Chapter 10.6

On the second day of recovery. The front of the Nutak Villa was bustling as if it were a feast day. It was a pandemonium with reporters who came to cover the news of the fire, villagers from nearby, and busy crew members.

“Oh, oh, oh…!”

“Get back! It’s collapsing!”

As the crew’s shouts echoed, the right side of the villa, which had been barely holding up, collapsed as if falling. The servants were busy blocking the people who were letting out inexplicable exclamations and the excited reporters who seemed to have captured a remarkable moment.

The actual owner of the villa, Luette Trovill, stood on a flat rock, watching the scene without any emotion.

Even after searching day and night for two days, they couldn’t find a single burned corpse, so Solnia must have escaped the villa alive. Moreover, they couldn’t find Iela and Angie, who were said to have stayed together. So, the three of them must have fled somewhere together.

The head, which had cooled by now, continued its frighteningly cold calculations. Eventually, he began searching again between the sloping rocky paths.

When Philip, who had left to check the situation in the capital, returned, it was evening, and Luette Trovill was still there.

Philip sighed and carefully headed down the sloping path with a lantern.

“I’m back.”

“…….”

Even though someone approached right in front of him, the man didn’t even raise his head, looking like a truly mad person. The burn marks visible through his torn shirt made Philip frown. If left like this, the flesh would rot. The man was raking through the bushes with that arm as if he didn’t feel any pain.

“Oliver Herpothy’s memoir is becoming a bigger issue than expected. Above all, the Queen, who was known to be close with the Heston Dowager Madame, seems quite embarrassed. I think the royal family might pay attention to this for a while.”

Even though he mentioned that a noble court might be held if they were lucky, it seemed Luette Trovill wasn’t listening.

“……Stop it.”

Philip eventually grabbed his arm. The reconnaissance team dispatched by the police had searched the nearby forest and riverbanks, but found nothing. Luette Trovill knew this too.

“You need to rest. You need treatment as well.”

“…….”

“Get a grip.”

At the pitiful voice, Luette Trovill raised his head.

“We didn’t find a body.”

He uttered terrifying words nonchalantly.

“It means she got out alive.”

“…….”

“So we have to find her.”

He wanted to find something, but he also didn’t want to find anything. Whenever he discovered a shape in the bushes, he wondered if it was Solnia’s body, and his breathing faltered. Confirming it wasn’t, he felt relieved, but then an overwhelming suffocation set in.

As the man, who seemed to be in a trance, moved again, Philip urgently grabbed him.

“There’s nothing.”

“…….”

“Young Master, there’s nothing.”

At the expression that was pitiful, Luette Trovill lowered his head. Whatever he was thinking, he chuckled and ran his hand through his hair.

Indeed. What am I looking for?

*

Another day passed, and darkness descended again. Today, even the firefighters withdrew. Since what remained was just the cleanup and organization of the site, it seemed the urgent work was over.

Luette Trovill didn’t hold them back. Even while receiving reports on future plans, he didn’t respond once.

He ordered the servants to return home, but they didn’t comply. Luette Trovill leaned against the carriage, watching the servants clean up around the villa after everyone had left.

No one cried anymore. Neither the servants nor Luette Trovill cried. They just didn’t laugh either.

“You should go inside and get some rest.”

Philip, who approached, offered a portable flask. He no longer suggested going for treatment or staying in the village.

“No.”

Luette Trovill didn’t take what Philip offered. Borrowing the effect of alcohol to briefly close his eyes was possible, but he didn’t want to. When he closed his eyes, he heard that Solnia had been found. He ran out of the carriage in surprise, only to be disappointed several times to find it was all a dream and hallucination.

Now he was scared.

He was afraid of the increasing pain from the burns, and the fact that he could feel it. The clearer sense of reality terrified him. The fear that this moment, when the villa burned down and Solnia disappeared without a trace, would truly become his reality.

“Young Master! Young Master!!”

Then, a powerful shout came from behind. The sound of hooves followed. Soon, what appeared before the two men was Roni, the coachman of the Trovill Ducal Household.

Roni barely stopped in front of the two men and delivered unbelievable news.

“The Young Madam has returned!”

“…….”

Luette Trovill blankly looked up at Roni.

“The Young Madam has returned, Young Master!!”

*

Startled, Solnia opened her eyes and silently stared at the dark interior for a while. Once her eyes adjusted to the dark and she saw Iela and Angie lying on the bed next to her, a sigh of relief poured out.

