CH 98

I immediately sat down on the floor and put my ears against it.

Knock, knock.

Then, a moment of silence.

Knock, knock, knock.

Another brief silence again

Knock.

‘….’

I swallowed dry saliva.

A small glimmer of hope began to bloom.

‘It’s not like a machine.’

If it were the sound of something being started by a machine or the sound of water drops falling, it would have been heard at regular intervals. I clenched my fist as I thought so before pounding on the floor.

Shortly thereafter.

Knock, knock, knock…

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As if in response, a knocking sound came from the other side.

‘It’s a person…!’

As I shut my mouth, I felt like I was about to burst into tears.

…Me and Gabriel weren’t the only ones in this underworld.

Someone was obviously trapped down here as well. It meant that If I could save that person, I would have another comrade to stand against Gabriel.

‘I’ll have to find them somehow.’

Of course, there was also a possibility that that person would be of no help at all. Still, I would never know until I looked for them. Even though I pressed my ears to the floor, trying to hear more of the other side, unfortunately, all I could hear was intermittent knocking.

‘They won’t even hear what I’m saying…’

It’d be nice if we could communicate with each other by knocking. However, neither I nor the other person knew anything like Morse code, so I couldn’t help it…

‘…It seems like I have no choice but to look for them.’

Just then, there was a knock on the door.

“Eve, aren’t you hungry? Let’s go eat.”

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Of course, it was Gabriel.

I pretended to be calm and opened the door.

“That’s a relief. It just happened that I was hungry.”

“You can look forward to it.”

In order to carry out the plan, I needed to reserve my stamina.

Of course, I had tried not eating while being dragged here, although I stopped right away at Gabriel’s words.

“Eve, do you really want to die? That’s good because I can just transfer Eve’s soul to another body.”

I’ll never forget the ghastly glare on Gabriel’s face at that time.

“I want you to know that the reason I didn’t change Eve’s body was purely out of respect for your opinion. However, if Eve dies… I wouldn’t have to respect it, isn’t that so?”

At that moment, I realized that Gabriel Vecchio was more insane than anyone I’d ever seen… even more so than Cassius Brudenell.

‘It’s no use just running away. He’ll find me somehow.’

There was only one way to do it.

…It was to kill Gabriel.

‘I mean, I really have to kill him with my hands…’

It felt bittersweet.

I had already asked Cassius to kill Gabriel for me, but I had to kill him again. Fortunately, it wasn’t like there was no way at all.

“Don’t you have to do some kind of ritual to transfer your soul when you die? It doesn’t look like you have the tools for that.”

“Don’t even think about it, Eve.”

Gabriel probably grimaced.

“Because there’s a way.”

Later that evening, Gabriel pulled something out of his backpack and fiddled with it for a moment before putting it away. I glanced at it because I couldn’t see it openly, but at first glance, it seemed like a gem.

It probably played an essential role in the transfer of souls. So, in order to get rid of Gabriel, I would have to get rid of the gem first.

I was barely pulled out of my reverie by Gabriel’s bright voice.

“Enjoy, Eve. I hope it fits your taste.”

“….”

I stared at the table at his words.

‘This is all…’

Weren’t these my favorite things? I was creeped out by how he knew my taste like this when I had never told or shown him anything.

“Now that I’m back home, I’ll listen to you as much as you want.”

However, the problem was…

“I can’t eat.”

As soon as I took a spoonful, I pushed the plate toward Gabriel.

“Why is it so cold?”

“Of course, the food cools down quickly because it’s underground. Eve is more fussy about food than I thought.”

“That’s not the problem.”

I shook my head.

The food was so cold that it made me wonder if it might have been slightly frozen and then thawed. The soup, in particular, had a palpable coldness.

“It’s too cold. Where’s the kitchen? I’ll heat it up myself.”

“There’s no kitchen.”

“ “You don’t have one?”

I frowned.

