Chapter 1
“Excuse me, sir, could I ask you for directions?”
The elderly man looked over the short, thin stranger and nodded.
“The fog is so thick I can’t see the mountain entrance at all. Which way is it?”
“You’re not planning to climb up to that castle, are you?”
The old man pointed toward the mountain shrouded in dense fog. In the middle of the mountain, whose size was impossible to gauge, a sharp spire jutted upward.
The man nodded as if to say yes.
“Good heavens! This looks like your first time here—you should turn back now.”
“Pardon?”
“The goblin castle’s gates closed less than a week ago, so you’ll have to wait at least four more days for them to open again. Stay in this village and go up when the gates open.”
“Ah… haha, that’s all right. If you could just point me in the right direction, I’ll go by myself.”
“Young man, are you trying to get yourself killed? More than a few people have died trying to force their way in when the gates weren’t open.”
The old man clicked his tongue and shook his head. The stranger looked at him with a troubled expression before bowing.
“Please, just tell me which direction to go, sir. I’ll really be fine.”
The old man looked him over with half-closed eyes and pointed to the right with his chin.
“I really don’t know about this. I’m only telling you because you asked. Go straight down that path until you see a wooden signpost with nothing written on it, then follow the direction it points.”
“Thank you, sir.”
The man adjusted his wooden case once more and set off. The old man watched his retreating figure and let out a short sigh.
“I have a bad feeling about this…”
The man walked straight in the direction the old man had indicated. He continued until the scattered houses completely disappeared, and there, just as the old man had said, stood a wooden signpost with no writing on it.
“This must be it…”
The man carrying the wooden case—Rabian—swallowed hard as he gazed into the fog-shrouded mountains. The old man’s warning about certain death wasn’t false. The moment he ventured into that fog, he would lose his way completely.
But Rabian had faith that he would arrive safely at his destination, the goblin castle. The necklace hidden beneath his shirt would show him the way.
Suddenly, Rabian recalled the moment he had received the necklace from him.
‘When you’ve brewed peach wine that satisfies me, take this and come find me anytime.’
Kallius had come to see Rabian alone, without Ariella who usually stuck to him like glue. He had skipped any pleasantries and immediately held out the necklace.
‘Lord Kallius? This is… a necklace? What is this?’
‘A key that will bring you safely to where I am.’
‘Have you moved your residence?’
‘Find the goblin castle. The door will open.’
‘The goblin castle…’
Rabian couldn’t understand Kallius’s words at all. After being mysteriously absent for years, he had suddenly appeared with talk of coming to find him once the finest peach wine was brewed.
‘I’ll pay you handsomely.’
‘No, payment isn’t the issue. I can give you peach wine anytime. How much I owe both of you…’
Kallius nodded slowly with a blank expression. The more Rabian conversed with him, the more he felt his mouth going dry. Kallius’s coldly hardened expression made Rabian’s shoulders hunch.
Unlike the approachable Kallius of the past, the current Kallius was like a sharply honed blade.
‘Um… Lord Kallius. Didn’t you come with Lady Ariella?’
‘Surely you haven’t… separated?’
Finally, he voiced the question that had been circling in his mind. While Ariella had visited Rabian alone before, this was the first time Kallius had come by himself.
‘Ari is sleeping.’
‘What? Ah… she must be very tired lately. She’s well, with nothing wrong, I hope?’
‘She doesn’t answer when I ask. Because she’s sleeping.’
‘What?’
Only then did Rabian sense something was wrong. Kallius’s eyes were red and swollen. His heart sank with a thud.
He realized that “sleeping” didn’t simply mean she was taking a nap.
‘Since… when?’
‘About six months now… Ari loved your peach wine, so come deliver it regularly in person. Who knows? She might wake up wanting a drink…’
With those final words, Kallius turned and disappeared, leaving Rabian staring helplessly at his retreating figure.
After that, Rabian visited the goblin castle once or twice a year to deliver peach wine. The goblin castle’s location changed frequently, and the cycle of its gates opening and closing wasn’t regular, so timing the visits was crucial.
