Chapter 4 The Mysterious Man

 

Day after day passed, and Elsa gradually began to understand the activities Dustin usually engaged in. Although there was no internet or access to electronic devices, Dustin was extremely diligent about reading books.

There was a room Elsa once entered where every book was about business. But why did Dustin study business when he was confined to a prison in the middle of an island like this?

“What are you doing here?”

Elsa jumped in surprise and accidentally dropped the book she was holding.

“Nothing. I was just interested in the books here. I’ll get back to work now. Excuse me.”

Elsa quickly picked up the book, returned it to its original place, and hurried away.

Dustin watched her for a moment, but he ignored her as long as Elsa did not damage anything in the house.

“Elsa, can you help me carry some of the vegetables that were just harvested?” Marley, one of the servants, called out.

“Sure,” Elsa replied, quickly making her way toward the farming area.

All the vegetables here were organic, fresh, and grown without pesticides. It was different from when Elsa had lived in the city, where everything she needed was available instantly in packaged form.

“Dustin isn’t bothering you, is he?” Marley asked.

“He doesn’t bother me, but I feel afraid of the way he looks at me. Even though Dustin and Deon are identical twins, I feel like the pressure surrounding Dustin is much heavier,” Elsa replied.

Marley arranged the vegetables inside a basket, then glanced from side to side as if making sure no one was around before looking at Elsa.

“Be careful around him. I can’t explain why, but Dustin and Deon are two people with completely different personalities.”

“I know. I knew Deon because he was my superior at the company. But when I met Dustin, I thought I could handle him the same way I handled Deon. It turns out I was completely wrong.”

Marley patted Elsa’s shoulder.

“The important thing is that you have to be careful around Dustin. There’s no one here who can help you if that man decides to do something to you,” she whispered.

Without saying anything more, Marley left first, carrying the basket while Elsa continued gathering the remaining vegetables. But when she turned around, she saw Dustin standing in the distance with his arms folded across his stomach.

Whenever Elsa saw Dustin, she could not explain why, but she often felt as though he was secretly watching her. There were even several occasions when the man openly stared at her, while Marley’s words moments ago felt like a warning Elsa needed to take seriously.

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That night, the house had almost no proper lighting, making it a challenge for Elsa to leave her room with nothing but a small candle in her hand.

“I’m still not used to living in a house this dark. I should have prepared some water while the sky was still bright so I wouldn’t have to go to the kitchen for a drink in the middle of the night,” she grumbled.

The house was incredibly quiet at night, as though Elsa were living alone in an empty house. In reality, there were two occupants on the right side of the house, Elsa and Dustin. The other servants stayed on the left side.

“My whole body is covered in goosebumps,” Elsa thought.

She faintly heard footsteps approaching. Her body froze, unable to move until suddenly, a hand tapped her shoulder from behind.

“Ahhh... humph!”

Her lips were immediately covered, but at that moment, her heart was pounding wildly.

“If you scream, everyone else in this house will come running,” the person said.

Elsa slapped the large hand away from her mouth. She lifted the small candle from the table to get a clear look at the person who had just tapped her shoulder.

Then she saw Dustin standing directly in front of her.

“You scared me. I just screamed on instinct,” she replied.

Dustin walked past her and reached for the glass pitcher Elsa had just filled with water.

“I didn’t mean to scare you. I was only making sure the servant wasn’t wandering around in the middle of the night.”

“Wait a second. That’s my drinking water,” Elsa protested.

Dustin, who had already walked away, turned back.

“Everything in this house belongs to me. You have no right to claim anything without my permission.”

His deep, cold voice silenced Elsa once again as Dustin disappeared into the darkness.

“He’s so mysterious and frightening at the same time,” Elsa thought.

She eventually filled another pitcher with water and carried it back to her room.

The house was indeed beautiful, and the room Elsa had been given was quite luxurious for a servant. The only problem was that the only source of light at night was a candle, which had to be made over and over again.

“I wonder how long I’ll have to stay here, completely isolated from everything and cut off from the modern world.”

Elsa walked toward the balcony. At once, the cool night breeze felt soothing, carrying the scent of the sea mingled with the fragrance of flowers from the garden.

“It really is peaceful here. My world, which used to be so noisy, has become so quiet and calm,” she said, smiling as she stretched out her arms and enjoyed the fresh air that brought her a sense of tranquility.

She had no idea that the real threat was already much closer than she could have imagined, and there would be no way for Elsa to avoid it.