163 After all, this was a study
***[Catherine, Duchess]***
The Duke’s family is really wide.
Even though there is a wall, there is such a wide space spread out within it.
The family of the marquess was also a fairly large city and was surrounded by huge walls, but it was not as wide as this.
‘And the triple wall!’
There are three thick, massive walls.
Even after passing the outermost wall, there was another wall inside.
The city is divided by several walls.
There was a huge space between the walls, and you had to go through several gates to get back inside.
Among them, the ducal residence is located inside the innermost wall.
Catherine took a small breath.
‘Before, I just thought it was cool.’
However, when I thought that a war might break out, the meaning of the wall came to me again.
High walls are to keep enemies out.
Catherine, who had never experienced war, was finally realizing it.
‘I wonder if my mother felt this way too.’
When my father and mother sometimes talked about the war, they just laughed.
Occasionally my mother rolled her eyes and my father was embarrassed, and there was no sense of sadness at all.
But what was it really like back then?
Wouldn’t the mother’s heart be rotting with tension and worries every hour?
Even if it wasn’t a war, it would have been uneasy to deal with the demons.
The older brothers also go out to hunt monsters.
In particular, I heard that the eldest brother fought alongside his father even when war broke out.
Worrying about her husband and worrying about her children, a mother’s heart must be…
“ha….”
A long sigh escaped Catherine’s mouth.
Her heart naturally went to Oscar, who was at the border.
Will it be safe there?
Catherine only saw him off at the entrance of the mansion, so she doesn’t know how many soldiers went with her.
It was only later that I was told that a considerable number of soldiers were accompanying me.
Catherine didn’t know anything, but in reality, the place might have turned into a battlefield.
After thinking about it for a while, the carriage stopped.
The inside of the duke’s house was so vast that there was no need to walk around, perhaps even the garden attached to the mansion.
They travel in a small wagon without a roof, and usually the driver is always waiting near the building.
But this time, instead of the coachman, Benno drove the carriage himself.
this is also strange
Katrin’s heart grew more and more restless.
“Madam, we have arrived.”
Benno reached out and helped get down.
The place he came this time was a warehouse quite far from the mansion.
First time coming here.
The building was quite large, but there were no people around.
Usually, there are people who manage the food warehouse, but why is there no one?
‘Strange. It’s really strange.’
Perhaps aware of Katrin’s uneasiness, Benno spoke in a low voice.
“Originally, there are only a limited number of people managing this warehouse. Only the most trustworthy people come in. But now they’ve all been bitten. No one’s coming for a while.”
Benno’s voice echoed quietly with the sound of footsteps on the ground.
Since Benno rarely makes footsteps, it was of course Katrin’s shoes.
Obviously Benno was next to her, but she had the feeling that Katrin was moving alone in this space.
That somehow fueled my anxiety even more.
Unable to bear it any longer, Katrin looked up at Benno.
“Butler, what’s going on? Please tell me if Oscar-sama is okay or why my mother suddenly called me to a place like this. At least give me a hint. My heart feels like it’s about to explode right now.”
Benno smiled and replied as if to say not to worry.
“Nothing has happened yet.”
That word is more disturbing.
It looks like something huge is about to explode.
But in the meantime, Katrin arrived at the entrance of the building.
Perhaps the butler had guessed it and said it.
I don’t want to tell you any more.
In retrospect, the butler’s voice was a little slower than usual.
It’s a trivial thing, but every time I do this, I realize that I’m still very young compared to my butler or my mother.
“…”
Maybe this is also a part of education.
There was such a part of my mother and the head of the house without knowing it.
While the father and mother of the Marquis family speak directly and openly, the mother and the butler appear to act subtly.
It’s more embarrassing when it happens, but the more Katrin gets angry, the more Mother and the butler act that way.
seems to think it’s effective.
Well, I know that it’s actually effective as much as I’m very resentful of myself.
Katrin looked inside the huge warehouse.
The sun was shining brightly outside, but cool air was coming from inside.
I know it’s because of the magic tools, but it’s kind of creepy.
Maybe it’s because it’s dark inside.
It is a building that is not used often, so it seems that only a few lights are lit.
A twilight light flickered beyond the stacks of shelves and sacks.
“The high lady is waiting inside.”
