29. Haven’t We Met Before

The already dark interior was covered with black ash. Perhaps because of the rain, the burning smell had weakened compared to my memory.

The interior was filled with steam, as if rain was leaking in somewhere. Wherever I went, pungent and murky air greeted me.

But having come this far, I couldn’t return without any results.

Feeling as if my lifespan was shortening due to the polluted air, I covered my mouth and nose with my sleeve. Though it didn’t particularly improve anything, I had to be satisfied with that.

I walked forward a bit more. Everything was so burned that the appearance before the fire was unrecognizable.

Fortunately, the stairs remained relatively intact compared to other things. The railings and handrails, accessories of the stairs, were blackened with ash.

‘I hope this doesn’t suddenly collapse while climbing.’

My ultimate goal was to reach the place where I had last seen the young master.

The stairs, being made of stone, wouldn’t burn, but I still didn’t have enough confidence to fully entrust my body to them.

I decided to gather my courage once.

When I climbed the first step of the stairs, I fortunately felt stability.

While passing through the stairs, outside air entered through the gaps in the collapsed walls. The sound of wind coming through the narrow gaps was quite desolate.

This place was like ruins. That wasn’t entirely wrong. After all, no one would be able to live here for a while.

Though my legs trembled with anxiety that the floor might collapse at any moment, I climbed the stairs bit by bit.

Whether due to the occasional leaking wind or my movement entering this unstable, collapsing structure, a creaking sound was gradually heard from somewhere.

I was so scared that I had to stop walking and take a deep breath.

But that was a completely wrong decision. I had to cough for a while after inhaling the acrid air.

There was almost no glass left in the window frame above the balcony railing at the end of the first staircase.

Before climbing the stairs to the next floor, I decided to stay briefly on that landing to prepare myself mentally.

The scenery visible through that completely open large window frame contrasted sharply with this miserable place.

The rain seemed to have already stopped. It must have been the kind of rain that passes quickly. It seemed my timing for coming out earlier wasn’t good.

Through the window, I could see the peaceful panorama of the entire ducal residence through the blackened dead trees. The place I had just left was also very visible from here.

In the sky, thick clouds that had replaced the already passed shower were being dyed red with the sunset light.

At that moment, something cold fell onto my shoulder. It seemed like rainwater that had pooled somewhere through a hole in this building. The ceiling appeared to be leaking.

Because of this, my anxiety about the safety of this building was revived.

But I still had places to walk up to. I gathered my resolve with all my might and started walking.

I also didn’t forget to look around the empty corridors or room entrances.

As I repeatedly rested while going around several floors, the scenery visible through the windows gradually changed.

Due to the considerably darkened day, I couldn’t even distinguish the burned dead trees and the surrounding boundaries I had seen earlier.

Though I had looked around every part of the building, what I was looking for wasn’t here. That was fortunate, but I couldn’t stop searching immediately.

Not trusting myself, I rechecked several times.

I soon realized that my thoughts were completely wrong.

Coming here couldn’t alleviate any worries at all. Completely exhausted, I walked into what “had been” my bedroom and slumped down on the floor.

I gathered my legs as if embracing them, then buried my throbbing head in my knees. Was it because I had moved too much?

Suddenly, considerable fatigue came over me.

I seemed to hear the sound of water splashing somewhere, but the sound soon receded again.

Something indistinguishable appeared faintly in my gradually blurring vision.

It moved up and down as it approached. Along with that movement, the sound of water sloshing in the puddle on the floor seemed to come at regular intervals.

I looked at the faint reflection in the water pooled in front of me.

It looked like a person. But it wasn’t the person I was looking for.

The two had distinctly different gaits. In fact, their build and posture were completely different from the start.

Was that really a person to begin with? Could it be something like a ghost?

Seeing that they were alone, it definitely wasn’t an officer investigating the fire. But otherwise, there would be no one who would enter such ruins.

Unless they were driven mad by guilt like me.

As drowsiness tilted my head, it drew a large semicircle left and right. Due to the overwhelming sleepiness, I felt like I would collapse onto the floor. I tried to raise my head and stay conscious, but it wasn’t working well.

“……”

Somehow, my head suddenly felt even heavier. As my head lowered, my vision went dark. As a result, my vision was limited to the wet floor.

I seemed to hear a crisp, light metallic sound nearby.

Along with the sound of fire igniting, there was a strong, pungent scent. I heard the sound of someone taking a deep drink of something and exhaling. At the same time, I felt someone’s gaze staring at me intently.

I wiggled a couple of fingers, the only parts I could move. A large, dark shadow was cast over me, visible even to me with my head deeply bowed.

At that moment, what entered my vision was familiar. It was a shoe that seemed like I had seen it many times somewhere.

I could soon remember exactly where I had seen it.

It was because it was an unforgettable moment.

How could I forget a shoe I had focused all my nerves on, even if just for a moment?

It was the very shoe I had seen while hiding under the desk on the day I visited my father’s office recently.

It seemed the entity in front of me wasn’t something like a ghost after all.

But why was this shoe here?

And this piercing k*lling intent was certainly not an illusion.

Instantly, drowsiness fled. Instinctive survival desire had driven away the languid sleepiness.

If my memory was correct, this was definitely not a good situation.

The person who appeared there that day was presumed to be the one who had bought up not only our family’s mines but also the office.

Of course, it might not be the same person as that day, but I felt exactly the same as when I had hidden under my father’s desk that day.

Though I couldn’t understand why, I felt the same tremendous k*lling intent as then.

“……Haven’t we met before?”

I barely asked with a trembling voice.

I saw someone’s hand wearing a glove made of dark leather in front of me. And between the index and middle fingers, a cigarette emitting smoke was loosely placed.

That hand twitched as if telling me to continue speaking. Due to that movement, the cigarette smoke rising clearly from his fingers scattered.

“I remember. That day, you saw me.”

Why had this person appeared in front of me now, in a place like this? In the ducal family’s temporary residence, the old civil affairs office, and this half-burned place at that.

Could it be that this person was also responsible for setting the fire here?

‘Fortunately, someone has appeared offering a good deal.’

In exchange for selling all the documents of the desired mine, Father said he had received a tremendous price.

Could it be that this person was targeting me?

If not, they could also have some connection to the young master who had fled here injured last night.

In fact, capturing either of us as a hostage could extract a considerable amount of money. Of course, there was a significant difference in class between the young master and me as hostage considerations.

Now everything finally made sense.

What this person wanted was now clear. It was money.

Then, who exactly was this person?

Goosebumps that started from my spine spread rapidly throughout my body. It felt like my peripheral nerves would freeze.

Once I became convinced that he was planning a tremendous crime, I was terrified to death but needed to keep my wits about me.

I had to struggle hard to stiffen my immobile neck and try to look up at that person.

However, each time, I couldn’t move as if my head was blocked by something heavy. And gradually, I began to feel the true nature of the strange sensation heavily pressing down on my head.

What was restraining me seemed to be this person’s unseen hand.

Though he was using only one hand, his strength was considerable.

But I had two free hands. I tried to shake off that hand with all my might and get up from my place.

However, no matter which direction I applied force, the frustrating result was the same. It seemed impossible to escape with my strength.

When I relaxed, ironically, the force pressing down on me weakened slightly.

I decided to resign myself to not escaping.

“The young master, is he still alive?”

The hand holding the cigarette momentarily trembled, and ash fell down with a small spark.