Killing the Possessor - Chapter 15
I hurriedly checked under the bowls and teapot, thinking it might be a reference to South Korea, but unexpectedly, there was nothing there.
I wondered if I had misunderstood, so I tapped the tray lightly and, suddenly struck by an idea, began crushing the biscuits into pieces.
“Just as I thought.”
Hongik Ingan was truly thorough. When I discovered a small note hidden inside a large cookie, I couldn’t help but chuckle.
Yeah, this level of caution was probably necessary to stay undetected.
[Fiance. The Children of Panthel family, 72-18]
“What’s this?”
At a glance, it looked like some sort of code. While I couldn’t make out the exact meaning, I could tell it referred to a book.
“Do we have this at home?”
Grumbling, I headed to the study and began searching for a book titled ‘The Children of Panthel family’. I was worried I’d have to go to a bookstore, but fortunately, I found the book not long after.
“Fiance Publishing House. This is it.”
72-18. Was it referring to subtraction?
However, after reading every word on page 54, I couldn’t find anything significant.
“Could it mean page 72, line 18?”
Ah, that might be it. Still, there was something strangely fateful about the number 18.
“Fifteen, sixteen, seventeen… eighteen.”
After turning to page 72, I used my finger to mark the lines, stopping at the eighteenth one. It was a scene where an unnamed character spoke the following lines.
[Is there anyone in Parensha who doesn’t know him? He’s famous for showing up at Loitri every midnight. Just wait and see. He’ll appear when the atmosphere is at its peak tonight.]
If I hadn’t read the novel, I might have been a little lost. But signaling meeting places with printed words, like in books or newspapers, was a method frequently used by Hongik Ingan. Having seen a few examples through the original story, I was able to decipher it easily.
“Midnight tonight, Loitri.”
Parensha was the capital of Harent, where I currently lived. I didn’t know what Loitri was, but it was certainly the meeting place.
“Maybe I’ll see Bali Aidepen there.”
As the head of Hongik Ingan, Bali might know the female lead’s whereabouts. If I were lucky, I might even learn how to renew my residence permit.
All of this would be revealed tonight when I met Bali in person.
* * *
I spent the rest of the day in the study, studying the geography of the capital and the cultural style of Harent until sunset. Then, about an hour before the meeting time, I slipped quietly out of the mansion.
I had worried it might be difficult to leave the mansion alone at night, but it turned out to be easier than I expected.
Perhaps because no one expected a noble lady to be out at this hour, the guards, seeing me dressed in simple clothes with my hat pulled low, mistook me for a maid and opened the door without hesitation.
Thanks to that, I was able to quickly reach the main road and catch a carriage.
“To Loitri, please.”
The cabriolet, commonly used like a taxi, was a small two-wheeled carriage with a foldable roof. Every time the wheels hit a stone, my body would bounce up, and it felt unbearable to someone like me, used to the smooth suspension of modern cars.
Fortunately, Loitri wasn’t far. If it had been any farther, I would surely have bruised my backside.
Though I hadn’t even met with Hongik Ingan yet, I was already exhausted, so I paid and got off without saying a word.
The documents the agent gave me contained not just information about Camilli Mute but also the currency and general cost of living, so I had prepared enough money in advance for the trip.
“It’s a tavern.”
The book mentioned in the code, ‘The Children of Panthel family’, was set in Loitri, a tavern located in the middle of the market street. As an old establishment with many regulars, it was big and well-known.
Despite its shabby exterior, the interior had been remodeled several times, and it looked fairly decent. However, as expected for a lively place at such a late hour, it was crowded and noisy.
How was Hongik Ingan planning to find me in this mess?
“Hey, miss, what’s the matter?”
I must have looked strange just standing there, as a staff member at the bar called out to me.
The tavern was a popular spot for the working class, not a place for nobles or the gentry to mingle. Though I was a noble, it would still seem odd for an unmarried woman to visit this kind of place alone.
