P. 197

*

The Nightmare is stirring.

Lydia was resting while she was drifting in a slumber, and unbeknownst to her she was?pulled into the grasp of the Nightmare.

*

Edgar, who was now alone, walked over to the hole in the?wall dug open supposedly by the goblins.

There was no point in staying in the same place. He took?a candle in one hand, and decided to enter the hole.

He imagined it would be cramped, but there was enough space for him to stand up and walk easily. It seemed like it adapted to the height of who was in it.

He found out that the cave passageway, which walls were surrounded by rocks, continue far off into the distance. And when he turned around, there wasn’t any sign of the hole into the Madam Eve Palace room that should have been behind him, only a rocky wall blocked Edgar’s view.

I see now.?He was convinced that once someone leaves the previous place, they wouldn’t be able to return to that spot.

Which means he was only left with the option of going?forward.

Edgar turned back to the dark passageway and walked on.

No matter how much time went by, the passage continued to be one single path. At one point, he made a mark with a knife on the wall on the?right side of him. After he went on a ways, that mark appeared on the wall on?his left hand side.

“Is this place the Moebius strip?”

Maybe it was a mistake to let Lydia go, he thought, but there was nothing he could do to change that now.

P. 211

Just when he was thinking what he should do next, there was a flickering light coming from up ahead.

Someone’s there. Is it Ulysses?

“Lord Edgar!”

At the familiar voice, Edgar let himself relax.

“Raven, you were all right.”

Raven came dashing up to him and then knelt down in front of Edgar.

“I am terribly sorry. Because I was away from your side?unduly, I was unable to return.”

“Ahh, that’s right, it was so troublesome without you.”

“Did something happen?”

Raven quickly asked back with a serious expression on his?face, and moved his gaze to search if Edgar had injured himself anywhere.

“Well, I was alone with Lydia. And on top of that, she’s?wearing a thin piece of clothing, and she was weak from fever, so I had such a terrible time trying to hold myself back.”

“....Uh-huh.”

“But, I have to say, women who have a fever are three times more seductive than they usually are. Her cheeks were blushed with pink, and she looked up at me with such moist, damp eyes, I could only think she was inviting me. Thankfully, I remembered how I was clawed yesterday, so I was able?to refrain myself.”

P. 212

Edgar crouched down to look into Raven’s eyes who seemed to be confused even as his face was locked in an expressionless state.

“Did you see?”

“....And you mean by?”

“Lydia’s?bellybutton.”

“............”

Seeing as Raven averted his eyes away from their eye?contact, he must have taken a very good look at it.

“Forget that.”

Even as he made a faint smile, he made sure that there was a strong hint of the meaning in his order.

“Yes.”

Raven bowed his head.

“Oh I mean really! And I was wondering what it was you two were talking about so seriously about!”

Behind Raven, there was a cat wearing a necktie and stood?up-right on its hind-legs.

“Why, this is serious. Nico, if it was Raven, then well, I’d forgive him, but if it was another man, then I would have to carve his eyes out.”

“More importantly, where’s Lydia,” asked the feline fairy.

P. 213

“Kelpie took her out of here. It seems Ulysses is also in this goblin maze. And it seems like the goblins went after Marquis Barkston, and so the reason why Ulysses is making the goblins use the Madam Eve Palace and make it into a maze was so that he could capture the marquis. Although he still?might not know that we have entered as well.”

“If it was the marquis, I have cornered him in a room filled with portraits and tied him up, but it seems like that room has also become a part of this maze, and once I stepped out, I was unable to get back into it,”explained Raven.

And so Nico found Raven who was wandering around inside the maze and was leading him through the passageways.

Edgar didn’t know why Nico was here, but it seemed like?since he was a fairy, he was able to figure out which way to go.

“So, Nico, which way is it to the exit?”

“It looks like there isn’t any particular exit. And I don’t have the animal strength like Kelpie to pound open a hole.”

“So it looks like our only option is to come in contact with Ulysses.”

As he said that, Edgar stood up.

“It seems that the white diamond has gotten into the hands of Ulysses. And if that’s so, then we need to think up of what to do from now. ..For the mean time, I want to have a talk with the marquis.”

“Are you going to use him, my lord?”

“Well, let’s see... Raven, will you trust me no matter what happens?”

The young man looked back up at him curiously, but didn’t?hesitate to reply ‘yes.’

P. 214

“Let’s hurry to the marquis. Nico, you’ll guide us right.”

“Gahhh, but I don’t want to be anywhere near that Ulysses. There’s a chance that he might come to where the marquis is, right?”

“But even you wouldn’t be able to get out of here unless?Ulysses opens up an exit, right?”

Nico placed his hands on his hips and narrowed his eyes with discontent, but he swirled around to face the other direction, and started to tread on as he swished around his tail.

*

The place where Lydia fell down into was where the goblins gathered into a circle as they were in the middle of a feast.

