SWY 100

“Ailun Castle? Why would Iris be there?”

“How would I know? About two years ago, I had to run an errand for my father and visited Ailun Castle. I only caught a glimpse of her from afar, but I recognized her right away. We’d seen each other often at parties, after all. Unlike you, Iris is adorable. I don’t know the full story, but…”

Ardelle hesitated, then glanced at Lestel again before continuing cautiously.

“She seemed to be under surveillance by the knights of House Ailun.”

“What do you mean…”

Sharhan’s thoughts turned chaotic. No matter how he tried to reason it out, he couldn’t understand why Iris – who had been hidden in Serman to avoid their uncle – was now living under watch in the lord’s castle of that very same region. If his uncle had caught her, she should’ve been taken to Katun, not to Ailun.

Why is Iris at Ailun Castle? What happened to her nanny?

There was no way Iris had gone to Ailun Castle of her own will. She was a member of the Kaios family, raised to be wary of House Ailun and stay far away from them. Because of Sharhan’s friendship with Lestel, she had once said primly, “Brother Lestel is okay for an Ailun,” but would still shudder at the thought of the Ailun twins. She had feared the cold, stern Marquess Ailun so much that even glimpsing his shadow from afar would make her flee. After attending tea parties with their mother, she would always complain that the marchioness was unbearably fake.

The more he thought about it, the more confused and anxious he became. His chest tightened with worry for Iris and her nanny. He was tormented by regret and guilt, wishing he had returned to care for Iris himself long ago.

‘I should’ve come back the moment the war ended.’

But he had told himself just one more year, thinking they needed more money, and in doing so, he had abandoned her. That little sister who had no one to rely on except him and her nanny. She never wanted wealth; she only wanted her brother by her side.

He was struggling to breathe under the weight of it all when he suddenly felt warmth envelop his hand. He looked down slightly. Lestel was holding his hand tightly. That warmth reached into his chest and eased the breathlessness that had been suffocating him.

‘Am I… finding comfort in Lestel?’

It wasn’t the usual discomfort of rivalry, it was comfort and reassurance. Absurd, but… thinking back, this wasn’t the first time. Ever since their reunion, amid all the confusion and emotional upheaval, Lestel had also been a source of peace.

Because they weren’t alone, Sharhan gently slipped his hand out of Lestel’s and rubbed the back of his neck. Lestel, noticing the unspoken need for space, didn’t hold on. Instead, he offered quiet words of comfort.

“Iris will be alright. The Marquis… would’ve protected her.”

It sounded oddly phrased, but Sharhan nodded anyway.

“At the very least, I don’t need to scour all of Serman looking for her. If she’s at the castle, I can just go straight there. Hey, how is Ailun Castle? Is it safe?”

Taking a deep breath, Sharhan forced himself to think positively.

“I heard it from someone who escaped from Serman, so I can’t say for sure, but… the castle seemed safe. Just as the moving corpses started to rise and attack people, the Marquis returned with someone important. He locked the gates tight.”

“Someone important? Who?”

“How would I know? You think I’m some kind of informant?”

Ardelle wrinkled her nose at him and gave him a sharp look. Embarrassed, Sharhan cleared his throat and asked again.

“…But the castle is safe, right?”

“Probably. I heard the townsfolk ran to the gates begging to be let in, but the Marquis refused to open them. Instead, for a while, they were tossing corpses off the ramparts. Sounds like they killed the ones who turned inside and threw them out, even though the townspeople were down below. The knights must’ve cleared the inside thoroughly. So at least inside the castle should be safe. And they likely have enough food.”

There was clear contempt in Ardelle’s voice when she spoke of the Marquis. She seemed to realize she hadn’t hidden it well, and awkwardly glanced at Lestel beside her.

“Sorry.”

“No need to apologize. He’s always been a selfish and shameless man.”

Lestel’s voice was full of cold sarcasm. Ardelle, caught off guard, searched for a response but ended up just darting her eyes around.

