Chapter 2
Our last days in the bell tower went on like that.
Perhaps it was because we were expecting to leave this place soon, or maybe we were trying to forget our dreadful anxieties, but we seemed to have regained some of the joy we had lost before.
We laughed and chattered incessantly while preparing for our escape.
Finally, the long-awaited April Fool's Day arrived.
* * *
Since yesterday evening, Estelle had started experiencing a dry cough again, which greatly concerned me. When I checked on her in the morning, it was evident that she had a slight fever.
I did my best to keep her warm and comfortable, placing wet towels around her to aid her rest.
We were planning to leave this place the next day, but uncertainties loomed over us, making me nervous about many things.
As Estelle dozed off, wrapped in a wool blanket, the three of us shared the last remaining cold sausages and hard bread from yesterday's meal.
Then, the operation began in earnest. In the dimly lit downstairs, where day and night seemed indistinguishable, we each took our positions as planned.
I settled in a chair near the table with the single candlestick and pretended to sew, while Lethias leaned against the wall next to the mirrored door, appearing engrossed in a book.
A thin belt was wrapped around his waist, hidden beneath the book's back cover with the peculiar title <How to Count Gold Coins in a Way that Preserves Traditional Values>.
Meanwhile, Benya took his spot in the middle of the stairs, armed with the blunt scissors and the carefully cut wood pieces he had prepared over several days.
The stairway connecting the upper and lower floors was treacherous to navigate without candlelight, making it impossible to see who might be coming.
And so, we waited—an enduring battle between patience and impatience.
We couldn't predict if their meal duty would occur today, or when it would happen, which made it all the more difficult to stay in position.
Our entire scheme could be jeopardized if even one person strayed unexpectedly.
In the midst of this endless waiting, not knowing if time was passing or not, I played with the needle, trying to focus.
I was crafting my fifth Mr. Wendy doll. Unlike my first shoddy attempt, I took pride in the more presentable appearance that emerged with each new iteration.
Though it couldn't compare to the original one with real rabbit fur and jeweled eyes...
As I finished sewing the sixth Mr. Wendy's ear, my heart skipped a beat as I spotted the mirrored door slowly creaking open.
Though I had resolved to stay calm, my nerves got the better of me, and the needle slipped from my hand and fell to the floor.
It appeared my earlier speculation was accurate.
Harris, pushing a cart that emitted a tantalizing aroma instead of the old, iron-smelling tray, noticed Lethias sitting right next to him and hesitated for a moment.
In that fleeting moment, Lethias attempted to appear frightened, and I moved towards them, holding my sewing materials, stammering to speak.
"Uhm, well... Mr. Butler, Lady Estelle has a very high fever. Could you bring me some painkillers...?"
I tried my best to act intimidated, but my voice trembled like an aspen tree due to my overwhelming nerves.
Harris averted his gaze from Lethias and looked down at me, his black eyes twinkling with a wicked glimmer.
"Say it again. What?"
This infuriating man... I wished he could comprehend the resentment brewing inside me.
"So, since the Lady is in so much pain, would you please at least bring some painkillers... Hmp!"
I nearly screamed in frustration. Just a moment before Lethias slowly rose from behind, he leaped up like a spring and clung to Harris' back.
To be precise, he wrapped a belt around Harris' neck and held on tightly, just as he had practiced dozens of times.
"This...!!"
Exactly what Harris shouted after being unexpectedly attacked remained unclear. It must have been an insult of some sort.
Simultaneously, the gangster-like servant waiting in the hallway outside the door rushed in with a furious expression, resembling an enraged King Kong.
"These again...!"
Whatever he was about to say next was interrupted by a boy who suddenly leaped out from the stairway to the right.
While listening, I thought I could hear something thick and slimy, and a fishy smell stung my nose. My eyes widened as I took in the scene.
The attendant, still standing stiff like a pole, and Benya, who seemed to be clinging to him, entered my wide-open field of vision.
But in Benya's hand was not the wooden spear he had worked so hard to make. It wasn't even the scissors he used for crafting those wooden spears.
It was none other than a fountain pen—the very same one Lethias received on his 16th birthday last year, a memento of the deceased duke.
About half of it had narrowly missed King Kong's eyes and was lodged deep near his temple.
A few short and long seconds passed, and King Kong opened his mouth as if trying to say something.
He raised his pot lid-like hand and tried to remove Benya, but Benya held on as hard as he could. Then, with a mighty thud, King Kong collapsed to the floor.
"Whoa!"
