The Duke’s Obsession Leads to a Death Flag

After returning to the mansion, I couldn’t stop thinking about the child I had left in the warehouse. As the sun set and the sky turned pitch black, the thought haunted me even more.

By now, the batteries must have run out, and the light must have gone off. My gaze kept drifting toward the window, worrying about the child who must be trembling in fear.

Should I bring a gas lamp next time? No, that would be too dangerous. I should just gather all the remaining batteries in the mansion. One thought led to another in an endless loop.

“…Young Master.”

“…….”

“Young Master Seo-yul.”

“Huh?”

When I snapped back to my senses and looked ahead, the butler and Han Jae-hoon were staring at me. Only then did I realize that it was dinnertime, and I hurriedly moved the spoon in my hand.

“Dear, is something troubling you?”

Han Jae-hoon asked in a cautious voice. Knowing that once I started worrying, it would spiral endlessly, I forced an awkward smile and brushed it off, saying it was nothing. But he didn’t seem to believe me.

“You don’t look well.”

“I’m fine….”

That’s what I said, but even I could feel the worry written all over my face. In the end, I just aimlessly stirred my soup with the spoon before putting it down, deciding to end the meal. But Han Jae-hoon stopped me.

“Once I return from the district leader’s meeting, my work will settle down. How about we go to the villa then?”

“The villa?”

Surprised by the sudden vacation proposal, I widened my eyes. Han Jae-hoon nodded. The reason for such a suggestion was obvious. The butler must have said something.

Something like, The Young Master seems lonely these days.

“I’m really fine. You don’t have to push yourself.”

“Do you not want to go?”

I did have a reason why I couldn’t leave the mansion even for a day, but I couldn’t bring myself to tell Han Jae-hoon, of all people. So, I could only smile.

“If there’s somewhere else you’d rather go—”

“Really, I’m fine.”

In my eagerness to return to my room quickly, I ended up cutting Han Jae-hoon off rather abruptly. His pupils wavered as if he had been caught off guard, his words stopping mid-sentence.

“I’m sorry for interrupting you.”

I quickly apologized, and Han Jae-hoon, shaking off his surprise, forced a smile and said it was fine. He lifted a hand to lightly rub his forehead before letting go of my hand.

“You must be tired. Go in and rest for today.”

“Yes, Father. Good night.”

I gave a quick farewell and left the dining room. The moment I returned to my room, I slammed the door shut. As soon as I recognized that I was alone, I let out a deep sigh and slid down against the door.

“Young Master Seo-yul, are you inside?”

It was obvious why the butler, who should still be in the dining room, had come looking for me. No doubt, Han Jae-hoon had sent him to ask what was wrong.

Suppressing my reluctance to open the door, I pushed myself off from where I was leaning. The butler, who had already started pushing the loosened door open, looked around the dark room and spoke.

“What are you doing without the lights on?”

“The moon is bright, that’s all.”

At my weak excuse, the butler let out a short sigh. He lit the gas lamps in the room one by one, then turned back to look at me, still standing idly by the door.

“You should get ready for bed.”

“I don’t think I can sleep.”

Seeing my slumped shoulders, the butler crouched slightly to match my eye level. His warm, smiling gaze met mine as his gloved hand gently patted my head.

“What could be troubling our Young Master so much?”

He carefully brought up the topic. The concern in his green eyes didn’t seem fake, but I didn’t want to talk about it. More precisely, I couldn’t talk about it.

“I don’t have any worries.”

Hearing the expected answer, the butler chuckled softly. I pushed his hand away from my head and trudged over to my bed. Just as I was about to lie down without even changing my clothes, the butler rushed over and effortlessly lifted me into his arms.

“You need to wash up before bed.”

“Just for today, I don’t want to.”

“That won’t do. You must wash up.”

With a firm tone, the butler cut me off and carried me straight into the bathroom. I resisted, unwilling to bathe, but he held me in place and started to undress me. At that moment, I remembered the bruise still lingering on my shoulder.

“W-Wait a second!”

I barely managed to grab his hands. If the butler saw the bruise, Han Jae-hoon would find out, and then he would bombard me with questions—when did this happen, how did I get hurt?

‘I don’t want to deal with that hassle.’

I kicked the butler out of the bathroom and shut the door.

Knock, knock. “Young Master.”

The butler called out to me. I steadied my pounding heart before speaking to him through the door.

“I’ll wash up and come out.”

“Then, make sure you do.”

Only after hearing the sound of the butler walking away did I quickly strip off my clothes. Once I had thoroughly dressed again to hide the bruise on my shoulder, I finally threw myself onto the soft bed.

“It’s not like the world will end if I skip washing up for a day.”

“But your health would suffer.”

With my cheek pressed against the fluffy blanket, I glared at the butler, who never missed a chance to retort. His green eyes still held a smile, and for some reason, it irritated me more than usual tonight.

Determined not to look at him, I grabbed a pillow and buried my face in it. In the meantime, the butler finished tidying up, turned off the gas lamps, and pulled a blanket over my sprawled body.

“Sleep well. I’ll see you in the morning.”

“…….”

“Call for me if you need anything.”

On a normal day, I would have at least mumbled a “Good night,” but I was too annoyed. I didn’t even look back as the butler left the room.

