Comment and Coupons, Thank You All. 134th Episode
44. The Magical Beast and the Truth Behind the Wall
133 – The Magical Beast and the Truth Behind the Wall #3
Inside the mansion, whispers of rumors and uneasy sounds were buzzing all day long.
“How could two silver-grade beasts of the Ancient Nest show up overnight…?”
“It looks like the rumor about the Master practicing forbidden dark magic in the mansion’s basement is true. He must’ve touched the taboo in an attempt to bring back the deceased Ribga…! Everything in this mansion is cursed. We should escape soon…”
“Shhh, don’t say such things so carelessly. They say the beast gobbled up that fluffy cloud or cotton candy sitting on top of Alpha’s head. Let’s not get kicked out by spreading baseless rumors.”
“Does it make sense for such a fluffy creature to devour a silver-grade magical beast? It has to be Ribga’s ghost. I distinctly heard a woman’s scream last night when that loud thunder cracked!”
“I heard it too! I heard screaming from the forest! And near Vitali’s room, there were sounds that sounded like painful moans…”
“What if the lady is having another episode…? Of all days, it had to be on the rare occasion she returns during this rain…”
Fog-like words, the essence of uncertainty, hung heavily in the air like a lead weight in the mansion.
—Living here might drive anyone insane. And we’ve got to stay for ten more days?
I decided to circulate among the maids and attendants, trying to hear what they were saying, and to determine more clearly what this mansion had to offer.
The strange tales of a missing beast, the ghost of a woman named Ribga—Vitali’s mother—and the vague warnings I’d received from Yingyi all tangled together, filling me with a sticky sense of unrest.
‘Especially that guy is the most suspicious.’
My gaze landed on the blond butler.
A young man, barely about twenty, praised for his competence to manage the mansion, Harmony Danvers.
I recalled how he had brought me the thorn that Yingyi dropped and pointed me out as the culprit.
He was wearing a polite tone and squinting smile, yet it was clear he wasn’t too fond of me.
They say people can subconsciously sense when someone disapproves of them.
Rumor has it that beasts also have the ability to discern whether a person is harmful to them or a help, and it seems I, the legendary magical beast, share that trait.
—Gyuiying.
Yingyi mumbled something above my head.
—Are you hungry?
When I held out the fruit I had received from the attendants, tilted high above my head to Yingyi, it squirmed side to side as if shaking its head.
—Gyuiying.
It wasn’t hunger—it was more like it wanted to say something to me.
Humans and various beasts regarded the Wildling and Cloudring as harmless creatures living thoughtlessly, but I knew very well that Yingyi was a being full of diverse thoughts and feelings.
It seemed that Yingyi was warning me about an impending threat.
I felt a bit annoyed that I was caught up in something I couldn’t quite grasp.
The whispers, the bizarre rules, and tales of cursed items didn’t resonate with me at all.
If being entangled in such matters is part of being a noble, then even if wealth and power reach the heavens, it’s not all it’s cracked up to be.
‘The human world has its perks but it’s frustrating. So many rules and boundaries to maintain.’
In that regard, the Ancient Nest felt like a vast ocean where I could launch a ship and sail freely. After two months of frolicking in nature, I might have changed after all.
‘What’s this door?’
Lost in thought while wandering around the mansion, I halted in front of a massive iron door located in a corner on the first floor.
It was a thick, drab door, the kind you’d expect to find in a prison.
Its presence felt oddly out of place in the luxurious mansion, but perhaps because of the gloomy weather and dark, humid atmosphere, the iron door emanated a stately yet eerie aura.
What bothered me most was the bizarre pattern of eyes etched onto the door.
“Alpha, what are you doing here? And Yingyi too!”
Out of nowhere, Vitali approached me happily. She removed her black veil, furrowing her brow.
“You shouldn’t come near here. It’s a place where dangerous things are stored.”
—Dangerous items? Like a priest’s bomb or something?
As I dragged my front paw across the door, Vitali grabbed me and pulled me back.
“You might get cursed. This is like a shrine where items with histories are sealed. There’s a cursed monkey’s hand bone, the tears of a land-dried mermaid… and a doll said to be possessed by a devil. My dad’s hobby.”
Vitali lowered her voice as if to keep it a secret. I shook my head as I distanced myself from the door.
—Geez, you keep such dangerous items at home?
I frowned at the mention of curses and demons, recalling how Batus mocked nobles about their “highbrow hobbies.”
‘Still, now I’m curious about what kind of items are in there.’
Standing on my two feet, I peeked through a small hole drilled in the iron door. A dimly lit room came into view, with flickering candles inside.
Shelves stuffed with various dolls, clocks, little statues, and strange bottles full of liquids were on display.
Suddenly, a pair of blue eyes met mine. From just beyond the bars, a pair of eyes slid into view right before me.
—Whoa, yikes!
I was startled by those eyes, which caught me off guard because I’d shrunk back from the eerie atmosphere.
The iron door creaked and swung open, revealing someone.
‘It’s Harmony.’
The butler slid out from behind the door, tilting his head.
