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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 4
Chapter Title: The Basement
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About a month had passed since Lucian had given her the name ‘Ria’.
“Ria, I’m done!”
At first, there were times she didn't realize he was calling her, but now she was gradually getting used to her name.
They were currently preparing dinner together. Ria watched Lucian in silence.
“What is it? Is there something on my face?”
[It’s not that. Aren’t you tired?]
“Me? Why would I be tired?”
[Well, you just finished working out.]
Just half a month ago, he would tremble like a newborn fawn after exercising. Where had that boy gone?
“Huh? You’re right. My body feels really light today.”
The scrawny, small boy who looked younger than his age had become a sturdy child.
Moreover, she felt his body had been getting firmer lately.
[Looks like you’ve put on some muscle. Your stamina seems to have improved, too.]
“It’s not even that hard to work out these days. Of course, some parts are difficult, but I feel refreshed afterward. Is that the right word?”
[Come to think of it, it’s been exactly one month today. How is it? Is the training manageable?]
“Yes! It’s fine!”
[Then I guess we can do more from now on?]
“Uh…”
Lucian trailed off. It seemed that, despite getting used to the exercise, he didn't want to do any more.
“Um… are we only going to do physical training from now on?”
It was an unexpected question. Wondering if there was still hope, she quickly replied.
[Of course not. Physical training is just preparation to build a foundation. Once your body is ready, we’ll move right on to swordsmanship.]
“Can you teach me how to use a bow, too?”
[Of course. You saw the things in the storage. I’ll teach you how to handle all the weapons in there.]
Lucian’s face lit up. He said that was great and eagerly agreed to do more.
[But why the sudden change of heart? A month ago, you didn’t want to do it.]
“Because it’s cool!”
[Huh?]
“I read in a book that all heroes are super strong. I’m going to be like a hero!”
Aha, so that was his ulterior motive.
Then again, it was far better for him to find his own motivation and build his resolve than for her to explain it a hundred times.
[What about the witch? You said you liked the witch the best.]
“Well, that’s because you’ll be the witch, Ria.”
[Huh? Are you talking about me?]
“Your name came from a witch’s name, and witches are super pretty and good at magic! You’re the same, Ria.”
She never imagined he was thinking that. No wonder he’d brought up a witch’s name when she asked him to name her.
Ria suspected that in Lucian’s mind, there was an equation: ‘Witch = Ria’.
“Since you’re the witch, Ria, I’ll become the first emperor and be with you forever!”
Ria was dumbfounded by the sudden bombshell.
[Lucian, do you even know what you’re saying?]
“Of course I do! It means I’ll live with you, Ria.”
Ria wiped her face. Of course. What would a child know?
[You’re talking about what you saw in the fairytale, right?]
“Yes, that’s right.”
[Lucian, when it says they’ll be together, it means they love each other, get married, and live together.]
“…? But we’re already married.”
Where on earth should she even begin to explain? Her mind went blank for a moment, but Ria quickly pulled herself together.
[Yes, we did get married, but that was just a farce. It happened without either of us consenting, right?]
“Right?”
[Usually, marriage is when a man and a woman who have grown up fall in love and promise to spend their lives together. We skipped all the steps in between and just rushed through the ceremony, so it doesn’t really count as a marriage.]
They called each other ‘bride’ and ‘little groom’, but it was more of a joke.
Besides, it wasn't even documented on paper. How could it be a real marriage?
Lucian’s expression turned peculiar, as if he had roughly understood Ria’s words.
“Then we just have to fall in love.”
Oh, for heaven’s sake. Why did he have to take it that way?
[Love is something you should find with someone else, not me.]
“I don’t want to. I want to be with you, Ria.”
[…Why, though? Do you want to be with me that much?]
“Yes! I don’t want anyone but you, Ria!”
[You’re only saying that because you don’t know any better. When you’re older and you meet a pretty girl your age, you’ll change your mind once you get all lovey-dovey.]
“How would you know that, Ria?”
[I know because I’ve lived a lot longer than you, at least.]
Lucian puffed out his cheeks, clearly displeased with Ria’s words.
“That’s not it. You just don’t like me, do you?”
[What…?!]
Despite Ria’s baffled expression, Lucian didn’t soften his.
***
Ria is an idiot. She doesn’t even know how I feel.
Lucian grumbled, recalling the recent situation.
[No, why did the conversation jump to that?]
‘I’m right, aren’t I! You don’t want to live with me because you don’t like me, right?’
[…Sigh. Lucian, just calm down a little.]
At her sigh, full of annoyance, Lucian felt a surge of emotion without realizing it.
‘Forget it! I don’t want to anymore either! I hate you, Ria!’
And with that, Lucian had run out blindly. He had no idea where he was now. Probably somewhere in the mansion.
He wanted to hide somewhere Ria couldn't find him, but he knew very well he had nowhere else to go.
He wouldn't leave this spot until Ria came to find him.
“No, why should I wait? I’m going to live here from now on.”
Hmph, why would I even think about living with Ria again?
He could read fairly well now, and thanks to his consistent training, his stamina had improved a lot. Plus, he’d watched her cook, so he could probably manage on his own.
In other words, he could do everything by himself now, even without Ria.
“…But why is it so dark here?”
He had just wandered wherever his feet took him, but it felt like he had arrived in an unfamiliar place.
It was dark and chilly, just like his first day in the mansion.
The fear he hadn't felt since meeting Ria crept up his ankles.
