[HP] If youth has an ageless face

That night, Edwina was awakened from her dream by a burst of vague crying, but when she straightened her body and listened carefully, the crying disappeared suddenly and turned into an indistinct noise coming from a distance.

Edwin opened the curtains, Boulogne Castle was halfway up the mountain, so she looked down from the heights and saw the bright lights and the bustle of people in the central square of the small town.

She rang the bell, and waited for a long time before a rough maid came in: "What happened there?"

"A female guest accidentally fell into the river drunk after attending a banquet. She accidentally broke the back of her head on the stones at the bottom of the river. She was drowned when she was picked up." The maid replied word by word with lowered eyes. road.

Edwin La was slightly absent-minded: "Is it our guest?"

"Yes."

Mrs C?

"Where did the other servants go?"

"Go to the square to pay homage to the dead souls."

"I see." Edwin pulled the maid away, "You go, don't bother me."

The maid bowed and left.Edwin pulled on a dressing gown, stuffed the pillow into the quilt as if someone was sleeping here, then she picked up the candlestick and walked downstairs quietly barefoot.

The silver key gleamed in her hand, and when she stepped up the narrow stairs leading to the basement, the crying that had just woken her up sounded again.The lingering mourning, sandwiched between the faint elegy coming from the square, is even more gloomy.

The black iron door was right in front of her, and Edwina hesitated for a moment, then inserted the key into the lock and turned it lightly.

The door opened.

It was a deeper, darker corridor.

Edwin pulled his dressing gown tightly and held up the candlestick so that the candlelight could illuminate a farther place.The cry became more and more real, and there seemed to be a light on the left hand side ahead——

"what!"

"Please, don't kill me!"

They yelled at the same time.Edwin pulls because of surprise, and the woman because of fear.

"who are you?"

"who are you?"

The dungeon was illuminated by twenty golden trees full of candles, and in the center was a throne with its back turned away from her, and facing a huge iron cage in which a woman was imprisoned.

Edwin pulled forward, and when she walked through the underground palace, she smelled an ominous stench, and when she came to the iron cage, she realized that the woman who was locked up had dreamy blond hair and snow. The same pale skin, as if it came out of Norse mythology——

"You are his fifth wife, the one from Denmark." Edwina panted quickly, "Are you still alive? Here..."

"Are you my successor?" The woman clutched the iron fence tightly, her light-colored eyes widened, "Run! Before you are hooked, before he catches the net, run! Oh——Evil Eye It's too late." She retreated into the shadows abruptly, shivering against the wall, "I remember, when I struggled to break free and ran towards the gate of the castle, it suddenly became hot... I passed out and woke up was brought here…”

"You want to escape? Then you've figured out what happened, right?"

"I didn't!" the woman whispered, "I just knew he was going to kill me... I came to this basement like you, but his last wife was dead and this cage was empty. I saw them , was frightened half to death, and ran away without thinking much..."

"they?"

The woman held out a finger and pointed to her back.

Edwin pulled her head back, and after seeing what was behind her, the candlestick in her hand slammed to the ground with a lingering echo, and the candle flame suddenly went out.

"Be quiet!"

On the throne stands a skeleton in a black dress and an iron mask.Surrounding the throne are six crystal coffins, the fifth open and the sixth unfinished.

"That's mine, and yours." The woman said quietly, "Don't look up, his dead wives are lying in it, their faces are cold and lifeless."

"What on earth is Chatillon trying to do?"

"I don't know, I won't know until I die." The woman's voice was full of despair, "I met a charming man at the ball, he coaxed me around with sweet words, and we danced one after another. Dance and drink after glass of wine. Then Chatillon handed me the key and necklace and said he was going out on errands. At the next ball I kissed the man and slept with him...Second I came here in the middle of the night, but I saw a dead woman lying on the ground. I was terrified, and I wanted to run away—this is the whole story of me.”

"You have been locked up here since then?"

"You haven't betrayed him yet, have you?" the woman asked tremblingly, "but sooner or later you won't be able to resist...that day will be my death day."

"He killed his ex-wife the day a new wife betrayed him?"

"I guess so." The woman burst into tears, "because the corpse I saw...is still bleeding."

Edwin shuddered.The two fell silent at the same time.

"I heard them singing the dirge." The woman raised her head and stared at the ceiling, "Who died?"

"I killed a woman."

"She gave you a secret, didn't she?" The woman trembled. "I killed other people too... At the first dance, a male guest who danced with me suggested that I should keep my distance from the opposite sex. At midnight that night, his body was pulled out of the river by the fishers. It was Chatillon's handiwork—the noble leakers all became river wraiths, and the lowly ones were thrown there scribbled."

She pointed.Edwina looked in the direction she was pointing at, only to see a trapdoor propped up on the ground near the corner of the wall.

Her heart felt a twinge for Anna: "Two days ago...was a maid brought here?"

"Yes. She was still alive and able to move when she was thrown down." The woman looked into her eyes, "You don't have to feel sorry for them, you might not even be able to protect yourself."

Edwin pulled his hands tightly: "Why is Chatillon so arrogant? He dared to kill even a distinguished guest."

"Because everyone who dares to stand in his way is dead," the woman replied. "It's hard to say whether it's someone pretending to be a ghost or a real ghost. Do you know that strange things happen in Boulogne Castle all the time? No one has been able to solve this mystery for 400 years... Chatillon is certainly Bluebeard, but how do the previous rumors explain it?"

Before the people gathered in the square came back, Edwin slipped back to his bedroom.She put the key back in its original place, went to take a shower to wash off the peculiar smell from the underground palace, then walked back to the bed and took out the "Ten Days Talk" from under the pillow.

After thinking for a while, she put the book upright on the windowsill according to Raphael's words.

The night wind was cool, and the curtains moved slightly.

"Mrs. Zabini," Raphael came in through the window, still wearing the mask and frivolous smile, "you really summoned me."

Edwin pulled silently, pointing to the blank space beside him.

"you are not happy?"

"It's cold tonight," she replied meaningfully.

"It's okay," he majestically misinterpreted her meaning, "I'll warm you up soon."

"You misunderstood me." Edwin pulled his head and smiled at him, "I only asked you because I wanted to find someone to accompany me."

Even through the mask, Edwin could feel his expression froze.

"I heard that a guest unfortunately fell into the water and died today after the banquet." She flattened the pillow and lay down. "I feel very scared, after all, strange things always happen in this castle."

Raphael didn't answer.

"You are a gentleman, aren't you?" Edwin closed his eyes safely, "Good night."