proper course was to stay alert and protect the frightened women nearby. But the moment he heard the sound of something running away, Mikhail’s eyes sharpened. In the darkness, his deep blue eyes flashed.

I have to catch it.

The hunter’s instinct that lay beneath him awakened. If Igor and Yuri had been here, they would have sighed first. Mikhail usually acted relaxed, almost lazy, but the moment something he wanted appeared, he moved with speed. Faster than anyone else, more decisively than anyone else. Closing in and cutting off its escape. That was his innate nature.

Normally, that instinct showed itself when dealing with business matters. In fact, it only surfaced when facing something difficult to handle or hard to obtain. And yet now, it was directed at something that was merely fleeing at the sound of footsteps.

‘It’s because I’m bored.’

Even as he thought it was a strange impulse, Mikhail gave himself that answer. For now, he had to catch it.

Once he made a decision, he never hesitated. As he ran after it, he heard Elizabeth calling his name from behind like a scream. It carried a reproach, as if asking whether he was abandoning her and the maids in their fear, but Mikhail didn’t look back.

‘What do I care?’

Elizabeth would surely criticize his behavior later. Elegantly, politely. Mikhail was actually hoping for it. That would give him a clean excuse to sever ties with the Lauderdale family.

The fleeing creature was slow. Thanks to that, Mikhail didn’t have to run far before he easily caught up to it. His hand shot out without hesitation and seized what was running away. At that moment, his prey crouched and pleaded.

“I’m sorry!”

“…!”

At the terrified, tearful voice of a woman, Mikhail’s body flinched for a moment. This voice was clearly….

While Mikhail hesitated for a moment, a loud noise came from the direction of the mansion. Startled by the screams of Elizabeth and the maids, people nearby came running into the garden.

“Please, please let me go. I won’t show myself again. Please….”

As voices approached, the woman he held began to tremble even more violently. It was a voice that might stir pity in anyone for a moment, but Mikhail instead tightened his grip. His instinct whispered that he must not let go now.

Even he found it absurd. She clearly wasn’t a rogue targeting the mansion’s belongings or preying on the weak. She didn’t even resist. He had only caught her with one hand, yet she lay collapsed on the ground, trembling. To think he was seriously holding onto someone so weak. Normally, he would have let her go out of boredom, brushed off his hands, and forgotten about her.

Even as he held her firmly, Mikhail felt an unease, as if she might disappear at any moment. He shouted to a maid trembling a short distance away.

“Bring the lamp here. Now!”

“Y-Yes!”

At Mikhail’s shout, one of the maids standing beside Elizabeth approached, shaking. As the lamp came closer, he snatched it from her hand as if impatient and shone it on what he had caught.

“You are….”

As expected, it was her. The woman from the forest. The one who had vanished into the woods the moment he reached out his hand.

The moment he confirmed it, his breathing suddenly felt tight. He set the lamp down and loosened his cravat. Swallowing, his throat felt oddly dry.

“I’m sorry, please… please….”

The woman he held kept repeating the same words. Then suddenly, her movements stopped, and she collapsed to the side. Before she could hit the ground, Mikhail quickly reached out and caught her.

By then, Igor and Yuri had rushed over after hearing the scream. Seeing them reach for the pistols at their waists, Mikhail shook his head. Understanding his signal, the two immediately put them away so that neither the maids nor Elizabeth would notice.

“What is that? A vagrant?”

As Yuri approached and tried to take Anastasia from Mikhail’s arms, Mikhail slapped his hand away. Startled, Yuri stepped back. Igor, quicker to read the situation, tugged at Yuri’s sleeve, signaling him to back off. As the two retreated, Mikhail examined Anastasia’s condition.

Her clothing was not much different from a week ago. But under the lamplight, her hands and feet were in a miserable state. What had she been doing to end up like this? Red wounds dotted her hands. Her feet were worse. Though the flickering light made it hard to see clearly, there was a large wound that hadn’t healed.

Had it reopened while she was running? Thick, dark blood glistened in the lamplight. Beside her lay the other shoe he had picked up, soaked in blood.

“For now, it’d be best to hand her over to the servants of the estate… Mikhail?”

As Igor spoke while watching the estate’s servants approach, Mikhail stood up, holding Anastasia in his arms.

“Take the lamp and lead the way.”