The small, dirty room didn’t look like it was part of that Madam Eve Palace. Which means the goblins could have dug a tunnel that connected to some other realm.

She looked around to spot one of them picking up a bottle of spirits that was as big and tall as their height and chugged it down its throat like it was a fountain but then swiftly started to make a loud ruckus which sounded like a frog.

They were completely drunk and only noticed Lydia, who had come crashing down to them, just when she quietly stood up and was trying to carefully hide herself.

She watched as they all died down and their distorted faces turn to Lydia’s direction one-by-one.

P. 215

(Who are you?)

(How did you come into here?)

“I....I am a fairy doctor. Listen everyone, it’s best you all don’t come any closer to me.”

Because her attire was different from was in her normal clothes, she didn’t have her usual, hidden stash of hawthorns which had the power to ward off fairies.

But still, the evil-spirited, small fairies must have been taken-aback by her saying she was a fairy doctor, as they all quickly backed away from Lydia.

(It’s the black jewel.)

But another one of them whispered something unexpected.

Lydia realized what it was referring to, and swopped up her hand to hide the necklace.

(Isn’t that the one that the master was looking for?)

(Is that true?)

(Oi, then what shall we do?)

Lydia stepped over to the shadow of the hearth to hide her body and quickly took off the necklace and dropped and hid it into one of the pockets of the coat she was wearing.

But, even if she hid it, she wasn’t able to deceive them.?How would she be able to out-smart the goblins?

“.......Please help me....”

Just then, she heard the faint voice of someone calling for help from the corner of the room.

P. 216

She shifted her eyes towards that direction and strained to see what it was in that dark corner, and saw that there was a small boy surrounded by goblins and cowering in fear.

He was so thin and spare of flesh, but she was familiar with his chalk white face.

He was that bad-mouthed boy that she met at the earl’s mansion library.

He looked up at her with begging eyes and tried to crawl out of the spot he was in, but the strength in his body suddenly went out and his body slumped to the floor.

Lydia kicked aside the goblins and rushed over towards him.

“Hey, you, uhh, Jimmy? Pull yourself together.”

She remembered Edgar saying something about a boy being?captured by Ulysses. Lydia decided she must save him and tried to carry him up?into her arms, but then the goblins suddenly broke out into chaos.

(Hey, stop that.)

(You can’t do whatever you please.)

“Ouch, what are you doing?!”

One of them had poked Lydia’s leg with a small shovel.

“.....That jewel...,” murmured the boy.

“These creatures said that I was a hostage so that they could trade me with the diamond,” he explained.

P. 217

(That’s right.)

(The master said so.)

(If you hand over that jewel, we’ll give you that boy.)

Oh, no, what should I do??thought Lydia.

She was just borrowing it from Edgar. She couldn’t go and?hand it over to the enemy without his consult.

But, she wanted to help Jimmy.

....Oh, I know.

Lydia came up with a good idea, and stood up so that she?could look down at the goblins around her.

“So you’ll give him to me if I give you this.”

She opened up the palm of her hand and showed the goblins?the black, sparkling stone.

That’s the one, cried out all of them.

“So, it’s a trade then.”

She made sure that they all nodded, and Lydia threw the?stone in the other direction.

All of the goblins panicked and rushed over towards it.

In that moment, Lydia pulled the boy up-right.

“Now, hurry. We need to run, now.”

She somehow managed to steady him up and pulled his hand and dashed through the door. There didn’t seem to be any sound of the goblins?coming after them, but Lydia wanted to get as far away from them as quickly as?she could.

P. 218

“The diamond...., you’re crazy to hand over the diamond when it belongs to the earl.”

Jimmy hobbled after her while he snarled at?her in anger.

And you were the one who said yourself that you were a hostage for the diamond. Lydia was silently surprised at how he still was keeping the stance of mocking her.

“That was just a piece of coal. The goblins won’t realize?that for a while.”

“....Coal?”

Near the area that Jimmy was lying down, there was a bucket filled with coal. Lydia had sneaked a piece of coal which was the same size as the diamond into the palm of her hand and that was what she used with the goblins.

They had agreed to exchange Jimmy for what Lydia had showed them.

“So you tricked them.”

“Tricked them...., it was to save you.”

In a matter of time, they came into a darkly-lit passage?way.

There were buildings hovering over them on both sides. It?was a path that went through a poor area of a city, with old and crumbling?bricks, shattered glass and windows with broken slatted shutters and window?frames lined unevenly on the walls of the buildings.

But this place was also another part caught in the tunnels of the goblins, and so it wasn’t like they had managed to escape from the maze.

P. 219

Lydia started to get lost with the direction and when she?stopped running, Jimmy snapped his hand away from her that she was leading.

“Where’s the earl? ....He should have come to rescue me.”

“Yes, he’s here. We all separated to search for you.”

But he only looked back at Lydia suspiciously.

“Did you steal the earl’s black diamond?”

