Chapter 24

The moonlight became clearer, reflecting its light on the riverbank next to us. We drank a few cups, so I felt like I wanted to empty some of what was in my mind. I looked at the flushed faces of the girls in front of me and suddenly said, "Have you heard what happened to the teacher, Agapi?" Agapi was certainly not a teacher, but it was a name that Laverna had given her while she was drunk, referring to her way of speaking.

Tait asked curiously, "What happened?" and Laverna shook her head in confusion. I adjusted my posture and my focus, then I said in Agapi's voice, "Twenty-five years ago, I entered the emperor's palace for the first time as a maid. It was a dark night with no sound or light. I lay down with a group of servants in one bedroom, and then a young maid whispered to me, 'Agapi, pretend to sleep even if you don't.' I didn't understand that, and I thought she was telling me a remedy for insomnia.

Several hours passed, and everyone was asleep. I, too, felt drowsy, and I thought her advice was good. Then I heard the sound of a small cat, and my eyes widened immediately. There was no cat in the emperor's palace; I was sure of it! I was afraid the cat would wake up the emperor, but I was also afraid of waking up one of the servants.

I ran alone toward the sound, feeling that I was getting closer. I opened rooms one after another. I felt like I had fallen into a maze; the darkness grew heavier, and the rooms didn't end. As for the cat's meowing, it seemed to be circling above my head until I felt that it had indeed awakened the emperor and my fate was sealed.

Suddenly, I felt something pulling my feet down, and I froze in my place. And for a moment, the meowing of the cat sounded like laughter! I slowly looked down at my feet" I paused for a moment to increase the suspense, then I mustered the courage to continue.

"Boo!!.." 

This wasn't my voice, nor was it Tait's or Liverna's.