BCOM 17

Chapter 17

The lake’s surface reflected the world above like a flawless mirror, utterly still. Beyond it stretched a forest that seemed endless.

The trees standing right at the edge were vivid in color, their leaves a brilliant green. But when you looked deeper inside, it was so dark that it felt as though the forest simply ended there.

The longer she stared, the more uneasy she felt, so she turned her gaze away.

“Wow… My lady, thank you. It’s so peaceful here, I feel like I could take a nap.”

At first, Taryn had been wide-eyed, marveling at the beauty of the forest. Now, however, she had sunk into a chair that wasn’t all that comfortable, blinking sleepily.

If it had been Rosa, the head maid, things would’ve been different—Rosa was so disciplined and proper that she would never have relaxed like this. Even Tamohan, who was now sprawled comfortably on the tablecloth with an empty teacup in hand, had at first been uneasy about sitting down and drinking tea so casually with the young lady.

Their appearance now amused Agnes, yet at the same time, she was beginning to feel something else—an odd sense of unease.

Something in the air… it was as though tension was creeping in from somewhere unseen.

Her eyes drifted back toward the gaps between the trees. The deeper recesses grew darker and darker, like a black wall erected in the forest.

“I’ll take a little walk. You can get some rest in the meantime.”

“Whaaat? My lady, you’re going out alone? I’ll go with you.”

Her eyelids were already drooping and her voice had gone a bit sluggish, but Taryn was still a maid of the marquis’s household. At Agnes’s words, she sprang from her chair, though her eyes were still half-shut.

“You can sleep if you want. I just want to go a little deeper into the woods.”

Agnes would have preferred her to stay behind, but since it wasn’t as though she was going to do anything dangerous, she didn’t object further.

“Mmm, fine. It’s up to you whether you follow me.”

Agnes gave in first.

But as soon as she rose and took her first steps, the smile slipped from her face.

The truth was, she had been drawn to move around because of a strange sound, echoing faintly from deep within the darkness.

It might have been nothing more than the wind rustling between the great trees. Yet the more she listened, the more unsettling it became.

“I’ll stay here and keep watch.”

“All right. When I come back, let’s sit a little while longer before we head home.”

She agreed, thinking that her absence might give Tamohan a chance to rest as well. Then she started walking.

Woooom—

That low, humming sound stirred again, like the rush of air. It seemed to rise from below, flaring up now and then.

“The wind here sounds a little strange.”

“Eh? …Ah, but it’s so quiet! Not a single sound in this forest!”

Apparently Taryn hadn’t caught her words. To her, the place felt simply, eerily silent. Indeed, aside from that droning hum, there were no sounds at all—not even birdsong.

— This is bad. At this rate, it’ll just die trapped in that hole!

— But we can’t pull it out, can we?

— I tried pushing hard before, but it wouldn’t budge.

As she wandered through the forest, listening to the wind, Agnes suddenly heard voices.

Her feet froze in place.

“Ouch! My lady? What is it?”

Taryn, distracted by her surroundings, bumped into Agnes’s back when she stopped abruptly.

“Taryn… I think something’s happening over there.”

At her grave tone, Taryn widened her eyes and looked in the direction Agnes pointed. But all she saw was a quiet, peaceful stretch of woods, and she tilted her head in confusion.

“What do you mean? It’s completely quiet.”

“What? You didn’t hear those voices? They sounded so desperate… like someone might die.”

“D-d-die?”

Agnes explained what she had heard, but Taryn only shrank back in fear. She hadn’t heard a thing.

Perhaps the voices had been too faint, drowned out by the scenery. Even when Agnes strained her ears, she now heard only the faint stirring of wind.

“…Let’s check it out.”

If something truly was in danger, she might be able to help. So she followed the sound her ears had caught.

“We’ve come in pretty deep. Are you sure you’re all right, my lady?”

Taryn had started out excited, but now she was glancing nervously behind. The ground was still firm and well-trodden, but the forest around them was growing darker.

— Ah! Don’t struggle like that!

Another voice cried out—urgent, though not loud. Clear enough for Agnes to hear.

“Wait! Taryn, did you hear that?”

Agnes turned, but Taryn just looked puzzled. She hadn’t heard a thing.

“My lady? What voices? I don’t hear anything at all. It’s so quiet here—it’s almost scarier because there aren’t even birds.”

So clear, yet only she could hear them?

Agnes decided not to press her further. She remembered—when she had first mentioned the wind, Taryn had only commented on how quiet the forest was.

That meant this sound… was for her ears alone.

“Let’s keep going.”

Though Taryn clearly wished they would turn back, Agnes couldn’t stop. She had to find the source of these voices.

After all, if something was wrong in a forest where no large animals dwelled, then it was most likely a person—or perhaps a smaller creature—in need of help.

With a determined look, she strode toward the sound.

“My lady, please, let’s go back, all right?”

Even if she couldn’t hear the voices, Taryn must have sensed something. She called out anxiously, but Agnes pressed forward.

— Huh? Look, someone’s coming!

— No! Try harder! Use the leg that’s not stuck, like this, like this!

The voices were hurried, almost endearingly so, but filled with worry. They must have noticed her presence.

So it was real. Not a hallucination—something was truly happening here.

She glanced back at Taryn, who still seemed oblivious. That only made her more certain: she had to know.

Rounding a massive tree trunk—wide enough that five people could barely encircle it—she finally saw movement.

“Ahhh! My lady, look!”

Taryn, following close behind, shrieked when she spotted it.

It was a deer, one of its legs wedged deep between two rocks, thrashing wildly. Blood stained the flesh where the leg met its haunch.

“Oh no, what should we do…!”

— A person! What do we do now?!

— Calm down. They’re not hunters—it’s just some girls.

— But they don’t look like they can help either.

— Hey, easy! Calm it down first!

As the deer came into view, the voices grew louder, agitated. Some sounded disappointed that the newcomers were only frail-looking girls; others were focused on soothing the animal.

And here, more than anywhere else, the wind whirled and tangled chaotically around them.

“It’s like the wind is swirling in circles here,” Taryn muttered.

Indeed, though irregular, it did feel like a vortex, rushing past in all directions. Agnes raised her hand, and the wind brushed past her fingers, constantly shifting.

Could it be…?

The humming she had heard earlier, the voices that grew clearer the closer she came—could these all be the sound of the wind itself?

The thought was absurd… yet strangely convincing.

Still, what could she do now?

The deer was still struggling frantically, and Agnes’s heart ached for it. Taryn, too, was wringing her hands and calling out, “Oh, poor deer, poor thing!”

Agnes stepped closer.

She circled around carefully to its side; approaching from the front or rear would have been too dangerous, as the thrashing legs could easily kick her. If it would just stay still for a moment, she might be able to lift its hindquarters free.

“My lady, it’s dangerous!”

Taryn followed close behind, already guessing her intention. Even as she tried to dissuade her, a sudden gust swept through.

— She’s going to try something!

— She’ll get kicked if she gets too close like that!

— We have to make it stop moving!

The unseen voices swirled anxiously around her.

“Easy… easy now. I’ll help you. All right?”

Agnes reached out gently, stroking the deer’s back, speaking as calmly as she could to settle it. If it kicked her, the situation would be disastrous.

“Kyaa!”

But it wasn’t enough. At her touch—and perhaps only then realizing humans were near—the deer panicked even more, thrashing violently.