Lillian panicked.
She grabbed her butler's hand.
"Where's the kid?" she asked, spinning around.
There was no one.
"Your skirt just got tangled on that sharp wooden box, my lady,"
Mikael said calmly.
"There's no child."
Lillian frowned, but accepted the truth.
They returned home, the carriage pulling them safely back to the mansion.
Once inside, her grandfather sat by the fireplace,
worry creasing his face.
"Why are you returning so late, Lillian?
You're losing the sun."
She took off her cloak slowly.
"Grandpapa..."
She delivered the bad news carefully.
His face froze in shock.
"No way... By who?"
Lillian met his eyes with quiet dread.
"We don't know yet. But... Robert..."
She hesitated, fingers curling into her dress.
"Some are blaming Robert..."
Her grandfather held her gaze for a long moment, then said softly.
"Go clean yourself and get some rest.
We'll talk tomorrow."
He turned to Mikael.
"Send her food when she's ready to eat."
"Yes, sir."
"Thank you, Grandpapa," she whispered, bowing her head.
"I'll be taking my leave."
As she stepped upstairs, her grandfather's eyes wandered to the photo above the fireplace.
A husband and a wife.
Lillian's parents.
"Linda... Looks like your daughter is following in your steps.
She is your daughter, after all..."
Upstairs
In her room, Lillian sat by the window.
The candlelight flickered across her face.
Mikael stood quietly nearby.
"Mikael... what do you think?
Is there really a Beast out there?"
He looked at her, thoughtful.
"Well, my lady... if you believe it's real, then maybe it is.
But if you want others to believe... you'll need proof.
Words alone won't change minds."
"Hmm... Prove it, huh..."
The Next Day
Wind swept through the open windows of the Wilson mansion.
A round table had been prepared.
All those involved in the case had gathered.
"Welcome," Sheriff Wesley Cain announced.
"Now that everyone's here, we'll begin."
"I'll start with myself," he said.
"I'm Sheriff Wesley Cain. I was patrolling during the time of the murder.
That's been confirmed. I'm innocent."
"Next Elrick Elias. The husband of the suspect.
Where were you at the time?"
"I was cooking," Elrick replied.
"Preparing for guests. My wife and baby were inside.
Then I heard my wife scream... and I ran to her."
"So only you and your wife were at the house?"
"No!" Elrick snapped.
"I'm not the killer! Why would I—"
"Let's not point fingers," the sheriff cut in.
"That's my job. Let's observe. Next."
Nira stepped forward.
Reana's close friend. A respected girl in town.
"That morning, I spoke with Reana," Nira said.
"She was happy. It was her first baby.
She said she'd do anything to protect her child.
She can't be the killer."
"After our talk, I left. Went home to pick some flowers.
That's when I ran into Lillian in front of Robert's house.
We went to Reana's together."
"So... Lillian and Robert were together at the time,"
Sheriff noted, scribbling something.
Robert glanced sharply at Elrick.
"My name is clear. Yours is on the stake now.
So—was it the Beast? Or was it you?"
"Shut up, poet," Elrick growled.
"Next. Doctor Edwin Meson."
"I was with patients," said the doctor.
"Then a villager came running. I went to the scene.
There was blood. But I couldn't bring myself to go inside."
"After the sheriff arrived, we sedated Reana and brought her to custody.
I examined the baby... but there were no signs of poisoning or wounds."
"Then why was there so much blood?"
Nira's voice rang out.
Dr. Meson hesitated.
"As I said... no wounds. No poison.
The baby may have passed from natural causes.
Sudden infant death. It's... inconclusive."
"But there was so much blood!"
Nira shouted. "That's not normal!"
"Let's not jump to conclusions," the sheriff said.
"It's still under investigation.
Right now, we have no evidence of foul play."
"No evidence?" Robert muttered.
Lillian shot him a sharp look.
"Stop it."
But she held his hand. Tightly.
"Well," said the sheriff, standing,
"that concludes everything I needed.
I'll continue the investigation personally."
He bowed, tilting his hat.
Then
A knock on the door.
"Mayor! Sheriff! It's—It's Mr. Smith!"
The voice rang down the hallway.
"No way..."
"Doctor! With me!" the sheriff ordered.
They rushed out the door.
At the Clock Towe
In front of the old clock tower...
one of the poles.
He hung.
Rope around his neck.
Mr. Smith.
"What...?"
Someone gasped.
"This... this isn't a murder.
This is suicide!"
"What is going on in our town?"
"Is this a new disease?"
"Are we all going to die?"
"Who's next?"
Another shrill whistle blew.
The sheriff climbed on top of a box, shouting.
"Did I not tell you to stay PUT?!
Go home!
Until further notice!"
People scattered terrified.
The doctor stood beside him, silent.
The sheriff whispered to him.
"Do you see now?
That's why we don't tell them the truth."
The doctor nodded grimly.
Robert stood beneath the hanging body, looking up.
"Interesting..." he muttered.
"Now you shift it to suicide.
And not murder.
Interesting indeed..."
That Night
Lillian sat at her desk, flipping through the pages of The Secret of the Beast.
"First... a baby. Now a suicide."
She traced her finger over a line in the book.
The book is almost predicting.
'Four more will die... unless I kiss him.'
Her mind spun.
Robert's words echoed.
"What is going on...?"
"What happens after five?"
"What does he know?
What is he playing?"
Then.
a knock on her window.
She jumped.
"What—?"
It was Robert.
His hand on the glass.
She rushed to the mirror, adjusting her hair and dress.
Then opened the window just a crack.
"What are you doing here?" she whispered.
Robert slipped inside, laughing softly.
"I don't know.
It's kind of fun."
Lillian stared at him, eyes wide.
"You did not just sneak into a woman's room at night."
"Well... I am now."
Robert smiled so smoothly it was dangerous.
Lillian gave him a side eye.
Then... a small smile.
"Well then... what do you want now?"