Chapter 5
A week later, a carriage carrying Regina and Emma was once again heading towards the Jenkins estate. Emma watched the small glass bottle Regina held like a treasure.
The bottle contained precious water that Regina had obtained over the past week without getting proper sleep.
“Miss, are you sure you don’t want me to hold it? Or you could put it in your bag,” Emma suggested.
“No, I need to hold it myself. I feel more secure this way,” Regina replied, rubbing her sleepy eyes. She had placed a glass of water and ginger cookies by the window every night and moved the glass to the spot where the moonlight hit every three hours.
‘Will this really work?’ She had her doubts, but she couldn’t just sit back and do nothing.
‘If that man is truly the Black Fairy, then Maggie is in danger,’ Regina thought, biting her lower lip as she tightly gripped the small bottle. It was crucial that she confirmed it herself.
“Emma, remember to add this to the finger bowls at dinner. It’s important, okay?” Regina instructed, planning to mix the fairy water in the bowls people used to wash their hands during the meal. If it worked, it would reveal the man’s true identity.
She hoped this was just her imagination but took the matter seriously and requested Emma’s help earnestly.
“Yes, Miss. This is the water the fairy bathed in? May I try it on myself too?” Emma asked, smiling, extending her hands.
Regina carefully opened the bottle and let a few drops fall on Emma’s palm, then applied some to her own hands and around her eyes.
“Emma, don’t look at me like I’m a child. I’m not doing this for fun,” Regina said, pouting.
“Oh, I would never, Miss. I wasn’t thinking that at all,” Emma responded, quickly suppressing her laughter.
Regina, still pouting, poured a little more water into Emma’s hands.
“Hee-hee! Looks like we’re here, Miss,” Emma said.
The carriage came to a stop, and Emma peeked outside through the curtain.
Beyond the fields bathed in the red hues of the setting sun, the Jenkins estate came into view.
“Yes, we’re here,” Regina said, swallowing nervously as she looked out the window.
The thought of meeting the platinum-blond man again made her shoulders tremble involuntarily. She steadied herself, clutching the hem of her dress tightly.
The sunset cast a slanting shadow across the inside of the carriage, and as Emma watched, something blurry seemed to shift in that shadow. She blinked several times, but when she looked again, the shadow was gone.
Emma tilted her head in confusion before shrugging and gathering Regina’s things.
“Regina, over here!” Maggie called out.
“Maggie! It’s been so long!” Regina replied.
As soon as Regina got out of the carriage, Maggie hurried over to greet her.
The two friends, who seemed like they hadn’t seen each other in years rather than a week, walked towards the house, beaming. The maids who had been quietly standing by followed them.
“Wait for me!” Emma hurriedly gathered the luggage handed down by the coachman and joined the group.
As she struggled under the weight of the bags, one of the maids extended a hand.
“Let me carry one of those for you.”
“Thank you,” Emma said, handing over one of the bags.
“It’s no trouble,” the maid replied with a gentle smile. Emma thought she had a strangely captivating appearance and smiled back.
“Oh, hold on a second,” Emma said, noticing something black on the maid’s back. She lightly brushed it off.
“…?”
“There was something black on your back,” Emma explained.
The maid flinched at the sudden touch, and Emma, feeling a bit awkward, quickly apologized. The spot had looked dirty a moment ago but was now clean, leaving Emma confused.
“Oh, I see. Thank you,” the maid said.
“Wait, now it looks clean. I’m sorry, I must have been mistaken,” Emma said, embarrassed. The maid gazed at her with an inscrutable expression.
“Did you see something black on my back?” the maid asked in a low voice after a pause, causing Emma to widen her eyes.
“Yes? Uh, well…”
Emma was about to answer when Regina suddenly stopped and looked back.
“Emma, don’t forget what I asked you to do!”
“Yes, Miss! Don’t worry,” Emma responded, drawing everyone’s attention. The maid fell silent, and Emma quickly excused herself, hastening ahead.
The maid watched Emma’s retreating figure with a sharp gaze, but Emma, oblivious, walked on.
