In the Quilz Castle, there are two prohibited places.
One is the Archery Range of the Rainberg family, the owners of the Blue Pillar, and the Empire Duke Libera Quilz Rainberg, who is the continent’s top Wizard.
The other is the expansive garden behind the Quilz Castle, beneath the towering castle walls.
To guard against the Ain people’s invasions, the castle walls of Quilz are high and wide, turning the castle garden into something resembling a small forest.
It used to be a garden in the past, but after Melissa Quilz Rainberg, the Second Daughter of the Duke, gained ownership, it transformed into a forbidden forest.
No one dares to make a sound in that place, even if they’re part of the Rainberg family.
To prevent any young maids from getting lost, numerous warning signs are placed at the entrance of the forest.
Occasionally, ignorant guests who admire the red trees of the Quilz Castle and venture into the forest are usually found alive, but after one or two months, their minds are discovered to have deteriorated.
It might seem absurd that a forbidden forest exists in the backyard of a Duke’s residence, but those who have seen ‘it’ even once should not take the forest lightly.
If Meliss wasn’t an exceptional wizard, and if the Rainberg Duchy didn’t hold significant power, black priests might have gathered here for exorcism rituals.
I followed Melissa into the forbidden forest. Though the warm sunlight had been shining just a moment ago, as soon as I stepped into the dense, overgrown forest, an eerie darkness engulfed the surroundings.
The air was heavy and damp. Strange sounds intermittently echoed in the forest. It wasn’t the sound of branches rustling in the wind; it was a distinct laughter.
Heeheehee, hohooho.
I closed my eyes.
While others might see ‘them’ vaguely, I was sure they would unmistakably appear clear before my eyes. I held onto Melissa’s robe, but she didn’t say a word.
I felt like walking into a haunted house with my sister holding my hand, but it was less embarrassing than facing monsters and ghosts.
Crunch!
Tap, tap, tap. Tick!
Whizz, swish!
Closing my eyes, now my ears were extremely sensitive to the sounds.
In the forest, all sorts of unsettling sound effects resounded. Imagination became a spear, stabbing my stomach.
In the forbidden forest, there were rumors of a ghost knocking on windows at night, footprints of a large beast extending from the kitchen into the forest, and hundreds of goblin lights marching, led by a nine-tailed woman.
Yeah, they are probably all true.
“You can open your eyes now, scaredy-cat brother.”
When we arrived at Melissa’s Cabin in the forbidden forest, I cautiously opened my eyes.
Fortunately, there were no monsters in sight. The cabin was a witch’s house filled with old books, emitting a musty smell. Shelves were filled with strange objects of unknown purpose.
“You can use any magic here.”
I knew Melissa was still teasing me.
If I didn’t show any magic, I might end up being a snack for the eerie creatures outside the cabin. Of course, the possibility was slim. However, one always had to be cautious in front of my siblings, who were always extreme.
I wanted to leave this place immediately.
Before something else happened, I told my sister, “Shattered glass in the cauldron, torn paper under the chair, and… a cat in the box?”
Ugh, my head felt like it was going to split.
Damn, I couldn’t control these cursed eyes. I immediately said what I saw.
I didn’t even know what I had seen.
“My magic is this. Seeing things invisible to ordinary people. But if I use it, I feel drained. Ugh! I feel like I’m going to puke. Maybe I should stop.”
“Don’t want to talk to me? Well, fine. See you later, my little brother~”
As I left the cabin, I quickly returned.
“Can you see me off, sister?”
It was too frightening to go through the forest alone.
***
Chasing a white butterfly, a cat entered through the cabin window. The fluttering butterfly was not easily caught by the cat’s pursuit.
The cat, perched on a shelf, too engrossed in chasing the butterfly, accidentally knocked over a round-bottom flask. The flask fell into the cauldron with a loud clang.
Startled by the noise, the cat retreated immediately, swiping its claws through a book spread across the desk. Torn pieces of paper floated down to the chair below.
The cat, now realizing the cabin was not empty, was frightened. There was a scary fox here. Before becoming a meal, it needed to escape.
It struggled desperately to find the way it came in, but finding the entrance was not easy. Eventually, the cat, caught off guard, fell into the open chest, and the lid closed due to the shock.
Watching all of this unfold, Melissa’s face turned increasingly red.
“Look at this.”
Inside the cauldron were shattered glass, torn paper under the chair, and a cat in the chest.
