In fact, from the moment she learned of the existence of the secret room, Kisa had imagined its appearance countless times in her head.

What would it look like? What secrets of Seyad would be hidden here?

The number of her imaginings was as numerous as the nights she had spent sleepless due to the anxiety it caused.

And now, finally faced with the room revealed under the light, she remained silent.

“……”

In the center of the neatly emptied room, only a single table stood alone, with nothing but a wooden box placed on top of it.

Momentarily stunned by the unexpectedly bare appearance, Kisa quickly gathered her wits and moved the lantern around to examine the doorway.

This was to check if any mechanisms were hidden before stepping into the room.

She remembered hearing rumors that some families would paint something like red paint at the entrance of their treasure rooms and regularly inspect the servants’ shoes.

If someone had secretly entered the storehouse, it would be on their shoes.

A red mark pointing to someone who entered a place they shouldn’t have.

When she first heard it, she had dismissed it as just another common gossip in social circles, but now for some reason it felt real.

‘As easily as the door opened, there might be trap-like devices hidden.’

However, contrary to Kisa’s suspicions, no matter how carefully she scanned the floor and door, nothing suspicious was visible. Was it excessive worry after all?

Anyway, as soon as she felt certain it was fine, Kisa stepped into the room and closed the door.

The window side was already covered with thick curtains, so there seemed to be no worry about light leaking out.

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

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

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

“Hah.”

Exhaling lightly, she approached the target with great tension.

The box on the table came into clearer view.

An elegant, plain wooden box. Fortunately, there was no visible lock.

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

The box opened easily and closed again when Kisa removed her hand.

For now, Kisa took a deep breath, expanding her chest.

She had not yet checked the contents. This was the last chance to turn back from all of this.

However, even knowing this fact, the resolve in her heart did not extinguish.

She wanted to know the truth. She wanted to know the secret Seyad was hiding.

As if dispelling any last hesitation, Kisa flung open the lid of the box.

And at that moment, for some reason, something Seyad had once said brushed past her ear.

“I believe doubt should not accompany love.”

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

“Huh?”

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

The contents of the box were that far from her expectations and predictions.

If a bloodstained dagger or black mask had come out, it would have been desperate but not this bewildering.

What was neatly placed inside the box was…

“A scarf?”

This was the conclusion Kisa reached after examining the colorful woolen fabric this way and that.

Just in case, she hadn’t taken it out of the box yet, but judging by its shape, it was indeed a scarf.

‘Is this scarf Seyad’s secret?’

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

So of course, she had considered the possibility that his ordinary possessions might come out of the box.

“But this is a bit…”

How should she put it? It just didn’t seem like something Seyad would wear.

The small size could be explained if it was a scarf he wore as a child.

But these vibrant colors seemed more like for a girl than a boy…

“Huh?”

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

Kisa moved her inexplicably trembling hand to bring the lantern closer to the scarf.

These colors, this pattern, felt strangely familiar.

She had seen it somewhere. No, she had clearly worn this scarf around her neck. Quite often, in fact.

Ah, an inexplicable groan escaped Kisa’s lips.

A distant old memory that she had deliberately buried was coming back to life.

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

“Mother…”

It was certain.

This was an item that the late Countess Banspelt had knitted by hand and gifted to her daughter.

Kisa’s hands began to tremble incomparably more than before.

Afraid she might drop it, Kisa placed the lantern on the table and touched her forehead.

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

Similar questions arose in her mind and quickly dissipated.

Her childhood scarf, found in the secret room where Seyad’s important items were supposed to be kept.

The combination was so unexpected that she couldn’t even infer a plausible connection.

“This, this scarf was…”

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

She still remembers clearly. The sense of loss from the memories of her mother being gone forever. The disappointment in herself for losing it.

“Yes, it certainly… looked like this.”

The more she looked at it, the clearer the memory became.

The scarf she had wrapped around herself countless times, thinking of her mother. That precious thing that was nowhere to be found one day when she looked for it.

The nanny who had searched the wardrobe for a long time said Kisa must have left it somewhere, and hearing those words, Kisa had cried loudly.

But why is it here? Why here?

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

Then, upon checking the back of the scarf that wasn’t visible while in the box, her body froze.

An alien color mixed among the vibrant hues chosen by Countess Banspelt thinking of her daughter.

A dark red stain exuding ominousness.

The moment she faced it, she could tell intuitively.

This was a bloodstain.

“Ugh.”

How did blood get on the scarf?

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

The pain was so intense that she slumped down onto the floor.

‘What is this?’

She had experienced mild headaches several times before, but never pain of this degree.

Kisa clutched the scarf tightly in her hand, waiting for the headache to subside quickly.

But in her dazed mind, a question arose.

“Can I ask your name? My name is Kisa.”

A child’s voice. Kisa’s voice.

Who was she asking for a name?

Who was that?

Kisa was running down the street, sniffling.

“Wait, stop! Little girl!”

Though out of breath, the pursuer chasing after the child showed no signs of giving up.

“Mister, I’m not a bad person! Come here! Are you lost? I’ll help you!”

From the start, it was unrealistic for a young child’s stride to outrun an adult male, so the pursuer’s voice from behind grew steadily closer.

In fact, the reason Kisa hadn’t been caught until now was because the crowd on the street prevented the pursuer from moving as fast as he wanted.

But such luck was only momentary.

“Stay still!”

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

“Aack!”

Along with a loud scream, a thud rang out.

Kisa, who had quickly hidden behind a nearby oak barrel, slightly raised her head to survey the situation.

The pursuer chasing her had fallen and was now sprawled on the ground.

With a groan of “Oh my,” the man got up and shouted at the boy in front of him.

“You brat! Watch where you’re going!”

Apparently, he had tripped over the boy’s feet.

“I’m sorry.”

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

“Did you see the girl who was running ahead? A blonde little girl in fancy clothes!”

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

The man then ran off without even a word of thanks. In the opposite direction from where Kisa was.

After the man’s figure had completely disappeared, the boy moved his steps towards the fountain nearby.

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 a misunderstanding, but somehow she felt like that boy had helped her.

‘If not, there’s no reason he would have pointed in a different direction.’

Someone to help her. That was what Kisa needed more than anything right now.

“What? A cat? Do you think I look free enough to go looking for some ugly stray cat? Move aside! I promised to play war with my friends today!”

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

Left alone, Kisa had stared at the dog hole Daniel had used for a long time before finally mustering up 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 waste.

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

Steeling her resolve, Kisa approached the fountain stealthily.

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

“Do you have something to say?”