If You Wish to Have Me - Chapter 115

In truth, from the very moment Kisa learned of the secret room’s existence, she had countless times pictured its appearance in her mind.

What would it look like? What secret of Seyard’s was hidden there?

The number of her imaginings was as many as the sleepless nights caused by the anxiety that stemmed from them.

And now, finally faced with the room’s appearance revealed under the lamplight, she maintained her silence.

“…….”

In the center of the neatly emptied room sat only a single table, and the only object placed upon it was a wooden box.

Momentarily stunned by the unexpectedly bare appearance, Kisa quickly regained her composure and moved her lamp around to examine the doorframe.

This was to check if any devices were hidden before setting foot in the room.

She remembered hearing rumors that some families would apply red paint or dye to the entrances of their treasure vaults and regularly inspect their servants’ shoes.

If someone had secretly entered and exited the vault, traces of it would be found on their shoes.

A red mark identifying those who had entered forbidden places.

When she first heard it, she had dismissed it as just another common piece of high society gossip, but now, for some reason, it felt real to her.

‘Since the door opened so easily, there might be hidden traps or devices.’

However, contrary to Kisa’s suspicions, even after carefully examining the floor and door, no suspicious areas were visible. Perhaps it had been excessive worry after all.

As soon as she felt confident it was safe, Kisa stepped into the room and closed the door.

The window side had been covered with thick curtains from the beginning, so there seemed to be no worry about light leaking out.

Kisa held her breath for a moment and listened carefully for any signs of activity in the corridor.

Perfect silence except for the occasional sound of wind tapping at the windows.

At times like this, she was grateful for the winter cold that made one not want to step even one foot outside the room.

“Huh.”

Letting out a light sigh, she approached her target with tense nerves.

Then the appearance of the box on the table became much clearer.

An elegant wooden box with no pattern. Fortunately, no lock was visible.

As a precaution, she wrapped her hands with the handkerchief she had brought and gently lifted the lid.

The box opened easily, then closed again when Kisa let go.

For now, Kisa straightened her chest and took a deep breath.

She hadn’t yet checked the contents. If she wanted to turn back from all this, now was her last chance.

However, even knowing this fact well, the determination settled in her heart did not fade.

She wanted to know the truth. She wanted to know the secret Seyard had hidden.

As if to dispel any lingering hesitation, Kisa threw open the box’s lid.

And at that moment, for reasons unknown, words Seyard had once said brushed past her ears.

[I believe that love should not be accompanied by suspicion.]

Despite that voice in her head like a warning, the box opened and his secret revealed itself.

“Huh?”

A few seconds later, Kisa doubted her own eyes and blinked several times.

The contents of the box were so far from her expectations and assumptions.

If a blood-stained dagger or black mask had emerged, it might have been despairing but wouldn’t have caused such confusion.

What was carefully placed inside the box was…

“A scarf?”

This was Kisa’s conclusion after examining the colorful woolen fabric from various angles.

Just to be sure, she hadn’t taken it out of the box yet, but judging by its shape, it was definitely a scarf.

‘This scarf is Seyard’s secret?’

Certainly, when Kisa first learned about the secret room, Seyard had said he kept items with memories there.

So she had naturally considered the possibility that his ordinary belongings might emerge from the box.

“But this is a bit…”

How should she put it? It didn’t seem like something Seyard would use at all.

The small size wouldn’t be strange if she assumed it was a scarf worn in childhood.

But these bright, multicolored hues seemed more like something for a girl rather than a boy…

“Hmm?”

It was then that a strange sense of déjà vu crossed her mind.

Kisa moved her trembling hand to bring the lamp she was holding closer to the scarf.

This color, this pattern—it looked strangely familiar.

She had seen it somewhere. No, she had definitely worn this scarf around her neck. Quite frequently, too.

Ah, an inexplicable groan flowed from Kisa’s lips.

The distant old memories she had deliberately buried were coming back to life.

There had been someone who had wrapped this small scarf around Kisa when she was small enough for it to fit perfectly.

“Mother…”

She was certain.

This was something the late Countess Vansfelt had knitted by hand and given to her daughter as a gift.

Kisa’s hands began trembling incomparably more than before.

Afraid of dropping it, Kisa placed the lamp on the table and pressed her forehead.

