“Is participating in that ritual life-threatening?”
“It’s not like that, but…”
“Could it lead to death?”
“No, it won’t endanger life, but…”
“Will you lose any limbs?”
“Huh? No, it’s not that. Definitely not.”
“Then does it cause injuries?”
This isn’t a twenty questions game.
Carl stared at me in response to my question. “You’ll probably get hurt a bit.” He then muttered gloomily. “A fragile child like you will definitely… Anyway, that’s absolutely not happening.”
“Where would I get hurt?”
“You don’t need to know. Even if you did, it wouldn’t be good. Dana, it’s better if you don’t know.”
I let his words go in one ear and out the other, calculating coldly. If it’s not life-threatening, I can’t give up.
Why did I come to Kaltusa? Of course to trap Carl Windsor. To end this possession and leave this body.
So even if Danae Windsor, this body, gets hurt, I can’t back down. As long as I’m alive, it’s fine. And as long as I’m still alive, there would be no problem.
But how on earth should I show him that?
Suppose Carl continues to prevent me from going out because of that ritual. In that case, the opportunity to lead him ‘there’ will disappear. That was not what I wanted. It seemed like he would keep refusing if I asked to go out together.
But soon, I smirked. A good idea just came to my mind.
* * *
How many hours had passed like that?
“I’ll be back in a bit.”
Carl, who had been glued to me all day, finally stood up.
“You must be hungry. I’ll go get some food, Dana.”
“Okay.”
“Don’t go anywhere, don’t open the door for anyone, and just pretend to be asleep.”
“Yes, yes.”
“I’ll be back soon.”
Finally, Carl Windsor, who had been clinging to me like a leech all day, left the mill!
Thud. The door closed. I waited until his footsteps faded away and then sprang up. I need to get out quickly!
However,
Thud.
What?
The mill door wouldn’t open. Flustered, I tried again. Thud, thud.
“…”
Thud, thud. No matter how many times I pulled, it wouldn’t budge.
So… Carl had locked me in the mill.
I slumped to the ground, my head going blank from shock. Crazy man.
No matter how much he worried and cared, how could he lock me up without any warning! If he was really doing this to protect me, I could at least understand that!
Is he that desperate to protect my assets?
His reason for doing this was solely for my assets. To obtain them. If I were to die before he could secure his inheritance rights, he wouldn’t be able to seize them!
So, are my assets important to you? Important enough to lock me up like this?
My hatred boiled, and my competitive spirit flared.
Fine, in that case, I would do everything in my power to lead you into a trap. I would even sacrifice myself to bring you to destruction!
It was just when I made this resolution. Rattle. The door rattled. I glared sharply at the door. Could Carl have returned so soon?
“Wow, it’s true.”
No, it wasn’t Carl.
“Hello, Lady?”
A stranger entered. With slit eyes and a long scar on his chin, the thin-lipped man said, “Lady, were you locked in? I found this one by the door.”
Thud. The man dropped a long wooden stick.
“Who are you?”
“Ah, I’m the chief’s son. My name is Norton. I heard a pretty foreigner had arrived, so I came looking.”
He entered casually, eyeing me up and down. “Wow. It’s true. Are all foreigners this beautiful?”
He grabbed my white hair and exclaimed, “How can hair be this color? It’s so smooth like it’s coated in pearls.”
“…”
I frowned. Normally, I wouldn’t deal with such a crude and base person. So I wanted to say, ‘Let go,’ but then.
Wait a minute. My thoughts changed soon after.
Thanks to this guy, the door was open. Besides, wasn’t I planning to go outside anyway? If I disappeared alone, Carl Windsor would desperately search for me, so I planned to lead him to ‘that place’ first.
The perfect bait to lure Carl. It was none other than me – Danae Windsor.
But this might be more effective.
In front of me was the son of the reckless chieftain, clearly a troublemaker.
If he finds out I disappeared with someone like this…
He would search even faster to catch up.
“Want me to show you around the village?”
There was no reason to refuse.
* * *
I deliberately wandered around the village instead of heading straight there. The more witnesses, the quicker Carl would find me. Amazingly, everyone in the village seemed to know me.
“Oh, there’s the foreign lady!”
“My goodness! She’s so pretty! Like a fairy!”
“Be sure to attend today’s ritual!”
“And you must bring your handsome husband too, absolutely!”
“Today is the last day of the ritual! You must come, please!”
The intensity in their eyes sent a slight chill down my spine.
Everyone’s playing around like typical villagers.
The village square was bathed in the red glow of the sunset. Some played the lute, others danced and sang around the bonfire, sharing food with one another. It was a scene of utter peace, but…
Huh?
I noticed a crack in this idyllic setting.
“Save me!”
A girl was sprinting through the village. It was the same girl I had seen this morning, crying for help.
“Save me! Please, save me!”
The girl clung to the villagers, wailing for help. However, an elderly woman gently laughed and grabbed the girl’s collar.
“Oh dear, poor thing. You’re at it again.”
“Save me! Please sa-save me!”
“Alright, alright. Poor child. How did you hurt your head like this…”
The surrounding villagers clicked their tongues in sympathy.
“Oh, there she goes again.”
“Tsk, tsk. Poor thing. Her parents must have had a hard time.”
The girl’s face twisted in horror, looking at the villagers as if they were ghosts, and then burst into tears.
“Hey! Are you causing trouble here again!” Eventually, the woman from this morning began to drag the girl away.
“Waaah. Save me. Please, save me.”
The crying girl and the villagers who looked at her indifferently. The scene was so bizarre that I was seized by a strong sense of discomfort.
“Don’t worry about it.” Norton, the chief’s son, dismissed it casually. “She’s a sick kid. She’s been like that since she was young.”
“…I see.”
“Yeah. Let’s focus on the task at hand. Is there anywhere you want to go? I can take you anywhere.”
I turned away. Norton’s words were somewhat true.
Right, I have something I need to do.
I needed to focus on this moment. This was something that could only be done now.
That’s the reason I came to Kaltusa. To end this possession quickly and return, a task that must be done. So, I decided to focus on my own task.
I steeled myself and followed the chief’s son.
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