Chapter 51
Come to think of it, that man wasn’t just a domestic abuser. Eden had mentioned he had a prior conviction for murder.
Perhaps locking him in a cell was actually an act of mercy. If he were let out, he might face a far more gruesome end.
The man scrambled across the floor, desperately trying to reach the keys that had fallen outside the bars. It looked as though he might be able to find them with just a little more effort.
“Let’s go. Ignore him,” Eden told me.
Supporting Knox, I moved past the cell and continued forward.
Behind us, I heard the sound of the domestic abuser opening the iron gate of the dungeon. The man didn’t head in the direction we had come from, but the opposite way—toward the police station where the monster was.
“If that door over there is breached, won’t it be dangerous here too?”
At my question, Eden narrowed his eyes.
“Let’s hurry.”
As we walked while supporting Knox, I felt the floor rattle slightly beneath us at one point. What was that?
I hesitated for a moment, but since Knox and Eden kept walking in silence, I couldn’t voice my doubt. Besides, we had to escape this place as quickly as possible.
I had no choice but to keep moving. After advancing a bit further, we finally reached a dead end.
There, a circular hole was carved out, just large enough for one person to fit through.
Eden knelt on one knee in front of it and peered inside.
“It hasn’t been used in a long time, so I expect it’ll be quite dusty.”
I looked at Eden with a face that didn’t want to believe it. From the looks of it, this was a chute designed to slide corpses out, much like a slide at a water park.
“You’re saying we have to go in there?”
“Yes. This is where the bodies were sent out. Think of it as a passage connected to the side of a deep, well-like pit.”
“The bodies… how barbaric. Do they actually use things like this?” Knox asked Eden, his face filled with disbelief.
Eden ran a finger along the floor of the passage, checking the dust once more, and furrowed his brow.
“Actually, this dungeon hadn’t been used until I arrived. It was built in the past as a formality. How often would there be a need for a dungeon in a rural village like this?”
I recalled him mentioning something like that when we were planning at Happy House.
So, the dungeon hadn’t even been in use, but as soon as Eden arrived in Brunel, he arrested a domestic abuser with a murder record, which forced them to open it? That’s so like Eden.
“But it was used at some point, right?”
Eden nodded at my question.
“Vicious criminals aren’t given funerals. So when a prisoner died, they needed a place to dispose of the body. In the past, they would dig a deep pit like a well, throw the bodies in, and then incinerate them.”
So, if we rode down this water-park-slide-like passage, we would end up in a well-shaped corpse incinerator.
“If it’s a deep pit like a well, how do we get back up?”
“There’s a ladder connected to the surface. Someone had to go down to light the fire and clean things up for the cremation, after all.”
Listening to Eden, I swallowed hard and stared into the pitch-black hole.
Knowing it hadn’t been used in a long time made it feel even more eerie. It felt like the perfect setting for a horror movie.
That was when Knox spoke up.
“Are you aware? Knox Cornel Rudfercher is a direct descendant of the Marquis Rudfercher’s family and a promising elite doctor.”
Having listened to Eden’s explanation while leaning back with his arms crossed, he suddenly cut in, referring to himself in the third person. What? What was wrong with him?
“If it’s been out of use for that long, Lancaster, even you don’t know what’s at the end of this passage. If something goes wrong, the world will lose a great talent.”
As I listened, I realized Knox had a point. I nodded in deep agreement.
“That’s true. I’m the heiress of the Sinclair family, too. A superstar of high society. If something happens to me, my fans will be devastated.”
Anti-fans are still fans, right? Of course, I wondered how many of those anti-fans were even still alive, but for now, I played along with Knox.
I figured if I ever wanted to scout him as the consultant doctor for Happy House, I should cater to his ego a bit. Phew. Socializing is hard work.
Knox gave me a bright smile.
“Miss Cherry, we’re finally on the same page. People like us have an obligation to maintain our social dignity.”
