NOVEL NEXT C34
C34: The Haunted Castle (8)
The Duchy of Trident, located in the southern part of the Slayer Kingdom, faces the sea to the south and is an emerging nation, prospering through fishing and open trade. It was an easy task for the thief Shadow to break into the mansion of Baron Lott, who had been granted a small fiefdom in the eastern part of the country.
“I see…….You met my sister.”
“I assume you’re going to tell me what’s going on?”
“Of course I will. I’ll tell you everything.”
When she saw Shadow, Mrs. Lott seemed to calm down and told Shadow what had happened without making a fuss. Apparently, she had anticipated that a person as suspicious as Shadow might appear after making a request to the Dark Guild.
The old woman, who is as thin as a dead tree, gets up from her bed with a languid look on her face. She pours a glass of water from the jug on the bedside table and moistens her lips, which have lost their color.
“That was 50 years ago…….”
Mrs. Lott’s story was the same as the one Luria had told me until the middle. What was different was what happened after she left Luria.
After saying goodbye to Luria for the last time, Saria Sablona gathered the remaining soldiers in the castle and prepared for the final assault. However, just before she left the castle, the soldiers insisted that she be replaced by a maid who had been working at the castle.
In order to call for support from the capital as soon as possible, Saria herself had to reach the king. In order to do so, she would have to live, even if it meant sacrificing her subjects. With such persuasion, Saria reluctantly changed into her maidservant’s clothes and escaped the castle in the chaos of the death squad’s assault.
If captured by enemy soldiers, even if Saria’s true identity was not discovered, she could be sold as a slave to be used as a plaything for the enemy soldiers. Escape was never going to be easy.
Fortunately, however, Saria was able to reach the capital safely, and through a nobleman in the capital with whom she had a close relationship, she succeeded in asking the king for help.
“But……that was a bad idea.”
The king sent a quick rescue, and the impatient enemy set fire to Sablona Castle. As a result, Luria was burned to death in the treasury while waiting for Saria’s return.
“……That’s a consequence, right? I don’t think you had a choice.”
“……I tried to think that way, too. But I couldn’t.”
After her sister’s death as a result of her actions, Saria became mentally ill. Out of concern for her, the king decided to remove her from the front stage of the Slayer Kingdom. If it were known that Saria Sablona was still alive, the other nobles might accuse her of abandoning her family and territory.
Saria was declared to have died in battle with honor and was secretly sent to a sanatorium in the Duchy of Trident.
“I met my husband there and married into the family of the Marquis of Lott. My husband did not inquire about my background at all, but was kind to a poor woman with a sick heart.”
“I see. So you’ve been living happily ever after.”
“Yes, without even knowing that my sister had become an undead…….”
Mrs. Lott sighed.
TL Note: Saria married someone from the marquis family not the marquiss himself. That’s why her husband is a baron.