With the first full light, the palace came alive—
names shouted into the air, clipped orders passed like knives, footsteps echoing across stone corridors.
A place that never waited. Not for sleep. Not for fear.

Elizabeth found herself assigned beside Lucy.

Laundry.

The back courtyard was cold and open, dominated by wide stone basins.
Old bed sheets lay piled high, colorless, lifeless—like discarded ghosts.

The water bit at the skin.
The soap scraped rough against her fingers.
The motion repeated. Again. Again.

Lucy talked.
About nothing important.
About anything that could make the minutes lighter.

Elizabeth barely heard her.

She wasn’t really here.

Good.

The thought surfaced suddenly, sharp and clear.

Lady Joan is still alive.

Elizabeth’s hands stilled.

Slowly, she raised her head.
Her eyes caught the light—alert now, burning.

That means time hasn’t reached the chapter yet.

Her pulse spiked.

So…

Her breath caught.

I can save her.

The name alone tightened something painful in her chest.

Save her… from Adrian?

A silent gasp lodged in her throat.

That’s suicide.
Like dragging myself into deep water and pretending I can swim.

… what am I even thinking?

Her gaze dropped to her hands beneath the surface.
Slender.
Fragile.

Why should I care?
She’s a side character.
She’s meant to die.

But—

Something inside her refused to let go.

Her eyes lowered.

What is death… to me?

Cold asphalt.
Blood spreading too fast.
Darkness swallowing everything.

A pointless death.

Her fingers shook.

If I can’t stop even one death…
Do I really deserve a second chance?

— Elizabeth!

Lucy’s voice shattered the moment.

Elizabeth flinched.

— Elizabeth, stop spacing out like that!

She looked down.

Water was spilling over the basin, flooding the stone floor without restraint.

— …Oh.

Lucy laughed softly, reaching for the bucket.

— You were completely gone.
— Are you still exhausted?

Elizabeth forced a small, pale smile and returned her hands to the sheets.

— No.
— Just thinking.

Thinking about survival…
In a world where staying alive means choosing who dies.

Elizabeth’s thoughts circled back to Joan.

According to Hansio’s writing…
She scolded the maids often
Her voice was sharp. Her gaze even sharper.

But she wasn’t cruel.

She was simply… strict.

And more importantly—

She is the one responsible for giving Lord Adrian his medicine.

Elizabeth’s chest tightened.

Her hands paused mid-motion in the water.
For a brief second, the world held its breath.

Then she turned to Lucy, as if something had just occurred to her.

— Lucy…

— Yes?

— What exactly is Lady Joan’s role?

Lucy blinked, surprised.

— You really don’t remember?

Elizabeth shook her head quickly.

— The fainting spell must have… scattered my memory a little.

Lucy laughed softly.

— That makes sense.

She wrung out a bedsheet as she spoke.

— Lady Joan is the head housekeeper, of course.
— She oversees nearly everything.

Elizabeth listened carefully, her breathing slow and controlled.

— But she’s also…
— the only one allowed to enter Lord Adrian’s wing without permission.

Elizabeth froze.

— What?

— Yes.
— She gives him his medicine every morning and evening.
— She monitors his condition personally.

Lucy lowered her voice, instinctively cautious.

— They say his health is very poor.
— Sometimes he doesn’t leave his room for days.

Elizabeth swallowed.

— Does anyone else… go in?

Lucy shook her head.

— No.
— Even the doctors aren’t allowed inside unless she’s present.

This is worse than I thought.

Lucy continued, unaware of the weight of her words.

— By the way…
— Lady Joan doesn’t scold us because she enjoys it.

Her gaze dropped to the water.

— She worries about us.
— She makes sure we eat properly.
— Sometimes she even hides bread for us when supplies run low.

Elizabeth’s eyes widened.

Hansio never wrote that.

— And there’s more.

Lucy hesitated before continuing.

— On nights when the young lord is especially unwell…
— Lady Joan stays near his wing until dawn.

Silence settled between them.

So…

She’s very close.

Close enough to notice things.

Elizabeth’s heart began to pound.

And close enough… to be killed.

Her fist clenched beneath the water.

If I do nothing…
Everything I read will happen exactly the same.

She lifted her head, resolve flickering in her eyes—small, but real.

— Lucy…

— Yes?

— If I asked you something strange…
— would you answer me?

Lucy smiled, bright and trusting.

— Of course.

