Exploring Technology in a Wizard World

Chapter 395: Chapter 394: The Mysterious Castle

Several pages of the letter were before him, and Richard flipped through it, finding that most of it discussed the conditions of Wooden Island, including its language, customs, and security. It was evident that Heidi had put considerable thought into it.

Richard quickly scanned the contents, gaining a general understanding of the so-called Wooden Island. Turning to the back of the letter, he discovered some rather personal remarks from Heidi, concerning the relatives she was staying with. As he read, his eyebrows slowly rose.

In the letter, Heidi expressed that she didn’t know why, but she always felt there was something not quite right about the relatives she was staying with, although she couldn’t pinpoint what was amiss.

“… When I arrived here, it wasn’t much trouble to meet Aunt Mary. Though she seemed not very enthusiastic about my arrival, she wasn’t exactly cold either—she not only arranged a large room for me in her castle but also assigned an Old Servant to take care of me.

But… the longer I stay here, the more uncomfortable I feel. The castle is large, yet there are hardly any people around, and I barely see Aunt Mary. The Old Servant who takes care of me doesn’t hear very well; sometimes when I call him, he doesn’t hear, making me feel as if I’m alone in this vast castle.

Moreover, the food I eat and the water I drink always seem to have a strange taste, but when I try to taste it carefully, it seems not to be there. Maybe I am too sensitive, but… I really am not used to it.

Lately, I often wake up in the middle of the night, then hear lots of footsteps walking around the castle and continuous talking, as if Aunt Mary is hosting a party with many guests. But when I try to get up and look, I find I can’t move at all, as if I were petrified in bed.

It’s only when daylight comes and all the sounds disappear, and everybody has left, that my ‘petrified’ state returns to normal. When I get up and ask Aunt Mary if there really were people over last night, she denies it. Then, when I ask why I couldn’t move after waking up, she says that it might be because I wasn’t really awake and was just having a nightmare. She tells me that I’ll get used to it here in time.

Is that really so? Was it truly just a nightmare? Is it really because I haven’t been here long enough to get used to this place? I am a bit scared, Mr. Richard. I wish you could come. But I don’t know if you will receive this letter, nor if you will come after reading it…”