Chapter 23
Regina straightened her back, swallowing hard under the viscount’s suspicious gaze. Her attempt to appear natural only heightened the viscount’s mistrust.
“I’m Akim Collins, newly assigned as the chief inspector of the 12th district.”
Noah greeted the viscount, taking out his pocket watch and showing its reverse side. There, the eagle symbol of the Royal Constabulary was engraved.
The Constabulary’s emblem wasn’t something ordinary people could easily obtain. The viscount scrutinized the intricate marking on the eagle’s eye, designed to prevent forgery, with a keen gaze. Soon, he laughed heartily and extended his hand.
“Ah, so you’re the new chief inspector! Haha, well, I’m surprised to see such a young man in this position. Don’t stand out here, please come in. I’ll show you inside.”
Noah shook hands with him, wearing a friendly smile, and naturally entered the mansion. As Regina followed closely behind, the viscount eyed her suspiciously. Regina, who had been staring blankly at Noah as he suddenly introduced himself with an unfamiliar name, quickly composed her expression when she noticed the viscount’s gaze. Her heart raced at the thought of being discovered.
However, the viscount soon turned his attention away from her and addressed Noah. It seemed he had decided to overlook Regina, now that Noah’s identity was confirmed.
The interior of the mansion was vast. Luxurious chandeliers hung everywhere, and plush carpets covered the floors generously. Noah and Regina were led to a reception room for guests.
“Please, sit here. Bring tea for our guests. I’ll change into more formal attire and return shortly.”
After ordering a maid to bring tea, the viscount left the reception room to change into more appropriate clothing. Once he was gone, Noah and Regina sat silently on the sofa.
‘This must be an extremely wealthy family. It’s hard to believe this is a mansion in such a remote area,’ Regina thought.
Regina looked around at the expensive-looking glass bottles and sculptures in the reception room. In one corner, a luxurious birdcage housed a strange bird she had never even seen in books, and next to it stood a wall clock taller than a person. As Regina peered into the birdcage, she noticed the bird’s ornate food bowl was piled high with feed.
As she was thinking that the bird probably had a more refined palate than humans, a maid entered the reception room, set teacups on the table, and left.
“So, about being a chief inspector… is that true?”
“Of course not.”
Regina, feeling somewhat relaxed now that they were alone, sat on the sofa in front of the table and picked up a teacup as she asked. She had just taken a sip, savoring the aroma of the tea, when she froze at the unexpected answer.
“What?”
“Didn’t you hear me use someone else’s name? It’s obviously a lie. Ah, but the fact that I belong to the Royal Constabulary is true, so the viscount must have been confused when he recognized this badge as genuine.”
Regina looked at Noah with wide eyes as he calmly sipped his tea. Her face soon filled with shock. She had thought that since he wasn’t human, he might have a couple of different names.
“What?! You were actually part of the Royal Constabulary? That pocket watch is a badge? No, no, forget all that – you’re saying it’s a lie?! What if we get caught!”
Noah chuckled at Regina, who was almost whispering by the end, desperately trying to lower her voice. He found her frantic demeanor amusing.
“It will take at least three days to verify whether I’m really the chief inspector or not. The Constabulary is complicated with everything. We’ll find out what we need to know and leave before then.”
Noah was the one who had lied, but it was Regina’s heart that was pounding.
She wanted to say something but didn’t know what, opening and closing her mouth. She felt a lump rising in her throat.
“But what if we get caught in the meantime…!”
-Click.
“Sorry to keep you waiting.”
Just then, the reception room door opened, and the viscount entered, having changed his clothes. Regina, startled, clamped her mouth shut, accidentally biting her tongue and grimacing in pain. The viscount, not noticing her expression, sat down across from them with a smile.
“It’s already quite late. Chief Inspector Collins, may I ask what brings you to this territory?”
It was a subtle reproach for visiting at such a late hour. Noah didn’t answer immediately, instead looking down at the teacup in his hand. The viscount was now trying to verify if Noah was really the newly appointed chief inspector.
Noah smirked, having already heard from a chance encounter at the Royal Research Institute that his academy classmate was to be appointed as the chief inspector of the 12th district. Seeing the viscount’s probing, it was clear he not only didn’t know the face of the new chief inspector but also hadn’t heard that the visit to the territory had been postponed by a week.
“That’s an odd question. Surely you’re aware that it’s customary for a newly appointed chief inspector to meet all the lords of the territories under the 12th district. Ah, if you find it unpleasant that I’ve come at such a late hour, I apologize in advance. There was no one to greet us at the train station, so it took some time to get here.”
