Zachary’s long eyelashes kept catching my gaze. Staring at the shadows falling as if scorched, I spoke as if entranced.

“…I don’t know.”

Zachary didn’t respond to my words. Only the sensation of his hand slipping between the gaps in my clothes was clear. His thick knuckles, rough fingertips caressed my back. I let out a small moan at the feeling that I couldn’t get used to no matter how many times, and he immediately embraced me tighter.

***

Ah, I must be crazy. Why did I agree to come here? I should have said we’d go during the day.

“Zachary.”

Numerous statues stood in the corridor devoid of people. My mind went blank, feeling as if I’d made eye contact with a statue. Unable to bear the eerie atmosphere, I clung to Zachary.

“Don’t leave me behind, you…”

Wandering the mansion corridors at night was rarer than I thought. While I did use the snake passages to study curses, I rarely used the corridors as I had to move secretly.

Of course, the snake passages were scary too. But the difficulty of the path made it more physically demanding. Because of that, there was no time to think about whether it was scary or not.

‘Of all things, rain…’

I flinched as soon as I saw the window in the mansion corridor. To make matters worse, it was pouring. As if announcing winter’s imminent arrival, wet leaves blown by the gusting wind and rain clung to the windows.

The rain was so heavy that even our voices were drowned out by the sound. On top of that, thunder kept rumbling.

‘This is really scary.’

Even a haunted house experience might be less frightening than this. With each flash of lightning, countless gleaming blood-red eyes seemed to stare at me.

No matter where I turned my gaze, I kept encountering them. It was a scene where it wouldn’t be strange if something jumped out from among the bizarre statues and grotesque paintings.

“Zachary. How about we do this another day…”

This won’t do. I didn’t have the courage to pass through this corridor to the greenhouse. Moreover, the greenhouse was quite a distance away, requiring a long walk with an umbrella even after leaving the mansion. Just as I was about to suggest changing to another day, I noticed the picnic basket in Zachary’s hand. Seeing the effort he’d put into bringing desserts and wine, I bit my tongue.

“Young master, is something wrong?”

“…No, it’s nothing.”

He must have remembered my mention of having desserts and wine in the greenhouse and prepared accordingly. Zachary must have made time to come with me, and I felt guilty about canceling just because I was scared.

“Ah!”

Thunder struck again. Startled by the loud noise, I clung tightly to Zachary’s side, grasping his arm. For a moment, it seemed like Zachary’s body stiffened, but soon he continued walking as if nothing had happened.

I too held onto Zachary tightly, trudging through the corridor while trying to look straight ahead.

‘I can’t even claim to be a Serpentine anywhere.’

It’s too scary. It’s unbelievably scary. The corridor ceiling was full of creepy murals that looked like they needed an exorcism right away, and every statue was bizarre.

Still, the warmth touching me provided some comfort. Because I was clinging to him, Zachary had no choice but to put his arm around my shoulder.

Thump thump thump. My heart had been racing for a while now. It was probably because I was scared. I wondered if Zachary was scared too, but my own heartbeat was so loud I couldn’t hear his. Well, even if that wasn’t the case, I couldn’t have heard his heartbeat with this rain. Glancing up, I couldn’t see Zachary’s face well due to the darkness. But seeing him walk calmly, it seemed this corridor didn’t bother him at all.

Come to think of it, the Duke usually summoned Zachary at night. Because of that, Zachary often disappeared in the evenings. Even when he wasn’t inscribing new magic circles, he would occasionally vanish, so this corridor must be familiar to him.

“That’s it. We just need to turn here now.”

Fortunately, the door we needed to exit through came into view as I trembled. I had instructed that no servants be in the greenhouse this evening, and moreover, it was late, so no one would be there.

I turned my stiff neck from tension and said to Zachary.

“Wait here. I’ll open it. From here, we just need to walk a bit more with umbrellas and the greenhouse is…”

But why won’t this door open? As I pulled on the doorknob, tilting my head in confusion, suddenly the door opened with a thud. Two large ivory statues came into view. And between them, something round and white caught my eye.

Strange. There shouldn’t be anything between them.

Could it be a new statue they’ve brought in? Just as the garden lights were barely visible through the rain, thunder struck again with a flash of lightning.

“Aah!”

What I thought was a statue was a servant standing silently in the rain.

The demon’s eye, wet and dripping, looked as if it was shedding bloody tears. With an eerie creaking sound, the servant slowly turned their head. The moment I met that face, I screamed and ran like mad. I heard Zachary calling “Young master!” from behind, but I was too startled and my feet moved on their own.

There was no time to open an umbrella. My whole body was soaked by the rain pouring as if the sky had been punctured.

“Hah, hah.”

In the distance, through the blurry rain-obscured vision, I could see the greenhouse. I immediately dashed towards it.

When I was young, there was a time I walked these pitch-dark corridors. The servants standing in a line in the corridor were staring out the window like dolls.

