Finn felt much better and was incredibly fine, better than ever.
His eyes could even see more clearly in the darkness of the night. Hers’s face remained as expressionless as ever, staring at him with eyes that seed capable of seeing through everything.
Of course, Hers also listened intently to the woman’s voice outside the door.
No—there was no need to listen intently because that voice was so loud it seed like it alone could shatter the door.
Finn’s ears twitched slightly. Clearly, that was sothing he hadn’t been able to do before, yet now it felt almost effortless.
He said, "If I’m not mistaken, that voice sounds an awful lot like Mrs. Andersen’s."
Hers looked at Finn but said nothing.
Finn’s eyes appeared unnaturally large in the darkness—round and slightly slanted, like a cat’s. And precisely because of that, the whole sight felt even stranger.
A human face with the oversized eyes of a cat—no matter how one looked at it, it was unnatural. Yet Finn didn’t seem to notice anything wrong. In fact, his mind seed more straightforward than it had been that morning.
After a long while, the knocking on the door finally ceased, and their first night seed to pass relatively peacefully.
The next morning, Mr. Andersen said he had so business to attend to in town and had left early.
Only Mrs. Andersen and the humans remained in the mansion.
When Fiona saw Mrs. Andersen coming down the stairs with a large bundle in her arms, she couldn’t help but ask curiously, "What are those things? Where are you taking them?"
Mrs. Andersen was a shy woman, though she had a gentle heart.
Her face was pale, and the dark circles under her eyes were pronounced—she didn’t look like she’d slept well. Carrying such a large bundle, she looked instead burdened.
Nyx imdiately stepped forward to help her.
Seeing that, Mrs. Andersen quickly waved her hands, flustered. "Oh, dear, don’t worry about it, child. Let handle it..."
Nyx was indeed smaller than everyone else—petite and delicate, with a sweet smile that easily won people over.
"You’ve forgotten that I’m not exactly an ordinary person, haven’t you?" she said with a grin, lightly tossing Mrs. Andersen’s large bundle into the air and easily catching it again.
The bundle wasn’t heavy at all; it was soft to the touch, as though it contained dresses.
Nyx frowned slightly and asked, "Mrs. Andersen, where are you planning to take all these clothes?"
Mrs. Andersen said softly, "These old clothes no longer fit . I just wanted to take them out and dispose of them."
Hearing that, Nyx nodded, lowered her gaze, and smiled. "Let’s go then. I’ll co with you."
Mrs. Andersen seed a little hesitant. However, Nyx didn’t allow her to refuse—she took the woman’s hand and pulled her along, acting like a warm-hearted person who loved helping others.
Fiona imdiately jumped up. "I’m coming too!" she said, running after Nyx and Mrs. Andersen.
Hers rose from his chair as well. "Let’s go," he said.
Now that only they remained in the mansion, it was the perfect chance to investigate.
No one objected, and the group swiftly approached the third floor.
anwhile, Nyx and Fiona had followed Mrs. Andersen to the fence behind the mansion.
This area lay at the back, where the fence separated the mansion from the forest beyond. Around the wall grew strange flowers—each with tiny, vivid red petals that looked eerily like drops of blood.
In front of them stretched an open patch of ground. Scattered across it were piles of pitch-black ash, bits of charcoal, and several items that hadn’t been completely burned.
Mrs. Andersen explained, "This is where we dispose of unnecessary things. We usually burn them."
Fiona, however, had already started rummaging through the large bag Mrs. Andersen carried.
She pulled out a white dress—the entire bag seed filled with white garnts. So were beautiful, even luxurious, adorned only with faint pearlescent patterns or tiny gemstones.
Fiona gaped, holding up the dress and letting it sway. "There isn’t even a single tear on it! Isn’t it a bit wasteful to throw away sothing this pretty?"
As she spoke, she held the dress up toward Mrs. Andersen, as though trying to imagine how it would look on her.
The gesture startled Mrs. Andersen and instinctively stepped back, almost tripping.
Nyx quickly caught her and frowned at Fiona. "That was hardly graceful, Fiona. Mrs. Andersen almost fell!"
Fiona stuck her tongue out, tossed the dress aside, and said, "Fine, fine, let’s light it up already. It’s freezing out here!"
The sky had been bright and clear yesterday—but today, it was gloomy and overcast. The cold wind carried a biting chill, as though snow might start falling at any mont.
Mrs. Andersen took out a box of matches and quickly struck one.
The clothes instantly caught fire; the flas flared up within seconds, devouring everything.
The flickering firelight danced in Mrs. Andersen’s eyes as she turned to Nyx and said softly, "All right, that’s enough. Let’s go back."
But Fiona grabbed Nyx’s hand and said, "No way, I want to look around here a bit. Stay with , Nyx."
Hearing that, Mrs. Andersen pressed her lips together, then nodded. "Very well, I’ll head back first. Enjoy yourselves."
With that, she quickly walked away. Fiona released Nyx’s hand, and Nyx brushed her palms off, saying softly, "Honestly, Fiona, not elegant at all. Don’t touch people so casually."
Fiona gave a disdainful laugh.
She looked down at Nyx—who seed almost tiny compared to her, and sneered, "You think I want to touch you? Always going on about elegance, elegance. I hate cute things the most."
Like Nyx. Like Bella.
Nyx’s face grew serious. "I’m not cute."
Fiona snorted. "That dress didn’t fit Mrs. Andersen at all. Clearly, it wasn’t hers to begin with."
They both couldn’t help but recall the woman’s description in the white dress.
Nyx spoke quietly, "If the woman in white really existed—and if those dresses belonged to her—then why are her clothes in Mrs. Andersen’s hands?"
Fiona tapped her forehead and groaned. "Ugh, my head hurts. Why do you have to overthink everything?"
Nyx ignored her. In the next instant, she dashed off in the direction Mrs. Andersen had gone.
If Mrs. Andersen were truly an ordinary human—at least for now—then she couldn’t have possibly moved that fast back toward the mansion.
anwhile, Fiona turned toward the fence. She raised her hand, and a sword instantly appeared in her grip. With a swift motion, she slashed through the barrier, opening a large hole that revealed a glimpse of the forest beyond—dark, cold, and eerily still.
For a brief mont, Fiona felt like sothing was staring straight at her.
Then ca Nyx’s hurried voice and footsteps: "Over here, Mrs. Andersen! We were standing here when suddenly there was this loud noise..."
Mrs. Andersen ca running after Nyx. The mont her eyes fell on the gaping hole in the sturdy stone-and-earth fence, they widened in shock—she looked as though she might faint right then and there.
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