Chapter 14
Could I really have been making the children worry about something like this all along?
Though Remo tried to speak calmly, his face was tight with emotion as he struggled to hold back tears.
Instead of throwing a tantrum, he blamed himself and apologized. Seeing that made Evelyn feel incredibly ashamed and foolish.
“I should’ve paid more attention.”
“And you’ve been busy, right? Taking care of the house, looking after Sister, helping that patient no one knows, and then… the whole dating thing too…”
Remo mumbled, clearly embarrassed.
“Dating? What? No way!”
Startled, Evelyn quickly denied it, and Remo, eyes shut tight, suddenly shouted:
“Sis! If Chaser is a good guy, then don’t worry about us—just marry him! Go to the capital if you want! We want you to do everything you want! We don’t want to hold you back!”
Evelyn looked down at Remo, stunned by emotions she had never felt before.
His eyes were red, and his shoulders trembled as he held back tears.
She placed her hands gently on his shoulders, but then noticed someone watching. Slowly, she looked up. Over by the staircase railing, Allen, Lize, and Susan were watching them.
Their expressions were no different from Remo’s.
The moment Evelyn saw the children, a deep, aching pain filled her chest.
They could’ve been more childish. They were still so young—but they had grown up far too quickly.
The guilt weighed heavily on her, and a bitter smile crept across her face.
“…Why would I get married? I’m going to stay with you all until you’re adults! I’ll be right there when you get married, have kids, and live your best lives! And if any of you dare say I’m a bother—I’m going to pout!”
She raised her voice on purpose, hoping the kids wouldn’t feel guilty.
She didn’t want to burden her younger siblings with any more responsibility than they already had.
“And whether I date or get married—that’s up to me and when I feel ready! Anyway, I’m going to find Jerry now, get to the hospital, and get his medicine. So all of you stay here in the monastery and behave. Got it?”
Without waiting for an answer, Evelyn straightened up and quickly turned around.
She felt like she might cry at any moment.
She was overwhelmed—guilt, confusion, and pride in how much the children had grown.
And shame. So much shame, she couldn’t even look them in the eyes.
She felt like a fool for almost giving up her resolve just to compromise with reality when Chaser came along.
The Sister still needed her. The children still needed her.
“Don’t worry too much. Just gather in the sister’s room and wait. I’ll be back soon—with Jerry!”
Evelyn called out cheerfully, forcing energy into her voice, then stepped out of the monastery.
She didn’t realize that dark storm clouds were gathering behind her as she left.
The wind against her skin felt heavier than usual. Not long after, raindrops began to fall from the sky.
Even after searching through the mountains, she couldn’t find Jerry.
“Why did it have to be this kind of weather…”
He must’ve gone into the forest out of fear of being scolded and gotten lost because he couldn’t see clearly.
Holding back her frustration, Evelyn pulled her robe’s hood tightly over her head.
At least I brought the lantern, she thought, sighing heavily in the thick, hopeless air.
Thick raindrops started pelting the hand holding the lantern.
“I have to be careful not to slip.”
The path was dark and slippery, and she needed to stay alert.
“Jerry! Jerry! Where are you? I’m not going to scold you—just come back to the monastery!”
Evelyn shouted as loud as she could, but the heavy rainfall drowned out her voice.
“Jerry…”
She kept searching the mountain path, but still no sign of him.
“What do I do…”
She couldn’t hold back the tears any longer and began to sob.
“Nothing bad happened to him… right?”
Even though she was nearing adulthood, Evelyn was still far too young to bear the thought of losing someone she loved.
The rain didn’t let up. Thunder roared after each flash of lightning, shaking the sky and making her feel even more afraid.
No matter how hard she searched, there was no sign of hope. Only dark thoughts came to her.
“No. Don’t cry. Just search a little more.”
Thankfully, the robe Chaser had given her seemed to be water-resistant, so she wasn’t as soaked as she expected.
The soft glow from the lantern felt like her only source of hope.
Evelyn gripped the lantern tighter, as if clinging to that hope with everything she had.
Her body was growing heavier, soaked to the bone. She knew she was pushing herself too far—but she couldn’t stop.
“If only Chaser were here…”
She hated herself for telling him to stay in the village if it got late.
Pushing aside her regrets, Evelyn kept moving, calling Jerry’s name over and over again.
Maybe her desperate plea had reached the heavens.
Suddenly, she heard something nearby.
“I heard something move!”
