Stormy Night

"The mother described in my brother's diary is not his biological mother."

Marumi stated each word with precision: "My brother's mother is Snow Spider; there is no mistake about that."

"Then the only possibility is that the mother in my brother's diary was his foster mother, and this foster mother must have been sent by our father or grandfather."

After she finished, Marumi looked at Xiao, who smiled faintly and replied, "That woman was indeed the young master's foster mother, and she was one of our people. She had been taking care of the young master since the day he was born."

"As for whether it was the master's or the lord's intention, I am not privy to that."

Hearing this answer, Marumi did not dwell on it, instead continuing with her own deductions: "My brother's childhood does not seem to have been a happy one; that much is clear from his diary."

"That foster mother was clearly incompetent, and coupled with the absence of a father figure, my brother suffered from constant psychological bullying."

"This caused the mental issues he already possessed to begin to surface, eventually leading to that tragedy."

At this point, Marumi's tone grew firm, and she stated her conclusion quickly and forcefully: "The truth behind the foster mother's disappearance is not that she suddenly vanished on a rainy night as the diary claims."

"The truth is..."

"My brother killed her!"

Xiao looked at Marumi, his expression calm; clearly, he was not surprised that she had deduced this much.

He chose not to address Marumi's question directly, but instead began to tell a story.

"Actually, I had never known of the young master's existence before. As you know, Miss, I have always been by your side."

"It wasn't until a few months ago that the master gave me a task alone—to take over from that foster mother and look after Young Master Satsu."

"I don't know the name of that unfortunate woman, so for the sake of your convenience, please allow me to refer to her as Miss A."

"Before I even arrived, I had heard rumors that Young Master Satsu had mental issues. The master's intention was that no intervention was needed; if he was a failed product, he should just be left to fend for himself."

"As soon as I arrived, I began listening to Miss A's reports. It was clear the situation was worse than I had imagined."

"At that time, Miss A had already been tortured to the point of collapse by the young master. She spent the entire time hysterically recounting the young master's actions."

"He would howl in the middle of the night while smashing the door to Miss A's bedroom; he would stand alone in the pitch-black hallway holding a knife, letting out eerie laughter; he would follow right behind Miss A even when they were both at home."

"By the end, she was even kneeling and begging me to take over as soon as possible."

"Despite her pleas, due to the circumstances, I couldn't take over immediately because I lacked a reasonable identity to step into her position."

"Two days after I finished listening to Miss A's report, I received new orders from the master to abandon the mission and return to your side, Miss."

After hearing Xiao's report, Marumi said with pity: "Judging by the outcome, no one took over this mess after you left."

"That is actually not the case, Miss."

"Oh?" Marumi asked.

"When I left, someone did come to take over my mission, and that was... Snow Spider."

"This is the report she filed after taking over."

Marumi took the document and began to read.

Snow Spider's inner monologue:

When I first heard the news, I was in complete disbelief. My son was actually a lunatic!

By chance, I learned that those above intended to let my son fend for himself. I knew I couldn't change anything, but I wanted to see him at least once.

From the moment I gave birth to Satsu, he was taken away from me. For all this time, he had believed that foster mother was his real mother.

I had to see my son; he had to know who his biological mother was!

After my persistent efforts, that lord finally allowed me to take over Xiao's mission.

When I arrived at the location where Satsu was staying, Xiao had not yet begun his mission.

Because of the change in personnel, the official handover had to be delayed, which the foster mother could not accept. She broke down and roared at me: "Why did you have to come at this time! Ahhh!"

From that point, I began to realize the severity of Satsu's condition. Three days later, I had basically understood the situation and was prepared to take over officially, but that was also the day the tragedy occurred.

According to the plan, the foster mother only needed to leave the villa, and I would take charge afterward.

But the first step—her departure—was a failure.

It was a rainy night, with heavy rain and thunder shaking the sky.

Through the surveillance, I saw everything that happened.

The foster mother had just finished packing and was preparing to leave her bedroom when, suddenly, Satsu blocked her doorway.

Satsu's eyes were hollow, his tone numb: "Mom, where are you going?"

"Mom... Mom is going to find Dad. Someone will come to take care of you later; I've arranged everything, son." The foster mother tried hard to maintain her composure.

"Dad doesn't want us anymore!"

Satsu suddenly shouted: "You can't leave me!"

As he spoke, a cold glint flashed. Through the surveillance, Satsu's wild laughter and the foster mother's wails echoed repeatedly. Fresh blood soaked Satsu's diary.

I think the foster mother must have failed to keep her secret well, and Satsu discovered she intended to leave.

After this incident happened, both the master and that lord completely gave up on Satsu.

The plan to take over was canceled, leaving Satsu to fend for himself.

I never left, instead keeping my eyes glued to every move Satsu made on the surveillance feed.

He began to hallucinate, even convincing himself that he hadn't committed the crime, that his mother had simply left on a rainy night and the diary had been soaked by the rain.

The stench of rot was just the sewer, the maggots were only there because the house hadn't been deep-cleaned; the so-called sewer maintenance and cleaning were all lies, he hadn't taken any action at all.

Satsu, he was living with the corpse.

He had gone completely insane, starting to mutter to himself at the bedroom door until, finally, he slit his wrists and lay naked in the bathtub.

That same night, we entered the villa. We tidied up the place while confirming Satsu's death, which was all but certain; Satsu, suffering from hemophilia, had no chance of survival.

Following the Master's wishes, we did not recover Satsu's body, instead carrying out the order to let him fend for himself.

The terrifying thing happened: less than an hour after we left, Satsu woke up!

United States, X State Hospital

"This is truly fresh—a man coming back from the dead, and with a complete change in temperament afterward. Could it be a soul possessing a corpse?"

"That kind of supernatural phenomenon is only good for fooling children!"

"The young master's resurrection is also the reason the Master is paying attention to him again, Miss," Xiao said.

Marumi said coldly, "Enough. Regardless, I will be able to see my brother next year..."

"No! I can't wait that long. I recall that school having an Uninhabited Island exam in the first half of every academic year?"

"Yes, Miss!" Xiao replied.

"I want to see my brother during that time."

"That will require the Master's consent."

"I'll go talk to Grandfather!"

PS: I don't know how many people can accept this resurrection trope, but... I've already included soul transmigration and mind-reading, after all!