Ch 7: The Cursed Countess - Part 1

After giving the warning, the escort leader did not say anything else. His eyes had a layer of fog covering any emotion that could be seen in those eyes.

Humans were complex creatures, capable of living in the present and think of the future. And yet, they were also the only species that could let their past bind them and halt any progress they could have in life.

The man sitting in front of Fenrir looked especially fragile in heart, and Fenrir felt an itch to use this man for his own purposes until he found another, more powerful human to carry out his will.

All too soon, they reached the central plaza, and people looked at their carriage with suspicion and horror. They all jumped out of the way as the carriage passed their streets, but their eyes showed caution and judgment at the same time.

"Tsk, all these commoners need to learn that they cannot keep me waiting. The only reason they all are even alive is because of the higher-ups like us protecting them…"

Fenrir heard the escort mutter under his breath, and it was an interesting bit of information he stored in his mind for later use.

The carriage kept going past the plaza, past the bakery and even till the end of the road. It only stopped once they reached a highly decorative gate which was being guarded by a dozen guards.

Looking at this would make someone think that these guards had a secret treasure they were trying to protect, but Fenrir noticed some oddity when he looked at these guards.

They all gripped their spear tightly, but they faces looked relieved when they saw the carriage approaching them. The guards also had their body positioned toward the mansion they were guarding instead of against it.

It looked as if these people were trying to protect the town from whatever was held inside this mansion and not the other way around.

As soon as the carriage pulled in front of the door, the escort leader opened the window to show his face to those relieved soldiers.

"Open the gate for me. I am here for this year's 'guest.' How has madam's mood been these past few days I have been gone?"

The leader asked the last question in a low voice, but it was not low enough for a normal human in Fenrir's position to not be able to hear. 

'Tsk, does the escort leader think I am hard of hearing just because I am crippled? Well, this can be good for me since it means I won't have to pretend too hard to make them let their guard down.'

Unlike the escort, the guard did not make the same mistake of thinking that Fenrir was hard of hearing. He immediately turned to look at Fenrir, hoping that the young man was not offended by what he just heard.

Fenrir's smile made the guard feel a bit weird. 

Perhaps, this kid was really hard of hearing and he was not able to grasp what was being said, but that felt unlikely to the guard. But he could also not see any other reason for the child to smile in this situation either.

'This is none of my business. Why am I feeling sorry for a kid who is not going to survive long? As long as he is intended to be gifted to the countess, it does not matter how charming he is. His end is near.'

Knowing this, the guard sighed and lamented how some people had the worst luck possible. This child had been abandoned by the gods, and now he had run out of whatever luck he had left.

"Go inside, but try not to spend too much time in. The countess has been in a foul mood these past few days because his last 'toy' died. Let's hope that this one lasts a little longer."

Pity-filled eyes looked at Fenrir, but the guard did not move from his position. That was Fenrir's first and last encounter with that guard.

The escort sighed in annoyance as he waited for the door to open and let him inside. The carriage entered the last barrier before reaching the mansion, but the escort never expanded on what happened.

Once the carriage stopped a second time, the escort leader got off before he helped Fenrir get down as well. 

A wheelchair had already been prepared for Fenrir, and the escort leader helped Fenrir sit in it before he pushed the chair up the stairs until they reached the double-height door of the mansion.

"Listen, this is the last time you will probably see me…well, for about a week. I need to head out on an errand, and I will only be able to make it back once I am finished. In the meantime, this will be your workplace, and Countess Ann Mary will be your lady and master. Make sure you serve with 'all your heart.'"

The escort stressed the last words, but his tone sounded off. He also backed away slowly, his body tense and ready to bolt at any second.

Seeing this was not as big of a concern as one would believe, especially for Fenrir, who could feel the presence of dark magic all over this mansion. 

'Ah, all the talk about the countess's bad mood and sacrifice makes sense. Has she been living under a curse all this time? Then, is she even human? Or, has she fallen to temptation already?'

For the first time in a while, Fenrir felt intrigued by a human, and he wanted to know more about the person behind the rumors he had been hearing.

He pushed the door open and was instantly hit with a cloud of dust. This place had not been cleaned for a long time, and it made sense why that was once you noticed how dusty it was and how hard it was for anyone to survive in such a disaster of a place.

"Countess Ann, may I enter? I am the new servant tasked with looking after you-"

A shadow jumped at Fenrir. Something shined when the sunlight fell on top of it and reflected off its surface. Seconds later, that shining thing attacked a white arm that came to Fenrir's notice.

He moved his wheelchair aside, and the white body collapsed on the ground beside him.

The female looked worse than a ghost as she tried to pick herself off the ground and chase after Fenrir.

"Countess Ann, are you alright? Shall I help you up? You don't look comfortable while lying on the ground like that. Here, grab my hand and pull yourself up."

Fenrir extended his hand toward the cursed human lying on the ground. The female noble he was offering his hand to tried to bite it off, but Fenrir pulled back before his hand could be bitten.

Seeing her prey getting away from her caused the female ghoul to let out an anguished cry before she swiped her hands in a claw-like motion toward Fenrir's arm.

This time, the nails dug deep and drew blood out of Fenrir's arm. It was a shallow wound and would close within seconds. But Fenrir's smile faded from his face, and instead, an empty but dark look took its place.

As soon as the half-dead ghoul noticed this, she pulled back. Her life force had all but depleted, but her instinctual will to live kept her moving.

"Tsk, look at what you did. Do you have any idea how hard it is to keep this body alive? Well, since you insist on it, I shall show you how fragile the human body truly is."

Fenrir reached out his hand to grab the white arm near him, and it did not take long for him to hear a snapping sound coming from the arm he was gripping.

The countess cried out in shock and pain as she pulled her hand back. Clarity returned to her eyes for a minute, and her throat formed a sound along with words.

"Y-You are not…human. You feel like that…thing…that damned me…"

Those last few words exhausted all of the countess's energy and she finally closed her eyes and fell asleep.

Fenrir noticed how the chest in front of her no longer moved up and down, indicating that the countess had stopped breathing.

It was the end for a female that terrorized these parts of the town.

"Oh! It looks like she died. This wouldn't look good to me if someone were to discover that the countess died as soon as I stepped into this region. Then, shall I control her like a puppet and take everything she has?"

Fenrir asked as he reached out to grab that hard body.

Once a human body died, it was hard for a normal human to pick it up and move it. It would be impossible for a 'normal' human in Fenrir's position to be able to move that body either.

But Fenrir's weak-looking body had a lot of secrets and one of it was the incredible strength he possessed. 

With a single yank of his arms, the countess ended up lying across his lap on his wheelchair, and her eyes looked at him with her with a gentle glee.

"You died an unfair death at the hand of our creator, and it makes me feel sorry for you. I wonder…. if I give you a chance, how would your revenge look? It makes me excited to see it. Perhaps I would like to give you a chance after all."