Beast in the Woods, Deep in the Night - Chapter 40.2

Chapter 40.2

“…”

“It makes perfect sense if you think Miss Christine infiltrated the guild to steal the chimera’s tears.”

Isaac spoke cautiously, watching Edgar’s expression.

Edgar tapped on the desk with a stern expression. Every time his finger touched the desk, his smile disappeared, and a shadow fell over his face.

After a moment of silence, he twisted his lips and sneered.

“I see. So she came here to steal that?”

Only then did Edgar realize the strangeness he had felt when he saw Christine staggering at the banquet a few days earlier. She said that she was staggering because of her intoxication, but she would unconsciously bring her hand near her heart to try to soothe the pain.

It made sense to think that Christine had the same curse as her mother, and that she was affected by it at the banquet.

The reason she kept trying to touch him must have been to alleviate her pain with the power of Richard… Everything fit neatly.

Since he knew from the beginning that she belonged to the Golden Horseshoe Guild because of the strangely repetitive dream, he was not surprised at the betrayal.

So why was he so upset?

“… Where is Christine now?”

Edgar asked, moving his shining eyes to Isaac.

Isaac immediately lowered his eyes at the sight of the beast that seemed ready to hunt.

“I’ll find her right away.”

“It’s fine. I’ll go.”

He recalled how he had been dealing with those who tried to leak information about the chimeras outside of the guild.

It started by untying and locking the guild members in the basement. They would die if they were lucky, but most of them were treated as if they had never existed before.

‘… Let’s hear what kind of excuse she’ll make first.’

Edgar got up from his seat, feeling a strange, prickly sensation inside him.

But Christine was in a different place now.

***

She had just sneaked into the library of the guild’s main building to steal a book from the archives containing personal information about the chimeras.

She swore she would only investigate the chimera who seemed to know about her curse. For now, this was the only way he could find out about it before the one-month time limit ended.

The old lady had taken care of Toma, so she decided to focus on the ones who were found in the same place as him.

‘I’ve been there once, so it shouldn’t be too difficult to get in and out.’

Christine reassured her anxious heart. She knew where her anxiety was coming from.

‘If I get caught this time, they’ll definitely suspect me. There’s no reason for me to be in this place at this time.’

Due to the previous incident, Ein, who worked at the library, was cut off, and a newcomer was taking his place. Security had also been strengthened, but there was a shift change late at night, so it wouldn’t be difficult to sneak into the archives then.

After skillfully hiding in the library at the right time, she opened the lock in the archive room as she had figured out before. She could open any locked door with just one safety pin.

As expected, the intrusion was not difficult because she had carefully examined her surroundings the last time. She felt like she could go back safely as long as no major problems occurred.

Christine searched through the bookshelf, desperately hoping that this confidence would last until she left this place.

‘I think this is the book.’

She quickly flipped through the pages, careful not to leave any trace, in search of the information she wanted. Soon, she came across the portraits of those who were found in the same villa as Toma.

Thanks to Toma referring to her as grandmother, Christine was able to identify who she was looking for.

‘It seems that she was a chimera named Ebony, and that they couldn’t recover her body because she passed away.’

Christine felt respect for the old woman’s warm heart in taking care of little Toma even in such a difficult situation. She prayed that she would be at peace in heaven now.

‘And the details about Ebony…’

But before she could finish reading, something unexpected happened.

“Ugh…!”

Suddenly, she felt a sharp pain as if her heart was being torn apart. Christine quickly put the book back in its place and grabbed the bookshelf.

It seemed as if something sharp was tearing apart her heart’s muscles, making it hard to breathe. Tears filled her eyes at the sudden pain, blurring her vision.

Just as she decided that she was going to wait for the pain to subside to get out of there, she heard a familiar man’s voice.

“You look very troubled, Christine.”

Edgar, who had appeared at some point, was looking at her with a serious face.