Chapter 9

Translator and Editor: Effe and Tea

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Chapter 9

Celine was weird.

Leonhard watched her with a worried look on his face.

Muttering incomprehensibly, Celine trembled like an aspen as they approached Bernoulli Castle.

If it was the usual situation, she would have asked him why he was staring at her like that. But Celina had not noticed Leonhard’s scrutiny at all.

He stopped asking why.

‘She must be scared.’

Come to think of it, first-time visitors sometimes were frightened by the appearance of the castle.

It was the place where he was born and raised, so he did not understand people who were afraid, but the new home might feel terrifying for Celine.

She should be terrified.

Leonhard placed his hand on Celine’s shoulder.

“It’s okay. Visitors are always surprised the first time. I can’t say that there are no dangerous places by your standards, but don’t worry, there will be an escort maid.”

As he spoke, the carriage passed through the gates.

Celine inhaled and held her breath. The towers woven together by the connecting passage fully revealed their majesty.

Her nose turned cold. She remembered a month and a half ago that felt like a distant past in her mind.

The hidden stage was full of cunning traps, and even with her good memory, she died multiple times in the same trap.

Nothing compares to the first stage, the damned mansion.

Celine wished that this moment in the carriage would last forever, but, of course, her wish didn’t come true.

The carriage arrived at the destination, and Leonhard disembarked first to help Celine, who was encased in her cloak, to get out.

‘Cold…… !’

She had been in a warm carriage, and as she left, her skin felt frozen. But as soon as the iron gates of the tower were opened, Celine fell into fear dreadful enough to forget the cold.

– Chunkyung!

In the game, it was the sound she heard when the hidden stage started. Celine followed the steps like a sheep being led to slaughter.

‘…… She is too scared.’

Leonhard looked down at Celine with a worried gaze. Celine was even more nervous than when she went into the forest to repel the boss demon.

‘Are you so worried about living here?’

The question had not been answered. Celine was confident whenever and wherever she was during the days he spent with her.

‘Ah.’

A plausible guess popped into Leonhard’s mind. He gently explained to Celine.

“It’s okay. I will explain it well, and you will be treated as a guest of our family.”

…… He got it completely wrong.

Celine couldn’t afford to tell Leonhard the truth. He knew that Celine saw the future in her dreams.

But what if she told him she dreamed that this place was a ghost castle?

Celine tried to calm her heart, which was beating with the force to jump out of her chest at any moment.

But as they went on, a familiar sight appeared before her. Stuffed stag head, rows of armor, unmelted ice decorations…….

Celine wrapped her arms around herself. She wanted to hold Leonhard’s hand, but she didn’t know what it meant to hold his hand in Bernoulli Castle.

‘Calm down, it was a ghost castle, and this place is full of living people. There are no ghosts!’

The ghost in the game was not a ghost in the sense that there were no people. Literally, it was a ghost castle where real ghosts appeared and tried to kill the main character.

“Are there no ghosts in this castle?”

“Ghosts?”

Leonhard frowned.

“Is it that scary? I’ve never heard of such a rumor.”

Celine was a little relieved. At least as far as Leonhard knows, this is not a haunted castle.

“Leonhard!”

A figure suddenly appeared in front of them with a bright squeal.

“You’re finally here!”

A red-haired girl in her late teens hugged Leonhard. A smile crept across Leonhard’s face.

“How are you, Natasha?”

“How can I be? Rather, this person…….”

“Right.”

Leonhard nodded to his sister, who seemed full of curiosity.

“This is Miss Celine Hunt. Celine, this is Natasha. My little sister.”

Natasha smiled brightly.

“It’s really nice to see you! You don’t know how long Leon has been looking for you!”

Celine couldn’t utter a single word of greeting. The whole world seemed to be spinning.

Red hair on fire, sapphire eyes resembling Leonhard, a beauty mark just below her eyes, a gorgeous butterfly decoration on her head, and a fluttering dress that did not suit the chilly castle.

There was no blood covering her body and no hole in her chest, but Celine could recognize the girl in front of her.

Natasha Bernoulli was the first ghost the protagonist encounters when entering the Hidden Stage.

“Celine?”

Leonhard’s voice barely registered in Celine’s mind.

“Oh, I’m, I’m sorry.”

“Oh, you have nothing to be afraid of!”

Rather than offended, Natasha looked amused.

“Leon, what did you say? She was very scared.”

A warm, soft hand, far from ghostly, grabbed Celine’s hand. Celine froze in place and pressed her lips together tightly.

“Don’t worry! This man has a special ability to scare! I don’t know what you heard, but we didn’t come to you with the intention of harming you.”

Celine inhaled slowly, relaxing herself.

“…… I know.”

“Wait, are you sick?”

Leonhard grabbed Celine’s hand from Natasha.

“Look at me!”

Celine looked up at Leonhard who eyed her seriously.

“It’s okay.”

“What’s the matter?”

Natasha took turns looking at each of them curiously. Leonhard answered briefly.

“Celine is weak in her body.”

