Swan Grave - Chapter 9

Barrett hurriedly tried to explain himself, but realized too late that his words had only stoked the fire. Rothbart let out a low laugh. The sound of his laughter filling the dark room was strange and terrifying.

After laughing for some time, Rothbart’s face spread into the brightest smile, as though nothing could make him happier.

“They call me a demon, but surely God must be on my side.”

How could everything go so perfectly according to his wishes? Rothbart’s lips stretched wide.

Barrett couldn’t tell what part of this pleased him so. Chilled, he bowed his head. A mere servant could never dare guess at his master’s thoughts.

Rothbart lifted his gaze to the portrait of his wife, half hidden behind the curtain. Even in the darkness, his eyes clearly distinguished shapes.

A lavishly dressed woman staring blankly beyond the canvas, her face unsmiling. His wife had always disliked having portraits made. Looking back, perhaps it was because she had not wished to leave behind traces of herself in this world. A sneer tugged at Rothbart’s lips.

But just wait. I will drag you back into my arms and never let you go again.

‘Someone who loves you more? Do you really think such a person exists?’

Once he had her completely, until her narrow depths overflowed with his seed, he would spill into her again and again. Until her flesh was broken in to his cock, so she wouldn’t even dare to leave him. So she wouldn’t think of another man.

He should have done so from the very beginning.

Rothbart’s eyes blazed like hellfire with his vow, his ruthless determination boiling up from his throat.

With the smile of a beast, Rothbart said, “Bring me Madame Dova. There is something I need her to do.”

***

Anna spent the day in constant dread. Her mouth was parched from keeping her nerves taut, afraid Rothbart might send for her at any moment.

Fortunately, the Marquess seemed to have completely forgotten her. Two days passed as she kept her head down and hid, and no one came looking for her.

Perhaps he meant to bury the whole incident. To the world, he was known as a man devoted to his dead wife. To be found drugged and having lain with a mere maid would have been a stain on that reputation, nothing more and nothing less. Anna desperately hoped her reasoning was correct.

They said the Marquess didn’t stay long in the mansion. If she could avoid his eye for just three months, she could endure. After he left, she could return to searching through the Marchioness’s diary.

The key she had stolen from Svanhild still remained in her possession. She had wondered when to return it, but at this point she decided to keep it. After all, Svanhild wouldn’t be searching for it anytime soon. While his father remained in the mansion, the Marchioness’s room would be under stricter guard.

Having made her decision, she felt a little relieved. But that did not mean all her problems were solved. The heat of the man who had imprisoned her body would suddenly resurface in her mind to torment her, and there were still the physical traces she had not dealt with.

With a troubled face, Anna quietly pulled out the soiled undergarments from that day. In the light, her torn undergarments and petticoat were stained and mottled with dark blood and semen.

“This is… hard to deal with.”

Anna sighed under her breath. She felt certain that even if she washed them, the stains would remain. She might be able to claim it had been her period, but the torn fabric would still need mending.

Nor was it easy to get new, clean undergarments. Anna let out a sigh. With no money, her only option was to mend them whenever she had time. At first, her hand-sewing had been clumsy, but now she had grown fairly used to it, so consoling herself with the thought she could finish quickly was the best she could do.

Only after frantically tending to her immediate tasks did Anna realize something else: Rothbart had not used any form of contraception. The rumor that demons could only sire children with swans stoked her unease. Anna checked her cycle over and over before finally calming herself. Luckily, it wasn’t her fertile time. Perhaps the tale was false, but it was better to be cautious.

She sighed as she looked over her torn undergarments. First, she needed to get some thread. Anna rose from her seat.

If she asked the head maid, she could always get as much white cotton thread as she needed. Susan had bragged about it a little, saying that for maids of other houses, even that small convenience was not a given.

As Anna was walking down the corridor to find the head maid, she ran into governess Rose Schwartz. They say enemies meet on a narrow bridge, and of all moments, it had to be now. Anna quickly lowered her head and tried to slip past, but Rose caught hold of her.

“You’ve been very busy lately, haven’t you?”

Among all the people Anna had met since falling into this world, Rose was the most beautiful, but her twisted smile and malice-filled expression always spoiled her looks.

The maids mocked her, saying the Marquess did not even acknowledge Rose, but compared to a lowly maid, Rose was still far closer to the Marquess. Anna didn’t wish to provoke her and quickly added, trying hard to hide her discomfort.

“You’re mistaken.”

“Then you’re not busy? You must have so much free time, wandering around all hours like a maid playing at idleness.”

Rose’s fingertip pressed against Anna’s temple with a rough poke. The insult made Anna’s anger surge, but she suppressed it.

“The Marquess came, and yet you didn’t even show your face. I had something to ask of you and tried to call for you, but you were nowhere to be found. Where were you?”

The way Rose’s eyes gleamed, like a hawk hunting its prey, made Anna shrink.

She always looked for ways to nitpick Anna’s actions.

Sometimes she was lucky and the head maid would save her, but not this time. At that moment, only Anna and Rose were in the corridor, with not a single maid nearby to fetch help.

“I was sick that day…”

“Really? You weren’t in the quarters.”

“I had a stomachache.”

“Stomachache? Funny how girls who use that excuse always end up clinging to men in dark corners.”

At her jeering words, Anna’s fingertips prickled and cold sweat ran down her back. Rose looked as though she knew everything Anna had done.

Anna forced a smile. “…That’s not true.”

“Then why were you creeping around like a rat at dawn?”

“That was…”

Anna’s mouth went dry. She had thought no one had seen her and felt relieved, only to realize Rose had caught her.

Had she seen her leaving the forbidden room as well? No. If she had, she would have asked outright. She must just be fishing.

If Rose accused her of immoral behavior, Anna would have no way to defend herself. Even the head maid could not cover up something like that. And if it came out that her partner had been the Marquess, gossip would spread, and he might decide to eliminate her to protect his reputation.

Anna’s mind tangled in confusion. How should she answer? If she lied poorly, she might trap herself. Fear of tightening a noose around her own neck kept her from speaking.

She wanted to get away quickly, but Rose looked ready to hold her until she got a clear answer.

Then a clear, refreshing voice broke in.

“Teacher.”

Anna thought no one was there, but a shadow stretched across the corridor and Svanhild appeared. He had been there long enough to see them, his gaze calm as he looked at them.

Rose, startled as well, hurriedly fixed her mocking expression.

“Young master.”

“Father is calling you.”

“…The Marquess?”

“Yes. It sounded urgent.”

Rose shot Anna one last glare, then let out a derisive laugh as if mocking Anna’s relief, and turned toward Rothbart’s room. Anna let out a long breath. She had heard Rose had been looking for her that day, but she hadn’t expected her to remain so persistent even after several days.