The Heroines Who Framed Me Are Clinging to Me

Chapter 9 - The Grey Duchess

Clatter.

After being sold at the auction, Lloyd found himself inside a carriage bound for the Grey Duke\'s estate.

The journey was rough, and it felt as though calluses had formed on his back from the hours spent sitting in the crude, uncomfortable carriage. The straw that covered the floor felt oddly comforting and familiar, as though it had become a part of him.

"Goddamn it!"

"Can’t you drive straight, you lousy coachman?"

The carriage was filled with the sounds of complaints and grumbles.

Several boys around Lloyd\'s age were seated inside, their voices loud and irritated.

It seemed they didn’t fully grasp the reality of their situation—that they were about to become slaves.

Not that it mattered.

Lloyd kept his head down.

He needed time to think.

The Grey Duke Family was undoubtedly aligned with \'evil.\' They were destined to cause significant trouble in the future.

As Lloyd tried to organize his thoughts, they kept getting interrupted.

— Clap, clap, clap, clap, clap!

The constant applause in his head, along with the sinister voice whispering about bringing the world to ruin, was a relentless assault on his sanity.

It was exhausting.

Why was he suffering like this in a world he didn’t even belong to?

If only he had escaped when he had the chance, even if it meant tearing his body apart in the process.

Or maybe he should never have fought the Demon King in the first place.

These thoughts always led him to one conclusion…

The tragedy began with his transmigration to this world.

— Rustle.

As his foot nudged a piece of paper on the floor, Lloyd couldn\'t help but think about it.

* * *

When he first woke up in this world, it was a complete shock.

At first, he thought it was some kind of hidden camera prank, finding himself in a medieval European fantasy village.

But after witnessing fire-breathing lizards, reckless mages flying on brooms, and people dying in duels without anyone batting an eye, he realized he had indeed been transported to another world.

It was overwhelming.

He had never played a game or read a novel with this kind of setting before.

And it wasn’t a peaceful world either. The guards patrolling the streets were merciless, and it wasn’t uncommon to see public executions or witch burnings.

It was primitive.

The thought of surviving in such a world made him realize he needed to stay sharp.

Lee Han had rushed to the library, devouring every book he could find. He needed to understand this world—its continents, empires, kingdoms, religions, and economy. He read everything he could get his hands on.

Finally, in a dusty corner, he found an old book.

[Guide for the Transmigrated]

— This book is written for those who find themselves in another world. The fact that it\'s written in Korean should give you a clue, right?

The text, though written in an ancient style, had a surprisingly casual tone.

Lee Han had immediately grabbed the book and rushed to the librarian.

— "Ah, this is an old book. It’s written in some unknown language, so no one’s been able to read it... But you can check it out if you like. Are you into the occult?"

Lee Han had nodded absentmindedly, not really processing the librarian\'s words, and had run back to his lodging to read it.

"Damn it."

Most of the pages were missing.

No, it was worse than that. There were hardly any intact pages at all. Most of them had been torn out, and the few that remained were either badly damaged or the text was illegible.

Still, he managed to glean some information from what was left.

The world-destroying Demon King. The hero meant to stop him. The composition of the Hero Party. The key items and encounters. The essential background knowledge.

Even the little he learned from the book was more helpful than hundreds of other volumes.

It was thanks to this information that Lee Han had managed to join the Hero Party.

And the missing pages weren’t lost by accident.

* To meet the requirements of the future prediction’s [plausibility], only minimal preparations have been made. Pay attention to your surroundings. If you’re determined to find them, you’ll stumble upon [journals] that fit the situation. Remember, determination is key. Then they’ll appear unexpectedly, as Akashic Records are notoriously difficult to handle.

As it was written on the last page, [journals] were scattered throughout the world.

Just like in an open-world game where you might find [Journal of the Lost II], leading you to uncover related stories.

And now, on the straw-covered floor of the transport carriage...

— Rustle.

Lloyd used his foot to grab the paper that had brushed against it, struggling to lift it up.

【The Grey Duke Family (II)】

*Unlock Condition: If captured and taken to the Grey Duke’s estate as a test subject or in a similar capacity, this journal will be unlocked.

The journal, written in Korean as always, was the second related to the Grey Duke family. This wasn’t surprising since Lloyd had already found 【The Grey Duke Family (I)】.

‘The Grey Duke Family is a dangerous one to be cautious around.’

A family that operated in the shadows, with unknown plots always brewing. He had to be particularly wary of the Grey Duchess. In certain circumstances, they could even destabilize the world. If entangled with them, it was crucial to specify escape conditions.

Lloyd recalled the memories he had shoved into the back of his mind.

Usually, the first journal in a series didn’t require any unlocking conditions, which was why he remembered it.

But the condition for unlocking this second journal was being treated as a test subject.

‘There must be a reason for this.’

