Chapter 3
“Come in.”
She wondered what kind of person the witch’s maid in the gingerbread house would be, but surprisingly, she had an ordinary appearance.
Bell spoke to the maid with plain, neat hair and clean clothes:
“I’m Bell. You must be Meira?”
She nodded. Bell stared at the maid named Meira for a while, then smiled.
“Nice to meet you.”
The maid nodded and mechanically put away the clothes.
“The castle is beautiful. Are there any special rules I should follow in the castle?”
The maid raised her head and crossed her fingers in front of her lips, indicating she couldn’t speak.
Bell apologized with an expression that contrasted her emotionless tone:
“We can get along well even if only one of us speaks.”
The maid’s inability to speak meant there was much to hide. What could they be hiding so desperately?
Bell threw the books she brought onto the bed and organized her thoughts.
– Survive.
– ‘From what?’
– People go in, but no one comes out.
They say you can only leave by dying or going insane.
Imagination tends to evoke vague fear. Bell, who feared people rather than ghosts, and money more than robbers, decided to refrain from unnecessary speculation.
Even if there were monsters in the castle, as long as they didn’t threaten her, it didn’t matter.
However, for her safety, she concluded that she should quickly find a role only she could fulfill to establish her value.
“Meira. If you have time, could you show me around the castle? I’d like to start with the library.”
With Meira’s agreement, she followed her to explore the castle. She was particularly impressed by the library’s large size and spent a considerable amount of time there.
Leaving the library, Bell was so engrossed in the book she was holding that she didn’t realize she was going in the opposite direction from where she had entered. Meira, startled, hurriedly pulled Bell away while frantically shaking her head.
“What’s wrong? Are you saying I shouldn’t go there?”
Meira nodded frantically while gesturing. She was trying hard to communicate something through gestures, but it was incomprehensible.
“You seem to be saying not to use the western staircase, is that right?”
Only then did the maid look relieved. Bell, believing she had understood correctly, discreetly checked the end of the western corridor.
The end of the western corridor was locked with a large iron door. There was definitely something there. After checking outside the window, Bell said:
“We should go eat.”
Bell led the way to the dining room, remembering the route.
Although she had prepared herself to not be intimidated in front of the owner of the 18 million berks, contrary to her expectations, neither the Grand Duke of Balzac nor any other master of the house was present.
She was the only one to be seated in the dining room. Samuel was standing at one side of the dining room, ready to serve her.
“Samuel. I have a question.”
“What is it?”
“What is my status here? No, that’s not the right question. Am I here as a guest?”
“Well, that would be for Miss Sevigne to decide.”
“This is a strange place.”
“Since you came here through unusual means, expecting a usual status would be greedy, wouldn’t it?”
“You’re right. I suppose so.”
Bell answered cynically and picked up her fork and knife.
“Meira showed me around the castle. She wouldn’t let me near the western corridor. If there are rules I should follow in this castle, please tell me.”
“Oh, I forgot. I apologize, Miss Sevigne.”
He showed neither any sign of being sorry nor of having forgotten. She inwardly cursed the butler for being quite unpleasant as she listened.
“The structure from the 4th to 6th floors requires using the western staircase for access. The 4th to 6th floors are prohibited to everyone, including employees, so please don’t attempt to enter unnecessarily. Also, only the castle knights and His Grace the Grand Duke can climb the towers. I would advise staying away from the southern staircase. However, you may freely use the library on the 7th floor.”
“I assume I shouldn’t use the western staircase on the 1st floor either.”
“Yes. You catch on quickly.”
“Speaking of catching on quickly, I should mention that I haven’t seen any employees in this castle besides Meira. Is that also something I need to figure out for myself?”
Samuel responded by merely shrugging his shoulders.
Bell swallowed a sigh, put down her fork, and gulped her drink. Her chest felt tight because of the dangerous, secretive castle and the unpleasant butler.
“I feel like a frog about to be dissected.”
“A frog for dissection has its limbs tied and awaits death, but Miss Sevigne’s limbs aren’t bound.”
