Time of the Blind Beast - Chapter 90

Ezekiel had not brought back the real Rose.

He had set a trap to identify the spies who had snuck into Astrie upon hearing the intel. It was clear that Paulina was aware of his plan and had participated in it. Her mind, which had been clouded like a fog, slowly began to creak and move.

Madam Serva secretly grasped and released Anna’s hand tightly.

Anna was practically on the verge of fainting. Being kidnapped was already absurd, but the woman Ezekiel had brought back, claiming she was Rose, was the doctor Paulina. The series of shocks left her mentally dazed.

For the first time, she felt grateful for the gag in her mouth. Had it not been there, she would have screamed at the top of her lungs multiple times from shock, which would have only made things worse.

Anna shut her eyes tight to hide her trembling pupils.

“Now, are you ready to answer?”

Prompted by Levian, a spy shook Madam Serva. Her head banged against the window repeatedly.

“Stop it, it hurts, so stop.”

“Then it would be nice if you answered quickly. Don’t bring punishment upon yourself. At your age, it’s not easy to recover from injuries.”

“I will, I’ll talk!”

Now’s the time.

Now is the time to deceive them.

Madam Serva parted her dry lips.

“…Yes, that’s her.”

The first to react to her answer was Akenaus. He raised his eyebrows sharply and objected.

“That’s her? With a face like that?”

“My master isn’t someone who judges people by their looks.”

“Old woman, that’s something you say when you don’t understand men.”

“Even if I don’t know other men, I know the kind of person my master is, the one I raised with my own hands.”

Madam Serva glared at Akenaus.

“Whether her face is pretty or not, it wouldn’t have mattered at all to my master. He is fundamentally different from someone like you.”

“Someone like me? So now I’m not even a master anymore, is that it?”

“Hold on. My lord, let’s save the heartwarming reunion for later and focus on our business for now. The urgent matter at hand is whether that woman is really the one we’re looking for.”

Answering too smoothly would only raise suspicion. Madam Serva shut her mouth again.

Levian signaled to the spies. They aimed their loaded rifles right at Anna’s temple. Anna began to sob in fear.

“…I said it’s her!”

“Are you sure? If you’re trying to fool us, now’s the time to stop.”

Levian added leisurely, “You might have lived long enough, but the maid with you is still young and has her whole life ahead of her. Isn’t it a shame to waste that?”

Fear surged in Anna’s eyes.

Madam Serva clenched her teeth and boldly lied with a firm voice, “How many times do I have to say it? Yes! It’s her, and that’s why she left! Because she had a scar she didn’t want to show, because it was a burden to her. We couldn’t bear to reveal a flaw of someone who had done so much for our master, so we kept it quiet.”

Paulina, I’m sorry.

Madam Serva apologized in her heart.

It felt wrong to pin such a flaw on a brilliant doctor, and the guilt gnawed at her.

“Well, it’s not completely unreasonable. That would explain why Major Valdemaira searched so desperately for her and why she kept her face hidden until the end. If she lacked confidence in her looks, I can kind of get that. She must’ve felt really outmatched. Major Valdemaira is so handsome it makes you want to put a scratch on his face.”

“Is she really the one?”

Akenaus still sounded doubtful.

“Hey, yeah, you.”

He pointed at Anna.

“You lived in that estate, didn’t you? You should know. Speak up. Oh, right, your mouth is gagged. But you can still nod or shake your head, right? Is that woman really her?”

Anna looked at Madam Serva with a frozen face.

Madam Serva shouted, “I’ve answered everything! Leave Anna alone!”

Despite her protest, the spy did not lower the gun aimed at Anna. The cold muzzle touched her temple.

Anna thought of Rose. One day, she had woken up to Madam Serva introducing a new maid who had arrived the night before. The girl, dressed impeccably in a maid uniform, greeted her somewhat awkwardly, likely due to shyness. Because new hires came and went so often due to accidents, they usually kept a polite distance until they settled in, but Anna had approached her first since she seemed around her younger sister’s age.

And then…

After the girl who had suddenly appeared also suddenly disappeared, everything began to spiral out of control. Rose probably had no idea that Madam Serva and Anna were in such an absurdly dangerous situation.

Rose, where are you? Do you have any idea what we’re going through?

She tried to hold it in, but the fear brought tears again. Anna bit down hard on the wet gag.

The spy from Davis, with a mocking tone, tempted her by calling her a woman with a promising future, as if he might spare her—but it was all mockery. There was no way they’d let go of women so closely tied to Ezekiel.

Watching how the inn’s people had been dealt with made Anna realize just how little soldiers accustomed to war valued human life.

She wasn’t well-educated, but she wasn’t naive enough to think she could survive this.