Then, as if on cue, they all turned their heads simultaneously to stare at me standing in the corridor. The servants’ excessively swollen feet caught my eye.

Startled, I stumbled backward and reached out, unfortunately touching a statue. The statue I bumped into teetered and fell with a loud crash. The broken head of the statue rolled in front of me.

And then several servants thrust their faces towards me in my bewildered state. The demon’s eyes filling my vision.

That scene was still vivid like a trauma. Just now, when I saw the servant’s face, that scene flashed in my mind, causing me to sprint without realizing it.

“Damn… Even though it happened when I was young, still…”

I entered the greenhouse, soaking wet and shivering. I crouched near the entrance and covered my face with my hands.

‘I thought I had adapted to the mansion to some extent.’

I felt embarrassed belatedly, but it was an impulsive act I couldn’t control. Earlier, I was so focused on the thought of quickly leaving that place that I ran without thinking.

‘I left Zachary behind too.’

We should have come together, but there wasn’t even time to open an umbrella.

Should I go back now? But I’m already soaking wet, and if I go back without an umbrella, I might fall seriously ill… Still, worried about Zachary left alone, I was about to get up when.

“Young master.”

I raised my head, startled. Zachary had come so close, and I hadn’t noticed at all. As I opened my mouth in surprise, a warm blanket was draped over my head.

“Ah, uh…”

It was cozy. Unlike the damp outside, it was a warm blanket that smelled of sunshine. Wrapped in the blanket, I poked out just my face. It was still dark, so I couldn’t see Zachary’s face properly.

‘It hasn’t brightened up yet.’

The plants only emitted a faint white light, not glowing blue yet. They say they start glowing at a certain time, but it seemed that time hadn’t come yet.

“This will warm you up.”

Warm mulled wine touched my cheek.

As I absent-mindedly took the glass, Zachary lit a candle. Only then could I see Zachary’s face properly. His hair was completely wet, as if he had been caught in the rain like me. The demon’s cloth was also damp, clinging to his face.

Thinking it must be uncomfortable, I reached out, and Zachary lowered his head as if he had been waiting. As I removed the cloth from his face, his dark blue eyes immediately gazed at me.

‘…This isn’t wet at all.’

Unlike Zachary who was soaked through, the blanket and food he brought weren’t wet at all. It seemed that while hurriedly following me, Zachary had used his body to shield the food and blanket from getting wet. As a result, he himself was completely drenched.

“Come here.”

“I’m wet.”

“I’m wet too.”

Even though I opened one side of the blanket and spoke, Zachary shook his head. He must be worried about inconveniencing me.

Why is he… so kind?

The winter rain must be quite cold for him too. I looked at Zachary quietly before putting the glass in his hand. Then I opened the blanket I was wrapped in and forcibly draped it over his shoulders. Though the blanket was large, Zachary was big too, so we had to sit very close.

“You were cold.”

His body was cold where it touched mine. Zachary, who had been looking only at me, slowly lowered his head and rested it on my shoulder.

“I suppose I was.”

We shared each other’s warmth like this, not saying anything for a while. Zachary’s wet hair kept tickling my nape. While feeling that sensation particularly vividly, I couldn’t shake off my self-loathing. Upset, I stared blankly into space before finally opening my mouth.

“I’m sorry.”

As I carefully apologized, my voice mixed with the sound of rain. Zachary, who had wrapped me in the blanket, stared at me intently.

“You must think I’m pathetic too.”

Even I thought my panicked flight was ridiculous. I’m not sure if my words were heard clearly over the still heavily pouring rain, but Zachary offered the warm wine again. Holding that glass in my hand, my mind slowly calmed down.

Then my frozen reason returned as well.

“I… don’t think I fit in well with the Serpentine family. I’m a coward, easily startled by everything. No matter how much I try to change, it doesn’t work.”

A lament mixed with dejection escaped me. No matter how I thought about it, it was absurd that I had run away in a panic just from seeing a single servant.

Zachary pulled up the slipped blanket to cover me again.

My chilled body temperature slowly rose. Feeling the arm touching mine gradually warm up, I took a sip of the heated wine. The cinnamon scent stung my nose, but it seemed to relax my body that had been tense from nervousness.

“Here. You drink too.”

When I offered the glass I had sipped from, Zachary seemed to hesitate for a moment. But he soon took the glass, so I thought it must have been my imagination. For some reason, he stared at me instead of the glass. The flickering candlelight from the candlestick, the sound of rain falling on the greenhouse ceiling. I felt a stillness even amidst the fierce downpour. In this quiet atmosphere as if only the two of us were left in the world, he brought the glass to his lips.

‘Oh, that’s…’

Where I just put my lips.

As I was taken aback, Zachary slowly swallowed the wine while maintaining eye contact with me, as if to show me. The movement of his Adam’s apple up and down was clear. I blushed at the inexplicable sensuality.