Unlike Beatrice, whose mind was a whirlwind after suddenly becoming a “local,” the escort party’s preparations proceeded swiftly.
Ultimately, five members were selected for the team.
Clyde, who would lead the team; a knight he had chosen; two individuals recommended by the aides; and Beatrice.
As everything fell into place and they stood on the verge of departure, the Head Maid approached.
While offering a standard farewell, she whispered softly.
“I apologize for taking action without consulting you first. However, it seemed you truly wished to see the interior for yourself.”
“Ah, no, it’s fine. But will it really be okay? I’m… not actually from the Marquisate….”
“It’s fine. Once you’re inside, it won’t matter much anyway, and one of the aides actually is from the Marquisate.”
The Head Maid gestured toward one of the party members with her eyes. Standing there was a woman with high-tied purple hair.
“That person is….”
“She is Aide Astrid Sharon.”
Beatrice’s eyes widened slightly at the Head Maid’s words.
‘Sharon? The deceased daughter of Count, Sharon?’
Beatrice paused for a moment before quickly shaking her head.
Even if she didn’t remember every single detail of the past, she remembered the hair color of Lady Sharon.
‘Of course, I even attended the funeral.’
The image of her father at the funeral, offering his respects with a face full of misery and suspicion, was still vivid.
It was then, while Beatrice was recalling these memories while looking at the purple-haired woman.
Misinterpreting her silence, the Head Maid added a few words.
“In any case, the Crown Prince’s aides are aware of the truth and are cooperating, so do not worry too much. They will help you.”
“Ah, uh, yes!”
At that moment, the knight handling the procedures near the checkpoint raised his voice.
“Everything on this side is cleared, so there is no problem whenever you depart!”
“Oh, thank goodness.”
It seemed that no matter the reason for blocking entry, there was no justification for stopping an escort party once the Crown Prince was involved.
Beatrice offered a small word of thanks while glancing at Clyde, who was speaking in low tones with the Crown Prince.
“Then I should join them naturally as well. Thank you for everything! I’ll be back!”
“It is for the sake of the Empire. I shall be praying for your safe return.”
Beatrice took a short breath and walked toward where the attendants were gathered.
She had naturally joined the group looking like a maid to anyone’s eyes, and was just about to pass through the gateway after presenting her identification.
“You there, wait a moment.”
A soldier from the Marquisate guarding the gate called out to her.
Beatrice’s body stiffened for a second. Even though she thought it unlikely, she wondered if they had discovered her ID was forged.
‘Aagh, this fragile chicken-heart of mine!’
Ignoring her heart, which was thumping uncontrollably, Beatrice looked at the soldier as if asking what was wrong.
The soldier, meeting her eyes, hesitated for a moment before holding out a sack from inside the guard post.
“…I felt uneasy just letting you through since you’re part of the Crown Prince’s escort party. You said you’re going to the Lord’s castle, right? You won’t reach the capital of the territory today, so you’ll spend the night in Brellin Village. You’ll need this once you arrive there.”
“This?”
“Yes. Now, go on.”
…What is this?
She wanted to open the sack and check the contents immediately, but it wasn’t the right atmosphere.
Though it was actually light, the pouch in her hand felt strangely heavy.
When the verification at the gate was delayed, Clyde approached and asked.
“Is there a problem?”
“Ah, rather than that…….”
Beatrice’s voice trailed off. She felt that if she spoke too much, she might habitually address him as Beatrice.
Instead, she held out the sack and glanced toward the gateway.
It was a wordless gesture, but it would suffice.
Sure enough, Clyde caught on and nodded slightly.
“If there’s no problem, let’s move.”
Beatrice followed him without further questioning.
It was only when the gateway had faded sufficiently from view that Beatrice cautiously opened the sack.
What came out of the sack was none other than….
“Dolls?”
They were dolls. There were dolls made of straw, rag dolls, and even ones made of wood.
The commonality was that the dolls were all in human form.
“…Are there any customs involving dolls in the Marquisate?”
At Clyde’s question, Beatrice immediately shook her head. As far as she knew, there was no such custom in the territory.
‘There isn’t, right?’
Suddenly losing her confidence, Beatrice glanced over to check Aide Sharon.
She, too, looked bewildered, as if seeing this for the first time.
‘Whew. Thank goodness!’
Relieved, she turned her gaze back to Clyde and saw him wordlessly furrowing his brow.
‘Hmm, he must have remembered information from before the regression.’
It was perfectly understandable.
The moment she saw the dolls, she also remembered the story from the discoverer before the regression, who said ‘there were only dolls in the village.’
Clyde, who would have personally investigated the Marquisate later, likely had even more coming to mind.
Watching him, Beatrice spoke up, putting on a timid voice.
“Um…. It will be difficult to reach the capital of the territory today anyway…. So, how about… staying in Brellin Village first to look around? The dolls… it seems like he gave them to be of help somehow….”
Beatrice was merely repeating the words the soldier had said earlier, but no one else knew that.
At her seemingly local-like suggestion, the party members nodded.
“Let’s go to Brellin Village. However, I suspect the situation within the Marquisate might be even stranger than expected. If possible, do not stray far from each other. If you are forced to separate or a problem arises, we will follow the Knights’ protocol and use this.”
“This is….”
“It is a cloth inscribed with a mark made of special pigment.”
Oh, they’ll use this to mark their movement paths, right?
She had always only heard about such things from Clyde; she hadn’t expected to use them herself.
Beatrice lightly rubbed the cloth she received with her fingertips.
It was a precautionary item, so it would be best if they never had to use it, but she had a bad feeling for some reason.
* * *
‘…Mom said that if someone like me, of all people, feels something, then there’s really something there.’
To think those words were true.
Beatrice swallowed hard as she looked at the note that had been slid through the gap under her door in the middle of the night.
Actually, when they first arrived in Brellin, she thought everything might just be an overreaction.
The outward appearance of Brellin Village was not much different from any other gateway village in any other territory.
There were inns to welcome outsiders, shops displaying local specialties, and restaurants with barkers calling for customers.
The only difference was that, just like the interview she’d seen in a newsletter before the regression, dolls were placed all over the village.
‘To be precise, it looked as if it were decorated with dolls. The dolls were arranged as if they were people going about their daily lives.’
Dolls hunched over as if harvesting potatoes, dolls at the edge of the village holding hands with a friend as if taking a stroll, and even dolls appearing to sell flowers on the street.
If anyone saw it, they might think a festival related to dolls had been held.
Beatrice, Clyde, and even the attendants who had sensed something suspicious examined the village with tension, but no obvious anomalies were found anywhere.
‘So we parted for our respective rooms with the plan to head to the capital tomorrow and look further….’
To receive such a suspicious note.
Instead of touching the note with her hand, Beatrice crouched down and began to read the contents.
[I am leaving a note quietly, for fear of disturbing your rest.
If you happen to feel a sensation as if something is pressing down on your body, or if you break into a cold sweat from an eerie chill, please lay the doll from the drawer onto the bed and come down to the lobby.
Even if it is not the symptoms mentioned above, should anything strange occur, please follow the same instructions.]
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