‘She crossed the maze and even reached this place, yet she was still clear-headed.’

Russell recalled the earlier encounter.

She had spoken with sharp eyes and a composed expression.

There were no traces of being under a curse.

‘Does magic not work on her, nor do curses?’

He shook his head.

There wasn’t enough circumstantial evidence to draw a conclusion yet.

‘But if…’

Lost in thought, he exited the northern wing.

“Commander!”

A young man with reddish-brown hair, Andy, ran up to Russell, calling out to him.

“It’s an emergency! A pack of mutant gray wolves has appeared— It seems like the leader is that one-eyed one!”

“Where?”

“Big Rock Village. They spotted a wolf that came out to scout.”

Mutant gray wolf packs were cunning creatures that scouted around their prey and planned before hunting.

If a scouting party had been discovered, there wasn’t much time left.

Russell ran down the hallway, grabbing the railing and leaping down the stairs.

When he got outside, the hunters were already prepared and waiting.

As soon as Russell mounted his horse, they set off.

A hawk with blue feathers soared above the hunters as they rode.

 

❖ ❖ ❖

 

“There’s a restricted area in Lagos Castle, right? I’d like to hear more about it.”

“Yes, Madam.”

Hoffman was subtly nervous.

But he felt relieved when he realized that the reason he had been summoned wasn’t anything serious.

“I should have reported to you first. I apologize.”

Cecilia assessed Hoffman as someone who was good at navigating social situations.

She was impressed by his habit of apologizing first, even when it wasn’t entirely his fault.

On the first day, he had been deferentially polite to Cecilia’s nanny even though she was screaming her head off.

Managing finances at a young age suggested he was one of the lord’s close aides.

Therefore, he should have been proud and rigid, but that wasn’t the case.

‘Even though I barely interacted with the people of Lagos before, I still remember this man.’

“First, allow me to explain the structure of Lagos Castle.”

Lagos Castle is broadly divided into the outer castle and the inner castle.

The inner castle is split into five main sections: East, West, South, North, and Central.

These sections are referred to with the suffix ‘wing’.

Currently, only the eastern wing, western wing, and central hall are in use, while the northern wing and southern wing are closed off.

“The southern wing is a restricted area. It’s due to maintenance difficulties.”

“Was there a particular reason why maintaining the southern wing was especially difficult?”

“Yes. The southern wing is the largest section. It has many halls, big and small. We suspect that there were once greenhouses, courtyards, and gardens there.”

“You say ‘suspect,’ so I take it there haven’t been any gardens maintained there recently?”

“Yes, Madam. The southern wing has been closed for a long time. At least several decades.”

‘A garden that only remains in traces…’

Cecilia imagined what it must have been like, thinking of the ceiling relief she had seen earlier.

How beautiful must the gardens have been during the height of the empire’s prosperity?

The gardens at Grand Duke Jericho’s estate would pale in comparison to what once stood there.

“What about the northern wing, then?”

“The northern wing…”

Hoffman replied with a serious expression.

“It is a restricted area. No one should approach it. It’s under a curse.”

“A curse?”

Cecilia asked, her expression showing disbelief.

“Are you saying it’s closed off because of superstitions? Are there ghosts or the like?”

It wasn’t that she entirely rejected the idea of ghosts.

They might exist somewhere.

But what she had learned from her not-too-short, not-too-long life was that the living were scarier than the dead.

“It’s not superstition, Madam. This Lagos Castle still bears the curse of the fallen empire.”

“…What kind of curse is it?”

“If anyone even approaches the northern wing, they will fall under a spell. Without realizing it, they will be drawn to the red door and enter. Once they do, the curse drains them of all life, and they die. The bodies are found shriveled, like dry husks.”

The nanny and maids, who had been listening nearby, shuddered with horrified expressions.

Cecilia turned to Benjamine and asked,

“Nanny, is this the first time you’re hearing about this too?”

“On the day we arrived, I was told not to go near the northern wing, but the explanation I heard was a bit different…”

“How was it different?”

“They said it was a restricted area that had been left unattended for a long time, so it was dangerous. If you went in, you might not be able to get out, and if that happened, no one from Lagos Castle would come in to search for you. So we were warned to be careful.”

“Was it Hoffman who said that?”

“No, I heard it from someone else.”

When Cecilia looked at Hoffman, he spoke up.

“If I mention the curse right away, there are always people who get curious and try to visit. So initially, I only give a warning, and later, I explain the full details once some time has passed.”