The Safety Guidelines of The Duke’s Haunted Castle – Chapter 36

Author: Asternkm

He was covered in blood as he looked down at his daughter lying in bed with obvious concern.

“Carol, are you alright?”

“F-Father… I don’t think… I can keep going any longer…”

That’s… Carol?

The small cloth doll with short brown hair spoke in a pained voice, as though she had already reached her limit.

The scene changed.

In what looked like a hospital, Mr. Scrooge was speaking with an elderly physician.

“Miss Carol’s legs must be amputated. Otherwise… the decay will spread to the rest of her body.”

Only a high-ranking priest could cure the disease.

But after dark clouds gathered over Belmond Ducal Castle, every priest had vanished without a trace.

In the end, Mr. Scrooge could neither bring himself to cut off his daughter’s legs nor find any way to cure her illness, leaving him to endure countless miserable days.

“From then on, I devoted my entire life to saving my daughter. I did everything I could to obtain bodies… body parts.”

As his narration continued, the puppet show replayed the horrific acts he had committed.

Cutting off the limbs of other puppets and taking them for himself, he gradually lost his humanity and became obsessed with a single goal.

The direct scenes were all censored…

But the context alone was more than enough to understand what had happened.

Yet somehow…

“Father… please… stop…”

The Carol in the memory didn’t look happy at all.

The puppet show ended with a lonely shot of Carol lying in her bed.

This… is Mr. Scrooge’s memory?

As if confirming my suspicion, a completion message appeared before me.

▶ The Whereabouts of the Forgotten Trading Company (In Progress)

Luden Trading Company, once a major merchant company that supplied Belmond Ducal Castle with food ingredients.

However, after their deliveries suddenly stopped, the castle has been suffering from shortages of various supplies, especially salt and spices.

Discover why contact with Luden Trading Company was severed and resume trade!

So I’d found the cause of the separation.

Now all that remained was to resume trading.

Indirect as it was, his memories clearly implied that everything had begun at Belmond Ducal Castle.

The reason Mr. Scrooge couldn’t treat his daughter’s illness in time.

The reason Monter Village became isolated from the outside world.

The reason the villagers had all lost parts of their bodies.

It all traced back to that mysterious dark cloud that had spread from Belmond Ducal Castle.

But instead of bringing up the trade agreement, I asked the question that had been bothering me all along.

“There’s just one thing I’d like to know.”

“…What is it?”

“Did you hurt other people to save Carol?”

“Hurt them…”

He trailed off before slowly shaking his head.

“I merely conducted legitimate transactions. Whenever a deal was made, a contract bearing both parties’ signatures was properly drafted—”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

Well, if both parties truly agreed, then selling an arm, a leg, or even a kidney was technically their choice.

But from what I’d experienced, Mr. Scrooge had a rather forceful side to him.

I had no doubt that if someone refused to sign, he’d simply keep them from leaving or pressure them until they gave in.

And there was something else.

Carol herself didn’t look happy at all.

Like the Monkey’s Paw, her wish to regain her missing limbs had come true—

But the way it was granted was nothing short of tragic.

At times like this, it was best to put yourself in the other person’s shoes.

If I were Carol…

Imagine your beloved father paying for your medical treatment with money he earned by scamming innocent people.

Learning that truth…

Could you really be happy?

Absolutely not.

I couldn’t tell from her appearance anymore, but she was around my age.

A young woman at an age where emotions ran deep.

Maybe the reason Carol seemed so lifeless…

Was guilt.

So I asked Mr. Scrooge once more.

“Can you still say that while looking Carol in the eye?”

“……”

Silence filled the room.

Unable to answer, Mr. Scrooge remained quiet for a long moment before finally speaking as though making an excuse.

“…That isn’t important.”

“Why isn’t it important?”

I refused to back down.

“In the end, you hurt other people because of Carol.”

That finger of Carol’s that had looked relatively intact…

It was probably the little boy’s finger.

The same boy I’d met earlier.

“Are your friends hungry too, Miss?”

So…

Had that child given up his finger so someone else wouldn’t starve?

The thought finally ignited my anger.

If he truly loved Carol…

If her life really meant that much to him…

Then he could have amputated her limbs before the disease spread any further.

Given the circumstances, making that painful choice early might have led to a better outcome.

Or better yet…

He could have given her his own legs first.

That was what a father should have done.

Instead, he avoided every one of those choices.

And in the end…

He turned the daughter he loved into this monstrous thing.

The person closest to her…

Had made the cruelest choice of all.

“Miss Windsor.”

For the first time, the calmness in his voice cracked into something unsettling.

“That is the law of Monter Village. It is also the will of His Grace, Duke Belmond.”

There he goes again with Duke Belmond…

His growling voice sounded like a cornered beast.

“Ever since that dreadful day… the day the dark clouds appeared… I have done everything in my power. I adapted to the flawless new rules and sought the best possible way to save Carol.”

“Stop blaming someone else. Whatever the reason, you’re the one who chose to do it.”

“No. It is His Grace Duke Belmond’s will, and I am merely the one who carries it out.”

Suddenly, he began shaking violently like a madman.

Just like the head maid and the head chef back at Belmond Ducal Castle whenever they suffered those strange episodes.

“The priests disappeared! They fled first, saying something terrible was happening! They said God had abandoned us… that the shadow of Belmond Ducal Castle had swallowed the village… For poor Carol, there was no other choice—no… My duty was simply to remain here and carry out His Grace’s will! For the great, the magnificent Duke Belmond! Glory! Glory! Glory!”

“W-What the—!”

Startled by Mr. Scrooge suddenly shouting his three cheers, I stumbled backward and instinctively covered my ears.

Then I answered flatly,

“…If you’re really that devoted to the Belmond family, I’ll take you there someday—or at least deliver a message for you. So please stop.”

Although…

It was already far too late to casually mention that I was the duke’s fiancée.

“Either way, you’ve never even seen how the people you personally harmed are living now.”

“Enough!!”

Enraged, Mr. Scrooge shot to his feet and advanced on me.

“One more word… and you won’t be leaving here alive…!”

Did I push him too far?

Fearing he might finally snap, I quickly grabbed the raven keychain hanging from my waist.