“It looks like that. Shall I call Doctor Blanche?”

“Celine, would you like me to call the doctor?”

“No. It’s really okay.”

When Celine answered firmly, Leonhard did not press any further.

“Natasha, are Mother and Father all here?”

“Father went hunting.”

“Again……!”

Celine opened her eyes in surprise. Leonhard’s face reddened instantly, and his fists were clenched with the force to strike somewhere at any moment.

“I told him not to go out like that!”

Natasha shrugged her shoulders indifferently.

“He is not one to listen to us. He insisted on not knowing when Leon would return. How do I stop him? Besides, Father said he enjoys hunting monsters.”

“…… I get it. Then Mother?”

“She will be working.”

Leonhard nodded his head and began walking toward the gate. Celine was as close to him as possible.

“You’re close.”

Natasha had a teasing tone.

“It’s not like that.”

“It’s not like that!”

Natasha chuckled, and Leonhard sighed.

“I will explain soon. In front of my Mother.”

“Wow, are you serious enough to tell Mother?”

They arrived at an antique gate. Leonhard grabbed the wolf-head handle and opened the door.

Celine stopped breathing momentarily.

Her earlier fear upon meeting Natasha returned with vengeance. Celine did not even recognize Leonhard’s voice as he introduced her to the Grand Duchess.

Not because of the Grand Duchess sweeping over her with cold eyes, not because of the cliffs behind her, not because of the white roses filling the room.

It was because of the little boy who looked at them with a puzzled expression as he read at a little desk next to the Grand Duchess.

He had bright yellow eyes and Natasha’s red hair, and freckles were scattered all over his face.

It was the second ghost encountered by the player who entered the Hidden Stage.

“Come here.”

The cold voice penetrated Celine’s consciousness. She moved forward slowly.

At that moment, Leonhard blocked her way. The Grand Duchess raised her eyebrows.

“What?”

“Mother, I have something to explain.”

“…….”

The Grand Duchess stared intently at her eldest son.

“Celine dies easily.”

“What?”

‘That guy……!’

Celine was dumbfounded, and her mind went blank for a moment. She knew that Leonhard would often say something outrageous about her, but she didn’t know he would say something like that in such an important situation.

She strode beside Leonhard.

“I will explain! Even if I die, I don’t die. So, no matter how much I die, I come back to life!”

Celine tried not to be conscious of the little boy as he stared at her piercingly.

As Celine recalled, the kid stabbed the player with a dagger studded with goat horns.

“Are you immortal?”

“Yes. But it’s half. I die easily. And every time I feel the pain.”

The Grand Duchess seemed to have realized something about her.

“No way…… Leonhard.”

“I see her dying in my dreams. All night long!”

“And since I came back to life and died again, there was no end.”

A heavy silence settled in the room.

The Grand Duchess slowly opened her mouth.

“…… So, as long as Miss Hunt doesn’t die, Leonhard can get a good night’s sleep.”

Leonhard affirmed.

“Yes. It has already been verified.”

The Grand Duchess frowned.

“You still look tired, don’t you?”

“…….”

Natasha inhaled sharply.

“Miss Hunt died again! Even after meeting Leon!”

Celine nodded her head.

“I told you. She dies easily.”

Unlike Natasha, who looked very surprised, the Grand Duchess kept a cool expression throughout.

“Mother, we need a skilled escort maid. Someone who can stick around anytime, anywhere.”

“…… What should I do about this?”

The Grand Duchess looked a little troubled.

“Marchioness Maenhaben said she needed escort maids, so we sent all but three of Natasha’s and seven of mine.”

Leonhard began to panic. It was impossible to further reduce the number of escort maids of his mother and sister.

However, it did not uphold the prestige of the Grand Duchy to bring back the escort maid who had once been sent to Marchioness Maenhaben.

The Grand Duchess sighed.

“I will find out. But I need time to get the escort I sent to the Marchioness back or another family escort. Until then, you have no choice but to take the risk.”

“It’s not possible!”

Leonhard blurted hastily. The Grand Duchess looked surprised and blinked her eyes.

“……Leonhard?”

“She is a woman who drowns while taking a bath alone, and stumbles and dies while walking on a well-maintained road! You can never leave her alone!”

“…… It’s more serious than it looks.”

Natasha mumbled, then offered in a cheerful voice, as if she had a good idea.

“How about staying with me?”

“No.”

“Why!”

Natasha immediately protested against Leonhard’s resolute reply.

“Why? I thought you would want me to do it?”

“It’s not…… you’re clumsy too. I have to be able to trust it.”

“Don’t think that everyone in the world should be as flawless as Leon!”

The Grand Duchess raised her hand and restrained the quarreling siblings.

“I decided. Miss Hunt stays with Natasha until the escort comes.”

Natasha guided Celine to her own tower, humming with a triumphant face.

Leonhard tried to follow, but he was vehemently rejected by Natasha and forced to withdraw.

Celine gulped, trying to control her trembling.

“Are you so scared of me?”

Of course she failed.

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