Chapter 17:
It was almost evening when I arrived at the mansion. I wasn’t hungry at all after having eaten so many drinks and desserts. Still, I had promised Seniel, so I had to go.
Before that, I called the butler and ordered him to send 1,000 gold to Ronan, adding a reasonable excuse that he had saved me from a mugger on the street not long ago.
The butler carried out the order without a word. Seeing that he wasn’t even surprised at the amount—1,000 gold—I guessed he didn’t consider it a huge sum. After all, managing this mansion would cost at least that much.
I briefly worried that Ronan might complain about receiving too much money. But it’s my own money—I can do what I want with it.
When I went down to the dining room, I saw Seniel’s usually strong posture was unusually slumped.
“……”
He didn’t even notice I had entered, lost in his thoughts.
Seeing his shadowed face made my own emotions stir.
‘Was having fun with the heroine today my last bit of luck before I die?’
Not that I worried about him—it was myself I was concerned for.
The gloomy atmosphere seemed like a harbinger of the days to come.
Shaking off my worries with a sigh, I greeted him.
“Good evening. Did you have a good visit to the temple?”
Snapped out of his thoughts, Seniel flinched slightly and acknowledged me with an “Ah.” He then quickly tried to compose himself and offered a faint smile.
“Yes. Thanks to you, nothing happened.”
“That’s good.”
Seniel awkwardly stood, and with a slight delay, noticed the bouquet I was holding. I lightly shook it. The innocent yellow freesia petals fluttered.
“I prepared this bouquet especially today. Put it nicely in a vase.”
To me, it was a fairly large bouquet, but in Seniel’s hands, it looked smaller than usual.
“Shall we start dinner now?”
The atmosphere at the table was quiet as usual, but tonight the silence felt heavier than normal.
Seniel hesitated, picking at his food as if unsure whether to eat or not.
‘Does he usually eat this little?’
Was he eating this much because I insisted, or was he holding back because of me? I became a little curious.
“Uh, Seniel.”
“Yes?”
Seniel raised his head at my call. His heavy-lidded eyes framed by long, dense eyelashes looked mournful.
“Eat… a lot, …”
He patiently waited for me to continue, but I stopped myself and closed my mouth.
‘I’m not in a position to worry about others.’
I swallowed the words I meant to encourage him with. In a few days, I’d be leaving, so what was the point of encouragement anyway?
“No, it’s nothing.”
I also held back light concern about him looking tired from his father’s death anniversary and words of reassurance not to worry too much.
“……Yes.”
Seniel didn’t question me. He simply lowered his eyelids, pierced a tiny piece of salad, and quietly ate it.
That was Seniel’s last meal.
It felt stifling and suffocating. I also finished my meal, drinking water to calm myself.
Outside the dining room, Seniel quietly waited with the bouquet while I lingered. Taking a deep breath, I decided to offer him the best comfort I could.
“Shall we shake hands?”
I suddenly extended my hand toward him. He stared at it silently, like yesterday. Eventually, he too extended his hand.
“Let’s live diligently.”
Wasn’t that the greatest comfort we could give each other?
Seniel seemed to want to say something.
‘Is he going to answer?’
I expected a simple response like, “Yes, let’s live diligently.”
But he exceeded my expectations. His pretty lips closed again. What had he wanted to say?
I wanted to ask, but it wasn’t a matter I was intensely curious about, so I let it go.
Letting go of his hand, I reminded him of my morning instructions.
“Do you remember what I said this morning? I told you to stay put and not go out.”
“Yes.”
Even as he answered well, the corners of his eyes drooped further. He looked at me uncertainly, as if he wasn’t sure he could really do it.
“Just keep that one thing, alright?”
“…….Yes.”
He answered properly, yet still didn’t look away, as if he had something to say. But in the end, no words came from him.
I put on a turtleneck pajama and tucked various self-defense items into my waist. They weren’t visible at first glance. I patted the items, lifted the pillow, and confirmed the cute stun device was in place.
