The Secret Code of Monsters

Chapter 4 Ch.4 Strange Sister

"You mean, 'ceremony'?"

"Yes."

"Did I hear correctly, there is also an 'evil priest'?"

"Yes."

"Oh...spell?"

"That's right."

To be honest, Roland didn't know whether Nina Collins' tragic situation came entirely from an old man's foolish obsession with occultism, or whether the torture of many days of illness gave the lady in bed an unrealistic delusion of being murdered——

That is, she is crazy.

Because those words were undoubtedly ridiculous, just like the plots in the forbidden stories that Yam secretly told him.

The old witch who swallows nails and casts a spell, or the knight who pulls out his sword and chants scriptures to punish monsters...

Rituals, spells, sacrifices.

It's really pitiful.

Roland has seen crazy people who were driven crazy.

But now, he doesn't know whether to pity his sister or himself.

A madman, a blind man.

Quite flattering.

"Of course you don't believe it. Before I came here, I thought I could rely on some small invention to live as a happy old girl with a wealthy family and many servants..."

She was chattering endlessly, but Roland couldn't hear or understand her clearly.

"Ha, they think I don't know? Bloodletting?"

She suddenly became excited.

Roland tried to comfort her, and he was very worried that this sudden mania would get him into trouble: "I really don't believe in the rituals and spells you talked about, but I, I am at least willing to listen to you... "

Nina didn't refute, coughing and laughing at the same time.

"Then you should come and look after me more, my dear 'brother'."

That night, Roland conducted a 'treatment' under the guidance of his servant.

During this period, she was very silent and well-behaved, as if she really thought she was treating a disease.

Not only did he care deeply about his father, steward, and servants, but he also comforted them so that they did not have to worry.

The father and daughter had a warm exchange and agreed that she would be allowed to go out for a walk when she got better.

In the smelly room filled with feces, the father loved his daughter, and the daughter loved her father.

Soon, drawing blood became a marker of time.

day after day.

Roland forgot which day it was - about a week or two, he finally got permission from the housekeeper and got a wooden bucket and a piece of burlap as hard as iron from the servant.

Every night, while Nina Collins was chattering nervously, he would squat in the dark and clean her body.

One of her lower legs had completely rotted away, exposing the hard bones.

Excrement was piled on the side of the bed, and her back, thighs, and buttocks were covered with putrid sores, pus, and maggots.

I can't imagine how painful this is.

Why was she treated like this?

Isn't she Mr. Collins's daughter?

However, she only refused to let Roland touch her face.

Roland tried to find out from the servants.

But the servants, whose voices and tone were exactly the same, said nothing.

When Roland asked too many questions, butler Seth came to his door - he went to his bedroom and softly 'told' him not to worry, as his condition was getting better.

day to day.

In an old house with no sunlight, Roland's concept of time becomes increasingly blurred as the days are as rigid as a clock being on time.

"Do I stink worse than a cesspool?"

Wringing out the cloth, he held her wrist and wiped it little by little. He became more and more skillful in doing it: "The cesspit can't talk."

Pfft.

"You won't have a girlfriend."

"I had many friends in the workhouse."

"I'm talking about another, more intimate relationship, little brother."

Roland's hand paused: "...I don't know my age. Maybe I am, maybe I am not."

"Just let me touch it and I'll find out."

"...I'm sorry, what did you say?"

Nina didn't answer, just giggled.

After laughing for a while, she became silent again.

Roland is used to it.

These days, she basically faced him in this way - sometimes telling dirty jokes, and then, before he could react, she would laugh non-stop;

Sometimes they were talking, and then suddenly fell into strange silence, saying nothing until Roland wiped her body and turned to leave.

She laughs and cries like a madman (or is one).

Roland often heard her murmuring in her sleep, calling her 'Mom'.

But the only thing that goes on every day, besides ‘treatment’, is the story.

Yes, stories.

Five, ten, countless stories like time.

Miss Nina, my sister got all these strange stories from nowhere.

She told him every night.

When he was cleaning her body, or when the two of them were silent in the dark, they suddenly started talking without any end.