“A moment ago it sounded like nonsense, but listening to you now, I think you’re right. Social dignity is very important.”
While Knox and I were exchanging lines like that, Eden positioned himself in front of the hole first.
“Then both of you can just stay here.”
“…”
I quietly covered my face with my hands. I wanted to avoid this, but I guess there was no way out.
“Damn it, fine. Sir Eden goes first, then Mr. Rudfercher. I’ll go last. Sir, go down first and catch the bags.”
Eden, already seated at the mouth of the hole, nodded. Knox, however, protested upon hearing the descending order.
“It’s dangerous for a lady to be last. I will go last—”
“Do you want to be carried down on my back?”
“…I find myself wanting to go first.”
Knox gave a thin smile and naturally fell in line behind Eden.
Without hesitation, Eden slid his body into the hole.
Thump.
A moment later, the sound of Eden landing echoed from far below.
The passage… seemed quite long.
Knox and I locked eyes. With a look of extreme reluctance, he took his seat at the entrance of the hole. He looked at me with a grim, determined expression.
“Let us meet again alive.”
With that, Knox vanished into the hole. Soon, I heard the sound of him landing below.
“Catch the bags!”
I shouted into the passage and sent the luggage down first. Then, I placed my feet into the hole, took a position, and drew a deep breath.
“I’ll catch you at the end, so come down without worry, Miss Cherry.”
I heard Eden’s voice calling to me from below. To think he’d rush me like that just because I hesitated for a moment.
“I’m coming!”
I shouted back and immediately slid down. It really felt like riding a slide, and before long, I saw light.
Oof.
I was caught in something soft yet firm. I mean, I was embraced… held?
When I looked up, I saw Eden’s face silhouetted against the sunset sky. He really had caught me.
Beyond Eden’s face, the sky was visible in a circular frame. We really were inside a deep pit shaped like a well. I wondered if this was the sky a frog in a well sees.
The circular patch of sunset sky was incredibly beautiful and peaceful. It was as if everything that had happened until now was a lie.
To think I’d have such sentimental thoughts in a corpse incinerator.
“Are you alright?”
Eden asked me. Only then did I realize I was still in his arms. It felt like I was a bit late to the realization, but regardless, I scrambled out of his embrace.
Knox, who already had a bag slung over his shoulder, spoke while leaning against the wall.
“I’d like to go up now. Tell me, Lancaster. Where does this lead?”
Eden shouldered the remaining bag from the ground and answered.
“It leads to the mountain behind Brunel village. The one right behind Miss Cherry’s Happy House.”
At Eden’s words, I briefly pictured the mountain behind Happy House.
The mountain behind Happy House wasn’t very high and the slope was gentle. Yet, the mountain itself was quite large, so as long as one avoided the monsters, it was easy to make a living through gathering or hunting.
“So we’re outside the village. That’s a relief.”
Knox let out a sigh of relief, clearly glad to hear the news. I walked over to him and took the bag from his hands. He was, after all, an injured man.
“I’ll handle the heavy lifting.”
“I am well aware by now that Miss Cherry is strong. But it is a gentleman’s duty to assist a lady… Ugh.”
Knox, who was about to refuse my offer by insisting he’d carry the luggage, winced and swallowed his words as a sharp pain likely shot through his thigh. I patted him on the shoulder.
“I’m strong. Just lean on me.”
Knox looked at me with a strange, unreadable expression. Eden was the same. Ignoring them both, I stood before the ladder.
“I’ll go up first this time.”
The two men nodded. I stepped onto the ladder and began to climb.
“Careful, Lady. Careful now.”
Watching me climb without hesitation, Knox called out in worry while watching my back from below.
Since he was a man with ‘Lady First’ ingrained in his bones, being with Knox really made me feel like I had become a noble lady.
Anyway, after climbing a bit, the ground soon came into view. It looked like we were near the entrance to the forest.
Phew, I’m exhausted. Once I got back to Happy House, I just wanted to lie down on my bed and rest.