‘Even if Kid is strong, I can at least try this.’
The plan was simple: stun Kid with the device, drink the sprint potion, and run at full speed. Riding one of the mansion’s horses could give me a slight chance of escape. I didn’t know how to ride well, but if I got on and clung to the horse, I could probably manage.
After that… hmm. I knew where Ezette’s house was, so I could head straight there.
‘Even if Kid is strong, the heroine should be just as capable.’
I had no choice but to trust Ezette.
Admiring my perfect plan, I wrapped myself tightly in the blanket and closed my eyes in prayer. Please, don’t let him come today either.
—Bang, bang.
I woke abruptly from a light sleep at the noise. Tensing up, I stared at the door. The door didn’t move, no matter how long I waited. The loud noise wasn’t coming from the door—it was perfectly intact.
—Bang, bang.
The noise came again, slightly louder.
‘It sounded like multiple things being struck at once.’
It sounded like objects of different materials being hit together with a fist. The final sound echoed like a piano note.
‘What now?’
I shivered under the blanket, recalling the nightmare on the first floor I had barely forgotten.
The noise stopped. I shut my eyes tightly. It was beginning.
Under the half-visible moon, Kid awoke from his unpleasant sleep. He ran his hands irritably through his hair, and his hair tie fell beneath the bed.
Half sitting up, he counted the day in his head.
‘Ah, today’s that damn day.’
His father’s death anniversary—and the day he committed his first murder. No wonder he felt bad.
‘I should’ve done it earlier.’
He got up roughly, feeling his mood sink further. True to his night vision, he wandered the dark room without turning on a light. Suddenly, he stopped when he saw something.
“Someone’s pissing me off, while someone’s playing at love.”
Bathed in moonlight, the freesia caught his eye. Looking at the bright yellow blooms only made him angrier.
Technically, he had no reason to be mad—he had pressured Vivi to flirt with Seniel—but he was inexplicably displeased. Today, everything annoyed him: the room, the mansion, his own body.
He left the room.
His initial intent to go out and kill someone vanished. He wasn’t in the mood. Instead, he impulsively decided to enter a room he hadn’t been in for a long time.
Unlocking the door, he found a sparse room: an old piano and a single-seat couch. The room seemed designed purely for enjoying piano music.
“This place is always crap.”
Kid tapped the piano with his foot. Seeing the dark piano reminded him of his parents enjoying music.
‘Should’ve burned it back then.’
Years ago, after killing his father, he had planned to burn it, but life had gotten too complicated, and he had forgotten.
‘Might as well now.’
In his bad mood, he slammed the keys, producing horrible sounds. The piano seemed well-maintained, with no dust disturbed. Satisfied with the dissonance, he hit it a few more times, then got a match to light a fire.
Before striking the match, a memory flashed through his mind: someone teaching him the piano with gentle encouragement.
‘Huh…’
His face twisted in anger at the warmth of the memory—it wasn’t his, but Seniel’s. They couldn’t share memories, only briefly sense them during strong emotions.
Kid cursed, feeling disgusted. He wanted to cover the memory with something stimulating. Suddenly, he thought of the bold woman staying in the mansion.
What would happen if he brought her here? Not stimulating, but maybe fun.
Leaving the piano, he moved toward whatever he intended to do next.
I silently prayed to every god I knew, even my parents.
Click. The door opened. I gasped and froze, instinctively pretending to sleep. Some animals faint partially in crisis; that must have been me.
The footsteps felt ominous. I knew.
‘This is my last day.’
Somehow, I felt unusually happy today—it was fleeting joy, only because it was my last day.
Kid’s chilling voice broke the silence.
“Pretending to sleep…”
“……”
“Do it properly if you’re going to. You’re terrible.”
He immediately judged my acting. Since I didn’t get up, he threatened me.
“I’m not in the mood to show mercy. If you don’t get up—”
“I-I’m up!”
