高塔上的男人與湖邊的黑衣女子相繼出現，讓家庭教師再也無法相信這只是巧合。她開始懷疑，彼得．昆特與潔絲爾小姐並未真正離開碧廬，而他們真正想接近的人，正是兩名天真無邪的孩子。恐懼逐漸蔓延，而真相，也開始露出令人不寒而慄的一角。

The apparitions have appeared twice, each silently watching one of the children. The governess can no longer dismiss what she has seen as imagination. Determined to protect Miles and Flora, she begins uncovering the forgotten history of Bly Manor. But every answer leads to darker questions, and the name Peter Quint slowly becomes more frightening than the ghost himself.

中文

自從湖邊看見潔絲爾小姐後，家庭教師再也無法恢復往日的平靜。她每天都留意著莊園裡的每一個角落，無論陪伴孩子上課、散步，還是用餐，都不曾放鬆警戒。奇怪的是，那兩個幽靈再也沒有現身，整座碧廬又恢復了平靜，安靜得令人感到壓抑。這份異常的寧靜，反而比任何怪異景象更讓她不安。一天晚上，孩子們已經回房休息，家庭教師與葛洛絲太太坐在壁爐旁聊天。她終於鼓起勇氣，希望知道更多關於彼得．昆特的事情。葛洛絲太太沉默許久，似乎每一句話都需要極大的勇氣才能說出口。她告訴家庭教師，彼得．昆特原本只是主人的貼身男僕，但由於主人長年住在倫敦，逐漸把整座碧廬交由他管理。昆特雖然只是僕人，卻穿著主人的衣服，自由出入宅邸每一個地方，甚至命令其他僕人做事，沒有人敢違抗他。最令人擔憂的是，他經常單獨帶著邁爾斯外出，有時整整一天都不見蹤影。沒有人知道他們去了哪裡，也沒有人知道昆特究竟向孩子說了什麼。葛洛絲太太承認，她曾多次想阻止，但每次都被昆特冷冷瞪回去，而當時的主人遠在倫敦，她根本無力改變一切。家庭教師愈聽愈覺得不寒而慄。她無法理解，一名僕人怎會擁有如此大的權力，更無法理解，為什麼所有人都任由事情發展。葛洛絲太太低聲回答：「因為大家都怕他。」這句話讓整個房間瞬間安靜下來。她繼續說，昆特非常聰明，也懂得如何操控別人。他總是能用幾句話取得信任，再利用對方的弱點控制一切。即使是年幼的邁爾斯，也十分崇拜他，總喜歡跟在他的身邊。家庭教師不禁想起邁爾斯成熟得不像孩子的言談舉止，心中開始浮現一個可怕的念頭──那些超越年齡的成熟，是否正是昆特帶來的影響？第二天清晨，她陪伴邁爾斯在花園閱讀。陽光灑落在草地上，少年安靜翻閱著一本詩集，臉上依舊掛著溫和的笑容。家庭教師試探性地問起寄宿學校的生活，也順勢提起彼得．昆特這個名字。就在那一瞬間，邁爾斯翻書的手停頓了一下，臉上的笑容幾乎難以察覺地消失，但僅僅片刻，他便若無其事地繼續閱讀，平靜地回答自己從來沒有聽過這個名字。這個回答過於自然，自然得反而令人懷疑。家庭教師沒有繼續追問，但她清楚看見少年眼神深處閃過一絲慌亂。當晚，她獨自在長廊巡視。經過大廳時，一陣冰冷的風吹進屋內，燭火突然不停搖曳。她下意識望向樓梯盡頭，只見一道熟悉的身影站在昏暗的光影之間。彼得．昆特再次出現了。他依舊沒有說話，只是靜靜站著，目光越過家庭教師，直接望向二樓邁爾斯的房間。他臉上露出一絲難以形容的微笑，既不像歡喜，也不像憤怒，而是一種充滿佔有欲的神情。家庭教師立刻衝向樓梯，試圖阻止他，可是就在燭光閃動的一瞬間，那道身影再次消失，只剩下空蕩蕩的走廊。她急忙跑進邁爾斯的房間，少年正安靜躺在床上，似乎早已熟睡。然而，就在她準備離開時，邁爾斯忽然輕聲說了一句：「今晚外面很冷，對嗎？」家庭教師瞬間停下腳步。她從未發出任何聲音，也沒有點亮更多燭火。少年又怎麼會知道她剛剛站在門外？她慢慢回頭，看見邁爾斯依然閉著雙眼，嘴角卻揚起一抹極淡的微笑。那一夜，家庭教師第一次真正相信，彼得．昆特的陰影並沒有消失，它一直停留在碧廬，也一直停留在邁爾斯的心裡。

