The two adventurers passed through the iron gate and stepped forward to knock on the door.
A middle-aged woman with curly light red hair pulled the door open, wearing a faint smile. Behind her was the dining room with its linden wood table, the fireplace roaring with flames and surging waves of heat.
Barrett explained their purpose: "We're travelers sent by Count Charles, coming from afar, and we'd like to stay the night in your home..."
Just as the villagers had described, the manor owner was friendly and generous. The middle-aged woman didn't ask too many questions before agreeing to let them stay.
She welcomed the two "travelers" inside and introduced herself, "I'm the manor owner's wife, Martha Wright. That's my daughter, Alice."
Following her gentle gaze, a little girl with the same light red hair came hopping over. She looked about eight or nine years old, dressed in a white silk gown, her features delicate and adorable.
Alice tugged at her mother's skirt, tilting her head to look at the two adventurers, and asked curiously, "Mom, who are they?"
Martha ruffled Alice's hair and said softly, "They're travelers from far away. It's snowing hard outside, so they're staying with us for the night. What do you think, Alice? Is that okay?"
"Sure, sure! The weather's so cold—the two uncles can stay a few more days if they want." Alice blinked her big, sparkling eyes, looking at EeDechi and Barrett.
Thanks to EeDechi's fully face-concealing gear and her masculine style of dress, everyone in the village had taken her for a traveler just like Barrett. It certainly saved her the effort of any further disguise.
EeDechi and Barrett scraped the snow and mud off their boots and stepped inside. After thanking Martha, they introduced themselves as well. Of course, they used false names and identities.
The manor owner's residence wasn't very large; right behind the door was the dining room with its table and carved wooden chairs, the firelight dancing in the fireplace. What caught the eye was a clay flowerpot on the wooden shelf by the wall, but since it was winter, the flowers had all withered, leaving only dried-up stems and leaves.
"Martha, who's here? Friends?"
A deep, resonant male voice sounded from the staircase behind the dining room, followed by a tall, straight-backed man in formal attire descending the spiral stairs. His face was steady, his light brown hair streaked with white; he must be the male head of this household—the manor owner, James Wright.
Mr. Wright smiled kindly; he readily agreed to the request to stay and shook hands amicably with Barrett, who then presented them with two winter wolf pelts to express his thanks.
Wright glanced out at the dark night outside, snowflakes occasionally pelting the glass windows. He asked Barrett and EeDechi, "You two guests haven't had dinner yet, have you? Join us later. I've just gotten two pieces of fresh ingredients—they're delicious."
"Are there vegetables?" EeDechi asked eagerly. She deliberately lowered her voice, almost revealing her feminine tone.
"Vegetables... yes, we have some." Mr. Wright smiled. "But we don't eat many vegetables."
Alice circled around Barrett, her innocent eyes scanning him all over, seemingly very curious about the "winter huntsman" gear hanging from his back and waist. Mr. Wright was saying something to Martha, as if planning to entertain a friend.
Wright told a joke, making Martha cover her mouth and laugh, then she headed to the kitchen. Alice waved her little hands as her dad picked her up, and the two went up the spiral staircase into the study, laughter echoing all the way.
Barrett watched this scene, and couldn't help but sigh in his heart: what a warm and happy family of three. As an adventurer, he lived a rootless life, wandering from place to place, and at this moment, he couldn't help but envy the warmth of a family.
...
Dinner might be starting soon. In the dining room, the family of three, plus the two "travelers," five people sat around the linden wood table covered with an embroidered tablecloth.
Barrett leaned back comfortably in his chair, while EeDechi was full of anticipation for the upcoming vegetable soup. But strangely, there was no food on the table, only neatly arranged empty porcelain plates and silverware, along with white napkins folded into pentagons.
Martha showed no intention of going to the kitchen to bring out food; like the other four, she sat properly in her chair, occasionally soothing the fidgeting Alice beside her.
The five of them sat facing the empty table for nearly five minutes. Barrett couldn't hold back any longer and asked, "Pardon my rudeness, but why hasn't the food been served yet?"
Mr. Wright smiled gently. "Don't be impatient, guests. We have two pieces of fresh ingredients and have invited a friend to come taste them. Once the friend arrives, we'll start dinner."
Alice fidgeted restlessly in her chair, her little feet in leather shoes not yet reaching the ground. She hugged her mother's waist and whined, "Mommy, Alice wants to hear a fairy tale before dinner."
"Okay." Martha pinched her little cheek, "Mommy will tell you a story about a night hag."
Martha narrated softly:
"A long, long time ago, in a harmonious family, a husband and wife raised a beautiful daughter. As the girl grew up, she fell in love with a young man in the village. The two of them admired each other, their affection deep and enduring.
"But, you see, the girl's father really disliked this young man because he thought the young man had no money and no ability, and only knew how to pester his precious daughter every day."
"So then, the father forced the young man to go to the town outside the village to do business. He said, if you don't earn enough money, you'll never marry my most beloved daughter.
"The young man had no choice but to part from the girl. Before leaving, he told her that he would definitely make countless riches, and asked her to wait for his return. So the young man set off.
