Home Visit (3)

Ugh, I messed up again.

I ended up treating Leonardo like some kind of criminal. I couldn't see well in the darkness, but his shoulders seemed to slump, and I felt guilty for no reason.

"Uh, here are your clothes."

Unable to figure out what to do, I decided that getting the task done was urgent, so I handed over the newly acquired black outfit from the market. As I helped him put on the cloak, mask, and gloves, blending perfectly into the darkness, I thought to myself. The thought that the original might pop out again at any moment made my body reflexively confused about who I was dealing with. 

It was a really strange experience to have someone you knew suddenly become a stranger. The feeling of dissonance when someone I knew, seen with my own eyes, heard with my own ears, and felt with my own hands, behaved completely differently. It was like the dissonance you feel when you see an actor who played a terribly villainous role in one play performing as a kind and good character in another.

One of the many concerns of actors is 'being typecast.' Why do you think that is? A person's appearance and impression have a kind of imprinting effect. The shock of seeing someone's personality flip completely, rather than just a change in emotions. If it were a story where the setting and characters on stage changed, it would be easier to adapt. But seeing the personality of someone close to me change made it feel like my eyes and ears were deceiving me. Still, being treated like a criminal must feel bad.

Realizing my reaction was unusual, I sighed inwardly and stepped closer to Leonardo with open arms. Leonardo approached silently and cautiously, as if seeking permission, and grabbed my hand. As the warmth transferred from the person I perceived visually and aurally to my sense of touch, I felt it spreading.

He wrapped his arm around my waist, lifted me up, and slung me over his shoulder, with my diaphragm pressed between his shoulder and back. He then lowered his hand to my thigh to secure me. As I rested on his shoulder, I could feel his body tensing and contracting through the fabric as he gathered his strength, his small movements and the firmness of his muscles evident.

When he leapt up and over the brick wall, he held onto it with one arm to stabilize our landing, then released, letting us drop to the ground. Even in that moment, I knew he shielded me with his body to minimize the impact. Despite this, the sensation of falling was always dizzying, and I only relaxed my tense body after hugging his shoulder lightly and landing on the ground.

"Then to the south tower."

Leonardo whispered slowly, for some reason avoiding the use of the secret passage. 

Now was a good time to approach the tower undetected, as the castle guards were busy with their shift change. We stealthily avoided their sight, climbed the stairs, passed by the castle wall, and approached the locked door. The entrance to the tower itself wasn't locked. Once inside, Leonardo closed his eyes and concentrated before signaling that the area was clear.

Faint moonlight seeped through the narrow, vent-like windows in the tower walls, illuminating the spiral staircase leading upwards. Peeking outside, I could see the Lilium Fortress in the opposite direction.

'I wonder if Vittorio is doing well.'

Before coming here, I had given Vittorio a separate task. Through the narrow window where I could see the fortress where Vittorio should be, the bright full moon was reflected in the surrounding lake. It was a perfect night to explore the sealed tower rumoured to be haunted.

Leonardo led the way, and I followed him up the stairs. At the top of the tower, a dark wooden door with a latch lock came into view. Would we find what we were looking for? Or something completely unexpected?

Exchanging glances with Leonardo, I pulled out the key and inserted it. The space within was revealed, frozen in time. The place was disordered, as if frozen in the moment it was last used, chaotic and untouched. Long perches and birdcage hangers jutted from the walls, evidence that this place was once used to keep falcons. A set of drawers attached to the wall seemed intended for storing messages received by carrier pigeons. Oddly, there was a long bench and a table piled with dried parchment, making it a comfortable place to sit and pass the time. Could this be where the countess waited for news of Count Ertinez?

We quietly surveyed the area, tense at the thought that the Count might have hidden it here. The tower, too small to hide anything significant, was filled only with objects. I scanned the small medicinal drawer-like cabinet on the wall and pulled one open. Inside was a rolled-up message.

Judging by the paper's condition, it wasn't recent. Checking the drawer where the telegram was found, I noticed numbers resembling a date. Leonardo approached from behind, took the telegram, and scanned it with his eyes. He seemed familiar with such messages and handed the paper back to me without much concern, then inspected the date written on the drawer.

"It's an urgent message from the calamity ten years ago."

