Catherine staggered down the stairs. Beyond the wide-open door, the black carriage the Marquis had arrived in came into view. One of the men who had been following the Marquis the entire time was the first to overtake him and open the carriage door, and the Marquis boarded as if flowing water. In his unhesitating attitude, one could clearly feel the characteristic indifference of someone who has finished their business.
Catherine stopped, not daring to call out to him. And Oscar, who had not the slightest interest in her from the start, asked as soon as he got into the carriage.
“The key is.”
“Marking in progress.”
As Simon, having followed Oscar into the carriage, sat opposite him and answered, the carriage door closed. Then, as if understanding the master's intentions, it began to move.
As the carriage moved, the light streaming from the mansion faded away, and Oscar was enveloped in darkness. He seemed like a grim reaper clad in darkness, or perhaps darkness itself. Simon held his breath, keeping his distance from his master.
Only the sound of carriage wheels passing the stone road shook the silence, and Oscar muttered in the darkness.
“That’s fun.”
It wasn't sarcasm. A glint appeared in Oscar's eyes as he stroked his chin while resting his elbow on the carriage window sill.
“It’s fun.”
It was a dumbfounding day after getting thoroughly blindsided by an idiot, but as the saying goes, when one door closes, another opens, and something completely unexpected rolled in.
Felphe Bank Safe No. 5555.
Now it has become something like insurance—it’s nice if it opens, but it can’t be helped if it doesn’t—but at one time, he was desperate to find that key.
That damned safe was created in the year his father, the former Marquis Reichinhardt, passed away. The traitor who betrayed his father and caused his death was someone who had once served as an agent for the Marquis Reichinhardt family.
Code name: Peter.
Safe No. 5555 is that guy's safe.
He was someone who knew better than anyone how persistent and cruel his former comrades were, and how they dealt with traitors. Because of this, after devising a means to prolong his own life, he secretly constructed a vault within the Felphe Bank and hid the plan inside.
If, at that time, Reichinhardt had not stood at the forefront of the war on behalf of the Luxen royal family, if the Marquis had not died, and if even the key agents had not perished alongside the Marquis.
Or, if it weren't for the six-year-old child heir left to Reichinhardt, and if the Marchioness—the only adult to lead the family in his place—had not abandoned even her son and left, as if she were waiting for her husband to die.
Peter wouldn't have been able to escape across the Norfolk continent in the first place.
As a result, Oscar had caught him. But he let him go.
To be more precise, it wasn't even clear if he had lost him. This was because the ship carrying him had sunk.
Judging by the circumstances, it seemed like he was dead.
However, at that time, he could not accept it. The environment he faced was too harsh to govern based on the circumstances surrounding the death of the traitor who had brought the family to such a state.
He needed clear evidence, not just circumstantial evidence. Furthermore, back then, he desperately needed that guy's safe as well. After all, to restore his ruined family, he needed at least the family's money inside it.
So he ordered them to find the guy's body and the key, half-pleadingly.
Time passed, but there was no news. Then, about three years ago, a report came in from a dispatched agent who had been tracking him ever since immediately after Peter disappeared, estimating his death. It suggested that he was likely buried at sea along with the key.
The young Marquis, who had ordered his men to come find him out of malice, had grown into an adult nearing thirty.
Time has changed many things.
The desire for revenge against that bastard, whose fate was unknown, could not take precedence over the countless tasks that needed to be handled immediately, and the family money in the safe, which he had been so desperate for, had become nothing to him now.
However, a document was presumed to be inside the safe.
A copy of a document presumed to have been exchanged with the former King of Luxen, which that bastard Peter inserted as a means to prolong his life.
There were plenty of excuses, justifications, and methods to strangle King Luxen. However, the surest method might lie within it. That is why the King of Luxen is secretly contacting the President of Felphe, isn't it? Therefore, it was necessary, at least as a safeguard. But now that a key has appeared in a woman's hand, he absolutely had to open the safe himself.
“Is she here?”
The carriage stopped at a high-end entertainment district not far from the Armand Rose mansion. The soft lights of the entertainment district fell upon Oscar's forehead.
“Yes, Your Excellency.”
A sneer settled in Oscar's eyes as he gazed at the magnificent brothel.
"Watching someone else have sex once is enough."
"I will send the kids to bring them back."
"No."
Something that once flickered whenever he closed his eyes, something he desperately longed to hold in his hands.
Isn't it the key to the safe that was so frustrating to find, even after searching the whole world like a hawk?
Oscar ran his hand through his hair and stepped out of the carriage. The employees of the pleasure district bowed respectfully to him as he stepped out of the terrifyingly splendid carriage. No one stopped him, as it was obvious from every angle that he was a VIP.
Entering a space filled with the squalor of powder and perfume and vulgar laughter, he lit a cigarette as a matter of habit.
"It's expensive here; she must be rich."
Simon lit the fire and answered.
"That doesn't seem to be the case."
Oscar stared at Simon.
“What if she's not a guest?”
"..."
Oscar let out a hollow laugh and asked.
"Ah, is she a whore?"
Simon pondered for a moment on how to respond, then replied in a businesslike tone.
"I suppose you could say she's in a position where she's about to become like that."
Oscar's eyes narrowed, but Simon did not add anything further.
***
About 30 minutes ago
“We’ve arrived!”
Seo-a, having hurriedly gotten off the train carrying her suitcase, looked up at the imposingly huge mansion and was left speechless. Uniformed staff members moved from their respective positions, and countless movements, feeling almost like a massive mass, could be felt inside the mansion.
"It is a busy inn."
"Ah..."
It did look that way. The problem is that she had no idea how much a night's stay at this inn costs.
So, the remaining money...
Just as she was feeling the money pouch inside her coat, a door as tall as two adults combined opened, and a woman who appeared middle-aged came out. She approached with a gentle smile.
"Welcome."
Seo-a's worry grew even more at her expensive-looking outfit.
"Um... I'd like to stay for one night. Do you happen to have a room available?"
After asking that, she fiddled with her clothes for no reason.
Would they really let in a customer dressed even more shabbily than the employee standing at the door? Still, even if that guy from earlier showed up, she doubted he'd be able to just barge in here...
"Of course."
A gentle remark abruptly cut through the dreary weight of her thoughts.
"Please come in."
The eyes she suddenly met were curved gently. Seo-a habitually tilted her head down and asked again.
"May I know how much it is for one night?"
A picture-perfect smile appeared in her half-visible field of vision. She seemed to think for a moment, then spoke.
"It is usually a bit expensive, but one room was suddenly cancelled. We had prepared everything, including the bedding, so it was quite a predicament. If you use that room, I will give it to you at a low price. How about 100,000 kerte?"
100,000 kerte.
20,000 kerte for a train ticket, 100,000 kerte for a carriage... but 100,000 kerte for one night at an inn like this? The prices were so erratic that she couldn't get a sense of what was correct. Was the carriage a scam?
"I prefer to have guests rather than leave the room empty, so I am offering it at a low price."
Seo-a's gaze drifted out of the mansion. There lay a strange city shrouded in darkness.
Then, turning her head again, she saw an inn emitting a warm light.
To a stranger to whom everything was unfamiliar, there was no choice.
“Yes, thank you.”
As she turned to pay the coachman, the owner adamantly dissuaded her, saying that it was customary for the inn to pay the coachman for bringing guests like this. Then, he gestured for someone to come over. A man who appeared to be an employee rushed over and politely guided her, even carrying her luggage.
When Seo-a, who was walking along with the employee, glanced back, the innkeeper was still smiling at her.
Seo-a smiled for the first time since arriving here, thanks to the innkeeper's kindness.
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