The Masquerade Ball – Part 02
The huge man gleefully looked around the compartment and smiled broadly. Kazuya was reminded of his uncle he used to visit several times a year when he was back in his country. He lived together with his wife in the countryside. They were friendly, outspoken, and asked all sorts of questions. Kazuya sometimes found himself at a loss when dealing with them, but he couldn’t really dislike them either.
The cards that the large, burly man had been shuffling fell on the seat. The young man helped pick them up. Scattered among them were cards depicting a grim-faced king, a stern-looking queen, a sinister Jack.
The dark-haired girl sitting gloomily by the window, resting her chin on her hand, glanced at the cards. “Introduce ourselves?” she murmured in annoyance. Before the large man could say any more, she added darkly, “I’m a nobody. An orphan.”
“An orphan?” the large man said. “So you don’t have a family?”
“Nope.”
The large man stepped on the newspaper at his feet. He must have tried to squash the black spider. The article about the missing Miss Legrant was wrinkled, stained by the mud from his boots.
“I don’t know my birthday,” the girl went on. “That’s why I went to that mysterious monastery, to learn about my birthday.” Her dark, blue eyes snapped wide open. “If I don’t know my birthday, I’d be lost on the road to the underworld when I die!”
Both the large man and the young man shrank back. A stifling, maniacal aura filled the compartment. Only Victorique stared at the girl’s face without fear.
The lady studied the Orphan with concern. She then smiled in an effort to dispel the weird atmosphere. She glanced at the large man and the Orphan.
“I suppose it’s my turn,” the lady said, trying to maintain a cheerful tone. “I’m, um… I’m actually an empress. I secretly went to see the show at the monastery. Staying holed up in the castle is boring, so I snuck out.”
“You can’t be serious.”
“I’m currently in disguise. If they find me, I’ll get sent straight back to my country.”
The lady was wearing plain clothes, with no make-up whatsoever. She looked down, smiling shyly.
The large man rubbed his beard, dumbfounded. “You know—”
“I guess I’m next,” said the aristocratic-looking young man. His face looked serious, but his eyes were slightly misty, as though holding himself back from laughing. “Um, as for me… I know! I’m on a journey to find my sister who was captured by the King of the Underworld. I’ve climbed mountains, traveled to various countries. Because the king of the underworld has my sister, I have to do whatever he says. Who knows what he’ll have me do next?”
The Empress flashed a grateful smile, and the young man smiled back. The young man seemed timid and quiet, but he had a kind heart.
“What’s your job?” the Empress asked gently.
The young man thought about it for a moment. “Hmm… Let’s just say I’m a lumberjack. I cross mountains, chopping down trees as I go.”
Watching the young man, the grumpy Orphan’s expression softened a little. The large man regarded the Lumberjack’s face, with its noble features, and his clearly luxurious outfit.
The Orphan, the Empress, and the Lumberjack exchanged smiles.
The large man clicked his tongue, but he wasn’t genuinely angry.
“Fine,” he said, chuckling dryly. “You don’t want to actually introduce yourselves. All these weird names are making me feel like I’m under some evil spell.”
“But I really am an empress traveling discreetly,” the Empress protested with a serious look.
“Yeah, yeah. I get it. We’re just strangers who happened to ride the same train. Some of the guests at the show didn’t mind being seen there, while others were the opposite. I belong to the former, so I didn’t really think about it.”
He scratched his beard again. He glanced at his muddy boots and pulled on his humble vest with his craggy hands.
Thunder rumbled again outside. A flash of white light ominously illuminated the inside of the compartment.
“In that case, I’m the Dead,” the large man rumbled.
Under the light, his bearded, rugged face was as white as a criminal’s head on a silver platter. His bloodshot eyes were frozen in torment, as though he had died a sudden, unexpected death.
“Hundreds of years ago, I was killed in that monastery when the Black Death, a terrible plague, ravaged the lands. I didn’t want to die, but I met such a tragic end that my soul couldn’t pass on, and for a long time I’d been wandering the dark surface of the Baltic Sea, shedding black tears.”
A small, hysteric shriek came from the youth.
The man in the legends, who died at the monastery.
And the Black Masque of Death who killed him.
“For the next centuries, my soul haunted that monastery, cursing all who came to visit,” he continued sonorously. “During the Great War, I squealed with delight at the sight of the German fighter planes crashing on the water and the beach. Young German soldiers lost their lives, their charred and dismembered remains strewn among the wreckage.”
A curse that had continued since the Middle Ages, echoing through the monastery.
“Curse you. Curse this fortress. Death will come. Over and over.”
The malevolent voice of a young, foolish, and narrow-minded king, emanating from the depths of the underworld.
“Unfortunately, none of the dead left behind a satisfactory body. Finally in the midst of tonight’s chaos, I found a new, tough cadaver. I’m talking about this man, who came to see the show. He was strong and powerful, but he grew up in the mountains, so he couldn’t swim. When he drowned, I slipped into his body and took over. For the first time in centuries, I walked on my own two legs!”
The ominous thunder gradually faded.
Inside the compartment, the flash of light dulled, and dimness returned. The train continued on through the night, rocking unsteadily like a ship in a storm.
When the large man—the Dead—finished speaking, he eyed everyone with wonder.
The Lumberjack clapped his hands, and the Empress smiled.
“That was amazing!” the Empress said. “Right?”
“Yeah,” the Lumberjack agreed. “The perfect timing of the thunder and lightning played a part, but it was really cool overall. Your story’s the best one.”
“R-Really?” the Dead scratched his beard bashfully. The sinister visage he showed earlier was gone, replaced by a look of both amusement and disappointment. “I must say, it’s like a Masquerade Ball.”
He looked around, gazing into each person’s eyes.
Everyone’s faces turned expressionless as they silently stared back at the large man’s bearded face. Fear made the Dead’s voice grow a little louder. He fanned out the cards in his large hands.
“Don’t you see it? We’re all hiding our true identities, wearing masks like the characters on these cards. The Orphan searching for her birthday, the Empress on a secret trip, the Lumberjack looking for his sister, and the Dead wandering around. They’re not aware of what the others look like.” He scratched his beard absently.
Victorique studied his face intently. Her golden hair hung softly over her lavish red dress. Her mini hat, adorned with roses, looked like a mystic flower blooming in the darkness of the night. The Dead glanced at Victorique and tried to say something casually, but he closed his mouth, stunned by her peculiar beauty.
They were all staring at Victorique, waiting for her to speak. She wasn’t saying anything, so the Dead, his face tensing up, decided to break the silence.
“What about you, little girl?” he asked softly.
“…Hmm?”
“Who are you?”
Victorique’s hazy, green eyes widened slightly. Her lips slowly parted.
“I’m an ancient, proud Gray Wolf, and this is my idiot vassal,” she muttered in a low, husky voice.
Lightning flashed, painting the compartment white. Blazing, yet frighteningly emotionless, green eyes glinted in the brightness, eyes that appeared to see through everything.
The moment she mentioned the words Gray Wolf, Kazuya sensed someone tense up. The same person who flinched before when the Orphan dropped the red box, he thought. But he didn’t know who it was. As the thunderclap faded, the atmosphere returned to normal, and everyone relaxed, staring at each other’s faces.
NEXT CHAPTER
RELEASE RATE
Gosick
Speed up schedule by 10 hours
Current schedule: Every 90 hours
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