Oh….
Beatrice remained frozen for quite a while, staring down at the note.
Only when the legs she was crouching on began to go numb did she stand up and stealthily open the drawer.
Just as the note had mentioned, inside the drawer lay a rag doll wearing a dress.
“To leave a doll and run away if something strange happens… what kind of horror novel nonsense is this?”
She felt as though she understood why that survivor had been trembling, talking nonsense, and then fainting.
‘I don’t know if the village that survivor went to is the same as this one, but they said they didn’t even see any people there.’
She suddenly imagined it.
In the middle of the night, with the moon dimly shining and not a breath of wind, the window curtains begin to flutter.
The cold air wraps around her body, so she leaves the doll and runs to the lobby—but what if the thing at the front desk isn’t a person, but a doll?
‘Ugh, goosebumps.’
Beatrice was confident she would scream and burst into tears right then and there.
It was right then.
Along with the feeling of a somehow eerie wind blowing beneath the hem of her skirt…….
—Knock, knock!
“Excuse me, are you awake?”
“Hieek!”
A woman’s thin voice was heard from beyond the bedroom door.
Beatrice, who had reflexively pressed herself against the wall, suddenly realized the voice she just heard was somewhat familiar.
Mustering her courage, she approached the door and, gripping the doorknob, asked the person outside.
“Um, who is it…?”
“You’re still awake, thank goodness. It’s Astrid Sharon. If you don’t mind, may I come into your room for a moment?”
“Ah. Yes!”
Phew, that really scared me.
As she swept a hand over her heart and opened the door, Aide Sharon, who had changed into somewhat more comfortable clothing, offered a light greeting.
“Hello, Lady Ria. It is my first time greeting you like this. I apologize for visiting so suddenly.”
“Ah, no. It’s fine! Please, come in!”
“Thank you.”
“Would you like a cup of tea?”
“I truly appreciate the thought, but there’s something I’d like to discuss rather urgently.”
Declining Beatrice’s offer softly, Astrid handed a piece of paper directly to her.
Beatrice had no trouble identifying what that paper was.
“This is that paper with the warnings written on it, right? The one that came through the gap under the door.”
“That is correct. Looking at it… it seems Lady Ria received one as well.”
Astrid stared at the paper still lying on the floor for a moment, then spoke with a troubled expression.
“First, to be clear, I haven’t fully grasped the situation myself, but….”
Just as Beatrice had said to Clyde, such dolls were not something like a custom of the Marquisate of Downer.
“To begin with, the Marquisate has never restricted entry like this. Not once.”
The terrain and soil of the Marquisate were not suitable for producing enough food on its own.
Therefore, the Marquisate was the one that would be in trouble if entry was restricted.
“The House of Marquis has entrusted the trade business to our House of Count Sharon, and our first rule is to ensure that supplies do not cut off….”
As she spoke, Astrid held out one more letter.
“This is the last letter I received from my father.”
“May I read it?”
“Of course. I brought it to give to you. It’s information we all already know, anyway.”
The carefully unfolded letter contained an entreaty not to return to the Marquisate for the time being.
It stated that perhaps due to the famine, an epidemic of unknown cause was spreading, so it would be better to stay safe in the capital.
“Just as I was worrying about whether to ignore my father’s words out of concern for the Marquisate, Sir Dalton suggested to His Highness that it might be a good idea to support the western borderlands, centered on the Marquisate, along with Archduke Alec.”
“Ah, then….”
“Yes. Along with this letter, I agreed to the support, thinking the matter seemed serious. I added some preparations of my own.”
No wonder she had seen several healers in the rear!
‘I thought the Empress had prepared them after hearing my story, but it was Aide Sharon’s opinion.’
As she thought that far, Clyde’s face briefly crossed Beatrice’s mind.
She found herself wondering how much was Clyde’s plan and where the variables began.
‘Was entering the Count’s territory in such a small group also within his expected range?’
But if that were the case, why did he drag in Archduke Alec or the Crown Prince?
The more she thought about it, the more nauseous she felt, as if looking at a complicatedly intertwined chessboard.
Beatrice decided to give up on guessing and focus on Astrid.
“Um, then, Aide Sharon….”
“Ah, please just call me Astrid.”
“Ah, yes. Astrid. Then, putting aside the dolls, were these strange phenomena written here something that never happened before?”
“Hmm….”
Wait, why didn’t she deny it immediately!
Seeing her expression as she seemed to contemplate something, Beatrice’s pupils began to tremble slightly.
“Don’t tell me…. A g-ghost….”
“Ah, I’m sorry.”
Astrid offered an awkward smile at the sight of the terrified Beatrice and spoke again.
“Actually, it was because it’s the opposite—a rather childish story—that I hesitated to mention it. All children in the Marquisate grow up hearing fairy tales about fairies.”
“Fairy tales about fairies?”
“Yes. Tales like how a window opening on its own when there’s no wind, or hearing a whistling sound while sleeping, means a fairy has come to visit. Some children have even seen a small, unknown shape passing through the gap in the door.”
“….”
“You have a look on your face asking if that isn’t a paranormal phenomenon, but there is one decisive difference between the two. It’s ‘whether that phenomenon causes harm or fear.’”
In other words, when similar things happened in the Marquisate in the past, no one perceived them as a threat.
‘Hmm….’
The note, the doll, and even the fairy tales Astrid told her.
She laid out the various pieces of information in her mind, and just as she was pondering a connection that felt almost within reach but not quite.
The candle that had been burning brightly between the two of them suddenly went out with a whoosh.
“…Ah!”
“Lady Ria, just in case, I will hold your hand.”
Caught off guard by the sudden darkness, Astrid reached out and pulled Beatrice close.
It was to protect her in case any threat was made.
She felt a slight sense of relief at the warmth of the hand she held, but only for a moment.
The chilly and damp energy she had felt briefly a moment ago began to crawl up her body once more.
Astrid must have felt the same thing, as she squeezed the hand she was holding.
“Lady Ria, this indeed……”
“Yes. I think you’re right.”
As the unpleasant air grew heavier and she felt a sensation as if her body were being tightened, she made up her mind.
Beatrice immediately took the doll from the drawer and the two dolls she had received at the gateway and placed them on the floor.
Then, she stepped out of the room with Astrid.
It was exactly the response mentioned in the note. Except for one thing.
“Lady Ria?”
“Shh. Let’s wait just a moment.”
Instead of moving to the lobby as the note directed, she chose to wait in the hallway.
—Rrrrip! Rip!
—Thump!
Beatrice gripped the doorknob and listened to the sounds coming from inside.
And as soon as she confirmed that the faint vibration felt through the doorknob had completely vanished, she opened the door again.
“What in the world….”
“….”
Leaving the bewildered Astrid behind, Beatrice took in every detail of the situation inside the room.
To be precise, the dolls that were crushed and torn with their forms distorted, and the wooden furniture that was broken as if it had received impacts from all over.
Seeing the small heart-shaped stone found inside a torn doll and the state of the room which looked as though a ruthless force had swept through it, Beatrice blinked.
‘I think I know what this is.’
It was very, very rare, but Beatrice had encountered a similar sight in her father Jedaric’s workshop.
She had even seen it once in her own workshop.
‘This, isn’t it a mana collision?’
That was exactly what it felt like.
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