Chapter : 15
It was Seniel’s older sister.
“Just as I thought. You two are hiding something.”
“Huh? Professor, what do you mean…?”
“Alright, everyone! Go back to your duties! The weather’s great today, so take a moment to enjoy the breeze when you can. Got it?”
Beaming to himself, Kayan rushed over to Seniel.
“Seniel! It’s me!”
Startled, Seniel stepped back when he saw Kayan appear while he was sorting documents in the basement of the detached palace.
“What is it?”
“I’ll get straight to the point. Where’s Rosia right now? Can I meet her?”
The sudden mention of his sister’s name by Kayan made Seniel’s expression harden.
Though he had heard Kayan had helped her once, it was still jarring for him to address her by name so casually after just one encounter. Naturally, his guard went up.
“No.”
“Come on, just once. I have something I want to confirm. What if your sister has powers like you?”
Kayan, excited, revealed a magic stone he had brought with great care.
“Look at this. It’s tinged red. It turned like this after Rosia touched it. You know what that means, right?”
Only mages of Class 5 or higher can refine a first-grade magic stone into artifact form.
Hearing that Rosia, who hadn’t even awakened her powers, had done it made Seniel’s eyes flicker for a moment.
“Did you see the moment the stone changed yourself?”
“Huh? Well, no… but given the circumstances, I’m sure of it.”
“I thought so. It’s just your misunderstanding. There’s no way my sister has that kind of ability. I’m busy, so please leave.”
“Come on, just let me meet her once. This is an incredible talent! Are you going to let it go to waste?”
Despite Kayan’s insistence, Seniel firmly denied it and kicked him out.
Looking at how unusually adamant Seniel was, Kayan concluded that pressuring him wouldn’t get him to Rosia.
“That just makes it more suspicious. I’ll have to meet Rosia directly and persuade her.”
As a member of one of the five great families and a senior official at the research institute, Kayan could find anyone he wanted.
With the hope of meeting Rosia again within a few days, Kayan sent people out through different channels.
He didn’t yet know how quickly that hope would be dashed.
*
At dawn, with a dim glow filling the sky—
I stepped outside after confirming the coachman I called the day before had arrived in front of the house.
I could’ve ridden a horse myself, but I wanted to avoid drawing attention.
The destination I was heading to today was somewhere people rarely passed by. If I ran into anyone, they might remember me.
“This way.”
I told the coachman the location from the land deed I picked up at the bank yesterday. He gave me a strange look.
“That’s mountain land, isn’t it? I’ll try, but if the road’s cut off, we won’t be able to reach the end.”
“Just close enough is fine.”
“Hmm…”
I remembered that the way wasn’t really a road, so his reaction was expected.
I tossed a heavy pouch to the hesitating coachman.
When he peeked inside and saw it was much more than the agreed amount, the corners of his lips twitched upward.
“Well, why not? Let’s go. I’ve heard there were rumors of monsters around there back in the day, but it seems quiet nowadays…”
I furrowed my brows at his mumbling.
“Monsters? There?”
“Only us coachmen talk about it. People tend to hush up about such things. But around ten years ago, quite a few said they saw monsters out there.”
Having lived in the mountains, I had never seen any monsters, so it was hard to believe.
Still, thinking back, many travelers or guests who came to our shop were unusually injured.
‘No way…’
My parents wouldn’t have run a shop in a place like that unless they were crazy.
I decided I’d look into this later. For now, I climbed into the carriage.
“How long will it take?”
“Without breaks, about a full day. Let’s go.”
After boarding the carriage, I kept looking out the window to calm my uneasy heart.
When my parents died suddenly and I followed the lady, I hadn’t even packed much from home.
The cabin from my childhood would pop into my head at times, but I always forced it away.
My current reality was so different from those happy days that remembering them made me want to give up on everything.
“Will the cabin still be there?”
It had been over ten years with no one to maintain it. I didn’t expect it to be in good shape, so I set my expectations low.
After a few breaks and light meals along the way, the carriage slowly came to a halt.
Stretching as I stepped out, I saw the broken path and the dense forest ahead.
“This is it?”
“Yes. It’s near the location written here. The carriage can’t go further. But are you sure there’s something here? Are you sure you got it right?”
Though the coachman seemed doubtful, I immediately felt a sense of familiarity and comfort in the air as soon as I stepped down.
‘The lady really did pass down my parents’ land to me.’
Even if not, I had tried not to get my hopes up, but now that I saw it myself, my heart pounded.
“I’ll go take a look inside.”
“I’ll stay here. Been riding too long—need a rest…”
Leaving the coachman behind, I crossed the broken path. As I ventured deeper into the forest, I became certain—
This was the area where I spent my childhood.
Now that I thought about it, my dad owed the lady a debt, so it wasn’t strange if she owned the land where our shop once stood.
“Should I be thankful?”
For not selling it elsewhere.
Then again, considering the location, it might’ve been unsellable to begin with.
I continued into the pathless mountain. Though I didn’t know the exact way, my feet moved instinctively.
Eventually, I stopped—realizing no one would walk this route.
In my memory, this was a place with clean air and water, always peaceful.
But it didn’t seem like I would find such a space here anymore.
Just as I was about to turn back with disappointment, I spotted a worn cloth tied to a tree.
“That…!”
It was a marker I had tied myself, squealing on my father’s shoulders as a child.
‘From here on, it’s our area. You must never go past trees with cloth alone, okay?’
‘Me! I wanna do it!’
I still remembered clearly how I took scraps of cloth from Dad and tied them around trees, not even knowing why.
“So I really did come to the right place. I can’t believe that’s still here.”
I thought I had numbed my emotions over time, but seeing the cloth again stirred something deep in my chest.
Unable to control this storm of feelings—feelings I couldn’t even name—I brushed my hand along the tree.
Inside this area, where I ran around daily, I could now see the path clearly.
“But… did Dad cast a barrier around here or something? Is that why I never saw any monsters?”
Back then, I was too young. There were probably a lot of things I didn’t notice.
I pushed through the brambles next to the tree and entered.
To anyone unfamiliar, it would be shocking that such a peaceful space existed here.
A flat clearing with a cabin, a sturdy old tree standing beside it, spring water flowing behind it, and a variety of plants.
It was unbelievably serene—almost like a paradise.
“Found it.”
Truthfully, the biggest reason I wanted to come back here was to visit my parents’ graves.
They passed away suddenly in an accident ten years ago, and we buried them behind the cabin.
The people who brought their bodies dug the graves. I later found out they were working for the lady.
With my heart pounding, I made my way behind the cabin.
I was so nervous my lips felt dry.
A little further into the mountain, I saw the slightly raised mounds beside a tree—and the gravestones Seniel and I made ourselves.
We had no time or people to make proper gravestones, so we used big firewood and carved our parents’ names into them with a knife.
‘I cried like crazy. The wood was hard, so my hands were full of cuts.’
Seeing those grave markers, where even the marks of that day remained, brought the emotions flooding back.
But something was strange.
“…Why hasn’t the cut wood rotted at all?”
It should’ve decayed long ago, but it looked just as it did the day we left. As if someone had cast preservation magic on it.
The graves were the same. I expected weeds to have covered them beyond recognition—but not at all.
They looked as if someone had maintained them with great care.
Even the surrounding area was well-kept, and I found myself confused.
“…Has someone been taking care of this?”
