Count Bloset's house was dark day and night.
The lights were never turned on except when the Count occasionally invited people over to drink and gamble for days on end.
Therefore, not only the servants in the house, but even people like the head butler who was in charge of the household affairs had long been accustomed to the dark and gloomy atmosphere. It was not a surprising sight to the servants of the Count Bloset family to see strangers secretly entering and exiting the dark mansion, where they could not even see clearly when the sun went down.
The stars that had been hanging precariously on the edge of the horizon disappeared one by one. It was still too early for the sun to rise, but it was also too late to call it night. Margit woke up and noticed that her husband's bed was empty.
It wasn't strange. If anything, it would have been stranger if she had opened her eyes and seen Count Blosset sleeping soundly in the bed opposite her.
She stopped picking up the candlestick and went out into the dark hallway. The long hallway of the Count's house had a strange structure that was hard to find in other mansions. It seemed to go on forever, but then suddenly turned in an incomprehensible direction, and the path went up or down again.
Margit didn't like this irregular and unruly mansion from the beginning. It seemed to make people feel uneasy and nervous for some reason. Maybe it was because it reminded her of her husband, Count Blosset.
Margit was looking down the stairs leading to the basement, where old dust had accumulated when she saw a ray of light shining through the railing on the other side.
Count Blosset's study, although it was called a study, was a place where you could see bottles of liquor rolling around on the floor more often than books. Margit walked carefully, pushing up the overcoat that was about to fall down her shoulders. For some reason, she felt the area around her calves stiffen with tension.
The door was open, barely wide enough to fit a fingertip. Margit stepped closer, holding her breath like a thief, to peer inside, unable to see clearly.
The not-so-bright light spread out, and beyond her vision, which became even more blurry, she could see someone's back. His shaggy hair fell down to his shoulders and the jacket he was wearing looked old at first glance. For a moment, she thought he had a small physique because he was hunched over, but when she saw him straighten his back and tilt his head back and forth, she saw that he was quite large.
As the man stretched out his arms and yawned, Count Bloset appeared beyond him, sitting at his desk. Margit squinted and listened.
There was a rustling, rattling sound. It was the sound of Count Bloset placing a bottle of wine on the table. The two seemed to be talking about something, but the sound was so low that it was hard to hear clearly.
The arrogant Count Bloset would quickly start shouting at anyone he was talking to if his temper was even slightly distorted. However, he never raised his voice in front of a man.
"...Summer solstice. If so...”
“The problem is... but...”
The man's voice became lower as he leaned towards Count Bloset. Margit, now standing outside the door, could barely hear their voices. Just as she gave up and was about to step away from her door, the man sitting in the chair stood up. Count Bloset handed him a black package.
It was obvious what was inside the package without even looking. It was probably money, jewels, or something like that. Count Bloset had invited strangers into his house many times before. Unlike the rascally nobles he hung out with, these people gave off a dangerous impression that she could be harmed just by looking at them.
Only later did Margit learn that they were some sort of errand boys or mercenaries, working on the orders of Count Bloset.
The Count handled most of his illegal work, especially those he carried out at the behest of Queen Gilsis, in this way: he paid off those who were unlikely to cause trouble, passed the responsibility on to them, and then received more bribes and money from the Queen than he had given them.
Just as Margit hid herself in a corner of the hallway, the door opened and a man came out. Dressed in old clothes, he carried the package he had received from the Count in his arms and leisurely left the mansion as if he didn’t need anyone to see him off.
Margit could not move from where she was standing until the unfamiliar sound of shoes on the silent floor and the sound of the kitchen shutter opening and closing continued to disappear. But after it became quiet, she was afraid of the darkness behind her. It seemed like something like a bloody hand was sticking out from an unseen place.
“Uh, uh... Hey, honey.”
Margit opened the study door, trying to suppress her trembling voice. Count Bloset, who had just opened a glass of wine and was downing the entire bottle, glared at her with a face that was already swollen. Margit immediately flinched at his gaze.
"What?"
“Who is that guy who just left here?”
