Chapter 34
Alright, calm down. Just because I heard a ghost talking doesn't mean I should act scared and acknowledge it—ghosts latch onto people who do that, you know. Let's thoroughly ignore it.
"That's strange. There are traces of cooking but no traces of eating."
That was probably some kind of offering, right? That's why there are no traces of anyone eating—the ghost took it.
"Maybe Troy ate it."
Daisy's right. Come to think of it, Troy was skulking around earlier. He probably ate it as a drinking snack! Common sense says there shouldn't be any ghosts here... Wait, this is inside a novel, so maybe there could be?
"It seems there's nothing more to see."
It's definitely not because I'm scared and want to get out of the cafeteria quickly. As we left the cafeteria, I heard that strange sound again. This time, it seemed like I wasn't the only one who heard it.
"What's that sound?"
Heading toward where the sound came from, we found a room hidden in the farthest corner.
"What is this room?"
"The director's office..."
The director's office being in the most isolated spot—unlike other orphanages that embezzle money and abuse children, this person must be exceptionally upright. No wonder Daisy still speaks well of her.
Kanna pressed her ear against the door.
"It's coming from here."
The sound must be coming from inside. But Troy should be with Jelly? Don't tell me it's a thief? Or maybe the kidnapper's accomplice is hiding here together. They must have sensed our presence and slipped in here to hide.
Straining my ears, I heard a scratching sound. Scraping, scraping—it sounded like someone dragging their fingernails against a wooden wall.
But if an accomplice had hidden here after sensing people nearby, there'd be no reason to deliberately make noise and draw attention, right? Is the person inside really an accomplice? For that matter, is it even a person? After hearing that ghostly wail earlier, everything seemed suspicious.
"I, I can't go in."
"Scared?"
"...Yes."
Daisy shook her head in terror. Is she afraid a ghost might come out too? I'm glad I'm not the only one trembling in fear.
"It's okay. I'm here."
When I let Daisy know she wasn't the only one frightened, she seemed relieved. Even if I have the skill to knock Troy out with a single kick, I'd still be scared if the opponent was a ghost that didn't obey the laws of physics.
"I'll open it."
And Kanna's here, right? Look at that composed demeanor, completely unafraid! Being a tragic heroine, Kanna seemed immune to situations like this.
Until the door opens, we won't know if there's an accomplice or a ghost inside. Is this what you'd call Schrödinger's director's office?
Kanna opened the door without hesitation, and there was nothing inside the room. Nothing visible, yet the scratching sound still echoed. This is crazy, it must be a ghost...!
I felt like tears were about to stream down my face. I was too scared to go inside the room either.
"Stop, please stop."
Daisy was even worse off than me. Even as we trembled, Kanna paid us no mind and began opening every door in the room. She's not scared at all...? As expected of a heroine, her nerves are something else.
And when Kanna opened the wardrobe door, something popped out from inside.
"Hah!"
I heard someone gasp right beside me. Me? I'd stopped breathing ages ago.
"A rat?"
What jumped out of the wardrobe was a rat. The rat that emerged from the wardrobe quickly disappeared from view. Our Pudding yawned repeatedly, completely unbothered whether a rat appeared or not. A cat with no interest in rats... I never thought I'd feel the reality of Pudding not being a real cat but a beast-person in a place like this.
"It must have been the sound of the rat scratching the wardrobe door."
Exactly. Now we can't hear any sound at all. It wasn't a ghost or an accomplice—just a rat. All that tension for nothing; I felt somewhat deflated and embarrassed.
"Young miss, look at this."
At the call, I stepped into the room. Crossing the threshold, the air suddenly grew heavy as if it had settled, making it hard to breathe. Must be my imagination.
On the floor where Kanna was pointing, a familiar shape was visible.
"A summoning formation?"
Why is this drawn here? I was bewildered by its sudden appearance when I recalled the paper Gabriel had shown me before.
They said the monastery priest succeeded in summoning by looking at the Donau drawing. So this must be the same. Since this is the director's office, did that supposedly kind-hearted director draw this?
"Daisy."
I looked at Daisy thinking she might know something, but Daisy was backing away. However, she didn't get far. She bumped into someone standing behind her. Daisy stumbled without even screaming. Jelly, standing right behind her, caught her gracefully before she could fall.
"Mr. Jelly?"
"Jelly. Why did you come?"
