Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Suddenly, the cacophony ceased. It was deathly quiet, as if it had been all in our imagination. The silence was foreboding.

What’s happening inside? Has Kallen already been hurt? Details from the novel raced through my mind.

After uncovering the clue about the fortune-teller, Kallen set out to infiltrate her home around dawn. He found me—Lae—locked in a cage and slowly bleeding to death. Then, while distracted by the young girl, an arrow shot across the room and pierced him right through.

If my prediction is right, then… either someone was hiding inside the room, or the fortune-teller has a band of criminals in her employ. Worst-case scenario, Kallen has already been attacked and is in the basement, bleeding.

I dashed to the front door, but Jade quickly grabbed my shoulder to hold me back.

“Just what is it that you know?” he demanded sharply. He was aware of his father’s alleged hunting activities, but not of what he was doing in the red-roofed house tonight.

“I must get a look at what’s happening inside,” I explained. “Something doesn’t feel right.”

Jade relaxed his grip and narrowed his eyes. “I don’t under—”

“Please, Jade. You already promised to help me, remember?” I reminded him in a rushed breath. “When the door opens, please look towards the wall nearby. And if you see someone, no matter who they are, attack them without hesitation.”

Jade was a Lewelton, so he had a sturdy build. I would even argue that he was as strong, if not more so, than most adults.

The book said the arrow flew from the area around the door, right? I clutched the doorknob, and in that split second, a slew of thoughts raced through my mind.

It is here, tonight, that “Lae” is meant to die. I don’t want to die such a meaningless death, not like I did in my past life, especially at such a young age. I want to live. Still, I don’t want to break Jade’s heart, and I don’t want His Grace to be injured. Now that I’ve come this far, I need to gather my courage.

I turned the knob and flung open the door. My mind went blank at the sight before us. The room had a high ceiling, and stairs protected by banisters connected the basement to the first floor. Then I caught sight of the cage I was terrified of.

It was large enough to confine a small woman, but it was empty. Beyond the cage, a rope had been wrapped around a spindle on the banister above us. The noose at the end encircled the neck of a struggling figure, whose feet kicked back and forth in midair. The person’s long dress fluttered with the movement.

The murderer… They were the true culprit in the fortune-teller murder cases. Stuffed in their mouth was a gag, and they clawed at the rope around their neck with one hand. They tried to scream, but the sound was muffled. Their face was beginning to pale.

As my gaze traced the path of the rope, it came to rest on the hand that tightly gripped the other end. Kallen’s hand. What I was witnessing now was Kallen committing a murder. The duke, dressed in a black tailcoat, slowly turned his head. His eyes widened upon seeing us. Kallen was safe, but instead of relief, I felt an instinctive terror creep up my spine.

“Your Grace?” I gasped.

“What’s the meaning of this?” he asked passively. “Jade, how did you discover I was here? Why bring the child along on such an errand?” He licked his lips. “As you can see, I’m quite busy right now. Take the child and leave.”

Really? That’s it? Surely not.

“I’ll talk with you later,” Kallen said to me. Then, completely unfazed, he tightened his grip on the rope. The choking sounds increased in intensity. The veins in Kallen’s hands protruded starkly, and the hanging culprit writhed even more furiously than before.

“I knew this would happen,” Jade groaned. “Come along, Lae. We’re in for a scolding later. You’re too young to see such things.” He rubbed his forehead and sighed. “Perhaps the sight would have been less gruesome if we had arrived later.”

As he attempted to drag me out of the room, I saw the fortune teller’s hand as it lost strength and dropped from the rope to their side. My instincts screamed, warning me that something was wrong, and I found myself moving without a second thought. I slipped free of Jade’s grip and dashed toward the duke.

“You mustn’t stay there, Your Grace!”

The culprit was as pale as a ghost but, with what appeared to be the last ounce of strength in their body, their fingers twitched purposefully.

A ring? They touched the ring on their finger, and I watched as a bead on the ring moved. The culprit collapsed, as if the last of their life left their body, leaving them nothing but a corpse. Only a heartbeat later, something in the room rattled unusually.

I immediately sprung toward Kallen. “Your Grace!”

Everything happened so quickly that I couldn’t determine if it was reality or some strange dream. Kallen turned toward the sound, and his grip loosened on the rope. The criminal fell to the ground with a thud, lifeless like a mannequin. It was as if a deafening wind blew past my ears. A small door on the wall slid open, releasing an arrow.

Oh, that must be it. The arrow had shot out of some kind of trapdoor. There was never an archer lying in wait and shooting arrows from the shadows, just a ring that controlled the contraption’s movements.

Watch out! You’re in danger! I tried to push Kallen away, but I only managed to extend my arms toward him, stepping into the trajectory of the arrow. The next thing I knew, Kallen was staring at me in surprise.

Then I felt it. A sharp pain shot through my back. I cried out. A crushing pain radiated out from my shoulder.

“Lae!” Jade yelled, his voice ringing in my ears.

Kallen snatched me up in his arms. “Are you all right?” he whispered.

My vision was awash with a red glow. What’s wrong with my eyes…?

I winced again at the pain, then reached out to Kallen. His eyes wavered as I struggled to grab hold of him.

“M-my shoulder hurts.” I caught a glimpse of the culprit clawing at the ground as he attempted to crawl past me. Then I saw Jade running toward me.

Am I… going to die? My vision blurred, and my senses grew increasingly detached from the pain.

“Stay awake, Lae. You mustn’t lose consciousness, you hear?” Kallen shouted. “You’ll be okay. Come on, look at me. Good girl.”

But it hurts so much… Suddenly, I had a vision. A blinding light burst across my sight, and when it contracted, two worried faces hung over me. My mother and father from my past life were both crying as they looked down at me.

I remember this. This was just before I went into the operating room. My father’s face faded as my vision returned.

“Daddy…” I mumbled.

My father’s image gradually transformed into that of the duke. I was trembling in His Grace’s embrace.

“Please save me…”

For the first time in my life, I realized that it hurt too much to cry.

“It hurts, Daddy…”

The world started to grow dark.

“Please, wake up. Please,” Jade cried out.

I had never heard such longing in his voice. My heart beat faster, so fast that I could feel each pulse in the throb of my head. It was some small comfort that tonight hadn’t ended as it had in the novel. I was relieved that I wasn’t trapped in that cage, that I still had all my limbs attached, and that only a portion of the story had come true.

“I’m so relieved,” I said quietly.

Next time, please listen when I have something to say. That’s what I wanted to tell the duke, but my tongue felt too heavy. Only my head moved restlessly.

The fortune-teller groaned—it was a man’s voice. I knew that the person responsible for the murders was a man who had disguised himself as a woman. I turned my head to watch as he crawled toward the exit, moaning in pain. But before he could slither any further, a tall figure burst through the door and smacked the culprit’s head with a rod.

The fortune-teller collapsed, blood dripping down his temples. Sion stood in the doorway, rod in hand. He stomped on the man’s skull once more before straightening the collar of his butler uniform.

“I apologize for being late,” he said. “Master Jade and Lady Lae disappeared and—” He gaped as he finally saw me in His Grace’s arms. “M-my lady…”

I couldn’t stay awake any longer. My eyes slowly closed. “I’m sorry,” I whispered.

If only I had told Kallen the truth from the start. If only I had explained why he shouldn’t have come here tonight. If only I’d known everything… It was such a shame that I couldn’t remember anything more.

As regrets filled my mind, the darkness slipped over me.