Chapter 52: The Silent Mansion
As it turned out, neither of them managed to sleep that night.
The siblings spent the entire night tossing and turning in their beds, keeping their ears open for even the slightest movement outside their room. By the time morning arrived, both of them had deep red eyes and looked completely exhausted.
They eventually left their room.
Talia was already sitting comfortably on the sofa, while one of her servants carefully polished her nails. She glanced at the siblings. “What's up with your faces?”
The two stared at her blankly. They were far too tired to even bother answering.
Talia adjusted her position on the sofa. “We can't go outside today. It's raining too heavily.” She gestured toward the enormous windows surrounding the room. “Just stay here for the day.”
She wasn't lying. Outside, thick clouds covered the sky as heavy rain poured over the mansion's gardens. The weather had become so dark that it almost seemed as though a storm was approaching.
“Then you're dismissed,” Talia said casually. She waved her hand. “Do whatever you want for today. Just don't cause any trouble.”
With that, she returned her attention to her nails. The siblings were left alone.
Now that they had some freedom to explore, they began looking around the mansion. They hadn't noticed it properly the night before, but there was something strange about this place.
It was far too quiet.
Considering the number of servants they had seen earlier, the mansion should have been filled with activity. Instead, most of the corridors were almost completely empty. There were also surprisingly few decorations. For such a massive and luxurious mansion, there was almost nothing inside. It was as though someone had intentionally removed everything.
“This... is quite strange,” Alina muttered.
She looked around. Several doors along the hallway were tightly shut, and some even had large locks placed across them.
Nuri nodded. He had noticed the same thing. “I can't help but—”
Tack!
The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
A sudden sound interrupted him. Nuri flinched, and before he even had time to react, something struck him.
“Ah!”
He stumbled to the ground as a sharp sting spread through his left arm. He immediately grabbed it. A thin cut had appeared across his skin.
“What the—?!”
Alina turned around, but whoever had attacked him was already gone, disappearing down the corridor before either sibling could even get a proper look.
Fortunately, the wound wasn't deep. Nuri quickly placed his hand over it and used his magic. A faint glow surrounded his arm, and within moments, the cut had healed.
Alina stared down the corridor. “Nuri... isn't it strange?”
“What do you mean?”
“The sound.” She looked toward the direction the attacker had fled. “It must have been pretty loud.”
Nuri remained silent.
“And yet no one came to check what happened.” Alina's expression became more serious. “Almost as if they already knew something like this might happen.”
Nuri couldn't refute her. The thought had crossed his mind too.
“You might be right,” he admitted. “But remember what Elina said? We can't jump to conclusions.”
Alina nodded. They both knew he was right; they didn't have enough information yet.
“But what should we even do first?” Alina ran her fingers through her hair, making it even messier.
It was a valid question. Unfortunately, they knew almost nothing about this place. They didn't know the layout, they didn't know who they could trust, and they had no idea what was actually happening inside this mansion. So how were they supposed to investigate?
“Actually...” Alina suddenly looked at Nuri. “How about we open the door this time?”
She stared directly into his eyes, and Nuri immediately understood what she meant. He nodded. It was a gamble, but if they could find even the smallest clue, it would help them understand what was happening.
“Should we try contacting the captain?” Nuri suggested.
“Yeah.” Alina glanced toward the windows. “But with the rain like this, I really don't think the message will reach him anytime soon.”
Nuri sighed. “This is really bothersome.”
They spent the rest of the day wandering around the mansion, searching through the corridors for anything that seemed unusual.
They rarely encountered anyone, and whenever they did find a servant, the person would usually ignore them and continue walking. It was almost as if they weren't there.
Eventually, the siblings admitted defeat. They slumped against a wall and sat down on the floor.
Alina rested her head on her knees, looking annoyed. “We've found absolutely nothing.”
Nuri leaned his head against the wall. “I know.”
For a while, neither of them spoke. The sound of rain continued outside, and the mansion remained unnaturally quiet.
Then
Alina's eyes suddenly caught something beneath a nearby table.
“Hmm?” She narrowed her eyes.
There was something underneath it. At first, it looked like nothing more than a tiny piece of debris, but the light from the nearby window reflected off it. It shimmered.
Alina immediately stood up. “Wait.”
She walked toward the table and crouched down. Reaching underneath it, she grabbed the object. To her surprise, it was some kind of crystallised herb.
She turned toward Nuri. “Hey, Nuri. Look at what I found.”
Curious, Nuri moved closer. He narrowed his eyes as he examined it.
His eyes widened.
“Why are you so surprised?”
“Alina, this is a kind of—”
“What are you two doing?”
A sudden rough voice came from beside them. The siblings froze and slowly turned toward the voice.