I rose and subtly slid my hand under the pillow. Kid smirked.
“Come with me.”
Where? I’d never agreed to go anywhere. Where was he taking me? My eyes trembled.
‘Is he planning to kill me somewhere else?’
If he killed me here, Seniel might get suspicious. I had been promised to survive for now! I hadn’t fully trusted him, but still!
Having long lost my composure, I tried to cling to reason. I slid the stun device under the pillow.
Kid went ahead two steps. Moonlight from the window barely lit the hall, just enough to see him.
‘I have to rely on the guy threatening me to walk safely.’
It was contradictory. But I had no choice but to follow him.
‘It seems like the first floor…’
Please don’t lead me to that secret room. My mind went blank.
Should I shock him and run now, or follow cautiously and attack if something suspicious happens? Endless strategies flashed through my mind.
I prayed, at least let me survive.
Footsteps echoed eerily in the hall. Kid suddenly stopped, almost making me bump into his back.
‘C-crazy…’
Shivers ran down me from the near-miss. Sweat trickled.
Kid opened a door to an unknown room. Inside, a piano and couch stood.
‘A piano?’
Seeing the piano, I breathed a small sigh of relief. At least it wasn’t the evidence room on the first floor.
Relaxing slightly, I surveyed the room. The expensive grand piano reflected the moonlight beautifully.
‘Was that noise from this piano?’
Remembering the banging, it matched.
‘So, why did he bring me here?’
I cautiously asked him with my eyes what I should do next. He ignored me and slumped onto the couch.
I alone seemed tense. My fingers stiff with nervousness fiddled, watching him. I wanted to ask honestly why we were here, but my neck might be next if I did.
Kid crossed his legs, propped his chin, and lounged comfortably. Then he looked at me and said casually,
“Play it.”
“Play… what?”
I didn’t understand. He sighed, then nodded toward the piano.
“That. Play that.”
Momentarily forgetting fear, I stared at him and the piano. Normally, wouldn’t he ask if I could play first?
But now, as the inferior party, I had no choice but to obey.
“Not going to play?”
“I-I will.”
I sat before the piano, heart heavy.
The keys were clean and smooth. I had to play to know if it was tuned.
‘What should I play…?’
Moonlight reflected on the keys, making me feel strange.
‘I never thought I’d play the piano like this again…’
Before Kid could press me further, I placed my hands on the keys.
‘What… what should I play…?’
It had been a long time since I played without preparation. My neck stiffened. I scanned familiar pieces and intuitively chose one.
‘In competitions, I get time to warm up my fingers…’
No time for that; I started the piece immediately.
My fingers felt different in this body, but I pressed the keys one by one.
As my fingers moved as intended, tension slowly melted.
I remembered the past, when I protected the piano before cancer. I had wanted to follow my father’s profession and blindly go to music school without money.
‘During exam prep and competitions, I sometimes hated the piano…’
But now, right before dying, I wanted to play desperately.
Even in this body, I pressed the keys naturally. The feel of the hard yet smooth keys was strange but oddly familiar.
‘To play Debussy’s “Clair de Lune” here…’
Seeing the moon reflected on the piano, I felt it had to be this piece. I had considered Chopin’s Ballade No. 4, but couldn’t last over ten minutes.
The room filled with the piano’s melody. My heart raced.
Focused on the piano, I momentarily forgot Kid’s presence. Only I and the piano existed here.
Finishing the piece safely, a shiver ran through me. Tears gathered in my eyes. My desire to live surged.
‘I want to live.’
Still lost in the lingering emotion, I remembered a forgotten audience member. I quickly wiped my tears and hunched my shoulders.
Kid had been watching silently, expression obscured by the darkness.
I kept an eye on him until his lips moved, fingers slightly lifted from the keys. I regretted leaving off, but hid it.
The room fell silent.
I was about to reach for the self-defense item at my waist.