When the chest was opened, the cat fled.
***
During my brief stay in the Quilz Castle, I encountered my siblings and everyone else.
It wasn’t a mere coincidence. They appeared as soon as I returned from the southern island. Was it for surveillance or interest?
I discovered something they have in common how they treated me.
These kids are subtly experimenting on me.
Ranista taught me martial arts under the pretext of training, Wooshas healed my wounds, and did something to my body.
Didn’t Melissa act strangely yesterday, as if she was testing my strength?
I couldn’t understand it.
After a few days, my muscles developed enough to withstand the training and Ranista’s physical attacks.
It was a result of being experimented on by my siblings, from becoming a rotten tomato to becoming a ballon.
Initially, I thought they were going to dissect me after that, but as I thought more, I realized my siblings were somehow helping me to get stronger.
What are they scheming?
What do they gain when I become stronger?
Thinking about it won’t change anything.
I endured it and accepted it.
Every morning, I practiced martial arts, occasionally assisting Melissa with her magical experiments.
If I suffered severe injuries, I would be hospitalized. When that happend, Wooshas would come and apply a mysterious power to heal me, and turn me into a balloon again.
My body gradually deviated from normal.
While my strength was comparable to that of the knights using auras, it wasn’t due to my efforts but rather the result of the experiments by my siblings. By then, I had become their guinea pig. If I compared it to my past life, I might surpass a B-rank hunter.
Of course, it wouldn’t be at the same level as my siblings.
They were on a different level.
Strong individuals like my father existed in this world, but when I thought about my siblings past lives, they were beyond anyone’s reach.
Fortunately, they hadn’t taken any significant actions yet.
Of course, the achievements of 14-year-old teenagers were unprecedented in the continent’s history, but compared to their power, they seemed relatively quiet.
Perhaps they had repented and didn’t realize their satisfaction with the present, or maybe they wanted to live quietly for a while.
Four years ago, in my room, they revealed their purpose.
They wanted to find out why we were born as quadruplets.
Back then I thought the three received something like a divine punishment, but I was born with them as well.
However, despite my curiosity, I had no intention of delving into it like they did.
I just wanted to live the luxurious life of the youngest son of a duke, leaving the difficult tasks to my siblings.
“Let’s endure for four more years.”
Even though my siblings looked like monsters, they were actually just 14-year-old girls and boys.
Their bodies hadn’t fully grown yet.
It might be hard to believe, but according to Ranista’s words, they hadn’t completely regained the power of their past lives.
I expected them to stop growing at the age of 18, the age when people stopped growing.
They wouldn’t cause any major trouble until then, I presumed.
Even if they tried to destroy this world like they did Earth, they would do it only after regaining all their power.
***
I expected that.
I turned my head at the sound of the door opening while leisurely enjoying a snack on the bed.
I put down the biscuits and tea, discreetly laid down, and covered myself with the blanket. There was no place to hide. It was best to pretend to be asleep by turning the blanket over my head.
At first, I thought Melissa came to experiment on my ‘magic’ in the middle of the night, so this time, too, I thought they came to experiment on me.
Since the last cabin incident, Melissa had been approaching me frequently.
When pretending to be asleep didn’t work, she tried to kick me out with the excuse of a headache.
However, I immediately noticed something unusual when my third sister, Wooshas, also came in after her, checking on me and realizing that something strange was happening.
Even Ranista closed the door. Seeing my siblings gathered in my room made the hair on my body stand on end.
Just like four years ago, my siblings gathered in my room as if they had made an appoinment.
It wasn’t to have a pajama party like 14-year-old boys and girls.
Their outfits are also different—Ranista wore the knight’s armor, my second sister wore the robe of a magician, and my third sister appeared in the priest’s robes of the Azhibita religion, the Empire’s state religion.
Were my siblings finally executing their world-domination scenario?
It was scary and intriguing at the same time.
Why on earth were they planning something like this in my room?
Fortunately, it seemed like they had no interest in me.
“Are you going in your pajamas?”
However, the second sister asked me so naturally.
I got off the blanket, got up from the bed, and scratched my head.
“Am I going too?”
“Then, you’re not going?”
“Yeah, I’m not going.”
Melissa laughed.
“You’re joking right?”
“Sorry, but what exactly are you talking about? Where are you going in the middle of the night?”
Wooshas answered.
“To the Abyss.”
It was the first time that what she said was scarier than her face.
