Chapter 36 – The Night the Owl Cried
“Oh dear… they’ve completely fallen asleep.”
The Empress Dowager chuckled softly as she looked at the two children buried under a pile of wrapping paper.
“Tian, when did they fall asleep?”
The Crown Prince Tian, who was the only one still awake, answered quietly.
“Not long ago, Your Majesty. They opened all their presents, and Annelia wanted to remember who gave what, so she started writing it all down… then she just dozed off.”
Only then did everyone notice the little notebook and pencil still clutched in Annelia’s hand.
Inside the notebook, messy childlike letters listed each gift and the name of the person who had given it.
“Already keeping track of her accounts—what a practical child,” the Empress Dowager said jokingly.
Her words made everyone nearby smile.
Only Tian looked uneasy, his expression clouded.
“What’s wrong, Tian?” the Empress Dowager asked.
Then she noticed what he was holding—
a small pink box tied neatly with a golden ribbon.
“Oh my! You haven’t given her your present yet?”
Tian pouted and glared at the boy sleeping beside Annelia.
“I wanted to give it to her when we were alone, but Baron Dennis’s little brother just kept hovering around…”
The Empress Dowager burst out laughing.
“So you never got a chance to be alone with her.”
Even Duchess Sharon Abner, who rarely smiled, let out a faint chuckle at the boy’s obvious frustration.
Then she asked gently, “Then, Your Highness—how about another day?”
“Another day?”
“Yes. It’s already late, and all the guests have gone home.”
Outside the window, night had completely fallen.
Tian hesitated, then nodded slowly.
“So… if I come again later…”
“Anytime,” Sharon said.
Tian’s eyes widened slightly.
Afraid she might change her mind, he nodded quickly.
“Then I’ll at least leave a note!”
He dug through the pile of wrapping paper, found a blank card, and scribbled a short message on it—
a promise to return soon to give Annelia his gift in person.
“I’ll be off as well,” the Empress Dowager said, rising.
“If I leave, perhaps the others will finally take their leave too.”
Indeed, a few stubborn nobles were still lingering in the garden, hoping for a word with her.
Sharon Abner escorted the Empress Dowager and the Crown Prince to the front gate.
“From now on, I’ll send only Tian,” the Empress Dowager said with a smile.
“An old woman visiting too often might cause unnecessary gossip.”
“Please don’t say that, Your Majesty. The Abners owe you a great debt.”
She was referring to how the Empress Dowager had helped recover the funds embezzled by the Coel family.
In truth, even tonight’s birthday party doubled as a quiet celebration of that victory.
The Empress Dowager smiled, stepped into her carriage, and soon the royal procession departed.
As silence returned, the butler Roger approached.
“Your Grace, the maids have tidied the rooms. Young Master Arwin has returned to his quarters.”
“Good. Well done.”
The clock’s hands were pointing close to ten.
Thinking of the little girl who had fallen asleep among ribbons and paper, Sharon Abner couldn’t help but smile.
Even with people coming and going, Annelia hadn’t stirred once.
Her dark lashes trembled faintly over closed eyes—perhaps she was dreaming sweetly.
“Once she’s asleep, she rarely wakes before dawn,” Roger said.
“Yes… good.”
Relieved, Sharon nodded.
Then her face hardened slightly.
Anne Clarke—the woman suspected of abusing Annelia—was scheduled to arrive at midnight through the back gate.
To be safe, Sharon had arranged for Anne and the orphanage children to stay in a detached annex, far from the main house.
‘At last,’ she thought.
‘Tonight, I’ll finally find out.’
The spy network of Longtern.
The secret seal that only her most loyal servants should know.
How had Anne Clarke discovered those things?
Why had she used a child—made that little girl so wary of adults?
There were too many questions waiting.
“Let’s go,” she ordered.
Her attendants and officials followed as she walked out into the night.
Above them, the half-filled moon glowed white in the dark sky.
***
Hoo-oo… Hoo-oo…
I woke up to the sound of an owl’s cry.
Through the half-drawn chiffon curtains, pale moonlight poured in from the sky.
‘When did I fall asleep?’
Still half-drowsy, I looked around.
I had been writing a list of the gifts I got…
and must have nodded off while taking a break.
Hoo-oo…
Again, that sound came from outside.
I tilted my head.
‘An owl? Here?’
Owls like that—moon-owls—only lived in the warm southern regions like Longtern Territory.
Even there, they were rare, almost extinct, known for their distinctive call.
‘That’s right… the Duke of Longtern used that sound as a signal for his assassins.’
His elite soldiers, trained killers he trusted the most.
‘It’s been a long time since I heard it… wait.’
A chill ran through me.
Signal. Assassins.
The thought sent a shiver down my spine.
I sat up slowly—then heard it again.
Hoo… hoo…
My whole body stiffened.
Goosebumps prickled up my arms.
‘No way…’
Sweat dampened the hand clutching my blanket.
That couldn’t be an ordinary birdcall.
There were no moon-owls in the Abner territory—this was the cold north, where winter came early.
My mind went blank.
I tried to get up—
and then the window gave a faint click.
I clapped a hand over my mouth, stepping back in panic.
The neat blanket that Miel must have tucked around me crumpled in a heap.
Clatter—
Another sound.
Then, from the left side of the window, a hand pressed against the glass.
“Ah—ahh…”
I swallowed my scream and backed away until I hit the bedpost.
In the bright moonlight, I could just make out the intruder’s arm.
On his wrist was a tattoo—
a distinctive, familiar mark.
***
“I, Brook, offer my heart and my life to you, my lady.”
“Uncle Brook! Stop it, what are you doing?!”
Blood had dripped down that same wrist as the man carved the oath into his skin.
He had sworn loyalty to Hyana while I—Annelia—could only watch in horror.
“From now on, you are my only master and my light.”
“Father! Please stop him! Someone stop him!”
Brook—the Duke of Longtern’s favorite knight and most skilled assassin.
There was no mistaking it.
It was him.
*
“No… no, no!”
Realizing who it was, my legs tangled uselessly.
I tumbled off the bed.
The window slid open without a sound.
A shadowed figure stepped silently into the room.
“…Damn, I’ve gone rusty,” the man muttered under his breath.
“If you scream, things will get messy.”
His calm voice didn’t match his lightning-fast movements.
In one smooth motion, the assassin leapt over the bed straight toward me.
His hand was just about to grab the back of my neck when—
I managed to jerk away and run for the door.
The whisper of cloth brushing in the dark filled the room, choking me with fear.
Then came the metallic sound—
Shing—
a blade leaving its sheath.
“Little girl,” he said, his tone icy.
“Don’t fight back. It’ll only hurt more.”
Only now did I realize how enormous this room really was.
No matter how fast my tiny legs ran, he was faster.
Thud—
Pain shot through my arm as he caught it.
“Ah… ah…”
The terror was so overwhelming I couldn’t even scream.
I twisted as hard as I could, and a flash of silver sliced through the air.
The blade missed—but only barely.
He stumbled for a moment, and I bolted.
My lungs burned; my breath hitched painfully.
The doorknob was just within reach when—
Footsteps thundered right behind me.
“Ah!”
A scorching pain ripped across my back.
The world tilted.
And then—
“Gah—what the—?!”
A blinding light suddenly filled the entire room.