Evelyn quickly turned toward the sound.
Tall grass blocked her view.
She pushed her way through the thick brush with her bare hands. As she got closer, she began to hear faint, ragged breathing.
And just as she feared—when she finally made it through, she saw someone collapsed in the grass.
She held up her lantern, and through the dim glow, she saw a small, familiar figure.
“Oh my gosh… Jerry!”
Heaven must have helped.
Evelyn, overwhelmed with relief, ran toward Jerry, not even realizing that her hood had fallen off.
“Are you okay? Oh my gosh… You’re freezing from the rain! Wait, you have a fever too!”
Jerry’s condition was worse than she expected.
His body burned like boiling water, and between his ragged breaths, she could hear soft groans of pain.
“It’s okay, it’s okay, Jerry. Let’s go back quickly.”
As Evelyn tried to lift Jerry into her arms, he whimpered.
“It’s okay… don’t worry about me…”
“Ugh… kuh!”
Jerry clenched his face in pain, blinking slowly. Even in the dark, his normally brown eyes glowed red.
He must be really sick. This is bad.
They had to get back—fast. That thought filled her mind, so much so that—
Thud—THUMP.
She didn’t even notice the heavy sound approaching from behind.
Thud.
It was like the footsteps of a massive creature, each one shaking the ground.
Suddenly, a huge paw stepped into view through the darkness and came to a stop right in front of Evelyn.
She couldn’t bring herself to look up to see what it was. She was too afraid.
Her arms trembled as she held Jerry tighter.
Then, something thick and warm dripped onto her head. Reflexively, Evelyn looked up.
“Ah… ah.”
That was all she could say.
Through the heavy rain, lightning flashed—and in that brief burst of light, the full shape of the massive creature before her was revealed.
It was monstrous in both size and build, large enough to break through the monastery roof. Its body was covered in wild, black fur. Its limbs ended in beast-like paws with thick, sharp claws.
Its head resembled that of a wolf, almost like someone had draped it in animal hide—but this wasn’t an animal. It was a demon. A monster. One of those unidentified beasts said to feed on humans.
Its ominous red eyes stared straight at Evelyn.
Chaser had been right.
The monster he’d been tracking was still lurking in the Astre Mountains.
She had foolishly assumed it must’ve left after so long with no sightings.
Now, face-to-face with this horrific creature, Evelyn was frozen in fear. She had never seen anything like it.
The demon stared at her as if sizing up a captured prey.
Evelyn couldn’t move a muscle. Even the smallest twitch felt impossible. And so, she was forced to take in every terrifying detail of the monster’s appearance.
That…
Another bolt of lightning illuminated the area, followed by thunder that shook the air.
The light vanished—but not before Evelyn saw it: the thick, bright red blood smeared across the monster’s mouth.
No… no way…
There was only one residence in these mountains—the monastery.
If the monster had attacked, it might already be too late.
Overwhelmed by the worst possible thought, Evelyn flinched—her body reacting before she could control it.
That small movement must have been enough. The demon opened its mouth wide and lunged toward her.
Evelyn collapsed to the ground in shock.
I’m going to die.
That thought struck her first. But she tightened her grip around Jerry, determined to shield him at all costs.
“Aaaah!”
Suddenly, Jerry began to squirm in her arms. Then—he bit her hard on the inside of her wrist.
“Jerry, no!”
The pain forced Evelyn to release her grip, and Jerry broke free from her arms.
She lunged forward, trying to hold on to him, but fell flat on her chest.
Blood oozed from the wound on her wrist, but she didn’t panic. She hastily wiped the injury with a piece of cloth and looked up again.
“Je…”
She tried to call out to Jerry—but her voice caught in her throat.
Another demon had appeared. It was smaller than the first, but it stood between them, facing off against the larger one.
“What…? H-how…?”
“R…run…”
The smaller monster spoke, though its voice was strained and distorted.
She didn’t need to witness the transformation to know who it was.
That demon… was Jerry.
Evelyn was paralyzed with shock. She couldn’t even scream. All she could do was stare, wide-eyed and speechless.
“No… this can’t be… this can’t be happening…”
Denial—the one thing she had been clinging to—finally crumbled inside her.
She was breaking.
What is this… what on earth is happening…?
A cold voice echoed from behind her.
“What a mess.”
It was the last voice she wanted to hear in this moment, despite how desperately she had wished for his arrival earlier.
Chaser had arrived.
