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Chapter 68 Part 2 – Side Story: The Blood-Sucking Madam of the Abandoned Castle (Part 1)

With an uneasy heart, I looked up at the abandoned castle towering behind me.
As dusk crept in, its majestic appearance was dyed in black, as if it were coming back to life.
The castle that seems to be partially embedded in the rocky hillside is Vente Castle. The lord of the castle is said to be the blood-sucking lady from the tales.
Directly below it was a dense fog squirming eerily like an amoeba.

That castle is the former residence of Elisabeth Sylvania, a murderous noblewoman who killed the young women in her territory and bathed in their blood in order to maintain her beauty.

I have seen a copy of her portrait and was struck by her morbidly white skin and pompous gaze.
The number of her victims amounted to 666.
As punishment, Elisabeth was locked in a room with covered windows and the castle was abandoned.
That happened over 200 years ago.

And yet, the castle has not fallen into decay, as if it is still inhabited. The castle is said to be haunted by countless revengeful ghosts and the cries of the cruelly murdered young women can still be heard from time to time ……

‘…… Please …… help ……!!’

Yes, I’m sure it sounds like this. A quiet voice crying out.
…… Eh? Ehhhh!?

「…… Hey Alisa. Don’t play around. It’s so obvious.」

I smiled stiffly.
Alisa’s cheeks blushed and she fidgeted.

「Obvious? Could it be that …… Scarlet-sama saw Alisa’s buttocks? But if it’s Scarlet-sama, I don’t mind being seen. Even if you want to see my breasts, or even more private areas ……」

I could feel my face instantly turning pale.

That voice just now wasn’t made by Alisa!? Then ……!!

「…… Ahhh, I feel relieved now. Does Scarlet-sama also want to pee?」

Without noticing my anxiety, Alisa stood up and stretched languidly.

A gust of wind ruffled our hair.
The wind was blowing from the direction of the abandoned castle.
A bloody smell with an acrid sourness and smell of iron was brought by the wind.

I shuddered.

It was the smell of blood and guts, something I was familiar with from all the assassination attempts due to the struggle for the throne. With a click, the emergency switch inside me flipped on and my state of mind changed completely. This was no time for quarreling.

「…… It hurts …… please …… help ……」

I’m not hallucinating this time. I could hear it clearly.

「There’s a strange smell ……」

Alisa is also sniffing around.

「Alisa!! Be quiet. Stay close to me.」

I hugged Alisa protectively.

Hey, hey! Don’t close your eyes and pucker your lips.
This is not the time for that.

Occult stories are scary.
But if it were real, it would be far more dangerous.
I quickly looked around the surroundings.
Rocks are lying here and there. The terrain is desolate with sparse grass. The rocks are not so big. Even a child would have a hard time hiding behind those rocks.

But I can’t let my guard down.
There are some people who pretend to call for help and attack the well-intentioned person who approaches them. There are also those who lie in ambush by covering themselves with cloth disguised as rocky or sandy terrain.
I have been hit by both of those types in the past.

I have a lot of enemies.
And Alisa is a notorious troublemaker.
When the two of us are together, it is not strange for anything to happen.

I slipped my hand inside through the slit on the side of my skirt and grasped an iron-ribbed fan from the pochette tied around my waist. The fan is made of a special material that could knock off a dagger.

I also have the self-defense skills to subdue a few ruffians.

However, if the opponent is a group of fully armed knights or professional mercenaries, I wouldn’t be able to win against them. Especially when I have Alisa with me, who is a liability.

「…… Go back to the carriage!! Alisa, run!!」

I urged Alisa. Then we began to run back to the carriage that is located about fifty meters away.

「Scarlet-sama is acting a little bit scary …… Alisa is not good at running, so link arms with me and let’s run together~」

「Don’t act like a spoiled child!! We’re in an emergency situation!!」

I smacked the butt of the slow-moving Alisa and forced her to run quickly.