Solnia got up and tidied the disheveled blankets over them. Iela and Angie, who were sound asleep, looked peaceful. Their even breathing made it hard to believe there had been a fire just a few days ago.

‘Young Madam!!’

The desperate cry still echoed in her ears like an auditory hallucination. So did the ceiling that collapsed toward her.

If it hadn’t been for Iela, who pulled her with all her might, she would have been crushed to death. The collapsing ceiling narrowly missed her, but the flames caught her gown. Solnia discarded it without hesitation.

The three women, who barely crossed the balcony, looked back after moving a certain distance from the villa, and the entire villa was engulfed in flames. Even the balcony they had just escaped from.

Walking along the sloping rocky path while carrying someone unconscious was no easy task. Moreover, perhaps due to the smoke they inhaled, breathing remained difficult. Iela and Solnia stumbled and bruised their knees several times before finally reaching the riverbank.

They sat there for a while to catch their breath, then resumed walking along the river. They met the Manson couple just before collapsing from exhaustion.

The Manson couple, who had left home early for hunting, discovered them while crossing the river and helped without hesitation.  

The Manson couple’s cabin reminded them of the Nutak Villa, which was likely still burning, but there was no time to think about that back then. Solnia had fainted as soon as she found the cabin.  

Was it because the tension had eased? Or was it due to the smoke she had inhaled? Solnia had to stay bedridden for two full days.  

And today.  

Having finally woken up feeling somewhat human again, there was only one thing Solnia wanted to do.

“I’m sorry, but I think we need to leave now.”  

Madame Manson, who was preparing breakfast, looked momentarily surprised but then nodded in understanding.

“Your family must be worried, so it’s right to return. But are you sure you’re okay, young lady? Not just you, but the maids probably haven’t fully recovered yet either.”  

“We’re fine, Madam.”  

“Thank you for taking care of us.”  

When Iela and Angie bowed politely, both the Manson Madam and Mr. Manson shrugged helplessly.  

“There’s no helping it, I suppose. I can only hope you’ll travel safely. If you find it too difficult on the way, feel free to come back at any time. I’ll be staying in the cabin for the rest of the day.”  

The Manson Madam remained kind until the end.  

The Manson couple had moved to this cabin to live after all their children got married and left. Occasionally, they would hunt and gather resources.  

In their simple lives, the sudden appearance of these three women had been warmly embraced by the Manson couple. Just as they were now.  

“By the way, is the road back close?”  

“It’s a bit far. We were staying at a villa for vacation, so… by the way, could we borrow a horse? Or perhaps a carriage…”  

“Oh, what should we do? We don’t have a horse.”  

Madame Manson looked at her husband with a troubled expression. Mr. Manson scratched his head and replied.

“Occasionally, a public carriage passes by, but it’s very unreliable. The man who runs it is quite a lazy fellow…”  

“Please, Mr. Manson.”  

“…”  

“I must return home.”  

Why was it that saying those words made her feel so strange? The fact that she had a place to return to struck her in an odd way.  

Watching the hesitant Mr. Manson, Solnia hurriedly searched for something to offer but soon realized that even the clothes she was wearing were the Manson Madam’s indoor dress. She looked troubled.  

Her gaze landed on her fingers. The only valuable item she currently possessed was the ring on her finger.  

After a moment of hesitation, Solnia removed the ring. Iela and Angie exclaimed, “No, Madam…!” as they tried to stop her.  

Solnia placed the ring in Mr. Manson’s hand and said,  

“This ring should be enough for the carriage fare. Please use the remaining money as thanks for taking care of us.”  

“…”  

“Please. I must return home.”  

“…”  

“My husband will be waiting for me.”  

Mr. Manson, who had been staring wide-eyed at the ring, hesitated for a moment before leaving the cabin.  

“I’ll wake him up quickly. Please wait a moment.”  

The supposedly lazy public carriage owner arrived in a flash, likely enticed by the carriage fare he had been promised. His disheveled hair and half-open eyes didn’t inspire much confidence, but there was no other choice.  

The carriage smoothly traversed the forest path. They asked to stop by the Nutak Villa just in case, but the road leading there was already blocked with a “No Entry” sign.  

Turning back, the carriage traveled for a long time before finally leaving the forest. Only when they saw the open sky did it truly sink in. Everything that had happened was real.  

The child who had cried while watching the ash scatter had survived to become a woman who calmly wiped the soot from her face.