“Miss, and Alpha. What were you doing in front of this door?”
“H-Harmony, it’s nothing. Just giving Alpha a tour of the mansion.”
Harmony raised an eyebrow at Vitali’s clumsy excuse.
“It’s best if you don’t come near this door. There are many dangerous things.”
After issuing a polite warning, Harmony pulled a key from a ring at his waist and locked the iron door. The sound of heavy locks clicking sent a shiver up my spine.
*
“That’s too big… Mmm…”
That night, I cautiously slipped out of Vitali’s embrace while she was sleeping next to me. After a few rounds of vigorous activity, I figured she wouldn’t wake until the morning.
‘Maybe it’s just my imagination, but something might happen tonight.’
I quietly crept down the hallway, activating my stealth, and glanced around. The only sounds in the empty corridor came from flickering candles and lamps.
‘I need to see with my own eyes what’s happening in this mansion right now.’
I thought that perhaps Adam and Batus sent me here for some reason related to the strange events tied to Gideon’s Mendel mansion.
[The Nest: The Paradise of Fanatics]
At first, I believed it was simply because of the silver-grade beasts, but this place, known as the Ancient Nest, must have other underlying reasons beyond just the beasts in the garden.
‘Paradise of the fanatics, huh? The name of the Ancient Nest is likely tied to the lords of this place. So, this mansion must also be heavily linked to fanatics and the notion of paradise.’
I slowly descended the stairs towards the first floor, my footsteps ringing softly. My destination? The storeroom blocked off by the iron door.
Tap, tap.
As I touched down on the first floor, I heard footsteps nearby.
On a rainy night, they say no one dares to roam through the mansion’s halls.
With sounds manifesting during such an eerie time, it could either be Ribga’s ghost appearing or a brave soul not afraid of the supernatural.
I hid behind a pillar, held my breath, and activated my stealth skill.
As the footsteps grew closer, I focused my gaze and soon saw a man dressed in black.
‘It’s Harmony.’
Now that I think about it, wasn’t Harmony in charge of patrolling the mansion on rainy nights?
I had initially dismissed it as nothing significant, but now I thought that perhaps if I followed him, it might unravel the knot binding my anxious heart.
Tap, tap.
Harmony inspected the items decorated in the mansion, checking them off a checklist he held in his hand, resembling a plank of wood.
“Knight armor on the first floor. No movement… looks stationary. Confirmed. Next up, Ribga’s portrait.”
In front of the large painting of a woman hung on the wall, Harmony murmured softly.
“No sign of tears, expression unchanged. All’s good. Confirmed. Now, what’s left is the storeroom.”
Harmony turned and headed towards the iron door where the cursed items were kept. Holding my breath, I activated my stealth and quietly followed behind him.
Click, click.
Creeeak.
As he inserted the key into the lock, the iron door creaked open with a rusty groan. A draught of dank air rushed out from within.
“Phew. It’s always…”
Harmony took a deep breath before stepping inside. As the door began to close, I quickly poked my head in.
‘I’m in!’
I had just managed to sneak into the storeroom, where I was told not to go.
Inside, the storeroom felt like stepping into a damp and chilly cellar in midwinter.
“Doll said to be inhabited by a demon. No movement. All clear. Confirmed. Next up, monkey bone. No issues with the index finger, middle finger… Wait, why is this one bent?”
Harmony’s voice quivered slightly as he checked each item. To enter such a place alone at midnight and check the conditions of cursed items was a bold move for someone so young. Either he was courageous enough to expose his guts or incredibly competent to keep his cool.
Whatever it was, it showcased the fortitude worthy of a mansion overseer at such a young age.
“Monkey bone. All clear. Now, it’s time for the doll that dispels curses.”
Harmony moved towards a small plush doll placed nearby. Just at that moment,
—Ding-a-ling.
The alarm clock rang like it was on a schedule.
—Caw, caw.
“Broken alarm clock, unusual. Corpse-eating garlic crow stuffed: unusual confirmed.”
Harmony’s usually composed voice trembled with fear. Starting with the alarm clock, all sorts of animal howls, musical sounds, and objects crashing down filled the air with chaos.
‘What’s happening now?!’
Startled and bewildered, I scanned around. Were these cursed items truly causing a ruckus like the people had said?
Feeling frightened, I thought it might be best to exit this place, when suddenly, the storeroom fell into an eerie silence.
“Phew…”
Harmony took a moment to breathe deeply, wiping the sweat off his forehead with a handkerchief.
Harmony…
“Hm?”
His head tilted slightly at the sound of whispering from somewhere.
This way, Harmony….
Like he was entranced, he approached an empty wall, laying his ear against it, holding his breath.
Scratch, scratch.
A sharp sound like claws scraped against the wall.
“Are you, perhaps, the face-less god within the wall?”
[Yes, it’s me. Long time, no see.]
I shivered as the voice from within the wall crawled up my spine, raising the hairs on my back and tail.
It was the seductive, mischievous voice of Nialli, the spirit of the rat I had encountered in Salom village.
‘This little brat is definitely suspicious. He’s colluding with Nialli, huh?’
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