“Episode 5”
It was the next day. Like a cat playing with a ball of yarn, Clodan spent the entire day gently caressing Ray’s hair. He became increasingly oblivious to the surroundings. Placing his foot on Clodan’s thigh and looking through a fairy tale book together.
Ray lived as if she had many things to inherit. In reality, it was the opposite, but due to Clodan, who was willing to give generously, she was on the verge of confusion. They didn’t engage in much conversation, and Ray couldn’t even contribute to the small talk. Serving desserts every hour was a routine, and even when Ray wandered around the mansion, there was no scolding.
The first to notice the change was Mrs. Mary. Perhaps due to being in charge of the meals for both of them every day, she quickly caught on to the changing atmosphere. Next was Philip, who was close to Clodan. Then the news spread to the stable keeper Jack and the gardener.
“What did you say?”
Of course, at this point, it was no longer a topic of conversation. Heish, who arrived late after finishing a long errand and brought some gifts for his still-sick younger sister, was there too.
“Dinner is already over. If you want something separately, there are ingredients, so prepare it yourself.”
There was no carriage to bring him, and he had walked all the way. Enduring the cold with the thought of a warm meal, Heish was greeted by a cold old man, more like a street beggar than a passerby.
“What are you talking about?”
“Is there anyone here?”
“Rude! Is this how you treat guests? Prepare dinner right away! I shivered for an hour in the cold walking to this miserable village!”
Heish was already boiling. His trusted friend kept changing his words, and even the goods he brought with difficulty for delivery were of terrible quality. The extravagant investment of the naive young lord was dwindling like water, and his mother’s condition, unknown to his unaware mother, was getting worse. Now, even the old man, who resented him, ignored him and treated him worse than a passing street vendor. Not a customer, but a miserable beggar asking for a meal.
“Stop immediately! Prepare the meal, now!”
Heish, who was furious, threw an empty bowl at him. Philip just stopped, staring at the broken bowl that was slowly descending.
“Hey.”
Philip’s slender back twitched, and his head twisted to both sides. Like a tree with deep roots, he stood there, looking at the broken bowl without lifting his eyes.
“Hey?”
A fidgety Philip turned, and his dilated pupils were stretched. Reptilian eyes. A bifurcated tongue on the palate. Green scales protruding around the neck. Wrinkles, lacking elasticity. Lips that were cracked on both sides. He was not a complete person. Heish froze as if he had been hit.
“Behave quietly when I’m being generous. It’s just a favor because life is tough.”
Philip licked his chin with his long tongue. That was it. He really left as if he were releasing a helpless mouse, leaving only the wet crotch of Heish’s pants behind.
“Uh, what is this?”
For a moment, Heish recalled the villager he had met in the morning. The man pulling a potato cart suddenly asked Heish where he was going. Puzzled, Heish rudely answered him, but the villager kept staring at him with an unwavering gaze.
“Is this where you’re coming from?”
Frustrated, Heish replied harshly to the villager and continued to haggle with a haughty man and buy some goods.
“Do you expect me to fall for that? Go away because I can’t give you any money for walking an hour to this wretched village!”
However, even the old man, who had haggled with him for some time and had trouble delivering the goods, left without saying a word. Heish was left to look embarrassingly at his soaked pants.
“That, what’s that?”
For a moment, Heish recalled the words of the village head. The man who had been pulling a potato cart suddenly asked Heish where he was going. Puzzled, Heish rudely answered him, but the villager kept staring at him with an unwavering gaze.
“Do you expect me to fall for that? Go away because I can’t give you any money for walking an hour to this wretched village!”
“Is that what you expect?”
“I don’t expect anything from a cheeky person like you.”
“Am I misunderstood this way? I was just worried.”
“Worried?”
“That you might fall down.”
“Fall down?”
“I was just worried about that.”
“Enough to make such a fuss about it?”
Heish recalled the conversation with the village head. The man pulling the potato cart suddenly asked Heish where he was going. Puzzled, Heish rudely answered him, but the villager kept staring at him with an unwavering gaze.
“I was just worried about you.”
“Worried?”
“Fall down?”
“I was just worried about that.”
“Enough to make such a fuss about it?”
It was then that Heish realized. The constant gaze, the persistent eyes—it was the look of a concern. Heish, who had been irritated, looked at Philip in the distance. The man who didn’t respond to his angry outburst and left as if he were ignoring a begging street vendor. Heish remembered his soaked pants and stood there, frozen.
“‘Worried?'”
Heish brushed off the dust from his jacket and laughed.
“A potato-digger from the countryside dares to worry about me?”
However, the man remained serious despite the insult.
“The direction you’re heading is dangerous. Even people around here don’t go that way.”
“That’s hilarious.”
“But in that place…”
“Stop. Are you testing my patience now?”
Heish waved him away as if shooing off a fly, arrogantly turning his gaze to the composed Philip. He didn’t even notice when the man left. It was that indifferent of a conversation.
“Could it be…”
Cold sweat ran down Heish’s face. Where on earth was this? A monster’s lair. A place where people were lured and devoured. Yet, even if he wanted to leave, there was nowhere to go, and the chilling reality tightened its grip. Moreover, he had a younger sister. Wandering around due to household circumstances might only last a day or two, but if she stayed like this, she would be treated like an unchanged maiden.
