Chapter 6 – What Happened at the Festival (Part 2)

Ellerdin opened the iron door at the entrance to the stairs leading underground. The unique smell and wind wrapped around her body. Ellerdin lit a candle and went down the stairs. It seemed she had gone down quite a bit, but today it felt even farther than when she had come before.

‘Is it because I’m alone?’

Ellerdin looked down at the underground, where darkness lurked since sunlight didn’t reach. After going down a long way, she finally reached the end.

“Father, I’m here.”

Ellerdin spoke to the man kneeling under the white statue. Kaiden was staring blankly at the statue, seemingly unconscious today as well. 

To draw even a little of his attention, Ellerdin sat beside him and began talking about her daily life. She continued with simple stories about how the weather was today, what food was served, and what Mollek and Celine were doing. But even among the numerous topics, she couldn’t elicit a response from Kaiden. 

Ellerdin paused for a moment and looked up at the statue. Somehow, she felt as if the statue was looking at her.

“Mother…”

At that moment, Kaiden turned to her. She smiled faintly, having successfully drawn a reaction from him.

“I read a diary written by Everett in the library last time.”

Ellerdin smiled at Kaiden.

“Everett seems to be a really strong person. Don’t you think so too, Father?”

Kaiden slowly turned his head to look at the statue. He reached out and touched it.

‘What connection does Mother have with this statue? Is it the last thing she made?’

Ellerdin stared at the statue. After that, she tried talking about Everett, but she couldn’t draw any further reactions from him.

“Well, I’ll be going now.”

Ellerdin bowed her head and turned away. Climbing the stairs was more difficult than going down. With trembling legs, she struggled up the stairs. 

After going up for a while, Ellerdin eventually stopped and sat down on the stairs. Her legs felt as heavy as if they were weighed down by stones.

‘How did Fernan climb this place?’

And while carrying her, no less. The more she thought about it, the more amazing he seemed. And she realized how difficult the favor he had shown her was.

‘I can’t just sit here resting.’

Even now, Fernan would be working tirelessly. Ellerdin forced herself to stand up. 

By the time she came up from the underground to her room, it was already dark outside. She hadn’t expected time to pass so quickly, and she closed the door in a hurry. Fortunately, it was still time for dinner.

‘Celine might have been looking for me.’

Without a word, she went down to the basement, so she might have been wandering around looking for her. Ellerdin hurriedly walked to the dining room.

***

Since then, Ellerdin went down to the basement every day without fail. 

Not knowing when Kaiden’s consciousness would return, she took a book to read and went down to the basement. 

She spent hours reading and talking to Kaiden, then went back up the stairs with the book by dinner time. 

Just going up and down the stairs quickly consumed two hours. The days continued where it was bright when she went down and dark when she came up. 

However, despite such efforts, Ellerdin did not achieve satisfactory results. Although she discovered some peculiarities, they didn’t seem to be of much use. 

Mentioning Everett’s name could briefly draw attention. But when she brought up the statue, Kaiden only looked at the statue, so she couldn’t elicit any further reaction. 

As time passed, she felt anxious. More than a week had already passed, but she hadn’t even found a clue, let alone solved the curse.

‘At this rate…’

She could only disappoint Fernan greatly.

“Ugh.”

As always, Ellerdin tried to get up from the bed and fell to the floor with a thud. Her legs were stiff from stress. She bit her lip hard.

‘Frustrating.’

There were many things to do, but she felt helpless as there was nothing she could do.

‘I need to break the curse quickly.’

Could I find a clue today? Would father be conscious today? Would I achieve nothing again today? 

She was already afraid of the inevitable failure. 

The pressure made it hard to breathe. She opened her mouth to take a deep breath, but her throat tightened, making it impossible to breathe. 

She wanted to get some fresh air. Clinging aimlessly to an unsolvable problem was of no help. She wanted to turn her eyes to somewhere other than the Duke’s territory.

‘Perhaps I might find a clue in an unexpected place.’

She needed to ask Fernan about going out.

‘Of course, he would gladly allow it.’

Maybe he might even suggest going together. Ellerdin’s hand slowed as she chose her clothes. She was troubled about what to wear.

‘Ahem… just in case we go together.’

She wondered if she was getting excited for no reason and cleared her throat while changing clothes.

Suddenly, an old memory came to mind.

Ellerdin wanted to go outside. Earl Pure had never let her go outside, so Ellerdin longed for the outside world. 

One day, she overheard the maids saying there was a party at a noble’s house. She simply planned to go and take a look. 

As she opened the basement door and ran towards the front door, leaving the chasing maids behind, the Earl, who had just entered the front door, blocked her path with a grim expression.

He grabbed young Ellerdin’s thin arm as if to break it. 

Both the Earl and the Baron greatly disliked her going outside.

Not only them but also the husbands of the ladies they met at parties didn’t let their wives go out. 

Especially when they came home late in the evening, the ladies were forbidden from going out again after that day. 

There is a famous anecdote from a past life. A story known to all nobles. 

The story of a lady who came home late in the evening and was treated like a worm in front of everyone and chased away. 

Telling that story, the Earl subtly stroked young Ellerdin’s neck. 

He said no place would accept a woman who wandered around late at night and told her the rest of the story. 

It was said that the lady was allowed back into the mansion only after begging for several days, but she died soon after. The cause was reported as a mental issue after being confined for days, forbidden to leave the room, leading her to take her own life.

Ellerdin looked beyond the mirror with sunken eyes. How joyful the Earl looked when telling that story, perhaps he found young Ellerdin’s trembling at his words amusing. 

She coldly let the past memories flow by. Such memories no longer tormented her. The Earl, who tormented her young self, was just pitiful now.

‘Where would he like to go?’

The destination wasn’t decided, but imagining going with Fernan, Ellerdin left the room cheerfully.

“Come in.”

Fernan said, lifting his gaze from the documents. Ellerdin opened the door and stood before Fernan. Unprocessed documents were piled on his desk. She couldn’t bring herself to ask him to go together, seeing how busy he seemed.

“Fernan, I’d like to go outside for a moment.”

“Outside?”

Fernan tilted his head.

“I’d like to go outside the Duke’s territory for a bit. I want to get some fresh air.”

As soon as Ellerdin finished speaking, Fernan lowered his head and started rummaging through the pile of documents. After busily searching for something, he stood up abruptly.

“Found it!”

In Fernan’s hand was a torn piece of newspaper. He approached her with a beaming smile.

“If you haven’t decided on a destination, may I suggest one?”

“A suggestion…?”

Fernan smiled and handed the newspaper piece to Ellerdin. Written in large letters on the newspaper piece was the announcement of a festival. At the word festival, Ellerdin quickly looked up at Fernan.

“It’s a bit far from here, but if we leave now, we can arrive by tomorrow. I’ve heard the festival held there is very splendid. If it’s alright, may I accompany you?”

“I’d love to… But how did you…”

At Ellerdin’s question, Fernan scratched the back of his head, looking shy.

“The last time… when Lucy came, you mentioned the festival. Since then, I’ve been looking into it separately, wanting to go together.”

She was really grateful to him for looking into it separately for her, even though it was just a passing comment. 

Feeling a gentle warmth spreading in her chest, Ellerdin bit her lip hard. Then, seeing Fernan hurriedly gathering his outerwear, seemingly embarrassed, Ellerdin burst into laughter. 

It wasn’t just her who wanted to go with him. She felt happiness swelling at seeing him make such efforts for her. Thinking it was a good idea to choose her clothes carefully, Ellerdin smiled brightly.