This was a record from the time when it had just been revealed that the entity could mimic humans. What must it have been like to survive by doubting every single person except oneself?

Realizing that each drawer was labeled with a year and month, we knew where to start searching. If this place was associated with the Countess, we should begin with records from seven years ago, the time of her death.

I approached the window and read the lines by the moonlight. Most of the messages on the rolled-up parchment were either too ambiguous or too brief to require much time to review. Most were requests for supplies or personnel. Some were pleas from villages attacked by monsters, asking for knights to be sent. Occasionally, there were reports of someone being discovered as an imposter in a village and being summarily executed after verification by the church. As I quietly examined these records, reflecting on the calamity they had endured, Leonardo muttered.

"Godric."

I immediately looked up and approached him. Leonardo handed over a rolled-up piece of parchment.

Leonardo handed me the next note.

'Hmm…'

The young king—I had heard about him before. In the chaos of the calamity ten years ago, the king died suddenly and Godric succeeded him, didn't he?

'The one who killed Leovald.'

And the villain of this story that suddenly turned into one of possession and revenge.

"According to the records… it seems that when King Godric's succession ceremony took place, the Count did not attend, and someone went in his place."

Could it have been the young count, Ferdinand?

At that moment, Leonardo rummaged through the drawers and found a roughly torn telegram.

At the end, there was a faint mark as if a dried flower had been enclosed, leaving a green stain.

"It's a message sent from the battlefield. It seems that the Countess was the one who attended in place of the Count. The young count wouldn't have been very old at that time. At best, he would have just reached young adulthood."

So, the Countess left El Dante and headed to the capital? A few months before she passed away?

We then examined the telegrams that followed. They were brief messages.

These messages seemed to indicate a reduction in communication, unlike before. The handwriting was the same as the messages the Count had sent to the Countess, confirming they were written by the same person. Judging by the timing… did communication between the Count and the Countess dwindle after she returned from the succession ceremony?

As Leonardo and I approached the drawers to investigate further, Leonardo suddenly turned his head sharply and gestured. Startled, I quickly approached the window. Through the narrow window of the Lilium Fortress below, I saw the flickering of a crimson candlelight. The light blinked, blinked, blinked. It was a signal.

[You never know. The Count said he would be watching us, so he might come unexpectedly. Vittorio, keep an eye out, and if you see someone approaching, signal us like this. It's dark, so anyone approaching with a lantern should be visible. We will be able to see your signal clearly.]

[Okay, I'll keep a close watch.]

[Thank you.]

The signal we had established, just in case, to call us back was clear. We hurriedly put the telegrams back in order and dashed out. Vittorio would likely stall, making excuses that we were bathing or something similar. Though the distance from the tower to the fortress wasn't great, we needed to move quickly.

'To arrive in time, we'll have to row like mad!'

***

As the drawbridge of the fortress finished lowering, Vittorio, feeling a bit awkward and tense, glanced at the visitor. It was the Count of Ertinez, his stern face framed by neatly combed, greying hair that was once a striking blue.

"Good evening…"

"Hmm. It's late, yet you're still awake. Where are your father and Leonardo?"

"I-I'll go get them right away."

Vittorio quickly went to the bathroom area, repeated the candle signal, and then returned at a slow pace.

"They're bathing, so it might take a while. Um, would you like some tea while you wait…?"

"Both of them…?"

"…..?"

"…Never mind. Yes, having some tea while waiting would be fine."

In the pantry were tea leaves that Celestina had discreetly shared with Vittorio through a servant after their tea time. Vittorio deliberately moved slowly, brewing the tea to buy more time.

'Hurry up and get here…!'

He pleaded silently in his mind, hoping for their swift arrival.

Moments later, Isaac and Leonardo approached from the hallway, heading towards the awkwardly seated Vittorio and Count Ertinez. Isaac, slightly flushed and panting, offered a nervous smile, while Leonardo greeted calmly.

"You have arrived, my lord."

"Oh, Count. We didn't expect you to visit so suddenly…"

The Count closed his eyes briefly, then set down his teacup.

***

Ugh, I rowed so hard that my arms feel like they're going to cramp up. I never expected the Count would make a surprise visit like this. 

However…

"Tsk."

Why does he seem so unresponsive?