A few days passed, and Aveline hadn’t encountered the Grand Duke again, nor had she been asked to serve him directly. Her work kept her confined to cleaning rooms on the first and second floors—however the east wing, where the Grand Duke’s chambers and study were located, remained under the care of a dedicated senior maid.

It occurred to her later why the Grand Duke had known she was new despite having spent years at the borders: Romanof had briefly discussed household matters with him upon his arrival and mentioned, in passing, Baron Elfon’s act of helping yet another soul.

In fact, most of the servants were commoners or people illegally sold by traders who had been rescued by Baron Elfon. That was why, aside from the master himself, the Baron was the second most respected person in the mansion.

One morning, while wiping the windows on the first floor near the mahogany staircase, she heard the soft, measured thud of footsteps descending. When she looked up, a tall, broad figure appeared in her line of sight—a man wrapped in black attire that hugged his obviously lean and muscular frame.

Grand Duke Casimir Draven Estonia descended the staircase. He was dressed entirely in black, as seemed to be his preference—a tailored suit that emphasized his tall, broad-shouldered frame and the lean muscle beneath. His dark hair was perfectly styled, his expression as cold and unreadable as carved marble.

Aveline knew she should look away.

Though she knew it was the Grand Duke and that being caught staring would be rude, she couldn’t tear her eyes away for some reason.

‘What’s this?’

She gripped the cloth in her hand tightly, her gaze fixed on him. Though only a few feet separated them, the Grand Duke seemed not to notice her presence.

Her heartbeat quickened as she tried to make sense of what she was seeing—something that seemed to be following, no, clinging to the Grand Duke.

‘Am I seeing this right?’

As his black boot finally reached the floor, Aveline’s back suddenly felt cold, and goosebumps rose across her body. She sucked in her breath as the Grand Duke slightly shifted his piercing blue eyes in her direction.

An oppressive feeling suddenly enveloped her, and instinct screamed at her to run away immediately.

However, that something—that black mass she couldn’t properly describe—kept her rooted to the spot. Suddenly, as if noticing her presence, eyes slowly opened within the darkness, revealing a deep, bloody red color. It felt as though her soul was being sucked from within.

“Your Grace—”

Baron Elfon’s voice rang out from above, shattering the moment like glass.

Footsteps hurried down the stairs as the Baron appeared, slightly out of breath.

“Your Grace, why didn’t you tell me you were going out?”

Casimir’s gaze shifted away from Aveline, and the crushing pressure lifted so suddenly she nearly gasped aloud. He looked up at the Baron.

“I was merely going outside for some fresh air.”

“Ah, yes, of course, but you didn’t sleep at all last night. Perhaps it would be better to—”

“Only for a short while,” Casimir interrupted. “I don’t feel tired.”

“But Your Grace—”

“Prepare Maxim. I’ll depart shortly.”

Baron Elfon sighed helplessly, recognizing that tone that brooked no argument. “Yes, Your Grace.”

As Casimir strode toward the main entrance, only then did he notice Aveline standing frozen by the window, partially hidden behind a column.

“Miss Aveline?”

“Y-yes?”

No longer under the gaze of those eyes, Aveline finally regained her breath and realized her body was trembling. When Baron Elfon had descended, she’d been blocked from his line of sight by the Grand Duke’s form and by the column, so he hadn’t noticed her at first.

Relief washed over her as the attention shifted away, but when she blinked and looked again, there was nothing on the Grand Duke’s back.

‘Was that my imagination?’

Until the Grand Duke strode away, she couldn’t find any trace of that black mass’s presence again.

“I apologize if I was eavesdropping inappropriately,” she managed.

“No, it’s nothing to concern yourself with. Were you assigned to clean this area?”

“Yes. Miss Alice suggested we split the work. She’s cleaning the second floor now.”

“I see. That makes sense—the mansion is quite large.” 

“The Grand Duke..”

“Ah! Right, almost forgot, I have to prepare his horse.”

At that Baron Elfon quickly bid a short farewell and went to the stables to fetch the horse.

Aveline let out a shaky breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. Her hands trembled as she pressed her sleeve against her forehead, wiping away the cold sweat that had gathered there. Her heart still raced, her body still trembled with the memory of those eyes—those impossible, terrible eyes.

She forced herself to return to the windows, to the familiar, mindless rhythm of cleaning. But her mind wouldn’t settle.

****

That evening, Aveline trudged back to the servants’ quarters with exhaustion weighing on every limb. The afternoon had been spent in the library with five other maids, dusting countless books and shelves until her arms ached and her nose itched from the particles in the air.

She pushed open the door to find only Rosie inside, lounging on her bed with a pastry in one hand and a novel in the other. Her dark gray eyes moved rapidly across the pages, completely absorbed.

“Finished?” Rosie asked without looking up.

“Yes, Mrs. Patterson assigned me to help with the library the entire afternoon.” Aveline began unbuttoning her sweat-dampened uniform. “Where’s Clara?”

“Helping with the gardens. She’ll be back for dinner.” Rosie turned a page, still reading. “I have to help Debby trim the front bushes tomorrow. So much work lately.”

Aveline rummaged through her small wardrobe for a clean towel, then paused. As she watched Rosie’s eyes track across the lines of text, the morning’s incident came flooding back.

‘At first, I thought it was smoke emanating from him.’

The black mass had risen from the Grand Duke’s shoulders and back, coiling upward like something alive. But unlike smoke, it had seemed solid somehow, substantial—as if it could be grasped.

‘Those red eyes…’

A shudder ran through her body. She wrapped her arms around herself, rubbing vigorously as if to chase away a chill.

‘If anything, they were eyes looking at some prey they wanted to devour.’

“Aveline? You alright?”

Rosie had finally looked up from her novel, noticing her action.

“I’m fine,” Aveline said quickly. “Just tired from all the dusting.”

“Mrs. Patterson does work us hard,” Rosie agreed sympathetically. “Get some rest before dinner. You look pale.”

Aveline nodded and turned away, grateful that Rosie couldn’t see her expression. As she pressed her face into the towel, she tried to convince herself that what she’d seen that morning had been her imagination, a trick of the light, exhaustion playing with her perception.