Charlotte’s fingers gripped the curtain tightly.

On the other hand, Matiel, who was sitting in the back and unaware of the situation, noticed a moment later that something was off with Charlotte.

“What’s wrong?”

Matiel asked.

“Is there a problem?”

Charlotte turned to face him, still clutching the box seat curtain as if she might tear it.

“They’re gone.”

“What?”

“They’re gone. Both of them. And Viscountess Holmes’s fan is lying on the floor. If they had left in the middle, they wouldn’t have dropped the fan. They must have hurried out without noticing. But… what could have made them both leave in such a rush?”

Matiel quickly moved next to Charlotte and examined the box seats of the two women. It was just as she had said.

The fan, half-opened from the impact of falling, rolled on the floor as if bewildered, unable to comprehend the situation. Other than that, there was nothing left to prove the two had been there.

Charlotte said,

“I heard Viscountess Holmes whispering until almost the end of the first act. Though I couldn’t hear Lady Binum’s responses…”

“Do you remember when you last heard their voices?”

Charlotte shook her head and bit her lip.

“I’m not sure. Whether it was after the ensemble, or after the ballet…”

Matiel licked his dry lips. Charlotte suddenly felt a chill down her spine. She straightened her shoulders before turning to him.

“We need to go look for them. I have a bad feeling about this.”

“You mean you don’t think they’ll come back?”

Charlotte nodded.

“That’s right. I don’t think they’ll return. One of them might not be able to come back. Lady Holmes, I mean.”

* * *

The hall was packed with people drinking champagne and chattering about the first act.

Lines of people waiting to use the powder room and restrooms stretched from the stairs nearly to the hall, and even the small private rooms and the corridor in front were crowded.

“Excuse me, coming through.”

Charlotte frowned each time she bumped into someone.

Some people made way after seeing the urgent expressions on their faces, while others seemed so engrossed in drinking champagne and gossiping that they might not notice even if a bomb went off next to them.

It’s too noisy, Charlotte thought.

The voices of people, both loud and soft, merged into a throbbing drumbeat.

The sounds rose toward the dome-shaped ceiling, then poured back down along the curved surface, mixing with newly created noise and seeming to continually swell in volume.

“Let me through, please!”

Charlotte raised her voice and quickly scanned her surroundings as people flinched.

However, she could see neither Rachel Holmes nor Clang Binum.

She couldn’t find them among the people standing in line either.

She kept watching people coming out of the powder room and restrooms, but to no avail.

Matiel, who had gone to check other box seats, returned.

He briefly met Charlotte’s questioning gaze before shaking his head.

“They’re not anywhere else. At least, not inside the theater, that’s for sure.”

“Then did they go outside? Wait, they might have left their shawls or cloaks. I’ll go and…”

“Hold on.”

Matiel stopped her. Charlotte, unable to hide her impatience, furrowed her brow without realizing it.

“We don’t have time to dawdle. The second act will start soon!”

“You weren’t planning to watch the second act anyway, were you? Come here for a moment.”

“It’s not about wanting to see the second act. If both of them, or even one of them, goes back into the theater, it’ll be hard to find them. The lights will go out when the play starts.”

“I know. You’re right. But right now, just follow me.”

Charlotte realized he must have seen or sensed something. She was right.

Matiel led Charlotte towards the corridor where small private rooms and lounges were gathered.

Men gathered in the narrow corridor smoking cigarettes or drinking champagne and debating gave Matiel a slight nod of acknowledgment.

“Look over there.”

At Matiel’s words, Charlotte’s gaze followed where he was pointing.

All the doors to the opera house lounges opened by pushing from outside, but among the several doors, only one was firmly closed.

No one could be seen entering or leaving that room.

“Someone might be enjoying a secret rendezvous.”

Charlotte said skeptically, and Matiel furrowed his brow.

“That’s possible, of course. But there’s no law saying we can’t check, is there? Especially in a situation like this.”

Right. Charlotte thought. He was correct. But…

‘I don’t want to open that door. I really don’t want to. Why? Ah, why? Because I have a bad feeling. Because I have a premonition that we’ll see something terrible. If we open that door, there’ll be no turning back.’

