I'm sorry. I think I'm going to have to hurt you.
I apologized inwardly and said to him.
"So please pretend you don't see me now, just like then. If Sir Aiden feels sorry for me."
"......I......"
"Sir Aiden won't get into trouble. I'll be right back. I promise."
"......"
Aiden couldn't say anything more.
He reached out his hand towards me, then dropped it limply.
"Thank you."
I gave my regards with apology and turned away.
And quickly crossed the hallway.
Soon the fire will be put out and it will be revealed that the fire was caused by a magical tool.
The building will be controlled for investigation, so I had to go back before that.
My legs, which were walking quickly, were already running.
I ran mindlessly.
I stopped in front of the passage leading to the basement and gasped for breath.
'Let's go.'
After swallowing hard, I stepped onto the stairs and went down to the basement.
I went down the spiraling staircase.
There were no windows or torches, but instead, glowing orbs floated around to illuminate the area, so there was no problem moving forward.
'How deep is it?'
No matter how much I went down, there was no end.
I think I've been going down for over 30 minutes already, but it seems like there's still a long way to go.
'If I meet Marin......'
While going down, I wondered what I should say when I met Marin.
No, before that.
'Can I even have a conversation?'
I heard from Ligrin that Marin had been severely tortured.
They wouldn't have cut out her tongue since they needed to find out who was behind her, but I wondered if I could have a proper conversation.
Soon that question spread to me. So......
'Do I really have to do this?'
It's true that I want to hear an answer from Marin.
It's not a big deal, but I felt like if I didn't get an answer, I would continue to feel stuffy in one corner of my heart, so I pushed myself to move.
But at this point, I started to doubt my choice.
If it's revealed that I started a fire, hurt Aiden, and secretly entered the underground prison, I might even lose the qualifications of a direct descendant that I worked so hard to obtain.
Is this action meaningful enough to bear all of that?
Is meeting Marin meaningful?
'Should I just go back from here?'
Every time I went down a step, conflict constantly washed over me.
Tap.
But when my feet finally reached the end of the stairs, I realized that this agony was meaningless.
Now that I've come this far, there's no longer an option to turn back.
I'll just keep moving forward.
I unfolded the blueprint I had kept close to my chest and entered the entrance to the maze.
'Right here.'
Following the map, I chose the right path at the fork.
'Left here.'
The map looked very complicated at a glance, but once I started walking and understanding the location, it wasn't as difficult to find the way as I thought.
However, soon my feet, which had been moving smoothly, stopped abruptly.
'Here......'
The blueprint clearly showed a path straight ahead, but in front of me was a dead end.
Was the blueprint wrong?
But there was no way the map would suddenly be wrong after coming this far.
Then......
I went forward and groped the wall.
I even stuck my hand deep into the gaps.
Then, tap.
One brick that stood out particularly caught my fingertip.
Instinctively, I pressed the brick firmly.
Then, the next moment.
Kuuuuung.......
The wall that had been blocking the way opened like a door.
"Wow."
I wondered if it was possible, but I didn't think it would actually work.
There's even a trick?
If I got stranded here, I would really just wander around the maze and die.
'I'm glad I brought the blueprint.'
I thanked the past Aen once again for telling me the location of the blueprint and went forward.
After passing through a few more traps, I finally reached the end.
When I opened the firmly closed iron door, a long corridor appeared.
Torches and glowing orbs were placed at regular intervals on the walls, and long bars were densely erected on the opposite side.
As soon as I entered, a fishy smell hit me.
The air was cold and damp.
If I were to express death with sensation, this is exactly what it would feel like.
Chilling and unpleasant.
I don't want to take even one step into that place.
"......"
Step.
But I boldly stepped in.
The long corridor was entirely used as a prison.
However, the iron bars were empty.
This is because there are few people in Rodbel who commit crimes serious enough to be imprisoned here, and it is inefficient because it is far from the main building.
I continued to move forward.
The torches and glowing orbs illuminated the surroundings, but somehow I felt like I was being sucked into an even deeper darkness.
'It reminds me of the Abyss.'
That place also felt like an endless abyss, just like here.
It was then.
Suddenly, a faint groan flowed from beyond the darkness.
"Hee...... Hee......"
"......"
I stopped for a moment, then moved forward again.
The sound was coming from the end of the corridor.
The closer I got to the end, the louder the groaning became.
"Heuk, heuk, eugh......"
It was a sound like a beast suffering in pain.
Finally, I reached the end of the corridor.
I turned around the iron bars as I was.
And I threw the glowing orb that I had taken off on the way here through the bars.
Roll, roll.......
The spherical glowing orb rolled inside as it was.
Thud - it stopped when it got caught on something.
I slowly raised my gaze.
There, a bloody woman was hanging chained up.
She was in such a terrible state that I wondered if that woman was really someone I knew.
'Miss, did you sleep well? Good morning!'
I couldn't find a trace of the bright appearance she had when she opened the curtains and windows every morning with a bright smile and greeted me.
"Marin."
I wondered if she was even conscious.
I quietly called Marin's name.
At that moment, Marin's shoulders twitched and she slowly lifted her eyelids.
Her eyelids were so swollen that her pupils were barely visible.
"Miss......?"
Even so, I could tell that she was shaken by seeing me.
Marin looked at me in disbelief and then let out a short, empty laugh.
"Now I'm even seeing hallucinations......"
It seems like she thought I was a hallucination.
Marin looked in my direction with a dazed gaze and then dropped her head with a thud.
I paused, wondering if I should try talking to her again.
That's because Marin was muttering something.
"......I'm sorry......"
"......"
"I'm sorry...... I...... Heuk......"
While considering me as a hallucination, Marin was sobbing and apologizing.
No, perhaps she was being more honest because she considered me a hallucination.
I quietly looked at Marin like that and slowly parted my lips.
"Marin."
"......Now I'm even hearing things......"
"It's not a hallucination."
"......!"
At that moment, Marin lifted her head sharply.
She looked at me with trembling eyes and carefully parted her lips.
"Are you really, really Miss......?"
"Yeah, it's me."
"How, how are you here......"
Marin repeated the word 'how' over and over again, as if she was so flustered by the fact that I was here.
"I have something to ask."
"......You came all the way here because you had something to ask......?"
Marin asked with a dumbfounded expression that went beyond absurdity.
"Are you telling me to believe that...... now?"
"It's true."
"......"
Marin just closed her mouth completely.
'She doesn't believe me.'
Well, I didn't plan to beg her to believe me either, so I just went straight to the point.
Something I had wanted to ask all along.
The question that made me come all the way here.
"Why didn't you kill me?"
"Wh, what are you talking about?"
"You received an order. To give me the scent pouch that attracts ogre only."
"......"
"But when I think about it, it's a little strange."
Ogre only kept chasing me.
That was definitely because of the smell coming from the pouch that Marin gave me, saying it was a talisman.
But if so, why did Ogre only keep chasing me one step behind?
When I hid in the cave by the lake, I even fell asleep.
'Ogre only is a monster sensitive to scents.'
It wouldn't have been strange if he had appeared while I was asleep.
But Ogre only couldn't find me during that time.
That was probably.
"Because the scent was weak, right?"
"......"
"You put in less than the prescribed amount, didn't you?"
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