You! Don’t Press that Button! - Chap 113
Just as he was about to turn away with tightly sealed lips, he noticed the mysterious object Seol had mentioned buying in town after meeting Asmil, fallen in a corner of the room. Slightly curious, he gently lifted the bag to reveal a flower scattering soil on the floor.
“…Convallaria.”
It was the flower’s name. Unlike ordinary flowers, its white petals curled round and drooped their heads. This appearance, resembling silver bells, had earned it the name Convallaria.
Inside the carelessly observed flowerpot was a small piece of paper, stuck in like a road sign. When he rotated the pot with his finger, he could see clumsily written letters. It clearly looked like someone unfamiliar with writing had copied something they’d seen.
Karhan carefully wiped the letters to prevent them from smudging and stood up holding the pot. When he opened the tightly closed door, the bright corridor light assaulted his eyes. Frowning, he handed the flowerpot to Seol’s personal servant and said:
“This flower must be alive when I return.”
“Yes, Your Grace.”
The servant didn’t dare meet his eyes and just nodded while staring at Karhan’s shoe tips before them. Their trembling hands gripped each other like ropes, afraid of disturbing his mood.
Karhan gazed steadily at that trembling before turning away. Claude followed behind his long strides.
“Search every servant’s room thoroughly from now. Gather all knights and servants without exception.”
“Yes.”
Like the servants at Lairas’s mansion entrance had said. That they sent letters through a servant from House Barthes. That person must have tampered with the letter he should have received. If they could find information about that impudent servant, it would be easy to dig out who was behind this.
When Karhan arrived at the servants’ quarters, all the mansion’s servants were already standing outside their rooms with downcast eyes. His gaze cut sharply through the tense silence. His neat shoe heels clicking, Karhan suddenly stopped.
Before a door where no one stood.
“Whose room is this?”
“It belongs to the servant hired in the last recruitment.”
He slowly traced the nameplate on the door. It bore the ordinary name ‘Hans’.
With a crack, the locked doorknob was pathetically torn off. Pushing open the forcibly opened door, Karhan entered without hesitation and touched each object. Then he crouched and reached under the bed.
With a ripping sound, light objects showered down. What fell from the torn bed was nothing but countless papers. The amount was impossible to estimate. His silver-gray eyes quickly scanned them before picking one up.
It was evidence of the servant ‘Hans’ practicing forging letters.
“A rat snuck in.”
His silver-gray eyes, previously filled only with dark shadows, curved into a chilling light.
“The documents.”
“Here they are.”
The moment Karhan extended his hand, Claude handed over the prepared materials. It was a bundle of resumes from people recently recruited as mansion servants.
Karhan’s arm suddenly stopped as he read quickly. His pupils contracted instantly. Looking at the portrait, it was a familiar face. Definitely the servant who had been holding Seol’s blanket on the third day of Atlena.
“A commoner… with a recommendation from Count Husly.”
Karhan let out a bitter laugh. What a familiar name indeed. Count Husly. His lips curled as he repeated the name.
Count Husly had briefly acted as Asmil’s adoptive father. Though now he was out of his mind due to Asmil’s brainwashing.
Karhan quietly rolled his tongue around Asmil’s name. Was this why he stayed at the mansion?
When he first visited, Karhan thought it was a perfect opportunity. If he stayed until the three days of Atlena, Karhan was willing to forget all past unpleasantness and try to get along well, but to think he would pull something like this after leaving. Disgust rippled at his fingertips.
“Prepare the horses.”
Karhan swiftly passed by Claude without waiting for a response. The coldly sunken atmosphere prevented anyone from speaking. It seemed their heads might roll for even slightly disturbing the duke’s mood.
As the fierce aura rippled through the air, several servants standing with trembling legs collapsed. Some couldn’t handle their churning stomachs and vomited.
Though retching sounds came from behind, Karhan didn’t look back. His heavily creased eyes, coldly sunken gaze, and firmly closed lips were the opposite of his usually composed appearance.
