Chapter 84
I had to find out. What was going on?
Why hadn’t he told me about something so important and horrifying? Of course, he couldn’t talk about such strange things!
I had to see for myself.
I held up Zomrat and Sparrow.
“Find me!”
“Squeak?”
“Chirp?”
“Me, but not me, my true form, but not really, I’m me, but…”
My secret agents, with their short attention spans, just snuggled against me. They wouldn’t be much help. I could only rely on myself.
I searched the workshop, looking for a hidden garden. Had he used magic to hide the entrance again? I held Zomrat up to every wall, but there was no reaction.
“Where am I?!”
To think I would be searching for myself. I pulled back tapestries and pushed against walls, looking for a hidden door.
Was there a clue? I wouldn’t find it just by searching randomly.
I reread the young master’s journal entries. I was alive. It was true that I had almost died from the plague. That matched my memories.
But I hadn’t died. Just before I died, he had cast a spell to prevent my death. And he had desperately tried to keep me alive, slowly fading away.
For five long years.
That’s why he hadn’t believed me when I, as Estella, claimed to be Anna. Because Anna wasn’t dead.
Or rather, he hadn’t let her die.
“I don’t know what’s going on, but I can’t ignore this. I’ll have a showdown with myself!”
I had to find my real body.
But if I found it, could I return to it? My magically created heart pounded.
Wait, wasn’t my heart connected to the young master? I quickly checked the back of my hand. The arrow that had been so prominent earlier was now faint.
He was getting closer.
I had to find the garden with my real body before he found me!
“Zomrat! Focus and sniff!”
I lifted him high, and he pointed his nose towards the ceiling.
Sniff, sniff. His tail stood up straight. He looked towards a wall, hidden behind a bookshelf.
“Is it over there? Answer me. Can’t you transform into a magic rat or something? Is my body over there?”
“Squeak!”
I couldn’t understand his squeak, but I had a feeling my ridiculous hope might be correct.
I ran towards the bookshelf and pushed it aside. Thankfully, the books didn’t fall. They wobbled, but they didn’t collapse, thanks to the young master’s magic.
Knowing that they were protected by magic, I grew bolder and moved the bookshelf further away. I examined the wall.
There was no hidden door this time. The door to the garden was clearly visible.
“He wasn’t even trying to hide it!”
Well, it was inside a locked workshop, in a hidden magic room, behind a bookshelf…
I flung the door open.
There it was, the garden from my dream. My real body was inside.
“Should I greet myself when I see… myself?”
It had been a while since I had seen myself. I was precious to myself, so I wanted to look presentable.
I adjusted my clothes and smoothed my hair.
It felt like I was going to meet a stranger, even though I was going to meet myself. What if the real Anna was sitting there, waiting for me?
Who would the young master choose, me or Anna?
Perhaps a different question was more important.
Who would I choose, the young master or myself? I might have to compete with myself for him. This was a difficult problem. Anna was a formidable opponent. Being his childhood friend was a huge advantage!
I should probably yield, since I wanted to grant my own wish. But I was me, and she was also me…
I wanted to see her. Was she the same? Was she the real me? Was I not the real Anna after all?
I suddenly remembered Miss Baba’s strange words. About someone who desperately wanted me but couldn’t feel it.
She had said it was the person closest to me. Perhaps it was myself.
“Let’s go meet Anna!”
I took a step forward. Just as I was about to find the answer to this great dilemma,
“Estella!”
I heard the young master’s voice. It was distant, but I could hear it clearly.
“Oh no! He’ll find me!”
I hurriedly picked up Zomrat and Sparrow. I wasn’t ready to face him yet.
Should I throw Zomrat and Sparrow at him as a distraction and run towards my body?
“Estella! Where are you! Estella!”
His voice grew more urgent. Had he discovered that I had found the secret workshop?
“Just… go away!”
Huh?
“Estella!”
He was calling for me, yet telling me to go away. He was so hard to understand.
I listened closely.
There was more than one set of footsteps. Something was wrong.
“Estella! Are you alright? Estella, answer me!”
Clang! The sound of clashing swords.
“Young Master?!”
Something was happening! I was about to run to him, but I hesitated, looking at the garden.
He was a mage. A powerful mage. A single spell could incinerate an entire cemetery.
And he was incredibly strong. He could defeat zombies even without magic. He was the type who bashed them with his staff.
He would be fine, even without my help.
As I looked at the garden, I heard a voice. A voice saying, ‘If you go this way, you can become human, you can return to your human form.’
“But…”
He would be fine without me. But I had to go to him.
“I was revived to protect him! He’s looking for me! A maid has to come running when her master calls, that’s what Head Butler Godora said.”
I hugged Zomrat and Sparrow tightly and turned away from the garden.
“Don’t you agree?”
My animal companions seemed indifferent.
“Estella!”
“Young Master! I’m here!”
The moment I saw him in the garden outside the workshop, I threw the rock I was holding.
Thwack!
The person who had been attacking him fell to the ground. The young master kicked him one last time and ran towards me.
“Young Master, what’s going on?”
“Estella, are you alright? Are you hurt?”
“I’m fine!”
A group of knights appeared behind him. They weren’t our allies. What was the Captain of the Guard doing?!
I should hear his explanation after dealing with them.
“Zomrat! Sparrow! Go! Attack!”
I put them down, and they just ran away.
“You traitors!”
I had to do this myself. I charged at the knights. Since I didn’t have a weapon, I just tackled them.
Thump! Thump! The knights I hit were sent flying.
“Estella!”
He called out to me, startled, then cast a spell. The ground rumbled, and earth golems emerged, attacking the knights.
The situation was quickly resolved. The golems gathered the knights like rice balls and held them captive. They wouldn’t be able to move until he released them.
“Young Master! What happened? Now we have time for explanations.”
“Where did you go?! I was worried!”
He hugged me tightly. I was stunned for a moment, then hugged him back.
“Did you miss me?”
“I was about to come looking for you when they attacked. I think Umbram sent them. The Captain of the Guard is protecting the mansion, but you…”
He grabbed my wrists, his face flushed.
“I was so worried because you weren’t by my side… And then I felt your magic surge. What happened?”
Ah. My magic must have fluctuated when I learned about Anna and was surprised.
Should I ask him now?
His face was pale. He examined me carefully, as if searching for treasure.
“Are you damaged? Are you hurt anywhere?”
“I don’t feel pain, Young Master. Did you forget that you made me that way?”
“You never know! I’ve never made you talk or move like this! You’re… out of control.”
“That’s not a bad thing, is it?”
I had to calm him down before asking about Anna. As I hugged and comforted him, one of the knights, held captive by a golem, shouted,
“Count Lupin Zepetto! You’ll pay for betraying His Highness Umbram!”
“I’ve never betrayed Umbram!”
The young master replied confidently.
“I’ve never cooperated with him!”
“Young Master, is it okay to call the Crown Prince ‘him’?”
“I can call him whatever I want. He’s my relative.”
The knight shouted, his neck veins bulging.
“This isn’t over!”
“Your life?”
“No! Hahahaha! They’re coming!”
As soon as he finished speaking, an ominous rumbling sound approached.
“Perfect timing! Were you timing that?”
I asked, genuinely curious. The knight’s face turned red.
“Your time is up!”
The source of the noise was a horde of zombies. Not the ordinary kind we had encountered before.
“We will win…”
“Loyalty… loyalty… loyal…”
“Ugh… must win…”
They weren’t speaking fluently, but they could talk. They were even wearing armor and carrying weapons.
We took a step back.
“Those zombies are strange. They seem… sentient…”