Volume 2 - CH 6.3

Ambrose stood still for a while, stunned at what he had done. A group of petite, glassy-eyed youths surrounded the young assistant and berated him. He looked like Snow White surrounded by seven dwarfs. A moment later the youths dashed out into the hallway, leaving Ambrose, their leader, behind. One after another, they called Harminia’s name.

Sergius cursed and raised a quivering fist at Ambrose. “Foolish successor of mine. Go after her at once. And behead her. That is the only way I will pardon you.”

“I will never kill anyone, even under your orders,” Ambrose replied shakily.

“You don’t understand a thing. The woman you let escape will bring misfortune to the village. In fact, she’s already doing it. Go, now! And kill Harminia! All you have to do is follow my orders. Disobeying them is foolish. Keep that in mind.”

Ambrose hung his head low like he always did, but he no longer nodded weakly. Shaking his head, he quietly turned to leave the room.

Suddenly, shouts from the youths came from down the hallway.

Kazuya and Ambrose exchanged looks, and bolted out of the room.

Something red and thick, like the tongue of some large animal, was squirming toward them.

Fire.

The thick, blue velvet curtains hanging over the hallway windows burst into flames and fell to the floor, writhing like a creature in its final agonizing moments. The fire spread to the gray carpet, growing fiercer.

“Fire!” yelled one of the youths as they came scuttling back.

“Harminia started a fire!” another added.

Kazuya squinted. Beyond the swirling flames was a woman holding up a torch in one hand, standing still like a broken doll. Harminia. Her eyeballs were bulging, and her head, cocked at an angle, looked like it would fall off at any moment.

The group of young men ran toward the other end of the corridor.

“Out the back door! The fire hasn’t reached the back yet!”

Kazuya snapped back to his senses and ran back to the study. Hearing the young men’s screams, Mildred and Inspector Blois hurried out of the room. Kazuya weaved past them, found Victorique standing alone in the middle of the room, and pulled her by the hand.

“Victorique, there’s a fire! Hurry!”

Ambrose leapt in behind him. He rushed to Sergius and snatched the old man’s cane. He then carried the old man on his back and followed Kazuya and Victorique out the study.

The white smoke filling the hallways stung Kazuya’s eyes.

“Close your eyes!” he told Victorique, and ran, enduring the stinging sensation.

He glanced over to his side. Victorique was running as fast as she could with her eyes tightly closed. She was slow. Ambrose, who was carrying Sergius on his back, overtook her. Still, she ran straight without fear, despite only having Kazuya’s hand to guide her. Her grip on his hand tightened.

The two stumbled out the shabby back door. Coughing from the smoke, Kazuya looked up at the manor.

The manor was on fire. Crackling flames soared higher and higher into the dark sky. The manor that looked like a gigantic Gray wWolf when Kazuya first saw it remained motionless as flames engulfed it.

“Harminia!” Sergius snarled. He was kneeling on the hard dirt, his face reddish-black with rage, looking up at the night sky. There was an aura of deep resentment around him. Ambrose seemed to have left, leaving the old man alone. “Harminia! Killing Elder Theodore wasn’t enough for you, and now you’ve even set the village on fire!”

Victorique, her eyes now open, gasped. Kazuya followed her gaze and saw the Nameless Village in flames.

Everything—roofs, trees—was aflame. The blazing inferno dyed the stone walls an ominous red. Houses seemed as if they were wearing hats of fire, their straw-thatched roofs sputtering flames that rose into the night sky. The whole village looked like a giant, glittering chandelier, shimmering red.

Villagers gathered in the square, drawing water from the well and pouring it over the flames.

Ambrose was nowhere to be seen.

From the far end of the square came the shouts of young men. They were saying something. Soon, Ambrose appeared from the circle and came running toward Kazuya. His long, golden hair was loose, hanging down softly on his shoulders. When he spotted Kazuya, he yelled, “It’s Harminia!” His face was twisted in horror.

