3

by 제이여라 · 2026-10-28

03.

The curtain's shadow flickered, then slowly took on a human form. The voice was coming from that form.

“Let's skip the introductions. We cannot reveal our identities right now.”

The shadow slowly leaned forward.

“To be blunt, we want you to work for us.”

Chris and Sera exchanged glances. The shadow continued.

“Aren't you curious about the truth? Or perhaps a better future.”

Chris looked at Rie, asking what this meant, but Rie just smiled and closed the door. Sera frowned and said,

“Are you threatening us?”

“I thought you were a smart young lady, but it seems not.”

“Isn't that completely irrelevant?”

The shadow took a step closer to Sera.

“Then let us first show our sincerity. In the meantime, you two make your choice.”

With those last words, the shadow returned to the form of a curtain. Rie approached.

“You can live here. But you must keep thinking about whether you'll grant our request. We'll provide food, clothing, and shelter until you decide.”

However, Sera stood up and went to the door.

“I want to leave here. No matter how I think about it, this isn't right.”

But the door wouldn't open. Instead, that evening, they were served food that tasted exactly like Rebecca's soup.

“It tastes just like Mom's...”

Sera sighed deeply and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.

The next day, Sera took Chris and tried to escape again.

What the two saw as they walked among the trees was the mansion they had just left.

Sera clenched her fist.

“Isn't this practically imprisonment? It's a threat!”

However, their sincerity was real.

Food that Sera had mumbled about wanting to eat appeared on the table, and a book Chris had said he needed appeared on the bed.

Warm clothes, food, bedding, and necessary items were continuously provided, and servants approached them repeatedly to ask what they needed.

Chris asked a servant who looked like a young child,

“What are you?”

“......”

“Is the owner of this house that shadow?”

“......”

But they couldn't get any information.

“It's annoying. It feels like we're being watched.”

“It's not bad, though.”

“What?”

Sera's eyes widened.

“Are you crazy?”

“We have nowhere else to go anyway. Let's just accept what's given to us for now.”

“How many days has it been since Mom died, and you want to trust these people?”

Chris slowly picked up a book.

“That's why we need to know more. It's strange. Why did Mom have to die at the hands of a soldier?”

“......”

“Sera, we have to keep moving forward. For Mom's sake, too.”

When they finally made up their minds and went back to the shadow, the shadow slowly nodded.

“It seems you've finally made up your minds.”

“We don't trust you.”

“I know.”

Suddenly, a gust of wind blew. The books placed around the room opened.

“To get to the point, you two will enter the Imperial Palace. Go there and give us useful information.”

“The Imperial Palace, you mean...”

“Yes, you wouldn't know, having lived in the countryside, but the Imperial Palace is in chaos right now. It's a good time to blend in.”

“And you want us to dig for information there?”

“Yes. It will be useful information for you too. Find and investigate a person named Kirio. And report everything without fail.”

The two people, who were just dots on a blank paper, felt as if those dots were slowly connecting. And that something was beginning.

“So who is Kirio?”

Despite Chris and Sera's repeated questions, Rie and the shadow did not answer.

No, rather, they evaded the answer, saying they would find out.

“You said we have to investigate. Aren't you going to tell us who this person is?”

“You'll find out. Painfully so.”

In the end, the two, having gained no information, could only wait blankly for the day they would go to the capital.

“It would be best to enter the Imperial Palace as palace servants. Go to the palace servant application office.”

Five hours by carriage from the mansion.

The capital was more chaotic than expected.

Execution grounds were set up everywhere, people were dying, and the faces of passersby were pale.

Chris looked at the scene through the slightly open window, then quietly pulled up his hood.

“They said it's important not to show your eyes in the capital.”

According to Sera, looking into someone's eyes was a more important act than saying their name.

Because a human is a world, and the only way to look into that world is through their eyes.

“You shouldn't carelessly show your eyes either. You can learn a lot from them.”

She had said that one's status or identity was determined by eye color or pupil shape, among other things.

Chris and Sera were very ordinary, so they weren't in danger, but the shadow's words about being careful still came to mind.

The application office was in a large building called the Administrative Headquarters located in the capital.

Scribes in white robes were accepting applications from people.

Chris and Sera naturally joined the line.

The scribe looked at Chris and spoke in a low tone.

“Please state your name and position.”

“Uh...”

The shadow had said it was best to answer truthfully when asked for their name.

Chris put on his most composed expression and replied,

“My name is Chris. I'm, uh, just a citizen? Uh, a student.”

“Your surname?”

“Uh, I don't have one...”

The scribe nodded and pointed to his eyes.

“Please show your eyes.”

Chris slowly pulled back his hood, revealing his eyes.

The strategist wrote something on the paper with a quill.

Chris watched the strategist silently, then asked in a low voice.

“Do you happen to know someone named Kirio?”

The strategist's movements, which had been orderly, stopped. A drop of ink fell from the quill and stained the paper.

“Why are you looking for that person?”

“I have my reasons.”

“You shouldn't utter that name carelessly.”

The strategist handed over a brooch and added.

“If you wish for your neck to remain safe, forget it…”

Chris looked bewildered.

The strategist said.

“The palace attendant exam will be held in a week, so you just need to come to the imperial palace wearing this brooch.”

“Understood.”

Chris pushed through the crowd and came out. Sera was also coming out, holding a brooch. Sera sighed.

“Everyone avoids talking about him. That person named Kirio.”

“I was also told not to mention his name carelessly.”

The two got into the carriage and stared blankly at each other's faces.

They hadn't gained as much information as they'd hoped.

Moreover, no one would tell them anything about Kirio, as if he were a criminal.

What on earth was going on?

Even the questions that arose from the strangeness were shattered by the sudden onset of fatigue.

“...I'm going to take the palace attendant exam.”

“Yes. The date is in a week.”

The shadow tilted its head as if lost in thought. Sera let out a deep sigh.

“By the way, isn't this too much? It's called information asymmetry. Where is it that you two know things and we don't? What are you two, anyway?”

The shadow spoke in a bizarre voice.

“Asymmetry, you say. No, information is distributed equally.”

“What do you mean? Tell me!”

The shadow seemed to evade the answer again, transforming back into the shape of a curtain. Sera clicked her tongue. Behind Sera, Chris stood in front of a bookshelf. Chris, who had been examining books, put the one he was reading back and said.

“There are only medical books.”

“Seriously, I don't know what's going on. What on earth is happening around us?”

“Woah, woah, ladies and gentlemen. Calm down.”

A shadow fell behind them. Rie smiled, took off his hat, and bowed. Sera turned her head away with a sullen face.

“Why are you here again?”

“I came for you, who need information. Be grateful.”

Rie held two books in his hand. Rie handed the books to Chris and added.

“Here, what you were curious about.”

“What is this?”

Chris randomly opened a book. Biology and its relation to nobility, the origin of life magic, human anatomy and biology... Chris looked up at Rie.

“These are medical books, no different from the ones I read earlier. The only difference is that nobility studies are included?”

“That's right. I brought them from the underground library. Do you understand my meaning now?”

Chris slowly looked up at Rie, then nodded.

“Yes.”

Sera looked at Chris with a distorted face. Chris gestured to Sera from the stairs leading to the basement.

“Let's look around the mansion.”

“Why the mansion?”

“It's hiding something. If that's the case, we should find it. There must be a clue in the mansion.”

Sera glanced at Rie. Rie smiled and waved his hand.

“Have a good trip, young lady!”

“This is like, not even a threat... Alright, fine. Let's start with the basement.”

Rie watched the two bickering as they went down to the basement, then slowly put on his hat. The wind blew into the mansion.