BID Chapter 138

It had been a busy but joyful day.

Oscar Serpentine, the second young master of the Serpentine family, was even more beautiful and kind than rumors suggested. Oscar had visited a week earlier than originally scheduled and meticulously inspected every lacking aspect of the mansion. Not only that, he smoothly handled the backlog of work as the mansion’s owner. Oscar was undoubtedly a great husband-to-be.

The servants’ initial coolness towards their new master was short-lived.

“You’ve decorated it so beautifully. By the way, I see Genevieve likes blue flowers. I’ll remember that.”

Oscar, smiling shyly like a spring flower, praised the servants. Who could dislike such a beautiful and kind master who wanted to use formal speech until they all adjusted to each other?

“This part seems a bit dangerous… Could you fix it up a bit more?”

He thoroughly checked even the path the bride would walk. How could someone be so gentle and kind? They had been nervous because he was from the Serpentine family, but he turned out to be more like sunshine.

‘Though he always insists on black clothing.’

This aspect did make him seem like a person from the notoriously dark Serpentine family. It would be nice if he wore brighter clothes, but the new master particularly preferred black attire.

Other than that, he was flawless. Contrary to rumors of poor health, he looked quite healthy. The servants all envied Genevieve, who would become Oscar’s wife. They also vowed to do their best for Oscar, but…

“Fire!”

“Help us!”

“What are you doing, put it out now!!”

“The fire won’t go out!”

It happened in an instant. The mansion that was to welcome its mistress tomorrow turned into a space filled with screams and shouts.

“Get out!”

If they lingered any longer, they would be burned alive here.

“What about Young Master Oscar-!”

The pale-faced servants looked up at the top floor. Unfortunately, the mansion’s entrance was engulfed in flames. It was too late to go rescue their master.

“Hurry up!! Put out the fire quickly!!!”

No matter how much water they poured, the blue flames wouldn’t subside. The servants could only pace around with ashen faces.

‘Why now of all times!’

Today was the day before the wedding. The knights had left to bring the last necessary items. But even the knights would find it difficult to break through those terrifying flames to rescue Oscar.

While they were pacing anxiously, one figure ran towards the mansion. Soaking his clothes thoroughly with water, he dashed madly into the mansion without a second thought.

“If you go in now-!”

The eyes of the servant trying to stop him widened in surprise.

Ash-gray hair soaked with water. The servant immediately recognized who it was. It was Erhan Serpentine. He leaped into the mansion through the flames.

“Oscar!!”

Erhan covered his mouth with a wet handkerchief. The scorching inferno made his whole body feel like it was being roasted.

He activated the spell formations engraved on his body. As the formations lifted their heavy eyelids, a dreamy sensation enveloped his body as if wandering through a dream.

The smoke dispersed. Wherever he stepped, the smoke receded.

Since his body didn’t react to ordinary pain, he rushed through the flames without hesitation. His clothes were singed by the unstoppable flames, and charred wood fell on his head several times.

‘What on earth happened while I was briefly away on business?’

Erhan had been absent due to the Duke’s summons. It hadn’t taken long for him to return to the mansion after delivering the spell tool the Duke had requested.

Yet in that short time, Oscar’s mansion was burning.

The moment he saw the servants looking for Oscar, his body moved before he could think. Erhan leaped in to save Oscar before anyone could stop him.

‘It should be around here.’

Cough, cough.

It was strange. The spell formations weren’t working properly against mere smoke. As if they were being attacked by an opposing force… Barely finding Oscar’s room through the thick smoke, he kicked the door open with a bang.

Oddly enough, unlike elsewhere, there was no smoke in Oscar’s room. Beyond the clear view, at the moment he found Oscar.

“What in the…!”

A man was kissing Oscar, who was collapsing into his arms.

“…Zachary Thaddeus!”

The imperial prince who had lived as a servant of the Serpentine family.

‘Of course he couldn’t have died.’

Even when staying at the Serpentine mansion, Erhan had been particularly concerned about Zachary. Right after feeling suspicious about Zachary, he tried to check the spell tool, but the Duke had thrown him out.

After leaving the mansion, he tried to investigate, but was repeatedly blocked. In the end, even the Duke intervened to stop him, absurdly claiming that Zachary had already died in a fire.

