The Daughter of Evil - Volume 4 - Chapter 3.22

chapter 3, section 2-a heartbeat in the rain; scene 2
Praefacio of Blue, page 169-171

✥ Kyle Marlon ~The Country of Marlon, “The Castle of Hedgehog/Front Gate”~

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Castle Hedgehog had once been the residence of Lord Hedgehog, who had served under the Lioness family.

Compared to Castle Marlon its grounds were extremely confined. I didn’t know if it was compensating for that or not, but its most distinctive characteristic was a tall, tower-like construction in its central portion.

At the very top of the tower was an enormous clock face, and the sound of its hands ticking was extremely loud. It reached all of us who were standing there at the gate then. It had the nickname of "Heartbeat Clocktower”. It was a building that was well known for the eccentricities of its master, Lord Hedgehog.

It was nothing but a rumor, but it was said that Lord Hedgehog was a pervert who loved torture.

After his death the castle was neglected for many years, but it had recently been taken over by the royal family. Due to the anecdotes regarding Lord Hedgehog and the ear-splitting handbeats of its clocktower, there were few people in the royal family who actually used it. Outside of my mother, Empress Dowager Prim.

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The rain had grown intense, and I was starting to hear thunder in the distance.

Perhaps out of good luck, up until this point we had advanced without encountering hardly any dead soldiers. But we couldn’t be caught unprepared. About half of the army’s soldiers arranged themselves to encircle the castle, readying themselves for any sudden attack by the enemy. The first army’s ostensible goal was for all intents and purposes Prim Marlon’s protection.  Their first priority was making sure no enemies entered the castle.

It was quiet.

There wasn’t any sign of anyone inside. If my mother was really in there in the first place, there should have been guards posted at the front gate.

It was possible that she’d already escaped somewhere else.

But in that case, where?

At any rate we wouldn’t get anywhere without heading inside. First the vanguard went into the castle. I waited for their report from outside the gate.

“…”

I only heard the sound of the vanguard calling for the Empress Dowager inside the castle.

Then finally…

“What–what the hell are these!?”

The voices from inside the castle turned to bellows and screams, and at the same time I heard the metallic sound of swords clashing with something.

“–Dead soldiers have come out!”

The moment I heard that shout, I gave out the command, “Attack unit, charge!”

All of the units barring the protective force surrounding the castle surged inside.