Old Castle by the Lake 5
The entrance door was, of course, locked and wouldn't budge
an inch. Perhaps rusted by the wind and rain, the handle itself wouldn't move.
Now then, what should we do. I wonder if it would be alright to break a window?
「Let's head inside for now.」
Saying that nonchalantly, Ashren-sama vigorously
raised his leg and kicked the door open. Whether the rusted hinges had weakened
in strength or the power of his kick was just that incredible, it fell inward
with a thud from a single kick.
「...It might be strange for me, the
one who brought this up, to say this, but is this really okay?」
「I told you, didn't I? This is the
territory of the Naturi Marquis Family. The owner of both this lake and
the old castle is my brother. And my brother never comes here.」
「Are you saying we won't be found
out?」
「Well, yeah.」
Ashren-sama,
grinning broadly, looked like a mischievous child who had simply grown up... or
rather, I feel like there's a bit too much malice for that. After quickly
sweeping away the dust in the entrance with his foot, Ashren-sama set my
backpack down there and pointed, demanding I show him the contents. He could
have just opened it without asking, but he is properly considerate about such
things.
「You brought it, didn't you?」
「Well, just in case.」
As I untied the strings of the backpack, perhaps curious
about what was inside, Ashren-sama leaned in close enough for our
foreheads to touch. He is close. But somehow, it frustrated me that I was the
only one flustered by this, so I daringly pretended to be fine.
「Let's see, it should be somewhere
around here. Ah, found it.」
Taking out a folding lamp, I adjusted its flattened shape
into a cylinder, placed a candle in the center, and lit it with a match.
「I only brought one, though.」
「I figured as much. I will hold it.」
Carrying the backpack once again, I followed Ashren-sama,
who had the lamp in hand, into the old castle. The smell of dust and mold
pierced my nose, and from the ruined state of the castle's interior, one could
tell that many years had passed since it was last used.
「Speaking of water, I suppose it
would be the kitchen. Let's aim for there for now.」
「Yes. They are usually near the back
door on the first floor, aren't they.」
I don't think the structure of buildings has changed much
from the past to the present. Especially kitchens, which bring in ingredients
and use water almost every day, so they are often located near the back door.
Well, this is also because there are often wells in the backyard, though.
Since it is definitely on the first floor, we tried opening
the doors in order, starting from the closest room. The hinges on the doors
were rusted, letting out an unpleasant creak every time they were
opened.
「As expected, the parts facing the
front garden seem to be guest rooms and living rooms. Is the furniture exactly
as it was in the past?」
「I heard they sold off things that
could fetch a price, but things that are difficult to carry, even if expensive,
were apparently left as is.」
They would have to carry them out by boat, after all. To
begin with, between the bricks to build the old castle and everything else, the
labor to bring things in must have been tremendous. I can feel the obsession of
the cheated-on husband in that regard.
「When it was purchased, apparently
portraits of the couple were hung everywhere.」
「That doesn't mean they reconciled,
does it.」
If so, there would be no reason to imprison her.
「Apparently, the woman's smile was
stiff and twitching like a wax figure.」
Scary, scary. Please don't tell me it was actually a real
wax figure. I don't believe in curses, but I am actually quite weak to ghosts
and the like. And yet, Ashren-sama placed a hand on my shoulder from
behind, brought his face close to my ear, and whispered in a low voice.
「From those portraits, sobbing can be
heard in the middle of the night...」
「Wah! Wah!」
I didn't hear anything. I'm not listening! Laughter rained
down from above the head of me, who had reflexively covered my ears and
crouched down.
「Hahaha, so there was something even
you were weak against, Layla.」
「No! I was just a little surprised,
that's all.」
「You were a bit too surprised for
that, weren't you.」
I glared at Ashren-sama, who was still laughing,
"Haha." To think my weakness would be found out. Even so, isn't he
laughing a little too much?
Frustrated, I patted the dust off my skirt pon-pon
and stood up, pasting the poker face drilled into me by noble society onto my
face. Well, I know it's too late for that now, but this is a moment where I
want to put on a brave front.
「I am fine now.」
「You've got some nerve saying that
with such a pale face. Here, I'll hold your hand, so let's go to the next room.」
As if to say no questions asked, Ashren-sama grabbed
my right hand and began walking to the next room just like that. I thought
about shaking it off, but realizing a bit late that I couldn't see my feet well
with just the unreliable lamp, I understood the meaning behind him holding my
hand. It's things like this that make it impossible to hate him.
After opening the umpteenth door, we found the kitchen.
When Ashren-sama raised the lamp slightly above his
eye level, the entire room emerged in the weak light. Pots and pans were placed
carelessly, covered in dust, and plates lined a large cupboard.
Heading towards a place that looked like a washing area near
the wall, sweeping the light around its vicinity, we found a large water jug
placed in the corner. I had him illuminate it with the lamp—it was about up to
my chest in height—but, as expected, there wasn't a single drop of water
inside. It was only natural, since much time had passed since it was last used.
「This is where they stored the water
to be used in the kitchen, isn't it.」
「Shall we check if there's a well in
the backyard first?」
「I don't mind looking, but I think it
is highly likely it is not drinking water, just like the villa.」
「That is true, huh.」 Ashren-sama agreed. At that moment, I felt like I heard a small hiss
sound. Eh? When I strained my ears, this time I clearly heard a faint,
thin voice that sounded like a woman's sobbing.
「Ashren-sama!」
「Wh-What is it? What happened!?」
Suddenly being clung to by me, Ashren-sama leaned
back slightly, but wrapped his arm around my back anyway.
「Did you not hear that just now?」
「Hear what?」
「That hyuu sound. That was the
sobbing of a woman!」
「No, that's impossible. Because that
was just a story I made up...」
Ashren-sama's
words were suddenly cut off by the voice that could be heard once again.
Following that, the light of the lamp began to flicker and sway.
「It's the ghost of the imprisoned
wife!」
「No way, that can't be. Calm down,
there must surely be a reason.」
I wrapped my arms tightly around Ashren-sama's back,
yet my legs still wouldn't stop trembling. They really do exist, ghosts. Even
if there are no curses, ghosts exist.
A chillingly cold air blew up from around my feet, and every
time it did, the sobbing echoed throughout the kitchen. My skirt puffed up from
the wind... Hm? Puffed up?
I released my arms from Ashren-sama, creating a gap
of about half a step between the two of us. Wind was blowing up from beneath
us.
「What's wrong? Layla.」
「Ashren-sama, wind is blowing from below.」
「Now that you mention it, the sobbing
can be heard from below as well.」
The floor was made of wooden boards. Thinking could it be,
I looked up at Ashren-sama, and he seemed to be thinking the exact same
thing. We both squatted back a step further and began to grope around the dust-
covered floorboards.
「I apologize, I suddenly clung to you
like that.」
「I don't mind. More importantly, if
wind is coming from below, that means...」
As we swept away the dust on the floorboards as if stroking
them, the cold sensation of metal immediately touched my fingertips.
「I found it.」
「A basement, huh. It seems the cause
of the sobbing is the wind blowing up from below.」
I agree! Because there's no way ghosts exist, after all!
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