C108: Nothing there

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

“...Uh?”

Erin’s eyes widened instantly. Her entire body trembled.

“M-dead? There is no way, I just spoke with her this very afternoon…” Erin stammered. She hugged Arriet tighter, pressing her cheek against the girl’s cold forehead as if trying to hold the life inside her.

“No, no… there is no way…”

She looked down at the girl's sleeping face. Arriet's expression remained completely still. A portion of a long scar was visible on her neck, extending down to her collar.

The girl who just frightened her this very afternoon was dead? How did it make sense?

Erin remembered the little girl’s cold gaze looking down on Erin from the top of the staircase, her green eyes shimmering in the afternoon glow. Her blackened hair spilled down to her legs, in contrast to the white dress she wore.

Arriet had warned Erin not to approach the attic, or else something terrible would happen to Erin.

It didn’t make any sense.

“Or perhaps I am mistaken,” Gentle added suddenly, his tone lightening.

“…Yes?”

“My sincerest apologies, Miss Miller. I am no physician. I possess but a limited knowledge of the medical arts.” He gave a polite, apologetic bow. “Forgive me for spreading such distressing, and likely false conclusions.”

“...”

Erin studied Arriet’s face once more. She sighed, a wave of relief washing over her, weakening her knees.

“Mister Gentle, please, do not jest in such a manner…” she whispered.

It had to be a joke, an attempt to reduce her tension.

Erin forced herself to believe that. There was no possible way Arriet could have dropped dead so suddenly like that.

“And what do you intend to do from this point forward?” after a while, Gentle asked, his voice returning to its smooth, conversational tone.

“I think… I will find Mister Otto and inquire after Miss Marion’s condition.” She lowered her eyes. “I pray nothing truly bad has befallen her.”

“…”

Gentle unbuttoned his cuff again. For a brief moment, something stiff appeared in his smile.

But it disappeared just as quickly. His features soon smoothed back into his usual, pleasant expression.

“Yes. I also share your hope that nothing has happened to her.”

“?” Erin tilted her head. Maybe it was just her imagination.

The forest at night was silent, save for the crunch of their footsteps on the leaf litter and the occasional whisper of wind moved through the trees.

Erin followed Gentle’s footsteps along the barely visible forest path, speaking absentmindedly while holding the black-haired girl.

“And I also hope to meet my parents again. I wonder how my siblings are faring without me.”

She glanced down at the ground as she walked.

“Do you know, Mister Gentle? My parents are very strict—”

After a while, the words began to pour from her, and she told him more about herself.

Erin wasn’t entirely sure why. But walking beside Mister Gentle made her feel oddly comfortable. As if she were speaking to someone she had known for years rather than a stranger she had just met.

The fear from earlier slowly loosened its grip on her heart.

“So that is why I was at the mansion. Mister Arnold is far too much! My parents—” Erin hesitated mid-sentence.

‘---would never sell me.’ She couldn’t finish the sentence. The words caught in her throat. Erin did not believe it, but somewhere in her mind said otherwise.

“Why is it that you find Mister Arnold so difficult?” Gentle asked curiously.

“That’s because—”

Erin suddenly froze.

Her eyes, adjusted to the gloom, caught something in the distant darkness.

Far between the trees, something moved. A flash of something white, like a row of teeth glinting in the dark.

“M-Mister?” Erin tugged at Gentle’s sleeve and pointed with a trembling finger into the deep woods. “I–I believe I saw something over there?”

“Yes?” Gentle looked toward the direction she indicated and cocked his head, squinting into the blackness. “I do not see anything at all, Miss Erin. Perhaps it was but a trick of the lantern light?”

“M-mister, MISTER! SOMETHING IS THERE! OH MONA, WHAT IN THE—!”

Erin collapsed on her backside. Her legs gave out without warning. She hit the forest floor hard, dry leaves and dirt scattering beneath her hands as she struggled to push herself upright again. But her muscles refused to obey. All strength had drained from her limbs.

Her arms instinctively tightened around Arriet. She clutched the girl’s head protectively against her side.

“EKKKKKKKHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”

A warm, wet sensation spread rapidly between her legs, soaking into her skirts, but she couldn't care less about the indignity. Her mind was consumed by the sight ahead.