Upon entering the warehouse at Benno’s words, the door was closed from the back.
In an instant, the place became dark.
The sound of a pack of keys clanking loudly resounded, and soon after, the lock clicked behind his back.
It kind of creeps me out.
It’s just a food warehouse, so is there a need to make everyone leave and lock the key?
Why do you really have to do this?
Then I suddenly remembered a ghost story I had heard from my aunt a long time ago.
Sometimes when my aunt came to the marquess house to play, she would tell Catherine the stories she learned on the trip until she fell asleep.
There were stories that were pleasant and mysterious, but also many that were frightening and creepy.
One of them was a ghost story.
I thought he was someone I knew, so I was going with him, but at some point I looked at him… It was…
“…”
Is the person in the back really Benno?
When we rode in the carriage together, did you really confirm that it was Benno?
Only her back was visible to Catherine.
I saw Benno when I got off the carriage, but was it really the butler’s face?
From nob le mt l dot com
Did you see your eyes, nose, mouth, all clearly?
From nob le mt l dot com
Didn’t you just look at the rough outline and think that way?
Perhaps because of that thought, the cold air felt exceptionally cold.
‘Wow, shall we check? But if it’s not Benno…’
what to do what to do It’s so scary.
Is the person waiting here really my mother?
When you approach that dim light…
While my body froze at that thought, a soft light came on from the side.
Benno was holding a portable silver candlestick in his hand.
“Ma’am, it’s dark. Please watch your step.”
I take a hard look at Benno’s face as he says that.
Every time the dim light flickered, a shadow fell behind Benno’s face.
Is there really a human body in the dark place behind this light?
My aunt’s story comes to mind again.
The story of a ghost with only the face.
Behind the hollow body…
Unknowingly, as I took a step back, someone’s voice rang out in the darkness.
“Catherine.”
“Ahhhhh!”
A scream broke out involuntarily.
“Oh, Catherine. I’m sorry. Did I startle you?”
It was my mother.
My mother was looking at her with her eyes wide open.
“Oh, mother.”
“Whoops.”
mother is smiling
Somehow it calms my mind.
‘Yes, ghosts don’t laugh.’
My aunt said so.
The biggest difference between ghosts and humans is laughter.
A ghost can’t laugh unless it’s a laugh that says, “Oh-ho-ho-ho.”
I can’t have such a soft smile.
“Haaa…”
When I was relieved, the sound of air escaping came out of my mouth.
“I was quite serious until just a moment ago… But looking at you, my heart softens. Should I say loosening up?”
Mother laughed and took Catherine’s hand.
“Come this way, Katrin. The reason I called you here today is because I have a few things to tell you. Not too long ago, the steppes attacked the nobility of the kingdom. Because of that, there might be a war with the steppes.”
“…”
“But to be honest, I was a little hesitant about whether I should tell you this. It wasn’t clear that a war would break out yet, and I thought it was just making me anxious… Besides, I thought it would be better for Oscar to tell it himself.”
Suddenly, Mother turned her head to look at her.
“When war breaks out, the men go out and fight. While Oscar goes out and fights, we’ll stay in the castle as a sit-in. The steppes don’t have siege weapons, so we’ll be safe in the castle. Don’t worry too much.”
“…”
“Nana Oscar was a bit uneasy as we had no experience of sit-in, but the father of the Marquis Hoven sent someone. He is a man with a lot of war experience. He will give you guidance on sit-in.”
So they say there’s no need to worry.
There is still a lot of free time, and they do not yet know if it will be a situation where they will have to sit down.
However, Catherine still did not understand the basics.
I have heard many times that steppe tribes frequently plunder border towns.
However, I don’t know why the story develops with us holding a sit-in just because the grassland tribes are attacking.
Your kingdom will be much stronger than them.
So, if the grassland tribes attack you, you should be able to defeat them right away.
‘It must have been.’
Besides, Oscar-sama and the magician are very strong.
When Oscar-sama comes forward, it’s like a steppe tribe, it feels like a fist.
Even so, did the mother and the head of the butler expect that the grassland tribes would invade the dukedom far away from the border?
When I recall the letters from my parents and aunt, it seems that others do the same.
It was not understood by Catherine, perhaps because she had never been through a war.
Mother led her by the hand and continued walking through the piles of food.