“What difference does it make when I’ll die if I try to escape?”
“Discerning that difference will be your way to survive.”
Bell put her cup down with a thud and said coldly:
“I’m full now, so I’ll be going. See you.”
When Bell returned to her room, the night sky had spread outside the window. She decided to visit the garden tomorrow as she closed the curtains. Then she opened a book with a somber face.
‘The History of the House of Balzac’
It was a book she had brought from the library.
“How foolish.”
She snorted mockingly. There was a reason she had asked Meira to show her around the castle.
The Grand Ducal family had historically been short of hands. Thus, the current Grand Duke, who inherited the family early, was the only descendant of the House of Balzac.
After researching the history of the northern territory in the library, it was clear that with no adults in the Balzac family to run the household, the butler Samuel must be handling those duties. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be so arrogant.
“As if I wouldn’t notice that much.”
It leaked out because they hid it too obviously.
She felt she would soon uncover the secret. What would happen when she discovered it? Could she survive after knowing the secret, should she pretend not to know, or should she wield it like power?
“When I learn more about this place, I’ll know the answer.”
Bell smiled confidently as she opened the book. Those with secrets have much to hide. In other words, only those who have hidden things can see through those who hide.
And Bell was a person with many things to hide. That was precisely the difference between Bell and the frog.
***
After finishing her walk, Bell was strolling through the third-floor corridor when she heard the sound of knights training. She reflexively looked out the window. Among the training knights, she noticed a particularly young boy.
“Getting scolded again.”
It had been a week since she arrived. Bell had quickly adapted to the grayish-white castle and created her own routine.
“Ah.”
The boy’s black eyes met Bell’s green eyes. The boy with tanned skin showed off his freckled nose bridge and grinned.
When Bell raised one eyebrow, huge black wings sprouted from the boy’s back, and he instantly flew up to the third floor where Bell was. The boy, finding it interesting that Bell wasn’t surprised, greeted her with a bright smile.
“Hello.”
“What are you?”
“Me? I’m Bertrand.”
“Shining raven? The name suits your wings.”
The name meaning “bright raven” seemed perfectly chosen for the boy’s black wings. Though it was a simple observation, the boy beamed as if he’d been complimented.
“That’s right! And you? What’s your name?”
“I’m Bell.”
“It suits you.”
“I am quite pretty. But are you a knight too?”
“Despite how I look, I’m an official knight. You’re the woman who came in recently, right?”
“Were there many women who came before me?”
“Grrruugh!”
Bertrand clutched his head after being struck on the back of his skull by a suddenly appearing pole.
“Didn’t I tell you not to get distracted during training?”
The man who had wielded the pole shouted from below. At this, Bertrand sheepishly descended.
Bell observed the knights. Her fingers tapped lightly on the windowsill.
Being referred to as the woman who had recently arrived meant there had been others like her before, and since no women were visible in the castle, there was a high possibility they had met with trouble.
Bertrand’s clear voice carried on the wind.
“Even after seeing my wings, she didn’t react at all! She even asked my name!”
“Quiet! How many times must I tell you to focus on training!”
After being hit on the back of the head again, Bertrand grumbled and was ordered to run ten laps around the training ground as punishment. Bell carefully observed the knights as they trained.
First-class citizens were nobles, second-class were ordinary people, and fourth-class were body-modified individuals.
The absence of third-class citizens signified the insurmountable gap between ordinary people and the body-modified.
In modern times they were called beast-people, but just a hundred years ago, they were treated as animals or livestock. Because of this, they were often regarded with disgust as animals in human form.
They suffered hunts comparable to witch hunts, and centuries ago were even raised as war slaves. Having animal body parts meant possessing high killing potential.
“I heard the north accepts body-modified people without issue due to labor shortages, but seeing it is still surprising. In the south, just rumors of being body-modified would force you to flee in the night to avoid death. A body-modified knight…”
That’s why the north was a strange world to Bell, who was born and raised in the south. Using body-modified people to form a knight order and training them to maximize their abilities was unimaginable.