In front of her eyes, something stood within the light's reach.

Framed between the silhouettes of the tree.

A stag, standing on two legs.

Its body was tall and skeletal, long deer legs bent beneath it as it stood upright. Its fur was matted with rot and pine needles. Its ribs pushed visibly beneath stretched skin. Antlers twisted upward like jagged branches.

Where a beast’s head should have been, there was an old, bloated human face. The features were horribly contorted, the skin of the face was stretched tightly across the skull. Its eyes sunken, lips peeled back into a wide, unnatural smile that exposed its teeth.

The smile twisted, its gray pupil gazed directly at Erin.

“A-AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!”

“Miss Miller,” Gentle’s voice cut gently through the panic. “I might be blind, but I truly see nothing.”

“W–what do you mean! Do you not see it? It is right—!” Erin looked up at Gentle, her face a mask of primal horror, her finger shaking violently as she pointed at the monstrous thing—

“U…eh?”

“Miss, there is nothing there.” Gentle said calmly.

Erin blinked, her vision blurring for a heartbeat as she looked back at the spot she had been pointing to. Her face contorted in bewilderment.

Because, exactly as Gentle had claimed, she saw nothing.

The forest remained dark. Gentle swung his lantern toward the direction Erin had been pointing, the yellow glow chasing away the long shadows.

There was nothing there besides the gnarled trunks of trees and the dense, thorny bushes of the undergrowth.

The stag-man, the human face, the mocking smile, it had all vanished. There was really nothing.

Gentle crouched beside her and carefully lifted Arriet’s body from Erin’s arms before helping Erin struggle back to her feet.

‘E-eh?’ Still dazed, Erin looked at her surroundings, her heart hammering against her ribs.

There was no monster figure anywhere. The oppressive dread that had squeezed her lungs just seconds ago was beginning to dissipate.

‘Monster figure?’

What monster? Erin furrowed her brows. She had no recollection of seeing such a thing. Had she simply tripped?

“See? Miss Miller. There was nothing around here but the wind and the trees.” He waved his lantern in a wide arc, its glow chasing shadows away from the surrounding.

Everything looked normal. It was just an ordinary forest.

“Ah.” Erin slowly regained her senses.

She reached out and took his offered hand as he helped her fully to her feet. Only then did she suddenly become aware of the dampness beneath her dress.

Her face flushed bright red.

“S-sir, I-I… uh…”

“Do not worry, Miss Miller. You did not do anything embarrassing.” Gentle said gently.

“Uh?” Erin blinked and looked directly into Gentle’s eyes. They were clear, calm, and utterly convincing. She widened her eyes, but found only polite kindness.

‘Right…?’ She tilted her head. ‘I didn’t do anything embarrassing.’

Wet? What was she thinking? She smoothed her skirts; they felt as dry as they always did.

Gentle then pointed his gloved finger toward a break in the trees.

“We have arrived, Miss.”

“Eh?”

Erin straightened herself, wiping the last traces of tears from her cheeks, and looked in the direction he indicated.

Through the thinning trees, the silhouette of the village appeared.

Low rooftops clustered together beneath the night sky. Small warm lights glowed from windows, and trails of smoke curled upward from chimneys into the dark.

‘We have arrived already? Since when?’

But it made sense, she told herself. The forest had been so dark she could barely see beyond the lantern’s light. She must have lost all track of time and distance.

Gentle held Arriet with a protective ease. As Erin found her footing, he handed the girl back to her with polite care, ensuring Erin had a firm hold on the unconscious child.

“Please, Miss, have a good journey from here. The path is clear.” He bowed his head again.

“Ah..? Yes!” Erin bowed deeply. “Thank you, sir! Thank you for everything!”

Holding Arriet securely again, Erin hurried toward the distant village lights. Her dress felt weirdly heavy, but she ignored the discomfort.

Her steps grew faster as the familiar smells of peat fires and livestock reached her nose.

Gentle raised his hand and waved. He stood quietly, lantern still glowing at his side, until Erin’s small figure gradually disappeared along the path toward Winterin village.

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