‘Why is this here? How? For what reason? Through what process?’

Similar questions arose in her mind and then quickly evaporated.

Her childhood scarf, found in the secret room where Seyard’s important belongings were supposedly stored.

The combination was so unexpected that she couldn’t even deduce any plausible connection.

“In, in the first place, this scarf…”

I lost it long ago. The words that couldn’t quite become sound were swallowed back into her throat.

She still remembered it clearly. The sense of loss from the permanent disappearance of memories with her mother. The disappointment in herself for losing it.

“Yes, it definitely… looked like this.”

The more she looked, the clearer her memories became.

The scarf she had worn countless times while missing her mother. That precious thing that had disappeared one day when she looked for it.

The nanny, who had searched through the wardrobe for a long time, had said Kisa must have dropped it somewhere, and upon hearing this, Kisa had cried her heart out.

But why was it here? Why here?

Growing anxious, Kisa hurriedly took the scarf out of the box to examine it more closely.

Then, seeing the back of the scarf that hadn’t been visible when it was in the box, she froze.

Among the brilliant colors that Countess Vansfelt had chosen while thinking of her daughter, there was an alien color mixed in.

A dark red stain that emanated an ominous feeling.

The moment she saw it, she knew instinctively.

This was a bloodstain.

“Ugh.”

How had blood gotten on the scarf?

Just as Kisa asked herself this question, a headache struck.

Her head throbbed so severely that she collapsed onto the floor.

‘What is this?’

While she had experienced mild headaches several times before, pain of this magnitude was a first.

Kisa clutched the scarf tightly in her fist and waited for the headache to pass.

But in her confused state of mind, a certain question arose.

[May I ask your name? My name is Kisa.]

A child’s voice. It was Kisa’s voice.

She was asking someone their name.

Who was it?

****

Kisa was running down the street, sniffling.

“Wait, hold on! Little one!”

Though breathless, the pursuer chasing the child showed no sign of giving up.

“Mister is not a bad person! Come here! You’re lost, aren’t you? I’ll help you!”

Since it was impossible for a child’s stride to outrun an adult male from the start, the pursuer’s voice from behind gradually grew closer.

In fact, the reason Kisa hadn’t been caught until now was because the pursuer couldn’t move as fast as he wanted due to the crowds on the street.

But such luck was short-lived.

“Stay still!”

Just when she thought she would really be caught, a miracle happened.

“Ahhh!”

A grand scream rang out along with a thudding sound.

Kisa quickly hid behind a nearby oak barrel and peeked out to assess the situation.

Her pursuer had apparently fallen and was now lying face-down on the ground.

The man got up with a groan and shouted at the boy in front of him.

“You brat! Watch where you’re going!”

It seemed he had tripped over the boy’s foot.

“I’m sorry.”

When the boy in the hat apologized neatly and politely, the man couldn’t say anything more and frowned, then suddenly exclaimed, “Ah!”

“Did you see a girl who went by? A blonde little one wearing fancy clothes!”

Looking around in dismay, the man watched as the boy pointed in one direction with his finger.

Without even saying thanks, the man ran off. In the completely opposite direction from where Kisa was.

After the man’s figure completely disappeared, the boy moved his steps toward a fountain some distance away.

Several people were sitting on the edge of the fountain located in the center of the square.

Kisa watched the boy’s figure from behind the oak barrel for a while.

It might be her imagination, but somehow she felt like the boy had helped her.

‘Otherwise, there would be no reason to point in the other direction.’

Someone who helped her. That was what Kisa needed more than anything right now.

[What? A cat? Do you think I’m idle enough to go around looking for some ugly stray cat? More importantly, get out of the way! I promised to play war games with my friends today!]

Even her fiancé Daniel had coldly rejected Kisa’s request and left first.

Left alone, Kisa had stared at the doghole Daniel had used for a long time before finally mustering the courage to secretly escape from home for the first time in her life.

‘I don’t know when the servants will notice and come looking for me.’

So there was no time to delay further.

She had to rescue Mustache Jack, who might be shivering on the street by now, as quickly as possible.

Having steeled her resolve, Kisa stealthily approached the fountain.

But the next moment, before she had even decided what to say, her gaze met with reddish-brown eyes.

“Do you have something to say?”