"What? What are you going to do with that?”
His attitude was so overbearing that no ordinary person could bear it. Every time she met her husband, Margit felt like he was a bug full of lice and fleas. Although she was humiliated, she did not dare to resist or run away. In that respect, her daughter Flavia could be said to resemble her mother.
“Honey, the Queen... hasn’t ordered you to do something dangerous, has she?”
Margit remembered the day Count Bloset last came to see the Queen. Her husband, who had not yet recovered from the alcohol he had drunk the day before, fearlessly showed off his drunkenness in front of the Queen, had a vivid feeling of her stomach sinking and turning over.
However, she did not know what conversation the Queen and Count Bloset had afterward. This is because Queen Gilsis bit people and forced Margit to go out as well.
Some people gossiped about Margit, saying that she was like a dog on a leash to the Queen. After Helen died, she served Queen Gilsis faithfully. If the Queen told her to die, she would pretend to die, and if she told her to bark like a dog, she would bark.
However, Margit distrusted Queen Gilsis. Although it was Margit herself who recommended her husband as the Queen's errand boy, she always thought that she had to find a place to escape to when the critical moment came. The problem was Count Bloset, who refused to listen to Margit's concerns.
“There is only one thing she wants me to do. It's all about money, money! No one in this family wants to earn a penny for me, so I have no choice but to earn it myself.”
When he slammed the desk, the already empty liquor bottles tumbled down. Fortunately, there was a carpet on the floor, so the bottle didn't break. Even though she was so scared that she couldn't even breathe properly, Margit thought that she should have the maids wash the rug in the study tomorrow. The stains here and there were very annoying.
After that, she suddenly felt a sense of injustice, as if her heart was being cut out. Count Bloset waved his hand back and forth as if mocking Margit and emptied the bottle one after another.
“Dangerous? Huh, where is there such a thing as dangerous? Where is there such a thing as not dangerous? It’s because the mistress of the Count’s house is so stupid that the family is in such a state. Still, you should be glad that you married me. Do you understand?”
It was something he would repeat like a parrot every time he got drunk. The fact that he could say something like that meant he wasn't feeling so bad. Margit nodded obediently. She had long been used to submission, so it wasn't that hard. In fact, she even thought it was fortunate that he seemed to be feeling okay.
“If this goes well, I can straighten out my daughter’s ugly life like freshly woven silk. When you become a princess, you have to do something right. Mother or child...”
“...”
“It’s not hard to get rid of a young girl. It’s not hard. If a country bumpkin, a foreigner, is the Crown Princess, the country will be in disarray. Hmph! Unless His Majesty becomes senile.”
The bloodshot eyes of Count Bloset shook his shoulders. Every time he hiccupped, his shabby body shook unsightly. Despite feeling deeply disillusioned by the sight, Margit could not just ignore what she had just heard.
“Honey, that story just now...”
Margit was not quick at thinking. However, she was several times more sensitive than other people to things that might be advantageous to her or things that criticized her. It was obvious without even asking who the 'young girl' her husband was muttering to himself. It was clear that it was about Judith.
Count Bloset rolled his eyes, not even paying attention to the alcohol dripping from his lips.
“Just wait until they come out. Catching them is no harder than catching chicks.”
“Honey, about that... Now, can you elaborate? To me... to me... I have an idea...”
Margit twitched her fingertips and hesitantly approached. Then the Count suddenly raised his hand as if he were going to throw the bottle away.
"Ah!"
A scream burst from Margit’s mouth in surprise. But the bottle didn't fly. Instead of the sound of the glass breaking, all that reached her ears was the sound of her husband's laughter, cackling insidiously and viciously.
“If you talk cocky, that’s what happens. You know that?”
“That, that’s not it. I really... really have an idea. A, a way to... get the Crown Princess... to come out.”
There was no answer. Are you not going to listen?
The lights were never turned on except when the Count occasionally invited people over to drink and gamble for days on end.
