Chapter 70

70

Adelaine clapped her hands and smiled widely.

“There is one good thing, though!”

“……”

To be honest, she seemed like a madwoman.

She really did seem like one.

“People who manage to go down there and come back up are said to gain a new destiny.”

“……A new destiny?”

“Yes, for example, someone who had very bad luck might be born with very good luck, or a beggar might gain the destiny to become a king, something like that.”

“……”

“What do you think? Don’t you think this is a golden opportunity to change your life, which is like a sewer? Either disappear into the depths and never come back, or crawl out with your own strength and change your destiny. Do your best, Lily Everett.”

Adelaine tapped my cheek with the tip of her fan, smiled, and stepped back.

The black-clad people who seemed to be Adelaine’s attendants dragged me towards the pit.

Up close, the pit looked even deeper and more dangerous. ……Really, if you get trapped down there, you might never be able to escape.

“Then, one, two, three… No, just throw her in now.”

As soon as Adelaine finished speaking, I began to plummet into the pit below.

* * *

Pitch-black darkness enveloped me. It was a deep darkness that seemed impossible to illuminate.

As I fell endlessly, I felt my body sink deep into the water.

I didn’t know how to swim. I had read about it in books, but I had never practiced. Besides, I was afraid of water. Because Hessen had once drowned me, whenever I found myself in deep water like this, my whole body would stiffen and I would feel suffocated.

So I had no idea how I managed to swim out.

……I thought I would drown, but when I came to my senses, I had already reached the shore. I had swum here without dying.

“……”

I felt a strange sensation. For the first time, I realized that my desire to survive was much stronger than I had thought.

I shakily got up, my body drenched. My body felt as heavy as a thousand pounds due to all the things I had experienced. It felt like I could die at any moment.

Still, I was alive.

I had lived without knowing what it meant to cling to life, or even if I had such a thing. But now, facing death, a strong desire to live suddenly arose.

……I couldn’t die like this. If I died trapped in such a place, Charlotte would be very sad. My unfortunate death would make Charlotte unhappy too.

I didn’t want to be the kind of person who would make Charlotte’s heart ache whenever she thought of me.

I wanted to be someone who, when she thought of me, could smile sadly but comfortably.

‘……So.’

I can’t die in a place like this. I don’t care about the superstition that you can change your destiny. I just want to get out of this deep pit.

I want to get out, meet Charlotte again, and then……

“……”

I wanted to understand the strange emotion that had appeared in Theodore’s eyes just before I lost consciousness. ……Maybe it was just my imagination. Maybe he was just angry.

But I wanted a proper chance to understand. Even though I had been running away from him, being in this situation made me feel this way.

Perhaps death makes us brave.

‘……Let’s look for an exit first. The position I’m in now…… seems to be the bottom floor.’

I was looking around to see if there was a way to go up to the upper floors.

Huh…… Huh…… Save me……

I heard a sobbing sound from somewhere.

A chill ran down my spine. I stood still, frozen in place. Adelaine’s words echoed in my mind.

‘So…… it’s said that in the depths of this pit, only the spirits of those eternally imprisoned wander.’

She said there were spirits.

……I don’t know if it’s true. It’s probably just to scare me.

Save me…… Huh……

The sobbing continued. I tried to relax but remained on guard. ……It’s okay, stay calm. If I get distracted by this sound and can’t find the exit, it will really be the end. I need to stay focused.

Mom……!

“……”

As I focused on the direction of the sound, I paused. ……Upon listening closely, the sound seemed like…… the cry of a child.

‘……A child was trapped here?’

No, if it’s not a spirit…… it means a living child. But what kind of mad person would lock a child in such a place? That would be an unforgivable act.

But since there are people like Kazef Everett in the world…… it’s not entirely impossible.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. Then, I started taking slow steps in the direction of the sound.

Huh……!

The child was crying very pitifully. At first, the sound scared me, but now it seemed a bit pitiful. Still, I didn’t completely let my guard down……

I continued to approach. Finally, I discovered a small light in the darkness.

“……?”

The pale, sunlit color of the light was very small, like a candle.

Still, it faintly illuminated the surrounding darkness.

And the sobbing sound was coming from this small light. ……So, this isn’t an ordinary light…… it’s the spirit of a dead person.

‘……So, spirits really do exist.’

Of course, there are also exorcists in this world.

But the credibility of the claims of people in that profession is questionable.

I, like others, had always dismissed the existence of spirits and exorcists as superstitions. I thought there couldn’t be such things as spirits…… but now, a real spirit was right in front of me.

Huh……!

Moreover, it was crying very pitifully.

“……”

……Now that I think about it, since there are spirits, it makes sense that there could be ghosts. Of course, there’s a big difference between spirits and ghosts. But don’t they both essentially involve the soul?

Wah……!

I don’t know if it was just my feeling, but the ghost seemed to cry even louder when I appeared, as if it wanted me to comfort it.

I hesitated for a moment, then gently patted the small light. I couldn’t actually touch it, but I could pretend.

“……It’s okay, dear. Don’t cry.”

……

Even though it was just a light, I felt its gaze. ……But strangely, I wasn’t scared anymore. Maybe it was because I knew the mysterious ghost was just this small light?

Perhaps it was because this small light, like a candle, was illuminating the darkness around me.

I continued to pat the light and asked carefully.

“Hey…… who are you? Why are you crying here? Do you know how to get out of here?”

……

The small light was silent for a moment, then answered in a surprisingly cute child’s voice.

I’m trapped here…… my parents left me here.

“……Why?”

Because I’m a cursed child…… Huh……!

The small light started crying again. I had to comfort this pitiful ghost for a while.

After a while, the small light, now calmed down, asked.

Do you want to get out of here?

From the way it called me “sister,” it seemed to be a girl. I nodded and replied.

“Of course, I want to get out. Is there a way to get out?”

……There is. But it’s a very scary method.

“……A very scary method?”

Yes. You have to wake up a very, very scary existence.

“What kind of existence? Is it somewhere in this pit?”

The small light, now completely stopped crying, floated around me and then snuggled into my arms.

The sudden embrace…… or whatever it was, made me a bit flustered, but I gently wrapped my hands around the small light and asked again.

“Did you try to wake up that existence?”

Yes…… But, I was a monster’s child, so ‘it’ rejected me.

‘……A monster’s child?’

For a moment, I didn’t understand what it meant, but then I remembered something I read in a book long ago.

In other words, this child was born with the potential to become a wizard…… or rather, was.

But in ancient times, such people were called ‘monster’s children’ and were shunned, which is why the parents of this small light abandoned the child in the pit.

“……”

When I learned why the small light was abandoned in the pit, I felt even more pity. So, I hugged the small light even more tenderly than before.

Do you want to wake up that existence to get out of here?

“……”

Even if it’s very scary and dangerous?

“Yes, I want to.”

I answered sincerely. The small light seemed to sigh softly and then started to sway like a dandelion in my arms.

Alright. I like you, so I’ll tell you specially. Let’s go! Follow me carefully.

The small light started leading the way slowly. It swayed like a small candle, as if it might go out at any moment, but it clearly illuminated the path I needed to take in this darkness.