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When Elaine blocked the boys’ path, the red-haired boy completely disappeared from their sight. The large boy who’d lost sight of him huffed and glared at Elaine. He was about to shout, ‘You made me lose him!’ but paused.
Her face was visible through the slightly lifted hood. She was a rare beauty he’d never seen before in this small town. Was she a foreigner?
Although he was displeased with her interference, the boy cleared his throat loudly and asked in a softer tone.
“…Directions?”
“Yes, I’m looking for the Stag Inn. Do you know where it is?”
“Well…”
He glanced at her for a moment, then pointed to one side and said.
“See that big road over there? If you turn right from there, you will see a large tree. It’s under that tree.”
Then he cleared his throat again and continued.
“By the way, where are you from? Do you have time…”
“Thank you for showing us the way, but we don’t have time.”
Ash, walking up behind Elaine, cut the boy off.
There was an odd chill in his voice as he spoke. He stood tall, looking down at the boy. The boy flinched involuntarily under his gaze.
“I’ve finished my business, so let’s go.”
“Yes.”
Ash locked eyes with her, and she nodded quickly. Then she followed him without a backward glance.
The large boy stared after her as she walked away. But the sight of Ash beside her stopped him from following. Then, one by one, he and the other boys made their way back home, leaving only their footprints in the snow.
Elaine glanced in their direction and clicked her tongue inwardly, thinking about the boy who’d been bullied earlier.
It seemed things like this happened everywhere. She remembered going through something similar when she was young, after being abandoned by her stepmother.
So, even though she actually knew the way, she still asked, so that the boy could run away. She’d gotten in the way of the other children. The location of the inn was written in a letter sent by an informant. Ash knew that she had asked intentionally.
After a short walk, they came upon a roof under a large tree. An old wooden sign with a picture of a stag was attached to it.
“Welcome!”
“Welcome!”
When he opened the door to the inn, he heard the welcoming voices of the owner and his wife. Instead of going to the counter, Ash stopped and glanced around. There were quite a few people on the first floor, which was used as a bar and restaurant. Travelers didn’t come often to this remote countryside, most of them seemed to be villagers.
At that moment, he made eye contact with a man who was sitting alone at a table in the corner, drinking beer. Ash walked straight towards the man.
Elaine quickly realized that the man was Killiard’s informant. When the two people sat across from each other, the man stopped pretending to drink beer and put down his glass. He changed his expression and bowed politely without being noticed by others.
“Sir, you’re here already?”
“Where is the thing you found?”
The informant reported that Walter’s belongings were found at this inn. As he spoke, the informant raised his hand and ordered a beer from the innkeeper. The woman who owned the house carried a glass filled with beer and came towards them. Pointing at her, the informant spoke again.
“Look over there.”
Elaine and Ash moved her gaze, following the direction the informant pointed. What the informant pointed to was a pendant the owner’s wife was wearing around her neck. The informant lowered his voice.
“Please look closely at the engraving on the pendant.”
The woman gradually got closer. She put the beer glass down on the table. Her posture tilted and her pendant swayed. Ash and Elaine’s expressions changed when they recognized the pattern engraved on the front of the pendant.
“…!”
A diamond-shaped shield with two crossed spears. It was the Lister family coat of arms.
“Although the pattern was faded, we confirmed that it was the Lister family’s emblem.”
The informant went on to report more. While the report continued, Ash stared intently at the counter where the woman had gone. After a moment of silence, he muttered.
“…I see.”
Then he turned to the informant and gave an order.
“Good work. I’ll take care of the rest. You may return to Killiard first.”
“Yes.”
The informant bowed his head politely at his order and left. After the informant disappeared, Elaine looked at Ash’s face and quietly spoke.
“…Are you sure this is Sir Walter’s pendant?”
“Yes, it’s the pendant he always wore.”
It looked just like the pendant he remembered. The memory was faded by a decade, but it came back vividly now. Even Walter’s face, became clear when he saw the pendant.
Elaine paused at his soft answer.
Then was he really… Did Walter really come here? So, what happened to Walter and why is only the pendant here, with someone else now?
She didn’t know why the pendant was in the innkeeper’s hands. Questions and confusion mixed together. But they knew what they had to do. Elaine walked with Ash to the counter.
“Excuse me, sir? Can I help you with something?”
The woman behind the counter asked curiously as Ash and Elaine approached.
“I have something to ask you.”
