"I would like to advise you to refrain from walking the halls at night. It gets a little scary for someone who isn't used to it. I don't want you getting frightened." He warned and she nodded.
"Alright! Anything else?"
"And please, never go to the garden at night!" His words sounded cold "Do you understand?" Although she did not understand, she nodded anyway.
"Of course!"
"Then goodnight, my lady. Have a wonderful rest!" He bowed and left.
Susan closed her door and pondered on it for a while but she couldn't get what he meant. In the end, she concluded that the garden also looked scary at night and that there were big and scary watchdogs.
Whatever the case may be, she would definitely not go there at night.
That night Susan had another nightmare. It was just like the previous one, running in an endless forest with nothing but the moon to light her path.
'It' kept chasing her with it's dark and formless figure and red glowing eyes.
When she got to the point where she saw the lake, she found a crystal coffin instead.
Not minding the change, she tried to catch her breath and looked back to see if it was still chasing her. When she saw that it wasn't, she turned to the coffin. Once again, she met the bloody red eyes and woke up with a start.
"Why?" She gasped for breath. "Why that nightmare?" She covered her eyes with her arm.
She felt tired of having that same terrifying nightmare for two nights. She was exhausted. "I'd rather not dream at all."
"Was it that scary?" Came a voice and she subconsciously replied.
"Very!" As soon as she realized it was strange, she turned to see a man. "Kyaa!" She immediately got off the beg and glued herself to the wall while pointing her slipper at him. "Who...who are you?" She inquired.
"Come on, I don't bite!" He said and beaconed on her with his index finger but she didn't move an inch. "Am I that scary?"
"No! I mean yes! Who are you and what ...what are you doing in my room and on my bed at this hour?" She questioned and he smirked.
What was an attractive young man doing in her bed at that time of the night?
He had jet black hair and sharp brown eyes. According to what she heard, those were the features of members of the Esclairs family.
He sat up and stared at her with all certainty. That smirk on his face seemed to mock her.
"So, you'd let me be on your bed if it wasn't this late?" He asked and she frowned.
"Don't joke around. Tell me who you are or I'll...I'll scream." She threatened. Although he had the features of an Esclairs, she couldn't be so sure he was one.
He got off the bed and started walking towards her. Without a second warning, she attempted to scream but he covered her mouth.
His movement was so fast that she didn't know when he got to her or how he got to her. 'How is he so fast?'
"Little angel, if you scream, you'll put us both in a disadvantaged situation." He said and she glared at him. "I know that look. Trust me, I only wanted to get to know my sister-in-law." He said and her eyebrows furrowed.
'sister-in-law?' she thought 'Even if that were true, who visits their sister-in-law in the middle of the night and lie on their bed while their sleeping?'
"I'm going to let go now. You have to promise me that you won't scream after I let go, okay?" He asked and she nodded.
He slowly removed his hand from her mouth but little did he know that she was preparing herself to let out a loud scream.
Once his hand was far from her mouth, contrary to their agreement, she let out a very loud scream.
Carlson immediately burst through the doors.
"Humans are very dishonest!" The strange man exclaimed and Carlson exhaled feeling exhausted.
"Carlson, help!" Susan yelled but didn't have the guts to move from her current position so he walked towards her.
"Young master, the lord would not approve to such a behavior in his absence." Carlson said while leading Susan to a chair. "Calm down, my lady!"
"I just wanted to say hi!"
"At this hour?" Carlson asked with a raised eyebrow.
"What's wrong with this hour? Isn't this the usual time vam..."
"Ahem!" Carlson intentionally interrupted him by clearing his throat. He quickly caught on to his fault and changed his tone.
"Anyway, I just got back and wanted to see her in person. Don't make a big deal out of nothing, sheesh!" He put his right hand in his pocket and used his left hand to rub the back of his neck. "I'm already going." He headed for the door and smirked. "I'll see you around, little angel!" With that, he left.
Susan looked at Carlson, expecting some kind of explanation. He looked at her and smiled.
"That was the lord's younger brother, Dylan. He can be a bit of a mischievous type but I assure you, he won't do anything that will bring harm to you." He said and she sighed.
"Should I be concerned?" Susan asked and he shook his head.
"He's not a threat!" Carlson said and then looked at the door. "But how to make sure he doesn't repeat this act?"
"I'll... I'll lock my door from no on." She said and he nodded.
"Please do that!" Carlson said 'But I don't think that will stop him'
Susan stared at Carlson. Yes she said she would lock the door from now on but, she never said it wasn't locked to begin with. How did he get in? Through the window? Speaking of, how did Carlson come to her rescue so fast? It was almost as if he expected something like that to happen.
"Um, Carlson?" She called and he turned to look at her.
"Yes, my lady?"
"How did you get here so fast?" She inquired. The expression on her face was difficult to read.
He stayed silent for about 2 seconds before smiling.
"I was just coming from the lord's study, which is just at the end of the hall. Luckily, I was just outside your door when you screamed." He explained.