If we get separated from the carriage, our escape path will be blocked. We also can’t give the enemies the opportunity to break the wheels of the carriage while the guards are heading toward us. I could escape by riding directly on the horse, but Alisa can’t ride a horse, not even if she rides together with another person.

Ahhhh!! Damn it!! It’s so hard to run in a dress!!

「Is someone there!? Are you injured!?」

I’m yelling this just in case there really are people who need rescue.

At the same time, I waved my hand to the guards waiting around the carriage and told them to come this way.
The people from the Fontaine family are indeed excellent. By the time they heard my shout, they were already riding their horses toward us.

But the relief was short-lived because suddenly a dense, white fog obstructed our view.
The figures of the approaching guards disappeared.
The fog that surrounded Vente Castle had blown down and came over here.
This is bad!!

「Alisa-sama!! Scarlet-sama!! Where are you!! Please answer!!」

I could hear the sound of horses’ hooves coming from left and right in the abnormally dense fog. The fog was so dense that I couldn’t see a single inch ahead of me. The guards tried to approach us by relying on our voices.

「Here!! Both of us are here!!」

I shouted. However, the ground was covered with rocks and we couldn’t even see our feet.
If we overdo it, we might end up falling down and breaking a bone. In the end, both us and the horses had no choice but to move cautiously and were slow in approaching each other.

But impatience only led to more mistakes.

In order to not lose sight of Alisa, I was holding on to the fabric around the back waist of her dress. I hadn’t been paying enough attention to her side. All of a sudden, Alisa’s body was pulled by a terrifying force and my fingers slipped off completely.

「Alisa!?」

I desperately reached out with my other hand, but I couldn’t reach her in time.

「Scarlet-sama!! Help me!! Kyaaaaa!!」

Alisa screamed and her figure disappeared in the fog in the blink of an eye.

Could it be that she slipped off a slope!?
It’s all my fault!!
Alisa was so frightened!!　
If only I had linked my arms with her like she requested!!

「Alisa!! Please!! Please reply!!」

「…… Scarlet-sama …… it hurts …… my buttocks ……」

Alisa answered my call with a small voice.
It sounded like her voice was coming from far below me.
As expected, we had stepped onto a slope without realizing it.

From her usual carefree tone, I knew that Alisa was safe and sound. She was indeed an extremely lucky girl. She was uninjured even though she had rolled down a slope this high. As expected of the girl who can become the winner at card games without even knowing the rules.

「I’m going down there right now, so don’t move.」

Feeling relieved, I hurriedly wiped away the tears floating on the corners of my eyes.
If she ever saw me like this ……
「Were you that worried about Alisa? It can’t be helped then. I’ll stay by your side forever. Please take care of me for the rest of our life. Let’s seal it with a kiss.」
She would definitely say something like that and cling to me.

I smiled wryly and fumbled my way down the slope, only to be petrified by Alisa’s piercing cry.

「Let go of me!! Alisa is going to go back with Scarlet-sama!! I’m not going to go with you!!」

There’s someone near Alisa!?

「Alisa!!」

「…… Scarlet-sama ……」

Alisa’s voice became more and more distant.

Someone is trying to kidnap Alisa, and what’s more, that person can see the road even in this fog!?
At this rate, I won’t be able to catch up.
I have no choice but to rush forward, even while being aware of the dangers.

I made up my mind and stood up straight.

Picking up the ends of my skirt and pulling up the crinoline, I ran down the foggy slope at full speed, relying only on Alisa’s voice. In less than five seconds, the foothold I stepped on wobbled and I nearly sprained my ankle. I smashed my bare shin against something and sparks flew in my vision. In no time at all, my lower leg was full of pain, scrapes, and bruises. I dreaded checking the condition of my legs later on.

But Alisa is more important than that. That girl is an idiot and a fool. She can’t read the situation and always causes me a lot of trouble, but she loves me without any calculation. She’s like a younger sister to me, an irreplaceable existence ……!!

And yet Alisa’s voice was getting further and further away from me.