Karhan crumpled the resume in his hand hard enough to tear it and walked toward the main gate. Just before mounting the hastily prepared horse, someone called out to him.
“Your Grace!”
Karhan’s movement stopped abruptly. He stood moving only his fingers idly while thinking of something, then turned around. Far away, Doel with his night-black hair was running toward him.
Karhan looked indifferently at the panting Doel. Though his expressionless face was quite chilling, Doel paid no mind and stood before Karhan.
In the midst of an ordinary day, Doel couldn’t help but be extremely tense at Karhan’s sudden assembly order. Hearing his colleagues’ murmuring, he sensed something major had happened. And somehow, his instinct told him it was related to Seol.
After catching his breath briefly, Doel raised his head and asked:
“Has something happened to Seol?”
Doel looked at Karhan with desperate light in his eyes. His warm brown eyes clung persistently, begging to be told. Karhan examined Doel with annoyed eyes. Then he practically threw the crumpled paper, now barely recognizable, to Doel.
“What is this?”
“The face of Seol’s kidnapper. Have you seen him before?”
Doel opened his eyes wide and carefully unfolded the crumpled document. Though the portrait wasn’t very large, it was big enough to distinguish facial features. As he lowered his head to look carefully, Karhan asked again.
“Have you seen him before?”
“Ah, no. I haven’t seen him.”
Doel hurriedly shook his head and answered. He slightly averted his gaze from Karhan and folded the paper into a square with trembling hands while keeping his head down.
Watching his black hair flutter slightly, Karhan narrowed his eyes. His silver-gray eyes flashed sharply in the moonlight. As he gripped the reins tighter, the horse stepped in place a few times.
Looking at Doel, who somehow appeared nervous, Karhan mounted his horse while pulling the reins taut. He steadied himself at the elevated position and looked up at the sky. Countless stars showed off their presence, twinkling on the black silk. Karhan’s gaze was caught there briefly before he closed his eyes.
In the quiet air, he could hear an unstable heartbeat hiding something. His firmly closed eyelids lifted, and his colorless eyes shone like the beautiful stars above.
“Wait here.”
“Wait, wait please, Your Grace!”
Doel blocked the path of Karhan’s horse that looked ready to dash off. Karhan merely lowered his gaze to examine him.
His fingertips trembled slightly, perhaps aware that he was blocking the duke’s path. His prominent Adam’s apple worked heavily as he swallowed dryly. Doel chewed his lips meaninglessly several times before speaking.
“When… when did this person kidnap Seol?”
“Is that important right now?”
When Karhan asked with a sneer, Doel shook his head blankly with his mouth still open.
“Where are you going? Please take me with you.”
His arms spread wide, suggesting he wouldn’t move unless taken along. He looked up at Karhan with a determined face. Karhan frowned at his knight’s uncharacteristic behavior and remained silent.
“Please. I won’t slow you down.”
Afraid the tightly closed lips would immediately speak words of rejection, Doel quickly pleaded. Karhan spoke while slowly blinking:
“Move aside.”
“Please! I, I… No, Seol is precious to me too.”
Doel was unusually stubborn today. Since becoming a trainee knight, he had never disobeyed Karhan’s orders no matter how harsh the training. Silver-gray eyes slowly moved up and down, examining Doel’s body.
Doel tightly clenched his trembling fists under that gaze that felt like it was stripping him bare.
“Do you know how buried in the ground my mood is right now?”
“…I do.”
“Then you must also know what blocking my path right now means.”
Karhan’s presence suggested he might draw his sword and behead Doel at any moment.
The sharp air stung as it brushed against skin. Though he bit his lip hard enough to draw blood, Doel didn’t back down. Karhan stared indifferently at Doel’s face that continued to defy him, then spoke while gripping the reins:
“If you’re late, I’ll leave without you.”
