Chapter 33
Even after distributing flyers throughout the surrounding area and asking for help, not a single piece of news had come in — eerily so.
“Is it even possible that no one has seen anything?”
“Exactly. It’s like they vanished — either into the ground or up into the sky…”
And since there was even less information about the man said to be living with them, the investigation made no progress at all.
“Could it be that they’re already dea—”
“Hey! Don’t jump to conclusions.”
“S-sorry.”
The young soldier’s rash remark earned him a scolding from the others. Their eyes soon drifted back toward Nox, who had already walked some distance away.
His steps, staggering with the help of a neighbor, looked especially pitiful today.
“You should head inside.”
“Yes, sir… Thank you so much for today.”
“We’ll find them. Try not to worry too much.”
“I’ll try.”
Nox turned away with a bitter smile at his neighbor’s attempt to comfort him.
But as soon as he turned his back, a faintly different smile flickered across his face — and vanished just as quickly.
Click.
“…!”
Bang!
“Nox? What’s wrong?”
The neighbor, who had been watching him head inside, was startled when Nox suddenly slammed the door shut and stumbled backward in alarm.
His face went pale, as though he’d just seen something unspeakable.
“N-no. I just… suddenly don’t feel well. I need a bit of fresh air. You should go on ahead.”
“Tch. You must be tired too. Go rest soon.”
“Yes.”
Nox nodded stiffly, not moving an inch until the neighbor had completely disappeared from sight.
“Haa… Haa… W-what the hell…?”
Once he was alone, he finally let out the breath he’d been holding and slowly turned toward his house.
His eyes trembled violently as they stared at the firmly closed wooden door — as though an earthquake had struck.
“…I must’ve imagined it, right?”
Yeah. It was just a trick of the mind.
He’d been acting, pretending, constantly aware of others’ eyes night and day — of course his nerves were shot.
After confirming one last time that no one was around, Nox cautiously grabbed the doorknob with a trembling hand.
Click.
Creeeak…
“H-holy…!”
The moment he stepped inside, he quickly locked the door behind him, as if afraid someone might see.
The first thing that hit him — was the stifling, heavy stench of blood.
“W-what the hell happened here…!”
The house was a sea of blood.
A sight far too familiar.
Puddles of blood pooled across the floor.
Splattered stains marked the walls.
Even the frantic scratch marks of someone clawing at the door, desperate to live.
Every bit of it — was the result of his own deeds.
“But I erased it!”
He had erased it with every ounce of strength he had left!
He’d poured every kind of chemical he could find to make sure not a single trace remained!
“Then why…!”
Was this a dream?
Yes. It had to be a dream.
Nox crawled toward one of the blood puddles, reaching out a trembling hand.
“Ah—!”
It was real. Real blood. Not a hallucination. Not a dream.
Staring at the sticky, red stain on his hand, Nox collapsed to the floor.
“T-this can’t be real…”
What was this? What on earth was happening?
Thud!
Despair lasted only a moment — Nox jumped up in panic.
He didn’t understand what was going on, but there was one thing he did know.
He had to erase it.
He began scrubbing the blood like a madman.
Wiping, and wiping again. Pouring every last drop of cleaning chemical he had.
Time passed unnoticed as he continued wiping, wiping, and wiping again.
“Mm…”
In one corner of the room, Nox had collapsed asleep, rag still clutched in his hand — proof of a night spent scrubbing.
When the sunlight streamed through the window, he stirred and sat up groggily.
“What time is it now…”
Drop.
“……”
The rag slipped from his hand and fell limply to the floor. His sunken eyes widened in an instant.
“Wh-what… Aaaahhhh!”
A gut-wrenching scream burst from his throat.
“Why! Why—!”
He had cleaned it all last night!
Wiped and scrubbed until his hands blistered!
Then why…
Thump.
“……”
As if mocking him, pools of blood once again filled every corner of the room. Nox dropped to his knees, hollow and defeated.
“Lady Ceres, out so early in the morning?”
“A walk.”
“A walk?”
At this hour?
Jay tilted his head. Ceres had left the mansion even earlier than he had, and now she was just returning as he opened the shop.
“I thought you’d already gone straight to the store.”
“I was going to, but the weather’s too nice to waste. On days like this, being outside is…”
“L-Lady Ceres! Your nose! You’re bleeding!”
“…Ah, damn it.”
What’s wrong with this useless body?
Just using a bit of strength and it’s already bleeding from the nose? Pathetic.
“Here, a handkerchief! Oh no, what should we do?”
“It’s fine. Really.”
Trying to calm the panicking Jay, Ceres wiped the blood away with the handkerchief.
Haven’t had a nosebleed like this in a while.
Ding.
“Huh?”
At the sound of the door opening, Jay turned her head — and her eyes widened. She recognized the customer immediately.
She’d only seen him once before, but his striking looks made him unforgettable.
“Ah, I’m sorry. We’re not open yet.”
Jay quickly tried to stop him from coming in.
Ceres, glancing over, blinked in mild surprise.
“It’s fine, Jay.”
“Pardon?”
“Go on and finish cleaning up the kitchen.”
“O-oh, yes.”
Jay didn’t know — since she didn’t stay at the shop full-time — but this man had been dropping by very often lately.
Do you have nothing better to do?
He was a Grand Duke, wasn’t he? Did he really have time to come by like this all the time?
Why so often? What was his reason?
It was embarrassing, how desperate she’d been thinking that last time would be the last.
I really thought that was goodbye…
Who could’ve guessed they’d end up seeing each other nearly every day?
And today, of all days, he showed up before dawn.
“You’re early.”
“You told me to.”
‘Come early in the morning or late at night so you don’t bother others.’
Wait— he took that literally?!
Because the mercenaries always fled whenever he appeared, she’d suggested he come at off hours.
Ceres sighed softly.
He really didn’t do anything halfway.
“Sit over here.”
She motioned for Kainel to take a seat.
“……”
He just looked at her — still holding a hand over her nose.
“You should stay still.”
His indifferent remark made her chuckle unexpectedly.
‘Please, stay still, Grace.’
‘Yeah! The bleeding won’t stop!’
‘It’s fine. A little nosebleed won’t kill me.’
‘It will! You’re losing blood — that means you’re dying!’
‘Grace, are you dying? You can’t die! Don’t die!’
‘…Kai, you’re scaring the kid. Stop that.’
She remembered the two of them — how they’d always freaked out whenever she had nosebleeds.
…She’s smiling again.
Kainel’s eyes narrowed slightly.
Sometimes, when she smiled like that for no reason, it irritated him.
No — it irritated him that anything about her could irritate him.
Why should someone else’s smile matter to him at all?
“Can I eat?”
“……”
That tone — it irritated him too.
Neither polite nor casual, just that odd way she always spoke to him.
“The stew’s not ready yet.”
“I’ll wait.”
Taking a seat, Kainel leaned back comfortably and closed his eyes, as if he had all the time in the world.
As Ceres moved toward the kitchen, he fell into thought.
Passed down through generations, huh…
He remembered the first day he’d visited this shop — when he’d asked her where she’d learned the stew recipe.
‘It’s been passed down in my family… sir.’
He still didn’t understand how, but he was sure of it — it was the same stew Grace used to make.
Grace used to share her recipes with others sometimes, he recalled.
But even then — could a recipe really stay exactly the same for three hundred years?
Even with the same instructions, taste always changed over time.
And yet, this one hadn’t. Not one bit.
How was that even possible after so long?
Tap.
“…?”
Lost in thought, Kainel opened his eyes at the soft sound of something being set down.
A steaming omelet sat in front of him.
“Eat that while you wait for the stew.”