Roland was fascinated by what he heard.

"I see you're in a good mood today." He dipped the cloth in the bucket several times, wrung it out and put it on the edge of the bucket. "Eat more than usual."

"You can really pretend to be stupid." Her voice was very soft: "That's human blood and human flesh, can't you smell it?"

Roland didn't answer. He bent down and carried the bucket to the door with difficulty.

"The more I eat, the sooner this ritual will be completed."

she said to herself.

"You are aware of it now, but you don't know what to do. You are afraid, but you are hesitant to believe a 'mad woman' who talks about mysticism... You don't dare to do anything out of the ordinary, like a bird falling into an eagle's nest. The sparrow..." She pointed it out.

At the beginning, Roland also secretly hid bread for her several times.

"...But I can't eat anything else, or do you like to clean up my vomit?" She was silent for a while, as if she didn't want to continue talking about this topic, and her voice suddenly became lighter: "Let me think about what I want to tell you today... Well, how about love?"

Roland leaned against the barrel, hugged his knees and held his chin, and chuckled in the darkness: "The last time I told you was a love story... When Mr. Dawson froze to death, you howled for at least five minutes."

The voice paused, and the woman on the hospital bed was obviously embarrassed.

After getting along for a long time, both of them revealed their true nature to a certain extent.

"I want to hear the story of dragons..."

Roland tried his best to suppress the raised corners of his mouth and tone of voice.

He was particularly happy every 'story moment'.

My own sister, Nina Collins, is like a never-ending fountain of books.

He liked to hear her talk about wonderful and dreamy things, but he was not happy to hear about 'realistic' things, boring and dull things, describing people and people.

Because in the market, all stories involving ‘monsters’ are prohibited – especially those about goblins, unicorns, vampires or elves.

All of them are prohibited from being sold or disseminated in public places.

Occasionally, Roland would be bold enough to listen to some short stories, mostly scary and frightening short stories such as 'The goblin will crawl in through the window at night and eat your heart and liver', 'The wildebeest will pierce your belly' - - Boring, really boring.

But in Miss Nina’s story, these magical creatures and magical buildings are another dreamy place hidden in the real world...

All came alive.

They can move.

It's as if it really existed.

Whether it's a city hidden in the clouds, a silly big cat that makes plants grow, a beautiful girl riding a broom, or a large bathhouse where wild gods take a bath;

Or the elf who is strong and strong, wielding a scimitar in the wind, but will die of sorrow and heartbreak;

A spell that can shrink a bear to the size of a tobacco pot with just a stick...

According to Miss Nina Collins, Roland seemed to be able to 'see'.

There are countless wonderful and wonderful worlds.

Compare it to the reality you’ve experienced…

He is also more willing to believe that those dream creatures in the dream world are not as terrifying as the stories in Yam's mouth.

Roland couldn't help but wonder, where did his sister, whom he had not seen for more than ten years, come across so many wonderful stories?

But Nina Collins didn't want to tell him.

"Dragon? There is no dragon in today's love story." The woman on the hospital bed told the story and the name of the protagonist.

"Mountain?" Roland blinked, "Sounds like a story about boys?"

Where he couldn't see, Nina looked strange.

"It is indeed the story of boys..."

Half an hour later.

Roland:......

"This is a sin, Miss Nina. You'd better not spread such stories to others."

Two men fall in love...

The priests of the church would use whips to draw their blood, and after trial they would be thrown into prison. They would not see each other for nearly ten years.

Roland was very sensitive to this because Yam often mentioned to him:

His face can get him into trouble.

This trouble does not only come from women, but more likely from men.

"Oh? So you are really a good-looking little girl? Can't you tell? You usually have a nice voice... I thought -"

Stopped abruptly.

At this time, Roland had already stood up, walked to the bed, and slowly stretched out his hand.

He finally understood why Nina didn't let him wipe her face, and why she didn't remind him that there was a chair in front of her when they first met.

On the face as thin as a skeleton, the eyeballs should have been slightly bulging...

There are only two holes.

Her eyeballs were gone.