C107: Nice to meet you, Miss Erin Miller

Erin staggered through the forest, Arriet’s body cradled tightly in her arms.

Her boots crushed fallen twigs and dry leaves beneath each step, the brittle crunch echoing loudly in the silent woods. Branches brushed against her sleeves. Low thorns snagged the hem of her dress. The forest floor was uneven, forcing her to step carefully.

Her breathing came out in ragged bursts.

“Hah… hah…”

The deeper she went, the darker the forest became.

The canopy above had thickened into a dense web of branches and leaves that swallowed the last traces of light. Most of the forest had already fallen into an oppressive darkness.

‘Where is the village direction?’

She turned one way, then another, trying to orient herself.

Everywhere she turned, there was nothing but trees and bushes. Their trunks rose tall and crooked, bark blackened by shadow. Tangled vines wrapped around them like skeletal fingers. The undergrowth was thick, swallowing the path and replacing it with uncertain patches of soil and roots.

‘Oh no. I forgot the lantern.’ Erin grimaced.

In her defense, she had barely had time to think. The only thing consuming her mind had been the overwhelming instinct to run away from that accursed mansion.

‘It cannot be helped. There was a murderous doll inside!’

Her arms tightened instinctively around Arriet’s limp body.

The sun had already sunk completely beyond the horizon. Night fell quickly in the forest.

Darkness gathered beneath the canopy until the world became layers of shadow. The branches overhead interlocked like jagged ribs, blocking the sky. Occasionally, the wind stirred them, producing a dry whispering.

Everywhere she looked, there were only imposing trees. The thick, impenetrable canopy, the skeletal, reaching branches clawing at the night sky.

The forest at night… was profoundly eerie.

*Kuuu. Kuuu.*

Suddenly, a strange sound shattered the silence, blending with the crackling of dry branches and leaves.

“Ahk!” Erin jolted, a startled scream tore through her.

‘It is just an owl,’ she exhaled shakily, her breath puffing white in the chilled air.

This was exactly why she had never wanted to venture out into the forest alone. Even harmless sounds seemed threatening in the dark.

‘The forest is safe, the forest is safe.’ Erin prayed in her mind.

Without anyone beside her, it was terrifying. Especially when she was holding Arriet’s unresponsive form in her arms.

At first glance, to an uninformed observer, they might have looked like two sisters, with the elder holding the younger while she slept peacefully.

But Erin knew better. The girl in her arms was cold.

Her head rested limply against Erin’s shoulder. Her long black hair brushed against Erin’s wrist like strands of wet silk. Her pale cheek pressed against Erin’s collarbone without warmth.

It was as if she were carrying the corpse of a little girl.

*Crunch.*

“W–Who!”

The sudden sound of a dry branch breaking underfoot made her jolt violently, her mind sounding a shrill alarm.

Erin spun around. Her eyes strained against the darkness.

Between the tree trunks, was a dot of light.

A single light source flickered in the distance.

Erin squinted her eyes. The dot of light swayed slightly, casting a dim circle of yellow glow that pushed back the surrounding blackness just enough to reveal moving shapes of leaves and bark.

‘Another person?’

It looked like the warm, yellow glow of an oil lantern.

As the light drew nearer, cutting through the tangled branches and misty night air, the outline of a figure emerged in her straining vision.

The lantern’s yellow flame swayed gently with each step, scattering weak halos of light across tree trunks and low bushes. Then the silhouette behind it began to take form.

The figure sauntered from the shadows of a tree with a composed demeanor. He carried the lantern loosely in one hand, its light illuminating a friendly smile resting upon his face.

There was no sign of alarm or hostility in his gait. His stride was relaxed, as though walking through a garden rather than a dark forest.

Slowly, his features grew clearer. The man looked utterly ordinary, nothing about him immediately stood out.

He wore a well-tailored black suit, buttoned neatly from chest to waist, with intricate silver thread trimming along the cuffs and lapels that caught the lantern light. A wool tailcoat was draped over his suit, matched with a crisp white bowtie that sat perfectly tied beneath his collar.

He looked like any refined gentleman in this era, perhaps a scholar or a minor aristocrat.

‘He looks like a wealthy person,’ Erin thought cautiously as she studied him. ‘A nobleman, perhaps? What is someone like him doing out here?’

The man paused a respectful distance away. He unbuttoned his cuff, removed his top hat with a courteous gesture, revealing clean blond hair neatly parted down the middle.

He bowed lightly. The courtesy was so perfectly executed that it made Erin momentarily stunned. It was the sort of etiquette one only saw in the high society of the capital.

