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Chapter : 09
At last, the horse began to move forward with vigorous energy.
Watching the carriage fade into the distance, I turned my attention back toward the open main gate of Stuccia Manor.
Perhaps it was the influence of the shadow, but now I could finally see the interior clearly.
As I silently observed the inside, the little monster wagged its tail lightly, as if inviting me to come in.
“A place where you can abandon anything. A living underworld…”
I mulled over that terrifying nickname and clenched the gloves Lisa had given me tightly in my hands.
Swish—
I took a deep breath of the cold air, so sharp it made my stomach tense, and stepped in firmly.
Good.
“Underworld, here I come!”
It seemed the shadow really did belong to this little monster. The interior beyond the main gate wasn’t as dark as when the doors had first opened.
Thanks to that, I could see the manor’s interior a little more comfortably. I had expected it—words like “hell” or “graveyard” came to mind—but…
“Hmm, it really doesn’t seem like a place humans could live in.”
Icicles whose origins were unknown,
walls covered in dry vines and moss as if no one maintained them,
half-collapsed crates that only caught falling snow, and shards of glass crunching underfoot as I walked.
It was a chilling scene, as if ghosts might appear at any moment.
“Well, ghosts aren’t scary. I’ve seen them a long time ago anyway.”
I could observe calmly because it was me—but if someone my age were here, they might have burst into tears.
“Still, judging by its scale, it doesn’t lose to Agnito Manor.”
Who would have expected it?
That after that incident, Stuccia would become a “pile of trash” in an instant…
It was then.
Swish…
A strange sound came from somewhere.
I flinched and looked up, but nothing was there—only a bare branch waving as if beckoning me.
“…….”
Swallowing nervously, I held the little monster closer.
“It’s, it’s nothing, really. I’m just cold. Not scared—just cold, okay?”
“Whine…”
It seemed to glare at me, unimpressed, but I hugged it tighter.
Then it happened. I heard the sound of movement again.
Swish… swish…
Something was being dragged. I braced myself as the shape approached, and then—
People in black masks appeared.
“Hurry! We need to get out of here before anyone notices!”
“Wait a minute! The stuff is too heavy!”
“You weakling! No wonder you’re still like that!”
The person called a weakling was holding a sack—the sound I’d heard earlier came from that.
“Ah, jeez, what the hell is this?”
The man at the front cursed, seemingly surprised to see me.
Ah. Thieves sneaking into Stuccia.
After that incident, Stuccia had become a place where anything could be discarded.
Whether dead or alive, or even non-living things, people sometimes used this rumor to leave valuables they wanted hidden. And opportunists like these thieves would steal from that… these seemed to be one of them.
“Damn it, and who’s this kid?”
The man dragging the sack scowled when he saw me.
“Get rid of it! Don’t want rumors spreading!”
“Wait just a second!”
The man at the front raised his hand.
“You know the story, right? The Duke of Stuccia is so promiscuous that there are countless children rumored to be his.”
“What does that have to do with this?”
“That one in your arms? That’s the gatekeeper monster of this manor. It must be closely connected to the Duke of Stuccia. And…”
The man grinned.
“No one’s ever ‘stolen’ a living thing from Stuccia, right?”
A chill ran down my spine, and I took a cautious step back.
“Don’t worry. I’ll take you somewhere better than this scary place.”
The man slowly approached with a sinister smile.
What should I do? Run?
But if I ran now… I wouldn’t meet the Duke of Stuccia.
At that moment…
“I… I’ll… take you—”
His words stretched unnaturally, like tape being pulled. Then, suddenly, he collapsed onto the snow.
“What… what’s going on?”
“Why’s he suddenly doing that?!”
His companions panicked, fumbling. But I saw it—
the black energy that had flickered before him just moments ago.
“Oh, dear.”
A strange voice finally spoke.
“After so long, it’s not going well.”
No—this voice was familiar. I had heard it once before.
A man draped in shadowy armor stood before me.
Instinctively, I knew.
The master of the living tomb.
The Duke of Stuccia, Pater Stuccia.
But unlike last time, his eyes were covered with black cloth.
“W-what is this…? I thought the Duke wouldn’t appear…!”
One of the thieves shouted in disbelief.
As if waiting for this, a black shadow sealed the thieves’ mouths.
Once they quieted, the Duke approached me.
He gave the collapsed man a kick with his foot.
“Hmph. I thought I’d locked the doors properly, but these guys keep getting in…”
His deep, drawn-out voice was both boring and irritating.
It was then that he pressed down gently on the back of the thief dragging the sack.
“Kid.”
He leaned forward slowly.
“I heard the person I assigned here suddenly disappeared. Do you know anything about that?”
“….”
“You see, with my eyes like this, I need an explanation.”
Tapping his covered eyes with a finger, his tone seemed casual, even gentle—but the atmosphere was so threatening that I swallowed hard.
Even with his eyes hidden, the man in black was staring straight at me.
No sword, no weapon, nothing threatening—but an invisible pressure pressed down on me.
I spoke calmly.
“…If the person you assigned is the gatekeeper monster, I’m taking care of it right now.”
“Why?”
“I opened the gate. I wanted to come into this manor.”
“Ah… and the reason?”
His neutral tone pressed me for my intentions.
What should I say?
Thoughts I had countless times on the way to Stuccia flashed through my mind.
But seeing the Duke, I understood.
’Half-hearted words won’t work.’
Then…
“Duke… sir—”
“Yes, mine.”
I spoke slowly, but firmly.
“-I want to become the Duke’s daughter!”
Suddenly, the area fell silent.
Even the thieves, mouths covered, widened their eyes in shock.
“This is an unexpected answer…”
Only the Duke of Stuccia raised a curious smirk.
“Why do you want to be my daughter?”
“Adults said it. That I’m unlucky and gloomy, so I must be the Duke’s daughter.”
It was true that I had been called unlucky and gloomy. I added a little seasoning to the last part.
Despite the implied criticism, the Duke didn’t mind and continued.
“And your mother? What does she do?”
“She passed away.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. And you don’t know who your father is?”
“No one knows my father! Not even my mother did!”
Also true. My mother never revealed who my father was before passing.
“Hmm…”
The Duke exhaled slowly. He probably found me suspicious—but still,
’This isn’t a proposal worth refusing.’
Before my regression, around this time, the temple and the royal court pressured Stuccia to choose a successor. They threatened to revoke his title if he didn’t fulfill his duties as a noble.
Naturally, people thought the Duke wouldn’t follow the royal decree.
But he opened the castle gates—and indeed, adopted a noble child as his heir.
Everyone hoped Stuccia would regain his former glory.
But that child soon disappeared from the manor, broken and unable to even move.
