My Long Lost Mate

"W-what are you talking about, My Lord?" the magistrate inquired, his hands trembling as they held the teacup, spilling the tea within. "Oh, my apologies. I should go and clean this up," he restlessly placed the teacup back to the table, as if he was in a haste to go and hide somewhere, even if it was only for a short moment. 

"Please don't mind the tea," Luke said, crossing his legs, "Why don't you come and sit here, sir? I would love to exchange a few words with you, my most dedicated employee," he beckoned for him to sit on the sofa right across us, giving him his most charming smile. 

Seeing that there was no way out of the situation, the magistrate soon complied, but was still looking for ways to conceal his wrongdoings. Despite his older age, he took a seat politely, clasping both his hands together—perhaps to hide the beads of sweat on his palms.

"How's work? Is it manageable?" asked Luke, alarming the magistrate in every way despite the casual question, "Do you have any difficulties in managing the village?"

"N-no, My Lord. Everything is going very well," he responded, which instantly made Luke chuckle when he heard his bold answer. 

"Is that so?" he leaned in closer to the magistrate, his hand reaching for the gold brooch on the magistrate's pocket, "Then how come I found so many problems with the village?"

"Y-yes?" 

He sighed, leaning back to the sofa, "While the villagers are living in poverty, the magistrate lived with such luxuries around him," he scrutinized our surroundings, furrowing his brows, "How's that possible, I wonder?" 

"T-t-this came from my family!! My family owns a business, and this is the result of our success," he blurted out, "T-there's no way that I would take the village funds for my own sake."

"Let's suppose what you said is true," Luke nodded, crossing his hands across his ċhėst, "Then how do you explain the drunk guards? The dirty roads? The homeless villagers? Isn't it your responsibility to ensure that nothing like this happens in the village?"

"T-that's..." he faltered, having nothing to retort back. 

"Tell me the truth, and I might give you a piece of my conscience by reducing your sentence," Luke said, but the magistrate remained silent, as if he had too many things to say and couldn't decide which to say first. 

Seeing how the magistrate was hesitating even after hearing his offer, Luke decided that there was no need to be generous to a man who was blinded by his greed. 

"Nevermind," Luke said as he clapped his hands, signaling the offer was no longer available. "I'll just see into this matter according to the law," he smiled kindly. The magistrate only lowered his head, swallowing his saliva as he desperately hoped for our departure, but we were yet to leave. 

"Now, I have other things that I'm here for," Luke continued, causing the magistrate's face to grow even paler. "I'm looking for an abandoned church. Do you know if there's any in this village?" 

I noticed how the magistrate's body tensed up when he heard about the abandoned church, and his eyes didn't dare to meet Luke's. Despite his efforts, it appears that the magistrate was not very good at hiding his emotions. 

"No, not that I know of. I've never heard of an abandoned—" Luke quickly cut him off, seeing through his lies. 

"You better tell the truth unless you want me to turn you completely bald by plugging all that's left on your head."

"W-well," the magistrate stuttered, realizing that it was not an empty threat coming from the Lord, "There isn't any in this village, but there is one in the next village."

Luke then stood up, straightening his cape before turning to face the magistrate, who was still sitting quietly on the sofa, "What are you waiting for? Quick, take me there."

Mr. Magistrate was taken aback when he heard his order, not expecting that he still need to help with more. 

"I-I would love to, Lord William, but my wife is waiting back home... she must be worried because I'm yet to be home when it's way past my working hours," he attempted to reason, trying to flee from the Lord but sadly, he failed.

"Don't worry," Luke said, smiling and holding out his hand to take mine. "After this day, you'll have all the time in the world to spend with your wife," he said, and the magistrate couldn't help but wonder what he meant by it.

...

"What happened here?" Luke asked, glancing at our surrounding which was more like a dead village. 

We had arrived at the second village, accompanied by the magistrate who acted as our guide to the abandoned church. Though the last village was already in poor condition, this one was in an even worst state. 

The village was dark, with only a few lanterns in a few houses were lit to illuminate the way through the village. There was also this smell roaming in the air, a really horrible combination of stuff that I couldn't quite put my finger on. 

Was it because of the late hour? The road was quite empty, with bȧrėly a few people around. Those few people were all in a similar state. They were all skinny—bony, if I may say so—with almost no flesh covering their bodies. I was afraid that the one man shoveling the snow might break his hands from using so much force in his work.

Along with their similar appearance, they also had the same expression on their faces. They stared into what was in front of them blankly, their skin pale and their lips blue. It was as if they were alive, but at the same time, dead. 

They paid no attention to us who passed them, only focused on what they were doing. Each of them had a different task to complete, such as shoveling snow, picking up trash, crafting equipment, and so on. 

"W-what do you mean with what happened, My Lord?"

Truly, there seemed to be a lot of things that this magistrate man was hiding. From the minute we walked into his office till now, he seemed anxious, which explained the stutters—or was that how he normally talks?

"What's wrong with these people? It's like they are not even alive," Luke said, scrunching his nose to the smell, "And what's this smell?" 

"I-I am not well aware of the problems in this village, My Lord," the magistrate said, tightening his grip on the lantern in his hand. That seems plausible, considering that he was also not aware of the problems in his own village. Ah, perhaps pretending to not be aware was the right word. 

"True, no point in asking you," Luke said, as if mocking the man, "It seems like I also need to make a visit to the magistrate office in this village."

"T-the magistrate, he is sick. I haven't seen him for a few weeks now," he quickly interjected, causing Luke to raise one of his eyebrows up. 

"Is that so?"

"Y-yes," nodded the magistrate.

"I wonder why I keep questioning your credibility the more you talk, Mr. Magistrate," he replied nonchalantly, and the magistrate resolved to be quiet for the rest of the walk so that his credibility would not be questioned any further.

It also didn't seem like Luke was interested in learning more about the man whose name he didn't even know. 

With a few more distances through the dark village, we soon arrived at our destination. The abandoned church where the exchanges between the black witch and Leonard took place.

A church, a sacred place to worship, should be warm and inviting—but this one was far from being it. Even from a distance, everything about this church spooked me. Its walls were damaged in places, and vines grew all around it. The windows were shattered, and the paint had faded due to years of neglect. Right on top of the two-way wooden door, was an inscription that I couldn't read as it was not in a language that I understood. 

"Your job here is done," Luke glanced at the magistrate, taking the lantern in his hand, "Go back to your wife and wait for your sentencing with patience. It will come in no time," he smiled. 

He had nothing to say about his wrongdoings, even though he was not happy with the way things had turned out. He left without saying anything else after bowing his head, knowing that the more he says, the more punishment he will receive.

Luke appeared to be unconcerned with the eeriness of the church, as though it was normal for him to be in such places. Though I was the one who came here on my own accord, I couldn't help but hesitate before going into the church now that I'm right outside. After all, who would want to jump into a pit of fire on their own? 

Noticing that I was a little spooked by the church, Luke tightened his grip on my hand, saying, "Don't worry, I beat ghosts too."