Chapter 58
The Secrets are Always in the Deepest Place (2)
Squeak.
I pushed open the stiff window with a bit more force and threw the rope through. The soft, heavy rope fell silently below.
Carefully, I slipped my body out of the window.
It’s dizzying. Would I die if I fell from here?
Not a chance.
After staring blankly downwards, my eyes met Ethan’s once more, and without a word, I gripped the rope.
Since magic can’t be used, this is the best method. It’s not like it’s my first time climbing a rope.
After taking a deep breath, I hugged the thick rope and slid down with relaxed arms. As I got closer to the ground, I jumped off, confident that Ethan would catch me.
“Got you.”
Sure enough, Ethan’s arms caught me securely. Dangling from his arms, I thanked him.
“Thank you.”
He seems to have gained quite a bit of strength since the extermination practice.
Is it because I made him work hard?
While feeling his firm arms and thinking other thoughts, he gently set me down on the ground and asked impassively.
“Why didn’t you use magic?”
“If I use magic, my mother might detect it.”
“Then…”
“Yes. Even if we find the well, we’ll have to go down using the rope.”
I lifted the extra rope I had wrapped around my other arm. Due to its bulk, I had also wrapped it around my waist.
This should be enough to support both my weight and Ethan’s.
No matter how deep the well is, it shouldn’t be much deeper than the basement, so I didn’t think this rope wouldn’t reach the bottom.
Also, I had something else in mind, so it’s fine. I just had a feeling of certainty about it.
I tapped Ethan’s shoulder.
“Well then, let’s move.”
🥀
Crowell Castle is certainly wide enough to be called a ‘castle.’ Wide enough for there to be a well somewhere in the castle that I don’t even know about.
Therefore, searching for the well without using detection magic is quite a tedious task.
It took several hours to search the entire front of the castle. Despite being out of breath, I turned towards the back of the castle without delay. Dawn will break soon. Ethan also continued to move without a word.
The back of the castle showed signs of being less touched by the brainwashed servants, as if it hadn’t even been a month since they started moving.
Crack.
At that moment, I flinched at the sudden sound.
“…That startled me.”
“It was my sound. I apologize.”
“It’s alright.”
We only walked on the unkempt side paths, so with each step, the sound of dry twigs breaking underfoot could be heard.
Even though I knew there was no one else around, I instinctively startled each time I heard a sound.
Only the unusually bright and round full moon provided comfort in the midst of this strange infiltration.
“Haa… At least the moon is bright tonight.”
Just as I raised my head to look at the moon from amidst the thick grass,
“Edith.”
Ethan, who was a few steps ahead, called out to me in a low voice.
“I think I’ve found it.”
Looking where he pointed, there was indeed something that looked like the entrance to a well, hidden among the overgrown bushes.
It was a place that even the servants obsessively cleaned and polishing Crowell Castle either didn’t touch or couldn’t reach.
“…It’s true. There was a well.”
The winter undergrowth had lost all its green leaves, leaving only black, hard stems.
Pushing aside the sparse vines that pricked at the back of my hand, the well cover was revealed. A rusty old padlock was attached to the thick iron cover.
“…There’s no sign of the padlock being opened.”
“Let’s break it.”
As Ethan was handling the rust-covered padlock, I nodded towards his sword. He drew his sword and struck the padlock.
Clang!
As expected, the old padlock easily broke and fell off.
After closely observing the metal pieces scattered on the ground, I turned my attention to Ethan, who was pushing away the cover. He wasn’t able to lift it away as easily as expected.
“Is it very heavy?”
“…Quite.”
To think that a mere well cover would be so heavy. What could be down there?
「Secrets are always kept in the deepest place.」
Recalling that memo, I glared at the well.
Not long after Ethan applied force, there was a grating sound and stone dust rose up.
Ethan pushed the cover halfway, creating an entrance to get into the well.
I immediately stuck my hand into the well and felt along the inside wall.
‘…It’s here.’
I felt a solid iron pole. When I grabbed it and shook it, a cold sensation ran up my palm.
“Ah, cold.”
It was much colder than I had anticipated, startling me.
