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“Kellir has poor eyesight and distinguishes people by scent. So, while you’re wearing the Countess’s clothes it’ll be fine, but if other clothing is mixed in he’ll notice right away.”
“I see.”
Life or shame.
The decision didn’t take long.
“…Could you step out for a moment?“
“By all means.”
Serenity, having no choice, hastily put on a slip.
She untied her hair and roughly covered herself; it was passable. She wouldn’t be able to walk around for long, though.
“It’s ready now.”
“…Oh.“
Blake, having returned, skimmed Serenity over, then closed his mouth.
“I don’t know where to look.”
“Aren’t you looking too directly for something like that?”
“Was I?”
Serenity felt her neck grow hot.
‘I feel like I saw something similar in a dream.’
She forced herself to shake off the dream scene that was faintly coming to mind.
Unable to bring herself to look at his face, her gaze wandered, and something lightly fell over her shoulder. It was Blake’s jacket.
“Return it upstairs.”
“…Yes.“
Serenity deliberately took the stairs where no one was, and headed upstairs.
“We have to find the Mirror Room, right?”
“I don’t know if you knew this, but the rooms on the fifth floor change positions periodically. So, except for the Countess, you can’t know exactly which room is where. Even the Count probably doesn’t know which is which.”
“A manor troublesome in many ways.”
“Someone who knows this manor better than I do.”
“It’s my first time on the fifth floor too.”
“…So there are places Your Grace doesn’t know either.“
“Indeed. There are still many things I don’t know.”
The man answered with a strange expression.
‘What kind of expression is that now?’
Is it regret?
Serenity entertained the question but quickly shook it off. More important was that the place they were about to go was a space this man didn’t know either.
Her shoulders trembled.
It was the moment the two stepped onto the fifth floor after passing the eerily quiet stairs.
Grrr*.*
A low howl came from the entrance of the east wing.
Serenity quickly took off the jacket and handed it to Blake, then stood in front of him.
“Stand behind me for a moment.”
“Are you going to guard me dressed like that?”
In a tone she couldn’t tell was admiration or mockery, Serenity shot him a sidelong glare and clamped her mouth shut. It was remarkable he could remain calm after hearing that chilling howl.
A little farther off, facing them, was a beast-shaped monster that, even hunched, reached the corridor ceiling with its head.
A monster with the face of a giant wolf, a lion’s mane, sharp claws and a snake’s tail. A thick liquid, whether spit or blood, dripped from its mouth. The floor soaked with the liquid sizzled and gave off faint smoke.
‘There are only about three minutes at most to make it mistake me for the Countess…’
Kellir is clever. It doesn’t take long to notice a mixed scent. If they delay, Kellir will surely detect the body scent hidden beneath the clothes.
Serenity, tense, stretched out her arm and cautiously approached Kellir.
Grrrr.
Kellir lowered its head, its red eyes shining.
‘Got it!’
For the moment, she had succeeded in causing the mistake. Seeing the three pairs of red eyes roll about, it seemed still confused, but there was a second method. Serenity threw the prepared meat at Kellir. As the blood-soaked meat spilled at its feet, its eyes gleamed.
Crunch, gnash, crunch.
The unpleasant sound of bones being chewed whole echoed through the corridor.
‘If we picked the wrong path, we’d literally be torn to bones.’
She swallowed dryly.
“We have to pass while it’s eating the meat. Try not to bump into it if possible.”
Serenity said, pointing to a small gap.
“Shall I carry you?”
Blake said after seeing Serenity’s outfit. The Countess was about two spans taller than Serenity, so the nightgown dragged along the floor. It looked difficult to walk through that gap wearing it.
“Would you do that for me?”
“Anytime.”
Blake scooped Serenity up with one arm. At the touch felt through the thin fabric, Serenity involuntarily drew a shallow breath.
‘What are you worrying about in a situation like this?’
Serenity shook her head and threw all the remaining meat toward Kellir.
Crunch, crunch.
While Kellir was distracted chewing the meat, Blake sped past it and entered the corridor. When Serenity looked at the corridor that unfolded before her, her expression turned dizzy.
