“…no. It’s fine.”
After answering out of habit, I shook my head again, blaming myself for rejecting such a good excuse.
“Now that I think about it again, I think it’s true that I’m not feeling well.”
“Yes?”
“Oh, this is where we end our hide and seek today. Knock, knock.”
I coughed quickly, and he heard it and met my gaze. He has an extremely piercing and deep gaze that appears to see right through the words no matter what I say. I made every effort to keep the mansion’s basement out of my mind. However, he seemed to sense something in my expression because he continued to glance behind me, as though he could tell that I was focused on the mansion.
Hehehe.
Hehehe.
Suddenly, I burst into hiccups.
“…Hipp.”
Luke, who seemed to be about to question me, let out a short laugh and straightened his upper body, which had been slightly bent towards me.
“I don’t think Miss Green can lie.”
“…I’m absolutely good at it.”
It was only after I got angry and started answering that I thought, “Oops.”
…was it not? Couldn’t I answer like this?
“…No, now that I think about it, I think it’s true that I’m completely bad at lying.”
Luke nodded with a bright smile that seemed to melt the sunlight.
“I can’t believe you’re not feeling well, so let’s call it a day.”
I nodded quickly. Judging by the clue ‘today’, it appeared that this hide and seek event did not end here. But where did the hide and seek stop with the heart still attached?
‘Good luck, good luck.’
When I returned to the room, I suffered from auditory hallucinations where I felt like I could hear the creepy sound of chains that I heard earlier.
‘What on earth was it really? …Is he really missing?’
Even in the late summer’s balmy weather, I felt chilled as I continued to think about it. I slipped between the covers and changed into my pajamas before opening the case notepad. There were still no articles about the disappearance even after I kept reading. Without much use, I closed the notepad and cast a vacant glance up at the ceiling.
‘…If Luke really had someone locked up there, and if it was a missing person… He had been kidnapping them since before DAY 1, right?’
How was it that there was so much evidence, and yet he was treated so well as a Duke and was doing so shamelessly? He was a truly creepy person. I got out of bed and sat down at the desk. Then, I wrote down all the scenes of disappearances that I remembered. Since the disappearance incident only appeared as gossip unrelated to the main flow of the game, there were not many things that could clearly recall the place and time.
‘…But now I can’t just assume there’s a disappearance case and move on.’
The missing person could be in the basement right now. It’s so terrible. And how do they know what would happen to Luke? I might suffer something worse than death. I squeezed out as much memory as I could. While tracing my vague memories, I could barely recall a few places. If I timed it right, I might be able to find some evidence there. Or, I could even witness a scene where the police were investigating. No matter how many times I re-read the notes, I couldn’t shake the feeling of hearing the sound of chains. And as time passed, that Saturday came. My day off from work has come again. Until that day, I pretended to play with the children whenever I had time and looked around the old mansion. As a player, some of the places I went to were locked and I couldn’t get in or I couldn’t go. Among them, what caught my attention the most was a large, heavy-looking wooden door that appeared to be a passage leading underground. The door was tightly sealed. I sometimes pretended to pass by and stood by the wooden door to listen, but I never heard the same creepy chain sound I heard while playing hide-and-seek in the garden with Luke. But looking around the mansion was not easy.
I never even attempted to find Luke-related material I had originally wanted to find, let alone go into the basement. Not only were there people here and there, but Shine and Luna used to chase after me whenever they saw me.
“…ha.”
I stretched for a long time, feeling regretful that I had not achieved any results. Anyway, today, as originally planned, I was planning to go out using the excuse of buying a dress to wear to the palace banquet.
‘Well, we were forced to go with Luke… I can’t help it.’
These days, I had become painfully aware that if I wanted to collect evidence, I had to do it outside of this mansion, not inside. I decided to cheer up as much as I could without dying. If he is going to force me to follow him, using him would be a good idea. It’s good to protect yourself, but if you keep going like this, everyone will die one by one at some point.
