The Imperial Castle That Wasn't

"It's cold…"

He rubbed his right shoulder with his free left hand.

Even wearing a jacket, it was still a bit cold.

Yet the humidity was high, making him uncomfortable.

Fortunately, there didn't seem to be any of those humanoid creatures in the corridor.

As expected, there were no maids or guard knights.

There were no signs of struggle either, as if no one had been here from the start.

Alexia's room was closest to his location.

He proceeded slowly, paying attention to his surroundings.

Even the slightest sound made him tense, and he could feel his heart rate rising.

He arrived in front of Alexia's room.

He knocked, but there was no response.

He couldn't imagine Alexia losing to those creatures, but if she was attacked while sleeping…

Given the emergency, he turned the doorknob.

It wasn't locked. The door opened.

Though he thought it was careless, he stepped inside the room.

The room was pitch dark with no sign of anyone.

When he transferred fire to the candlestick, the room brightened, but no one was there.

There was no luggage, and the bed was neatly made.

It was clearly an unoccupied room.

Where had Alexia gone?

He extinguished the fire on the room's candlestick and helped himself to the candle. With this, he wouldn't have to worry about fire for a while.

Staying long might bring those creatures again.

He left the room and decided to organize his thoughts.

He felt chills, yet perhaps from tension or the humidity, he was starting to sweat.

When he took a deep breath, he inhaled musty air and coughed.

… Everything had been strange for a while now.

In the days since staying in the guest room, there had never been any indication that the corridors weren't properly cleaned.

It was as if only Yohane was in a different place.

He gulped.

Encountering even weak monsters posed a threat to his life.

And outside this castle were creatures.

It wasn't a good situation.

He checked the other rooms, but the situation was the same.

However, in the room at the far end, he found an unfinished letter.

There was also a pen, but the ink in front of it had completely dried and hardened.

It shouldn't have become like this unless left for a considerable period of time.

Yohane quietly approached the window and listened carefully.

He couldn't see outside through the curtain-covered window, but at least he didn't hear any dripping sounds.

It seemed safe for now.

He read the letter.

It was written in Imperial, and the phrasing was somewhat old-fashioned, so it took effort to read.

The opening seemed to be a greeting, so he skipped it.

After some small talk, it moved to somewhat meaningful topics.

Strange sounds recently.

Increasing sightings of humanoid monsters.

Reports of hallucinations of a red moon.

Reports of missing persons.

The letter ended mid-sentence while seeking advice about these matters.

He didn't know the recipient, but it must have been someone the letter-writer relied on.

Given some prayerful words, they might have been a priest.

The contents were ominous, but he couldn't obtain any more information.

The pen might be usable as a weapon. He decided to take it.

Crown Prince Kelves had spoken as if the Empire's pacification was complete, but was this the troublesome state it was in?

Perhaps he had confidence he could handle it somehow, but being caught up in this was unbearable.

What was certain was that if he was found, there was no guarantee of his life.

He resumed walking while staying as far from the windows as possible.

He explored the castle, hoping to find someone else who had wandered in and cooperate with them.

The pen and knife he had wouldn't be nearly enough.

If he was going to be eaten… no, that was a last resort.

There was still more he could do.

He searched the rooms he found.

Unlike the guest rooms, he was able to discover signs of combat.

Skeletal remains of those who'd fought creatures to mutual defeat, destroyed furniture, and so on.

There was a sword on the ground, but it was rusted from deterioration and completely unusable.

This area should have had knights' training halls and sleeping quarters.

Had they fought? But the presence of skeletal remains was strange.

Then he arrived at what appeared to be a kitchen.

This was probably where the knights' meals had been prepared.

The floor was covered with sticky liquid, and there was a slightly sour smell.

He covered his nose and mouth with a handkerchief and proceeded further in.

The deeper he went, the stronger the smell became.

He wondered if he should turn back.

Then he heard a faint sound.

The sound of something eating.

Maybe there was someone here.

The thought made him unable to stay still, and he approached the sound.

Along the way, white bundles hanging from the ceiling got in his way, and he pushed them aside to advance.

What were these?

The sound was coming from a pot on the stove.

Someone had their head thrust into that pot and was chewing.

He hesitated to call out. The way they were eating wasn't normal.

The moment he stepped back, his elbow hit something and dishes fell to the floor, shattering.

At the sound, the chewing stopped, and it lifted its head from the pot to look his way.

The candlelight illuminated its form.

"—Meat?"

The person had no ears, its eyes were sewn shut, and its nose was crushed. It muttered just that one word before running toward him.