Chapter 7:
Mrs. Soberg clicked her tongue at the sight of Emily winking with one eye.
“Is there anything you can’t say? How long are you going to waste your youth relying only on that pretty face? Youth doesn’t last forever!”
“I don’t just rely on my face. I rely on my figure and talent too, you know?”
“…Honestly, if you could just stop talking.”
“Besides,” Emily continued with a grin,
“Youth may not be forever, but royalties keep coming in. It’s more than enough for one woman to live on.”
“More than enough? Then why on earth are you dressed so poorly?”
“I’m practicing the Puritan virtues of frugality and self-restraint.”
“…If only you would just shut up!”
Emily smiled brightly at her aunt’s sharp retort, then quickly approached and hugged her.
“Auntie, you know I love you, right?”
Mrs. Soberg didn’t hug her back, but she didn’t push her niece away either.
As disobedient as she was, Emily was impossible to hate.
“…Um, Mrs. Soberg?”
As the older woman was lost in reminiscence, Sir Henry emerged from the drawing room.
Marilyn Soberg found herself once again impressed by his looks.
“Still handsome, even the second time around.”
And it wasn’t just that.
From head to toe, he exuded dignity, and even his smallest gestures reflected good upbringing.
Add to that his gentle voice and kind expression—Mrs. Soberg already found this potential suitor for her niece thoroughly charming.
“Did you have a pleasant conversation with Emily?”
“Oh, absolutely. It was a truly delightful time. Thank you so much for arranging this meeting, Mrs. Soberg.”
His face, as he glanced back at Emily through the drawing room door, looked joyfully flushed.
If this respectable young man were to marry her niece, perhaps she would learn to find happiness in marriage again.
Wrapped up in such happy thoughts, Marilyn returned to the drawing room after seeing Henry off.
“Emily, how was it?”
She asked hesitantly, carefully watching her niece’s reaction.
“It was nice. We’re going to meet again in two days,” Emily answered coolly.
“Really?”
Mrs. Soberg’s eyes grew wide, and Emily added the kicker:
“Not here, though. We’re going to London together.”
“To… to London?”
“Yes. You know, the hotel Sir Henry runs?”
Marilyn’s heart began to race with excitement. Whether she noticed or not, Emily continued indifferently,
“The Langham Hotel. He invited me there.”
“Kyaah!”
“…Aunt?”
Mrs. Soberg barely restrained the urge to jump with joy. Her cheeks flushed pink as she began to babble excitedly.
“Oh my! You’ve finally come to your senses! I’m so happy! No, wait, I need to call the dressmaker— You need a new evening gown, and only two days! That’s cutting it too close!”
So overwhelmed with joy, she didn’t notice the wry smile on her niece’s face.
Emily was going to the Langham Hotel for a specific purpose—and Marilyn had no idea that her niece was meeting this young man after experiencing death not once, but twice.
…The first time, she was murdered by him while he was possessed by the evil spirit “Hyde,” and the second, she was shot by the same Hyde after provoking him.
The first-class carriage of the train to London was comfortable and elegantly furnished.
Scattered throughout were ladies and gentlemen exchanging animated gossip about the social scene.
“So, according to Lady Lloyd…”
“Oh really? That’s just disgraceful. I can’t believe it…”
“About Count Ferris—apparently the new business venture hasn’t been doing so well…”
Though most conversations were trivial, occasionally a juicy bit of real information slipped through. But Henry Jekyll Langham paid no attention to the chatter.
His focus was solely on the woman seated beside him—Emily.
“I’ve never felt this way before.”
Henry had never given his heart to any woman. He had never experienced these kinds of feelings before, so this change within him was both strange and welcome.
Of course, being unused to such emotions, he found himself perhaps too talkative in front of the woman he had fallen for.
“Your second novel, Miss Emily… Ah, I’ve been talking too much again, haven’t I?”
Feeling embarrassed, he blushed. Emily gave him a soft smile.
“No, not at all. Your voice is gentle—it’s nice to listen to.”
…How could such a simple comment make his heart flutter like this?
Henry turned his head toward the window to hide his embarrassment. Outside, the fog was so thick he couldn’t see a foot ahead.
“…We’re almost in London already.”
“It came quicker than I thought.”
Emily replied casually, while Henry was already regretting how short the train ride had felt.
And frankly, he didn’t like London very much.
Unlike the fresh air and bright sunlight of Richmond, London’s downtown was grimy and suffocating.
