Fairy Tale: Little Red Riding Hood's Wolf Mentor

Chapter 16 The Dark Truth
The young man's hands were shaking, and when he turned around, his sunken eye sockets were filled with sadness.

Trembling, he handed a notebook wrapped in cloth and... a silver dagger to Lake.

He looked at Lake's face covered by the hood, and a hint of pleading appeared in his eyes.

He opened his mouth desperately, but realized that he could no longer speak, so he could only close it in vain and make a page-turning gesture with his mud-covered hands.

Lake was silent for a moment, walked forward and pulled up the dying child, and then she and Poro walked back to the grave and the house that was about to burn down.

"laugh--"

Lake used a match to light an oil lamp.

Then he found a sheltered corner, held Poro in his arms, and began to open the tattered notebook.

"Hmm... Judging from the paper quality, this notebook looks like it was pieced together."

Poro tilted his head to examine the side of the notebook and said, "It looks like... three parts?"

"The original page should be that boy's diary, right?"

Lake turned the page of the book and glanced at the other corner of the room. The rescued child was lying motionless in the shadows, like a dead sculpture.

"It looks like there aren't many words in it. I should be able to finish reading it in half an evening, right?"

The first half, which is the inner pages of the notebook's hard cover, is indeed the boy's diary, recording some miscellaneous little things.

My father's arm injury has healed. He's very happy and is back to helping move things...

Today, my mother taught me embroidery. Maybe in the future... I can become a tailor?

【…】

But the following part made Poro and Lake's eyes gradually become serious.

Today, my father happily told us that the bishop allowed him to work as a porter in the church. My mother was also very happy.

[Sure enough, my father's wages have increased significantly. The Bishop is truly very kind!]

【I want to work for the church in the future! 】

My father said he's been a little forgetful lately and keeps forgetting what he moved to church.

[Hey, it turns out my family still has heirlooms. Mom found a dagger at the bottom of the box. It's so shiny and cool in my hand!]

[Mom said this dagger can calm the mind and make people clear-headed!]

[Why did Dad's expression suddenly change after he touched the dagger?]

Dad hasn't been out to work for several days. He doesn't answer anything Mom asks him.

Today, Dad’s old friend came to see him.

I've met that uncle before. He's also a church porter. I heard he just married the washerwoman from the town entrance last year!

I don't know what Dad and Uncle talked about, but they finally went to work together!

[Strange, why didn’t Dad come back today? ]

【Dad hasn't been home for two days, and Mom is worried about him! 】

I went to the church secretly today without telling my mom. Maybe my dad was out working as a farmhand. I even brought my family heirloom dagger for self-defense. Hehe, I'm so smart!

I met a beautiful sister in the church. She stopped me and said that there were some places behind the church that were not allowed to enter, but she promised to help me find out where my father was.

[That sister is so beautiful, she should be about my age, right? ]

"It would be great if she could marry me, but she seems to be a nun, and the bishop said nuns can't marry!"

[No, I can’t sleep today! ]

[I suddenly feel that what the Bishop said does not make sense - why do I have such a thought?]

[No, I need to ask that sister!]

[My sister looks so pretty when she smiles, but...as expected, I got rejected!]

[But my sister gave me a bone sculpture. She said she was the daughter of a hunter, and this bone sculpture was given to her by her father!]

[The bone carving is very delicate. I played with it all night and couldn’t fall asleep.]

Does she like me too?

[Damn it! I gave the family heirloom dagger to that older sister. I wonder if my mom will be furious if she finds out?]

[But Mom has been very sad recently, and I miss Dad a little too.]

[The nun seems to have stopped smiling recently. Why? Her eyes are red. Has she been crying?]

The nun handed me a letter, saying it was information about my father. She repeatedly told me not to tell anyone else and to give it directly to my mother.

I gave the letter to my mother

After this paragraph, the boy's handwriting suddenly became messy and uneven.

There were even several times when the paper was torn!

Many of the characters were blurred by the water, making them appear a little blurry, but this made Poro even more aware of the boy's heartache as he wrote. [That night, the mother cried bitterly. She packed up the food and money she had in the house!]

Where are we going?

My mother gave me all her property and told me to leave town and go far away, never to come back.

【Why!?】

[Mother took a kitchen knife and went to church!]

The next day, my mother didn't come back either.

On the third day, I went to church and found my mother dead, but there was no body.

The bishop spoke in the square. He said that a witch from the forest had sneaked into the town and killed innocent people.

The bishop comforted me and sent me some food. He is such a good man.

[Damn witch! ]

【It’s raining tonight, someone knocks on the door】

[It's the nun. She's soaked, her face is pale, her eyes are dull, and her whole body is trembling. What's wrong with her?]

[The nun took out a notebook from her bosom. It was her diary.]

[Sister Sister took out the family heirloom dagger I gave her]

[Sister Nun Dies]

[She stabbed herself in the neck with the silver dagger]

[The dagger feels cold, and I remember that feeling.]

[I think the Bishop is lying! He's been lying all along!]

The original pages of the notebook had reached the end. Poro turned to the next page, which was several stacks of different papers.

The handwriting on it was also obviously different from that of the boy.

I worked as a porter at the church and earned a lot of money.

[I just feel like my memory seems to have declined a bit. I can't remember what I moved.]

[A beautiful dagger. Holding it, I feel... my memory is back!]

[What I carried to the church was a dead body!]

I even remembered who some of them were!

"But why... didn't I remember that before? I even forgot about those who died!?"

[Oh, it’s the Bishop!]

[Is there something wrong with the Bishop? Or have I been bewitched by the devil?]

【I...I'm afraid I'll have to think about this for a while! 】

[It's the Bishop. All my logic, all my memories... point to him... And why was I completely clueless until now? Is everyone... like this!?]

Today, my brother invited me to go to the church to carry

I let him touch the dagger.

We wanted to go and take a look, because one of the dead bodies they had carried away earlier was also our brother.

Poro turned to the next page, which seemed to be the last page of the boy's father's diary.

The writing on it was not ink, but reddish-brown blood!
[Tell the bishop and the witch hunters that they are killing people! They are the real devils!]

Poro and Lake looked at each other. There was a complicated look in the girl's eyes. Although it was a little bad, Poro felt inexplicably relieved.

He knew why.

My guess was right, there was indeed something wrong with the townspeople's "Bishop"!

And there are many problems -

He is probably a hypocrite who covers up countless crimes and bloodshed!
But the fact that he was able to deceive the entire town for several years and the power he displayed behind it made the two of them feel a chill in their hearts.

The last part.

Poro and Lake turned their attention back to the pages in their hands, which was a whole thin book.

The pages were white, like the finer paper used in churches.

This time...it should be the diary of that nun.

Seeing this, Poro's pupils shrank. On the blank first page of the nun's diary, there was a mark written by the boy.

That must be the nun's name.

And the nun's name is - Fran!
(End of this chapter)