IKMHITM 14

࣪ ִֶָ☾. Chapter 14 ࣪ ִֶָ☾.

Eve rubbed her throbbing forehead, feeling as though she had slept far too long.

The brilliant light of the rosary flashing in her palm stung her eyes.

As she gazed at it, her memories slowly began to return.

‘That’s right. I was dragged inside Kain’s painting, weren’t I?’

Since she was now possessing Kain’s body, there was no logical reason for Eve’s personal rosary to exist here. Yet, it was undeniably present.

It was as if someone had purposely placed it there for Eve’s sake.

However, this was no time to leisurely admire a rosary. Eve gasped in horror as she looked at the blood-stained sculpting knife gripped in her own hand.

“Atone with my death, my foot!”

Who on earth would she do that for by taking her own life? Eve hurled the sculpting knife far away with a defiant gesture.

“Kain, are you listening?”

“You don’t need to die! You were deceived, too! Who does that painter think he is, acting so damn arrogant? Is he some kind of god trying to manipulate people? Don’t let yourself be played by such a cheap trick.”

Eve gritted her teeth and forced herself up from the floor.

“Why would you ever die? Instead, kill that painter bastard! That’s the only way you’ll have the face to look at Yugen when you go to the afterlife.”

She tried her best not to put weight on her broken leg, but even hopping on her good leg sent agonizing bolts of pain through her body.

“Just live. Survive and atone. Build a grave for Yugen, and make sure not to leave a single one of the masterminds who caused this tragedy alive without paying them back.”

With desperate willpower, Eve made her way to the back door. She raised her trembling hand, racked with pain, and pushed hard against the doorknob.

“Aargh!”

Eve tumbled down into a bottomless abyss of darkness.

“Aah……………… ah?”

After an endless fall, she finally reached the bottom. After tumbling over and over a few times, Eve scrambled to her feet.

Her blood-stained appearance and even her broken leg were completely fine.

Mint-colored walls and endlessly lined mannequins caught her eye. She had returned to the dressing room of the Belper estate.

When she turned her head, the portrait she had just escaped from was visible. Only faint characters flickered across its empty canvas.

[Portrait of a Beauty Plunged into Sorrow]

She had actually done it……………!

Eve pulled the Ghostly Tales Record from her bag, which had rolled far away across the floor. The sight of black ink dyeing into the color of fresh blood didn’t feel quite as eerie today.

‘Filling out the Ghostly Tales Record is strangely satisfying.’

A small smile touched the corners of Eve’s lips.

“Hee-hee. Are you happy?”

Eve startled and spun around as if she had been burned. Inside the portrait, Kain was smiling while resting her face in her hands.

“My new master, you have a much stronger backbone than you look with that cute face of yours! I was genuinely surprised.”

Noticing Eve’s guarded gaze, Kain shrugged her shoulders.

“Don’t worry. I’m now Master’s good little slave. I won’t do anything you don’t want!”

“R-Really?”

“Of course.”

“Then do me a favor. Stop doing that creepy head-tilting trick.”

“Aw. But this stretches my neck muscles so nicely! Would Master like to try it too?”

“I’ll try it. Later, when I go to the underworld.”

“Ha-ha, that didn’t work.”

As if it ever would! Eve shot her a sidelong glance, though she felt a wave of relief.

Although Kain had been resubjugated back into the Ghostly Tales Record, she didn’t seem particularly angry.

“But Master. Why didn’t you die?”

……………Well, if not, it couldn’t be helped.

“Resentment and agony are the most intense emotions that draw people in completely. Since the inside of the portrait is my domain, you should have been even more deeply assimilated into my emotions. Usually, things end with taking one’s own life…………….”

Just like the Kain of the past had done.

“………………Our Master, though. How did you manage to survive?”

Kain’s head slowly tilted to one side.

Creak.

The door to the dining room of the Belper estate opened. It was the ‘reward’ for newly filling the Ghostly Tales Record.

“Wow.”

Eve let out a gasp of admiration as she stepped into the dining room.

There were tall windows overlooking an expansive garden, a ceiling painting depicting a clear blue sky, a chandelier pouring down heavenly light from above, a massive rectangular wooden dining table, a white table runner embroidered with gold thread, light brown velvet chairs, and even a red marble fireplace.

“This is ridiculously gorgeous……………”

“Have you arrived, Master?”

Kamien appeared. As always, his shirt was buttoned all the way up to his neck, paired with a wrinkle-free, neatly tailored black woolen coat.

Why on earth is someone wrapped up so tightly still so sensual? It was like rich, overflowing cream barely contained beneath a thin layer of pastry dough………………

“You must be hungry past lunchtime. Shall I prepare your meal?”

