~Chapter 11~
Siphon finished her work faster than usual and immediately left the Duke’s residence.
‘It will be midnight soon.’
Before the next day came, she had something she must do.
“Just for tomorrow. Lock him in a pitch-dark room. Death will disappear.”
“N-No light at all?”
“Yes. Darkness will hide him. Death can’t find him.”
Honestly, it sounded like a wild delusion from a child barely five years old.
That hiding someone in darkness would make their destined death disappear.
But still…
The young lady she served was not ordinary. It didn’t seem like she was lying.
If anyone saw Siphon moving like this, they’d laugh, saying, “You believe a child’s words?”
And was she even just a child?
Until recently, she had been a mute idiot, an illegitimate child despised by more than 90% of the world.
Though not anymore.
People had always considered idiots no better than beasts.
Pitiful, stupid beasts.
And illegitimate children — not to be touched, not even brushed against, as if filth.
Siphon had been raised to think the same, and she truly believed it.
Though her family had since gone bankrupt and lost their title, she was once the eldest daughter of a baron.
Since childhood, she had been taught never to associate with bastards or the sick — lower than peasants.
They would rush to the floor to eat thrown scraps, no matter how filthy.
Her young lady had once been like that.
How furious she had been, to be tasked with caring for a bastard idiot in the noble Duke’s estate.
She never imagined she’d pay dearly for tormenting that child.
Her mistress had used a strange sorcery.
After being forced to move against her will until her thighs nearly burst, Siphon had never dared lay a hand on the five-year-old again.
While lying sick in bed, she had been filled with regret and despair, certain she’d live and die enslaved by a bastard.
Yet her mistress wasn’t as unfair as expected.
She didn’t oppress or force her.
And truthfully… she was kind of cute.
Not worthless, not stupid, not dirty.
She was wise enough to see through a fraud no noble could, clever enough to play with her noble cousin, and even used mysterious powers.
When that small hand stroked her hair, Siphon sometimes felt the urge to stroke the little head in return.
Even those strange golden eyes, like a beast that saw through hearts, weren’t frightening.
Honestly… cute.
So fluffy, she wanted to touch the hair again and again.
Before, she had never really looked. She had only thought the girl filthy, annoying, and stupid.
But spending time with her, Siphon no longer knew why she had disliked her so much.
“Phew.”
Standing before a small wooden house at the edge of the capital, she took a deep breath.
It had been three years since she last returned home after leaving to work as a maid in a noble family.
She couldn’t stand the shabby life of her bankrupt family.
She hadn’t wanted to see her mother sewing daily for a wage, or her father carrying heavy loads.
She was tired of her sickly younger brother, coughing in bed, useless.
So she had run away, sending only part of her pay occasionally, without contact.
Now, standing tense, she knocked firmly on the door.
“Who is it?”
A voice came from inside, then the door opened.
“…It’s been a while, Mom. Dad.”
Her parents looked shocked, then their faces softened with tears and wide smiles as they opened their arms.
“Siphon? Is it really you? Heavens, oh Lord!”
“You’ve come back safely. Come in, quickly.”
Her skin was a little darker, her face thinner than last time.
“…Where’s Rio?”
“Rio’s in his room. Why?”
“I need to see him. Mom, can you block all the light from Rio’s room? Before midnight, it must be completely sealed. Not a single crack can let light in.”
Hurriedly, Siphon pulled out thick, old cloths she had brought.
There was barely an hour left until midnight.
“Also, prepare some jerky and water for a day.”
“Siphon! What on earth are you doing, showing up suddenly like this?!”
Her mother gripped her shoulders tightly, staring into her eyes.
“My mistress can see the future. She said Rio will die soon.”
“…What? What nonsense…”
“I heard news of Rio fainting into water. I was worried… then my lady looked at me and said so.”
“…Where did you hear this?”
“I’m working at the Egbert Duke’s house.”
“The Egbert house…”
Only gods or their blessed could see the future.
And the Egbert Dukedom had always been beloved by the gods.
One of the Duke’s sons was even a leader of the holy knights.
So her words carried weight.
“What exactly did she say?”
“She said lock him in complete darkness for one day.”
“…Lock Rio in darkness?”
“Yes. He’s weak because ‘Death’ follows him. If hidden in darkness for a day, Death won’t find him, and he’ll regain health.”
Her father, the former baron, frowned.
“Why not ask the temple for help? Are you sure it was someone from the Duke’s house?”
“Y-Yes… Why, Father?”
“Hiding in darkness… sounds like sorcery.”
He hit the mark.
In the Empire, the god Armos of Sun and Light was deeply rooted.
His temple taught that darkness must be banished, that night belonged to demons.
To hide someone in darkness? It would sound suspicious.
“S-Sorcery?! No!”
Siphon flinched and shouted.
“Who told you this?”
“T-The youngest lady. Just try it once, please. There’s no time.”
Her parents hesitated at their daughter’s desperate face.
It felt unsettling — telling them to hide their child in darkness.
“…Sister?”
“Rio. Listen carefully.”
At that moment, Rio came down from upstairs.
He was a pale boy with snow-white hair, his body thin and frail.
His bright red eyes stood out sharply against his pallor.
Though it wasn’t that cold, he was wrapped in long clothes.
After hearing the explanation, Rio blinked slowly, as if struck, then tilted his head.
His calmness was eerie for someone hearing of death.
“So if we do that, I’ll get better?”
“Yeah. You’ll become healthy.”
“…Then I’ll do it. I hate sunlight anyway. Just one day?”
“Yes. From midnight to midnight. No light at all. It’ll be scary, but just sleep. Can you? You can’t speak either.”
Rio nodded.
Since he agreed, their parents couldn’t object. They knew too well how much he had suffered.
They stuffed thick cloth into the window cracks with sticky glue.
They placed food inside, checked every corner for leaks, and shut the door tight, sealing it with more cloth.
“Any light coming in?”
“…No. It’s dark.”
“Don’t be scared. Just endure one day. I’ll be right outside. If anything happens… knock on the door!”
“…Okay.”
Tense, Siphon sat right outside the door.
