Chapter 71
Chapter 71
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 71
Chapter Title: Portraits of the Dead
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Inebile cautiously climbed the stairs. Her nerves were on edge for some reason. It wasn't guilt from entering someone else's home without permission.
The entire house was unnaturally clean, disturbingly so. Even the faint traces that naturally accumulate from people living there were absent.
A young couple, the supposedly ill wife, Gilliud's lies, and this spotlessly clean empty house.
Fragmentary pieces of information churned in her mind. Things that seemed unrelated were gradually converging around a single point.
She didn't yet know what it meant, but it was certainly nothing pleasant.
The second floor was just as clean as the first. No, the first floor at least had a homely, savory smell. The second floor lacked even that.
"There are a lot of rooms."
A hallway stretched straight to the opposite wall, with doors crammed closely on both sides. Even a cheap inn would have made the rooms larger than this.
She pushed open the door right next to her.
A room barely big enough for one person to lie down in. The low ceiling evoked the image of a coffin.
"It was used as an orphanage, right?"
A bitter expression formed on her face unbidden. Children had lived in this cramped space. How stifling it must have been, unable to move once they lay down.
"Wait a moment."
Guchi, who had entered the room, seemed to have found something.
She stepped inside as well. A painting hung on the wall right where it met the door.
It was positioned to be visible only after entering and closing the door. It was a portrait of a young woman. The skill wasn't great, giving it a somewhat comical feel.
"There's nothing else here but the painting."
Guchi removed the painting. Up close, writing was visible in the bottom right corner.
Lelli. Likely the name of the subject or the artist.
"Let's check the other rooms."
They split up to inspect the rooms. She opened the next door. Similarly, only a single portrait hung there, with nothing else.
She looked at the writing in the corner. Milania.
"What about the other rooms? Anything different?"
She poked her head out into the hallway and asked. Lander answered first.
"There's nothing visible except the painting."
"What's the name on the portrait? This one's Milania."
"Humani."
"They're all different, so it's not the artist's name. What about yours, sir?"
Guchi emerged from his room.
"Nothing here either. The rest are probably the same."
She peeked into the remaining rooms. Narrow chambers without a speck of dust, each with a single lonely portrait. She opened the left of the two remaining rooms first.
It was identical to the others. She glanced at the portrait to leave when a sense of familiarity caught her.
"Gentlemen, could you come here for a moment?"
She slowly removed the portrait and showed it to the two men who entered.
Both narrowed their eyes. She read the name in the bottom right corner.
"Riselra, right?"
The brushstrokes brought a smile, but it captured the feel quite well. She stared repeatedly at the name in the corner. What on earth was this?
"It's no coincidence."
Guchi said.
"Riselra must have lived here."
"With her name inscribed on the portrait here, probably. No reason for it to be here otherwise."
"The young couple the villagers mentioned must be Gilliud and Riselra. But does that make sense? The Gilliud we met was easy to talk to. Not the type to avoid people. If he'd lived here, he'd have been friendly with the neighbors."
"But the villagers didn't even know the names of the young couple living here."
"They said they didn't even respond to greetings. The lady earlier mentioned they never showed up at festivals."
"I don't get it. The Gilliud we met wasn't like that at all."
"Exactly."
She threaded her fingers through her hair and shook her head. The disconnect muddled her thoughts.
What exactly was the Gilliud they'd come to know over those few days together?
"Let's check the last room."
Lander pushed open the final door. Unlike the others, it had furniture. A wardrobe.
"I'll go in."
The room was already cramped, and with the wardrobe, it was hard for even one person to enter.
She pressed her back against the wall and sidestepped to the wardrobe. She pulled aside the curtain. One garment hung inside.
She took the clothing out. Even the short time inside had felt suffocating. What kind of architect designed a house like this?
"Woman's clothing."
She laid it on the floor.
A woolen hood. Sleeveless gray tunic and matching skirt. Common attire for ordinary citizens.
Plenty of people in this village dressed similarly.
"This is..."
Lander seemed to have realized something. He stood next to the neatly placed clothing, having brought a portrait from another room. He set down the painting and stepped back.
The moment the faceless clothes gained a face, she recalled the corpse she'd seen by the lakeside not long ago.
"Those women, right?"
"That's my impression. What do you think, Inebile? You saw them up close, so you should know best."
"I need to check the other paintings."
Guchi and Lander brought the portraits. She compared them one by one. Her guess solidified into certainty.
"Yes. They're the women who committed suicide by the Conne lakeside."
"This one."
