After my initial shock subsided, something else caught my eye.

Ivron’s mate stone, Rob, was evidently decorated with great care. The pearls attached here and there contrasted cutely with the stone’s black surface.

At the very top, a large black onyx was attached, making it look like a small black snowman.

As I stared blankly at Rob, I turned my eyes back outside.

The sight of variously decorated stones was dizzying.

Ribbons and flowers were basic. There were stones adorned with gold, jewels, and even dressed in gowns and tiaras.

“Ah…”

My wandering pupils finally settled on none other than my Shahar.

The ribbon I tied on him today was made of purple satin.

Of course, the satin ribbon with its subtle sheen was quite luxurious. However, in front of all those dazzling decorations, it just looked shabby.

Moreover, because of my clumsy skills, the ribbon was tied unevenly and was slightly crumpled. The crumples, which I usually didn’t mind, bothered me particularly today.

Realizing that I had decorated my most proud, special, and beloved Shahar more poorly than other stones made my heart ache.

I stood up from my seat without taking a single sip of iced tea.

My abrupt movement made Ivron and the other women flinch.

“Are you leaving already?”

“Yes. Thanks to you, I’ve had a great realization. Thank you, Ivron. See you at the party.”

“I don’t know what it is, but I’m glad I could help.”

I almost ran back to the mansion. My mind was filled only with thoughts of ordering accessories for Shahar.

For my Shahar, I wouldn’t hesitate to lavish diamonds, emeralds, pearls, velvet, satin, and all sorts of luxurious materials.

It was when I turned the corner. I collided violently with someone coming from the opposite direction. Thanks to Shahar, I didn’t fall, but the impact was significant.

Rubbing my throbbing head, I checked who it was.

A middle-aged man, whose hair had just started to gray, was crouching on the ground.

“Are you okay?”

“Ugh, go away! I’ve done nothing wrong…!”

When I approached and asked, the man shrank further in fear.

I was momentarily stunned by his unexpected reaction.

‘Is he being chased by someone?’

I cautiously looked in the direction he had come from. But there was no one particularly suspicious.

‘What’s going on?’

“Ugh, please just let me go!”

The man cried out again, his head bowed to the ground.

As he spoke, a strong smell of alcohol wafted out.

‘Ugh.’

I didn’t know what had driven him to drink himself into a stupor in broad daylight, but dealing with a drunkard wouldn’t do me any good.

But it also didn’t sit right with me to leave someone who could barely stand on their own.

“Hey?”

It was only after I raised my voice that he slowly lifted his head. His unfocused, blurry eyes wavered wildly.

“Wh-Who are you?”

“You just bumped into me. Are you hurt?”

The man’s eyes gradually regained focus.

He stared at me for a while before asking in a much clearer voice than before.

“Are you a person?”

“Should I be a ghost?”

“Right, of course, you’re a person. I must be too drunk.”

“Can you stand?”

The man nodded and staggered to his feet.

He looked so unsteady that I, despite the hassle, supported him.

“How kind of you. By any chance, are you a noble?”

“What if I am?”

He suddenly brightened up. Then he started to babble incoherently.

“Hey, noble lady. Then help me out, will you? They say I’m talking nonsense and that the high lords are going to punish me…! No one believes what I’m saying, what should I do? Oh dear, at this rate, something terrible will happen…”

“What? What are you talking about?”

“I saw it, for sure. I saw it clearly with my own two eyes! But no one believes me. I’m so scared and upset that all I do is drink…”

The man, who looked older than my father, seemed on the verge of tears, so I couldn’t be too harsh with him.

“What did you see?”

“Well, let me tell you how it happened. Exactly three days…? Four days? No, was it a week ago…?”

“Let’s just say it was a few days ago.”

“Ah, so a few days ago…”

The man, who had started speaking again, suddenly let out a deep sigh as if the ground would swallow him up. He shook his head a couple of times and waved his hands dismissively.

“No, just go. You won’t believe me anyway. Even I can’t believe what I saw… I need to drink more.”

He staggered to his feet but fell again after a few steps.

“Oh!”

I looked at him awkwardly, then remembered that there was a police station nearby used by the city guards.

“Stop drinking. I’ll take you to the police station.”

“No, no. They said they would punish me!”

At this point, I was starting to get annoyed.

“Believe it or not, I’m a vassal of the Dronay family. I’ll make sure the guards take good care of you. They’ll definitely get you home safely.”

“Dronay…?”

The man muttered something incomprehensible upon hearing my family name.

“What did you say?”

“Oh, nothing.”

Although he said that, anyone could see he was itching to say something but holding back.

“Mister, instead of beating around the bush, why don’t you just tell me what’s on your mind? You’re making me frustrated too. I’ll just listen to you as if it’s drunken rambling.”

“Really? Should I do that then…?”

The man, seemingly waiting for this moment, started speaking again.

“I don’t know if you know, but there’s a scary rumor going around among the commoners these days. Most of it is about witnessing strange beings that are completely different from humans.”

“Strange beings…?”

I frowned. Somehow, I had a gut feeling that this was not just a baseless rumor.

“Well, until recently, I dismissed it as mere nonsense. Until I saw it with my own eyes.”

He looked around swiftly, surprisingly agile for a drunk, and then whispered in a low voice.

“There’s a monster in this city that turns people into mummies.”

My heart sank at those words.

‘Is it another transcendent appearing again?’

Seeing my hardened expression, he seemed to think I didn’t believe him and pounded his chest in frustration.

“I know it sounds like the ramblings of a drunkard. But it’s all true! I, more than anyone, wish that what I saw was just a hallucination…”

“I believe you. So please, tell me more about the situation.”

“What? You really believe my absurd story?”

When I said I believed him, the drunk looked at me with suspicious eyes.

“Look, it’s not that I doubt you… but do you know the name of our country?”

“It’s Kebrenia. I’m not a fool, so please, just tell me quickly.”

“Oh, sorry. You believed me so readily that I… Anyway, it was late at night, and I was on my way home after drinking. Someone was lying on the street. I thought it would be dangerous to leave them there, so I approached to wake them up. But…”

The man shivered as he recalled the incident.

“Was it already not a living person?”

“Yes. My goodness, they were so dried up like firewood that I didn’t even realize it was a person at first! Although I shouldn’t have, I thought I was just seeing things because I was drunk and went home. Besides, if such a body had been found, the city would have been in an uproar, but it was quiet, so I thought I must have been mistaken. But then, I found another mummy early yesterday morning.”

“Another victim appeared?”

The man nodded weakly.

“This time, it was in front of my house. I heard a commotion and thought some ruffians were fighting, so I ignored it. But then I heard a scream. I was scared, so I peeked out the window, and there was a dark figure standing there.”

“Do you remember any distinguishing features?”

“He was tall and thin. His complexion was very pale. I don’t remember anything else. When I came to my senses, the figure was gone, and only the mummy remained.”

“Never mind the dark figure, what did you do with the mummy?”

“It crumbled as soon as I touched it.”

A transcendent who dries up bodies to the point of turning them to dust. I didn’t know who it was, but it was definitely a nasty one.

“Thank you for telling me. I’ll protect you in the name of the Dronay family. But it’s best not to tell anyone else about this story. For your own sake, okay?”

“Thank you for listening. You’re the only one who even pretended to believe me.”

The drunk’s face looked much more relaxed, as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders after using me as a sounding board.

In contrast, my heart felt heavy.