The Beast That Licks Me - Chapter 4.10

No matter how mature she appeared, Silvia was still a child. Seeing Silvia’s worried expression, Rosette tried not to laugh as she continued.

“Are you interested in making d***s?”

“I am curious. The fact that a pure white powder, just a teaspoon of it, can manipulate people and even kill them.”

“I see. Thank you for telling me. But it would be better not to mention this to others.”

It was a dangerous statement even for a child. Especially now, when they were catching d**g dealers like rats.

“I know. I only told you because you’re my teacher.”

Since starting her entrance exam studies, Silvia had completely opened up to Rosette. She often told Rosette things she wouldn’t tell Jepi. She said she didn’t like telling Jepi because when Jepi used the magical device to send letters to her father, she would tell him everything in detail. That was certainly something the somewhat indiscreet Jepi would do. After pondering briefly at Silvia’s cute question, Rosette said.

“Every poison always has an antidote.”

“…What?”

“You can know about poisons, but choose the path of creating antidotes. And I believe Silvia is capable of that.”

At Rosette’s answer, Silvia sat dazed for a moment before slightly averting her gaze. Seen from the side, the corners of her mouth were twitching subtly. She must have been quite happy that Rosette had said such things to her. Rosette grinned and bit into a cookie in front of her. The milk cookie crumbled softly in her mouth.

“This cookie is really delicious. It tastes like milk.”

“You can take them. Neither my mom nor I really like milk cookies.”

“No, I couldn’t. Now, if you’ve memorized everything, shall we take the test?”

“Yes.”

Rosette walked briskly down the corridor holding the milk cookies. Silvia had mentioned to Jepi that the teacher liked milk cookies, so Jepi had semi-forcibly given them to her. It was clearly intentional. When Rosette had reluctantly accepted the milk cookies, she could feel Silvia’s satisfaction. Like a cute little devil.

Though she could have refused, she pretended not to know and took them because she thought Evan would like milk cookies. Why was it that even though she was upset with Evan for rarely coming to the room, she still wanted to get things for him when she saw them?

Fortunately, today there was no sign of the gaze that had been bothering her for days. She hadn’t mentioned it to Jepi or the children because she didn’t want to worry them unnecessarily, but it seemed to be getting more serious, and she was considering reporting it to security.

She had really intended to report it if it happened again today, but somehow that gaze had disappeared. Rosette breathed a sigh of relief.

“The waves are rough today…”

Rosette muttered, looking at the angry waves visible through the window. Perhaps it was a kind of growth that she no longer got seasick even with the ship rocking this much. It was while she was thinking this and looking down that she noticed it.

“…What is this?”

Drops of an unidentified liquid were scattered on the red carpet of the corridor. At first, she thought it was water, but seeing the carpet stained brown, it didn’t seem to be water. The liquid extended in a line, almost like it was showing the way. She had an ominous feeling. Rosette quickened her pace.

The amount of liquid increased with each step. Her heart beat anxiously. No way. Rosette’s heart sank when she turned the corner. The liquid trail ended in front of her room door. Rosette began to run, abandoning dignity. Her hand trembled as she inserted the key. When she turned the key, the door opened with a click. Rosette raised the lamp high as she opened the door. Thud, Rosette dropped the bag of milk cookies.

A trail of blood led from the floor to the bed. There were clear bloody handprints on the bed sheets.

“Hnngh…”

Rosette unconsciously groaned and sank to the floor. Her legs gave way, and she simply couldn’t get up. It was then that someone placed a hand on Rosette’s shoulder.

“…!”

Rosette was so startled she couldn’t even scream, just hunched her shoulders.

“Teacher, what’s wrong?”

It was Levit. In this anxious situation, seeing a familiar face was strangely reassuring, even though he was just a child. Tears rolled down her cheeks before she could wipe them away.

“What’s really going on?”

Levit picked up the lamp from the floor and held it up to illuminate the inside. Thanks to this, Rosette could once again witness the terrible scene inside. The blood trail left a large mark on the sheets and stopped at the bathroom. It seemed someone had cleaned off the blood in the bathroom.

“What is this…”

Having seen the situation inside, Levit couldn’t continue speaking. Instead of sitting down with her, Levit made a more sensible decision.

“I’ll go report this to security.”

Hearing this, Rosette grabbed Levit’s arm as he was about to dash off.

“I, I’ll go with you.”

“Can you stand up?”

Her legs still had no strength. But she had to get up. Rosette tried her hardest to stand by holding onto the doorframe. Thanks to Levit supporting her with his whole body, Rosette was barely able to stand.

She wasn’t sure how she managed to lock the door and run down the corridor. Although she was out of breath and tasted metal in her mouth, Rosette stubbornly followed behind Levit.

After barely making it to the security office, they found it lit but empty. Levit shook the closed bars in confusion.

“Is anyone there!”

Levit raised his voice, but there was no sign of anyone coming from inside.

“Damn, seems like no one’s here. There used to be at least one person… Teacher, where are you going?”

“I, I need to find Evan.”

“Let’s find him together. If we ask the kids to help, we can find him quickly.”

“O-okay.”

Levit gestured from far ahead, motioning for her to hurry. After losing so much blood, would he be alright?

“Teacher, hurry!”

Rosette held back her tears and ran forward again.

Rather than the disoriented Rosette, it was Levit who took charge of finding Evan. He gathered friends and assigned tasks without hesitation. About a dozen children moved according to Levit’s instructions. Even Ariel, who had rushed out in the middle of sleep, followed along.

The three of them frantically searched all over the ship. From all medical offices and security stations in first to third class, to the 24-hour general store. They had been everywhere except inside private cabins. After about an hour of searching.

“Levit-!”

A boy wearing a pressed-down baker’s hat came running from the end of the corridor, calling Levit’s name.

“Solnit saw someone who looks like him in the underground cargo storage!”

“Thank you!”

The three made eye contact and immediately started running toward the cargo storage area. All three were drenched in sweat, but no one cared. They managed the impressive feat of reaching the underground storage from the second floor in just ten minutes. When they opened the heavy storage door, a musty smell hit them. Rosette looked at the darkness-engulfed storage and thought.

Is Evan really here? What on earth have you been doing, Evan?

Praying that nothing serious had happened, Rosette entered the storage holding up her lamp. Unlike the corridors where lamps were lit sporadically, the storage was completely dark. The high ceiling and silhouettes of large cargo in the darkness evoked a slight fear. At the boundary between light and darkness, Rosette hesitated briefly. Before she could think too long, Levit and Ariel rushed inside. Rosette followed them in reflexively. The door closed with a heavy thud. The three figures melted into the darkness.

“Children, be careful of your footing, you might get hurt…”

Rosette, who was warning them to be careful, nearly fell herself when she misstepped. Levit and Ariel caught her from both sides. Her cheeks flushed with embarrassment.

“Th-thank you…”

“Teacher, there’s a lot of stuff on the floor. It would be better to hold the lamp lower.”

“Yes, alright.”

The moment she lowered the lamp, the three froze. One of the cargo boxes must have burst open, as dolls were scattered everywhere, and red blood was dripping onto them. The smell of blood, previously masked by the dust, now became intensely noticeable. A chill ran down their spines.