Having only visited when the gates were open, today Rabian faced closed gates for the first time.
“This… this will really be okay, right?”
Rabian had also heard rumors that visiting the goblin castle when its gates were closed meant risking one’s life.
He knew it wasn’t just a rumor. How could an ordinary person reach the gates through fog so thick you couldn’t see an inch ahead?
“I’m going in. Lord Kallius? I’m coming in.”
Knowing he wouldn’t be heard but muttering to himself anyway, Rabian stepped forward determinedly. Instantly, the surroundings were engulfed in fog.
Somehow, it felt suffocating. The mysteriously moving fog wrapped around Rabian’s legs. Seeing the fog’s form coiling around his legs like a damp snake, Rabian swallowed a scream.
Whether it was the sound of leaves rustling in the wind or a snake’s cry, the eerie noise made goosebumps rise on his back. Startled, he gasped, and the fog that had stopped moving began to slowly disperse.
He quickly looked down at the necklace around his neck. The gem embedded in the necklace was glowing brightly. Soon after, the fog parted like the sea, creating a small path just wide enough for one person to pass through.
Rabian opened his eyes wide and walked along the path. Though he hadn’t walked long, he found himself already at the castle gates.
“Lord Rabian?”
“AAAHHH!!!”
Someone called Rabian’s name from beside him. Startled and jumping, Rabian frantically checked his wooden case.
“Oh my, I’m sorry. Did I frighten you terribly?”
It was Bern, the butler who guided visitors whenever they came to the goblin castle.
The goblin castle looked no different from when he’d visited eight months ago. The location had changed, but the interior remained the same—how curious.
“Come to think of it, Lord Rabian has always visited when the gates were open. This is your first time coming when they’re closed, isn’t it?”
“Y-yes, that’s right. I do hope I can visit when the gates are open next time.”
The eerie feeling still seemed to linger at the back of his neck.
“Um, Lord Kallius is…?”
Rabian looked around and asked Bern. Kallius always had to be the one to receive Rabian’s peach wine. Not a servant, not even the head butler.
What had happened last time when he’d given it to someone else?
‘Ugh, that bastard. I can’t even imagine how much more of a bastard he’s become.’
“I’m afraid you won’t be able to see the master… For now, let me escort you to the reception room.”
“What? That won’t do. Butler, you remember what happened that time, don’t you? If I leave the peach wine with someone else, he’ll throw another fit.”
“When the gates are closed, it’s different. He’s usually not in his right mind.”
“What?”
That’s when it happened. The floor began to shake as if an earthquake had struck. A thunderous roar came from the ceiling, and dust began swirling through the air.
“Oh dear.”
“Wh-what’s happening?!!”
“Lord Rabian, please follow me for now. Hold your wooden case tight.”
Following Bern’s advice, Rabian clutched his wooden case with both hands and started walking. Bern grabbed Rabian’s arm firmly as he swayed with each tremor of the floor and quickened their pace.
Then, as they walked frantically, a desperate, piercing scream reached Rabian’s ears—impossible to ignore.
“That… wasn’t that a scream just now?”
It was a man’s scream mixed with metallic sounds. More sounds like a beast howling followed, and another thunderous roar came from the ceiling.
The ceiling shook as if it might collapse at any moment.
“B-Bern! It’s not going to collapse, is it?!”
“Ha ha ha, would the master dare allow such a thing? Since Lady Ariella won’t wake up at all, he’s throwing a tantrum. When the gates are closed, he often does this, so you’d best get used to it.”
Rabian was dumbfounded by Bern’s cutting remarks. Was it just his imagination, or was Bern’s attitude toward Kallius becoming increasingly disrespectful?
“I should escort you to the reception room, but currently even that isn’t safe. You’ll need to come with me to the situation room—would that be all right?”
“Yes, yes, yes!! Of course!! I’m scared to be alone!!!”
Fearing that the ceiling might fall on him at any moment, Rabian quickly followed Bern into the large room called the situation room.
The first thing he saw upon entering were dozens of crystal orbs illuminating the entire room.
