Chapter 58
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 51
Chapter Title: The Escape Chute
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Then again, that man wasn't just a domestic abuser. Ethan had said he had a murder conviction, too.
Maybe locking him in a cell would have been a mercy. Letting him out might lead to an even more gruesome end for him.
The man fumbled along the floor, trying to pick up the key that had fallen outside the bars. It looked like he might just be able to reach it.
“Let's go. Ignore him.”
Ethan said to me.
I supported Knox as we moved past the cell and continued forward.
Behind us, I heard the sound of the abuser opening the cell door. He went in the opposite direction from which we'd come—back toward the police station, where the monster was.
“If that door is breached, won't it be dangerous here too?”
Ethan's brow furrowed at my question.
“Let's hurry.”
As I continued walking while supporting Knox, I felt the floor give a slight jolt at one point. *What was that?*
I hesitated for a moment, but since Knox and Ethan kept walking without a word, I couldn't voice my question. Besides, we had to escape this place in a hurry.
I had no choice but to keep moving. After walking a little further, we finally reached a dead end.
There was a round hole there, just big enough for one person to squeeze through.
Ethan knelt on one knee in front of it and peered inside.
“It hasn't been used in a long time, so it's probably quite dusty.”
I stared at Ethan, my expression one of disbelief. It seemed to be a chute for sending out bodies, like a slide at a water park.
“We have to go in there?”
“Yes. This is how they send out the bodies. You can think of this passage as being connected to the side of a deep, well-like pit.”
“Bodies... That's so barbaric. Do they really use this thing?”
Knox asked Ethan, his face incredulous. Ethan swiped a finger along the bottom of the passage, checking the dust again before frowning.
“Actually, this dungeon wasn't in use before I arrived either. It was built as a formality in the past. How often would a place like a dungeon be needed in a small country town like this?”
I think he mentioned something similar when we were making plans at Happy House.
So, the dungeon was unused, but as soon as Ethan came to Brunel, he arrested a domestic abuser with a murder conviction, forcing it to be reopened. Is that it? That's Ethan for you.
“But it was used at some point, right?”
Ethan nodded at my question.
“Vicious criminals aren't given funerals. So when a prisoner died, a place was needed to dispose of the body. In the past, they would dig a deep pit, like a well, put the body inside, and incinerate it.”
So, if we go down this water slide-like passage, we'll end up in a well-shaped corpse incinerator.
“If it's a deep pit like a well, how do we get up?”
“There's a ladder connected to the surface. To incinerate something, someone has to come down to light the fire and clean up, wouldn't they?”
Listening to Ethan, I swallowed hard and stared into the dark hole.
The fact that it hadn't been used in a long time somehow made it even creepier. It seemed like the perfect setting for a horror movie.
Just then, Knox spoke up.
“Are you aware? Knox Cornell Ludpersher is a direct descendant of the Marquess Ludpersher family and a promising elite doctor.”
He, who had been listening to Ethan's explanation with his arms crossed, suddenly interjected, referring to himself in the third person. *What's with him?*
“If it's been that long, Lancaster, you can't know for sure what's at the end of this passage, can you? If something were to go wrong, the world would lose a great talent.”
Listening to him, I realized Knox had a point. I nodded in strong agreement.
“That's true. I'm the heiress of the Sinclair family, you know. A superstar of high society. My fans would be devastated if something happened to me.”
Anti-fans are still fans, right? Of course, I wondered how many of those anti-fans were still alive, but for now, I just played along with what Knox was saying.
It was because I figured I'd have to humor him a bit if I wanted to bring up scouting him as a consulting physician for Happy House. *Sigh.* The social grind is tough.
Knox gave me a faint smile.
“Miss Cherry, we're on the same page this time. People like us have a duty to maintain our social standing.”
“It sounded like bullshit before, but now that I think about it, you might be right. Social standing is very important, indeed.”
While Knox and I were trading lines like that, Ethan had already positioned himself in front of the hole.
“Then you two can stay here.”
“...”
I quietly rubbed my face. I'd wanted to avoid this, but it seemed there was no getting out of it.
“Damn it, no choice then. Sir Ethan, you go first, then Mr. Ludpersher. I'll go last. Sir, please go down and catch the bags.”
Ethan, already seated at the hole, nodded. But Knox protested when he heard the order.
“A lady going last is too dangerous. I'll be the last to—”
“Do you want a piggyback ride down?”
“...I wanted to go first.”
Knox gave a faint smile and calmly got in line behind Ethan.
Without hesitation, Ethan pushed his body into the hole.
*Thump.*
A moment later, I heard the sound of Ethan landing from far below.
The passage... seems pretty long.
Knox and I met each other's eyes. With a very reluctant expression, he sat down at the entrance of the hole. Then he looked at me with a grim face and said,
“See you on the other side.”
And with that, Knox disappeared into the hole. Soon, I heard him land below.
“Catch the bags!”
I shouted into the passage and sent the luggage down first. Then, I put my feet in the hole to get situated and took a deep breath.
“I'll catch you at the bottom, so don't worry and come on down, Miss Cherry.”
Ethan's voice called up to me from below. He was rushing me just because I'd delayed for a moment.
“Alright, I'm coming!”
I shouted back and immediately slid down. It really felt like going down a slide, and before long, I saw light.
*Woof.*
I landed in something soft yet firm. I was caught. *Caught?*
I looked up and saw Ethan's face, silhouetted against the sunset sky. He really had meant it when he said he'd catch me.
Beyond Ethan's face, I could see a circle of sky. So we really were in a deep, well-like pit. I wondered if this was what the sky looked like to a frog in a well.
The round, sunset-tinged sky was incredibly beautiful and peaceful, as if everything that had happened until now was a lie.
To be having such thoughts in a corpse incinerator.
“Are you alright?”
Ethan asked me. Only then did I realize I was still in his arms. The realization came a bit late, but I awkwardly scrambled down.
Knox, who had a bag slung over his shoulder, was leaning against the wall and watching us. He said,
“I'd like to get out of here soon. Hey, Lancaster. Where does this lead?”
Ethan shouldered the remaining bag from the floor and answered.
“It connects to the mountain behind the village of Brunel. The same one behind your Happy House, Miss Cherry.”
At Ethan's words, I briefly pictured the mountain behind Happy House.
The mountain behind Happy House wasn't very high, and its slopes were gentle. Yet, the mountain itself was quite large, making it easy to live off gathering or hunting, as long as you avoided the monsters.
“So we're outside the village. That's a relief.”
Knox let out a sigh of relief, as if it was welcome news. I went over and took the bag from him, since he was injured.
“I'll do the heavy lifting.”
“I'm now fully aware that you're strong, Miss Cherry. Still, it is a gentleman's duty to help a lady... Ugh.”
Knox, trying to refuse my offer and take the bag himself, soon winced and swallowed his words, seemingly from the pain in his thigh. I patted his shoulder.
“I'm strong. Just lean on me.”
Knox looked at me with a strange, unreadable expression. So did Ethan. Of course, I ignored them both and stood before the ladder.
“I'll go up first this time.”
The two men nodded. And so, I set foot on the ladder and started to climb.
“Be careful, my lady. Very careful.”
Watching me climb without hesitation, Knox kept an eye on me from below, full of concern.
Being with Knox, a man for whom 'ladies first' was second nature, made me feel like I was truly a noble lady.
In any case, after climbing a little, I could soon see the ground. It looked like we were near the entrance to the forest.
*Ugh, I'm exhausted.* I couldn't wait to get back to Happy House, collapse onto my bed, and rest.