Another thump resounded, and simultaneously, Lethias's scream echoed through the room.
Harris, who had rushed toward the wall with Lethias clinging to his back, unexpectedly reached back and grabbed the boy's face.
As if possessed, I threw the sewing thread away and reached for the candlestick on the table. I closed my eyes tightly and swung as hard as I could.
Thud!
Oops, I was supposed to use a needle. The situation had turned out this way because I had dropped it earlier. What should I do now?
The candles went out, enveloping everything in darkness. Dim light seeped in from outside through the open door.
There was silence for a while as we all stared at the two men sprawled on the floor with dazed and bewildered eyes, gasping for breath. Then, in unison, we looked at each other.
"Were they dead...?"
It was a question whispered by all of us simultaneously. But of course, there could be no answer.
Regardless of whether they were dead or unconscious, this was a once-in-a-lifetime chance. We immediately regained our senses and acted swiftly.
Lethias and I rushed upstairs to wake Estelle, while Benya picked up a wooden spear he had left on the stairs and kept an eye on the two unconscious adults.
"Estelle, Estelle, wake up. Let's go."
"Ugh... What's the matter? Where are we going?"
"We're getting out of here."
"Today...? Can't we go tomorrow?"
Estelle seemed disoriented, likely due to her fever. As Lethias carried Estelle, I pulled out a gown and fastened it securely around his shoulders.
When we descended the stairs again, Benya was already halfway out the door, holding a lamp in one hand and a bloodstained fountain pen in the other.
The snake decoration engraved in the center of the pen holder, now covered in blood, was particularly noticeable.
"Let's go."
My heart was pounding as if it would burst, but we finally stepped out the door. We walked through a long hallway until we reached the front of the lift, sticking close to each other.
Once on the lift, there was a moment of hesitation. Our gazes darted quickly in the silence, sharing the same fear and suspicion. What if there were guards waiting downstairs? Or other attendants?
My mind was racing, and it felt like something really loud was coming from within me. Perhaps it was just a hallucination brought on by our anxiety.
Whatever it was, it was still better than facing our doom within those walls. With that determination, I reached for the handle above my head and pulled it down.
Thud.
It was strange. It wasn't like the other day when I hid in the cart alone and escaped.
Now, as we all rode down the lift together in nervous and uneasy silence, memories of my previous life kept coming back to me.
What kind of ominous feeling was that?
Was it a sign that we would never escape beyond this lift?
Or was it the fate of my soul to be confined to one place, whether in an elevator or a lavishly decorated bell tower, destined to die in the end?
Why did that loud noise from earlier feel like our deaths were getting closer?
The floor shook lightly as the clattering echoed once again. A narrow and dim passageway came into view through the wire mesh door of the lift.
I took the lead, with Benya beside me and Lethias following behind, carrying Estelle on his back. Since we were all barefoot, our footsteps made no sound as we crossed the hard stone floor.
When we reached the small wooden door at the end of the passage, we paused and exchanged glances once more.
There seemed to be no sound coming from outside. Perhaps the noise earlier was just a hallucination. Or maybe...
All sorts of thoughts rushed through my mind in the brief moment when I reached out and grabbed the doorknob. What if there's someone waiting for us out there? What if it's some kind of trap?
Nevertheless, I opened the door. No, I should say it was already open. As I gripped the doorknob and attempted to pull it, someone from the other side pushed the door.
"Haaaa…!"
The sound of someone taking a deep breath filled the air. It might have been me, Benya, Lethias, or Estelle. Perhaps it was all of us together.
In any case, we all seemed to be in a state of shock simultaneously—me and the three siblings and the people we had encountered.
In the midst of it all, the sound of giggling seemed to echo in my ears. It was as if the God of April Fools himself was laughing right in my ears.
Beyond the door awaited the brilliant light of spring.
Golden decorations, bronze buttons, scabbards, and forearms sparkled dazzlingly under the golden sunlight. But the one thing that shone the brightest of all was the badge on their berets.
A pair of entwined snakes biting gold coins.
Our hands, holding onto each other, tensed all at once. Then, after a moment, a voice rang out. It was an incredibly polite and strong voice.
"We finally found you, our Ducal Prince."
𝔼𝕟𝕕 𝕠𝕗 𝕍𝕠𝕝𝕦𝕞𝕖 𝟝:
𝔸𝕡𝕣𝕚𝕝 𝔽𝕠𝕠𝕝'𝕤 𝔻𝕒𝕪 𝕊𝕥𝕠𝕣𝕞
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