Author: 冬瓜茶仙人 / Winter Melon Tea Immortal
Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/
Chapter 58
An unsettling silence spread. Erica took a deep breath. “Shiloh, Columbus, did you guys…?”
Shiloh had a solemn look on his face. “They refused to give us food. Because I was hungry, I (firmly) asked them to at least give us a can of milk or some coarse bread. A new dishwasher who didn’t know about this, given the high price we offered, let us in, planning to go to the kitchen to find something to appease us. But a woman saw us, yelled at them, scolded them a lot, and had someone push us into the cellar.”
With Shiloh’s combat skills, they shouldn’t have been able to throw him into the cellar, but he mischievously planned that if the legitimate transaction didn’t work, he would wait until after dinner when the kitchen was empty to sneak out and steal something—the cellar door was almost chewed through by rats, so he could punch a hole through it with one fist.
He didn’t expect that the castle, though it appeared dark and decrepit, had a sizable kitchen. He and Columbus ended up squatting in the cellar for two hours, still hearing the busy footsteps above them, both tired of waiting and inadvertently dozing off a bit.
When he was woken up by Columbus, the kitchen had quieted down—according to Dr. Salman, who pulled them out of the cellar, all the cooks, kitchen maids, stable boys, and gardeners were drugged by their medicine and were stacked on the kitchen floor.
At that time, he was overjoyed and eagerly found a plate to try the still-steaming onion soup, only to be sternly stopped by Dr. Salman.
“This logic is flawed,” Erica said calmly. “If that’s the case, why can guests who have invitations come and go from the castle for a long time? The food at the ball is supplied by the same kitchen.”
Dr. Salman said, “I’ve also thought about this issue, but that person’s expression didn’t seem like he was lying, and he had no reason to lie. In the situation where they are stockpiling a large amount of food for the ball, they would rather risk being exposed by strangers than give Shiloh and Columbus a piece of cheese. Instead, they put more effort into locking them in the cellar. I guess they planned to drive them out after the ball ends and the guests have left. Mistress Daisy certainly doesn’t want two strangers, unrelated to her business, bound in the castle for a long time.”
“Maybe eating the castle’s food isn’t the only condition.” Erica thought, suddenly frowning. “If the girls are destined never to leave the castle, why would Mistress Daisy pretend to surrender and lead Mr. Charlie to get the keys?”
Shiloh’s expression changed. “Where’s the study?”
The little tin soldier jumped up. “I’m going to find Charlie!”
Although Columbus had a simple character, he wasn’t stupid.
During his time living in Maplewood with Charlie, he learned a lot under his influence. Because he didn’t need to sleep or blink, the tin soldier actually read more than the average school student.
Also, being a victim of a curse himself, he had a natural curiosity and explorative spirit in the realm of magic. Using the clues provided by Dr. Salman and Erica, he quickly deduced that this was domain magic.
Considering that Mistress Daisy herself wasn’t a mage, there must be another magical item in the castle acting as the core. Mistress Daisy probably wasn’t the first owner of this coercive magical artifact, but magical items were expensive and feared on every continent for a reason: once made, the threshold for manipulation was virtually non-existent, and anyone with autonomy and capability could use them.
Like this castle. Once the domain magic was successfully set up, the [Rules] were supreme. Whoever controls the [Rules] could almost be considered a demigod within that range.
Mistress Daisy, being able to manipulate so many girls and juggle numerous wealthy and powerful guests, was certainly not an easy opponent. Would such a woman easily surrender in her own domain?
The little tin soldier’s legs moved quickly, almost leaping two steps at a time.
They had only known each other as friends for a long time, and no one understood Charlie better than he did.
Indeed, he was a top student at the Monterey Academy. Charlie wasn’t lying.
But he was secretive about his performance. He wasn’t just a theoretically inclined mage lacking in practical talent, as he appeared. The proud, magic-renowned witch, Eleana, wouldn’t have fallen for a mere bookworm.
His daily preference for using various small magics and auxiliary tools that hardly require magical power was partly to keep a low profile, but more importantly, because the shopkeeper actually detested magic.
More precisely, he detested unnatural forces.
Shiloh followed him closely upstairs, and as they were just about to reach the top, a burst of barking erupted.
Shiloh’s expression hardened. He pulled a shortsword from his tattered half-cloak with a swift backhand motion and stepped ahead of Columbus, blocking the large hound charging at them.
Columbus was nearly scared off the stairs, but Shiloh didn’t hesitate to thrust his elbow, interrupting the hound’s momentum, causing it to yelp and spin half around. Its claws scrabbled at the carpet, and a gash on the side of its neck started to bleed.
At that moment, Shiloh looked nothing like the giggly little vagabond Columbus knew.
Hounds were more impulsive than rational, and being hurt instead of successful in its attack made it see red. It crouched low, its growls suppressed, ready to strike.
Shiloh didn’t blink, but instead spoke out of the corner of his mouth. “When it pounces, you rush to the left, and I’ll block it. You go open the study door.”