Click.

Only when I heard the door close did I sit up. I waited until the sound of the butler’s footsteps completely faded before climbing out of bed and perching on the windowsill.

“Was it over there?”

Resting my head against the window, I extended a finger and pointed toward somewhere in the western forest. The moonlight was bright tonight, but it wouldn’t reach the warehouse hidden beneath the dense trees. A tightness settled in my chest.

“This is bothering me.”

At first, my only thought was to send the child far away to avoid my impending death flag. But now, emotions were starting to creep in.

Vincent Shining’s time, glossed over in just a few lines of narration, felt far too pitiful.

The long spring rain had stopped, but there was no telling when the weather would turn bad again. I was only thirteen, with limited freedom to move around, and my frail body could fall ill at any moment.

That’s why I had to send the child somewhere safe before then.

He said, ‘After the district leader’s meeting,’ didn’t he?

The district leader’s meeting was held in District 1. It took at least a week by car to travel from District 5 to District 1. If Han Jae-hoon was going to attend, he would have to leave the mansion for at least two weeks.

During that time, I could sneak into his empty study, find the key to the shackle, and send the child far away. Somewhere at the edge of the western forest, there should still be that small hole in the wall I had found before.

If I could get out of the mansion and reach the district border, I could send the child to another district.

District 2 had decent security—maybe the child could live there. Settling in a place with no ties wouldn’t be easy, but it was still better than being locked in a warehouse, deprived of light.

That would be the best option… right?

When Han Jae-hoon left District 5 with his close aides, I would be the only one who knew about the child’s existence. If my guess was correct, even the butler was unaware that the child was there.

Well, it didn’t matter even if he did know. The butler was bound to be incredibly busy once Han Jae-hoon was gone. It would take a long time before anyone even realized that the child abandoned in the western warehouse had disappeared.

“Not much time left now….”

At the end of my distant gaze, the bright moon hung in the sky. Its cold light flickered faintly before settling once more. It was a night where everything seemed peaceful.

***

Click.

As soon as I pressed the switch, the light came on. Darkness vanished in an instant, and the warehouse became as bright as day. I silently watched the flickering light for a moment before pressing the switch again.

Darkness returned. A pitch-black void where I couldn’t see even an inch ahead.

The boy slowly blinked. His vision, struggling to adjust to the sudden change, gradually cleared. At first, things appeared blurred, but soon, everything became sharp and distinct.

The boy was more accustomed to darkness than light. Having had to hide from people in District 1, where the night never came, he felt safer in the shadows than in overly bright places.

At least, that had been the case until a week ago.

‘Why does he keep coming?’

The one who had given him the lamp was a boy of a similar age. With black hair and dark eyes rarely seen in District 1, he bore a striking resemblance to the man who had cruelly tormented the boy on the day he was brought here.

Perhaps he was that man’s son.

‘I don’t understand anymore.’

If that was true, then why was that person being kind to him? That man had never stopped whipping him, no matter how desperately he had begged for his life. But his son was different.

He treated his wounds. He gave him delicious food he had never tasted before. He clothed him in clean garments. When he had said he was afraid of the dark, the boy had even given him a light to chase away the shadows.

‘It’s strange.’

The way people looked at him had always been filled with contempt and disgust. He was an existence that should never have been born. Even the master of the mansion had never given him a name, leaving him abandoned as if he hoped he would disappear from people’s memory.

And when he finally did remember him, it was only to ‘dispose’ of him. To the mansion’s master, that was all the boy amounted to.

The same went for the one who had given him life. If there was anyone he could even remotely call family, it had been him. The boy had liked being by his side. Others cursed at him and threw stones, but at least he never did.

But every time he looked at the boy, he always muttered the words, “Because of you.” It was a phrase he had said so often it became a habit.

The boy had hidden in the corner, waiting until his cries quieted and exhaustion lulled him to sleep before finally approaching him.

At the time, he hadn’t understood.

It was only after he died that the boy realized—those words had been filled with resentment.

Since no one had ever taught him what resentment was, it had taken him a long time to understand.

But this person was different.

There was no contempt or disgust in his gaze. Unlike the others who looked at him as if he were an insect they wished they hadn’t seen, this boy looked at him as if he were human.

Not as an insect or a filthy existence, but as a real person.

“I don’t understand.”

The boy had never trusted people. People only hated and despised him. That was why this confusion was something he had never experienced before.

He was suspicious. And yet, he wanted to believe. These two conflicting emotions clashed endlessly.

His reason built an unyielding wall, warning him not to trust that person. But before he even realized it, he would find himself waiting. The moment the small window let in the first sliver of light, he would already be anticipating his arrival.

He would move as far forward as the iron chain around his ankle would allow, waiting for him. Only after hearing his familiar greeting—“Hello.”—would the restless unease in his heart finally settle.

“I’ll come again… tomorrow.”

For others, a day might be divided into morning and night. But for the boy, his day was split by the words that person spoke when he left.

The time when he was here, and the time when he wasn’t.

Click.

The boy turned the lamp back on. The flickering light gently illuminated the warehouse. Unlike the cold darkness, the light that person had given him was warm and bright.

Thanks to that light, for the first time since coming here, he could spend a night that wasn’t filled with fear.