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Chapter 7
The lady who handed me the strawberry cake asked softly. I stared at the fluffy cream and nodded.
“Yes, that’s right. Why?”
“Oh, nothing, dear.”
Hehe. The lady laughed awkwardly today and brushed her hands together. It seemed suspicious, but just then, more customers began to come in one after another.
With no other choice, I left the shop and shrugged my shoulders.
‘Guess I’ll just head home.’
I was done with everything anyway. I was curious, but there was no reason to linger around any longer.
Clutching my bag tightly, I turned into the alley.
The house I’d been scammed into buying was a little ways away from the busy district.
‘He’s probably still sleeping, right?’
A week ago, the man who had barely clung to life was still asleep even this morning.
Could he be dead? I’d checked on him every day, but thankfully, he was still breathing just fine.
‘He’s breathing, but…’
Even though his condition had improved, he still hadn’t woken up.
‘Could he be in a coma?’
No way.
I quickly shook my head. I didn’t even want to joke about something like that. If he really were in a coma, that would be a huge problem.
‘Why won’t he wake up, though?’
At first, I was worried he’d attack me once he woke up. But now, I was worried because he wasn’t waking up.
“Ugh.”
While I was grumbling to myself, I found myself standing in front of my house. But just as I pulled out the key, I noticed something strange.
“…Why is this unlocked?”
Blink, blink.
I blinked rapidly and cautiously examined the doorknob.
‘Did I forget to lock it?’
No way. In this dangerous city of Proud, I was always meticulous about locking up.
My brows furrowed tightly together. Narrowing my eyes like a cat, I scanned the surroundings sharply.
A scene from a thriller movie flashed through my mind.
I quietly stepped back. Instinctively, I felt danger.
‘Stay calm. Calm down.’
This was the underworld, after all. I’d only stepped out for a little while, and now the door was open. I had no family. No friends. No acquaintances.
‘….’
I glanced sidelong at the doorknob. My heart was pounding. I wanted to rush in right away, but I couldn’t move recklessly.
‘There could be poison on the handle.’
You never know — people get paralyzed from just touching random stuff on the street.
Just in case…
‘Let’s break it down!’
The thought hit, and my leg went up immediately.
Then —
BANG!
I kicked the door open.
“Who’s in there—!”
…Huh?
The foot I had swung down with full force stopped midair.
Standing awkwardly, I tilted my head.
“What the…”
My bewildered gaze landed on the empty sofa.
The blanket I had carefully draped over him that morning was now sprawled across the cold floor.
“Uh, uh—”
Where did he go?!
.
.
.
He was gone.
No matter how much I searched, he wasn’t there.
Just in case, I even checked under the sofa.
“Hello~? You there?”
Yeah, right.
As if he’d be hiding there. All I got was a mouthful of dust.
“Where the heck did he go?”
I searched every corner of the house, but there wasn’t even a shadow of him.
I slumped down onto the sofa and looked around the empty room.
‘At least the money’s still here.’
Since everything else was in place, maybe he just woke up and left?
‘With all those bandages wrapped around him…?’
The more I thought about it, the less sense it made.
I’d only healed his wounds with a potion — I couldn’t do anything about his bloodstained clothes, so I’d had to toss them out.
‘Since they were covered in blood and all.’
There’s no way he could just walk around like that, wearing nothing.
‘Ugh, this is making me nervous.’
No one dragged him away, right? Though honestly, in this insane place called Proud, it wouldn’t be surprising.
Or maybe he thought I’d kidnapped him and ran away.
Either way, both were possible.
Letting out a long sigh, I tilted my head back.
‘He suddenly showed up out of nowhere, and now he’s suddenly gone again…’
“…”
“…”
I went silent.
‘Why.’
Why are you up there on the ceiling, sir.
* *
At the same time—
A boy frowned as he heard the news of Wistenz’s disappearance. His beautifully blue, sea-colored hair shimmered as he ran a frustrated hand through it.
“Tch.”
He clearly wasn’t in a good mood.
The aide who had come to report, Meital, cleared his throat awkwardly.
“Well, sir, this isn’t exactly the first time something like this has happened…”
“Meital.”
“…Yes?”
“What day is it today?”
The boy turned his angelic face toward him, curling his lips into a faint smile.
Caught off guard by the sudden question, Meital gave an awkward laugh.
“M-May fifth?”
“Right. Today’s May fifth.”
“…”
“I’ll ask again. How many days has it been since the old man disappeared?”
“A-about a week, sir.”
“That’s right.”
Already a week.
The boy glared at Meital.
“Useless fools.”
“My apologies, sir.”
“You should be sorry. I’ve been doing his work for a whole week now.”
Leaning back against the sturdy leather sofa, the boy crossed his long legs. His foot tapped lazily in the air, oozing arrogance.
It had been a week since Wistenz, the head of House Kazriden, had gone missing — and naturally, the boy had taken over his duties.
Since his father had passed away, he’d been raised under his grandfather Wistenz’s care as the heir to Kazriden.
“Anything else to report?”
“Yes. It seems a new organization has appeared in Proud.”
“I don’t need to be bothered with petty gangs.”
The boy straightened in his seat. If the news had reached his ears, that meant it wasn’t just a small matter.
“You’re right. Their recent activity seems… unusual.”
“Summarize.”
“It started with small house burglaries, so we thought they were just petty thieves. But lately, they’ve gotten bold enough to rob shops and even Kazriden territory.”
“They can puff themselves up all they want. Trash is still trash.”
Even if parasites made noise, they were still just parasites.
“Ignore them. Someone will deal with it soon enough.”
Anyone foolish enough to provoke Kazriden wouldn’t live long.
The boy sneered with disdain.
“That’s all you’ve got?”
“…Th-there’s one reason we can’t ignore them.”
The boy rested his chin on his hand and tilted his head.
His crooked gaze fixed on Meital.
“The leader of that organization is apparently hoarding healing potions. I heard there’s an upcoming auction, and they’re only bidding for potions — in bulk, too.”
“In bulk, you say.” Meital added in a low voice.
The boy’s brows furrowed. Healing potions were one of the items Kazriden had been monopolizing lately.
“Is that true?”
“Yes. And near the place where the Lord was last seen, we also found traces of that organization. They seem to be more structured than we thought.”
“…”
The boy finally cursed under his breath.
“Where.”
“In Proud Angelo, sir.”
“Angelo, huh.”
The Duke had last been seen in the neighboring district of Jengtukan, which was only a street away from Angelo.
“Damn old man.”
Always causing trouble.
“So, you said Proud Angelo?”
“Yes, that’s right, Lord Felic— I mean, Young Duke Felix.”
“Cancel all my appointments.”
“Pardon?”
“If I’m going there to look for the old man anyway, I’ll go see for myself.”
Felix Kazriden, the young duke of the Kazriden family, picked up a nearby bell.
“Prepare the carriage.”
Ding.
The bell rang through the room.
