ebookpocket.com Chapter 223: Escape (5)
Chapter 223: Escape (5)
Chapter 223: Escape (5)
Baran returned home late at night after tending to all his guests.
“Baran!”
As soon as he stepped inside, someone called out his name.
It was the voice of Laura, the woman he was promised to marry.
Startled by her tone, Baran rushed into the house.
“What’s wrong?”
But Laura stood frozen in the room, her health seemingly intact. She was merely staring down at something, her hand covering her mouth in shock.
“...What’s the matter?”
Baran’s sigh of relief was short-lived. He quickly approached Laura, who was fixated on a small postcard.
“...This... was here when I got home.”
“...”
Baran had spent a long time helping Berg practice reading and writing. Although he still wasn’t completely fluent, he had reached a decent level. Laura, too, was literate.
The astonished Laura spoke first.@@@@
“...Baran, don’t be shocked.”
“What is it?”
She handed him the postcard.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t attend the wedding.”
The words froze Baran in place.
It felt as though Berg had returned to life and written those words himself. Baran felt a choking sensation in his throat, but it didn’t last long. No one knew better than Baran that Berg was dead.
Anger surged within him as he thought about who could have played such a cruel prank.
“...Which bastard...”
The postcard felt like an insult, a mockery of his bond with Berg. Their relationship wasn’t one to be trivialized or used for games. The memories of saving each other countless times on the brink of death weren’t so easily erased.
Bang!
Unable to contain his rage, Baran stormed out of the house, determined to find whoever was responsible.
“Captain Baran!!”
The moment he stepped outside, he saw a group of his subordinates approaching him. Each one carried a torch, their faces filled with urgency. Even Gale was running toward him, gasping for breath.
“...What’s going on?”
Baran’s anger was momentarily replaced by confusion as he asked.
Gale answered.
“...Lady Sien has disappeared.”
“......What?”
Baran frowned deeply, sensing this was just the beginning.
Gale continued hesitantly.
“...Lady Ner and Lady Arwin are gone too.”
***
I was hiding in Stockpin under the cover of night.
There was one last thing I had to do. However, I could feel that my time here was running out as chaos erupted in the village.
It seemed that Sien, Ner, and Arwin had left the territory with Flint’s help.
“...Damn.”
I clicked my tongue in frustration. The thought of parting weighed heavily on me. Deep down, I wanted to stay here a little longer. There was still so much I wanted to say to Adam Hyung.
But perhaps this was my bad habit—holding on to people when it was time to let go.
Maybe it was time to set them free.
“...”
I knew I would never return to this place. Nowhere else was my face as well-known as it was here.
And that meant one thing.
I would never see Adam Hyung, who would remain here forever.
This was the end.
“...Hyung.”
I stood before Adam Hyung’s gravestone, gazing down at the unmarked slab.
“...”
Baran couldn’t bring himself to look directly at Berg’s gravestone. Instead, he muttered under his breath, almost as if making a promise.
“...I’ll find them soon.”
Of course, Berg wasn’t actually resting beneath this grave, but it felt as though his presence lingered, listening to Baran’s words.
Whoosh!
As the torchlight shifted, something caught Baran’s eye. Even in the darkness, the change was unmistakable.
It was something Baran had seen countless times, and his familiarity with it made the difference stand out.
The change was at Adam’s grave, right next to Berg’s.
“...Huh?”
Baran noticed it immediately, and Gale slowly approached the spot as well. Baran nearly dropped his torch in shock.
Adam’s gravestone, which had been blank just days ago, now bore a short inscription. It was undeniable; someone had engraved it during the brief time since he last checked.
“...This... this is...”
Gale fell to his knees in front of the grave, whispering in disbelief.
“...No... but...”
He kept shaking his head, as if trying to deny the reality of what he was seeing.
Baran glanced at Gale, then reached into his pocket and pulled out the postcard he had received earlier.
The words on it sounded different now. Before, it might have seemed like a cruel prank. But no one would defile Adam’s gravestone for a joke.
[I’m sorry I couldn’t attend the wedding.]
Baran read the message again, this time feeling a chill run down his spine.
Baran handed the postcard to Gale.
Gale’s expression deepened as he read the postcard, his face twisting with even greater emotion.
“...This... postcard... when...”
“I found it earlier,” Baran replied. “It was left at my house. I thought it was just a prank...”
Gale let out a shaky, hollow laugh, his face on the verge of tears.
For a while, he trembled, glancing back and forth between Adam’s gravestone and the postcard in his hand. Finally, he spoke.
“...This is Berg’s handwriting...”
“.....................”
Baran blinked slowly, a cold realization creeping over him.
Suddenly, everything seemed to fall into place.
Why Sien, Ner, and Arwin had seemed fine before their sudden disappearance.
Why they had vanished together.
Who had delivered the postcard?
Who had engraved Adam’s gravestone?
“How is this even possible...!” Gale’s voice grew louder, rising with disbelief.
But the “how” didn’t matter.
No matter how impossible it seemed, all the signs pointed to one undeniable truth.
Baran fell to his knees.
-Thud.
Come to think of it, he had never actually seen Berg’s body cremated.
“.................Is he alive...?”
He whispered the words, his voice barely audible.
Baran looked back at Adam’s gravestone, his gaze locked on the newly engraved words.
He read the simple inscription once more:
“My eternal brother.
Adam, rests here.”
– – The End of The Chapter – –
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