“Did something go wrong in the water? I quickly grabbed the glass and took a sip to taste it.
“Ugh. This isn’t water, is it? Cough, cough.”
To anyone, it looked like clear liquid resembling water. But a strong alcohol scent wafted up. Is it whiskey? Even touching it with my tongue made me cough. It didn’t seem like a normal level of alcohol.
“I just drank this much of something this strong? Oh my….”
Did I gulp it down thinking it was water? The glass was more than half empty. I think I had said I couldn’t handle even a sip of alcohol, and yet I drank this much all at once. Staying conscious after that would be impossible.
“Hey, Karl, Karl. Are you okay? Come on, wake up.”
What if it’s acute alcohol poisoning? Looking at Karl’s tightly closed eyes, as if he were sleeping peacefully, made my heart sink.
I couldn’t gauge how deadly this strong alcohol could be for someone who couldn’t break down alcohol. But seeing that this seemingly sturdy man could lose consciousness so quickly, I realized I needed to take action immediately.
First, it seemed necessary to position Karl, who was slumped over the table, in a way that would help him breathe comfortably. I tried to lift him by wrapping his arm around my shoulder, aiming to tilt him so his chest would touch my back. But he didn’t budge at all.
“Ugh, why is he so heavy?”
Moving such a large man with my frail body was no easy feat. Straining to lift him, I ended up in a position that resembled carrying him, but just as I managed to separate his upper body from the table…
Bang!
I collapsed with Karl onto the floor. I couldn’t hold his weight and ended up getting pinned beneath him.
“Ugh….”
Of all places, it had to be a stone floor. And of all moments, I was pinned under Karl’s large body. It felt like my elbows and knees were painfully crushed against the ground. The pain made me wonder, ‘Is it this painful and I haven’t broken any bones?’
I lay still for a few seconds, waiting for the pain to subside. Until the pain eased, I had no strength to move. Just when I began to get a bit accustomed to the pain, I managed to wiggle my limbs and barely slip out from beneath Karl.
“Wow, I almost suffocated.”
The pain in my knees and arms was fierce, but being crushed under the heavy weight made it hard to breathe. I was relieved I could escape now.
“Ugh…”
It was time to lay Karl straight. I gathered all my strength to try to turn him over. But just as I expected, his large body barely shifted.
“Karl, could you please wake up…?”
I couldn’t do it alone. Muttering to myself, I tried my hardest to wake him up this time. I pushed and shook him. Eventually, I even used my feet to nudge him, but it was no use.
“This isn’t working.”
I thought of laying him flat to help him breathe before calling for the knights. But I had no choice. It seemed necessary to call someone to check on Karl’s condition. Gripping my aching knee, I groaned and got up. That’s when it happened.
Thunder rumbled.
“Oh my!”
The sound was so loud it seemed to penetrate the thick stone walls.
“Whoa…”
Startled by the sound, which felt like the castle was collapsing, I hurried toward the door.
Rumble. Bang!
In the meanwhile, more thunder crashed. It sounded just like the thunder I had heard right before spilling magic stones on the ground.
“Ugh…”
At that moment, Karl’s seemingly lifeless body started to stir and move.
“Oh my, Karl. Are you awake?”
Slowly lifting his arm, Karl touched his forehead, still with his eyes closed. It seemed he had bumped his head when he fell, as his forehead was red.
“Ugh…”
“You’re waking up. Thank goodness. Karl, can you hear my voice? Does your head hurt a lot?”
His silence made me worry.
“Karl? You need to lie still. Try to move a little.”
Now that he was coming to, it should be easier for him to move. I whispered for him to try moving and gently pushed his arm again.
Thankfully, it seemed he could understand me, as he began to move his body bit by bit in response to my gestures. Just a little more push, and he would be able to get up.
“Whoa!”
Just when I felt his body lift slightly, Karl reached out, grabbed my shoulder, and pulled me toward him. At that moment, I was already leaning in that direction, so I helplessly fell into the pull.
