Hauntingly Red (1)

June 22, 1941

11:34 A.M.

"Pardon me, are you Ines?"

"Yes, I am. I apologize for taking so long," Ines said, bowing. Behind her, Isla respectfully lowered her head.

However, the old maidservant of the Duchess, Anna, was quick to bow back. "Please do not lower yourself, it is alright," she said, "We have plenty of time until lunchtime, worry not. Come with me, it must've been warm outside."

Unsure of what to say back, Ines nodded at her words and trailed behind the old maidservant. But, before she could take another step, she was stopped by Anna.

Looking between the master and servant, Anna settled her gaze on the former.

"I apologize but all maidservants must head to the servant's residence, it is the Duchess's order," Anna firmly stated.

"…Understood."

Without a single objection, Isla turned and left, disregarding Ines' pleading gaze for her to stay. She followed the path the other servants had taken minutes prior and soon vanished behind a building.

After that was said, the two stood alone.

"Young miss, I apologize for sending away your maidservant, but the Duchess's commands cannot be ignored," Anna said, noticing how her gaze lingered on Isla's vanishing figure.

A beat later, Ines mumbled a response back, her voice as quiet as a fruit fly's buzzing, "It's- It's okay."

Her brain rapidly turned like a pinwheel for possible responses, but in the end, she could only mutter out three words.

She had never learned proper mannerisms, nor was she ever educated on how one should behave in a circle of nobility.

Reading books and taking tests came easy to her- it was as simple as breathing, but formality and speaking in such a posh way was difficult as getting a good night of rest.

'Is she upset…?' Ines pondered, her gaze flickering back to Anna and then back to the ground.

The Duchess's maidservant, Anna, was a genial old woman who spoke with a slight lisp. She had sharp eyes, and thin pursed lips that seemed to always be frowning.

'…Poised and serious, just like Madam Clèmence.'

"Ann—Ma'am? What will we be doing while waiting for the Duchess and Archduke to finish their discussion?"

The old maidservant's expression stiffened at her careful and respectful words.

"Please, just call me Anna. Regarding what we'll be doing in the meantime—I apologize, but there are no playrooms or quarters suitable for young children here."

Though, before Ines could tell Anna that she wasn't interested in toys, the old maidservant asked with a smile, "Would you like a tour of the chateau, young miss?"

"Yes, that would be nice," Ines replied, her attention diverted once more.

There wasn't anything to do anyway, she thought. It wasn't like Sir Wri—no, the Archduke had assigned her any assignments or told her what to do in the meantime.

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8:58 P.M.

Duke Escoffier's Chateau: Honored Guest's Bedroom [Third Floor]

Haah…

They should've been on the road traveling to Halsted City, the entrepôt of Aznell Kingdom.

Ines heard about Halsted City in the past from Charlotte. Supposedly it was a beautiful city bordered by the Eau De Nil Ocean, a body of water that was a beautiful shade of cadmium green.

"Was Halsted City your home?"

Charlotte's voice echoed in her head, a glum smile on her lips, "Home? I… I don't know."

Slowly, the memory faded and she was alone once more.

"Home," Ines despondently whispered to herself. Shaking her head, she took a sip of water from the cup of water on her nightstand to clear her thoughts and sat down.

Leaning back into the plush satin couch, she recalled the two-hour tour that Anna had led her through to distract herself from the present.

The memories quickly flashed through her eyes and replayed in her mind like a tape recording.

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12:12 P.M.

Inside of Duke Escoffier's Residence:

From the walls to the floor, nearly every floor was decked in shades of red.

At first, Ines thought it was beautiful. Fresh crimson-red roses with droplets of water hanging off the petals decorated the hallways, and the walls were covered in exquisite velvet wallpaper.

But…

'The scent of paint is everywhere.' Ines covered her mouth with her handkerchief and coughed, the corners of her eyes red from discomfort.

By the time Anna had guided her to the fifth floor, the brilliant shades of red began irritating her eyes. The intense paint fumes were impossible to avoid no matter where she went, and the floors began looking identical.

"Excuse me, Anna? May I ask something?"

The old maidservant paused and turned to look at Ines.

Unlike her, Anna appeared perfectly fine as if she hadn't noticed the fumes, and after a brief pause she asked, "Young miss, is something the matter?"

Frankly, Ines wanted to ask what was with the horrid stench of paint fumes that seemed to be everywhere. However, she swallowed back those rising words that were on the tip of her tongue and cracked a polite smile whilst asking:

"…Pardon me, but why is everything red?"

"It was a gift from the Duke to the Duchess," Anna said with a smile as if she were reminiscing.

Ines tilted her head to the side, "A gift?"

"Yes." The old maidservant traced her fingers over the unique decorations placed throughout the hallway and added, "The Duchess loves the color red, and so the Duke covered the chateau in red."

For a moment, the paint fumes became just a little bit more bearable from how 'sickeningly' sweet her words sounded.

"That sounds like something out of a fairytale—how romantic," Ines remarked.