* * *
“What? What did you ask her to do?”
Margaret, curious about their conversation, asked. Regina quickly deflected, changing the topic.
“Oh, it’s nothing. By the way, Maggie, thanks for inviting me to dinner! Next time, you must come over to our estate.”
“Oh, stop it. Come on in. I’ve prepared all your favorite dishes for tonight.”
As Margaret led her inside, Regina felt her shoulders tense up from the nerves. She took a deep breath and glanced around, but there was no sign of the platinum-haired man.
“Maggie, where’s your brother? Will he be joining us for dinner?” Regina asked cautiously.
“Noah? I’m not sure. He’s been acting strange lately,” Margaret replied, blinking and shrugging.
“What? Strange how? Did he get hurt?” Regina asked, alarmed.
“Hurt? No, why would you think that?” Margaret was puzzled as Regina checked her over for injuries, fearing the Black Fairy had already shown his true colors. Seeing no visible wounds, Regina sighed in relief and released Margaret’s shoulders.
“Phew, it’s nothing. I’ve just been sensitive about injuries lately. So, how has he been acting strange?”
Margaret, bewildered by Regina’s actions, regained her composure and continued.
“Well, he’s been asking strange questions everywhere for days. Then, one day, he suddenly ordered the servants to dig up the entrance to Mother’s beloved garden.”
“The garden?”
Regina suddenly remembered the man standing at the garden entrance the first time she saw him.
“Surprisingly, they found a piece of jewelry there that Mother and I had recently lost!”
“What?” Regina stared at Margaret in shock. Margaret glanced around, then whispered into Regina’s ear.
“The butler told me that my brother asked for a list of everyone who had taken leave in the past month or had been newly hired or temporarily employed. Do you think one of them could be the thief? But why a one-month timeframe?”
Regina was confused. She had heard superstitions about the Black Fairy eating people, but not about catching thieves.
“Well, anyway, my brother has been obsessed with playing detective lately. He’s not even in the estate right now. He probably won’t attend dinner tonight.”
Margaret seemed irritated by Noah’s behavior. Regina felt her body relax at the news that Noah wasn’t home. Even though she had mentally prepared herself, the thought of meeting him again filled her with dread. She was relieved but also anxious.
‘…Then the fairy water I brought today is useless,’ Regina thought, biting her lower lip. She hadn’t considered the possibility of not meeting Noah, so today’s trip felt wasted.
‘What should I do…?’ Regina watched Margaret anxiously as she chattered away. She was debating whether she needed to remake the fairy water when a low, gentle voice called from behind her.
“Margaret?”
Her heart sank at the sound. Regina froze, her mind going blank as footsteps approached.
“Oh, brother! When did you return? I thought you weren’t home,” Margaret exclaimed.
Noah, dressed in a neat suit and white gloves, seemed to have just returned from an outing.
“I just got back. I had some business in town,” Noah said, handing a small box to a servant. Then, noticing Regina, he greeted her politely.
“Ah, Lady Regina. It’s been a while.”
“Oh, brother! I told you she was visiting today. Did you forget again?”
“Did I?” Noah replied with a light laugh, stepping closer. As he approached, a sweet scent wafted through the air. Regina, who had been preparing to greet him, involuntarily took a step back, frowning at the scent.
“…!”
It was a cloyingly sweet aroma, like fruit soaked in sugar water. It was so overpowering that it felt like thick honey was coating her tongue. The smell was so strong it made her gag.
“Regina?”
“…?”
Margaret and Noah looked at her in surprise. Regina, realizing she had covered her nose and mouth with her hand and stepped back, quickly lowered her hand, mortified by her rude behavior.
“Oh, no! I’m sorry. I just don’t like sweet things… Please don’t misunderstand, it’s not that there’s a strange smell or anything.”
“Smell? Regina, what smell?”
“Oh? It’s a very sweet smell… like fruit soaked in honey or sugar…” Regina replied hesitantly to Margaret’s question. Noah, who had been indifferent, suddenly paused and looked back at Regina.