At Mikhail’s command, the two obeyed without hesitation. They knew well that when Mikhail spoke in that emotionless tone, they had no choice but to follow.

As they walked ahead, the two communicated silently with their lips.

What’s gotten into him?

I don’t know.

Igor glanced back. He noticed that Mikhail’s cravat had been loosened. It was one of Mikhail’s habits when he became serious about something.

As the three of them returned toward the mansion, Elizabeth and the maids who had fled inside earlier, along with the servants who had come out at the commotion, were gathered there. When the three entered, they stepped back. Under the lamp and other bright lights, Mikhail examined more closely the woman he was carrying.

“…Oh my.”

Her condition was far worse than it had seemed in the darkness. Her foot, slick with blood, was so swollen it was hard to recognize its original shape. Moreover, perhaps due to inflammation, heat was rising from her body, and the face revealed between her hair was flushed red as she breathed roughly.

As those who had been startled earlier approached, Mikhail adjusted his hold on the woman.

‘I can’t make her a spectacle.’

Pulling her closer into his arms so that others could see as little as possible, he asked a nearby maid, “Where is the room I’m staying in?”

“Pardon?”

“I asked where the room I’m to stay in tonight is.”

Before the maid could answer, Catherine pushed through the servants and, seeing the woman in Mikhail’s arms, muttered in shock, “What? That’s Anastasia?”

At those words, Mikhail murmured, “Anastasia? Anastasia Lauderdale?”

When Mikhail spoke Anastasia’s name, Catherine’s body flinched. That reaction, which all but confirmed that the woman in his arms was indeed the third daughter of this estate, left Mikhail dumbfounded.

‘Good lord, this woman is the third daughter of this house?’

No matter how one looked at her, she was dressed like a vagrant. And despite wearing layers upon layers of clothing, she was so light it hardly felt like he was carrying a person. The line of her jaw, visible through her hair, was so thin it seemed like it might snap at any moment. And these miserable wounds.

He had expected she would not be treated well, but this was beyond anything he had imagined, and anger churned within him. Then he suddenly came to his senses.

‘Why am I…?’

Why was he getting angry over this woman’s situation? Who was she to him?

Composing his expression, Mikhail spoke to Elizabeth and Catherine, who stood there at a loss.

“I didn’t realize that this lady was the third daughter of the Lauderdale family.”

“….”

Though his tone was polite, it was not hard to sense the mockery within it. As expected, Elizabeth’s expression stiffened. Seeing that, Mikhail suppressed the sneer that almost escaped him.

At dinner, Elizabeth had acted as if she cherished and loved everything about Edenhurst. Beside her, the countess had nodded along, saying that Elizabeth even cherished every single flower in the garden.

She cherished flowers, yet was cruel to someone who bore the same family name. It was a very selective kind of compassion.

Of course, he understood well that from their perspective, Anastasia was not someone to be welcomed. But looking at her now, this was abuse. If this was how they treated her, it would be better to cast her out of Edenhurst altogether than to keep her within the estate and treat her like this. He couldn’t understand their intentions at all.

“What on earth happened….”

The countess, who had come out belatedly, was at a loss for words when she saw Anastasia in Mikhail’s arms. As the Lauderdales avoided his gaze, unable to face the exposure of their disgrace, Mikhail spoke.

“It seems Miss Anastasia is in need of treatment and rest.”

If she had been a vagrant, he could have done as he pleased, but now that he knew she was someone of Lauderdale, he couldn’t do that. Mikhail gave an order to the maid standing beside him.

“You. Guide me to Miss Anastasia’s room.”

At Mikhail’s command, the maid flinched in shock and glanced nervously at the countess. Anastasia’s room was the basement storage. But they couldn’t possibly guide this guest there now. At that moment, the countess stepped in and hastily intervened.

“This child’s room is rather… disordered, so it would be difficult to show it to a guest. And since cleanliness is important for treatment… for now, we’ll take her to a clean room in a hurry, so please leave her to our servants.”

At the countess’s words, two servants standing nearby approached Mikhail and reached out their hands. Mikhail didn’t even spare them a glance as he replied.

“No.”

Flatly refusing the countess’s suggestion, he smiled and said, “As you said, it seems urgent that she receive treatment quickly, so I’ll have her use the room prepared for me. You may take your time preparing another room for me.”

It wasn’t a polite refusal, but a notice. As if he were already the master of this mansion.