Lifting her trembling eyelids, what entered her sight was a man lying upside down at the bottom of the stairs, shards of glass scattered all around, and bright red blood spreading from his head, soaking the ground.

“What, what should I…”

Faced with the tragedy that unfolded in an instant, everything turned white before her eyes. Eloise’s body collapsed lifelessly to the floor.

“It can’t be…”

Could he really be dead? No way. The stairs weren’t even that high, so there’s no way… Then why can’t he get up? There’s no movement at all… Wait, is that blood coming from his head?

Filled with anxious questions and plunged into panic for some time, a scream-like sharp voice shattered her frozen consciousness.

“Oh my! Aiden!”

“…Mrs. Mullitch?”

An old lady with white hair tightly twisted up, contrasting with her dark gray dress, came running to where the man had collapsed, her face ashen.

Was it fortunate that Mrs. Mullitch was the first to discover this scene?

While having such thoughts, a terribly cracked wailing brutally clawed at Eloise’s eardrums.

“Oh, Lord! Aiden, my son! Try opening your eyes!”

So it seemed that man was Mrs. Mullitch’s son. The original owner of the room on the second floor where Eloise had stayed for a little over a month.

At a loss for words, Eloise vacantly blinked her pale blue eyes. It was because the disparity between the vaguely imagined appearance of the lady’s son and reality was far too great.

Unaware of Eloise’s presence as she sat slumped by the front door, the old lady had been screaming like an angry crow, but as she examined her son from head to toe, her face gradually softened.

She had realized that what was splattered on the floor was not blood, and that her son was actually just sleeping soundly.

Nevertheless, the lady was furious to the point that even just the scratches on her son’s nasty face made her blood boil, while the pitiful Eloise was trembling, unaware of the situation at the bottom of the stairs.

It was at that moment that Mrs. Mullitch’s sharp gaze turned to the top of the stairs.

“You, you…!”

Perhaps she had forgotten the name in the meantime, or perhaps her tongue had stiffened from the shock of this commotion, but Mrs. Mullitch simply pointed at Eloise, moving her wrinkled lips without being able to continue speaking.

As the lady soon began huffing again with an anger-filled face, Eloise placed her hand on the chilly stone floor and lifted her shaking body.

At that moment, a pained groan escaped through her teeth. It seemed she had scraped her palm when her legs gave out and she sat down roughly.

But right now, explaining the situation took precedence over examining her wounds.

“Madam, I…”

“You did this? How dare you push my precious son down the stairs…!”

Just then, the old lady ran up the stairs at a tremendous speed and fiercely grabbed the front of Eloise’s dress.

Eloise struggled like a trapped animal against the violent force coming from those branch-like bony hands, a strength she could hardly believe.

“Mrs. Mullitch, please…! Please listen to what I have to say!”

“I’ll have you handed over to the court and severely punished! I’ll make sure the likes of you can never set foot here again!”

“Madam, your son harassed me first!”

“He’s still just a child who hasn’t even married yet! What are you implying about someone else’s pure son?”

“…I, it’s the truth! He was so drunk he couldn’t even communicate properly!”

Though it might have been surprising to learn that a man of that age was still unmarried, Eloise objected rather calmly.

In fact, the reason why Mrs. Mullitch’s son couldn’t get married was quite obvious with just a bit of thought.

Unfortunately, however, Eloise had no idea about the fact Mrs. Mullitch had hidden – that her old and ill-tempered son was a terrible gambling addict, and that the two months’ deposit she had paid was used to repay a portion of that man’s gambling debt.

At that moment, a phlegmy groan was heard from the bottom of the stairs.

“Ugh…”

“Oh, Aiden!”

Once again, at an unbelievable speed, the old lady ran down to where her son had collapsed. Pushed back by the recoil, Eloise could only look down at the scene at the bottom of the stairs with dazed eyes.

Her neatly coiled chestnut hair had somehow become disheveled as if hit by a typhoon.

“Dear, are you coming to your senses a bit? Hmm? Are you alright?”

“That, that crazy bitch…! Argh, it feels like my head is being torn apart!”

“Oh, let’s hurry and go inside. Take this mother’s hand. That’s it!”

The lady’s old son seemed perfectly fine, far from dying.

Although blood was flowing from his forehead, it seemed to be a wound from being scratched by broken glass shards.

The liquid soaking the floor was probably alcohol that leaked out when the bottle shattered. Only then could Eloise smell the strong scent of alcohol vibrating all around.

‘So he was just unconscious for a moment? Or did he fall asleep briefly…’

It was certainly fortunate, but for some reason, Eloise couldn’t close her mouth that had fallen open from a sense of absurdity. She really had no presence of mind at all.

In the meantime, the elderly mother and her son hurriedly climbed the stairs.

The lady anxiously supported her son, and the son placed his foot down, limping, while holding his bleeding forehead. In fact, he looked more like a drunkard than a patient.

“Ptooey.”

