“Huh?”

Harrison’s pupils wavered at Tanashia’s utterly unexpected words.

How on earth could she possibly know he had come up from the basement?

There was only one possible answer: she must have already surveyed the inside of Harrison’s house before ringing the doorbell, and realized he wasn’t there.

Tanashia deliberately rang the doorbell to lure him out, intending to locate the hidden passage leading to the basement.

The underground space Harrison himself had helped design was so secretly concealed that anyone unaware of its existence would never be able to find the staircase descending downward.

‘C-could it be… she somehow figured it out even though I thought I’d left no trace…?’

Harrison desperately tried to deny such a possibility, but Tanashia opened her mouth again—as if to confirm his worst fears.

“Didn’t you hear me? I said let’s go together to the basement inside this house.”

Having no idea what was going on, Harrison resolved to pretend ignorance.

“Miss, you suddenly show up and say such things—I don’t understand what you mean.”

Though Harrison evaded, Tanashia’s expression remained completely unfazed. She glanced sideways at Ascan standing beside her and murmured softly.

“Ascan, surely you can tell where the butler just walked from? Guide me to the hidden basement in this house.”

What?

Harrison doubted his own ears.

From his perspective, her words made absolutely no sense. He never imagined in his wildest dreams that Ascan—with his exceptional hearing—could deduce Harrison’s exact movement path based solely on the sound of his footsteps.

With Harrison standing rigid before him, Ascan readily nodded.

“Follow me.”

Even though Harrison hadn’t shown them the way, they strolled through the house as if it meant nothing to them.

Only belatedly regaining his senses, Harrison cried out desperately.

“W-what is the meaning of this! How dare you barge into someone else’s home like this! If Lord Orland finds out about your behavior, Miss—”

The moment Harrison mentioned Orland, Tanashia’s expression changed. She glared at him with murderous eyes and spoke.

“How dare you mention Father with that filthy mouth. Laughable. Though your life’s already forfeit, you’d better not provoke me further. Believe me, I’m exercising considerable restraint right now.”

“W-what do you mean…?”

Harrison still couldn’t comprehend the situation, but he knew—if Tanashia truly entered the basement, she would discover Angela, whom he had kidnapped.

He didn’t know how she had found out or tracked him here, but if it became known that he had kidnapped Angela and called her “Charles,” the incident from over twenty years ago would undoubtedly be exposed.

‘I must escape.’

Just as Harrison took a step backward, watching Tanashia enter the house, someone suddenly seized the back of his neck.

Reacting instinctively to the rough grip, Harrison looked up—and saw Zen, the very person who had beaten him senselessly just moments ago.

Zen fixed Harrison with a lethal gaze and warned him.

“Didn’t you hear what the Miss said? You’d better stay still unless you want your limbs broken.”

Harrison despaired inwardly. He prayed fervently—again and again—that Tanashia would fail to find the passage leading underground.

But…

Ascan stopped precisely in front of the entrance to the basement. Tilting his head slightly, he murmured quietly to himself, as if thinking aloud.

“It should definitely be around here.”

The spot, appearing like ordinary flooring, normally required pressing a hidden mechanism to open. But Ascan simply drew the Kal Spelliver sheathed at his waist.

Bang! Bang!

He struck the floor firmly with the scabbarded Kal Spelliver.

Though he didn’t seem to exert much force, the section of floor leading underground gradually cracked apart, revealing the staircase descending below.

Harrison stared at the scene as if his soul had left his body—completely in a state of panic.

Once the entrance to the basement was exposed, Tanashia turned to Zen, who still held Harrison firmly.

“Bring the butler along too. I might have questions for him.”

“Yes, Miss.”

Zen replied respectfully, then dragged Harrison—still gripping the back of his neck—down into the basement.

Harrison scraped across the floor, bumping into furniture as he was pulled. He writhed in pain, but couldn’t escape Zen’s iron grip even slightly.

Tap tap—

Tanashia, Ascan, and Carlton descended into the basement first.

The underground chamber, lacking ventilation, reeked of mustiness. Above all, the dim, gloomy space exuded an eerie, chilling atmosphere.

Just as foremen had previously described, a large furnace stood at the center.

Even before Tanashia could ask, Ascan gestured toward the furnace with his eyes and instructed Carlton.

“Investigate it. See if there’s any trace of human bone ash.”

“Understood.”

Carlton immediately approached the furnace and began examining the remaining traces.

At that moment—

“Mmmph!”

A groan was heard.