“We must hurry.”
Even at a glance there were more rooms than she had expected. Twenty, no, maybe thirty? Serenity quietly sighed at how many rooms there could be in a corridor used only by the Countess.
“The far end will be the bedroom. So exclude that and split the two corridors to search. I’ll take the left.”
About two minutes left now.
I hope we can find it within time.
“Give it a try.”
Blake set Serenity down and ran off quickly. Serenity also roughly tied up her nightgown and began flinging open the nearest doors.
In the first room she opened, dead flowers hung upside down from the ceiling.
‘Not here.’
1 minute 30 seconds.
In the next room, jewels were piled up.
‘Not here either.’
And the same went for the rest: rooms filled with stuffed animals, rooms packed with blades from floor to ceiling, rooms lined with countless mysterious glass bottles…
She’d searched more than half, but there was no sign of the Mirror Room.
40 seconds.
With an anxious face, Serenity looked back toward where Kellir was. It was gnawing on a massive remaining bone and burying its nose in the carpet, sniffing.
‘Not much time left. It’s smelling the mixed scent.’
This time, opening the tenth door, she glanced toward where Blake was. In the blink of an eye he had reached the end of the corridor. Opening and closing the last door, Blake shook his head.
“It’s not here.”
20 seconds.
“Please finish checking the left doors!”
It was then.
Grrr, Raaaar!
Kellir, which had been slinking closer following the scent on the floor, twisted its body this way and that. Then it fixed its gaze directly on where Serenity stood.
’…Already?’
Serenity took a shaky breath.
Kellir’s red eyes glittered and shone.
‘Four doors left…’
The distance to Kellir was far too close to check all four. Before she could open them, her head would surely be torn off. As Serenity stepped back, a dark shadow leapt into view before her.
“Miss, hurry.”
Blake drew his sword and blocked the charging Kellir with terrifying force.
Grrrk!
Clang!
The sharp clash of Kellir’s teeth and metal rang out. Blake was confronting the monster with a deliberately unsharpened blade.
“Hold on a little, Your Grace!”
Please, I hope luck is on our side.
Torn between the four remaining doors, Serenity bit her lip and violently flung open the central door. What met her eyes was her image split into dozens, thousands of fragments.
It was the Mirror Room.
“Found it!”
Serenity cried out urgently.
“Your Grace, this way!”
Kaaang!
“Ugh.”
At that moment, the Duke was shoved back by a forepaw Kellir swung. Flesh flew from his arm and black blood sprayed like a fountain. He grimaced and asked.
“Did you find it?”
“Hurry, come here!”
“Go in first.”
“But Your Grace…!”
“I’ll follow, so go quickly.”
Blake, clutching his wounded arm, swung his sword hard. Clang! Struck squarely by the unsharpened blade, Kellir couldn’t take the recoil and was flung backward.
Blake didn’t miss the chance and quickly turned and ran. Kellir, shaking its head, began to pursue at terrifying speed.
“Your Grace, hurry!”
Grrr!
Holding the door half-open, Serenity reached out, grabbed the approaching Blake and pulled him in. Then bang! The door shut.
“Hah, gasp, hah.”
She had almost really died.
Thud! Boom!
Outside, Kellir slammed its body against the door, and it shook violently. For a moment, then with a growling resonance, the sound of retreating footsteps was heard.
Serenity, who had been holding her breath the whole time, finally slumped down against the door.
“Hah…”
“Are you alright?”
“That’s my line. Are you alright?”
Serenity suddenly lifted her head and looked at Blake. Through his tattered jacket she could see dark red blood dripping. It was too dark to be human blood, yet subtly reddish rather than pure black.
“Your arm, it’s, it’s very, very deeply wounded…”
“I’m fine, it’s not fatal. More importantly…”
Blake raised his head.
“You’d better stay on edge. It seems a lot more brutal than you thought.”
Serenity followed Blake and lifted her head.
Then she held her breath. In the mirrors filling from floor to ceiling, hundreds of reflections, eyes wide, were watching the two of them.
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