Knock, knock.
At the sound of a knock on the door, I was cut off from my thoughts as if I had been hurriedly lifted out of my deep thoughts.
‘Luke… I guess?’
I glanced at the door’s reflection in the mirror and checked my reflection again. Although the clothes overall were out of fashion, the neat and tidy appearance was not bad. I took a final look at my face. When I tried to force a small smile onto my stiff face, the stiff facial muscles became strangely distorted.
‘It’s all good, but if I show any signs of doubting him, it’s over.’
I clearly remember the moment the first heart disappeared. How my worthless life was lost the moment I uttered the words doubting him. I wouldn’t make such a stupid mistake this time… There were many samples to refer to. So many women who die just looking at Luke… If you think about men.
‘You can do it. Anyway, let’s just show less suspicion.’
Knock, knock.
A leisurely knocking sound that did not seem to be urging was heard once more. After calming my rapidly beating heart, I turned and walked towards the door. I thought an attendant from Luke would be there, but it was Luke himself standing at the door. I didn’t know what he was thinking, but the neat and bright clothes seemed very formal even to me who didn’t know much about clothes. The suit was made of thick material and fit well on broad shoulders and a narrow waist, making it obvious that it had been cut and tailored.
Blonde hair that was combed and held in place, eyes that looked like pale silver… Honestly, if he wasn’t a murderer, he was such a beautiful person that I thought he should be exhibited at the National Museum for the benefit of all mankind.
“What makes you think like that?”
“I thought you were too dressed up…”
“Because I’m going to the boutique.”
“…Do I have to dress up like that?”
“Does it look that fancy?”
After hearing his question, I realized that it was him who was flashy, not his clothes. It looks like he hasn’t completely removed the handsome man filter from his eyes yet. I clicked my tongue and shook my head.
“No. Nothing, nothing…”
I whipped around and looked at Luke’s outstretched arms… What was this again? When I waved my hand in horror, Luke laughed hard… Anyway… I heard he always liked strange things.
“Shall we go?”
“Of course.”
I left the building with his escort. As I was staring blankly at the scenery outside the carriage window, near the Mona River, I suddenly bent over and started coughing.
“Cough, coff.”
“Are you okay?”
Luke was surprised and held out his handkerchief. I accepted it and held my head as sad as I could.
“…I don’t think my body has fully recovered yet. Is it okay if I get some fresh air?”
“Fresh air?”
Luke seemed to smell the scent of the river coming in through the already open carriage window, and then looked back at me with puzzled eyes.
“…I feel like I’m getting motion sick.”
I looked at his astounded eyes with anticipation. It would have been nice to go back and leave because I couldn’t go shopping with such a weak woman who couldn’t even endure the 10-minute walk to the boutique. But that handsome maniac, who was a murderer and whose hobby was kidnapping and confinement, acted strangely gentlemanly. He nodded his head with an expression of concern for me.
“Then, would you like to get off and take a walk? It’s okay to take a break on the bench.”
“…is it so?”
It’s good that he followed along. I would lose my freedom… I led him as naturally as possible and walked toward the second bridge over the Mona River as if there were no intentions. The Mona River on DAY 17 was just as I expected. The riverside, where there would normally be people leisurely walking their dogs and children out to play, was full of police. Inspector Triver and a swarm of police officers were looking at the walls littered with graffiti, and as always, the bossy police officer’s voice was loudly urging the other officers. People living nearby came out to the riverbank and snooped around out of curiosity to see what was going on, and they also locked their doors and double-glazed windows for fear of being accidentally caught up in the commotion. This was the scene of the disappearance that I remembered. I glanced sideways at Luke’s face.
I was curious about what he, who would be at the center of the incident, would think when he saw this scene. Maybe he feels superior or not. Was he feeling curious or not?
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Translator Note:
Hello there! This is RJR. I hope you liked it <3
If you like my work please support me with Ko-fi or Patreon. Next post will be released on October, 24.
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