Kazuya and Victorique started running, through the square and down the cobblestone streets, weaving through the flames, until they reached the entrance to the village.

Ambrose’s trembling finger pointed to the drawbridge, the only path connecting the village to the outside world.

The drawbridge had been lowered.

Ambrose then directed their attention to the top of the stone turret, where the young men of the village kept a lookout, lowering the drawbridge when guests arrived.

While the rest of the village was ablaze, only the turret stood wrapped in jet-black darkness.

Someone was hiding at the top.

Dark blue, old-fashioned clothes. Golden hair in thin braids. Bulging, dark-green eyes.

It was Harminia. Slowly, she glanced down at the group. Her eyes opened wide.

She raised the blazing torch in her hand. Flames hissed. Harminia stood there, a spear on her other hand, looking like an ancient warrior.

A moment later, she laughed.

Her eyes were bulging, and her mouth looked as though it would split open. It was the first time Kazuya had ever seen her laugh.

Harminia crouched down, and the next instant, her body stretched to the point where it looked twice as long. In one graceful motion, she leapt off the turret toward them and landed on the ground. She watched the group. It was difficult to tell where her wide eyes were looking.

Kazuya moved in front of Victorique.

“You ruined everything,” Harminia growled, readying her spear.

Trembling, Kazuya shielded Victorique. Ambrose’s eyes darted between Harminia and the young boy.

Kazuya shot Harminia a glare. “No one ruined anything. Victorique was only clearing her mother’s name! Because of you, an innocent person was branded a criminal for twenty whole years.”

“She ruined everything for me,” Harminia repeated. She cocked her head and looked at Victorique with a smile, a smile that vanished in an instant, sucked into the void. “Daughter of Cordelia. You will stay there until you die!”

Kazuya gasped and covered Victorique from Harminia. But the maid did not attack.

She turned around and ran across the drawbridge. Her figure receded quickly into the distance. Kazuya could clearly see the soles of her shoes. Black leather shoes, black soles. An ominous color.

Realizing what she was about to do, Ambrose shouted, “Harminia, no!”

“Now you can’t follow me!”

“Harminia!”

After crossing the bridge, she turned back to the group, lowering her torch.

Villagers gathered around. Harminia alone was standing on the other side of the drawbridge. Villagers and their guests stood frozen in place.

“Harminia’s planning to burn the bridge!” Ambrose exclaimed.

Kazuya’s breath caught.

Harminia tossed the torch toward the middle of the bridge. The flames danced, and slowly started spreading.

Sergius arrived, supported by the villagers. Ambrose spun and was about to say something, but Sergius cut him off.

“Ambrose, your hair is untied.”

“What…?” Ambrose was stupefied.

“I always tell you to tie it up properly,” the old man said vexedly. “Now fix your hair.”

“But the bridge!”

“We don’t need it. All we need is this village. Going outside is unnecessary.”

Ambrose let out a groan. He no longer hung his head low like he always did when Sergius scolded him. He simply stared straight back at the village chief.

The bridge, just wide enough for one carriage, was about to burst into flames. The thick ropes at both sides were ablaze, and the bridge was beginning to bounce slightly up and down. The wooden planks were slowly turning black.

“Let’s go, Victorique!” Kazuya said. “We gotta get across!” He pulled on her hand.

Victorique glanced up at him, terrified. “But…”

“If the bridge falls, we won’t be able to get back!”

“But she’s waiting on the other side.”

“If you’re scared, just close your eyes. Understand?”

Without waiting for an answer, Kazuya started running. Victorique followed quietly behind. He looked over his shoulder and saw her squeezing her eyes shut, just as she had done earlier while running down the hallway of the manor. The adorable frown on her face gave Kazuya relief.

“Inspector!” he shouted behind him. “You too, Mildred!”

Both their faces were pale from fear.

Trembling, the guests raced across the burning bridge.