Tanashia and Ascan’s gazes naturally turned toward the barred enclosure resembling a dog kennel.

At first glance, it seemed like a black object—but upon closer inspection, it was clearly a woman, limbs bound tightly.

They had rushed into the house assuming Harrison might already be continuing his murders, but actually witnessing such a scene momentarily stole their words.

Tanashia spoke in a trembling voice.

“Ascan…”

Though she said nothing more, Ascan gently patted her shoulder—as if to calm her—then stepped toward the barred enclosure.

Ascan easily broke the bars and untied the bound woman. The moment she was freed, the woman screamed as if she had been waiting for this moment.

“P-please save me! The man living here is trying to kill me!”

As expected, the black-haired woman was Angela, who had gone missing recently. Tanashia recognized her instantly—she had seen her photo on the missing person’s flyer.

Tanashia spoke calmly.

“It’s alright now. We’re here—you’re safe.”

Just then, Zen dragged Harrison down into the basement chamber.

Seeing him, Angela shrieked in terror, her face soaked with fear.

“I-it’s him! Aaaah! That man tried to cut out my tongue!”

The moment Angela—the woman who had gone missing from this location—was discovered, Harrison’s crimes became undeniably clear.

Tanashia stared at Harrison with a chilling expression and spoke.

“Explain yourself—with that hole you call a mouth. What is the meaning of all this?”

Harrison, face swollen from Zen’s beating, shook his head. He couldn’t possibly confess—not when admitting it meant the end.

“That young girl seduced me. From your perspective, it may look like a misunderstanding, but I’m just as much a victim.”

At Harrison’s shameless claim, Angela stammered, her face pale as death.

“N-no! That man kidnapped me and tried to kill me! He kept calling me Charles and saying all sorts of strange things!”

Charles…

Tanashia’s eyes darkened deeply.

To dare mention Charles’s name while trying to murder Angela—this was unforgivable.

At that moment, Carlton, who had been examining the furnace, shouted loudly as if he had discovered something.

“Captain! I’ve found what appears to be bone ash here! We’ll need further analysis to be certain, but it’s clear someone was cremated in this location.”

A hidden basement chamber in Harrison’s residence, containing a furnace used to cremate human remains—and a missing woman successfully rescued.

With evidence this overwhelming, his guilt in Charles’s murder could no longer be dismissed as mere suspicion.

Tanashia strode firmly toward Harrison, still held by Zen. She raised her hand high into the air.

Swish!

Tanashia’s hand struck Harrison squarely across the cheek.

Normally, she considered hitting people a barbaric act—but not this time. Even striking his cheek wasn’t enough to quell this fury.

“Why—why did you kill my mother?”

Tanashia still remembered Charles. The warm embrace that held her, the gentle touch, the gaze brimming with affection.

Had Charles lived, Tanashia and Noxia’s relationship wouldn’t have fractured as depicted in the original story. Her absence had been that profound.

Though she had transmigrated into the novel, all of Original Tanashia’s memories remained intact—and to her, even as an orphan, Charles was no stranger. She was her mother.

Ascan wrapped his arms around Tanashia’s shoulders, trembling uncontrollably with rage. His warm touch seemed to calm her, even slightly.

Incredibly, Harrison replied with an expression of wounded innocence.

“What are you talking about? I never harmed the Lady. We got along so well…”

“Don’t lie. You hid it well for over twenty years—but it’s over now. Experts will come here to analyze the remains, and your history of murdering missing women will be exposed. There’s nowhere left for you to run.”

Now, it was only a matter of time. Unearthing Harrison’s past murders and uncovering the truth would not be difficult.

Even if they couldn’t find every single case, the facts already revealed ensured Harrison would not escape execution.

After a moment, Harrison seemed to realize this too—his expression twisted sourly. His formerly amiable face instantly radiated a different aura.

“Bad luck getting caught. If I’d just disposed of that woman quickly, I might’ve still had a chance to escape.”

Harrison, now completely transformed, glared venomously at Angela.

Truthfully, kidnapping women hadn’t been easy for him given his age. His crimes targeted only black-haired women—narrowing his pool of victims—and required time to build familiarity so they’d lower their guard.

He had intended to slowly transform Angela into the real Charles—but of all times, Tanashia had stormed in, making evasion impossible.

If he’d known this would happen, he wouldn’t have stalled…

Harrison, for his part, now felt regret.

“Tell me—why did you kill my mother!”

This time, spurred by Tanashia’s cry, Harrison answered without hiding his true feelings.

“Charles was always my woman. It was Orland who tore us apart.”