Anna exchanged a quiet glance with Madam Serva. If Madam Serva was lying to deceive them, she must have some confidence. After all, she knew Ezekiel better than anyone.

Anna slowly nodded.

The spy posing as the innkeeper gladly agreed to Montcalm’s request to rent out the entire inn for the day, given the large party.

“Please give me the room with the best view. I’m exhausted from the long carriage ride and want to sleep early.”

“If it’s a room with a view, the top floor is the best. It’s the most spacious too—usually reserved for important guests.”

The spy naturally handed over the room key.

That room had been deliberately selected when Davis’s spies took control of the inn and did a sweep. Located on the top floor, it was farthest from the exit and the other rooms due to its size. It was the most ideal room to carry out Levian’s instructions: capture the woman alive even if all others must be eliminated. The spy’s mission was to come up with any excuse to ensure the woman received that room key, and he had stayed at the counter for that purpose.

Mission accomplished. The woman, unaware of anything, accepted the key without suspicion.

“Then please head up after dinner. The Major instructed us not to neglect your meal. How long will it take to prepare dinner?”

“Dinner? Already…? Well, I suppose it will be ready in about two hours.”

“Two hours should give the lady time to nap before coming back down. I’ll wake you myself.”

Montcalm attentively escorted the woman to her room.

The spy, after watching the Valdemaira men dispersing with their room keys, quickly rushed down to the basement.

For two hours, the spies scrambled to prepare meals for all the guests who had rented out the entire inn.

Montcalm, true to his soldier’s discipline, brought the woman at the exact designated time. She entered the dining room under his escort, still wearing a long veil.

spies stationed across the spacious dining room glanced at the woman’s companions—the Major’s woman, the soldiers guarding her, and the Valdemaira retainers—filling the place to capacity.

“How about some fine wine with your meal? To celebrate the last day of the year, we’ve prepared a complimentary toast for our guests.”

The spy, serving dishes laced with laudanum, smiled as he offered wine. Levian had found barrels of wine stored in the inn’s basement. Although the food already contained trace amounts of laudanum for subtlety, the wine allowed them to administer larger doses.

The woman nodded. The soldiers, who were hesitant about alcohol, couldn’t stop her once she agreed to drink.

She ate very quietly. She would slightly lift the veil to taste small bites and sip from the wine brought by the spy.

To avoid suspicion, the spies only glanced discreetly while pretending to work diligently, refilling plates and maintaining service.

“This place charges high for rooms, but the food is awful.”

“Right? Tastes terrible.”

Despite the effort, complaints started pouring in from the guests.

How could career soldiers who had only wielded killing weapons, not kitchen knives, prepare gourmet meals? Adding the bitter laudanum made the dishes only barely tolerable.

“We paid this much for this kind of food? Bring something else.”

“…Yes, my apologies.”

While carrying plate after plate back to the kitchen, the serving spies ground their teeth.

Just hold on a little longer.

Let them run their mouths. This is the end of their comfort. Thinking of the comrades hidden in basements, offices, and attics, ready to ambush, the spies barely kept the chaotic dinner under control.

Weary from travel, the guests began retiring to their rooms early. The spies waited until the laudanum fully took effect, then divided the spare keys among themselves.

The man assigned to restrain the woman was the spy acting as innkeeper. Once he secured her, he would signal the others to wipe out everyone else.

He unlocked the door with a spare key. As expected, the woman—who had complained of fatigue—was already in deep sleep. With the shutters tightly closed, the room was pitch dark.

Silently, he approached the bed. The woman was buried under the covers, not stirring.

This will be easy.

He let out a breath of relief.

First, he had to remove the blanket and detain her.

He quietly brought the muzzle of his gun to the edge of the blanket. His training allowed him to move silently.

But just then—the blanket suddenly sprang up, twisting around the muzzle. Startled, he instinctively pulled the trigger, but it was too late. The bullet struck the ceiling.

“Urgh!”

The woman threw off the blanket, blinding him, and lunged, choking his neck. Her tightly coiled muscles clamped down hard, and a groan escaped his throat.

Wait… this strength—this isn’t normal!

He couldn’t believe it.

He stretched his eyes wide, trying to see the face of the woman choking him, but her grip left him no room to move.

“You people really don’t try.”

A low voice brushed his ear.

“Trying to drug someone who’s tasted opium in every concentration with more laudanum?”

A chill shot through him. His scalp prickled.

He knew this voice.

That calm, imposing baritone that never raised itself even in dire combat situations. That made it all the more terrifying.

The person pretending to sleep under the blanket in the woman’s room—the one no one knew had infiltrated the inn—was none other than Major Ezekiel Valdemaira.