Chapter 7
‘I don’t even know the way around the mansion well!’
Just as she wondered if she should sprint in any direction, Carolyn felt a hand pulling on her sleeve from below.
‘?’ “Gasp…!”
Carolyn trembled violently and hastily covered her mouth. A little boy, who she had no idea when he appeared, was looking up at Carolyn.
‘I thought it was a ghost, you startled me!’
Unlike her, the little boy with a calm face pressed down his brown hat and gestured for Carolyn to follow him. She didn’t know who he was, but she had no choice but to follow for now. Hoping her body would be hidden among the plants of the garden, Carolyn lowered her posture like a child and followed him with quick, short steps.
If the place where Aiden and the servant were was the center of the garden, they moved along the outskirts of the garden. They were significantly farther from the mansion’s doors than before. Flustered, Carolyn whispered to the child who merely grasped the hem of her clothes and led the way.
“Is there a path if we go this way?”
Only now did Carolyn begin to think that the child might not know her situation.
‘What if he takes me to just any servant? By the way, who is this kid?’
Looking at his worn-out hat and suspenders, he seemed to be a servant’s son. Just as an ominous feeling began to creep up, Carolyn bumped into the child’s body with a thud.
“Ugh!”
He had come to a sudden halt at the transition from the garden to the maze.
“What is it?”
The child did not answer the whispering Carolyn. His face was hidden under the hat, and the pouring rain made it impossible to discern his expression. The moment an anxious Carolyn was about to press him, she realized the ground she stepped on felt different.
“…Huh?”
Unlike the dirt ground, a similarly colored metal surface was reflecting the moisture. She saw something square-shaped with a width of about one step. And even a handle that looked perfect for pulling.
“Do I just pull it?”
When the child nodded, Carolyn followed suit.
Clank.
Along with the sound, the rain poured down into the dark space.
‘Are you telling me to fall and die?’
Looking closely, there was a makeshift staircase connected downward. As Carolyn hesitated, the child showed initiative and began to descend. Lest they be caught by any chance, Carolyn also hurriedly followed.
Inside the dark but relatively dry space, the child struck a match. As they slowly followed the narrow path, Carolyn could tell this was a secret passage leading from the garden to the mansion. As she expected, after walking a certain distance and opening a few doors, a space that appeared to be the mansion’s basement revealed itself.
‘I thought he would leave me behind right away.’
She thought he would leave since he had brought her to the mansion, but the child continued to lead Carolyn while scanning the surroundings. Coming up a relatively quiet passage on the opposite side, away from the guest rooms where Carolyn was staying, they crossed the second floor and eventually arrived in front of Carolyn’s room.
“Thank you.”
As if intending to leave soon, the child stood without coming close to the room.
‘Should I at least get him a towel from inside the room?’
Thinking so, Carolyn, who had opened the door, looked back in that direction…
‘Huh?’
The child had disappeared.
‘Ugh, my head.’
Perhaps because she had been caught in the rain so much, she felt a bit feverish and achy. Instead of eating breakfast, Carolyn drank warm water and rested a little more, only going downstairs when it was time for tea time. And only then did she learn the fact that three more people had disappeared during the night.
‘So it’s only two guests left.’
Both Aiden and the servants still couldn’t count.
‘What on earth is wrong with everyone…?’
Even though the number of guests had decreased by more than half, they were maintaining a nonchalant attitude. Carolyn was now becoming terrified. More than the guests displaying strange behavior, the atmosphere of this place flowing as if nothing was wrong felt bizarre.
‘If we’re talking about strange things, it’s not just one or two.’
Who on earth was that child yesterday? She was thankful, but he left before she could even ask who he was or why he helped her.
‘And…’
Aiden from yesterday.
‘That was James’s attire.’
The necktie and shirt, the scar on his cheek, and even the bandages wrapped around his wrists. It was exactly like in the play, so Carolyn was able to recognize it at once. Why was he dressed like James from , the role of a delinquent who always got into fights?
‘Was he practicing his acting after a long time? But why practice acting while getting soaked in the rain…?’
In Carolyn’s memory, there was no such scene in that play. Was it that while reminiscing with his fans after a long time, he wanted to try being James once?
‘Then why did he speak like that?’
‘Do not touch my body.’
That was quite a James-like line. Carolyn’s thoughts came to a halt upon encountering a large yacht at the lake behind the mansion.
“The wind is nice today. So I’m thinking of riding the yacht with all of you.”
A large, luxurious-looking yacht was swaying at the edge of the lake near the mansion. Holding the hands of the servants, who wore identical smiles as if drawn in a picture, the guests boarded the boat one by one. People sat around a table set with finger foods and refreshing carbonated drinks.
“Every time I ride a yacht, I can’t help but think of .”
As if the curtain had risen and a play had begun, at Aiden’s words, the two guests raised their heads simultaneously. Carolyn clicked her tongue upon seeing the paper and pen that had somehow appeared next to them.
‘They’re doing this again today.’
“ is a performance like the beginning of every year for me. Because excluding , it’s the play I’ve done the longest.” “What kind of person is the Oyster Man interpreted by Aiden?”
An abrupt question flew in, but Aiden answered calmly.
“He is someone who is romantic, weak, and deceives himself.”
Carolyn nodded. Friedman, the protagonist of , was indeed exactly that kind of person. Although he is a harbor man with a side that pretends to be a bit rough and strong…
“If I say it like this, many people probably wouldn’t accept it. Because judging by his lines and actions, Friedman absolutely does not look like that.” “What do you think is the reason Friedman fell in love with Regina?” “If there is a line that would calm Friedman down in any situation, what would it be?”
Along with the pouring questions, the women’s papers were being filled one by one from the top.
‘Someone would think they were writing a biography.’
As a fan, she knew everything, so she didn’t need to listen.
“Friedman is an easy man. At least to Regina. As long as he knows the other person is Regina, he will become a docile person. But if I had to pick one…” “It would be a song.” “It wouldn’t be a line, but a song.”
Like this. As Aiden and Carolyn’s voices overlapped, gazes poured in. Even the eyes of the other guests, which had always only looked at Aiden, turned toward her. Having spoken confidently, Carolyn’s ears gradually turned red. Aiden, who had been looking at Carolyn with strange eyes, nodded with a subtle smile.
“That is correct. It is the number that comes out when giving the peppermint candy in the pink iron box.”
The harbor man, who was especially weak to his childhood friend Regina, would have all his defenses disarmed if she just sang a certain song. It was around the time Carolyn, having recalled the content no fan who had seen Aiden’s play dozens of times could forget, was avoiding Aiden’s gaze. A familiar sound of music could be heard.
‘Huh?’
A high, resonant metallic sound. It was playing a song that was all too fitting for the situation.
‘That’s the song we were just talking about, isn’t it?’
Did they play it to match the mood? However, Carolyn realized that none of the servants who had boarded the yacht had disappeared from the deck.
‘Unless someone set it up beforehand, there’s no way the sound of a music box could be heard.’
In her bewilderment, she looked around, but the guests showed no signs of noticing anything. Aiden, too, was calmly continuing to speak in front of them, who were writing at a speed where their hands were a blur.
Carolyn felt a sensation as if something was calling her. It was for that reason that she left the tea table in the middle of the conversation and went down below the deck. Aiden’s gaze lingered for a moment on Carolyn’s retreating figure before leaving.