“That’s nonsense!”

“She’s mine! Mine!”

Harrison, too, grew emotionally charged and shouted back.

He remembered the day he murdered Charles. He had hated her intensely for traveling happily to the villa with Orland, and resented how she subtly avoided him.

Then, unusually, Charles summoned him early that morning.

─My mother passed away recently. You knew that, didn’t you, Butler Harrison?

At the time, it had been only a short while since Charles’s mother had died.

Having lived in a mother-daughter household, Charles was plunged into deep grief after losing her only parent. In a way, that was precisely why she had gone to the villa for rest.

─Yes, I knew, Madam.

─Before she passed, Mother told me about you. I’d only suspected until now, but hearing it directly… it didn’t sit well with me.

Harrison flinched. She had learned he wanted to marry her.

─Mother still said I owed you a debt and should repay it. But I can no longer keep you in the Brellof household.

─What do you mean, Madam?

─I’ll compensate you sufficiently. Leave the mansion before I tell Orland the truth.

─Madam! I can’t possibly do that!

Harrison couldn’t bear to leave Charles’s side. He couldn’t live even an hour without seeing her.

But Charles was resolute.

─I know how you’ve looked at me. I won’t waste more words. This is your last chance.

Harrison, who had watched over Charles since childhood, knew her well. Once she made up her mind, she never wavered.

He finished his morning duties, made up an excuse about buying groceries, and hastily left the villa—intending to drown his sorrows in alcohol.

Drunk beyond reason, he lost all sense of himself.

By the time he returned to the villa, night had fallen, dark and gloomy. With Orland conveniently absent, he covered his face and sneaked in secretly—just to see Charles one last time.

Watching Charles, who had fallen asleep unusually early, a twisted desire surged within him—he had to possess her, no matter what.

Blinded by obsession, even her screams and pleas meant nothing. His warped craving to make her his own instantly dominated his mind.

He pounced upon Charles as she lay in bed.

─What are you doing…!

─Stay still! Unless you want to die!

In the struggle, he ended up stabbing the fiercely resisting Charles to death with a dagger.

It hadn’t been a premeditated murder. The next day, Harrison fully expected Orland to catch him and kill him once he remembered his own actions.

But perhaps fate had smiled upon him?

That very day, another intruder had coincidentally been at the villa—and an unidentified poison, brought by who knows whom, was discovered, causing the investigation to spiral wildly out of control.

That wasn’t all. Harrison had claimed he went far away to buy groceries—ostensibly to drink—yet luckily, the shopkeeper that day had been a young child.

The child hadn’t recorded anything in the ledger and couldn’t properly recall the faces of customers who had visited.

Unexpectedly, Harrison’s alibi became flawless.

It could only be called divine fortune.

But one problem remained. Even after killing Charles with his own hands, Harrison couldn’t forget her.

Instead, he learned the strange thrill of murder. Then, by chance, he encountered a black-haired woman who resembled Charles—and discovered traits in her that mirrored Charles.

At last, he realized how he could eternally possess Charles: by remolding other women into her.

Listening to Harrison insist Charles was “his,” Tanashia wore an expression of utter disgust.

“You killed my mother… because of such delusions?”

“Delusions? Charles became mine forever.”

As he spoke, Harrison gazed at Tanashia right before him, eyes narrowed slightly.

He had retired early from his butler position, fearing his crime might be exposed—never imagining Tanashia would grow up to resemble Charles so closely.

Still lying flat on the floor, Harrison cautiously stretched out his hand. Even the slightest touch would be enough—he wanted to reach Tanashia, Charles’s perfect replica.

“…I had the real thing right beside me and didn’t even know. With you… you truly could have become Charles.”

He had disposed of countless flawed imitations. Now, seeing Tanashia at last, he felt bitter regret.

With her… she truly could have become Charles…

But just before Harrison’s crawling, insect-like hand reached Tanashia’s toes, it was blocked.

Crunch!

Ascan firmly stomped down on Harrison’s hand and murmured quietly.

“Where do you think you’re putting that filthy hand?”

Harrison, fixated entirely on Tanashia, hadn’t noticed. The aura radiating from Ascan—standing beside her, eyes blazing fiercely—now choked his breath.

Looking at the paralyzed Harrison, Tanashia spoke.

“Let’s take him to the Brellof estate. We need to consult with the family about how to punish this monster.”

The true culprit behind Charles’s murder—long lost in a labyrinth of lies—had finally been captured.

How to deal with Harrison would be decided together with Orland and Noxia.