Reflecting that sentiment, Emily murmured,
“London never feels particularly cheerful, no matter how often I see it.”
“I completely agree.”
London.
A city surrounded by the infamous “River of Death,” the Thames, reeking of acidic stench, and boasting the world’s most polluted air.
Yet despite all this, its citizens couldn’t help but feel a strange, melancholic affection for the place.
“And I guess I’m no exception.”
As he gazed gloomily out at the city, lost in mixed emotions, the train’s speaker crackled to life.
—Next stop, Paddington Station. Paddington Station…
They disembarked. As previously arranged, a limousine sent from the hotel was waiting at the station.
“We’ll head straight to the West End.”
The car drove a bit faster than a carriage. After some time—
“There it is…”
Emily murmured as she looked out the window.
Under London’s dim sky, a single building shone in golden brilliance, utterly extravagant in its appearance.
The Langham Hotel had come into view.
“I’ve heard of it plenty, but it’s even more amazing than I imagined. The exterior is gorgeous.”
What made the Langham Hotel a top-class destination wasn’t just its beauty.
It was the world’s first hotel to install elevators and in-room air conditioning—a marvel of modern engineering.
“You’ll be even more impressed once we go inside.”
Henry personally escorted her into the hotel.
Though all the staff’s eyes turned toward them, Emily appeared unfazed.
Henry led her to a suite reserved only for the highest of VIPs.
Emily’s eyes widened at the lavish room beyond the door—but only for a second. Then she smiled playfully.
“Don’t tell me this is the same room a prince once stayed in?”
…It was, but he didn’t bother confirming that.
“Please rest comfortably, Miss Emily.”
“Thank you.”
She gave him a cheerful smile before disappearing behind the door. Henry also returned to his private room for a bit of sweet rest.
“This morning felt unusually long.”
He had just been thinking how he didn’t want his time with her to end.
Now that he was alone, he realized just how tense he had been. And yet…
“Why on earth did I bring up marriage so suddenly?”
Emily Carter.
A woman nicknamed “London’s Most Beautiful Widow,” and a successful horror novelist with a rather eccentric personality.
Henry Jekyll Langham had initially requested a meeting simply as a fan, not because he had serious or romantic intentions.
“But the moment I faced her alone in that drawing room…”
He couldn’t look away. There was something familiar—a scent only recognized among kindred souls.
Even though it was his first time seeing her, it felt like they’d known each other forever.
“Like meeting a twin… a spiritual twin.”
Was it that sense of kinship? That strange connection?
At that moment, he felt as if he could confide in her about his deepest, darkest secret.
He even began to believe she might understand his twisted fate.
Was this what they meant by the hand of fate? He couldn’t stop himself from blurting out such premature declarations of love.
“…I never imagined she’d actually accept it.”
He couldn’t stop picturing Emily’s face as she said, “Alright.”
He felt like he was floating from happiness—his entire body buzzing with delight.
Then, he caught sight of himself in the mirror on the wall.
…His silly, lovestruck grin looked so idiotic.
Just as he was about to laugh at himself again, the reflection began to distort.
Moments later, the cheerful “Henry Jekyll” had vanished, replaced by the ominous aura of “Edward Hyde.”
—What are you smiling like a fool for?
His facial features remained the same, but those bloodshot eyes gleamed with malice, and his mouth curled in a twisted smirk.
—A proposal? Love? What a joke.
He looked like a completely different person.
Then Jekyll replied weakly,
“…Just leave me alone.”
But Hyde had no intention of doing so.
—You go on about artistic expression and pretend to be refined, but in the end, all you want is to satisfy your filthy desires.
“…”
—That woman’s not my type, but her looks are pretty fine. Her skin looks soft, and she smells nice, too…
“Stop it.”
—Come on, admit it. The proposal was just an excuse. What you really want is to ruin her—
“Stop!!”
Jekyll grabbed the ashtray from the table. It flew from his hand and struck the mirror.
CRASH!
A loud shatter rang out as glass shards scattered to the floor.
“Huff… Huff…”
Staring at the shattered mirror, Henry Jekyll panted heavily. His body still trembled from rage.
“Please… Just stop…”
SLAM!
He vanished behind the door with a violent slam.
In the center of the now-empty suite, a reflection appeared in one of the jagged pieces of broken glass.
—Tch. What a temper.
It was none other than the face of the evil spirit—Edward Hyde.
