The Bizarre Detective Agency

Chapter 358: Deception

["Where is your uncle?" the viscount asked, having returned to his study. Sarah stood with her arms folded.]

["He's gone," Sarah replied.]

["What? I was just at the door... Fine, it doesn't matter. It's probably those circus folk and their tricks again. What did he say to you?" the viscount asked, a hint of displeasure in his voice.]

["He said he would be back soon to visit me," Sarah answered.]

["I see. Go to your room. And you'll be punished by your etiquette teacher. Look at yourself, you don't resemble a noble lady at all..."]

[The viscount continued to scold Sarah, but she just pressed her lips together in silence.]

["Goodbye, Father," Sarah said, and left the study as soon as the viscount had finished.]

[When the door closed, the viscount was left alone. With no one to see him, he dropped the mask of the head of the family and looked like nothing more than an aging man.]

[Just then, the viscount raised his head and sniffed the air strangely.]

[A faint, almost imperceptible smell of blood hung in the air.]["Uncle Butler!" Sarah called, meeting the butler in the corridor. She greeted him politely, and they went their separate ways. The butler watched her go with a satisfied gaze, but the smile on Sarah's face quickly vanished, replaced by a cold expression.]

["Butler!" the viscount's voice called from the study. Hearing the summons, the old butler entered.]

["I've arranged the wedding date for Sarah and Francis with Count Fran. It will be in one week," the viscount informed the butler. "Many noble guests will be attending. Draw up an invitation list."]

["Isn't that a bit hasty?" the old butler asked with a hint of doubt.]

["Sarah needs to settle down as soon as possible. That boy has completely turned her head," the viscount snorted. "And one more thing, don't forget to send an invitation to Andrew."]

["Andrew?" The butler looked at the viscount with utter astonishment. "You mean your brother, Andrew? But he died when he was ten... He fell to his death..."]

[The viscount was silent for a long time, as if trying to remember something, and finally rubbed his forehead.]

["I don't know why I suddenly thought of him... Very well, carry on as before."]

["Very good, my lord," the butler replied and left the study.]

[Silence returned to the study. The viscount turned his attention to the estate's affairs.]

[But deep within him, a vague sense of unease lingered.]

[Sarah quickly turned the corner of the corridor, her graceful gait giving way to a hurried pace. She left the house and, circling along the wall, headed for the bushes beneath the study windows.]

[But Sarah found nothing. Not Andrew's body, not a trace of blood, not even an indentation in the ground. The neatly trimmed bushes swayed in the wind, and beneath the bright sun, Sarah felt only a chill.]

[Andrew had vanished, as if he had never been there.]

[Not believing her eyes, Sarah suddenly remembered something. She stood on her tiptoes and, peering into the bushes, noticed the handkerchief that had fallen with Andrew's body.]

[The handkerchief lay in the middle of the bushes. Sarah pushed through the thorny branches, tearing her expensive silk dress and scratching her arms and legs. Paying it no mind, she retrieved the handkerchief.]

[The snow-white handkerchief was clean, as if freshly laundered. It was as if the scarlet blood that had soaked it was nothing but a figment of her imagination.]

[How could this be...?]

[Sarah couldn't understand what was happening. She stood waist-deep in the bushes, stunned.]

[Suddenly, Sarah recalled the description of demons she had once read in an old book.]

[They take the form of the dead and roam the earth. Using wicked and cunning methods, they tempt people into sin, so that after death they will fall into hell and become the demons' servants.]

[Sarah began to remember more. For instance, that she did indeed have an uncle, but he had died before she was born, and he didn't own a doll...]

[To confirm her suspicions, Sarah scrambled out of the bushes and, gathering her dress, ran back into the house under the astonished gazes of the servants.]

[In her room, Sarah opened a wooden chest by the wardrobe where her childhood things were kept: toys, her favorite comb, a teddy bear... Rummaging through everything, Sarah reached the very bottom.]

[The doll wasn't there.]

[Her uncle was not human.]

[Fear seized Sarah.]

[But in the next moment, fear gave way to determination.]

[No one would stop Sarah from resurrecting Adam.]

[Not even a demon.]

...

Thump, thump, thump...

[Footsteps echoed through the cellar.]

An indistinct, ancient voice sounded in Lu Li's ears.

Lu Li raised his head, his dark eyes, hidden in shadow, looking up at the staircase.

The wooden door was shut tight.

The Baroness, who had been watching Lu Li constantly, noticed his movement and looked at him in surprise.

[The footsteps stopped at the cellar door and fell silent.]

Petra and the butler also noticed Lu Li's strange behavior and looked in his direction.

["Who's there? Who's outside?" Lu Li asked, though he knew who had come, he still hoped for rescue.]

— Is Sarah here? — Anna asked quietly.

Lu Li didn't answer. He looked at the Baroness and Petra, then shifted his gaze to the gray cellar walls.

[Time passed. Lu Li did not respond to the ancient voice's call, but the black mist of the evil spirit did not dissipate.]

["Strange, I thought I heard a voice... Who's here? Is anyone there?" an unfamiliar voice called from the shed above. It wasn't Sarah! Lu Li's heart filled with joy. "I'm here! Help me, let us out!" he shouted.]

Lu Li remained silent, listening to the gray, ancient voice that echoed in his ears.

The black mist did not disappear.

["I guess I was just hearing things," the person upstairs muttered, shook their head, and left the shed.]

[The sound of footsteps began to fade. At that moment, all Lu Li had to do was shout for the person upstairs to hear him and save him. Then he and his beloved Eileen could escape this dark, damp, and foul-smelling cellar, and be out in the sun, among friends, far from the threat of death.]

The footsteps grew fainter and fainter, until they disappeared completely.

Lu Li still hadn't answered.

[He had missed his only chance to escape... What a pity... He would die here, like a pathetic worm, in this dark, damp cellar.]

Some malicious and terrible creature detached itself from Lu Li and vanished.