With Victoria now silenced and restrained, Selene turned her attention to the group of noble children huddled together in a corner like frightened chicks. Their eyes were wide, some trembling, others clutching their party gifts like shields.
Understandably, the tea party was over. The hostess had just been arrested after theft, assault, damaging property and trying to use her twin sister as a scapegoat. There was no salvaging this.
Selene nudged Magnus. "We should probably contact their parents and wait until they come pick them up before we go home."
Magnus nodded in agreement, but before he could say anything, Miranda suddenly raised her hand. "We can't leave yet."
Both Selene and Magnus looked at her.
"Why not?" Magnus asked.
Miranda's expression darkened. "There are people locked in the basement."
The room fell silent again.
Clarissa, still on the floor sobbing and rocking back and forth, suddenly snapped and screamed, "SHUT UP, YOU FILTHY LITTLE SNAKE!"
Miranda flinched, but Magnus stood protectively in front of her and said coldly, "Continue."
Clarissa shrieked and launched herself at Miranda, but the guards caught her mid-dash and held her back as she kicked and clawed in fury.
Miranda swallowed and continued. "A week ago… I saw father and some creepy-looking men dragging people down to the basement. I got curious and followed them. But when he found out I was there…" She trailed off and touched her cheek, where the scar remained. "He punished me."
Selene's face tightened in rage, but she stayed silent.
"Show us," Magnus ordered. Miranda nodded and led them out through a side door.
The sun had begun to set, casting eerie orange light across the estate. They reached a gated entrance on the far side of the property- an old, rusted door chained shut. The air around it was… wrong. Thick. Heavy.
One of Magnus's guards stepped forward, flexed his fingers, and with a powerful crack, snapped the chain with his bare hands. Miranda and Selene both stared, stunned.
"W-What is this man made of?" Miranda whispered.
"I don't know, and I don't want to know," Selene replied flatly.
As the guard pulled the door open, a wave of unholy stench burst forth.
"AAAAAARGHHHHHH!" Everyone screamed.
Even Magnus turned and bolted to a nearby bush where he began violently retching.
Miranda instinctively tried to breathe through her mouth but inhaled a full dose. She doubled over, coughing and retching beside a tree.
Selene, her hands over her face, shrieked, "MY EYES! MY EYES! IT BURNS! IT BURNS! WHY DOES IT BURN?!"
The guard who had opened the door dropped like a rock, fainting mid-escape. The others stumbled back several feet, gagging, unsure whether to help him or leave him for dead.
"What… was that?!" Miranda wheezed, eyes watering.
Selene, red-eyed and horrified, gagged again. "Did Someone died in there."
Magnus stumbled back, wiping his mouth. "I've smelled rotting bodies before. That wasn't it. That… that was a crime against every known law of nature!"
Selene nodded weakly. "It's like someone died, rotted, came back as undead, then died again."
The passed-out guard suddenly jerked awake, sat up, and shouted, "NO! That smelt worst! It smelled like an undead ate another undead and then—shat it out!"
A moment of stunned silence.
Another guard stepped forward and began, "Oi, you can't say something that vulgar in front of the young la—"
Then the wind shifted the stench towards them.
"RUUUUN!" one guard screamed in unison, scattering like terrified chickens in armor.
Magnus turned and fled a few feet, his voice echoing behind him: "WE'LL DEAL WITH THAT LATER! GET MORE GUARDS! CALL THE PRIEST, MAGES... ANYONE!"
Selene was doubled over, coughing her lungs out, while Miranda scrambled behind a tree, yelling, "BURN IT! BURN THE ENTIRE THING! There is no way the people in there are still alive."
A few hours later, the once-neglected Bridge family mansion was now swarming with activity. Guards and soldiers patrolled the area while healers, priests, priestesses, clerics, and mages moved in and out of the estate like ants in a disturbed colony. Even Alaric had arrived to assist with the rescue.
The guard's description of the source of the stench wasn't entirely false.
As it turned out, one of the basement captives had succumbed to a mysterious ailment and died, only to rise again as an undead. Before being subdued by one of Kevin's lackeys, that undead managed to bite another prisoner. The bite mark had been hidden, and that person turned as well… only to feast upon the corpse of the previous undead, then regurgitate it for reasons unknown.
Then it died again.
That was the unholy mess that had festered for two days, spreading death, infection, and a smell so foul it had knocked out trained knights.
And that was just the start.
Magnus's guards, after scouring every corner of the mansion, discovered a secret dungeon, one that held not just humans, but non-humans: elves, dwarves, beastfolks, lizardmen, fairies, and more.
The situation had officially escalated from "minor noble family corruption" to "international incident waiting to happen."
Magnus was already biting down on a headache. If this got out, it could shatter the fragile peace between humans and non-humans.
Especially now, with the Demon King rumored to have awakened—this scandal could ignite full-blown chaos in the Kingdom of Vanchaster.
But Selene's current focus?
"I can't see anything!" she whined, clutching her red, swollen eyes.
She was slumped under a tree beside Magnus, face puffy, cheeks tear-stained and hair a frizzled mess from wind. She sniffled dramatically.
She was too busy mourning the fact that she was surrounded by magical races, people she had only ever seen in books, anime, games, and she couldn't see a damn thing.
"My eyes still burn!" she groaned dramatically, leaning against Magnus. "This is tragic."
Magnus rubbed his temple. "You can't see? That's your biggest concern right now?"
"Yes!" she snapped, pulling the cloth off and glaring with cloudy, teary eyes. "Do you know how rare it is to see an actual fairy?! And I can't even tell if it's a Tinkerbell-type or a FernGully one!"
Magnus groaned louder. "We're potentially facing political ruin, Selene."
She paused, then reluctantly nodded. "Right… yeah. That's… also bad."
He sighed and leaned back. "This is a disaster. Kevin used my name to run this entire operation. If this leaks to the public..."
"It'll look like you're the mastermind," Selene finished grimly. "We'll need damage control. What are you going to do?"
Magnus scowled. "I need to hold a council meeting with the Elders. We need to clean this up, legally and politically."
Selene buried her face in her hands and muttered, "I really wish I had reincarnated into this world, not transmigrated. At least then I could say I started with a clean slate instead of dealing with the original Selene's mess."
Magnus looked over the chaotic scene: wagons of rescued captives being tended to, burned-out corpses being purified, officials arguing, clerics chanting, somewhere Clarissa was still screaming incoherently while tied to a chair and Victoria beside her hugging the headless teddy bear.
Then his gaze shifted… and he stiffened.
A group of noble children still lingered, waiting for their parents. Some had already been picked up. Others were being tended to by knights.
But among them… stood two familiar boys.
Having a lively conversation with Damian.
"Damian…" Magnus growled lowly.
Damian, sensing impending doom, noticed Magnus's glare, gave an awkward laugh, and quickly scurried off like a rat under inspection.
The twins turned and began walking straight toward Magnus and Selene.
Magnus leaned down to Selene and muttered, "Incoming."
"What?! Where?!" Selene spun around, clutching her eyes again. "I told you I still can't see anything!"
"The twins," Magnus said dryly.
Selene froze, then let out a loud "Shi-" before clamping her mouth shut.
Her grip on Magnus's sleeve tightened like a vice. "No. No no no no. Please. Please don't let them near me. I'm not mentally stable enough for them right now."
Magnus raised a brow. "You literally kicked a girl into a wall today."
"And that drained me emotionally! I have nothing left to give!"
The sound of approaching footsteps and cheerful boyish voices grew louder.
Selene whimpered and clutched Magnus's arm like a lifeline.
"Protect me."