If You're Being Held Hostage, Wiggle the Carrot! - Chapter 76
The meeting was set for two days later. The vassals had responded quickly to Ivan’s call, and the Duke had been busy preparing to receive them.
Ivan and Liam were the busiest of them all, so Ruby left the manor alone again today. She had reached a point where she could pretty much ignore the prying eyes of the servants.
She had decided not to be intimidated simply because she was among wolves anymore.
“It’s quite chaotic.”
It was just the bustling hired hands, but also the spirits seemed oddly agitated. They gathered in small groups here and there, appearing and disappearing as soon as they spotted Ruby.
“It’s a little weird…”
However, Ruby wasn’t particularly interested in chasing after them to find out why they were behaving that way. She wandered off to search for Louis.
As she reached a corner, she found the well where she had previously washed clothes.
“So that was bullying?” she mumbled to herself while staring at the well.
While she was technically a Countess, she was a noble in name only. As a member of the Pink Rabbit tribe, she had minimal interaction with civilization and was ignorant to things like etiquette and culture.
“How could that be bullying when she was talking so nicely to me?”
Ruby did notice that Leslie wasn’t particularly warm towards Ruby, but she thought that was a natural reaction. It would be suspicious if they treated an outsider like her kindly from the beginning.
“Oh, you’re here?”
Louis, the spirit she had been looking for, smoothly appeared.
‘Were you looking for me?’
“Yes, I’m here to help with what you asked.”
‘Haha, thank you.’
Louis was genuinely grateful to Ruby for taking the initiative to find him, and he led her through his foggy memory.
‘I remember feeling a strange energy here.’
“Hmm, I don’t feel anything on the surface.”
‘We might have to dig to find out.’
“Yes, that seems necessary.”
Ruby began digging at the spot Louis pointed out, just like last time. Being familiar with digging rabbit holes, she swiftly excavated the ground.
“I think I found the right one this time, don’t you?”
In fact, she had dug a few times, but each time, the spot Louis had pointed out had eluded her.
‘Did you find it?’
Ruby gave him a puzzled look at his elation. Truly, spirits were enigmatic beings. Why did he have such a strong sense of duty when he couldn’t even remember the details of their lives?
“Oh, yes. Just a moment…”
She grabbed something on her fingertips and pulled it out. Despite being buried in the ground for a long time, the object not only showed no signs of aging but remained firm.
“What is this?”
It was about the size of her palm, caked in dirt. She brushed the dirt off with her hand, revealing a rough outline.
“Th-this is…”
‘Do you recognize it?’
Beside her, Louis fidgeted restlessly. Ruby glanced at him for a moment, never having seen him like that before, before turning back to her find and answering.
“It’s a curse doll, and it’s made of stone.”
‘…A curse doll?’
“Yes, but it’s quite small. There might be similar ones buried around the Duke’s estate.”
This place had too much wolf energy for a curse doll of this size to be effective on its own. Surely there must be more like it buried elsewhere. Ruby, with a bracelet adorning her arm, shook her arm, producing a jingling, sparkling sound. As the enchanting sound echoed, her eyes glowed a bright red.
Silently, a presence manifested beside her. Louis couldn’t directly face this presence. He stared at Ruby with a contemplative expression, observing the strange phenomenon that made his body involuntarily tremble.
Then, Ruby, who had been sitting, suddenly stood up with a groan. She proceeded to lightly tap Louis’s shoulder with the hand without the bracelet.
“I don’t know if it’s appropriate to tell a soul to breathe, but Grand Duke, you have to take a deep breath and pull yourself together.”
‘…Ha, yes, right. I mustn’t lose focus until we figure this out.’
Ruby’s touch infused him with an inexplicable energy. He opened his eyes wide and respectfully nodded towards the sudden presence.
However, the Guardian Spirit of the Ash Tree paid no attention to Louis, not even giving him a single glance.
‘Dear little one.’