Charlotte slowly inhaled.

She was so tense that her breath came in short bursts.

She felt like she might choke badly if she wasn’t careful.

“Alright, let’s go check it out.”

Charlotte sighed deeply and strode down the corridor with militant steps.

It might have looked ridiculous to others, but she felt she wouldn’t have the courage to approach the problematic door otherwise.

Even with Matiel there, it wasn’t much comfort.

It was her principle that one shouldn’t expect any consolation in the face of a terrible event beyond human control.

“I’m opening it.”

“Wait, let me do it.”

Matiel gently pushed away Charlotte’s hand, which was trembling as she gripped the doorknob.

Her hand was very cold and stiff.

There was a click. The door wasn’t locked.

The moment the doorknob turned, an unpleasant smell wafted towards Matiel.

He couldn’t tell if it was real or just his imagination.

He pushed the door open forcefully. Matiel’s eyes widened.

“Is that…?”

Charlotte, who was looking into the private room behind him, couldn’t hide her shocked expression either.

She stared at Rachel Holmes’s empty eyes, which seemed to express both ecstasy and pain, then covered her trembling lips with her hand.

There were two women inside.

Rachel Holmes and, of course, the other was Clang Binum.

When he opened the door, Matiel momentarily mistook them for engaging in obscene caresses, but that wasn’t the case.

Rachel was sitting on Clang’s lap, shaking but making no sound.

Clang Binum had Rachel’s neck tilted back and her lips pressed against it, but anyone could see this was no kiss.

At that moment, Clang Binum, who had been relentlessly sucking at Rachel’s neck, looked up.

She looked at Charlotte first, even before Matiel who was standing in front.

As their eyes met, Clang Binum smiled coldly with her bright red lips.

The skin at the corners of her mouth crumbled away like plaster.

“Matiel!”

Charlotte screamed, grabbing Matiel’s jacket. He had tried to leap into the room.

“Let go! What are you doing?”

“Don’t go in, if you go in now you’ll become prey too!”

Before she could finish speaking, there was the sound of breaking glass.

Rachel Holmes still lay on the sofa with that strange expression.

Clang Binum was nowhere to be seen, and the outside wind flowed in through the large hole in the window.

Charlotte quickly rushed over and placed her fingertips on Rachel Holmes’s neck.

She felt momentary relief at the faint but present pulse, but when she checked where Clang Binum’s lips had been, her toes tingled.

It felt like terror was rushing in like the tide.

“…Matiel, look at this.”

Matiel entered the private room with a frown.

As Charlotte slowly turned the unconscious Rachel’s head, two clear marks were visible.

Between the marks, there was a profusion of purplish bruising.

Charlotte swallowed hard before speaking.

“It’s exactly like the marks I saw in the newspaper. The shape and size. You might have been right. About the serial killings in Eliki… It couldn’t have been done by a human. It’s impossible for a human to do this.”

* * *

The opera house manager, who came running at the sound of breaking glass, was horrified to see Rachel Holmes collapsed.

Charlotte first hid the wound on her neck before saying,

“Please call the police. As quickly as possible.”

Inspector Möller, in charge of the 3rd district of the capital Yuriel, arrived with his team in less than half an hour after receiving the report.

Möller was tall and skinny but had such a fierce look that he never appeared easy to deal with, and his actual personality matched his appearance.

He first greeted Matiel, then instructed an officer to close the door of the private room and guard it.

“What happened?”

Möller said with a sigh in his voice.

He looked at both of them in turn, but his gaze lingered longer on Charlotte.

It might have been simply because she was closer to Rachel, but on the other hand, it seemed his intuition had picked out the person more likely to explain the situation accurately.

“We…”

Charlotte, speaking in an uncharacteristically trembling voice, bit her lower lip hard.

“Du… Duke Matiel of Elinak and I came to this private room looking for a place to rest during the intermission. We thought nothing of it when we saw this door closed, assuming someone was inside. But then…”