mtlumby2d Chapter 534: Whispers of Lies
Chapter 534: Whispers of Lies
"Open the door."
A strange voice that sounded like a man overlapped with Primrose’s voice from outside the room.
Edmund stood there like a statue, and for some reason, his brain couldn’t think clearly. His wife’s voice gradually became faint.
"If you want to know the truth, you have to open the door."
The voice was soft, almost gentle, like silk brushing against his mind. He could feel that his wolf was trying to drive that voice away, but after a while, even his wolf became dormant.
"What truth?" he asked. His lips moved on their own.
"The truth of your wife’s death."
"She didn’t die because of you, but because of her own choice."
"She chose to die. She just wanted to make you feel guilty."
"That woman is a liar."
"That woman is as poisonous as a serpent. Don’t trust her words, or you will suffer forever."
"I don’t believe you," Edmund said after trying his best to regain full control of his consciousness. "I know my wife. She’s nothing like what you’re saying."
"Do you really know her, or do you only know what she wants to show you?"
Edmund fell silent for a moment. His mind became scrambled again, and eventually, Primrose’s voice could no longer be heard.
"Open this door and you will find the answer."
Edmund replied, "What if I don’t want it?"
"Then you will live in a lie for eternity."
"You will never know what kind of person your wife truly is."
Edmund wanted to ignore that voice completely because he believed in his wife. But no matter how hard he tried to resist, his body moved on its own, as if he had been entranced by some kind of mind-control magic.
"Open the door!"
"Edmund, open the door!"
Both voices overlapped inside his mind. Before he could stop himself, he grabbed the doorknob, then broke it, and pushed the door open.
He held his breath the moment he looked inside.
"What?" He froze in place without blinking.
The room behind the door was vast, but instead of seeing many things, he only saw one object there: a skull.
It was mummified, wrapped in old, yellowed bandages. It sat in the middle of the room, placed neatly on top of a table, like some kind of display.
"Edmund!" Primrose rushed toward him as the soldiers broke the door open by force.
She pushed him back against the wall, trying to bring him back to his senses when she realized he hadn’t heard her at all.
"Edmund! Are you alright?!" she asked, pulling his head down so their faces were level. "EDMUND!"
He immediately took a deep breath as Primrose called his name for the umpteenth time.
"Primrose..." Edmund narrowed his eyes slightly, as if trying to make sure that the person in front of him was really his wife.
"Oh... my wife..." The moment he realized it was truly her, his body slowly slumped down, as if all his strength had been drained. "I’m sorry. Did I ignore you?"
Primrose cupped his cheeks and asked firmly, "What’s wrong, Edmund? You were talking to someone just now. Who was it?"
Edmund slowly shook his head. "I don’t know... I’m not sure." He paused for a moment before adding, "He told me to open the door."
[And he told me that you’re a liar,] he said in his mind because he didn’t want the soldiers to hear his words.
[He told me that I don’t really know you.] He looked straight into Primrose’s golden eyes. [But... do I really know you?]
Primrose leaned closer and whispered softly, "That voice was just trying to mess with your head, Edmund." She continued, "And yes, you know me. Of course you do. I don’t hide anything from you anymore."
Back then, she might have kept many things to herself. But ever since their relationship grew closer, she had told him everything, even the things she once thought were strange.
She had opened up to him completely. So why would that voice say she was a liar? Why would it claim she was hiding something?
More than that, what exactly had Edmund seen that made him tremble like this?
"W-What the hell is this?!" one of the soldiers shouted when he looked into the room behind the red door.
"Why is there something like this inside the palace?!"
Primrose turned her head to look, and immediately flinched in shock. Edmund immediately caught her waist and pulled her closer.
"Is it... is it a head?" she asked, her voice trembling.
"I believe so," Edmund replied. "And the energy coming from it is not good at all."
Still clinging to her husband, Primrose asked, "Does it contain bad magic?"
Edmund nodded. "There’s a possibility, yes." He took a deep breath and tightened his arms around her waist. "After all, it was trying to deceive me into hating you."
Primrose stayed silent for a moment, too confused by the situation they were facing.
It felt like too many things were happening in such a short time.
They hadn’t even finished dealing with what Averon had done to those women, and now they had suddenly found a severed head inside a hidden room.
"If we want to take it away, we have to be careful," Edmund said as he stood up and took Primrose’s hands to help her stand as well. "I need Leofric to take a look at this."
After regaining his senses, he ordered the beast soldiers to seal the room and not allow anyone to enter that place.
===
Near sunset, Leofric arrived at the Azmeria palace. He looked both surprised and intrigued when his eyes landed on the mysterious mummified skull.
"Interesting," he said. "I didn’t expect to see something like this today."
Edmund and Primrose stood at the doorway as Leofric stepped into the room, as if they were offering him up first.
"What is that?" Primrose asked. "It tried to manipulate Edmund’s mind a while ago."
"It did?" Leofric tilted his head, then glanced at Edmund and Primrose, who were still as close as glue. "But I don’t think it worked very well, did it?"