Chapter 21
Eric picked up Andrea’s fallen strands of hair, tears streaming down his face.
“Andrea… hic… it must have hurt. I’m sorry. I should have protected you.”
He gently stroked her, as if she were merely asleep.
Even after all these years, he still couldn’t accept that she was truly gone.
“I’ll make your skin heal. Your hair will grow back, I promise.”
But no matter how much he tried, her skin continued to crumble, and her hair fell away in brittle strands.
The lingering waves of divine power were breaking the dark magic enchantments preserving her body.
Eric abruptly stood up.
“Who is it?! Who did this?!”
The High Saintess had vanished 21 years ago, and no new Saintess had been revealed through divine prophecy.
That meant even the temple itself was unaware of this new Saintess’s existence.
A powerful divine force had manifested nearby—he had to find out who it was immediately.
After years of isolating himself in the annex like a forgotten relic, Eric threw open the door and ran outside.
“You… you can read and write?”
Jovern narrowed his eyes suspiciously as he watched Odette reading a thick book and writing in elegant script.
“Emma can read and write, too.”
“…What?”
“You need to stop assuming that all maids are illiterate.”
“A-Ah, of course.”
Jovern nodded absentmindedly, but his distrustful gaze lingered on the book Odette was reading.
Snap.
She shut the book abruptly, cutting off his curiosity.
“Your appearance is disgraceful.”
After tumbling across the ground outside the library like a rolling leaf, Jovern’s suit jacket and trousers were covered in dirt, and his hair was a tangled mess.
I only meant to test it once…
But her new ability was so strangely addictive that she had repeated the experiment several times.
Jovern looked completely drained, both physically and mentally.
“I was… caught in a strong gust of wind.”
“It felt like wind?”
“Pardon?”
“I saw you tumbling around outside. You looked like a dry leaf, rolling across the ground.”
Odette tilted her chin toward the window.
“Y-You saw that?”
“Yes. You flipped over and over, just like that.”
“Well, uh… It felt like a powerful force was throwing me around. I… I suspect it was Young Master Eric playing a prank.”
Another person with the power to fling people without touching them?
“Eric?”
Seeing her confusion, Jovern explained.
“You probably haven’t met him before. Young Master Eric, the Viscount, has been in seclusion for seven years.”
Eric Anderson.
The Count’s eldest son.
As a maid, Odette had never heard his name, as if he barely existed.
But in the original story, Eric’s name had surfaced a few times—
Through Caesar’s own mouth.
The Anderson family and the House of Maes were bound by a sacred marriage vow.
A promise sworn before the gods—their children had to marry.
Because of this, Count Anderson’s eldest son, Eric, and Caesar’s older sister, Andrea, had been engaged as children.
However, on her way to the Anderson estate, Andrea had gone missing in a landslide.
A young Caesar had led the search party himself, digging through the wreckage with his bare hands, wailing in despair—
But her body was never found.
Having already lost his father, losing Andrea as well sent Caesar into a downward spiral of hopelessness and rage.
He didn’t even know if Andrea was alive or dead.
Count Anderson had comforted him with sweet words, whispering that he was the only one Caesar could trust now.
As if Caesar would ever believe such nonsense.
When Caesar returned from the war, he searched for Eric everywhere, but the eldest son of the Anderson family had vanished without a trace.
Now, hearing Jovern mention him so casually, Odette was stunned.
Who would have thought I’d stumble upon such valuable information!
Finding Eric was crucial.
He must have known that the Count and Countess were responsible for Andrea’s death.
He might even know where Andrea’s body was.
After wetting her lips, Odette asked,
“Is Eric in hiding because of some strange power? You said earlier that he might have been behind your… accident.”
She made sure to sound curious, but not overly invested.
Jovern frowned, looking troubled.
“It’s best if you don’t concern yourself with such things. You’ll only stir up trouble.”
“And why would it cause trouble?”
“Young Master Eric defied the master and chose the path of rebellion. The more the master and mistress tried to appease him, the more he resisted.”
So he’s a troublemaker?
Odette smirked.
A rebellion within the Anderson family was exactly what she wanted.
“So where is Eric now?” she asked, feigning innocent curiosity. “I’d like to introduce myself. After all, I’m his new little sister.”
“Even when Lady Amelia ran away, he didn’t bother showing his face.”
“But who says he won’t be interested in me? He might hate the idea of a maid becoming his sister so much that he’ll want to meet me just to complain.”
Please take the bait, you wicked butler.
Jovern was the only one who knew where Eric was, and if he refused to tell her, she’d never find him.
The Count’s estate was designed like a labyrinth, filled with numerous secret rooms.
There were even multiple escape routes, built in case of an attack.
Eric was likely living in one of those hidden chambers, moving through the escape tunnels to avoid being seen.
That would explain why she had never run into him before.
In the end, the only way to find him was to convince Jovern to talk.
“If you tell me where Eric is, I won’t drag you out shopping.”
“…….”
“If you refuse, I’ll go shopping tomorrow and the day after that, too—”
“Ahem! I will tell you immediately where Young Master Eric resides. However, you must keep this a secret from Count Caesar Maes.”
“I promise. I’ll make sure Caesar and Eric never meet.”
“If you follow this path, you’ll reach Young Master Eric’s annex.”
Jovern led Odette behind the library, pointing toward a narrow forest trail.
“That’s a restricted area.”
All estate servants had been strictly warned never to enter the western forest.
When Odette first started working at the estate, she had heard the warning countless times.
“That area is full of venomous snakes and deadly swamps. If you want to die, go ahead and enter.”
Looking back, it was probably a fabricated lie—a way to ensure that no one ever ran into Eric.
Odette’s gaze flickered as she stared at the dark forest.
Jovern said he has a power similar to mine…
This place is eerie…
The next day, Odette followed the winding forest trail, heading deep into the western woods.
The dense canopy of trees blocked out the sunlight, making it dark even in the middle of the day.
Past the “No Entry” signs, there was no visible path at all.
Odette pushed through overgrown bushes and ventured deeper.
It feels like I’m walking in circles.
She had walked straight ahead, but somehow, she had ended up right where she started.
Breaking off a branch, she pressed forward again—only to stumble upon the same broken branch moments later.
A barrier…
Without breaking the enchantment, she would be trapped in an endless loop.
“Let’s test something.”
Odette focused her mind, channeling light into her hands.
A blinding burst of energy radiated outward, pushing against the fabric of space.
The very air around her warped, as if a photograph of the forest had been crumpled.
Then—a tear appeared in the barrier, like a sheet of paper being ripped apart.
Wow… I can do this too?
“Mmff!”
The distorted space continued unraveling, revealing a wooden mansion beyond the tear.
That must be the annex!
As she stepped forward to cross through the barrier—
She sensed movement behind her.
A chill ran down her spine, and she whirled around.
A shadowy figure leapt into the treetops.
At the same time, light erupted from Odette’s hands—
Even though she hadn’t meant to attack.
“Ugh!”
The figure let out a muffled groan, leaping from branch to branch in pain.
What the—? A person?
Her body tensed instinctively.
“Eric Anderson?”
The branches trembled at the mention of his name.
“So it is Eric Anderson!”
At Odette’s confident declaration, the shadowy figure bolted—leaping from tree to tree, fleeing into the depths of the forest.
A coward? Or does he just enjoy running away?
For some reason, she had a feeling they would get along just fine.