“Huh? What are you saying?”

He suddenly held something pointing out of his closed fist and she saw that it was a piece of glass with a dangerous, sharp edge.

“You, you won the earl’s favor and stole it from him, didn’t you?”

“Wh-what are you talking about?”

P. 222

Ermine nodded solemnly.

“A number of the Scarlett Moon members were also looking for Jimmy, so I’d wager that they were pulled into here and lost as well.”

“That boy, I hope he would be able to meet up with them.”

“For the mean time, let us both keep moving. I’m sure Lord Edgar will be needing you.”

I can bet against?that.

With Jimmy being so insolent towards her, she had lost all of her confidence. Making her wonder if her golden-green eyes and the fact that she could see fairies really gave off such a creepy impression.

No, no, more importantly than that, I’ve remained here?because I am a fairy doctor.

Lydia said that to herself in her head and pressed on through the tunnel with Ermine.

As they walked, the decorations on her clothing started to make the rustling sound of tinkling and that bothered her. Making her wonder?what Ermine was thinking when she saw that Lydia was wearing the clothing that the doll was wearing.

I wonder if she thinks I came to investigate about Edgar?having an affair.

On top of that, I’m wearing his coat.

“Uh, Ermine, about the clothes I’m wearing, it wasn’t like I’m wearing this because it was my wishing so.”

“Yes, I can imagine that there was some kind of trouble that occurred. But, you were lucky that Lord Edgar was able to lend you his coat.”

P. 223

“Huh? Why?”

“Since it would be a good opportunity, he’d think he might as well enjoy the view.”

Lydia realized Ermine was actually the type of person who didn’t have trouble saying such embarrassing things.

“....Doesn’t that mean this wasn’t such a pleasant view?”

“He must have not had the confidence with ending it with?just viewing.”

Oh geesh.

Lydia thought she needed to change the subject.

As they had continued to watch through the complicated?tunnel passages, there were a growing number of them ending in a dead-end.

“You know, I feel like the goblin’s maze is starting to?become smaller.”

“If that is true, I wonder what that means.”

“It looks like they are trying to gather everyone near the center.”

If everyone who has entered this maze was gathered at the?center, she wondered what it was Ulysses was planning on doing with them.

As Lydia was thinking, a hole suddenly opened up under her feet.

Ermine immediately noticed and grabbed Lydia’s hand, but the ground under her feet gave out as well, and the both of them went falling down.

The distance they fell was a short one. It wasn’t that hard of an impact as it normally would be in reality, as the two of them were able to bring out their hands to softly land on the ground, but when Lydia tried to stand up, she felt the cold, piercing edge of a blade against her cheek and?froze.

P. 224

“Welcome, young ladies.”

A young boy of a man with faint blond hair with a grin on?his face came into her view.

“Ulysses....!”

Ermine tried to go into a stance to attack, but Ulysses?wrapped his arm around Lydia and pulled her right up next to him, making Ermine?stop.

“Don’t you move. You don’t want the earl’s woman to become a corpse, do you? Ohh, or is it, you would be more happy if she was dead?”

A crowd of goblins appeared and circled around them. They?were all screaming and shouting as they kicked and stomped down on Lydia’s?foot.

They were barking furiously at her how the diamond she gave them was a fake.

However, lucky for her, it seemed like Ulysses still didn’t know that Lydia had the real black diamond with her.

“If it’s a hostage you want, then take me. Let her go,” implored Ermine.

“Don’t try to talk like you’re a saint. I wouldn’t mind if I kill her, you know. If I kill this girl and you claimed you tried to save her but it was impossible and went wailing to him, then I’m sure the earl would?forgive you.”

“Foolish nonsense,” calmly retorted Ermine, and that made?the grinning Ulysses tut his tongue.

P. 225

“I see. No matter how many of his lovers die, it would be hardly possible that he would lay his fingers on Prince’s old woman.”

Even if he mocked her like that, the expression on her face didn’t change.

Lydia had heard that all of them were slaves. However, seeing how Ermine was burdened with a different kind of pain from Edgar and Raven, it made her crushed with pain and suffocation.

“Walk ahead of me. You want to see the earl, don’t you??Fairy doctor, if you’re walking around here wearing that man’s coat, then I can?guess he has come in to this maze as well, hasn’t he? I’ll take you to him.”

Ulysses ordered Ermine as he still had the knife in his hand pointed at Lydia.

Ermine looked worryingly over to Lydia, seemingly not sure what to do. If she went along with Ulysses’ order, she must be worried if Lydia might go through a terrifying experience.

“Ermine, I’m?fine.”

Lydia couldn’t go on depending on Ermine. She was well aware that Ulysses might be here.

Lydia wasn’t able to understand their pain, but it wasn’t?like she remained here with the intention of becoming a baggage to them.

After Lydia agreed with a firm tone, Ermine nodded and?started to walk in the direction Ulysses pointed to.