Chapter 201
Chapter 201
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 201
Chapter Title: Souls, and Souls (1)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
I approached the whispering maids, wiped the lemon juice off my paws against my fur, and hid inside a sack full of potatoes.
"Did he come looking for her again?"
"Yeah. His face looked awful. Looks like he hasn't been sleeping."
"Sigh. Of course he hasn't. I'd be the same if it were me. His precious daughter just vanished like that..."
"Shh, watch your mouth."
One of the maids, who had been wiping a plate with a cloth, clamped her hand over the other maid's mouth. The muffled maid scowled, then whispered even softer.
"It's not wrong, though. Annie 'disappeared'..."
"But you know we can't say it like that."
"Then what should we say? That she stole the ring and ran off, like 'he' said?"
"..."
"You know it too. Annie wasn't that kind of girl. And if she really stole that precious ring and fled..."
"Shh!"
"Why aren't they looking for her? Why give money to her father instead?"
"I said don't talk! Don't you know what 'shh' means?"
"I do. But if I don't speak up, I'll die of frustration."
"It's not frustration that'll kill you—you could actually die. Like Annie!"
"So you think Annie's dead too?"
"..."
The maids fell silent for a moment. I held my breath too (though, obviously, how loud could a rat's breathing be?). I watched them quietly.
"...Annie snuck into Lord Dawood's bedroom. And she stole his precious ring and ran away. That's the truth."
"It's true she brought his evening tea. We saw that ourselves. But no one saw her leave his bedroom. So how did she 'run away'?"
"..."
"Could you sneak out of this castle without anyone noticing?"
"..."
"What really happened?"
"We shouldn't wonder about it."
"Oh, Annie. I miss her..."
"...Me too."
The two set down their plates and embraced briefly, eyes glistening with tears. Then, as if afraid someone might see, they hurriedly wiped their faces and resumed wiping dishes.
"What do we tell Annie's mother?"
"...Nothing. Say nothing at all."
"But..."
"Remember, we're blind, deaf, and mute."
"Things weren't like this when the lord was healthy..."
"..."
"Lord Dawood's changed."
"Yeah... A few months ago, he was so kind."
"I think it's because..."
Just as one maid was about to speak about Dawood, heavy footsteps echoed. A burly bald man approached the maids. From his attire, he seemed to be a cook. The maids shut their mouths at the sound.
"What are you chattering about here?"
At his curt words, the maids scattered like sparrows. Ah, I should have heard the 'maybe' part! Regardless of my regret, the cook reached out and...
-Thud!
He grabbed the potato sack and dragged it along! The sudden jolt sent me tumbling wildly among the potatoes. Wait, wait! There's someone here! No, a rat! I flailed amid the potatoes, trying to escape the sack.
'Damn it!'
But the top was gripped tightly by the man—no exit in sight. What do I do?! Getting caught means death! Friendship between a cook and a rat only happens in movies, not real life!
-Squeak! Squeak!
Battered by rolling potatoes, squeaks escaped me involuntarily. My head spun. I had to get out...
-Squeak!
Then it happened.
Amid the potatoes that felt like boulders to me as a rat, a familiar sound rang out.
-Gnaw gnaw gnaw...
-Gnaw gnaw gnaw...
The sound of tiny incisors chewing through the potato sack.
They heard my squeaks and found me!
The rats gnawed at the sack cautiously yet swiftly, despite the risk of the cook hearing. I knew rats lived in groups, but I hadn't expected them to risk so much for me. Probably thanks to the [Affinity] skill, but it was touching nonetheless. I mustered all my strength, pushed through the potatoes, and headed for the hole they'd gnawed.
-Squeak!
-Squeak squeak!
Through the coin-sized hole, I saw their noses. They gnawed diligently to widen it for me. I grabbed an outstretched paw and squeezed through.
-Squeak!
The rats bristled their whiskers, sniffed, and bolted toward the wall. There must be a hole there connecting to the kitchen and their burrow.