Ah, right. She supposed she was hungry.

“Sandwiches topped with cream cheese and salmon, basil soup, and roast turkey are prepared.”

Eve was slightly touched.

Oh, of course, not because of the food.

‘Kamien must have believed in me. That I would pull it off without a doubt.’

Even after seeing Eve return from entering the portrait, Kamien remained completely calm. His expected attitude felt like an expression of deep trust from him.

‘And he helped me out, too.’

Just as Kain had said, when she was sucked into the portrait, Eve had been completely assimilated.

Kain’s overwhelming despair and sorrow swallowed Eve up like a giant wave. Her own ego inside that space was melting away into mush, on the verge of being digested entirely.

At that exact moment, what woke Eve up was her own rosary.

<……………Our Master, though. How did you manage to survive?>

〈Hold onto the one thing that makes Lady Eve who she is. Never let go of it, no matter what.〉

No matter how she thought about it, this was entirely thanks to Kamien’s help.

“……………Um. Thank you.”

“Think nothing of it. I will serve the meal shortly.”

“Not the food. Ah, well, I’m thankful for the food too, of course.”

“I do not understand what Master is referring to.”

Just when Kamien’s cold reaction made Eve wonder if she had imagined it all, he subtly glanced toward the wall.

‘Oh. There are paintings here, too…………….’

It was a good thing she had kept her mouth shut. She almost ended up tattling on Kain right in front of her.

“Here are the letters that have arrived for Master.”

Just as Eve was finishing her meal, Kamien offered a stack of letters resting on a silver tray.

Eve absentmindedly read the envelope placed right at the top.

[To the Marchioness of Arno]

“Is this letter for Reina? We should have it forwarded to the Doréville family.”

“No. Officially, the ‘Marchioness of Arno’ is now Lady Eve.”

“Why am I……………”

Damn it all. The explanation given by Madame Persona finally came rushing back to her belatedly.

‘On the surface, Seryan is the Marquis, and I’m supposed to be his wife, right?’

Even so, it was astonishing that other people already recognized Eve as the ‘Marchioness of Arno.’

“As far as I know, high-ranking nobles have to report to the royal family when they marry, right? They need to receive a marriage license…………….”

“It arrived today, as it happens.”

Kamien calmly retrieved a large envelope tucked underneath the letters. The undeniable seal of the royal family was stamped clearly upon it.

“How……………?!”

Living at the Belper estate had made Eve aware of a few harsh facts.

For instance, the Marquis of Arno almost always married twice.

The first was a sacrificial bride offered up to the estate’s ‘trial.’

And after passing the trial, he needed a ‘real’ bride to be officially welcomed.

Eve, needless to say, had been the first kind. So there was no way she should have received an official marriage license.

“I requested it. Immediately after Lady Eve passed the estate’s trial.”

………………He moved fast.

“His Majesty actually approved it? I heard marriages where the social statuses don’t match are sometimes outright rejected.”

“The royal family cannot dare interfere in the affairs of Arno.”

An arrogant yet chilling smile curled across Kamien’s lips. Eve found herself wondering if the word ‘dare’ even belonged in the same sentence as them.

‘Oh well, whatever. It’s great if the complicated paperwork got sorted out smoothly.’

The Marchioness of Arno. It didn’t roll off the tongue easily, but it was certainly a flashy title to have under her belt.

Eve flipped the letter over to check who the sender was.

“Genevieve of the Moretta family?”

It was a name she was hearing for the first time in her life. When she looked at Kamien with a questioning gaze, his expression looked somehow displeased.

“Who is this woman?”

“She is the lady who was originally scheduled to be engaged to Lord Seryan.”

Meaning she was the second bride, and the woman who was meant to become the ‘real’ Marchioness of Arno.

“………………Does this woman know that Seryan is dead?”

Kamien answered her with silence, which spoke volumes.

“So, from this woman’s perspective, Seryan—who was supposed to be engaged to her—out of nowhere married some other woman?”

“And on top of that, Seryan is locked away inside the estate under the excuse of nervous exhaustion or agoraphobia, or whatever?”

“Since she can’t get in touch with Seryan, and Lady Reina and the family have left the estate, she has no way of getting news. So she ended up contacting me instead?”

Kamien, who had remained silent the whole time, finally opened his mouth.

“Good luck.”

Ghostly Tales Record 3. Portrait of a Beauty Plunged into Sorrow

A portrait containing the soul of a woman who died harboring deep resentment.

It can travel anywhere as long as a painting exists there. However, if it infiltrates another person’s painting, a territorial dispute with the painting’s owner may occur.

Taboo: Never place a mirror directly facing the portrait. The boundary between the painting and reality will blur, and a ‘door’ will open.

°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･