“W-well. This has to be part of the mansion, too.”
Lucian tried to ignore his fear and looked around with a trembling heart.
“I’m sure I came this way, right?”
Lucian checked the way he had come. Seeing the stairs leading up, it seemed he had come down to a basement.
“This is my first time in the basement.”
It was too wide to be a corridor, but a bit too narrow to be a room. It was empty, which made it feel even more desolate, but anyway.
“There are three doors.”
Lucian examined the doors at the end of each wall. The one opposite the stairs was particularly ornate compared to the others.
As if mesmerized, Lucian approached that door.
“What’s this?”
Something was carved into the door. It looked like a picture, but also like writing.
He tried to read it with his newly acquired skills, but it wasn't a language he could decipher. If it wasn't the imperial language, what on earth was it?
“And there’s no handle.”
Thinking it might be a push or pull door, he grunted and strained, but it didn't budge.
After struggling for a while, Lucian panted and finally gave up.
“It’s probably nothing special, anyway.”
He immediately turned his attention to the other two doors.
Fortunately, unlike the previous one, these two doors had sturdy handles.
“Nngh! It’s heavy!”
Lucian threw his full weight into pushing the door.
Screech— Screeeeech—
The door resisted at first, but once it started moving, it pushed open easily. It flew open so suddenly that he almost tumbled forward.
Barely catching his balance, Lucian collected himself and looked up. And froze.
Wooooo—
An eerie sound echoed in his ears. Beyond the door lay a long, long tunnel. He couldn't bring himself to go inside.
It was no wonder, as the end was not in sight, looking like a place where a ghost would appear.
“S-scary… Ria…!”
Lucian instinctively looked for Ria, but seeing no one behind him, the blood drained from his face.
Only then did he realize he had run away from her. Lucian swallowed hard and backed away, closing the door.
Screeech— Thud—!
“I-I’m never going in there again.”
He thought he'd gotten used to ghosts and monsters since Ria was a ghost, but apparently not.
Lucian examined the last remaining door.
He was scared it might be similar to the last one, but since he had decided to live here now, he didn't have many options left.
This time, he opened the last door, tense with anticipation.
“A room?”
Thankfully, this one was a normal room. It was just a bit dark, so he couldn't see much. Lucian held up his lantern and cautiously looked inside.
A small, storage-like room. There was nothing inside.
“What, there’s nothing… Aah!”
The moment he let his guard down, he tripped over something on the floor.
He narrowly managed to keep the lantern from breaking. But in his effort to save it, he hadn't protected himself, and his chin throbbed.
“Ouch… What was that!”
A wave of frustration and sorrow washed over him as he checked what he had tripped on. He thought the room was empty, but there was a cloth spread on the floor.
Seeing the cloth covering almost the entire floor, Lucian pulled it back. Then he shone his lantern on it.
“Huh? This is the same as the thing on the door.”
A symbol, similar to the one he had seen on the first door, was carved into the floor.
But for some reason, the more he looked at this one, the more it gave him the creeps.
Sensing something strange, he ran his hand over the floor. Something smeared onto his palm.
Lucian held his hand up to the lantern. It was an unidentifiable color, somewhere between black and brown.
Starting from where he had just touched, the center of the symbol was stained with something so dark that the pattern was obscured.
Feeling puzzled, Lucian moved to the center and touched it. Unlike before, a lot of powder came off on his hand.
“Ouch!”
Just then, he felt a sharp sting in his finger. He reflexively pulled his hand back and examined it.
“Ow… It hurts. I think I got cut.”
It seemed his finger had been cut by something. The cut must have been quite deep, as blood trickled down his hand and dripped onto the floor.
His hand was too dirty from the dust on the floor to suck on the wound. For now, Lucian wiped the area with his sleeve.
Still, the pain didn't subside. The moment he decided to go outside and wash his hand.
Woooong—
With a strange sound, the dark room was bathed in a blue light.
Bewildered, Lucian looked around. The light was emanating from the symbol on the floor.
Only then could Lucian see what he had missed before.
The symbol that filled the floor. And the black stains concentrated in its center. He knew instinctively. Those black stains were all blood.
The blood drained from his face. At the same time, the symbol, which had been glowing blue, turned blood-red.
And the basement began to shake slightly.
“I-I have to get out.”
He had a gut feeling that something terrible would happen if he stayed here. Lucian hurried out of the room.
Panting for breath, he looked back through the doorway.
Crunch, crunch—!
He could see the abandoned lantern being crushed, twisting into a bizarre shape. That wasn't all. The cloth he had carelessly pushed aside was also being dragged toward the center of the symbol, contorting grotesquely before slowly disappearing.
It was as if the symbol was devouring them.
As if swallowing the lantern and the cloth wasn't enough, an ominous sound came from the symbol.
Grooooowl!
Soon, the ominous red light turned crimson, and a bloody vortex swirled throughout the room.
Even though he was outside the room, he felt he was in danger and quickly shut the door.
Bang! Kaboom!
From inside the room came the sound of a fierce gale, along with something crashing. He couldn't shake the feeling that the symbol was trying to swallow him whole.
“U-uh… s-scary… Ria…!”
His body trembled like a leaf. Finally bursting into tears, Lucian sobbed and called for Ria repeatedly.
“Riaaaa! Ria! *Sob*! I’m scared! Riaaa!”
Having lost the lantern, the basement was pitch black. He felt like if he stayed here any longer, he would die.