“Good day, Miss,” he said in a calm, pleasant voice. I am but a humble traveler who has just arrived in these parts. Do you happen to be Miss Erin Miller, Mister Arnold’s acquaintance?”

‘Huh?’

Erin tilted her head.

Was this someone Arnold knew?

“Y-yes,” she replied nervously. “Good day to you too, sir. Might I ask… you are—”

“The name is Gentle,” the man said with another polite nod. “Happy to make your acquaintance, Miss Miller.”

“Y-yes!”

Erin let out a small breath.

‘So it is indeed Master Arnold’s acquaintance.’

The terror that had been clawing at her throat began to recede. Staying with another person, especially a gentleman who seemed so calm and civilized soothed her nerves. It was infinitely better than staying alone in this dark forest.

The oppressive forest seemed less suffocating when someone else stood beside her.

Anything was better than being alone in the dark.

“Sir, do you know the way to Winterin?” Erin asked tentatively, her voice still shaky.

“Of course,” Gentle replied smoothly. “I know the path well. Please, follow me. This way.”

‘Yes!’

Relief flooded through her.

Finally, something was going right.

She nodded vigorously and began to follow the blond-haired gentleman as he turned to lead the way.

The lantern swung gently in his hand, its warm light pushing back the suffocating darkness around them.

As they walked side by side, Gentle spoke again, as though trying to keep the atmosphere from becoming too silent and eerie.

“Why are you here so late?” he asked casually. “And with your little sister in such a state? Is there anything wrong in the mansion, Miss Miller?”

The lantern light flickered across his calm face.

Erin shivered as the memory of the attic returned.

The doll.

“Sir, you might not believe me, but…”

“Mmm?” Gentle raised one eyebrow curiously.

“There is a doll monster in the mansion!” Erin shouted, her voice cracking with the remnants of her panic. She tightened her hold on Arriet, cradling the girl as if she were a shield. “It moved! It looked at me with those horrible glass eyes!”

“A doll?” Gentle stroked his chin, appearing thoughtful.

“You must believe me, sir!” Erin insisted quickly. “I-I heard the church in the village deals with strange things! I will report this mansion to them!”

Gentle’s lips curved into a reassuring smile.

“I believe you, Miss Erin. The world is full of strange and unsettling things, is it not?”

Erin’s eyes brightened. She felt a surge of pure delight at being heard, at not being dismissed as a hysterical girl.

“Y-yes, sir! You see, this doll is very eerie! It was just standing there, and there was also a scream! And, and, Arriet…”

Encouraged by the traveler’s calm acceptance, Erin began recounting everything she had experienced with her trembling but eager voice.

They continued to walk through the dark forest, Arriet’s cold body still cradled carefully in her arms.

After a long moment of listening to Erin’s frantic narrative, Gentle finally spoke again in a mild tone.

“You said you heard a beautiful scream? Is that correct?”

“Yes?” Erin hesitated. “I do not know why a scream could be described as beautiful, but I felt it…”

Her brow furrowing as she searched for the right words. It sounded strangely captivating, as if the voice tried to pull her closer.

Gentle murmured to himself. “A scream? That’s interesting.”

“Is it?” Erin tilted her head in confusion, trying to see his face in the flickering lantern light. ‘Why is it interesting?’ She did not understand what was interesting about it.

The blond gentleman glanced at her again, lantern light flickering across his calm expression.

“Did you see anything else, miss?” he asked gently.

“I…” Erin looked down at the girl in her arms, whose head was lolled against her shoulder. “I do not know, sir. But her, Miss Marion, is my…”

Erin paused, searching for the right word.

What was Arriet to her? She hadn’t had the luxury of time to ponder it until now.

Employer? It didn’t feel right.

Erin had unexpectedly, instinctively treated Arriet as her lady, even when Arriet and Arnold technically provided no wages, only shelter in the mansion.

“Sh-she wasn’t breathing when I reached her.” Erin whispered.

“…”

“...” Gentle cocked his head, a thoughtful expression on his face. He buttoned his cuff slowly as if thinking. “That is strange indeed.”

He removed his glove and extended his hand toward Arriet. Carefully, he placed a finger beneath the girl’s nose.

Erin asked nervously. “Do… Mister Gentle, do you know what the symptoms might be? I do not understand why she would be so still.”

“...”

Gentle’s face shifted into a complicated expression.

“Miss, are you sure you just met her?”

“Yes?” Erin tilted her head in confusion.

Gentle turned to Erin, his expression solemn.

“Miss Miller,” he said calmly, “this young lady is dead.”

“...Uh?”

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