Chapter 1: The Day the Devil Went for a Walk (1)
It was a night when thick fog covered even the moonlight.
Raindrops fell steadily from the dark sky.
On nights like this, the tavern in Steinhau was always full of people.
For the people of the small countryside village who did not want to go home yet, it was the perfect place to ease their loneliness.
So it was only natural that Hans, one of the village’s well-known drinkers, ended up at the tavern that day.
It was not because he had been possessed by a ghost, as he liked to joke. It was simply part of his ordinary daily life.
Ding.
The tavern door opened, and the old bell hanging above it rang with a rough sound.
“Ugh! It feels like the devil has come out for a walk today!”
Hans, a coachman, shook the rain off his clothes and sat down at the bar.
Taub, the owner of the tavern, greeted him and poured him a drink that he had been keeping aside for him.
“You’re here quite early today. Business must have been slow.”
“Days like this are worse than heavy rain. People don’t come out, and even those who do just use umbrellas. Ah! Maybe business would improve if all umbrellas disappeared.”
“I-I’d rather not. My house is close enough that I don’t even need a carriage. I’d be soaked walking home.”
“Haha. I was only joking.”
Hans laughed heartily at Taub, who had shivered just imagining getting caught in the rain, then emptied the glass in front of him.
“Hans, you’re here?”
“Why are you so late? I thought you’d show up at five!”
Several customers recognized Hans and gathered around him.
Since it was the only tavern in the small village, all the regulars naturally knew each other.
“The weather was bright this morning, but now look at it. Maybe the devil really did come out for a walk.”
Steinhau was known for sudden weather changes. The sky could be sunny one moment, then suddenly become cloudy as thick fog rolled in.
Because it happened without warning, the villagers would jokingly say that the fog appeared to hide the devil while he was out walking.
“Oh, come on. Why would the devil visit a tiny village like this?”
“You never know. Maybe he isn’t visiting. Maybe he’s lived here all along! Hahaha.”
But everyone knew it was just an old superstition invented by bored people over drinks.
The customers laughed, clinked their glasses together, and enjoyed another drink.
“It might actually be true.”
At that moment, Taub, who had been quietly polishing glasses, joined the conversation.
“Isn’t there a rumor that a devil lives in the abandoned mansion on the hill?”
The abandoned mansion on the hill.
The tavern instantly fell silent, as though someone had spoken a forbidden name.
“It used to be a villa belonging to the Grand Duke Caplet’s family, right?”
As always, forbidden things brought not only fear but also strange curiosity.
And on a night that seemed perfect for the devil to be wandering around, there could hardly be a better drinking story.
Peter, one of the customers, spoke up, eager to show what he knew.
“You mean that fool who supposedly made a contract with the devil because he wanted the throne?”
“Oh, that’s just a ghost story.”
“No, it’s true! They say traces of his deal with the devil are still scattered throughout the mansion.”
“Sometimes lights can still be seen inside, and strange sounds are heard. They say the Grand Duke did such terrible things in life that even after death, he couldn’t pass on.”
“There’s more. On nights like this, people say his wife, whom he murdered, comes back seeking revenge.”
“Come on! Why are you talking about bad luck on a night like this?”
Hans hurriedly made the sign of Kshentia, the guardian goddess, in the air.
After quietly listening to everyone, Taub looked out the window.
The heavy fog hid it from view, but normally the old, crumbling mansion could be seen standing on top of the hill.
“Still, I suppose it’ll all be over soon. I heard the mansion is going to be demolished.”
Everyone in the village had heard the news that the entire area might be cleared to build factories and housing.
If that happened, the abandoned mansion, the village’s most famous landmark, would probably be the first thing torn down.
“…Yeah.”
Peter muttered bitterly before finishing his drink.
He was glad the village’s eyesore would disappear, but it was sad to think that the beautiful natural scenery would disappear along with it.
“If that happens, lots of new people will move here. Just look at the neighboring village. Ever since they built factories, it’s grown so much.”
Hans happily imagined having more carriage customers.
“Well, that would be nice.”
“Exactly! Then people will finally stop talking nonsense about the devil wandering around on rainy days.”
“I’m telling you, it’s not nonsense.”
Peter narrowed his eyes as he tried to scare Hans.
“You know Logan, the delivery boy from the neighboring village?”
“I-I don’t. And I don’t want to hear this.”
“It happened on a rainy day just like this. He was walking when he suddenly heard a woman crying.”
“I said I don’t want to hear it.”
“He thought someone was hurt, so he went to check. But then…”
Bang!
The tavern door suddenly flew open with a loud crash.
Rumble! Crack!
At the same moment, thunder roared across the sky.
“AAAH!”
Hans, completely absorbed in the story, screamed and fell backward out of his chair.
Standing in the doorway was a woman in a white dress with long black hair hanging loose.
One hand rested on the door while the other carried a bundle about the size of a small child.
“W-Who…?”
Peter forced himself to speak, but his voice was so faint that even he could barely hear it.
The woman stood there strangely, holding the heavy bundle.
Her crimson eyes glowed unnaturally in the darkness, shining like fresh drops of blood.
Slowly, she lifted her head and looked around the tavern.
Gasp.
At that moment, everyone inside felt a chill run down their spine unlike anything they had ever experienced.
It looked as though she was carefully memorizing every face in the room.
Peter felt like he might faint, but he somehow forced himself to stay calm and looked at her more closely.
She actually looked quite young, probably around twenty years old.
She seemed to have been caught in the sudden rain and was completely soaked.
Her expression looked gloomy and eerie, but then again, wouldn’t anyone reveal the darkness inside them after being drenched by unexpected rain?
That’s right.
She wasn’t a ghost.
She was just someone who had gotten caught in the rain.
Ghosts don’t exist.
Just as Peter convinced himself and was about to speak to the strange woman—
“Gah!”
He suddenly noticed red liquid dripping from beneath the large bundle she was carrying.
“…Heh.”
The woman, whose crimson eyes gleamed in the darkness, looked at Peter and smiled.
A fear unlike anything he had ever felt swallowed him whole.
“…Kgh.”
The devil let out a strange sound, as if choking, and slowly began walking toward Peter.
“I-I just remembered! My wife is waiting for me at home! Put it on my tab!”
Peter could not take it anymore and bolted straight out of the tavern.
“W-Well…”
Hans watched the cowardly Peter run away in a single sprint, looking both shocked and resentful.
“…Heh.”
This time, the woman started walking toward Hans.
The moment their eyes met, terror gripped him so tightly that he felt like he couldn’t breathe.
Hans squeezed his eyes shut and looked away.
“W-What can I do for you?”
Taub, having regained his composure, spoke to her.
The woman slowly raised her eyes, completely emotionless.
Don’t talk to it! Everyone knows you’re not supposed to!
Hans wanted to shout at Taub, but the icy fear pressing against his throat kept him from making a sound.
Finally, a voice as cold and fragile as an icicle shattering on stone broke the silence.
“…H-How do I get to the Caplet Mansion?”