“What’s going on?”
I ended up back under him. But this time, I was looking at the ceiling instead of the floor. Lying under Karl, facing the ceiling meant I was now… dangerously close to his face to the point where our noses could almost touch.
“C-Come to your senses!”
I was taken aback. Dealing with someone who isn’t in their right mind is truly challenging. I regretted not calling for the knights sooner.
To avoid interrupting my superior’s meal, there was no one else in the room—no aides or knights.
Perhaps Karl had even instructed them not to disturb us since I needed to have a close conversation with him. If someone had been at the door, they might have heard the commotion inside, yet no one barged in.
“Karl…?”
Karl, who had been moving as if about to wake, fell silent again. Just when I thought it was the right moment to pull away, his arm tightened around me, refusing to let go.
Is he asleep or not? I slowly tried to push his arm off my back. It was no use, as expected. Forget it; whatever will be, will be. I resigned myself and relaxed my limbs. Perhaps instinctively, I clung to him as he struggled in his sleep. I suppose I’ll just have to wait until he calms down before I can get up.
***
Emergency situation.
Hannah couldn’t find Celeste anywhere in the Grand Castle. Despite Clovis’s reassurance that this secret hideaway of the Grand Duke was safe from the outside world, she couldn’t shake her unease.
Still, Celeste must be somewhere in the Grand Castle. With that thought, Hannah began her search, but as time passed, she realized the situation was growing more dire.
She had thought Celeste might be lost somewhere and caught in the rain, but the reality was much worse.
They had just arrived at the Grand Castle and hadn’t even finished unpacking their belongings. The attendants were busy finding their tasks, and amidst all the hustle, Celeste had vanished.
The last person seen with Celeste was Clovis, the duke’s advisor. Watching the rain intensify, Hannah felt rage bubbling up within her.
“What happened, Clovis?”
“Oh, no. She was here. I only guided her since she wanted a tour of the Grand Castle…”
“If you were guiding her, you should have waited until she returned! What on earth happened?”
“I thought it best to guide her along a safe path, so she wouldn’t stray off into the mountains. I accompanied her close to the entrance, just in case she needed to enter the castle. But the Grand Duchess insisted on walking further alone…”
The Grand Duchess. Right, Celeste was now not just Lady Louisette, but Grand Duchess Albrecht.
Yet, how could they allow the Grand Duchess to stroll alone without any escort? Though this place seemed safe, dangers always lurk. Hannah’s shoulders shook with anger.
“The sun has set. It’s dark now, making the search difficult. We need to find the Grand Duchess as quickly as possible. If we don’t…”
She didn’t want to voice those fears. Shaking her head fiercely, she cast a furious glare at Clovis.
“You’re going to face serious consequences.”
“That won’t happen. I’ve dispatched all available forces to search the woods for traces of the Grand Duchess. Even if she mistakenly took a path into the mountains, she couldn’t have gone far. Please, do not worry too much, Lady Hannah.”
“Don’t tell me not to worry! Just because the Grand Duchess isn’t visible doesn’t mean you should be so complacent! We need to find her quickly!”
Hannah’s words were not wrong at all. No matter how much Celeste said she wanted to explore the castle a bit more on her own, Clovis should have followed her from a distance.
Clovis felt ashamed of his complacency, thinking that the secret grand castle was safe from any external threats, and so it was fine to let Celeste walk alone for a bit. Did he ever dare to imagine that something like this could happen?
Yet, it was truly strange. It had only been a few minutes since he had left Celeste to attend to his duties, and in that short span of time, she couldn’t have possibly walked this far alone with a woman’s pace. The possibility that someone had targeted her, infiltrated the castle, and abducted her was even less believable.
“What on earth happened…?”
Leaving behind Clovis’s frustrated mutterings, Hannah hurriedly began searching for traces of Celeste.