“What is it?”
“The pendant you’re wearing, where did you get it?”
“What? Why is that…”
“Would you sell it to me? I’ll give you whatever you ask for.”
He didn’t know how the woman got the pendant, but it was something he needed back. No, there was someone he had to give it back to.
The woman looked puzzled by the unexpected offer. The woman’s husband, who was listening next to her, also had a puzzled look on his face. However, when Ash said that he would pay whatever they asked, both of their eyes widened in disbelief.
The woman asked again as if to confirm.
“Are you really going to give me whatever I ask for?”
“Yes, if you answer a few questions. How much do you want?”
“Well, then…”
Their eyes scanned the two for a moment, blatantly trying to gauge their status. But they were both wearing hoods, so it was hard to guess their wealth. After exchanging a glance, the couple called out a price.
Elaine pulled a pouch from her cloak and handed it to them. The couple’s eyes widened as they opened the pouch.
“Huh…!”
They opened their mouths without realizing it and hurriedly held the bag in their arms. The woman quickly took off her pendant and handed it to him.
“Oh, my. I don’t know why you’d want this, but… Here you go.”
Ash took the pendant and carefully examined it.
The pendant had a luxurious appearance that was rarely seen in this part of the country, but its shine had faded with age. Turning it over, he saw that it was engraved with faded letters. Some of the letters had been worn away, but not to the point where they were completely unrecognizable.
Walter’s name. And the name of the person who was his wife. Ash tightened his grip on the pendant. He asked in a low voice.
“This … Could not have belonged to you. Where did you get it?”
“Well, how did you…”
The couple, who were holding the bag of money, were stammering in embarrassment.
“We picked it up somewhere…”
“You picked it up?”
When Elaine narrowed her eyes and asked again, the woman added awkwardly.
“It was him, my husband. My husband picked it up. Right?”
“Ah, umm, yes. Where did I pick that up…? If I recall…”
“Think about it carefully, honey.”
“Ghost Mountain… Yes, I picked it up at Ghost Mountain!”
“Ghost Mountain? Where is that?”
“It’s the mountain behind the village.”
“Where did you pick it up on that mountain?”
“It was…”
“Hey guys. I’m saying this just in case, but if you’re planning on going there, don’t.”
Just then, a man who was gritting his teeth and approaching to pay his bill, spoke up. The two turned around and the people drinking beer at the table also chimed in one by one.
“That’s right, none of the people who went to Ghost Mountain came back alive.”
“It’s rumored to be haunted.”
“I know it sounds like a kid’s joke, but it’s true.”
One of the men took a gulp of beer and slammed down the glass.
“Tsk, I told you all before that it wasn’t a good place. I knew something like this would happen someday.”
“It’s all because of that ominous mountain. It’s called that because people hang themselves day after day.”
“Besides, even ten years ago……. That gloomy person… Since that incident 10 years ago, there have been a lot of unfortunate events.”
“See, what did I say? Even then, I kept saying it was bad luck.”
“That person? What happened 10 years ago?”
Ash, who had been listening to the conversation, suddenly asked. It was 10 years ago that Walter disappeared, and it was probably around that time that he came to this town. He wondered if it was possibly him they were talking about.
“Were they a man with blond hair and blue eyes?”
Ash asked, and the people looked at him funny.
“Eh? What about blonde hair? That guy’s hair was as dull as a seaweed stalk.”
“It’s been a while, but I remember that. I’m not sure about his eye color, but he was male. His name is Ka… What was it?”
It didn’t seem like he was lying. So, this has nothing to do with Walter? Although they were curious, the drunk people quickly started talking about other topics.
After that, Ash and Elaine asked the owner and his wife a few more questions. When was it that they’d picked up the pendant, and did they see a blonde man when they picked it up? However, the couple responded that they had not seen such a person and that it had been a while since they picked up the pendant.
Elaine and Ash then decided to reserve rooms for the night.
The sun had already set and darkness was filling the frozen window. They decided to go to the place called Ghost Mountain when the sun rose.
It was still evening. They booked their rooms and ordered a meal. The restaurant on the first floor was noisy, so they asked for their meals to be brought to their rooms. They soon arrived at their respective door. Elaine bid Ash goodnight and put her hand on the doorknob.
“Elaine.”
He suddenly called out to her.
“Yes?”
She said, and when she turned around, he pursed his lips.
“…Why don’t we eat together?”
Hehe😏😏