But as expected, he was clearly alive.

“If you came for revenge, you should have aimed at the King and the Duke’s family, not Oscar. Hand Oscar over! He’s done nothing wrong.”

If he had returned to take revenge on the Serpentine family, starting the fire made sense. But what was the meaning of kissing Oscar?

‘Simple manipulation? No, this is…’

Recalling Zachary kissing Oscar, an incomprehensibly hot flame rose again inside Erhan. Unable to contain himself, Erhan shouted again for Zachary to put Oscar down, but Zachary only had eyes for Oscar.

Zachary held Oscar in his arms and stroked his hair. It was the calmest space within the burning mansion. Zachary didn’t take his eyes off Oscar. That gaze was persistent.

‘That look. Yes, he was like this before too.’

The gaze, sticky to the point of obsession, remained the same.

Even when he was a servant, was the spell really cast properly? Erhan had suspected then too that Zachary seemed to serve Oscar with his own will, unlike other servants. But even when he told the Duke…

‘Father denied it and rather threw me out, telling me to focus on family matters. In the end, I was right.’

Erhan strode towards Zachary.

“How dare you…!”

“Dare?”

Zachary smiled coldly and turned his gaze to Erhan.

“Aren’t you the one who interfered between us?”

“Us?”

“Yes, us.”

Zachary gathered the limp Oscar in his arms. Then, wrapping Oscar’s entire body with his outer garment, he spoke leisurely.

“You’re irrelevant to us.”

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

Erhan glared fiercely at Zachary.

“Oscar is my brother. If anything, you and Oscar are just in a master-servant relationship bound by an ill fate, aren’t you? You were merely a servant… Put Oscar down now.”

Saying this, Erhan subtly moved his hand to draw out the hidden weapon in his bosom. But at the moment he grasped the weapon, a rough gale blew in from somewhere, bringing an immense heat.

“Even an ill fate is a connection.”

Simultaneously, a large flame arose in front of Erhan.

“This was mine from the beginning.”

Zachary, holding Oscar tightly, spoke coldly and stretched out his hand. Instantly, the room was engulfed in blue flames.

“Oscar!!!”

Erhan belatedly rushed towards Oscar, but the inferno violently swept through the room, causing the window to burst, forcing him to stop.

In an instant, his vision became completely hazy. When the smoke cleared a moment later, only Erhan remained in the room.

As Zachary disappeared, the blue flames subsided in an instant. Only the bare skeleton of the burned mansion indicated that a major fire had occurred.

“Damn it!”

Erhan, unable to give up, searched the mansion thoroughly, but of course, Zachary and Oscar were gone.

Where on earth did they go?

‘And what was that enormous holy power?’

Erhan left the mansion with a chilling atmosphere. He intended to search for clues to find out where the vanished Oscar had gone.

‘Father… the Duke must know something.’

It was none other than the Duke who had cast the spell on Zachary. He must have noticed first that there was a problem with the brainwashing spell. But it was incomprehensible why he had left Zachary as he was.

‘He just denied everything I said and told me to focus on family matters.’

The Duke never spoke directly even in normal times. Perhaps he had been giving warnings all along.

‘If Zachary had already succeeded in awakening during his time as a servant and made some kind of contract with Father…’

It was unbelievable, but there was no other way to explain the Duke’s cryptic attitude. Erhan’s eyes contorted. Whatever the case, it was just a hypothesis for now, so he needed to meet the Duke.

“Young Master Oscar!”

“Young Master Oscar!! Are you safe?!”

The servants, confused by the suddenly vanished fire, hurriedly rushed into the mansion. Then they encountered Erhan leaving the mansion.

Erhan, who had leaped into the fire to save Oscar, was in a terrible state. The servants clung to him, asking if he was alright.

“Get out of my way, you useless fools.”

Erhan coldly rebuked them and just kept walking.

At that moment, Erhan’s eyes caught sight of several large carriages. Soon after, a woman stepped out of one of the carriages. More beautifully adorned than anyone else, she was the Duke’s wife, Adelheid.

Her face, more elaborately made up than usual, turned pale blue. At the end of her gaze was the blackened, burned mansion.