Chapter 7
The lively chatter that filled the space, along with the questions and awkwardness, vanished in an instant. Alice, overshadowed by Fiore’s massive presence, felt nothing but tension. Her fingertips tingled.
Trying to appear nonchalant, Alice reached for her plate.
“Then I’ll clean up. Are you okay not having eaten?”
“I always eat separately. The food Adelaide makes doesn’t suit me.”
“Then why are you here?”
“The person who should be the happiest to see me is the one complaining the most.”
“……”
In the end, Alice turned abruptly without finishing clearing her plate.
“Give me back my wallet!”
“Huh? What wallet?”
“You stole my wallet yesterday. Hand it over.”
“Oh, you didn’t stay just to clear the dishes? Adelaide will be so disappointed.”
“Stop dodging the question. You sent a signal saying you brought the wallet, didn’t you?”
“Signal? What could you have misunderstood? I just winked at you.”
Fiore winked again with his left eye.
“Misunderstanding the meaning of a wink is a lady’s privilege, but what you’re demanding is another matter.”
“This… what kind of person are you!”
Ultimately, Alice reached out toward Fiore.
However, her hand, which had never attacked anyone in her life, stopped before his chest.
Would grabbing him by the collar even elicit a reaction? Could she leave a mark on that stone-like jaw?
Before she could conclude her brief contemplation, Fiore chuckled and pulled out her wallet from his pants pocket and handed it to her.
“Here you go.”
As soon as Alice received her wallet, she unlocked it to check the innermost compartment for her brother’s will.
Fiore seemed to misunderstand her action and grumbled.
“I’ve never stolen money. Why would I touch a wallet that looks like it would crumble if touched? It seems more likely I’d attract bad luck than get anything valuable.”
“……”
“Since you’ve stubbornly crawled in, you’ll soon pay the price for that foolishness…”
There it was.
Her brother’s will, folded twice and secured with a clip.
The doodles he had drawn on the back and even the coffee stains remained intact.
The emotions she felt when she lost her wallet surged back as a dull ache rising beneath her eyes.
Thank goodness. Aubert, your sister was really foolish. I won’t do anything stupid again…
“Are you… crying?”
Fiore asked incredulously. Instead of making excuses, Alice wiped her face with her sleeve.
Damn it, the dust clinging to her clothes from the long journey tickled her nose.
“Ahem! What does it matter?”
“It’s funny. Did you keep a photo of your dead lover in your wallet?”
Instead of responding, Alice looked around again. There were no shadows of people by the window.
Good, now let’s get to the point.
“Mr. Fiore, did you steal my wallet to keep me from entering town?”
“I still haven’t heard your answer.”
Fiore laughed, revealing teeth that resembled arrowheads beneath his crooked smile—were they threatening fangs?
‘That should be where the first and second premolars are,’ she thought, but they hid behind his lips that moved obnoxiously without giving her a chance to observe them closely.
“It doesn’t look like you keep a photo of a beloved in your wallet; that’s unexpected.”
Alice refused to get entangled in his words.
“Is there something in town that outsiders shouldn’t see?”
“Wow, does what I’m saying not make sense to you?”
“This is what I should be saying. It’s not normal to steal wallets just to filter out uninvited guests. I’m grateful for returning my wallet, but what are you hiding?”
“….”
Fiore stood up without answering. His lips still curled upward, but his cold gaze made it look less like a smile and more like a hook thrust under someone’s chin.
‘Is he planning to threaten me instead of talking?’
Alice felt oddly relieved at this thought.
She wouldn’t be surprised if he pulled out a knife; after all, she’d once wielded a scalpel against a cholera patient during an argument.
However, Fiore’s attack came from an unexpected direction: “Trying to act calm with a red nose is just funny, teacher.”
He lightly tapped Alice’s nose with his finger; it seemed gentle yet made her nostrils flare instantly.
“Ah!”
Alice backed away while covering her face. She tried to glare at him through clenched teeth but found only his chin visible despite tilting her head back as far as possible.
Her fierce gaze would only seem ridiculous now that she’d missed the chance for retaliation; Fiore bent down and gazed into her eyes very kindly.
“Does it hurt?”
“……!”
“Go ahead and cry some more; don’t hold back.”
“Hey! You… Fiore!”
He brushed past Alice without looking back.
The door opened and he strode out like a fish sinking into deep waters beyond the dark path.
“Hahaha!”
Leaving only a refreshingly dirty laugh behind him.
Finally alone in this space.
Now she could either curse him or think about her brother while crying freely; however, Alice began roughly shaking off food crumbs from the tablecloth.
In her mind, she imagined slapping Fiore across the cheek.
‘Really, I can’t stand frivolous people!’
Having dealt with various men at medical school—aristocratic peers who ignored everyone, one who treated her like a pony mistakenly placed in a thoroughbred stable because she was awkward around men—most weren’t pleasant company.
But among them all, those who scratched at people’s insides while cloaking their malice in jokes were the most annoying.
‘I am not a toy!’