Then, as the man was about to cross the threshold following his mother, he fiercely glared at Eloise and suddenly spat.

Since he was a drunkard who couldn’t even steady his own body, it wasn’t difficult to avoid, but her body trembled from the humiliation she had never experienced since birth.

Bang, as the door closed before her eyes, a hollow sigh automatically burst out.

“Ha, what is this…”

Eloise covered her pale face with the back of her hand.

Her heart had been severely overworked due to the series of events that had just unfolded, leaving her completely drained of energy as if all her strength had been sapped.

It seemed it wouldn’t be strange if she fainted at any moment.

Blood had welled up on her palm that had been scraped against the stone floor, and judging by the sting every time the fabric brushed against it, there were certainly scratches on her knees as well.

Moreover, perhaps because she had twisted it when she lost balance and sat down roughly, even her ankle ached, making it difficult to stand up straight.

Before her eyes were broken glass shards and droplets of blood. It was a complete mess with the spilled alcohol.

The wretched state, not knowing where to start, seemed just like her current appearance.

Suppressing the urge to scream, Eloise waited for the lady to come out.

She was clearly lodging at this house, and all her belongings were inside the room that detestable man had been using. Above all, she wanted to wash up and lie down on the bed right away.

However, when the lady didn’t come out even after a long time, Eloise had to knock on the front door once again with her injured hand.

A tired, suppressed voice burst out.

“…Madam! Mrs. Mullitch!”

Then, as if the busy footsteps of a small animal were approaching, tuk tuk tuk, the front door soon opened.

Perhaps because she had been disinfecting her son’s wound, a sharp smell of medicine leaked out from inside the door.

The old lady had the most irritable face Eloise had ever seen her wear.

As she fiercely crossed her arms, a cat rubbed against her ankles. The old lady abruptly picked up the cat and snapped.

“What are you doing there? You still haven’t left?”

“…Pardon?”

Eloise’s eyebrows twitched slightly in bewilderment.

“Well, this is my lodging house, after all. I apologize for being away from home for a long time without notice, but there were circumstances-”

“I can’t let a criminal who harmed my son into the house! Do you have any idea that you almost killed someone else’s precious child?”

“Crimi…”

She was at a loss for words from the absurdity.

The bitter emotion finally burst out the moment her eyes met those of the cat Sally, who was glaring at her from the lady’s arms with a face as venomous as her owner’s.

“Why won’t you listen to what I’m saying? Your son behaved inappropriately towards me, and I only pushed his hand away to protect myself. I didn’t even push him hard, but your son lost his balance on his own-”

“Can’t you shut your mouth? I can call the police station right now and have you arrested, you should be well aware of that, young lady!”

“…”

Eloise’s lips closed tightly at the fiery threat.

The police station. It was an utterly unfamiliar term to Eloise, who was born and raised in Maybery, and that’s why it could only sound more terrifying.

In truth, she was just a naive country girl who didn’t know the ways of the capital.

If the angry old lady were to falsely accuse her of a ridiculous crime and take her to court, she had no idea she would inevitably be punished for a crime she didn’t even commit.

‘In this state, there’s no law saying she wouldn’t…’

It was a situation that couldn’t be more unjust, but for now, it was important not to provoke the lady. Taking a deep breath, Eloise asked in a much calmer voice.

“But even if you don’t let me in, it’s going to be a problem. I paid you two months’ deposit…”

“Ha, deposit?”

The lady lifted her pointed chin and continued.

“You arbitrarily left the house and were gone for two months, so consider the rent paid with that.”

“…Pardon?”

At the unexpected words, Eloise’s throat suddenly choked up.

That money was all her assets. The precious money combined from the allowance given by her father and her sister’s emergency funds…

“But madam…!”

“Why are you making a face as if it’s unfair? I couldn’t even take in a new lodger because of your belongings. You weren’t possibly thinking of insisting on having that money returned, were you?”

As Mrs. Mullitch pushed on in a shrill voice, the tears she had been holding back suddenly burst out.

It was true that she had left the capital and returned to Maybery without a word, and that she had left without even leaving the lady a short memo. However…

“Ah, that’s right.”

Then, the old lady, muttering irritably, went inside the house, leaving Eloise behind in futility.

Unable to sit down or take a step, she stood frozen, and soon, along with the sound of hurried footsteps running down the stairs, the front door opened wide.

At the same time, something familiar flew towards Eloise’s feet.

Perhaps because her belongings that had been laid out in the room were hastily swept in, the luggage bag that hit the floor burst open, and clothes, papers, pens, and such spilled out in a jumble.

“Ah…”

While she moved her lips without a word, a drunken man’s shout was heard from inside the door.

Eloise flinched with teary eyes in surprise. At that moment, the lady exhaled an angry breath.

“Be grateful that I’m not reporting you or charging you for medical expenses, and don’t ever show yourself around here again!”

With that fierce rebuke, bang, the door closed once more.

Eloise had to cry for a long time in front of the tightly closed front door.