novelraw Chapter 328: The Book of Sarah's Death
Chapter 328: The Book of Sarah's Death
The four exorcists expected the baroness to begin her account of the encounter with the evil spirit. Instead, it was the butler standing beside her who spoke. "Gentlemen, you have passed the baroness’s test. Your strength and knowledge are what we need. We trust you will be able to help the baroness."
"What do we need to do?"
"What is the problem?"
The two exorcists who had arrived later inquired.
They were not Investigators or members of the Night's Watch.
The butler's gaze swept over the faces of Lu Li and the others before he replied in a flat, emotionless voice:
"The Shadow Puppeteer. You must help the baroness break free from its ritual."
Everyone except Lu Li and Petra frowned.
During the trial, they had sensed the sinister aura clinging to the baroness, but they hadn't suspected it was an Evil Spirit.
"As I understand it, the only way to break the Shadow Puppeteer’s ritual is to see its story through to the end," Petra stated slowly."I agree," the other exorcist, the one in the tuxedo, affirmed.
The butler nodded; it was clear they were already aware of this.
"Which means you must voluntarily join the ritual."
This time, everyone except Lu Li grew serious.
Every Evil Spirit had to be treated with the utmost caution. If you didn't know the rules, they could play with you as a child plays with an ant.
In the quiet study, the only sounds were the crackling of the fire and the soft breathing of those present. The butler continued:
"I understand this entails a certain amount of risk, which is why the baroness is prepared to reward you generously. You may present me with your terms later. Should any of you wish to decline, we will not object, though we do expect your discretion."
The short exorcist glanced around. Seeing that no one was leaving, he turned to the butler. "In that case, please tell us what happened."
The Evil Spirit had appeared three days ago, just one day before the baroness sent for the exorcists. It materialized suddenly in her bedroom in the early morning, pulling her and four of her maids into its ritual.
An ancient whisper echoed in their minds, and one of the maids screamed in terror. In that same instant, the Shadow Puppeteer’s clawed hand emerged from the void. It touched the screaming girl, and she dissolved into a cloud of black smoke.
The horrific scene terrified the remaining maids. They screamed and tried to flee the room, but their panic only hastened their doom. Two more dissolved into smoke at the touch of its withered claws. Soon, only two were left alive: Baroness Joseph, who remained composed, and a maid who had collapsed on the floor in sheer terror.
The butler spoke of the baroness’s composure, but no one could know if she had truly been so calm in that moment.
The ancient whisper resumed, weaving a story that now featured the baroness and the surviving maid as characters.
The butler relayed what they had heard.
[The Book of Sarah's Death]
[By: The Shadow Puppeteer]
[Chapter One: The Long-Awaited Letter]
[Another morning. Miss Sara awakens in the morning sun. Her maids, Eileen and Deira, help her rise from bed.]
At that moment, a dark, feminine silhouette appeared on Baroness Joseph’s bed, raising itself into a sitting position.
Hearing her name spoken by the ancient voice, the maid—Deira—could not suppress a scream of terror.
The dark, clawed hand appeared and vanished once more, leaving only the baroness and the black, feminine silhouette in the room.
The ancient whisper adapted its narrative: [The maid Deira has run from the bedroom. 'She must have some urgent business,' Sara thought, and turned her gaze to the maid, Eileen.]
The baroness, it seemed, now understood what she was dealing with. She took the dress the maids had been about to put on her and clumsily draped it over the black silhouette.
Something strange occurred: the moment the dress touched the silhouette, it too turned pitch black.
The ancient voice continued: [Dressed in her favorite gown, Sara made her way to the kitchen. Today was Friday, and on Fridays, a letter always arrived from...]
The voice trailed off. Perhaps it was because the black silhouette had moved away from the baroness, or perhaps because the rest of the narrative did not involve 'the maid Eileen'.
The baroness seized the opportunity to flee the bedroom. She found the butler and the head maid, who had come running at the sound of the screams, and told them everything. It was the butler who found people to explain the situation.
Just then, the ancient voice sounded once more: [The maid Eileen remembered that the ink in the study had run out, and she hurried to the storeroom to fetch a new bottle.]
The baroness, now knowing what was expected of her, followed the Shadow Puppeteer’s direction and went to the study. There, she saw 'Sara' sitting at a desk, writing.
The baroness hurried to the desk and opened the inkwell. But having never done such a task herself, she fumbled with the bottle, spilling ink across the blackened sheets of paper on the desk.
The black, clawed hand began to descend. The baroness, mustering her courage, cried out to 'Sara': [Forgive me, it was an accident! Please, forgive me!]
The hand stopped. The ancient voice slowly intoned: [The maid Eileen was so curious about the letter’s contents that, while peeking over Sara’s shoulder, she accidentally knocked over the inkwell, staining the letter and the few lines of reply Sara had already managed to write.]
[Please, forgive me! Eileen was on the verge of tears. But Sara, of course, wasn't angry. They were childhood friends, after all. She patted Eileen on the head and said softly that it was alright.]
'Sara' reached a hand out toward the baroness.
Fighting back her revulsion, the baroness allowed the black hand to touch her hair.
The black hand vanished.
[Grateful for the forgiveness, Eileen quickly cleaned up the desk so Sara could continue writing her letter.]
The baroness did as instructed. Upon hearing the ancient voice declare, "Eileen quietly left the study," she exited the room.
Thanks to the baroness’s quick thinking, it seemed there was a chance she might survive until the end of the ritual. Still, just in case, she had agreed to hire exorcists.
Finally, at six o'clock that evening, the first chapter of the Shadow Puppeteer's story concluded. As the ancient voice narrated, [With hope in her heart, Sara falls asleep. (End of Chapter One)], the baroness was temporarily released from the tale.
Temporarily.
The second and third chapters followed, which the baroness endured yesterday and today. As soon as the third chapter ended, she immediately began the trial for the exorcists.
"Why didn't the baroness hire the exorcist who gave you this information?" the short exorcist asked after the butler finished his account.
"He deals only in information," the butler replied.
That description reminded Lu Li of the Traders.