When I opened my eyes again, soft sunlight was streaming in through the window.
The moment I realized the dark night had passed, a message window appeared in the center of my vision.
[Warning! Excessive use of abilities may cause unbearable fatigue to accumulate.]
“Ah…”
How many times had I used them? Counting both Purification’s Blessing and Restoration, I thought it had been about four times in total.
I still didn’t know the exact conditions for activating my abilities, but based on experience, it made sense if they consumed something like stamina.
After getting a full night’s sleep, I actually felt pretty refreshed.
Still…
‘Maybe I’ll just sleep some more.’
Whether because of the fatigue or not, my body felt unbelievably heavy.
Half-asleep, I buried my face back into the blanket, intending to drift off again—when a sudden vibration made me jolt upright.
“Eek!”
—Did something happen?
“W-What?!”
I was the only one in the room!
Frozen in place, I heard the puzzled voice again.
—Miss Windsor.
“Your Grace?”
Listening more carefully, I realized with surprise that it was Edwin’s voice.
Only then did I remember the crow keychain hanging from my waist. I quickly unhooked it and looked at it closely.
“Your Grace, is that really you?”
—…It seems you’re safe.
Had he been waiting?
A completely unexpected call—well, communication—made the corners of my lips curl upward.
—I heard you never returned yesterday, so I contacted you. Has something happened?
Every time he spoke, the little crow’s beak moved.
I stared at it in fascination until he prompted me again.
—The head maid has been very worried.
“Oh, right. I guess she would be. There was a reason I couldn’t come back. It’s a long story…”
There had been a moment yesterday when I desperately wished Edwin could help me, but that had already passed.
“Anyway… I think everything’s okay now.”
—So you’re not in need of assistance?
“No. I’ll be returning to the manor today. I just have something to take care of first.”
He fell silent for a moment, as if choosing his words.
—Something to take care of?
“Yeah.”
—Are you certain nothing happened?
“I’ll explain everything once I get back. Please tell the head maid I’m sorry for making her worry!”
At that moment, an unfamiliar scoff came from the crow keychain.
—How carefree you are.
“Huh?”
—It’s nothing. Return safely.
…Huh?
I was sure he’d muttered something sarcastic. Was I imagining it?
Ending the communication, I hurriedly straightened my clothes and stepped out of the room.
Just then, I ran into Carol, who was carrying a cup of water.
“You’re awake?”
“Miss Carol, yesterday I…”
Wearing old but clean clothes, she looked just like an ordinary girl my age.
Well… except for the fact that she still had no facial features.
As I searched for the right words, she let out a small laugh.
“You suddenly collapsed. I think you must have been very exhausted.”
Yeah… I probably was.
I’d unintentionally been knocked unconscious too.
“Haha… I guess so. By the way, where’s Mr. Scrooge?”
“Ah…”
At my question, Carol hesitated.
When she finally spoke, it wasn’t what I expected.
“I think… he went to apologize.”
“Apologize?”
Carol nodded carefully.
“I don’t know for certain since he quietly left early this morning, but he did say yesterday that he was going to apologize.”
“I see…”
I didn’t know what he had originally been like, but at least the man I’d seen in his memories seemed earnest and straightforward.
“Oh!”
Then something I’d completely forgotten suddenly came to mind.
Right—the villagers!
If I wanted to return to the duke’s manor on time today, I couldn’t afford to waste any time.
Ugh…
After rubbing my forehead in thought for a moment, I brightened.
“Miss Carol, do you happen to have a basket?”
A little while later.
I stepped outside carrying a basket filled with the victims’ body parts.
Actually, there had been too many to fit into a single basket.
While I was wondering what to do, Carol found an old handcart she no longer used and told me she’d follow behind with the rest, sending me ahead first.
As I walked along the desolate, deserted road, I couldn’t help but feel strangely emotional.
Just yesterday, I never would have imagined the quest involving the Luden Trading Company would lead this far.
So much had happened all at once that my head was still spinning.
Even so, now that I’d gotten used to them, the severed limbs looked more like mannequin parts than anything gruesome.
Following the weathered signposts along the road, I eventually arrived at the village square.
And there I saw him.
Mr. Scrooge, kneeling on the platform in the center of the square like a condemned criminal.
[You have entered a new area for the first time. Exploration reward granted. +300 Diamonds]
[New Area: <Belmond Duchy: Central Plaza>
A vast circular plaza located at the heart of Monter Village. Once a bustling marketplace where merchants and travelers from all over gathered, it is now marked only by the remnants of its past use as an execution ground.]
“Hm?”
Looking around, I realized it wasn’t an ordinary village square.
The gray stone pavement was stained a dark crimson, as though hinting that something terrible had happened here.
At the center stood the platform—
No, the execution scaffold where Mr. Scrooge knelt.
An old guillotine that looked as though it hadn’t been used in years.
A gallows standing beside it.
‘That’s terrifying!’
Why had Mr. Scrooge climbed up there?
I knew he was trying to apologize for what he’d done…
But sometimes indifference was even scarier than condemnation.
The villagers seemed too afraid to approach him.
Instead, they kept their distance, whispering among themselves as though watching an animal in a cage.
“I sincerely apologize. From this day forward, the Luden Trading Company will no longer force unfair trades or take people’s body parts.”
His low voice rang through the square with unwavering resolve.
Just then, one of the villagers standing beside me spoke.
“It’s obviously just another trick to make us lower our guard.”
“Using his sick daughter as an excuse to swindle people into those so-called trades. His Grace the Duke of Belmond would never forgive him.”
“Fraud!”
The people gathered around the scaffold were clearly those who had suffered because of Mr. Scrooge.
Many were missing arms, legs, ears, fingers, or other body parts.
Then someone suddenly shouted from the crowd.
“My daughter lost both her ears because of Carol! She can barely hear anymore!”
W-What?
I stood on tiptoe, trying to find the speaker, but couldn’t spot them.
Meanwhile, the crowd’s accusations only grew louder.
“If only we could still get through the forest, this would’ve reached His Grace the Duke of Belmond by now. That man deserves to die.”
No.
At this rate, the villagers were going to turn their anger on Mr. Scrooge.
The atmosphere had started out subdued, but after one person spoke up, the crowd was rapidly becoming more and more agitated.
What do I do?
After standing there frozen for a moment, I squeezed my eyes shut and shouted,
“Ears…!”
It’s embarrassing, but just deal with it.
“A-Anyone here looking for their eeeeears?!”
Gasp!
Everyone jumped in surprise and instinctively stepped back a couple of paces.
Seizing the opportunity, I headed toward where I’d heard the voice.
“I can reattach your daughter’s ears! Fingers, arms, legs—I can restore all your missing body parts!”
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