“I don’t think there will be an emergency, but you don’t know what to do. There are several secret passages in this castle. They are also in the mansion. But if you are in a situation where you can’t use the secret passages in the mansion, come this way. , Katrin. When you get to the warehouse, go all the way from the entrance like this.”
My mother, who had been walking for a while, suddenly stopped.
Shelves and grain sacks were placed everywhere in the warehouse.
Mother pointed to the old shelf on the right.
“Look at this shelf. It’s red, right?”
“yes.”
The shelf my mother was talking about had the paint peeling off in places.
It was old and faded.
It was similar to the other shelves I had passed so far.
“This food warehouse is very old. I heard that it was built together when the castle was first built. Because of that, most of the shelves in it are old and faded. The colors are different and not uniform.”
“…”
“But the only thing red is this shelf, Catherine.”
Hear that and look again.
Certainly, the shelves in the warehouse had natural wood colors, some closer to blue, black, and brown, but there seemed to be no red as they passed through the long aisles.
All of them are old and faded, so I’m not sure if I don’t look closely.
Maybe they deliberately didn’t replace the multicolored old shelves to hide the fact that this red shelf is special.
Unlike the bookshelf, the shelves are thick in the front and back.
It must be because they are raising food bags and other items.
Mother bent over.
beckon to katherine
As they squatted together, he took Katrin’s hand and stroked the floor behind the shelf.
“Can I touch you?”
“yes.”
There was a part where the bottom was slightly raised.
“I’m going to step on this place and turn the lathe. Now, shall we try it?”
This time she got up and stood behind Catherine’s back.
As my mother told me to, I hold the shelf with my hand and step on the floor while twisting it at the same time.
Then, surprisingly, the heavy-looking shelf turned easily.
“Once it opens, it turns easily after that. I don’t know much about it, but they say it has such a mechanism. It’s so easy that even a ten-year-old can open it.”
My mother pushed the shelf a little further, and a staircase appeared under the shelf.
“If you go down here, there will be a box. There are a few small bags containing gold coins and clothes worn by commoners. In case of emergency, you can take them and run away.”
It is said that the passage under the shelf is very long and has several branches.
“You just have to follow the red signs. There are cases where there are red and other colored signs together, but that’s a fake road, so you can’t go there. You have to go on the road where only red is painted.”
The butler next to him opened his mouth.
“When you go down the aisle, the shelf automatically goes into place. It’s set up on the stairs.”
Catherine looked back and forth between her mother and the head butler, and clenched her fists.
“Could it ever be dangerous enough to have to tell you this? Ho, maybe Oscar is in a dangerous place right now, or maybe he’s at war…”
“That’s not it, Katrin. There’s no sign of war anywhere yet. No need to worry. Secret passages are something everyone learns when they become a Duchess. But usually they don’t teach them until after they’ve had children.”
Oh, is it because there is a risk of divorce if you can’t have children?
Mother smiles brightly.
“Nobody knows yet if a war will really happen. The Marquis Hoven and Marquis Patrie, who have seen the steppe tribes up close, seem to think that there is a good chance, but the future is really unknown. I don’t really think that a war will break out either. But if there’s even the slightest possibility, you have to be prepared.”
Mother hugged Catherine lightly.
“Because we have many people to protect. For the sake of the people living in this land and for my family.”
Katrin hesitated a little before opening her mouth.
“Um… tell Anne about this passage.”
“No, Catherine.”
“…”
“Later, when it really comes, it’s okay to take Anne and run away. But it’s a secret until it really comes, okay?”
“… yes.”
I knew.
Of course I knew it wouldn’t.
I was just worried that he was saying that he had to abandon Anne and run away.
Hearing the answer that we could run away together, I felt a little relieved.
“I’ll teach you the secret passage in the mansion gradually. You have to memorize where it is. This is because Catherine will have to teach her later when she has a daughter-in-law.”
“…”
well maybe this
‘Isn’t this a study under the guise of preparing for war?’
Somehow I feel that way.
said her mother, calling her and leading her to the light.
“Now, I will tell you how to prepare for war, what items are needed for a sit-in, and how to purchase them.”
I also studied this
like a training situation.
“Yes, Mother.”
Catherine’s shoulders lowered slightly as she answered.