Anna only chuckled at her words.

Looking at the walls covered in red, and the small trinkets that decorated each and every hallway, she could see the love the Duke held for his beloved.

After that, they resumed walking and once in a while, Anna would point out the unique rooms and special decorations.

"There—that room over there is the Duchess's personal closet. It contains thousands of dresses made from the finest fabrics around the Continent."

"…The Duchess has an entire room just for dresses?"

Anna laughed, "Why of course! A beautiful and wealthy woman such as the Duchess has plenty."

Right as the old maidservant finished her words, five servants opened the door with rackets and crates in their hands—proving Anna's words in an instant.

Ines thought she saw Utopia right at that moment.

'Is- Is that a dress made from gold? Is that one made from diamonds and emeralds? Heavens! That dress is glowing—look at all those jewels!'

Beautiful gowns and evening dresses were hung up all around the room—it was practically a walk-in closet! A gold mine! One of those dresses could probably be sold for enough money to supply a lower-class family for a century or more!

Ines gulped, her thoughts spiraling. If she had that much money, maybe even one-tenth of it, she'd…

'No! I shouldn't be so materialistic or avaricious, even if it's things like jewels and dresses—even if they're pretty, even if…'

Her eyes lingered on a large green emerald, the centerpiece of a beautiful crimson-red gown before she looked away.

Seeing how 'astounded' she was, Anna cracked a small smile and chuckled at her reaction.

"Oh, and that blue flower vase over there was a gift the Duke had received from the Emperor of the Anthelion Empire after successful negotiations with a notorious noble from the East—Tianxia Empire—I believe their most known title is Dame Deirdre."

"It looks… fancy," Ines said.

Dame Deirdre? She pondered. That name sounded awfully familiar, but she couldn't seem to put her finger on it.

After Anna had finished explaining the history behind the case, they proceeded to continue walking.

Along the way, maids occasionally approached the old maidservant, their voices quiet as a breeze of wind.

The maids stood straight with their heads lowered even as they walked, yet they somehow walked straight without bumping into anything. They'd whisper in Anna's ear, their 'eyes' fixated on the ground beneath them.

Never once did the maids look her or Anna in the eye.

However, when they were about to finish touring the fifth floor, an unexpected incident occurred.

Murmurs exploded, and crowds of hysteric servants began rushing out of rooms followed by panicked maids donned in rose-red uniforms.

They rushed down the hall and through the staircase, not a single one running in their direction.

A fire? Ines thought, but when she noticed that there were no traces of smoke or something burning, she turned to look at Anna.

"No need to worry, young miss, this happens quite frequently."

"…Oh, I see."

"Well, young miss, let us move on from this; I wouldn't want to bore you with the affairs of servants such as myself."

Turning the corner, Ines was met face-to-face with a blindfolded young woman in a maid's attire.

Before she could process what had happened, she was knocked off her feet. Falling backward, Ines prepared herself for waves of pain- however, her arm was swiftly grabbed by Anna.

"Young miss-!"

However, nobody was there to grab the maid. With a loud thud, she fell to the side, her head slamming against the corner of a drawer.

Ines flinched. Surely the maid must've broken a bone or received a major head injury? Or, even worse, perhaps she had died from the impact.

She hurriedly stood up and stepped forward, reaching for the maid, "Miss, are you oka-"

"Young miss! Are you alright?" Anna interrupted.

Anna stepped between the two, her eyes fixated on Ines and never once back at the maid who laid on the ground shaking. She said with concern laced in her voice, "Are you injured?"

"No, but- but what about her? She might be hurt."

"What are you saying, young miss?"

Ines turned her attention away from the old maidservant and looked at the maid, "She-"

Bright red droplets of blood trickled down the maid's face, and the back of her head was severely bleeding. Her scalp had been cut open by the sharp edges of the desk, revealing pasty white and red matter underneath.

'Is… Is that her- her skull? Or… is that her brain?' Ines shuddered.

Though Ines had thought her to be dead, the slight rise and fall of her chest along with her shaking body proved that she was still alive.

"Anna!" Ines nearly shrieked, her heart leaping to her throat at the gruesome sight.

She grabbed onto the old maid servant's sleeve and frantically said, dropping all formalities, "We should get her to a doctor! Or- or someone who can help her!"

The old maidservant on the other hand wore a serene expression as if the blood hadn't seeped through the carpet—as if the maid's blood hadn't colored her already red uniform an even darker shade of maroon red.

"Young miss? What are you saying, that maid merely fell. She will be fine, let's head to the next floor, shall we?"

"Anna! She's bleeding! Look at-"

"Sorry! Sorry! Sorry! Sorry!" The maid frantically cried out, her head lopsided. She quickly stood up despite how her legs wobbled and shook.

As the maid hurriedly ran down the corridor, a trail of blood followed.

Anna tilted her head to where the maid had run off to and her lips curved upwards, "There is no need to fret. As you see, she's perfectly fine, young miss."

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