Duo[Dash]1 Zone’s Duke Daemon Manor.

A sound of sobbing echoed in the mansion of the noble Daemon family.

“Heuk, heukheuk…….”

It wasn’t a wail of a ghost.

The origin of the cries was Sherry Daemon, the duchess of Duke Daemon Manor.

Curled up on the bed, Sherry wept, flipping the sheet over her head, not wanting to be seen crying.

“Heo-eong…….”

“……Sherry. Don’t cry.”

Sitting beside her was her older brother by three years, Cloud Daemon.

Cloud, pulling a chair beside the bed, tried to console his sister by patting her back, but Sherry’s sobs only grew louder.

It was rare for Sherry Daemon, usually lively and brave, to cry so sorrowfully.

Cloud sighed and said,

“Crying won’t change anything. You’re just losing valuable moisture.”

“Heuk, heuk…. Scary!”

Angry, Sherry hurled a pillow at Cloud.

Cloud, who had been honored as a Knight of Valor, easily dodged it.

Tears making her eyelids red and swollen, Sherry continued to wail.

Her skin, puffy from days of crying, tangled pinkish hair, and even her bloodshot eyes.

It was hard to believe that this was the Duchess of the Daemon family, who always enjoyed dressing up.

But no one in the Duke Daemon Manor pointed out Sherry’s disheveled appearance.

Sherry, gripping the blanket tightly, trembled with swollen eyes.

“Outside, people are turning into monsters and laying siege; all we can do is hold up in the isolated manor…….”

“…….”

“Our mother and father have……appeared as ‘those’ forms.”

At this point, Sherry scratched at her arms until she bled. Cloud’s shoulders twitched at her words.

“Let’s stop talking about that.”

Cloud too looked weary. His once glossy hair was now messy. Rubbing his dry eyes, Cloud spoke to his sister.

“It was an unavoidable accident.”

“But, brother.”

“There was no better way. We……we did our best.”

The only people in Duchess Sherry’s room were Cloud and Sherry.

Sherry’s personal maid, who was always around, got bitten when ‘that incident’ happened.

Their parents transformed right after returning home from the Prince and Princess’s wedding.

The once harmonious Duke Daemon Manor had become barren in an instant.

Smiles vanished from the faces of Sherry and Cloud because of it.

“How long can we hold out with the magic barrier protecting the manor?”

“I don’t know. According to the butler, we can last another month……. But the chef who manages the kitchen doesn’t look good. We only have food for another week.”

“Then what are we going to do when it runs out?”

When Sherry asked with a face full of fear, Cloud couldn’t continue his words.

“……Then we’ll have no choice but to go outside.”

“…….”

A heavy silence hung between the siblings.

‘It’s all because of those monsters outside.’

The strange phenomenon of people turning into monsters or biting others to transform them.

It had started from the royal city and almost entirely overrun the capital.

Sherry and Cloud missed the Prince’s wedding day due to sickness, but ironically, it was a blessing in disguise.

Most of the guests who attended the wedding that day did not make it back alive.

There were exceptions, but……they returned home in less than perfect conditions, giving birth to another terrible tragedy.

The Duke Daemon Manor also had a narrow escape when they welcomed back their transformed parents, thanks to Cloud’s quick thinking.

But that was it.

Inside the isolated Duke Daemon Manor, the siblings were slowly withering away, not knowing what to do.

“……Brother, I want to contact Jaki.”

“……Alright.”
In a state that was virtually akin to confinement, Sherry became fixated on communicating with Jacqueline, a friend and the daughter of the Duke of Celeste.

Fortunately, the servants of the Duke of Celeste were scheduled to return from a foreign business trip on the day of the Crown Prince’s wedding and thus were absent from the ceremony.

Thanks to that, everyone from the Duke’s family managed to escape being swept up by the monsters, although they, too, were in a state of isolation.

The only link connecting the closely situated ducal and earl’s households was a magical communication device.

Best friends Sherry and Jacqueline were calling each other daily to check in.

Wondering if they had survived another day, contemplating if there was a way out of this predicament.

Wrapped in a blanket, Sherry headed for the living room.

As she slumped down onto the sofa adorned according to the refined tastes of the Duke of Daymon, she breathed power into the magic stone fitted into the communication device. Before long, she was connected to the Duke of Celeste.

“Hello? Jackie?”

[Dash] Sherry! Are you okay today?

“…I’m fine. What about you? Is Jesse safe?”

[Dash] Yep. Jesse and I are both fine. So are our father and mother…

“…That’s a relief.”

Sniffle. Sherry let out a nasal sound.

Jacqueline couldn’t not know.

[Dash] …You cried?

“I didn’t cry.”

[Dash] You did. I heard you sniffle.

“I said, I didn’t cry.”

[Dash] …Your parents are still lacking a carriage, huh?