Therefore, not only the servants in the house, but even people like the head butler who was in charge of the household affairs had long been accustomed to the dark and gloomy atmosphere. It was not a surprising sight to the servants of the Count Bloset family to see strangers secretly entering and exiting the dark mansion, where they could not even see clearly when the sun went down.
The stars that had been hanging precariously on the edge of the horizon disappeared one by one. It was still too early for the sun to rise, but it was also too late to call it night. Margit woke up and noticed that her husband's bed was empty.
It wasn't strange. If anything, it would have been stranger if she had opened her eyes and seen Count Blosset sleeping soundly in the bed opposite her.
She stopped picking up the candlestick and went out into the dark hallway. The long hallway of the Count's house had a strange structure that was hard to find in other mansions. It seemed to go on forever, but then suddenly turned in an incomprehensible direction, and the path went up or down again.
Margit didn't like this irregular and unruly mansion from the beginning. It seemed to make people feel uneasy and nervous for some reason. Maybe it was because it reminded her of her husband, Count Blosset.
Margit was looking down the stairs leading to the basement, where old dust had accumulated when she saw a ray of light shining through the railing on the other side.
Count Blosset's study, although it was called a study, was a place where you could see bottles of liquor rolling around on the floor more often than books. Margit walked carefully, pushing up the overcoat that was about to fall down her shoulders. For some reason, she felt the area around her calves stiffen with tension.
The door was open, barely wide enough to fit a fingertip. Margit stepped closer, holding her breath like a thief, to peer inside, unable to see clearly.
The not-so-bright light spread out, and beyond her vision, which became even more blurry, she could see someone's back. His shaggy hair fell down to his shoulders and the jacket he was wearing looked old at first glance. For a moment, she thought he had a small physique because he was hunched over, but when she saw him straighten his back and tilt his head back and forth, she saw that he was quite large.
As the man stretched out his arms and yawned, Count Bloset appeared beyond him, sitting at his desk. Margit squinted and listened.
There was a rustling, rattling sound. It was the sound of Count Bloset placing a bottle of wine on the table. The two seemed to be talking about something, but the sound was so low that it was hard to hear clearly.
The arrogant Count Bloset would quickly start shouting at anyone he was talking to if his temper was even slightly distorted. However, he never raised his voice in front of a man.
"...Summer solstice. If so...”
“The problem is... but...”
The man's voice became lower as he leaned towards Count Bloset. Margit, now standing outside the door, could barely hear their voices. Just as she gave up and was about to step away from her door, the man sitting in the chair stood up. Count Bloset handed him a black package.
It was obvious what was inside the package without even looking. It was probably money, jewels, or something like that. Count Bloset had invited strangers into his house many times before. Unlike the rascally nobles he hung out with, these people gave off a dangerous impression that she could be harmed just by looking at them.
Only later did Margit learn that they were some sort of errand boys or mercenaries, working on the orders of Count Bloset.
The Count handled most of his illegal work, especially those he carried out at the behest of Queen Gilsis, in this way: he paid off those who were unlikely to cause trouble, passed the responsibility on to them, and then received more bribes and money from the Queen than he had given them.
Just as Margit hid herself in a corner of the hallway, the door opened and a man came out. Dressed in old clothes, he carried the package he had received from the Count in his arms and leisurely left the mansion as if he didn’t need anyone to see him off.
Margit could not move from where she was standing until the unfamiliar sound of shoes on the silent floor and the sound of the kitchen shutter opening and closing continued to disappear. But after it became quiet, she was afraid of the darkness behind her. It seemed like something like a bloody hand was sticking out from an unseen place.
“Uh, uh... Hey, honey.”
Margit opened the study door, trying to suppress her trembling voice. Count Bloset, who had just opened a glass of wine and was downing the entire bottle, glared at her with a face that was already swollen. Margit immediately flinched at his gaze.
"What?"
“Who is that guy who just left here?”
"What? What are you going to do with that?”
His attitude was so overbearing that no ordinary person could bear it. Every time she met her husband, Margit felt like he was a bug full of lice and fleas. Although she was humiliated, she did not dare to resist or run away. In that respect, her daughter Flavia could be said to resemble her mother.