Lloyd read the rest of the journal’s contents.

— If you didn’t specify escape conditions as advised in 【The Grey Duke Family (I)】, there’s no need to read the following.

— Focus all your efforts on fulfilling the escape conditions. Anything else is meaningless.

— No matter what sounds you hear, ignore anything happening in the basement. The mansion does not have a basement.

Gulp.

Lloyd swallowed hard.

It was easy to infer how dangerous this place was, just from these warnings.

But more than that...

‘The language is vague.’

The journals tended to be vague and indirect, especially when important events were involved, because the more specific the details, the more [plausibility] it consumed. The creator of this journal system always spoke in riddles to provide Lloyd with as much information as possible.

‘It means this place is very dangerous and equally important.’

At first glance, the mansion seemed to be nothing more than the residence of a widow, the Grey Duchess.

But there was definitely something hidden here.

At that moment...

— Thud.

The paper Lloyd had been holding slipped from his grasp and fluttered to the ground.

A rough hand, covered in scars, snatched it up.

Lloyd was startled.

Whoever it was had apparently freed themselves from their cuffs. Not the wisest choice.

As he looked up, a rough-looking boy who seemed about seventeen or eighteen was glaring down at him.

"This punk’s been sitting there with his head down all this time."

"......."

"What’s this?"

The boy unfolded the paper and tried to read it.

Of course, he couldn’t.

"What kind of gibberish is this?"

"......."

"What kind of crazy person reads something they can’t even understand?"

Toss.

The boy crumpled the paper and threw it away.

"......."

He was still just a boy.

No matter how tough he tried to act, his behavior was typical for his age.

It was clear he was trying to cope with the fear brought on by their sudden change in circumstances by lashing out.

The bullying he had directed at the coachman had now shifted towards Lloyd. But Lloyd chose not to engage.

His calm demeanor seemed to bother the boy even more.

"This bastard is ignoring me...!"

The boy lunged at Lloyd.

— Clatter!

The carriage jolted violently, throwing the boy to the floor with a thud.

"Ugh!"

He groaned in pain.

— Clatter!

The scenery outside the carriage began to change.

A massive mansion came into view as the carriage doors creaked open.

"Get out!"

It was obvious who the boy would take out his frustration on once he recovered. Lloyd was the first to step out of the carriage.

A massive, dark mansion loomed before him.

The Grey Duke’s estate.

Its ominous, foreboding appearance wasn’t just because of the dark clouds hanging in the sky.

— Caw, caw!

A crow cawed as if to greet the new arrivals.

The crows circling the surrounding mountains, the shadows of twilight that enveloped the mansion, everything seemed to symbolize an impending doom.

Squelch.

Lloyd stepped carefully into the muddy ground, made slick by the day’s rain. He wasn’t particularly concerned with cleanliness, but in his current status as something akin to a slave, he had no idea when he might get the chance to wash again. It was better to stay as clean as possible...

— Splat!

His vision went dark as something wet splattered across his face. Mud dripped down, and the gritty taste of dirt filled his mouth.

"Hahaha! Look at him!"

"Get ready for more, kid."

Mud covered his face.

Lloyd instinctively tried to wipe it off.

But there was no way to do so. His hands were still bound.

Spitting out the dirt that had gotten into his mouth was all he could manage.

"If you ignore Hector again, you’re dead!"

The boy, named Hector, who had been taunting him earlier sneered.

— \'Are you just going to let that slide?\'

The voice echoed in his mind.

Of course, he wouldn’t just let it slide.

It wasn’t because of the voice. Lloyd wasn’t one to quietly endure such treatment.

Creak.

As he shifted his weight, the mud beneath his feet squished slightly.

— Thud!

The boy’s head snapped to the side.

Lloyd was surprised.

He hadn’t thrown the punch.

A rough, hairy fist had done the job.

"Stupid slave brats."

A soldier from the Grey estate, judging by his uniform, grabbed the dazed boy by the hair and started dragging him away.

"Follow me."

The other boys, who had been watching in stunned silence, finally snapped out of their daze and followed, trembling. Lloyd also started to walk but was halted by a hand suddenly grabbing his shoulder.

"You, come with me. The Duchess wants to see you."

Clank.

The restraints on his hands were removed.

Lloyd looked up at the person who had spoken.

It was a priest, thin and pale.

‘Why is a priest here?’

He didn’t have time to ponder this before the priest started walking ahead of him.

Given what he had seen of Hector’s treatment, it was clear that the consequences of defiance in this place would be severe. Lloyd quickly followed.

He didn’t mind getting hit, but he knew he had to be careful about getting too angry. If he let his rage get the better of him, he feared the voice in his head would take over completely.

— Step, step.

As he passed through the mansion’s grand entrance, Lloyd glanced to the side.

The other boys were being led down into the mansion’s basement.