The tin soldier agreed. Indeed, the hound couldn’t restrain itself and leapt straight for Shiloh’s neck. Columbus bent down and dashed out—Shiloh did as he said, not letting the big hound turn back.
The commotion in the corridor didn’t disturb anyone in the study. Columbus tried to turn the doorknob, only to find it locked from the inside.
“Charlie! Charlie!” Columbus shouted loudly.
Whether it was because of his loud voice or the poor soundproofing of the walnut door, the rabbit-headed shopkeeper inside actually responded to him.
“Columbus?”
“Are you in there? What’s happening?” The tin soldier asked through the keyhole.
“I’m fine.” On the other side of the walnut door, the rabbit-headed shopkeeper replied in a calm voice.
If Columbus could see inside the study, he would know that the shopkeeper was lying.
The study looked just as it did the last time Charlie snuck in—several desks crammed together, bulging cushions thrown on the carpet, and a continuously burning incense burner emitting a strong, exotic fragrance.
Mistress Daisy stood in front of Charlie with the thick black leather book now closed in her hands.
Charlie raised both hands in a gesture of surrender. They had already heard the barking of the big hound, but no one was distracted by it.
“What are you afraid of?” Mistress Daisy’s face wore a sinister smile, and she resumed her falsely gentle and soft tone. “Aren’t you here to help the girls gain their freedom? Just burn this book, and all the secrets of this castle will be destroyed. Nothing will bind them anymore. Isn’t that your purpose?” She leaned close to the fireplace, poised to throw the book into the burning flames.
The rabbit-headed shopkeeper replied in a placating tone, “I do want the girls to be free, but I don’t want to destroy everything, including you.” He left unsaid that her sins should be judged by God.
Mistress Daisy looked at him coldly.
“You, who come from poverty, couldn’t have been born with this castle.” Charlie sighed, keeping his hands raised. “If my guess isn’t wrong, after spending your childhood or teenage years sweeping fireplace ashes, you must have lived here for a long time… but not as the master.”
“You are also part of this castle, just like they were, weren’t you, Daisy?” The rabbit-headed shopkeeper said. “All the girls use the names of flowers, including you and Miss Callia*—”
*Clarity: Her name is (卡利亚). Assuming it’s referencing a flower, most likely it’s referencing calla lilies, though translated Callia/Calia/Kalia is closer.
“Shut up!” Mistress Daisy snapped. “Shut up! Shut up!”
“Why?” Charlie’s round, rabbit eyes were filled with pity. “You know the pain. You have gone through it. Have the years made you forget everything, justified in inflicting the same hurt on those innocent girls?”
“What do you know!” Mistress Daisy’s chest heaved violently. “Family and friendship are the falsest things. Before you truly despair, God will take back everything that protected you, leaving you helpless except for your own efforts. My father worked from sunrise to sunset yet couldn’t earn enough for a cup of the master’s wine; my mother never wore a whole dress without patches from birth to death—but I didn’t complain! I didn’t! Even so, God took them away when I didn’t yet understand death, and I was traded like livestock. Where were you then to administer justice as you do today? You’re right, I also lived in the rooms downstairs and worked like a slave to please those who had the power to hurt me, just so I wouldn’t die miserably in a castle corner. I did well, earned the master’s trust, but then the old hag who controlled everything suddenly self-destructed, leaving everything to me, which I deserved.”
She paused to catch her breath.
“Why don’t you leave?” Charlie said, lowering his tired arms to his sides. “The one controlling you is dead. You’re free now.”
Mistress Daisy laughed ominously. “Because no one can leave. Do you really think that by defeating me and killing me, those people could go home and continue living as if nothing happened? Don’t be foolish. This book, like this castle, belonged to that old hag. [If you record a name, you can reach the garden, if you eat the food, you gain eternal life. If everything is destroyed, all will turn to ashes.] That’s the first line she wrote in this book, which I have strictly followed.”
“‘She’ was the former owner of the castle?” Charlie couldn’t help asking, “Who is she?”
“You can ask her yourself,” Mistress Daisy said maliciously. She carefully clutched the large book in one hand and reached out with the other, then suddenly pulled back the heavy velvet curtain.
A stale, foul smell wafted out from behind the curtain, but more terrifying than that, behind the curtain, was a view of a snow-white plaster wall. Embedded in the center of the wall was a half-bodied woman, as gaunt as decayed wood, with eyeballs bulging from their sockets. As if shocked by the sudden light, her features tightened and contorted.
The author has something to say:
Did anyone notice that even the antagonist’s name is that of a flower?
Kinky Thoughts:
Given the names introduced in the castle:
Alice – can refer to multiple types of flowers. My guess is the author is referring to aliciella caespitosa, which also appears in Alice in Wonderland. I drew this conclusion given how Charlie is a rabbit-head.
Daphne most likely refers to daphne odora, which happens to be native to China.
Lily and Daisy are self-explanatory.
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