“Honey, the Queen... hasn’t ordered you to do something dangerous, has she?”
Margit remembered the day Count Bloset last came to see the Queen. Her husband, who had not yet recovered from the alcohol he had drunk the day before, fearlessly showed off his drunkenness in front of the Queen, had a vivid feeling of her stomach sinking and turning over.
However, she did not know what conversation the Queen and Count Bloset had afterward. This is because Queen Gilsis bit people and forced Margit to go out as well.
Some people gossiped about Margit, saying that she was like a dog on a leash to the Queen. After Helen died, she served Queen Gilsis faithfully. If the Queen told her to die, she would pretend to die, and if she told her to bark like a dog, she would bark.
However, Margit distrusted Queen Gilsis. Although it was Margit herself who recommended her husband as the Queen's errand boy, she always thought that she had to find a place to escape to when the critical moment came. The problem was Count Bloset, who refused to listen to Margit's concerns.
“There is only one thing she wants me to do. It's all about money, money! No one in this family wants to earn a penny for me, so I have no choice but to earn it myself.”
When he slammed the desk, the already empty liquor bottles tumbled down. Fortunately, there was a carpet on the floor, so the bottle didn't break. Even though she was so scared that she couldn't even breathe properly, Margit thought that she should have the maids wash the rug in the study tomorrow. The stains here and there were very annoying.
After that, she suddenly felt a sense of injustice, as if her heart was being cut out. Count Bloset waved his hand back and forth as if mocking Margit and emptied the bottle one after another.
“Dangerous? Huh, where is there such a thing as dangerous? Where is there such a thing as not dangerous? It’s because the mistress of the Count’s house is so stupid that the family is in such a state. Still, you should be glad that you married me. Do you understand?”
It was something he would repeat like a parrot every time he got drunk. The fact that he could say something like that meant he wasn't feeling so bad. Margit nodded obediently. She had long been used to submission, so it wasn't that hard. In fact, she even thought it was fortunate that he seemed to be feeling okay.
“If this goes well, I can straighten out my daughter’s ugly life like freshly woven silk. When you become a princess, you have to do something right. Mother or child...”
“...”
“It’s not hard to get rid of a young girl. It’s not hard. If a country bumpkin, a foreigner, is the Crown Princess, the country will be in disarray. Hmph! Unless His Majesty becomes senile.”
The bloodshot eyes of Count Bloset shook his shoulders. Every time he hiccupped, his shabby body shook unsightly. Despite feeling deeply disillusioned by the sight, Margit could not just ignore what she had just heard.
“Honey, that story just now...”
Margit was not quick at thinking. However, she was several times more sensitive than other people to things that might be advantageous to her or things that criticized her. It was obvious without even asking who the 'young girl' her husband was muttering to himself. It was clear that it was about Judith.
Count Bloset rolled his eyes, not even paying attention to the alcohol dripping from his lips.
“Just wait until they come out. Catching them is no harder than catching chicks.”
“Honey, about that... Now, can you elaborate? To me... to me... I have an idea...”
Margit twitched her fingertips and hesitantly approached. Then the Count suddenly raised his hand as if he were going to throw the bottle away.
"Ah!"
A scream burst from Margit’s mouth in surprise. But the bottle didn't fly. Instead of the sound of the glass breaking, all that reached her ears was the sound of her husband's laughter, cackling insidiously and viciously.
“If you talk cocky, that’s what happens. You know that?”
“That, that’s not it. I really... really have an idea. A, a way to... get the Crown Princess... to come out.”
There was no answer. Are you not going to listen?
It was the moment when Margit sighed in despair. The Count violently threw the empty bottle all the way to the floor, burying his body deep into the back of the chair.
“There is a way to make the Crown Princess come out? What is it?”
Margit approached the desk cautiously. Her cheeks, which had become hollow over the years, twitched strangely with fear and sinister delight.
“There is a way to make the Crown Princess come out? What is it?”
Margit approached the desk cautiously. Her cheeks, which had become hollow over the years, twitched strangely with fear and sinister delight.
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