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Chapter 69 Part 1 – Side Story: The Blood-Sucking Madam of the Abandoned Castle (Part 2)

Hannah and I have successfully infiltrated the chapel of the Vente Castle.
It’s all thanks to Hannah’s efforts to placate the ferocious dogs.
With this, the chances of rescuing the idiot Alisa who was kidnapped by the madam of the castle has increased significantly.

I felt grateful to Hannah from the bottom of my heart.

I’m not good with big, ferocious dogs.

Don’t underestimate them as mere dogs.
Many of the guard dogs of the castle are hunting dogs as well.

I once spent a whole day being chased around by those guard dogs.

Even when I hid, they persistently tracked me by scent!
They could also do a coordinated attack!!
Even if their friends are killed, they will step over their corpses and continue to chase after the target!!

It was a bit traumatic.

I was prepared to die many times and sympathized with the wild animals being chased around by those dogs. To the point that I couldn’t even get wild game meat down my throat for a while.

There are dogs that used to hunt wild boars. Their fighting spirit surpasses pain and survival instincts. Once they bite, they will never let go of what’s in their mouth, even if its belly is ripped open or its ribs are broken. Their tenaciousness is more reptilian than mammalian. Just by the fact that they would not back down against a wild boar that has sharp fangs, bristly hair, strong muscles already proves that they have a screw loose in their head. At that time, I had to run around with my skirt looking like a torn garbage bag.

Even if I were a dog, it would be futile to show my belly and admit defeat. In the dog society, in order to maintain the pack, they set up the hierarchy through a fight. But rarely, there are dogs that strangle their opponent to death by biting their neck even after the other party had screamed and admitted defeat. Such dogs are chosen to hunt wild boars.

Judging from the atmosphere, the guard dogs at Vente Castle are probably dogs that used to hunt wild boars.

I’m really glad that we were able to avoid the battle ……

「Please watch your step.」

We stepped into the chapel.

The chapel was dark at night and the flickering light from the candlesticks painted a glow on my cheeks and Hannah’s. There were fresco paintings of a saint and angels painted on the walls. They looked down on us silently as they surrounded us. There was not enough light to see their expressions clearly.

「From this chapel, you can enter the building where the madam’s bedroom is located. Alisa-sama is probably there ……」

「…… Thank you. Thanks to you, I think I can save Alisa.」

At my words, Hannah stopped and said.

「…… I’m glad to hear that …… I liked the chapel at night. Because no one will come here. The saint and angels won’t think that my ugly face is creepy and they won’t make fun of me. But lately, when I come here, all I do is cry and make a confession. I was not able to save any of the young ladies from the madam. I asked for forgiveness for that sin ……」

Her confession made me very sad.

How much courage it must have taken for Hannah to advise the young ladies to run away.
If Elisabeth found out, Hannah would literally be torn to pieces.

And yet, no one would listen to her. They scorned her. They suspected her of having an ulterior motive. They even abused her verbally and thought that she was trying to get revenge at them.

How did Hannah feel?
To have risked her life in order to give them a warning, and yet have that good intention be kicked away.

「That must have been hard for you. You did your best.」

I couldn’t help but hug Hannah from behind.

Moreover, the people she was trying to save were the girls who had once stoned her and called her a 「monster」. Even though Hannah was starving to death, they tried to let her die without lending a hand to her.

It wouldn’t be strange if Hannah chose to turn a blind eye on them and indulge in dark pleasures as revenge. Bloody retribution is the work of mankind.

And yet Hannah chose a different path. No matter how much she was mocked, she tried again and again to save those girls. Even after those girls didn’t listen to her warning and suffered the consequences of their own actions and were killed, Hannah blamed herself.

What a noble soul.

Hannah is a flower that miraculously bloomed in the castle of blood and mud.
I grew to really like Hannah.

The only sound inside the chapel was the faint popping sound of the candle oil. All that was left was a veil of silent darkness. Hannah’s muffled mutterings sounded penetratingly loud to me.

「…… No, it’s not hard for me anymore. I’m not crying tonight. I’m not an educated person, so I can’t really say it well, but …… I feel very happy. I’ve always wanted to help others. Scarlet-sama is the only one who understood my true feelings. God must have heard my prayers and made it come true.」

Then Hannah smiled like a blossoming flower.

「Hannah ……」

I tightened my grip on Hannah’s hand.

How can you be uneducated.
Hannah’s heart is like a saint’s.
I was tired of seeing people killing and deceiving others, but she showed me the light of humanity. She made me remember my goal of becoming a proud, noble queen.

Thank you.

I wanted to create a kingdom where children like her can live happily.

「…… Hannah, I am the one who should be thanking you. I’ll do everything in my power to make you happy. That’s why, after Alisa has been rescued, you must come with me.」

I expressed my gratitude to Hannah.

And while I’m at it, let’s not forget to scout her again.
Hannah didn’t answer, but instead placed her hand hesitantly on top of mine.

「…… I’m sure I’ll never forget the voice of Scarlet-sama calling my name. There’s no contempt and pity in your voice …… A warm voice that considers me as a human and calls out to me. It’s the same voice as my father and mother ……」

「That’s an exaggeration. I’m just calling you by your name. After all, we’re friends. We’re going to call each other by name tens of thousands of times from now on.」

「…… Friends …… Me and Scarlet-sama ……」

Hannah mumbled shyly, turned around after a moment, and pleaded apologetically.

「…… Scarlet-sama, could you please wait a moment?」

The light in her eyes was so serious that I was taken aback.

「It won’t take long, so please ……」

I nodded.

Although we didn’t have any time to spare for the sake of the Alisa rescue mission, Hannah was a key player in the success of the infiltration.
Besides, a good woman always remembers to have some peace of mind.

Hannah got down on both knees on the floor.
She clasped her hands together, pressed her forehead against her hands, and prayed. Sweat dripped down from her chin from the extreme concentration. For the first time, I realized that a person could pray with such wholehearted devotion. A solemn presence rose from Hannah

When Hannah’s prayer ended, I was so relieved that I let out a sigh. I unconsciously muffled not only noises, but even the sound of my breathing.

「…… Hannah. What did you pray for?」

I couldn’t help but ask Hannah.

「It’s a secret. Now, we should go and help your companion. This door is the entrance to the castle.」

Hannah smiled shyly and dodged the question.

We held hands again and rushed forward.

As we left the chapel, I looked up at the religious fresco paintings, as if something was driving me to do so.
The expressions of the angels and saints were still obscured by the darkness from the dome-shaped ceiling.