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Chapter 23: Behind the Shadows
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2021-06-01 01:20:57Chapter 23: Behind the Shadows
Darkness and silence loomed inside a mid-sized mansion. Just three days ago, this mansion was once the home of a local noble of Antacast. But for some mysterious reason, the prideful noble suddenly sold the mansion and brought all his liquid assets away as if he was fleeing from a deadly plague. He even brought his entire clan away as if a blight was after his entire household. He explained nothing, not even to his circle of friends, and simply ran away.
A few gossips and speculations soon spread to the masses and in the aristocratic circles about what really happened. Some said that the mansion had become hunted, and that forced the noble to move away. Some believed that a demon had visited the mansion. They said that the demon cursed the mansion after the noble tried playing with some forbidden magic.
Whatever the real reason was, they were sure that something eerie had happened to the mansion. After all, the once lively mansi
BlackLeafWhistleThanks for reading folks! I kinda like this chapter for some reason. I hope you do too.
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The lady who wore a dazzling crimson dress felt her legs quivering. She wanted to rush back to the old headmistress… and, if possible, back to the orphanage. Unfortunately, the sharp gazes she felt from the servants behind her halted all those thoughts. Controlling her emotions, she remembered the teachings of the old headmistress. She gently curtsied towards the servants who escorted her. An unfathomable smile slid out of her inviting lips. “Thank you, good sirs and ladies, for guiding me here.” Her simple acknowledgment had those male servants flushing while the lady servants had their eyes turned into saucers. The servants looked intoxicated and spelled bound as they tried to peel away their eyes from the fairy-like existence before them. “Goodbye now.” She let out a sigh, leaving the tongue-tied servants standing like fools. Lili trudged, snail-paced, entering the conspicuously shimmering door. Soon enough, she heard the chatters and giggles comin
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“H-Headmistress?” Lili tilted her head, confused. She shifted her gaze to the left and saw the fake noble who dragged her into this. The once prideful fake noble was shuddering on the side. But unlike the last time, he didn’t dare to show courage and just lowered his head. He kept silent as he slumped on his knees. He was sweating like a pig under a roasting blaze. “What is happening?” His pudgy chin trembled, and if a pit suddenly appeared somewhere, he looked like he’d be more than willing to jump. And after seeing Lili, the fatty lowered his head, his quivering lips paling. On the other hand, the headmistress’ eyes lit up after seeing Lili. She stood up from her seat, circling around Lili, making sure she was safe and sound. Assured that Lili was fine, the headmistress let out a sigh of relief. She then gave the confused Lili a deep hug. “Thank god you’re safe. Lili, listen to me. Please wait for me in the other room. I will need to talk to the old master.”
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Thinking that there was a quite huge possibility that the cold-blooded butcher would buy her, Lili felt like a fishbone had been stuck in her throat. Even though the Duke looked handsome and fresh outside, it wouldn’t matter if his insides were rotten. Lili bit her lips and waited for the old lady’s reply. She hoped that the old headmistress could think of a solution for her current source of trouble. The duke. The man that had been dubbed as the ‘Butcher of the North’. She didn’t wish for a bloody duke as a sponsor, especially if the man was someone infamous for killing young ladies… like her. She wished some dragon would just swoop her away and be done with it. A few moments of stillness passed. The old lady kept her eyes shut and soon sighed. Her shoulders sagged. She wanted to find a solution for Lili, but soon lost the energy after realizing how impossible it was. “You.. all you can do is hope for the best. Hope that the Duke’s only jesting yesterday. That he’s
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“Lili… Lili… Wake up.” A voice rang, waking up Lili from her deep slumber, cutting her off from another strange dream of hers. Feeling dizzy from the light nudging she had received from the owner of the voice, Lili groaned. With difficulty, she squinted and tried to open her rebellious eyelids. She felt like her eyes still wished to lengthen their rest. She squirmed out of the embrace of the warm quilt and glanced sideways, searching for the origin of the familiar voice. The old mistress sat on the side of the bed. She wore a warm, but tired smile on her face as she stared at Lili. There were also dark lines forming under her eyes, a good proof that she possibly hadn’t taken even a wink yet. “Old mistress,” Lili said. She yawned as she rubbed her eyes. Sleeping there on a fluffy bed really made it easier to enjoy sleep as compared to when she was still in the orphanage. She stretched and hugged the old lady’s waist, something that had always calmed her down when she