Elizabeth hesitated for a second before speaking, her voice lowered as if she were testing the words themselves.

— Lucy…
— Have you ever seen Lord Adrian up close?

Lucy’s body stiffened slightly. She shook her head quickly.

— No… never.
— I’m not even allowed near his wing.

A small smile curved her lips—something innocent, almost childlike.

— They say he’s very kind.
— Polite… and soft-spoken.

Her voice dropped even further.

— But…
— a little frightening.

Elizabeth raised an eyebrow.

— Frightening?

— Yes.
— Not because he’s cruel… but because he shows nothing.

Lucy paused.

— It’s like… he doesn’t feel.

A chill ran down Elizabeth’s spine.

Exactly as Hansio wrote him.

— Lucy…
— Has anything strange happened in the manor recently?

Lucy glanced around before answering.

— No… I mean…
— just small things.

— Like what?

— A servant disappeared last month.
— They said he ran away.

She laughed softly, uneasily.

— And another maid was suddenly transferred.
— No one knows where.

Elizabeth’s hands stilled in the water.

This is early.

In the novel… these disappearances weren’t mentioned so clearly.

— And…
— was Lady Joan worried?

Lucy nodded slowly.

— Yes.
— But she didn’t say much.

Her gaze dropped.

— She only told us to be careful…
— and not to wander the halls at night.

Elizabeth’s fingers went cold.

So Joan senses something.

She just doesn’t have proof yet.

Elizabeth lifted her head, sunlight trembling across the surface of the water.

If the moment Joan dies is the moment she witnesses the crime…

She inhaled deeply.

Then I have to act before that night arrives.

Her fingers tightened around the damp fabric.

— Lucy.

— Yes?

— If I asked you for something…
— something that might seem a little strange…

Lucy smiled immediately.

— I’d do anything for you.

Guilt pierced Elizabeth’s chest.

That’s exactly why… I have to protect you too.

She looked up, resolve not fully formed—but unmistakably there.

— I want you…
— to tell me immediately if Lady Joan is ever asked to go to Lord Adrian’s wing at night.

Lucy’s eyes widened.

— Why?

Elizabeth smiled calmly—far calmer than she felt.

— Because I…
— don’t like surprises.

---

Elizabeth worked harder that day than she ever should have.

Scrub.
Wring.
Lift.
Bend.

Again.
And again.

Until her body no longer felt like flesh and bone—
but a fragile idea of a body.

By sunset, she dragged herself back to her bed.

Literally dragged.

— …I think my bones just resigned.

She muttered with exhausted sarcasm as she curled up with difficulty, letting out a short, tired laugh.

— Great.
— A skeleton bullying itself.
— What’s next?

She closed her eyes.

But her mind didn’t.

Wait.

Her eyes snapped open.

Wait…

She pushed herself up on her elbows.

This doesn’t make sense.

Her thoughts began racing.

Lord Adrian wouldn’t—
He couldn’t commit a murder at a time that allowed Joan to witness it by chance.

Her breathing quickened.

He’s careful.
Precise.
A killer who leaves nothing to coincidence.

She sat up abruptly.

— …No.

The realization struck her like lightning.

— No. No, no, no—

She got to her feet too fast, nearly stumbling.

Then…

Then it wasn’t an accident.

Lucy turned toward her in shock.

— Elizabeth?!
— What’s wrong?

But Elizabeth didn’t hear her.

Today…

She looked toward the window.

What day is it?

Her heart slammed against her ribs.

Heavy workload.
Full-scale cleaning.
Compressed schedule.

Her eyes widened.

Which means…

— Joan.

She whispered the name.

She might be late.

The thought unraveled rapidly—terrifyingly.

If Joan is late with the medicine…
Lord Adrian will act first.
And only take his medicine afterward.

Her blood ran cold.

And when she arrives late…
She’ll walk in at the wrong moment.

She’ll see.

Elizabeth gasped.

— It wasn’t an accident.

She said it aloud.

— It was never an accident.

She leapt from the bed.

— Lucy!

— W-What?!

— Where is Lady Joan?!

Lucy faltered.

— I think… the west wing?
— Or the storage rooms… everything’s delayed today…

Elizabeth didn’t wait.

She ran.

She ran as if the asphalt was still beneath her feet.
As if a truck was chasing her.
As if death itself had an appointment.

If I arrive too late…

I’ll see the chapter I read with my own eyes.

Her jaw tightened.

And if I arrive