Although he didn’t consider the towering debt pile to be entirely his fault, he still felt a sense of responsibility as a brother. If he didn’t feel bitter every time he saw his cheerful sister acting her age, or when he thought about the hairpin he brought from the southern maidens, he was lying.
“Ray!”
No matter how much he scolded, she was his blood. He couldn’t stay here any longer. Frank, his aunt’s son, might be calculated and aloof, but he wouldn’t shove a troubled Ray into the abyss. Once he left Ray there and concluded the business he conducted here, that would be the end of it.
“Ray! Right away…”
His breath caught. It was the drawing-room. His innocent sister lay on the long table, and on the opposite side was the lord. The feeling of his stomach twisting as soon as he saw them was indescribable.
‘Ray!’
But his tongue felt dry. His voice wouldn’t come out.
“Looks like you made a mistake.”
“I thought I wrote it correctly.”
The distant Orabi was tied up like a lifeless scarecrow, and Ray was diligently studying. Somehow, the atmosphere between them resembled that of blossoming lovers. When did it happen?
“But Ray.”
“Yes?”
“Your Orabi is late.”
“Seems a little late…”
As Ray’s nape turned pale yellow, Heish internally kicked his foot. But in his current state, he couldn’t even raise a single finger.
“Poor Ray.”
The lord affectionately combed Ray’s hair as if she were a puppet.
“Clodan.”
“Yes?”
“In that case, Clodan would come to dislike me, right?”
Clodan’s eyes widened more than Heish’s.
“If my brother wastes Clodan’s money or… gets cheated, it will be difficult for Clodan to treat me kindly anymore.”
Clodan, who stared at Ray for a moment, laughed coldly.
“Don’t worry about it.”
“Why?”
“Because I will surely get what’s mine.”
Then, he looked directly at Heish. His gaze, which consumed everything from toes to eyeballs, was cold and harsh. Heish wavered like a deer caught by the neck. He felt it from their first meeting. Clodan had no interest in him. Indifferent to everything, he never asked about the business ventures or showed any concern. He seemed like a carefree person, but now it was clear that he had his own interests.
“Clodan, it’s already this late. Teach the rest tomorrow.”
Clodan, still holding the book gracefully, kissed Ray’s forehead lightly.
“Tomorrow is difficult.”
Disappointed, Ray had no reply. The clever Clodan redirected her gaze elsewhere.
“Heish, sir.”
“Heish?”
Surprised, Ray turned around, and Heish’s tense body loosened, like a lie unraveling. However, his voice remained silent. Not a word escaped.
“When did you arrive? It’s worrisome when you disappear without a word for days.”
“…”
“Heish.”
From behind, Clodan gently embraced Ray.
“Are you tired? You don’t even answer when your sister asks.”
“Uh, Clodan.”
Ray glanced at Heish, who, pushing her arms away, had lips sewn shut, ready to burst.
“Heish, well, this is…”
Each time Clodan embraced her and delved deeper, Ray’s cheeks reddened as if lacking strength. Even though it was a familiar scene, facing a silent Orabi armed with silence left no choice but to panic.
“I’ll, uh, go now. Tomorrow, or later…”
Taking the book as if snatching it, Ray, passing by Heish, soared down the dark corridor like a chimney. Sadly, she didn’t look back even once. Heish felt a mixture of anger and sorrow as his sister seemed heartless.
Now, only two remained. As Clodan’s voice faded away, a profound silence settled. The room, once filled with the fragrance of affection, became tense. Heish’s lips were worse than a pouty fish, and there was no way to break the silence.
“How’s the business going?”
Suddenly, he breathed out. As Clodan’s casual question dropped, Heish, as if in a play, muttered something with his lips.
“You, are you… doing this now?”
Clodan shrugged innocently. Even Heish, who had difficulty distinguishing between up and down, understood. There was a counterpart to banter with, someone to bow to maintain a breathing hole. Whether he had a noble nameplate or was a beggar, it was incomparable. The result was obvious. Heish swallowed his dry saliva.
“W-What about sending my sister?”
“Playing around? I can’t leave her like that. Anyway, it’s a business problem. Isn’t a woman irrelevant to men’s affairs?”
“But she has nowhere to go. You’re not thinking of leaving her on the streets, are you?”
“There’s no way. Well, she is here for now. But, you see, I can’t leave a maiden with no prospects… Maybe around next spring.”
If he sent Ray to his cousin and asked him to look for a suitable husband, it was his plan. It was impossible to hope for an uneventful life in the midst of a dwindling pool of protectors amid his father’s death and his mother bedridden.
“Just because I was going to mention that…”
Clodan’s expression was strange. Heish sensed something unusual about his demeanor. Staring at Heish like an emotionless statue, his eyes lacked vitality. Heish, tense, stammered severely.
“I-I will never forget your kindness until now. So, milord…”
“Who?”
Heish’s back was drenched in sweat.
“Um, um, that is…”
“Heish.”
August 17, 2022
Clodan smiled brightly. It was a smile that didn’t release resentment, a grin that showed fangs.
“Who is it?”
At that moment, Heish’s last courage surged. Like a hyena fleeing an unbeatable adversary, he sprinted away. It was undoubtedly the first time in Heish’s life. He never expected to run away like a petty thief, squandering his life in luxury like a peacock.
Heish, swallowed by the black corridor, kept looking back. The image of the angry lord, foaming at the mouth, chasing him arose in his imagination.
But what he overlooked, someone who had never been hunted before, was that this was Clodan’s mansion, and prey caught in his trap always died.
