The Fate of the Traitor 403: 260.
The Fate of the Traitor [Chapter Nine: The Fate of the Traitor]
[Maid Aileen entered the room to serve Sara, while servants stood waiting in the corridor, whispering about the servant David, who had hastily fled the previous night.
The Viscount was furious about the incident.
Fortunately, the servant had not taken anything from the estate.]
Lu Li and the others listened quietly as The Shadow of Puppetry orchestrated David’s fate.
At 5:40 a.m., the body of David Alexander was discovered on the beach, with a fatal wound at the back of his neck.
After being washed by a day’s rain, the wound had turned into a gruesome, gaping gash.
Only when the police from Agate Lake District came knocking, inquiring about David, did everyone learn of his demise because he had died wearing the uniform of a servant from Baron Joseph’s Manor.
And when the night watchman came to inquire in place of the police station, they hired at great cost a retired night watchman who had survived The Shadow of Puppetry ritual.
A night watchman who lives to retire is rarer than a factory owner who voluntarily gives bonuses to workers.
[Old servant Vinson took over serving Sara from David.
Old Vincent had served the Viscount and his family for more than a decade, and everyone was familiar with him, including Sara.
But in Sara’s eyes at that moment, the old servant was like a pair of eyes her father had arranged to watch over her—especially when that pair of aged, cloudy eyes contained a certain story.]
Vincent’s fate was not much better than that of Lu Li and the others at this time; the moment he appeared, he was cast into the same standing as Lu Li and the rest, with the last sentence referring to Vincent’s last The Shadow of Puppetry ritual.
The Shadow of Puppetry remembered him.
[Maid Aileen unwrapped the bandages around Sara’s palm and replaced them with new ones, asking solicitously, “Miss, are you feeling any better?” The bandage touched the wound on the back of her hand, and it was painful, but Sara smiled as if she felt nothing and said, “It’s nothing serious, thank you, Aileen.”]
[Sara pretended everything was as usual.]
The Baron played his part without a ripple, waiting for the next line to echo under the shadow of the arcane and ancient.
[“Aileen, could you ask for a few more days off for me?
I don’t feel like going out lately,” Sara said.]
Outside the window, where rain lashed against the glass, a clap of thunder suddenly erupted.
The Baron’s hand shook, nearly unraveling the bandage wrapped around several times.
He was going to be forced to be alone.
The Baron distinctly remembered that it was supposed to be himself who was assigned to accompany Sara to the tree house yesterday—but perhaps The Shadow of Puppetry, for the sake of narrative tension and dramatic revenge of the protagonist, left the part of the “maid who betrayed her kindest young mistress” to die later.
The Shadow of Puppetry survivor, Old Vincent, had said this to everyone.
The Shadow of Puppetry is a malevolent spirit that pays attention to ritual in its ceremonies.
[“But if I skip classes for too long, the teacher won’t be happy…” Maid Aileen hesitated.
“Father will agree, and perhaps he’ll be pleased that I stay in my room and not go out until that strange man from the Earl’s family comes to marry me,” Sara replied.]
[Maid Aileen tied the bandage gently to avoid causing Sara pain.
Sensing Sara’s aversion to Francis, she looked up earnestly and said, “That Mr.
Francis is truly an excellent person.
You should be happy, Miss.”]
“…” After a prolonged silence, as the black mist descended from the ceiling, the Baron had no choice but to utter the line that would push him into the abyss: “That Mr.
Francis is truly an excellent person.
You should be happy, Miss.”
Lu Li and the others were outside, “Sara” shouldn’t dare to do anything in the bedroom…
The title of this chapter had already made it clear to everyone that today there would continue to be a “traitor” killed by Sara for the Resurrection Ritual.
But “they” didn’t know anything.
[Sara simply shook her head, saying nothing.
“Well then,” Maid Irene believed that the young lady would change her mind, sat up, and ran off to ask for Sara’s leave.]
Under the watchful eyes of Lu Li and the others, Baron walked out of the bedroom, followed closely by the ever-attentive butler Lulu, who disappeared around the corner.
[After Maid Irene left, Sara slowly let go of the blanket she had been gripping tightly with her right hand, suppressing the surge of emotion inside her.
She knew this was not part of the plan.
Had she done anything just now, the frequent disappearance of servants would surely attract the attention of her esteemed father.]
[She wasn’t afraid of being discovered, for who would believe that the frail daughter of a Viscount could be a murderous killer?
Yet she was worried that she might be confined, which would prevent her from resurrecting Adam.]
[Sara had to act fast, just as planned.]
Lu Li and the others did not know what the plan was, but it was clearly up to no good.
From here on out until the story’s end, they had to be on their highest guard.
After that, Sara did not initiate any interaction with them.
Lu Li and the others, just like every other day, entered the bedroom to clean.
[Sara leaned against the wall with her slender legs slightly curled under the blanket, flipping through a book.]
Some time later, Baron returned and, after a light cleaning, everyone except for Baron left the bedroom.
[Seeing Sara reading her book, Maid Irene did not disturb her but went to the balcony to water the potted plants instead.
What felt different to her was the absence of the melodious bird songs she usually heard every morning, which had yet to make an appearance that day.]
Lu Li and the others sat on the sofas in the hallway, while the new member Vinson held his pipe, standing by the window a little distance away from them.
The dull rumble of thunder caused the windows to tremble slightly.
After making his appearance, Vinson indeed exhibited the behavior expected of a Watchman and a survivor of The Shadow of Puppetry: sufficiently agile and exceedingly cautious, not committing the folly of being complacent due to old age.
Exorcists who were careless in character usually didn’t live very long.
Taking advantage of the lull in the plot development, Lu Li reached into his chest pocket and took out a newspaper folded to the size of his palm, and unfolded it.
It was Monday today, and the merchants had delivered the Deep Sea Stone to the warehouse on Elm Street, bringing with them a copy of “Investigator’s Weekly”.
Petra, who sat not far away chatting with Lola, caught a glimpse and then averted her eyes.
[Terrifying Faceless Giant Leaves Zainster Port]
Beneath the headline was an image showing the empty sea, along with a second image that was a group photo of Exorcists involved in the investigation and handling of the “Terrifying Faceless Giant” incident.]
A narrative of the entire event was written beside it.
[The Terrifying Faceless Giant disappeared just as suddenly as it had appeared, with all investigative and handling attempts being declared failures.
The dreadful atmosphere of the Inner World was so intense that Demon Slayers couldn’t even approach the beach.
We know very little about it, but thankfully, the Terrifying Faceless Giant hasn’t reappeared since last Sunday, seeming to have left this world.]
[But we cannot afford to become complacent.
It can be foreseen that for quite some time to come, similar events will continue to emerge in great numbers, and construction of doomsday shelters has already begun in various regions.]