EHM 35🔐

Chapter 35

Abigail flinched and started to step back, but Sally quickly added,

“No, the truth is, my master has a great interest in the wines produced here. He’s in the wine business, you see… you understand, don’t you?”

“Then why… why are you telling me this?”

“Abby, I know exactly how it feels. I’m in the same situation as you. I know how hard it is to work as a maid in a remote place like this.”

“……”

Sally caught the slight flicker of hesitation in Abigail’s eyes. She immediately sensed the right way to get through to her.

“It’s widely known that Sir Breedle keeps the method of his wine production a closely guarded secret. And my master… he’s curious about that secret.”

“……”

“If you, Abigail, could just quietly let us slip into the place no outsiders are allowed to enter…”

Sally leaned in to whisper in Abigail’s ear.

“My master could not only write you a letter of recommendation to noble households in central London—he could also promise you generous financial compensation.”

This wasn’t just a spur-of-the-moment lie. Emily had given her a firm promise to offer exactly that.

“What are you… saying…?”

Abigail startled, stepping back in alarm, but Sally felt more confident than ever that her approach was working.

‘With someone like her, proposing a deal is the best move.’

Sally knew well—women working in London were always pressed for money.

No matter how hard one worked all day, wages barely covered food and shelter.

That’s why live-in maid positions were always in high demand. But to enter a noble household, one needed a reliable letter of introduction, and without connections, getting one was as difficult as plucking stars from the sky.

And yet, in this place—Bricester—workers were said to change frequently, with staff shortages always being a problem.

Which could only mean one thing:

‘Everyone avoids this cursed estate. Abigail doesn’t like it here either, but she has no choice but to stay, since it’s too hard to find another job.’

If Sally offered her not only a new position but also money?

There could be no sweeter proposal.

“Re… really?”

Abigail’s eyes were already glittering with hope.

“If you really can’t trust my word, I can let you meet my master directly,” Sally pressed, knowing the maid was already halfway swayed.

Abigail studied Sally’s face, as if to confirm she was speaking the truth. At last, with a resolved look, she spoke.

“Then promise me.”

“Promise you what?”

“I’ll tell you everything, but you must absolutely, absolutely promise me…”

Her eyes flashed with raw terror.

“…not to step into the wine cellar.”

“Why not?”

Sally blinked at the unexpected words, but Abigail answered with difficulty.

“Because….”

And what came out of her mouth made Sally’s eyes widen in shock.

At that very moment, while Sally was speaking with Abigail…

An unlikely pair was quietly descending into the basement.

James Moriarty—and Jimmy—disguised in Bricester servants’ uniforms.

“She’s more resourceful than I thought,” James remarked.

Jimmy only shrugged.

That very morning, Emily had pulled her aside with a request:

‘Maybe I’m just being overly cautious… but could you keep an eye on Baron Moriarty?’

Coming from Emily, Jimmy hadn’t questioned it. She had accepted right away—and gone a step further, figuring out how to infiltrate the cellar itself.

…by bribing and sweet-talking some of the estate’s servants.

“Servants aren’t as loyal as their masters think. A little flattery, some expensive liquor, and a few coins—that’s all it takes to get what you want.”

And with that, Jimmy had procured two sets of servant uniforms and a spare key to the wine cellar.

‘They tried to dissuade me, telling me not to go inside if possible…’

But Jimmy had insisted until the servants finally gave in and handed her the opportunity.

So, around four or five o’clock, when everyone upstairs was busy preparing for the evening ball…

Moriarty and Jimmy, dressed as servants, stood before the door to the wine cellar.

“Servant clothes suit you surprisingly well,” Moriarty said with a twisted smile.

Jimmy frowned. “And you must not own a mirror, my lord.”

“Perhaps.”

He brushed it off, but Jimmy couldn’t deny reality:

…James Moriarty looked utterly wrong in a servant’s garb.

‘He’s like the very model of blue-blooded nobility.’

Even Sir Henry of the old gentry carried himself with refinement—but that was due to his cultivated manners and etiquette.

‘Moriarty, though… he just is a noble, as if born one.’