English Version

After the encounter at the lake, peace never truly returned to the governess. Although no further apparitions appeared, every corridor of Bly Manor seemed filled with invisible tension. She watched the children constantly, fearing that the next appearance might come without warning. Oddly enough, Miles and Flora behaved exactly as they always had. They laughed, studied, played music, and wandered through the gardens without showing the slightest sign of fear. Their happiness should have eased her mind, but instead it made the silence feel unnatural. One evening, after the children had gone to bed, the governess sat beside the fireplace with Mrs. Grose and finally asked the questions she could no longer ignore. Who had Peter Quint truly been? Mrs. Grose hesitated before revealing the painful memories she had kept hidden for years. Quint, she explained, had begun as the master’s valet, but during the master’s long absences in London he gradually assumed authority over the entire estate. Though merely a servant, he dressed in his employer’s fine clothes, issued orders to the staff, and behaved as though Bly belonged to him. Few dared oppose him. His confidence intimidated everyone. More troubling still was the extraordinary influence he held over young Miles. The boy often disappeared with Quint for hours at a time, returning home with stories he never fully explained. No servant knew where they went or what conversations took place during those long walks. Mrs. Grose admitted she had wanted to intervene but feared Quint’s temper and manipulation. Listening to the account, the governess began to understand why the man’s memory inspired such unease. Quint had possessed an uncanny ability to control people without raising his voice. He knew exactly how to earn trust before quietly bending others to his will. As she remembered Miles’s unusual maturity, a disturbing possibility emerged. Perhaps the boy’s sophistication had not developed naturally at all. The following morning, while reading poetry together in the garden, the governess cautiously steered their conversation toward the past. She casually mentioned Peter Quint’s name. For only the briefest instant, Miles stopped turning the page. His cheerful smile faded almost invisibly before returning as though nothing had happened. Calmly, he replied that he had never heard the name before. The answer sounded flawless—almost too flawless. The governess chose not to challenge him, yet she could not forget the flicker of uncertainty that had crossed his eyes. Late that night, while walking through the manor, she noticed a sudden draft sweeping across the entrance hall. Candle flames trembled violently as the temperature seemed to drop. Looking toward the staircase, she froze. Peter Quint stood motionless in the shadows once again. This time his attention was not upon her. His eyes remained fixed on the upper floor where Miles’s bedroom lay. Slowly, an unsettling smile spread across his face—not cruel, not joyful, but possessive, as though he believed the boy still belonged to him. The governess rushed forward, determined to confront the apparition, but before she reached the stairs, the figure dissolved into darkness exactly as before. Racing upstairs, she entered Miles’s room expecting to find him awake. Instead, the boy appeared peacefully asleep beneath his blankets. Relieved, she quietly turned to leave. Then, without opening his eyes, Miles spoke softly into the darkness. “It’s rather cold outside tonight, isn’t it?” The governess stopped instantly. She had made no sound and had carried only a single candle. There was no possible way the boy should have known she was standing there. As she slowly looked back, Miles remained motionless, his eyes still closed, yet the faintest smile rested upon his lips. In that chilling moment, the governess understood that Peter Quint’s influence had never truly vanished. Whether through memory, fear, or something far more supernatural, his shadow continued to linger over Bly Manor—and perhaps most of all, over the soul of Miles himself.