“Hurry, hurry over here!”

Peter, who had been trailing quietly behind the adults, couldn’t hold back anymore as the villa came into view. He ran ahead, waving his arms and jumping at the front door. Ardelle seemed relieved to escape the awkward tension and smiled as she followed him. Sharhan and Lestel unloaded the food tied to their saddles and glanced around. The area around the villa was quiet, only the occasional cold wind blowing down from the mountains made things feel grim.

“It looks like it’s going to rain or snow again. The wind’s really cold.”

Derry sniffled, rubbing his nose at the sharp chill. Just then, a strong gust blew through, lifting Lestel’s silver hair. Sharhan, watching him brush it back with a mildly annoyed expression, replied,

“Yeah. Let’s leave before the weather gets worse.”

“Good idea. Still, it poured last night, so how come the snow up there hasn’t melted?”

Derry pointed curiously toward the mountain.

“Salpian’s known for not getting much rain.”

Even when other parts of Lahan were hit with heavy storms, Salpian stayed dry. In winter, it rarely rained, only snowed. That unique climate made it a rare region where sari trees grew well.

The first lord of Lahan was supposedly a commoner who owned large forested lands. When sari lumber became valuable, he amassed a fortune and bought himself a noble title. That rumor always clung to the Hines family. It explained why Baron Hines had an inferiority complex about his birth and clung desperately to power.

“Ardelle, we’ll leave the food here.”

The moment Sharhan called out to her, Peter opened the villa door.

Something shot out.

It lunged straight at Peter, it was a child-sized corpse. Peter stumbled backward, and the small corpse tackled him. Just before its teeth sank into him, Ardelle snatched it by the back of the neck.

Grrrr…!

Its once-lovely pink dress was now filthy, and its small mouth stretched open wide as it stared hungrily at Peter. Blood-tinged saliva dripped down onto Peter’s horrified body.

“S-Sonnie…?”

“What are you doing?! Move!”

Ardelle shouted frantically, fumbling for her sword. The shock of seeing a child she once lived with, now a corpse trying to bite her, left Peter frozen in place. Derry rushed over and yanked Peter by the shoulder. That only made the corpse, Sonnie, thrash even more violently. As she flailed, Ardelle’s grip on her dress began to tear.

“What are you doing?!”

“I… I can’t stab her!”

Tears welled in Ardelle’s eyes. She could only cling to the child’s clothes, unable to act.

But the real problem was that more corpses were crawling out from inside.

Unable to walk properly, they dragged themselves forward and lunged for Peter and Derry’s legs. Cursing, Sharhan sprinted over and drove his blade into Sonnie’s neck. Lestel swiftly took down the other ones.

“Sonnie… Johnson… Kerry…”

Three child corpses lay still, now unmoving. Though he’d had no choice but to kill them, Sharhan felt a bitter taste in his mouth.

“Wh-why… why are they…?”

“They must’ve been bitten. Look at their legs.”

One of the two kids who had crawled out had their right leg chewed up. The other was missing both legs entirely.

“I… I told them not to go out…”

Peter murmured, stunned. Ardelle stared down at the bodies, tears dripping from her eyes.

With a sigh, Sharhan made eye contact with Lestel, signaling for them to check the inside. Lestel nodded and carefully stepped into the villa first. Sharhan followed close behind, sticking to his side.

At each closed door, he tapped gently with the axe to listen for a response. If there was no growling or any other sign of movement, they opened it.

After clearing the first floor, they moved upstairs. They knocked on the first door, but just as they were about to open it, a young voice called out from inside.

“Miss Ardelle? Brother Peter oppa? Mr. Parel?”

Hearing the childish voice, Sharhan let out a breath of relief, thinking some of the children had survived. But when he heard the last name, his brow furrowed.

Parel…?

Did he hear that right? He turned to look at Lestel, and from the way Lestel’s face had twisted, it was clear he hadn’t misheard at all.