Ethan scolded me.
“Are you alright? Why did you put your hand in first?”
“What, am I going to die?”
“You have a tendency to use the word ‘die’ too casually, Edith.”
My heart stung for a moment at those words. I quickly changed the subject.
“I was checking if there was a ladder inside. A ladder would be better than a rope.”
“Do you think it’s deep enough that we can’t go down with the rope?”
“Shall we see?”
I took the lantern from Ethan and stuck it into the well. A cold that seemed to scrape my flesh quickly clung to my arm.
The feeling in my fingertips disappeared in an instant.
Beyond what I could barely illuminate was only darkness. No water surface or dry bottom was visible in the light. I pulled my arm out, squinting.
“The bottom… isn’t visible.”
“It might just be because it’s dark.”
“You think so?”
I handed the lantern back to Ethan and, with both hands on the well wall, stuck my face inside.
It was to sense if there was any detectable magic.
And the result was… still, nothing. Not even a speck.
That made it even more suspicious.
In Crowell Castle, where my mother, who was a mage from the Magic Tower, lived, there was a secret space so devoid of magic?
I thought the cover might have been playing a role in blocking magic… but there was simply no magic at all inside this well.
It kept reminding me of the cavern from the extermination practice.
The wind blowing from inside the well scraped past my cheeks. It was a cold, biting wind that felt like it would freeze my cheeks.
I slowly pulled my head out and rubbed my wind-chilled cheek.
“It doesn’t seem like there’s water inside…”
I looked around, picked up a stone, and threw it inside. It was a decent-sized pebble.
Ethan and I listened carefully, and after a few long seconds, we heard a ‘thud’ as the stone hit the bottom.
“It doesn’t seem like there are any traps either. And at this depth, it’s definitely deeper than the basement.”
“Shall we go down?”
Ethan and I looked at each other and nodded.
Whatever is down there, this is certainly the deepest place in Crowell Castle.
And the secret must be hidden in the deepest place.
🥀
Clang. Clang.
Every time I stepped on the ladder, there was a metallic sound.
The ladder attached to the inside of the well wall was made of iron, so every time I grabbed it with my palms, a bone-chilling sensation ran through me.
I can’t even cast a warming spell… This will definitely give me a cold.
I had to put up with sluggish movements due to wearing the thickest clothes possible, but it was still this cold.
Moreover, as we descended, the air touching my cheeks became increasingly damp.
When we threw the stone, there was no sound of it hitting water.
How on earth did such a deep place come to exist?
While it’s said that old castles usually have wells, I couldn’t imagine that all old castles would have wells this deep.
I had been counting the rungs of the ladder since we started descending, but it became meaningless after passing the 300th rung.
It was the same principle as not being able to count how many times I’ve regressed.
Squeezing out the last of my strength, I called out to Ethan below.
“Ethan. Everything alright?”
“Yes.”
“Your hands too?”
“That… we’ll check when we get down.”
His voice was still steady.
‘I wish I could steal half of his stamina.’
The problem was, of course, me. I lack stamina. No matter how much cold air I scraped into my lungs, I was out of breath.
Even though I had trained at the Academy, this was the limit of a sixteen-year-old body. Unlike during the extermination practice, I didn’t bring anything like an elixir…
Ethan began to pause for me more frequently.
“Haa. Huff… Just a moment… I’ll come down soon.”
How much further do we have to go down? I lifted my head for a moment to catch my breath.
I should go down again.
At that moment, unfortunately, the next rung of the ladder I stepped on came loose from the well wall with a clatter.
“Ugh…?!”
Before I could react, my center of gravity shifted backward. It was a fall.
That’s what I felt.
Just as I was about to fall down at high speed, a heavy arm wrapped around my waist. A bright light stabbed my eyes. There was no need to wonder who it was. There were only two of us here. I called out his name.
“Ethan…!”
“You really seem to like falling.”
“As if!!”
One hand is on my waist, and one hand is holding the lantern. Then…
Ethan had chosen to fall together while catching my falling waist.
Are you crazy?
Do you want to die together?
🥀
Thank you for reading! ♡