Don't tell me you appeared just for a romantic trope development of catching the stumbling Daisy. Did you leave your post knowing when Troy would wake up? I was about to say something when Jelly quickly made an excuse.
"He said he had something he absolutely needed to say."
When Jelly tilted his head, Troy emerged from behind, looking thoroughly cowed. Daisy's face instantly crumpled. When Troy hesitantly grabbed Jelly's sleeve, Jelly brushed his hand off like dust. Troy clenched his empty fist, then finally bowed his head.
"Daisy, I'm sorry, sorry... I couldn't stop Mom."
"What are you talking about? Why are you bringing up the director?"
Troy opened his mouth with difficulty, as if carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders.
"Mom... took the kids..."
***
"What kind of nonsense are you spouting?"
Daisy repeated herself, filled with confusion. What, the director? The director is the one who kidnapped the children? Not Troy? Is he making excuses now just to stall for time?
"Don't lie."
"I know you don't believe me. I know that well."
Troy entered the room and rummaged through the drawers.
"It should be in here..."
The drawer seemed stuck and wouldn't open, so I just opened it for him. Must be weak since he just woke up from being knocked out.
"Th, thank you."
Troy was apparently embarrassed about receiving my help—he couldn't even meet my eyes and bowed toward empty air. I'm right here—who exactly is he bowing to?
Troy, who had been searching through the documents, seemed to find what he was looking for.
"It increased again..."
What increased? I read the paper Troy found. Daisy, curious as well, quickly stepped into the room.
"What, what is this?"
"Evidence that Mom sold the kids. I only learned about these papers recently too."
The first thing that caught my eye was a festival of numbers. Still not accustomed to it, I couldn't guess the prices listed in a row. Next to them were dates.
Written like an annual event—at least once a year, sometimes twice—these entries appeared to be the selling prices.
So the kidnapper isn't Troy, but the director Daisy praised as so benevolent?
I made a big mistake. I had completely forgotten the creative law that the person who least seems like the culprit is usually the culprit.
***
"Director, Director!"
The director, who had been distracted, finally came to her senses at the sound of Ranen calling her. When she turned around, Ranen jerked her chin toward Mary as if she was the one with something to say.
"Director... my arm hurts."
"...Alright."
When the director released her arm, deep finger marks remained on Mary's arm. She had gripped it so hard it looked like it would bruise. The director pressed her forehead. She hadn't intended to be violent, but when the situation didn't go as she wanted, she must have unconsciously applied force.
Mary, rubbing her arm, suddenly looked up at the ceiling.
"Troy's here again, isn't he?"
This foolish and stubborn son of hers was apparently searching the orphanage again. He truly never listened since he was a child. It was the complete opposite of Merai's cherished love for her son. Though they say there's no parent who can win against their child.
"Troy?"
Ranen also heard the footsteps. Hadn't he already come once while she was sleeping? Why is he here again? Wondering this, Ranen soon realized the footsteps weren't alone.
'He must have come with the guards to find us!'
Troy had definitely brought the guards. Ranen felt hope seeping through the cracks.
Just a few days ago, the director she had trusted and loved so much had suddenly started keeping children underground and raising them. At first, she thought it was just a mischievous prank, but only after seeing a man named Melek tied up in the basement did she realize the gravity of the situation.
Even then, only the older children like Yulma and Ranen noticed something was wrong. Younger children like Mary, knowing the director had changed, still relied on her out of habit.
That's why Yulma must have tried to warn them, saying things like we're being sold.
'Will they notice the basement?'
Ranen had never known there was a basement in the orphanage she'd lived in her whole life. Seeing Troy only searching upstairs, he seemed unaware of its existence either. The director hadn't told even her own son about this place.
He needs to search the director's office thoroughly... Even if he finds it, can he open it? Once, when the director went to the basement to bring food, Ranen had tried following her to escape, but the door was firmly locked. Only the director knew how to open it.
"Troy seems to have brought someone."
Unfortunately, the director also realized there were multiple intruders.
'Really, a son who opposes his mother at every turn.'
Merai hadn't told her son about this basement. She had thought he would understand her someday, planning to reveal it when Troy became cooperative.
"We need to hurry."
She had to finish everything before Troy and his helpers found the entrance. Merai scratched her arm in anxiety. New red marks were added to her arm, scratched by her sharp nails.