My Secretly Hot Husband

Chapter 5

After traveling through the wasteland for a good while, they came upon a land that was overgrown with weeds. Letitia could see an elevated area in the distance beyond some peculiar rocks—Halstead Castle.

It was unlike anything that Letitia had ever seen. Its long outer walls—which were dented here and there as if hinting at a rocky history—were all she could see at first. Beyond that, a gray stone fort jutted upward, a massive fortress that was all angles. Halstead Castle sat imposingly under the dreary sky. She could hardly imagine swimming swans or bursting fireworks would ever be seen in such a citadel. Rather, the place seemed like the perfect backdrop for a story with ghosts and vampires.

It’s like a prison. That was Letitia’s first impression.

After they crossed the heavily guarded drawbridge, she caught sight of a large courtyard, which was the soldiers’ training ground. They then had to pass over a moat to finally arrive at the castle. Ten towers encircled the building like defensive knights, and a long staircase led them inside. The castle’s inhabitants came to greet them, though they were all shocked when they saw Letitia.

“Why do you have a child with you?”

The lord of the castle, who had been there only a moment ago, had disappeared.

A soldier who had traveled with her answered, “There’s nothing to be surprised about. This is Lord Grey’s daughter. Apparently, they had sent a message, but it seems it got lost along the way. She was being attacked by imps.”

“What?”

They were then interrupted.

“What’s happening? Who’s here?” asked a rough voice.

Three white-haired old women strode toward them from the hall. Letitia’s heart thudded in her chest—hags! Letitia looked at them in fear. She had heard that this castle was the home of several hags who served its lord, and these three looked as ghastly as she had imagined.

One of them was as thin as a bamboo pole and had eyes that were strikingly blue and chilling. The other could give a general a run for their money with her solid and robust build. The third’s face was tan under her captain’s hat and the eyepatch that she wore. Although they were very different in looks, they all eyed her threateningly without exception.

“H-hello. I’m Letitia, Lord Grey’s third-born daughter,” she greeted them in a trembling voice.

The three old women stared at her, their eyes glinting. The skinny woman with the icy countenance spoke first. “I’m Alexa, the housekeeper of this castle.”

She was followed by the sturdy, rather burly-looking woman. “I’m the nanny, Bastian.”

And finally, the woman with the captain’s hat and one eye said, “I’m the cook, Cassaro.”

Letitia could not believe it. These terrifying hags held such ordinary jobs? Perhaps “housekeeper,” “nanny,” and “cook” were jargon that meant killers. Letitia was thrown into a panic as those thoughts ran through her head.

“Please stay here for a moment.” They led Letitia to a small room right next door and had her sit, then gave her some snacks.

What’s going to happen to me now? She could hear people murmuring in the hall. It seemed the castle’s inhabitants were having a meeting. What were they talking about? Her anxiety was unbearable. Letitia slowly crept toward the hall, her body light enough that the wooden floor didn’t even creak. At last, she heard their voices.

The cook, Cassaro, said, “She’s a bag of bones! We have to put some fat on her!”

Letitia gasped and covered her mouth, her eyes going wide. There was only one reason a hag would say something like that—she planned to eat a child, Letitia was certain of it.

I’m not a fool! Suddenly, a creak sounded from behind her. She turned her head and found a large old woman standing there. It was Bastian, the nanny. The sight of the hag almost caused her to scream again.

“Come this way,” Bastian said curtly. The nanny was spry as she walked, despite her old age, each stride full of vigor. She led Letitia to the basement and opened one of the doors.

Hot steam surged toward Letitia. They had arrived at a bath created from carved stone. Bastian gave an order to the maids. “Clean her up.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Letitia was scared stiff. It sounded like the woman wanted her clean so they could use her as an ingredient. The maids scrubbed her until the sun set, then dressed her in simple clothes without embellishments. It seemed their idea of food packaging was basic.

I can’t believe they eat people! That is positively barbaric. However, it was possible this was all a misunderstanding. Letitia tried to pull herself together with that thought until she saw something that made her gape. She discovered it while she was following the maids somewhere—a padlocked room that was situated solemnly in the middle of a dark corridor.

“I heard that if it’s the latter, the hags who serve him will take you to the Sacrifice Room. Supposedly there are piles of items that once belonged to those murdered women behind those padlocked doors!”

She could distinctly remember what her cousin Isabelle had said. Her face turned pale while her legs became stiff, and she found it hard to move them. The maids, sensing something was off, stopped in their tracks.

“What’s wrong?” one of them asked.

“Um, what is that room?” Letitia managed to ask.

Her question brought an immediate change to their expressions. They looked visibly flustered. “It’s not an important room. Forget about it. Don’t look at it. Now, come along.” They encircled her to block her view and quickly walked away.

They eventually arrived at a room that was empty except for a bed and a table, which was piled with food. There was soup, bread, and meat. The food was steaming like it had been freshly cooked. It smelled incredibly delicious, but Letitia had no appetite—it was no mystery why that was so.

She put down her spoon after a few bites. “I’m sorry.”

“Oh, don’t worry about it. We’ll take it away, so you should get some rest.”

The maids left with the tray. Letitia strained her ears and leaped up when she could no longer hear their footsteps.

I have to find out the truth about that room! She needed to know in order to plan what to do next. It was crucial that she come up with a good strategy if she wanted to survive.

I refuse to get eaten. She widened her large eyes and stepped into the darkness, making her way down the corridor in the flickering candlelight as she marched forward. At last, she came upon the room.

The door wasn’t locked, and it seemed there were people inside. She could see an old woman standing ramrod straight with her back to Letitia through the small gap in the door. It was Alexa, the housekeeper of the castle.

It appeared the servants were busy making preparations under her command. Alexa urged them in a cold tone of voice, “Our lord is waiting. Can’t you hurry it up?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

The servants were trying to make something stand. It was a large table with four legs.

An altar! That’s clearly an altar for sacrifices! They were then interrupted by footsteps that were headed their way. Letitia darted off like a surprised bird—it would be bad if she were caught. She hid herself in a dark corner far from the room and leaned against the corridor wall gasping for breath and taking stock of her situation.

They had already decided what to do with Letitia. The lord did not care for his potential bride, so he planned to fatten her up and sacrifice her. It was a hopeless fate.

Time passed. After standing absentmindedly for a while, Letitia finally snapped—the night’s chill was getting to her.

I should first go to my room before returning to my thoughts. Letitia turned back but was faced with a problem—where exactly was she? The panic from earlier had made her flee without knowing where she was going. She couldn’t remember which way she had come from.

Old castles had complicated layouts, and this was Letitia’s first day at this one. She couldn’t find her way back no matter how she tried. Imposing antiques loomed over her in the dark corridor. She became more frightened as she continued walking. She couldn’t even see the shadow of another person in this area, unlike the earlier one.

“Won’t somebody, anybody come my way? Please...”

She finally came across a lit room after wandering aimlessly. The panic that she had suppressed until then set in. Letitia ran as if being chased by the darkness and pushed open the door.

“Um, I’m lost...”

The words dried up in her mouth. The person in the room was none other than the monstrous lord himself. Her heart thudded, and she couldn’t breathe.

Why here of all places?!