"The potatoes... No, rats! Rats!"
-Squeak!!
The cook bellowed and raised a massive kitchen knife. It gleamed coldly. Oh no. I dashed after the rats toward the hole. Crash! Clatter! Thud! A cacophony followed. And, by the skin of my teeth...
-Squeak!
Safe. I slid into the rat hole with a stylish drift. Whew, that was lucky. See? Cook-rat friendship is a myth... As I caught my breath in relief, prickling stares hit me. The rats who saved me.
-Squeaaak!!!!
Never thought I'd get chewed out by rats in my life. I meekly bowed my head and listened to their lecture. I couldn't understand them, of course.
-Squeak...
With my most remorseful face, I endured the rats' scolding, then trudged after them, following their tails.
'Anyway, the fact that the maid vanished after going to Dawood's bedroom is worth investigating.'
Dawood might have used her as a test subject to turn his father into a 'frozen soul,' or sacrificed her as an offering.
'...I need to check Dawood's bedroom.'
* * *
El confirmed the door was securely shut and slowly scanned the surroundings.
"..."
Dawood's bedroom didn't differ much from any noble's. A large window, a small desk on one side (small by noble standards), an opulent bed, an intricately carved wardrobe, an ornate mirror, wall-hung paintings, and a bookcase stuffed with tomes—the true mark of nobility.
El recalled her old bedroom. Or rather, 'Elizabeth Reinhardt's' bedroom. It was much like Dawood's. The main difference? Dawood's featured the Corin family's bull emblem, while hers had the Reinhardt lion.
'No peculiarities...'
If it were her mentor, would he find something here? The answer was yes. Theodore always found the way. Doing this crucial investigation herself made her appreciate his greatness anew.
'I hope I can be of help.'
Her mentor always said, 'You're a big help, El.' But she couldn't see herself that way. By Theodore's side were Lloyd, whose skill was immeasurable; Aila, surpassing most humans; and 'dragon' Legion.
'...Look at me now. Sneaking in this far and finding nothing.'
She searched under the bed, drawers, wardrobe—no speck of dust. It was so empty, one wondered if anyone lived here.
'Think, El! Think!'
She couldn't match her mentor, but she had to use her head! El wanted to tear her hair out as she looked around. Outside the darkening window, stars began to appear—nothing else caught her eye.
'Maybe the paintings?'
She tried thinking like Theodore—checked behind paintings, lifted the bull-hide rug on the floor. No secret mechanisms. How did her mentor spot them so easily? El sighed deeply.
"Haa..."
Turning her head at the end of the long sigh, she saw the mirror. Her reflection looked quite different from usual. A neat skirt instead of heavy armor, a duster instead of a sword.
'I'd rather swing a sword until I collapse.'
El walked slowly toward the mirror. One step, another. Her reflection mimicked her, yet felt utterly alien. The clothes? The expression? Or...?
Standing before the mirror, El stared at herself intently. An ornate but ordinary mirror. Yet she couldn't tear her eyes away, and she didn't know why.
"..."
*Can I do this alone?* She remembered asking Theodore. He'd replied, *Of course.*
*Like you, Mentor?*
*Yes. You'll see what I see.*
*But...*
*Don't worry. I'll be watching.*
*I'll be watching...* Those last words felt strangely hazy.
'...Yeah, I can do this.'
Without looking away from the mirror, El slowly raised her hand. Her reflection did the same. Naturally. It was a *mirror*, after all.
El cautiously placed her hand on the mirror.
"..."
In that instant, El sensed something *off*. It was the keen intuition of Reinhardt blood and training from Theodore and Lloyd that let her notice.
'It moved!'
The eyes of her reflection in the mirror had shifted. Unlike El, staring at her fingertips, the mirror El gazed at the real El outside—*her*.
El froze.
But then.
-Ripple...!
The mirror her hand touched rippled like water's surface. As if ready to engulf her any moment.