CH 7

“Master Clyde,” a young woman’s voice was heard, cutting through the harmonious atmosphere. Ashley turned her head to see a woman wearing an ankle-length velvet black robe standing by the entrance of the dining room. It had gold buttons at the neckline and gold line embellishments by the neck, chest, and along the hem of her long sleeves. The front part of the robe is fastened around her neck and the hood attached to it was pulled over, so she couldn’t see her face clearly. However, her figure is slender and beautiful.

‘That’s a magician’s robe. That must be one of the palace’s magicians.’

“Jeanne, what’s the matter?” Clyde asked, his voice tense with urgency. 

The magician called Jeanne approached without answering. As she passed by Ashley and glanced at her. When Ashley looked up from her chair, she saw Jeanne’s face hidden in her hood. She looked a little older than Ashley. She’s a beautiful woman with big slanted eyes and a clean face.

Jeanne swiftly glanced at Ashley’s body, then she stopped at her face and chuckled as if it was on purpose.

‘…!?’

For a moment, she felt as if she was struck by lightning. So this is what it feels to be dumbfounded. As she paled, Jeanne walked over to Clyde with a triumphant smile.

‘…what’s going on?’

Her heart was beating fast as she tightly squeezed the skirt of her dress, slightly trembling. She was shocked, but it was not because Jeanne laughed at her.

When Jeanne passed by, she noticed a scent from her robe. It was the same scent she smelled on the handkerchief that was on Clyde’s chest pocket at the palace. She finally remembered what that scent was.

‘Miasma!’

It was miasma that came from the demon kingdom. She was shocked since it has been six hundred years since she smelled that scent. Her mind rang like the clanging of bells.

‘Why? Why do they smell like miasma?’

There is one answer to it.

‘The stables…’

The red-roofed stables behind the grounds that she was told never to go near. Clyde and the magicians are the only ones inside. There’s demons in there? Is that why the royal court sent the magicians there?

Across the table Jeanne whispered something in Clyde’s ear. Clyde’s expression became sharper. The muddled Ashley was pale as she looked at them. Jeanne thought Ashley was shocked at the sight, so she took a step closer to him as if to show off. However, Ashley doesn’t seem to be aware of what’s happening.

‘The demon kingdom was supposedly destroyed…’

Her mind was torn in between disbelief and denial for it to be true and the hope that an old friend might be there.

“I’m sorry Ashley, but I have to excuse myself.” Clyde stood up. He and Jeanne were about to leave the dining room.

She hurriedly cried out, “Ah! You’re going to the stables at the back, right? What’s in there?”

Clyde stopped in his tracks. The look on his face when he turned was stern, unlike the friendly one he had earlier.

“I can’t tell you.”

“But that smell–!”

“Smell?”

Ashley hurriedly covered her mouth. She couldn’t say that she’s familiar with the smell of miasma. Clyde’s brows furrowed when he looked at Ashley.

“It is something from the royal family. That’s all I can say.”

“Master Clyde!” Jeanne looked at him, “How can you tell her that?”

‘It’s entrusted to you by the royal family?’ Ashley was confused. What did he mean? The royal family are descendants of the brave hero who defeated the demon kingdom, so why would demons…?

“As I said before, never go near the stables. It’s dangerous.” He said in a low voice, leaving the room with Jeanne.

“Master…We thought you both could finally have a meal together.”

“I’m sorry Miss Ashley.” The maids’ faces clouded. 

Ashley made up her mind. She doesn’t care if it’s dangerous. They might be one of her own old friends.

‘Let’s go there.’

The Sargent’s have two stables. The one that has a large scope of land houses dozens of horses, its second floor is used as the quarters of  stable master and stable maids’, who take turns taking care of the horses. Horses are a valuable asset, therefore they are treated with great care at every mansion.

The next morning, Ashley quietly slipped out of her bedroom. It was dawn. She brought a lit oil lamp made out of copper and glass, but it seemed unnecessary as she hurriedly went behind the property. She really wanted to go check on it right after dinner last night, but she couldn’t escape under the eyes of Rosalie and her maids. Besides, in the darkness, they wouldn’t easily be able to go to the stables. So she put up with it.

‘It’s here.’

She stood before the two-story stable that’s behind the property. Ashley gulped. Brown brick wall with a red roof and a chimney. It looked as magnificent as the mansion’s annex. There’s nothing particularly unusual about its exterior. Even though she was in front of the door, there was no smell of miasma. It was eerily quiet, no sound or voice was coming from the inside.

‘How unusual.’

On the way there, she saw the stables in the large pasture. Even from a distance, she could hear the whining horses.

‘Does that mean there’s a large barrier?’

She has no connection to magic in this life, she had a bit in her previous life though. Even the surrounding demons also had a generally high amount of magic power. She once saw an orc resembling a wild boar using barrier magic. He was trapping trolls that had stolen crops from the fields, however the area was much smaller than the stables. She could even hear the trolls roaring and knocking the ground within the barrier.

The stable should be no different. What is inside is sealed within a barrier. However, is the barrier too powerful that any sound in the huge stable could not leak outside? Perhaps it’s Jeanne’s and the other magician’s barrier? Ashley gasped in amazement.

‘But what should I do?’

She assumed that she’d hear sounds from inside and thicker miasma would flow around the air. She thought she could figure something out, but–

‘I don’t know anything.’

She was naive and a little shocked.

‘I wonder if Lord Clyde and the others are still inside.’

Before she went to bed last night Rosalie mentioned that Clyde had not yet returned. She reached out for the front door since she had come this far anyway. She felt guilty for breaking her promise to never go near, but she just had to check. She pushed the heavy studded front door. It was an arched double-swinging door, but it didn’t budge.

If it’s a barrier that confines things inside, then it should be able to access it from the outside.

‘Does that mean it’s locked from the inside?’

Ashley looked around the windows on the first floor and found that the windows have covers on them. She looked up on the second floor, and it was also closed shut. She went around to the back and tried pulling at the copper single back door, but it wouldn’t open. Impatiently, she tried to peek through the gaps on the door, hoping to get a glimpse inside, but it was impossible.

Her shoulders slumped. It was tightly sealed. Due to this, it raised her suspicion that there might really be demons inside. She wants to get a glimpse inside somehow.

‘Should I try using the knocker?’

If someone is inside, they’d open the door slightly. Even if they’d get angry, she’d be able to see what’s inside.

‘Alright.’

She reached and used the simple ring-shaped knocker.

“……”

There was no response. She struck it again several times with all her might.

“……”

""

There is still no response even after knocking with greater force. As she was about to call out, she felt a cold keen sensation behind her neck.

“…!”

“Don’t move.”