He obviously needed a space to create this sumptuous meal, so what was he talking about?

‘Ah…’

I realized at that moment.

‘…There’s another entrance.’

The long, intricate passage Gabriel brought me to was just a trick of the eye. Surely there must be a quick and convenient entrance through which you could easily go in and out to the outside world.

Of course, Gabriel had no intention of telling me.

“Eve.”

His voice became strangely cold.

“If you don’t want to eat it, don’t eat it. As I said before, even if Eve starved to death, I could always replace your body any time.”

“….”

I gritted my teeth and stared at Gabriel.

‘I can’t do that.’

The act of taking over the body of someone other than Evelyn Garneid was terrifying enough, but there was one more thing that made it even more terrifying.

‘No one will recognize me. Not Ophelia, not my parents, not Cassius, because they all love Evelyn Garneid…’

In the end, I picked up my spoon and scooped up the cold pumpkin soup. A chill ran down my throat, but I had to eat.

‘I need to raise my chin up.’

There was a way out. This meant that even if I couldn’t kill Gabriel, I could at least escape. And if only I could somehow go home…

‘…Ah, I want to go home.’

Suddenly, tears welled up in my eyes.

I really wanted to go home.

I wasn’t talking about the house I woke up in every day before I became Evelyn Garneid. I wanted to go back home, where the Arfie would greet me with its tail wagging like a propeller.

Although we rarely agreed, I still wanted to run home to my mother and father, who always cared for me. Even though she now had a home of her own, I still wanted to spend time at home with Ophelia, who would come running whenever she was invited.

And, above all…

‘Cassius.’

I wanted to see Cassius.

“Eve, what are you thinking?”

“…I want to go home.”

I didn’t bother hiding my feelings. There was nothing like honesty to catch your opponent off guard.

“Isn’t this Eve’s house?”

Gabriel tilted his head.

“So, where do you want to go?”

“…You know.”

“Oh, there.”

At my words, he clapped his hands.

“What does Eve miss most about home? Your puppy? Or your sister? Or neither of those…”

…Dangerous.

I realized it intuitively… Gabriel was having a dangerous thought right now.

“Cassius Brudenell?”

“…Not any of them.”

I had no choice but to lie this time.

“Is that so?”

Saying that, Gabriel made an expression of genuine regret.

“I was going to bring everyone if Eve wanted to, but that’s too bad.”

“You said you wanted to live here alone with me.”

“That’s how it should be.”

He nodded before continuing his words.

“But I also don’t want to see Eve depressed either.”

“…I don’t want to see them, so don’t bring them.”

“All right.”

Gabriel smirked.

“If you want to be alone with me that badly… I have no choice but to respect Eve’s opinion.”

I forced myself to finish the food that had been prepared for me, then stood up. While it was a torturous time, I could feel my energy replenishing as I ate.

“Then, I’ll see you tomorrow morning.”

“How do you know if it’s morning or not?”

“The clock will ring.”

He narrowed his eyes at my words.

“Don’t oversleep, okay?”

I knew from experience that what sounded like a lighthearted comment was actually a threat.

“Don’t worry.”

I answered slowly.

“I’ll wake up when you tell me to.”

˚ ･: * ✧ * :･ ˚

Of course, I had no intention of oversleeping. I was planning to start searching that night for the entrance to this underworld.

What do you mean, oversleeping…

If I stayed up all night, wouldn’t I be sleeping late or early? But just as I was about to leave my room, I was stopped in my tracks by urgent knockings.

Knock, knock. Knock, knock, knock. Knock, knock, knock, knock. Knock, knock.

My eyes widened.

This time, it followed a certain pattern.

‘Maybe they are trying to communicate something to me…’

I swallowed dry saliva and tried to count the knocking sound in my head.

Twice.

Three times.

Four times.

Three times.

And again, twice, three times, four times, three times…

‘No way…!’

My eyes widened at the sudden realization. If I had to guess, this signal was probably…