Thanks to experiencing male-dominated environments, she had grown thick-skinned enough not to get caught up in silly jokes; however, that didn’t mean she could control her feelings.
“Sigh…”
After tidying up the dishes and cups, Alice forced herself to focus on her surroundings.
It was an opportunity to explore the caretaker’s house without interference.
‘What if this were a social gathering place?’
The first things that came to mind were religious symbols and altars.
Alice opened all the doors on the first floor. For a moment, she felt tense at the sight of the wrist restraints inside a small storage room, relics from the days of the detention center.
Old documents left abandoned alongside musty smells pulled Alice back into reality.
‘Looks like someone gave up trying to clean.’
The traces of large women’s shoes hesitating before turning away left marks on the dust pile in front of them.
Looking at disgusting-colored sheets strewn in one corner made Alice finally hold her breath and close the storage door.
Until then tense shoulders began to relax as she opened another door; toward the backyard gate and an old-style bathroom…
Everything was old but felt meticulously cleaned by Adelaide’s standards.
‘I want to check the second floor too, but if I go up and get caught, I won’t have any excuses.’
Next, she opened cabinets and drawers; dishes with white water stains clinked together noisily. Perhaps due to being near the sea, it seemed like the water wasn’t good.
Ultimately she inspected every visible space on the first floor down to beneath the sofa. Still feeling unsure as she surveyed the living room once more, Alice noticed something odd about one wall.
‘That wall over there seems slightly protruding?’
It wasn’t supposed to be space for a fireplace flue…
Once she started paying attention, she could feel its definite mass—a storage cabinet about as tall as a person’s upper body had been camouflaged by wallpaper matching the wall.
It seemed like furniture that had been there since the building was constructed; for a moment she wondered if it could be considered ‘hidden.’
Two holes where handles should be were wrapped with thick wire—instinctively causing cold sweat on her palms.
‘Is this meant as a substitute lock?’
Thoughts of needing to tell Arno quickly surfaced then sank again—when had the management office ever been generous enough to lend something? Without further thought, Alice reached for the knot.
“Hmm…”
The twisted wire showed no signs of regularity; whether it was thick wire or rebar became irrelevant as she began putting weight into untying it.
Her palms felt numb; however, with each struggle came stronger conviction that something important lay within.
Finally reaching one last turn,
Alice inserted trembling fingers into one hole and slowly pulled.
Light from late afternoon slowly seeped into darkness.
A strange smell wafted out first; soon under faint light glimmering objects blurred her vision…
Alice doubted her eyes.
No matter how many times she looked at them—they weren’t heads preserved in glass jars by some pleasure killer or tentacled idols of cultists—but rather very ordinary bottles of alcohol.
‘There’s even brands my father liked.’
Wine, whiskey, rum… most were labeled products despite being somewhat dirty. Alice opened one unlabeled bottle cap and sniffed—it smelled strong for wine; perhaps port wine?
‘Do they control residents with alcohol? Maybe they mix drugs into it…’
Her conjectures didn’t gain traction; Alice knew well these were just baseless assumptions meant for suspicion.
If prejudices were set aside—the most plausible guess was this was Adelaide’s hidden liquor stash for special occasions.
Alice considered tasting some port wine but ultimately closed up the storage area instead.
As she tightly twisted wire until her fingertips turned white and double-checked for anything amiss—Madam Adelaide still hadn’t returned.
‘At least it’s fortunate for me… but why is it taking so long?’
She wondered about Arno’s well-being.
‘I should have asked which building Arno would use earlier.’
Though there was some temptation to wait for Madam Adelaide—now not even a hint of sunlight remained.
In the end, after confirming once more that most important item—her wallet—was safe again, Alice exited the building.
***
Uninvited guest Arno. Middle-aged human. Good muscle and fat ratio. Appears adaptable to various environments.
He looked at his accommodation and laughed heartily.
“You must have worked hard cleaning. Thank you, madam.”
“That’s my job. If you need anything, feel free to come by our house anytime. At the very least, I’ll offer you a cup of tea.”
“I’d prefer a drink, but!”
His cheerful voice made Adelaide chuckle.
“Alcohol is precious in our town.”
“Well, is there any?”
“Who knows? I might tell you once we get a bit closer.”
“Hahaha! I should visit occasionally even if I’m busy. Well then, I look forward to it.”
Arno entered his accommodation. Just as Adelaide turned her back and took a few steps away, he spat out, “Ha, is this what you call accommodation…?”
While it was expected that he would have a bad personality, she hoped he would at least follow the rules.
‘What about the young lady named Alice?’
Uninvited guest Alice. Young human. Her skeletal structure was well-developed during her affluent childhood, but currently both her fat and muscle conditions are poor. She is polite but has a sharp and sensitive temperament that is clearly visible beneath her skin.
This type usually doesn’t last long in new environments…
At that moment, Adelaide spotted Fiore walking quickly toward her, seemingly coming out of the management office.
She blocked Fiore’s straight path and asked,
“Fiore, you weren’t rude to the guests, were you?”
