Nights that had passed many days ago.
On the vast land, a secluded village here and there, an ancient castle stood alone—in the boundless night, it was like a small wooden boat floating on the great ocean, occasionally showing a dim light through its windows.
On the second floor of the castle, in a shadowed room, the Cat Slave Girl, Heidi, sat hugging her knees on the bed, staring blankly at the night sky outside the window. She had maintained this posture for a long while, and it seemed she would continue to do so, because she simply did not know what else to do—whatever she did would be rejected by the master of this place, and she could only stay in this room, obediently passing the time with the cats.
There was a cat’s call, and the black cat lying on the bed yawned, letting out a sound.
Heidi slightly tilted her head and reached out to pet the black cat, scratching its belly, letting the black cat lazily fall asleep. Then she turned her head back, sighed, and continued to look at the starry sky, whispering in a very low voice, "When can I go out... and will Mr. Richard come..."
No sooner had she finished speaking than sudden footsteps sounded outside the door.
"Thump, thump, thump..."
Heidi turned to look toward the door, and the black cat by her side seemed to sense some danger, abruptly waking from its sleep, its fine hairs bristling, arching its back high, with its tail sticking straight up, growling low at the door.
"Thump, thump, thump..."
The noise outside the door continued unfazed, drawing closer.
Heidi pursed her lips, watching the black cat’s behavior, and extended her hand to soothe it but the black cat suddenly shrank its body and dived under the bedding to hide.
Heidi was slightly startled, and by that time, a figure had already appeared outside the door.
It was an old man, hunched over, with a face full of wrinkles, looking to be in his seventies or eighties. He was so thin that his skin almost wrapped around his bones, making him resemble a skull at first glance.
The man radiated a cold and eerie aura, making anyone who saw him feel uncomfortable, but Heidi still mustered the courage to ask, "Hello Eugene, is something the matter?" The man was the Old Servant Eugene, whom the master of the castle had assigned specifically to take care of her.
"Ah, it’s ." Upon hearing Heidi’s voice, the old man Eugene, standing outside the door, opened his mouth to respond with a raspy voice, "Lady Mary would like to see you, Miss Heidi."
"Lady Mary wants to see me?" Heidi’s eyes flashed, "Why?"
"I don’t know," the old man shook his head, revealing no information, only saying, "Lady Mary is waiting for you in the hall on the first floor right now, she hopes you will be quick."
With that, the old man turned and walked away.
Heidi frowned, somewhat puzzled, as to why she was being summoned so suddenly late at night. She lifted the blanket, looked at the black cat hiding amongst it, and said, "Mi Qi, do you want to come with me?"
"Meow—" The black cat made a slightly aggrieved sound, burrowing deeper into the blanket.
"Alright then, I’ll go by myself." Heidi sighed, jumped down from the bed, put on her shoes, and straightened out her slightly disheveled clothes, then walked out, heading toward the hall on the first floor.
When she arrived at the hall, Heidi saw many logs stacked in the fireplace, burning fiercely as if to dispel the chill of the night.
For some reason, the closer Heidi got to the fireplace, the more bone-chilling cold she felt, devoid of any warmth, which made her step away and turn her head to look at a woman sitting in the brown high-back leather chair in the hall.
The woman’s age was hard to discern—she had the appearance of someone in their thirties, the mature air of someone in their forties, and an expression that seemed to come with being over fifty.
Her skin was as pale as snow, making even Heidi feel embarrassed by comparison. Her lips were as red as if dripping with blood, her eyes were like a pair of blue gemstones, and her hair seemed crafted from gold; adorned with a luxurious blue coat and a large pearl necklace around her neck, she was a sight of indescribable beauty.
After looking for a while, Heidi respectfully greeted, "Hello, Aunt Mary."
"Hmm." Hearing Heidi’s voice, the woman turned her head, gave Heidi a once over, and asked, "Eugene told me that you wanted to have a look around outside the castle?"
Heidi’s expression tightened, "That... Aunt Mary, I indeed mentioned that I wanted to have a look outside, but Eugene told me it’s not very safe outside, so I gave up on the idea. And... that was many days ago."
Lady Mary nodded, "It was indeed many days ago, don’t blame me for bringing it up now. The reason I do is that there was indeed chaos outside during that period.
You wouldn’t understand if I explained, but just know that there is a place called White Stone Tower. Something major happened there, affecting the entire East Coast. You are my kin, so I must care for you and cannot let you venture out and encounter danger."
"Er—" Heidi hesitated, then said, "Aunt Mary, you’ve forgotten, actually... I came from White Stone Tower."
"You came from White Stone Tower?" Lady Mary was momentarily taken aback, then said, "Oh, I remember now, you did indeed come from there. That’s even better because you would truly understand my concerns."
"Yes," said Heidi softly.
"So now, I need to take you away from here, you understand, don’t you?" Lady Mary asked.
"Ah?" Heidi was surprised, "Leave this place? But... why? Do we have to leave? When are we leaving? Can we wait a few days?"
"You have quite a few questions, Heidi!" Lady Mary said with a hint of displeasure, "However, I’m in a good mood today and don’t mind answering them.
First of all, it is certain that we must leave; I’m not here to discuss with you but to inform you. As for the timing, it is tonight. The reason is simple: the situation outside has worsened."
Heidi was puzzled: "Worsened? Why does it worsening mean we have to leave?"
"Silly child, can’t you understand?" Lady Mary shook her head, her tone one of disappointment, "If it were just a bit chaotic, we could naturally hide away in this castle, but if it gets too chaotic, this castle won’t hold, and we must seek a safer place."
"Then... where are we going?"
Lady Mary didn’t answer directly: "You’ll know when the time comes."
Heidi wanted to speak but stopped herself.
"Just be a good girl and do as told, my dear," said Lady Mary, "Now that you understand the situation, go and pack your luggage right away. We’re leaving in ten minutes."
"Yes, go on," Lady Mary waved her hand, indicating there was nothing more to say.
With no other choice, Heidi nodded reluctantly, bit her lip, and quickly ran towards the second floor of the castle, entering her room.