Guchi pointed to one portrait. He pulled a wooden doll from his backpack.
She could only nod. With the doll, it was even clearer.
"This is her, right?"
Guchi asked. She confirmed it absolutely.
"All the suicide victims were here?"
"We can't be sure yet, but based on this..."
She gripped her left wrist. A nauseating feeling washed over her. Like pressing against a corpse swarming with maggots, chills ran down her spine.
If these women had really been here and all thrown themselves into the lake, why? And what had Gilliud and Riselra done here?
"The villagers said it was just the young couple living here. That's odd. With nearly ten people, the neighbors would have noticed."
Guchi said.
It was sound reasoning. Though on a hill some distance from other houses, it was still within the village bounds.
People would have passed by.
It was too cramped for over ten adult women.
They'd have had to go out sometimes, and someone would have seen. Yet no one noticed?
That's when it happened. A chill swept over her body. No windows, so no wind.
Her gaze naturally turned to Lander.
"There's more space below."
As expected, Lander had used his power. After experiencing the domain, it didn't surprise her.
"A basement."
They descended to the first floor. She pulled back the carpet. But the floor was solid. No secret door in sight.
"Not here?"
"Correct."
Lander drew his sword. She stepped back.
The blade sank into the floor without resistance, like piercing water. It was unbelievable skill. Or pure strength?
Lander set aside his sword and lifted the rectangular cutout. Beneath the thick wooden plank were bricks and iron plates.
Drenched in coagulant, they were solidly fused.
Even three adult men would strain to lift it, but Lander removed the entrance without changing expression.
"If they came and went often, they wouldn't have sealed it like this."
"Either they had no intention of opening it for a while, or they sealed it permanently. One or the other."
A dark staircase appeared, plunging into unknown depths.
Guchi pulled an oil lamp from his backpack.
"The air should be fine."
As Guchi moved to descend, Lander blocked him.
"I'll go alone first."
"It could be dangerous."
"Whatever's there, I can handle it alone."
"On second thought, we'd just be baggage."
When Guchi offered the lamp, Lander shook his head.
"I can see well enough."
Lander stepped onto the stairs. He soon vanished into the darkness. The occasional footsteps faded quickly.
"If it's alone, I couldn't go down even if you killed me."
"Same here."
She shouted into the basement.
"Lord Lander! You okay?"
Straining her ears, she heard Lander's faint voice.
Yes. A calm reply that made their worry seem foolish.
"What the hell is going on? Nothing's adding up, and it's driving me nuts."
She said to Guchi.
"Same here. What did Gilliud and Riselra do here? Why did the other women die? Not a single clue—it's maddening."
"Lander mentioned it back then, right? People committing suicide because of a new religion. Gilliud isn't the cult leader or something, is he?"
"I want to believe not, but that lie of his nags at me. If he has a silver tongue that tricks people to their deaths..."
"Just imagining it is horrifying. If he played us, I'd go grab him right now and cut out that tongue. No, wait—I'd need a confession first, so not right away."
"Nothing's confirmed, so don't jump ahead."
"Bad feelings usually turn out right. Unfortunately."
They waited over ten minutes, imaginations running wild. Lander emerged from the darkness.
"Did you find something?"
"I did, but I'm not sure what it is myself. What do you two want to do? It's safe, so you can come down."
"We've come this far; we have to see. I'll go down. But why'd it take so long? Is it really deep?"
"Not that deep. You'll see why it took time when you get down."
Lander led the way. A short way down the stairs, it grew pitch black, impossible to tell front from back.
If Guchi hadn't lit the lamp midway, they couldn't have taken a step. Lander descending casually through such gloom was impressive.
The stairs ended. A well-finished earthen tunnel.
Timbers lined the walls and ceiling to prevent collapse. No quick job—this took serious work.
Guchi lit a torch on the wall.
"Good ventilation. Designed that way, probably."
Breathing was easy, indeed.
Relying on the faint light, she scanned around. Now she understood why the house above was so pristine.
"They actually lived down here."
Inebile said, eyeing the dishes scattered about.
Deeper in, a pungent smell wrinkled her nose.
Excrement rotting. Leftover food crawling with nameless bugs.
"What a mess."
She pinched her nose and turned left. Iron bars came into view.
The more she saw, the more absurd it seemed. A basement prison?
"Perfect environment to sicken and die."
Guchi entered the bars. She followed.
The walls, carved from hard earth, bore strange markings.
It didn't take long to realize they'd been scratched in with fingernails.
"What the actual fuck."
She said, meaning every word.
(To be continued)