Jinny was locked up in the ancestral hall, cowering in a corner and too afraid to get up.

The ancestral hall was eerie. Due to the strong winds that night, the windows were banging loudly against the walls.

Jinny was shaking all over from fear. Finally, she could not hold it in anymore and burst into tears.

Her crying fit caused her to fall sick.

When the bodyguard heard the cries stop, he was worried that something had gone wrong, so he hurriedly opened the door to check on Jinny only to find her convulsing uncontrollably on the ground while suffering from a high fever.

Scared that something bad would happen, the bodyguard went to report to Owen.

When Lydia heard about the situation, she knelt by Owen's door and wailed until he ordered the men to bring Jinny back to her room.

By this time, Jinny was already delirious from the fever, unable to be awakened even by shouting next to her ear.

With swollen eyes, Lydia cried, "My daughter! Jinny..."

She acted like Jinny was already dead.

Arthur quickly went to call the family doctor. He touched Jinny's forehead and gasped. "Why is her fever so high? Give her some fever-reducing medicine first. Otherwise, her brain will be damaged if the fever continues."

Lydia quickly fed Jinny the medicine.

The doctor examined her and found no other abnormalities except for the fever.

However, even after taking the medicine, no improvement was seen even an hour later. The high fever persisted.

"The fever won't go down. We have to go to the hospital."

Thus, Arthur and Lydia hurriedly took Jinny to the hospital.

The commotion downstairs was loud. Freya and Arthur stood by the window and looked at each other without saying a word.

Once quiet returned to the house.

Freya finally asked, "Do you think Jinny is sick because of her fear?"

"Most likely. Jinny had always been a scaredy-cat since she was a child. The ancestral hall is so eerie that it would be strange if she wasn't scared," he replied.

They were so close that Bradley's sensitive nose could detect the scent on her body. They used the same shower gel, but the scent mixed with her unique fragrance intoxicated him.

She had washed her hair, so her semi-dry hair was splayed out over her shoulders. The warm yellow light cast down a shadow that highlighted her fair and translucent skin. He could even see the fine hairs on her face.

Bradley couldn't look away, and his breathing became heavier. He could not resist leaning closer toward her neck.

The clean and refreshing scent of her, mixed with a slightly intoxicating smell, quickly made him burn up.

His hot breath brushing against her skin made Freya suddenly turned around to find him sniffing her with narrowed eyes. Her whole body was tinging as if she had been shocked by electricity. She immediately tried to move away.

However, as soon as she moved, he quickly grabbed her hand and pulled back her toward him.

The sudden kiss landing on her body might just be a light touch, but it gave Freya goosebumps.

"Bradley…"

She opened her mouth to speak, but the man's low and magnetic voice interrupted her.

"I won't touch you. It's just a kiss."

Freya blushed and her heart raced. She reached out to push him away. "Even a kiss is not allowed."

However, he did not intend to let her go. He pressed a large palm against the back of her head as he dipped his head down to kiss her lips.

Her sweet fragrance was addictive and mesmerized him.

Freya's mind went blank.

His kiss was too aggressive. She was so nervous that her heart threatened to jump out of her throat. Thus, she just let him kiss her and forget about pushing him away.

Fortunately, Bradley did not linger for too long and only kissed her lips. Soon, he let her go.

"I'm going to take a cold shower."

Her scent was too sweet. He was unable to resist it, and he had just used all his willpower to control himself.

He dared not linger too long for he was afraid of losing control of himself.

After closing the bathroom door behind him, Bradley stood up from his wheelchair and stood under the shower head, letting the cold water cascade down on him.

His hands were braced against the wall as water rolled down his face. He reached out and immediately threw the fake skin onto the floor.

Since developing feelings for Freya, he had been conflicted every day, wondering when he should come clean.

After pretending for so long, he did not want to keep up the act anymore.

Crystal-clear water droplets ran down his handsome face and over his perfect body.

Bradley's dark eyes looked at his reflection in the mirror, as if trying to brace himself for what he had decided to do. Then, he took big strides toward the bathroom door.

Just then…

He heard a loud noise from outside, followed by a ghastly cry.

The voice sounded like Lydia's.

Bradley picked up the fake skin, put it back on as well as his robe before leaving the bathroom.

Freya was no longer in the room. Evidently, she was downstairs.

Sitting in a wheelchair, he left the room and looked down at the scene in the downstairs living room from a spot by the railing on the second floor.

Everyone was awake. Even Owen was downstairs.

Lydia's eyes were swollen as she continued to wail. "Dad, Jinny has a high fever that won't go down. The doctor says if it continues to go up, there is a possibility of cerebral palsy. What should we do?"

"Isn't she in the hospital? Let the doctors treat her!"

Owen had not expected someone to suddenly fall ill with a high fever. Hence, he was also worried.

Arthur also looked worried as he said, "The doctor said that Jinny might have been excessively frightened."

Owen frowned, and his face darkened. "Excessively frightened? She had just stayed in the ancestral hall for a few hours. That's where our ancestors live. How can it be scary?"

"They also said that she might have been c-cursed by bumping into someone unlucky."

As Lydia said that, her eyes fell on Freya.

That one glance made it clear to those with a discerning eye that Lydia was insinuating that Jinny had encountered something evil which caused her illness.

Freya remained silent and merely blinked in response.

She wanted to see how this family, who had just suffered a major setback, would handle the situation.

Owen, a traditionalist, visibly balked upon hearing those words. "Nonsense! How can there be any that evil or unlucky person among our own family?"

"Dad, Jinny couldn't have fallen ill for no reason. I have to invite a master of this field to come and drive away the evil spirits. Otherwise, Jinny might not live past tomorrow," Lydia tearfully said.

Arthur chimed in, saying, "Dad, it's better to believe that something exists rather than to believe it doesn't. Let's give it a try for Jinny's sake."

Owen hesitated. Although he found the whole situation a bit absurd, the fact that Jinny was running a high fever without any signs of improvement was indeed mysterious.

After some consideration, he finally agreed to it. "Go ahead. Make sure to find someone reliable."

"Yes, Dad."

Arthur promptly started the search.

Approximately 20 minutes later, a middle-aged man in a priestly robe walked in.

"What's your name, sir? Please help us check if there's anything unclean in our house that has affected my daughter."

Upon seeing the man enter, Lydia immediately started her fake crying again as she charged forward.

"I am Cain Faulks. You may call me Father Faulks."

Cain then turned to look around the living room, but his eyes lingered on Freya for quite a long time.