I Revived My Maid, Now She Hungers for My Blood

Aldrich’s next words, though, jammed that relieved breath right back in Wilber’s throat.

“But you should also get this straight.” Aldrich slowly turned his head, his gaze landing on Wilber like a physical weight. “If your strength was a real match for The Scalpel, or even just one of those Quarry bruisers, then with that expensive ritual array backing you up, even with this ‘surprise’ messing things up…” He let the pause hang. “You… wouldn’t have been crushed this badly. You wouldn’t have lost at all. When you strip it down, the root is still…”

His voice wasn’t loud, but every word was clear, driving into Wilber’s chest.

“…you’re too weak.”

“Do you understand?”

In the study, the moonlight lay like a shroud. Wilber hung his head, kneeling on the soft, cold rug.

“Yes.”

He could feel his back wounds starting to ache again. He couldn’t argue. Deep down, he knew it was true.

Silence held the room for a long moment. Wilber hesitated, then finally asked in a low voice, “Lord Aldrich, about what’s next… Do you need me to prep to retake the Botanical Garden? Or track that woman, find out who she is?”

Aldrich didn’t answer right away. He turned slowly back to the window. Outside, the red moonlight kept pouring onto the lake. The water looked calm, like a huge dark-red mirror, hiding whatever was beneath.

After watching for a while, Aldrich finally spoke. “You don’t need to worry about that anymore. Since that woman dares to stand against me, I want to see exactly who she is. And see how high a price Echo Quarry is willing to pay to keep her safe!”

His gaze seemed to cut through the lake water, out toward the night-shrouded ruins in the distance. “She’d better pray The Quarry’s protection doesn’t slip. Otherwise…”

Aldrich didn’t finish. Instead, he reached over and picked something up from the desk. A human skull, polished smooth, turned into some kind of ornament. His hand closed around it. Veins stood out on the back of his hand.

The next second—Crunch… crunch…

The teeth-grinding sound of bone being crushed and ground filled the quiet study. The hard skull was as fragile as a dry biscuit in his grip, crumbling easily into fragments and powder. White bone meal sifted down between his fingers, dusting the dark desktop.

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On the desk, a long, thin Palmfiend that had been lying still flinched at the sudden noise and movement. It lifted its head, the single eye in its severed wrist looking at the bone dust. Then it hopped down, landed in the powder, and began to roll in it.

Aldrich looked down at the creature rolling by his feet. He bent, picked it up. The Palmfiend went still in his palm, its long limbs curling in. Aldrich stroked it gently as he spoke.

“This matter, this woman… I’ll handle the aftermath myself. As for you…” He tossed the Palmfiend lightly. Wilber caught it on instinct. “Take a look.”

Wilber did as told, carefully opening the Palmfiend’s hand to see the skin of the palm. Names were written there now. But… the color of those names had all turned a dull, dead gray.

“‘Grave-Touch’ Raelf Pence is dead. The hunter squad led by ‘Iron Hand’ is dead too. They’re all gone.” Aldrich’s calm voice explained as Wilber scanned the names. Wilber’s mind raced, quickly piecing together Aldrich’s meaning.

“The one who killed them was, most likely, the target I allowed them to move against last time. A girl called ‘The Baroness.’ According to the intel ‘Poxman’ sent before he died, this girl is also with Echo Quarry. And she’s skilled with potions.”

Saying this, Aldrich’s voice gained a cold edge. “This is very bad. She’s the exact type who should be with us, who even belongs with us, but she ran to the enemy. What if other talented brewers follow her? She needs to be dealt with. Properly.”

Aldrich paused, seeming to think. Wilber used the moment to quickly figure the link between this seemingly separate issue and tonight’s loss at the Garden. The timing was definitely close.

“We can’t rule out that this girl is a feint, a distraction from the other side,” Aldrich said, his tone not fully convinced. “Handle it yourself.”

He looked at Wilber, the order clear. “Considering Echo Quarry might make a move, if you get the chance, kill her outright. Even if you can’t, make her life difficult. She killed our people. She doesn’t get to be comfortable. Also, find out exactly how she did it. Was it her own power? Or did someone else from The Quarry help in the shadows? You can test that too. In short,” Aldrich’s voice turned grave, “this is on you. Don’t disappoint me again.”

Wilber immediately straightened up, even though the motion pulled his wounds with a sharp sting.

“Yes!” His voice was hard.

The major business was done. The study’s atmosphere eased a fraction. Finally, Aldrich’s eyes returned to Wilber’s miserable injuries, the patches of ruined skin.

“Your wounds…” he began slowly. “Seeing as you gave your all for this task, even risked your life, I’ll help you treat them. But…” He paused slightly. “You should understand, ‘Sanguine Serum’ isn’t perfect either.”

In the time that followed, the sound of low conversation flickered in the room. Not long after, Wilber, having received the Sanguine Serum treatment, left the study.

The serum’s effect was shocking. By the time he walked out, those horrible, bone-deep wounds had, at least on the surface, closed up completely. Only faint, slightly paler lines remained on his skin, like old scars from years ago.