"On the path to the town, in a forest, the young man came across a stranger who had fallen to the ground. The stranger asked the young man to help him up, and the young man agreed.
"But what he didn't expect was that the stranger was the girl's father in disguise. It turned out the father had long despised this young man; he was deeply worried that this penniless bum would steal away his daughter.
"He quietly pulled out a sharp, thick knife, and as the young man was about to help him up, he stabbed the young man to death with one thrust. Then he chopped off the young man's head and buried the body along with it in the soft soil beneath an apple tree.
"After doing all this, the girl's father left satisfied, convinced that no one would bother his daughter anymore. But everything he did was witnessed by a kind night hag in the forest.
"The kind night hag felt great pity for the love between the young man and the girl. It quietly slipped into the girl's bedroom and told her everything it had seen, exactly as it happened.
"As soon as night fell, the girl snuck out of the house and went to that apple tree in the forest. She pushed the leaves aside from the soil and dug down, soon uncovering her murdered lover. Ah, how heartbroken she cried; she prayed to Gods, wishing she could die soon too.
"The girl wanted desperately to take the body back, but she didn't dare. So she cradled the pale head with its closed eyes, kissed the cold lips, and brushed the dirt from his hair.
"'I want to keep it!' the girl said. She covered the body with soil and leaves, took the head home, and also brought along a jasmine branch from the forest where the young man had been killed.
"As soon as she got home, she found the largest flowerpot, placed the dead man's head inside, covered it with soil, and planted the jasmine branch in it.
"Ah, how many sad tears the girl cried! She always stood in front of that flowerpot weeping, her painful tears falling onto the jasmine branch, and she grew thinner day by day.
"She was utterly desperate and in pain, but she didn't dare tell anyone, because the murderer who killed her lover was her own father.
"The pure and kind night hag came to the girl again; it also pitied the girl's plight greatly. The girl could only pour out all the sadness in her heart to the night hag.
"She asked the night hag, she really wanted to avenge her lover and break with her father, but she couldn't bear to destroy the warm family. What should she do?
"The night hag said it had a great method that could both avenge the girl and allow their family of three to continue living happily, just requiring a small price. It asked the girl if she was willing.
"The girl eagerly agreed, saying 'yes.' So then, the night hag killed the girl, ate her, disguised itself as the girl, and then, using the girl's appearance, approached the girl's father and mother, and poisoned them to death.
"Watching the girl's parents die, the night hag suddenly remembered its promise to make this family continue to live happily, so it went to the wilderness swamp and called two night hag companions.
"One of the night hag companions turned into the father's appearance, another into the mother's, and the kind night hag kept the daughter's appearance. In this way, their family of three lived happily ever after."
Martha licked her dry lips; the fairy tale was finally finished.
EeDechi and Barrett exchanged glances, both feeling a chill down their spines. Was this a story for children? It was way too horrifying!
"Hee hee hee." Alice's laughter was clear like silver bells, her face utterly adorable. "This story is so fun—I love it!" She hugged Martha's arm, tilted her head up to look at her mother, and said, "Mom, can you tell another story?"
Mr. Wright looked at Alice gently and said, "Martha, don't spoil her too much."
"Ignore your dad." Martha fondly ruffled Alice's light red hair. "Then I'll tell another one."
"Once upon a time, the sky was dumping heavy snow, and the weather was freezing cold. Two travelers came from a faraway place; they were chilled to the bone and starving, desperate to find a warm spot to rest. So, they knocked on a family's door, hoping to crash for the night.
"The family was really kind—the wife let them in, and the husband invited them to join for dinner. Before long, it was mealtime, and the two travelers sat at the table, but the food was taking forever to show up."
"The two travelers were a bit confused. The husband explained that it was because they'd just gotten two slabs of tasty meat, and they needed to wait for a friend to come share it."
"So the travelers waited patiently, even though their stomachs were rumbling like crazy—they sat there quietly until finally,
"Knock knock knock, knock knock knock, came the sound at the door. The wife went to open it, and the friend they'd been waiting for finally arrived. The friend stepped inside, looked at the empty table, and asked the husband, 'Where's that tasty meat you mentioned?'"
"The husband pointed at the two travelers and told his friend, 'The meat's right in front of you.'"
Martha picked up a glass and took a sip of water to wet her throat.
With the story done, Alice burst into happy laughter. "This one's so fun too! Mom, Mom, what happened to those two travelers after that?"
Martha gently flicked Alice's soft little nose and smiled tenderly, "Well, later on, the two travelers got eaten."
Knock knock knock, knock knock knock.
In the dining room, the knocking echoed from outside the door.
Martha got up to open it. Behind the door stepped a man whose clothes, hat, pants, and shoes were caked in frost and snow—he looked like he'd trudged a good distance through the storm.
The man took off his hat, brushed off the snowflakes, hung it on the coat rack, and asked with a warm smile, "Mr. Wright, where are those two pieces of fresh meat you mentioned?"
Wright stood up, pointed at EeDechi and Barrett, and grinned at the man, "Right in front of you."