Chapter 20 – Danse Macabre

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“Lohengrin Castle really exists…?”

Frederica looked at me in disbelief, repeating my words.

“Exactly. The Lohengrin Castle of Neuschwanstein that Caspar painted actually exists.”

People believed that Lohengrin Castle was a figment of imagination.

But they were wrong.

In his later years, Caspar discovered a castle in the forests of Neuschwanstein.

Captivated by the mysterious sight of the castle through his studio window, Caspar decided to paint it.

He ventured into the forest to get a closer look at the majestic castle standing tall in the morning mist.

But no matter how much he searched, he couldn’t find the castle he had seen earlier.

 

“Did Caspar see a mirage?”

“Maybe? He might have been hallucinating due to old age.”

Caspar thought he might have imagined the castle in a dream.

But the image of the castle kept haunting him, and he decided to paint it again.

He tried to recreate the castle from memory, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t capture it to his satisfaction.

After numerous attempts, he was about to give up when he saw the castle again—this time, through his studio window.

Caspar immediately prepared his canvas and began painting.

The result was Lohengrin Castle of Neuschwanstein.

Caspar never showed this painting to anyone, leaving it covered in a corner of his studio.

Why he never revealed it remains a mystery.

He simply passed away without a word about the painting.

 

“Does Lohengrin Castle really exist?”

Frederica voiced her doubt.

In reality, no castle exists in the forests of Neuschwanstein.

After the painting was revealed, many searched for the location depicted, but all they found was a vast forest.

Naturally, people assumed the castle was a product of Caspar’s imagination.

But they were only half right.

 

“Lohengrin Castle does exist. It’s just not in Neuschwanstein.”

“What? But Caspar saw the castle in the forests of Neuschwanstein, didn’t he?”

“He did. But the castle isn’t there, is it?”

Frederica looked puzzled by my riddle-like statement.

It was indeed a nonsensical puzzle.

Caspar painted a castle he saw in the forests of Neuschwanstein, but the castle doesn’t exist there.

 

“I don’t get it. Liese, where is the castle?”

Frederica, unable to figure it out, asked me for the answer.

It was only natural that she couldn’t solve it.

Even I wouldn’t have known the truth if I hadn’t been aware of it beforehand.

 

“The castle is inside the painting. It exists within the world of Caspar’s painting.”

Yes, Lohengrin Castle exists within Caspar’s painting—literally.

Frederica stared at me with a look of utter confusion.

She still couldn’t grasp the concept.

If I had heard this story without any prior knowledge, I would have reacted the same way.

Lohengrin Castle was one of the locations that appeared in the original game.

During the academy arc, the painting appears, and the protagonist accidentally enters the world within the painting.

In the game, it serves as a kind of dungeon where you solve puzzles and complete events to obtain rewards and items.

And the rare item that could only be obtained in this painted world was my goal.

 

“A world inside a painting? That sounds like an adventure novel!”

Frederica exclaimed with sparkling eyes.

It did sound like something out of an adventure novel.

A majestic castle existing within a painting?

It was like a secret island hiding pirate treasure or an ancient ruin buried beneath a desert.

 

“How do we enter the painted world?”

“Not right now. There are preparations to be made.”

Yes, just because I had the painting didn’t mean I could enter its world immediately.

Certain preparations were necessary to enter the painted world.

 

“I see…”

Frederica sounded disappointed at my answer.

Seeing her so dejected, I sighed and spoke up.

“When we enter the painted world, I’ll make sure to bring you along.”

“Really? Promise?”

Frederica perked up instantly at my offer.

While the painted world wasn’t a safe place, with my abilities, it wasn’t too dangerous.

I could easily protect Frederica.

“Yes, of course.”

 

With the story of Lohengrin Castle concluded, the real problem now was the shoes.

Carmen’s White Shoes, discovered at the auction.

In the original game, these shoes were in the possession of the Bavarian Baron.

Not the Baron from the opera Danse Macabre, but the current Bavarian Baron of Prussia.

After Carmen’s death, the original Bavarian Baron reclaimed the shoes he had gifted her.

He stored them in the basement of his estate, where they were left untouched.

The Baron lived the rest of his life as a bachelor and passed away without an heir.

His lands were returned to the royal family, and the current Bavarian Baron’s grandfather became the new Baron.

The shoes remained in the basement of the Bavarian estate.

 

In the original game, if you chose Adelheid as the protagonist, the shoes would appear in the story.

It was an event related to the Bavarian Baron, where a minor issue led to a financial crisis for the family.

To resolve this, the Baron searched his estate for valuables and discovered the shoes.

A pair of luxurious women’s shoes made of white leather, adorned with gold and diamonds.

The Baron, thinking they could fetch a good price, was delighted.

But when Adelheid appeared and recognized them as Carmen’s famous shoes, the Baron hesitated to sell them.

Of course, neither of them knew about the curse on the shoes.

The Baron simply felt uneasy about casually disposing of shoes tied to such a tragic story.

Later, a maid, entranced by the shoes, secretly tried them on and danced to her death.

Upon learning of the curse, Adelheid sought to break it.

She discovered a hidden library in the estate and found records left by the original Bavarian Baron, uncovering the secrets of the shoes.

After unraveling the mystery, Adelheid lifted the curse and placed the shoes on Carmen’s grave, concluding the scenario.

 

So, under normal circumstances, the shoes should have been on Carmen’s grave.

Unless Adelheid had suddenly become someone else, there was no reason for the shoes to be circulating in the black market.

Why were they being auctioned off?

Something must have happened to the Bavarian Baron’s family.

I needed to return to the estate immediately and investigate.

 

“Fredie, today was fun.”

“It was. Thanks to you, Liese, I had a wonderful experience.”

After sending Frederica off in the carriage, I headed straight to my hideout in the capital.

I needed to quickly return to the estate and find out what had happened to the Bavarian Baron’s family.

If something had gone wrong, Adelheid’s safety might be at risk.

She wasn’t the protagonist of this loop, but her death could have unforeseen consequences on the story.

 

“Ugh… What a headache…”

In all 78 loops, this had never happened before. Why now?

I didn’t know the reason, but it was clear that a troublesome problem had arisen.

 

“Isabelle, contact John and have the crows bring their reports immediately.”

As soon as I arrived at the hideout, I gave the order without a moment’s rest.

Fortunately, the Zweikrähen had a branch in the capital, so gathering information wouldn’t be difficult.

 

The Bavarian Baron’s family was currently in a financial crisis.

The cause was the Baron’s friend, Baron Bergmann.

The Bavarian Baron, who wanted to help his friend who was struggling with debt, decided to buy some useless land from Bergmann’s territory.

However, the Bavarian Baron’s family wasn’t wealthy either.

Overextending himself to purchase the land left the Baron in financial trouble, forcing him to borrow money from a certain “Pig Baron.”

But the Bavarian Baron couldn’t repay the debt, and the Pig Baron demanded something else in return—Adelheid, the Baron’s daughter, as his concubine.

Fortunately, a diamond mine was later discovered on the land the Baron had purchased, but that was a story for another timeline.

 

In any case, if something had gone wrong with the Bavarian Baron’s family, it was likely due to this debt issue.

And if this problem wasn’t resolved quickly, Adelheid’s safety—and her innocence—could be in danger.