#35
“…….”
“Well, I didn’t mean to put any pressure on you. I was just happy to meet someone your age coming from afar after such a long time. So… have you thought about telling me what you’re investigating now?”
Pedro didn’t seem to be lying. Isabel relaxed her guard slightly and spoke.
“There’s a place I’m looking for. I’m not entirely sure because it’s dark, but I saw a burned-down house. There were a lot of bushes around it too.”
“Did you see it yourself? Your wording is vague.”
Pedro’s expression instantly turned serious as he asked for more details. But Isabel, who didn’t know anything beyond that, shook her head slightly.
“That’s all I know.”
“Hmm. I see… a burned-down house, huh. I think I’ve heard there’s an abandoned house at the edge of the village where no one goes anymore. Maybe it’s there.”
“Could you draw me a map of where that is? The more detailed, the better. I’m worried I might get lost…”
“Pfft.”
At the sudden laugh, Isabel’s eyes narrowed. Pedro, seemingly trying to hold back his laughter, drew a rough map on a wanted notice left by someone and handed it to her.
“Here you go.”
“…Thank you.”
“I wasn’t trying to tease you.”
“Sure you weren’t.”
Isabel snatched the paper and set off. As she walked following the map, she heard a warm voice behind her calling out to see her again.
Clang!
The teacup with tulips painted on it shattered with a loud crash. Adolf, who had dropped it, feigned surprise as he stared at his own hands. There was no pain anywhere, and the possession that had haunted him last at the mansion no longer appeared—but his hands were shaking uncontrollably.
Adolf clenched and unclenched his fists, trying to calm himself, but it was useless. The trembling grew worse, and now even his heartbeat was pounding violently.
“Damn it… why is this happening?”
Not being able to control his own body was unbearably terrifying. Having lived a life possessed by ghosts, Adolf knew this better than anyone.
So far, he had managed to endure it because the episodes were always limited in duration. But now, it was still afternoon, and he hadn’t experienced a possession episode.
So why now?
Adolf pressed a hand to his throbbing head, exhaling deeply, and rested it on the edge of the sofa. Hoping he could just close his eyes for a bit and feel better, he was caught off guard when a flash of light appeared before him.
Adolf, whose eyelids twitched, slowly opened his eyes.
“…Your Majesty!”
From behind came Hutmane’s faint voice. He had gone to check the surroundings and apparently returned quickly. Adolf opened his mouth to speak to him, but no sound came out. His body felt unusually weak and drained.
“Your Majesty!”
Hutmane grabbed Adolf’s shoulder and turned him toward himself. Only then did Adolf, as if released from tightly bound restraints, regain a sense of awareness. Hutmane’s worried voice was clear in his ears.
“Your Majesty, I’ve been looking for you for a long time. What are you doing here?”
“…?”
Unable to comprehend Hutmane’s words, Adolf widened his gaze and looked around. His crimson eyes reflected the sunset-stained sky.
What was happening? It had just been daytime, but now darkness was creeping over the surroundings.
The strange occurrences didn’t stop there. Adolf was standing in the middle of the village street, at least thirty minutes away from his lodging.
“I was worried something had happened to Your Majesty again. Have you discovered anything? If you need to go somewhere, I’ll accompany you.”
“……”
Adolf couldn’t answer Hutmane’s question. He simply couldn’t. Every memory of why he was here and what he had done in the meantime had been erased.
His body felt wrong. Rest alone wouldn’t help. He could sense something deep within his body struggling to break out into the world.
Adolf’s pale eyes fixed on a single point. Soon, he couldn’t help but grimace at the horrifying sight.
Thick, long, black hair tangled together floated above the sky. The monstrous mass, nearly covering the entire village, writhed as if it were alive.
From somewhere, a ghost leapt high, seemingly trying to escape the hair. But the hair immediately extended tentacle-like strands, wrapping around the ghost and swallowing it whole before dragging it swiftly to the edge of the village.
Terrible screams rang in Adolf’s ears.
“No wonder I couldn’t see the ghosts…”
“What are you looking at? Is there something in the sky?”
Adolf asked Hutmane, who had been staring blankly.
“Has she not returned yet?”
“Yes. If she hasn’t come back yet, she’s probably poking around on her own again, investigating everywhere.”
“Annoying.”
“Indeed. Don’t worry about it. We should return to the lodging and…”
Zzzing— zzzing!
A sudden vibration made Hutmane stop speaking as he searched for the source. Realizing it came from the bracelet Adolf was wearing, he widened his eyes and asked,
“Yo-Your Majesty… that gemstone bracelet isn’t—”
Adolf muttered as he watched the gemstone on the bracelet move.
“Annoying as always.”
“N-no! Your Majesty, did you use that bracelet on her? Why on earth?!”
Ignoring Hutmane, Adolf kept his eyes fixed on the direction the hair was spreading. He saw ghosts trying to escape being caught by the hair monster. He closed and opened his eyes tightly as if he didn’t even want to think about it, and then took a step forward.
“I’m going to find her.”