“Haha. No, not at all. Unpleasant? How could that be! It’s just that it was so sudden, I may have misspoken.”
The viscount, flustered by Noah’s reply implying ‘I’m late because you didn’t come to pick me up as arranged,’ tried to smooth over the awkward atmosphere with a laugh. However, his efforts were in vain as Noah’s expression hardened as he set down his teacup.
“Sudden, you say? Surely you haven’t misplaced the letter sent from the Royal Constabulary?”
“What? No, of course not. How could I lose such a thing!”
Right, there’s no way he could have lost it. Because no such letter was ever sent in the first place. Regina was speechless at Noah’s con artist-like behavior. His timing was impeccable.
The viscount, despite having done nothing wrong, was fidgeting anxiously, watching Noah’s every move. Seeing this, Noah continued, as if granting a favor.
“Well, I’ve come to greet you in person, so that should suffice. However, as you mentioned, it has gotten quite late. I think I’ll take my leave now. Is there perhaps a place nearby where I could stay? I’d like to remain in the area for about two days, given the long journey.”
At this, the viscount’s face brightened, and he hastily suggested:
“Ah! I see. In that case, how about staying at my mansion? If you were to go back to town at this hour, it would take quite some time.”
“Wouldn’t that be a bit presumptuous…?”
As Noah trailed off, seeming troubled, the viscount desperately tried to persuade him. His attitude was urgent, as if a great calamity would befall him if he missed this opportunity.
“Presumptuous? Not at all! I can’t risk being misunderstood as having rudely turned away the newly appointed chief inspector who came to pay his respects in person. Please, I insist you stay.”
At that moment, Regina saw a faint blue light appear in Noah’s eyes. Turning to look at the viscount with a sudden realization, she saw that his eyes had already become hazy, as if he had fallen under Noah’s illusion.
‘…So he needs the person to be somewhat receptive for his power to work.’
She finally understood why Noah had said his power of illusion wasn’t so easy to use. It wasn’t about forcibly injecting memories, but rather exploiting moments of doubt or uncertainty. Regina observed carefully the conditions and methods by which Noah used his power.
Once the viscount fell under the illusion, everything proceeded smoothly. In no time at all, Noah and Regina were each settled in the largest and finest of the mansion’s guest rooms.
When Regina came to her senses, she found herself standing alone in a spacious guest room. Noah, who had gone into the adjacent room, made no sound, suggesting he was sleeping peacefully.
“Is this really okay…?”
Regina, whose biggest lie had been feigning illness to avoid studying, felt quite uncomfortable with the current situation. She felt a strange sense of guilt, but as it wasn’t her place to interfere in Noah’s affairs, she eventually gave up worrying and unpacked her luggage.
After refreshing herself with a bath, she lay down on the bed, pulled the covers over her head, and forced herself to sleep. Perhaps due to the fatigue accumulated from the train journey, Regina quickly fell into a deep sleep.
* * *
Rain poured down as if the sky had split open.
The cold, heavy raindrops struck her face so fiercely that it was difficult to even open her eyes. How long had she been in this downpour? She barely managed to open her closing eyes and look up. Her skin stung where the raindrops hit, falling through the pitch-black trees. It felt as if hundreds, thousands of sharp spears were piercing her entire body.
But she didn’t collapse. Her arms, barely supporting her, were turning pale. Her hands and knees, pressed against the ground, were a mess of wet, black mud, and her skin had long since lost its human color, turning blue.
-Waaah, waah, waaah!
From very far away, or perhaps right by her ear, a baby’s cry kept ringing out, making her head ache, but she couldn’t raise her prostrate body.
-Waaah!
She could only pray for this crying to stop.
“Huh…!”
Regina’s eyes flew open with a start. She clutched the blanket blankly, then sat up as a headache began to throb. It had been an incredibly vivid dream. The sound of rain still echoed in her ears.
“Is it raining…?”
As she mumbled to herself, still half-asleep and dazed from just waking up, she could still hear a baby crying in the distance. Regina blinked at the loud, almost screaming cry.
“Am I still not awake from the dream?”
“Waaah, waaah!”
You know how sometimes you think you’ve woken up from a dream, but you’re actually still in it? As she absentmindedly ran her fingers through her hair, trying to distinguish between dream and reality, her mind gradually became clearer.
“Waaah!”
And the baby’s cries grew louder along with her awareness. Regina got out of bed at the sound that seemed to shake the entire mansion. She picked up the shawl draped over a chair, wrapped it around her shoulders, and gently opened the door. In the pitch-black corridor without a single light, the baby’s cries echoed thunderously.