Skin so pale it was nearly translucent.

Sky-blue eyes gleaming cold beneath sharply arched brows.

Thin lips set in a calm, cutting line.

A face so striking it was hard to look away, yet it exuded both distance and awe.

And beyond that, there was something else about him…

‘He’s terrifying.’

He had never harmed her or spoken harshly, yet merely standing near him made her skin crawl.

Jimmy shuddered involuntarily.

She would have refused to explore the cellar alone with him—if not for Emily’s request echoing in her mind:

‘Jimmy, can I count on you?’

How could she say no?

“Sigh.”

She exhaled, and Moriarty murmured beside her.

“Let’s go in first.”

“…Do I have a choice?”

Jimmy silently turned the spare key in the lock.

Creeeak.

The heavy door opened.

They stepped into the dim cellar.

“……What the…”

The sight that met them made them both choke back screams.

Opening the door had been easy enough, but—

‘I had a bad feeling, and now I see why…’

James Moriarty felt his blood run cold as he came face-to-face with what lurked behind the heavy, ancient door.

“Ghhhhh…”

“Uuuh… uhhh… urghhh…”

“Ghhrrrk…”

The sounds weren’t human voices, but broken groans.

Figures moved with jerky, unnatural motions—once human, now twisted into grotesque things.

“……!”

Jimmy nearly screamed, clapping both hands over her mouth.

‘At least she has that much sense,’ James thought grimly.

Emily had insisted he bring her along—at least as a physician, she might be useful in an emergency. But against these creatures? No doctor could help.

“Crrrk…”

“Rrrrghhh…”

The shambling servants didn’t notice them, continuing their mechanical motions.

“Jimmy,” he whispered.

She flinched violently, turning to him.

Lowering his voice further, he said,

“They seem nearly blind… If we stay quiet, we might move further in and see what they’re doing.”

Jimmy only nodded.

James crept forward silently, Jimmy following close behind.

“Rrrhhh…”

As they passed one of the creatures, the moment stretched endlessly.

James stole a glance at its face—and froze.

‘That face…!’

A memory jolted back to him.

Some of those who had attended Bricester’s ball had gone missing.

Mostly young women of uncertain background.

‘Their complexions are awful, but I recognize them. Without a doubt…’

They were the faces from the missing-person posters he had seen.

He drew his conclusion:

‘They’ve been cursed with some foul sorcery, stripped of their will, and forced to labor here making wine.’

He couldn’t tell what kind of magic it was, but it was clear they had been like this for a long time.

‘Which means… there’s a dark secret hidden in this wine.’

Lord Breedle was likely behind it, though perhaps even he was only a pawn of someone else.

The deeper they went, the stronger the stench became—so foul it made their heads spin.

Hoo… hoo…

Struggling to control their breathing, they pressed deeper into the cellar—until—

“……!”

James couldn’t believe his eyes.

A massive glass tank, large enough to fill the cellar.

Inside writhed thick, slimy tentacles, like those of an octopus.

‘Dear God…’

He swallowed hard.

He had confronted cultists before, encountered phenomena beyond human reason in his pursuit of his parents’ killers…

But never had he seen something so hideous it seemed unreal.

The grotesque creature’s tentacles writhed, barbed at the tips, oozing viscous slime.

“Rrrhhh…”

The enthralled servants scooped the ooze with ladles and poured it into vats of wine, mixing it thoroughly.

‘So that’s the secret of Bricester’s wine…!’

The tentacles kept secreting the slime endlessly.

James fought back a wave of nausea, while behind him Jimmy finally arrived—

“……!”

Her face turned pale as she clamped her mouth shut, barely stifling a scream.

But—

‘She’s at her limit.’

James saw her eyes glaze over.

That she had endured even this much was only because she was a surgeon, accustomed to cadavers.

‘Anyone else would already have gone mad at the sight of those half-dead wretches.’

Thud.

Jimmy collapsed unconscious, too shocked to even cry out.

The moment her body hit the floor, a chill swept over James.

“Grrrrhhh!”

“Rrrraaaahhh!”

“Uhhhrrghhh…”

They had noticed their presence.