When they returned to Eine's room, she ordered Mariam to go to the kitchen and inform the cooks of her meal preferences. Once the young maid left, only she and Cecil remained. Eine pulled a piece of ashen-colored paper from her dress pocket and handed it to him. The blond-haired young man accepted the object and tucked it into his sleeve. They exchanged no words yet understood each other. It was a secret communication that only they shared.

  "I have reyed your instructions to the kitchen, midy," Mariam reported when she returned.

  "Good," Eine nodded. "You may retire to your quarters, Sir Ascania." She waved, dismissing Cecil.

  "As you wish, midy." He bowed and retreated outside.

  Hours ter, as the sun relinquished its throne and repced by the night, Eine sat on the writing desk in her room, studying a small booklet. In her free time during imprisonment, she had copied a portion of the secret journal and brought it on the journey to consult whenever needed. Unlike étoile, she was unfamiliar with Léonas' court politics. Fortunately, the main characters visited the other empire several times in the original story. She could use those events as frames of reference before approaching Nickos.

  Several soft knocks sounded behind the door. "I have brought your meal, midy," Mariam called.

  "You may enter." Eine closed the booklet and returned it to her luggage. Though the meals were served in the ship's dining cabin, she preferred to consume hers separately. She pnned to avoid interacting with the male protagonist wherever possible, even without Gerard monitoring her. Given their cshing trajectories, it was the best path forward.

  After dinner, Eine sauntered back to the writing desk and opened the list she had received from the Caispean crew. It contained ten rules in total.

  1. Do not sing or whistle in the rain.

  2. Do not draw on the mirror.

  3. Do not notify others if you see a lone isnd in the distance.

  4. Do not stare too long into the ocean.

  5. Do not open the door for the whispering woman outside your room.

  6. Do not search for the person calling your name after midnight.

  7. Refrain from stomping on the walls.

  8. If you see your doppelg?nger, kill it immediately.

  9. Do not knock under the bed.

  10. Take shelter when the clouds turn orange.

  Though some rules sounded nonsensical, most were bizarre yet terrifying. Elias had expined the horrid reason behind the fourth item on the list. However, after scanning through, Eine realized the Locrzen might not be the most frightening creature she could encounter on the voyage. The story centered on significant events and did not delve deep into other aspects, such as traveling from one location to another. The main characters always reach their destinations in one piece. Thus, Eine never learned about the dangerous journeys before arriving in the book's world. However, her experiences in the magician's portal taught her to never ignore the warnings, for the consequences might be more than she can handle. Eine tugged the list back into the envelope and headed to bed, taking care not to viote any rules.

  The first night passed without incident. Bright light rays seeped through the windows as Mariam's chirpy voice awakened Eine. "Good morrow, midy. I have brought your breakfast." She set the tray on a small dining table in the center of the room.

  "Thank you." Eine sat up from her bed. After completing the morning hygiene and eating breakfast, she decided to tour the ship. Even if Eine dreaded the lurking dangers, it was neither logical nor practical to isote in her quarters for the entire voyage. When she and her maid opened the door, Cecil was waiting on the other side. He joined them as they continued toward the upper deck. A few minutes ter, their group reached the main deck, and Eine noticed a rge crowd gathered at the foremast. "What is going on?" she asked a nearby servant.

  "A maid found a body hanging on the sail, midy," the servant replied.

  "A body?" Eine repeated, walking toward the crowd. A maid noticed her and alerted the other servants. Everyone bowed and retreated, opening a path for Eine's group to enter. Elias and Rowan were already at the center when they arrived. Behind them stood a young female with lustrous, raven-colored hair pulled into a high ponytail. Her worried, amethyst-colored eyes fixated above. Eine followed her line of sight to an unidentifiable, naked male body hanging upside down from a rope. The body had no torso or intestines, like a skilled butcher had meticulously cut and cleaned it. The scene was grotesque yet peculiar. Some crew members climbed the mast to untangle and drop the body. It hit the ground with a loud thud. Eine observed the others. The incident neither surprised the male protagonist nor the Caispean crew. It appeared they had already solved the mystery.

  "This is why I advised everyone to follow the rules," Rowan mented, shaking his head.

  "Which rule was broken?" she inquired.

  "The fifth rule," Elias gnced at her. "Human males are especially vulnerable."

  Eine recalled the items on the list. "The whispering woman," she mumbled. "Is this the consequence of opening the door for her?"

  "Sometimes," he said with a slight nod. "The woman likes to py with her victims after eating. Simir to a mischievous child."

  Eine frowned and returned her gaze to the deformed male body lying in front of her. Despite Elias' depiction, the corpse's condition made the culprit look more like a depraved killer than a child's antics. "Who or what is the whispering woman?" she quizzed, overcome with morbid curiosity.

  The bck-haired young man watched the crew carrying and throwing the body overboard before shifting his head to answer her, "An entity known to some as the H?xia, a sea witch."

  LittleFoodie