The Duke’s Obsession Leads to a Death Flag

The noisy farewell came to an end, and the attendants scattered to their respective places. After having a simple breakfast in my room, I was left alone. I took off the uncomfortable clothes I had been wearing and changed into something easier to move in.

Pulling my hat down low to avoid drawing attention, I was about to leave the room when my eyes were caught by the gun carefully placed on the table. It was the one Han Jae-hoon had given me before he left.

“Should I take it with me?”

There was no reason for me to be in a situation where I would actually need a gun, but just in case, I stuffed it deep into my pocket. If nothing else, it could serve as a distraction in a pinch. It was better to have it than not.

“I’m nervous.”

Taking a shaky breath, I placed a hand over my chest. I waited for my racing heart to calm down before carefully opening the tightly shut door.

“Young Master.”

No sooner had I stepped through the small gap than someone called out to me. Startled, I turned around to see a butler standing behind the door.

“Butler?”

His sudden appearance caught me so off guard that my eyes darted around in confusion. Stepping closer, he reached out and removed my hat, which had been pulled low over my face. My hair, momentarily lifted by static, flopped back down weakly.

“Where are you going?”

“Well…”

Even though “just taking a walk” was an easy excuse, the words wouldn’t come out. Maybe it was because of the butler’s unusual demeanor. My lips parted slightly but then closed again in silence.

Something was off. Around this time, the butler should have been busy handling the affairs of the mansion in Han Jae-hoon’s absence. So why had he come looking for me? No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t come up with a reason.

“I actually came because I had something to ask you, Young Master.”

As if reading my mind, the butler answered my unspoken question. He reached into his inner pocket and pulled something out. The moment I saw the familiar white envelope, my gaze wavered violently.

‘Why is that here—?’

On the white envelope, in familiar handwriting, were the words To Dear Miss Julia. The letter should have already reached the orphanage in Sector 2 by now. My head spun at the realization that it was still here.

The butler tore open the sealed envelope and took out both the letter and a jewel. The gemstone, which rolled slightly before settling in his palm, was indeed the one I had placed inside. The letter was also unmistakably mine.

“I retrieved it because I thought it was too valuable for a mere attendant to be carrying. I even suspected it might have been stolen. Do you happen to know anything about this, Young Master?”

If I pretended not to know anything, the butler would interrogate the attendant. No—he probably already had.

A young child would spill everything with just a little intimidation, so there was a high chance that the butler already knew I was the one who wrote the letter. He was only testing me to confirm his suspicions.

‘What do I do now?’

My plan had already fallen apart. Was it still okay to send Vin in this situation? But if the butler had figured everything out, that meant Han Jae-hoon would know as well—or he would soon enough.

“The attendant stole, so I plan to punish them according to the district law.”

“What?”

According to the district law, anyone who committed a crime—including theft—was severely beaten and then abandoned in the village at the very edge of the district.

That village bordered the desert, meaning there was no water, no plants, nothing but barren land. People there were said to constantly starve, and because of the extreme temperature fluctuations, many froze to death overnight. I had heard such rumors before.

Of course, rumors tended to be exaggerated, but the thought that an innocent child could be subjected to such punishment because of me made my heart race with urgency.

If I confessed, the situation would spiral into something far worse, beyond my ability to fix. But I had to stop an innocent child from being punished because of my request.

“Isn’t that too much for a little kid?”

“No. The law applies to everyone equally.”

I tried to imply that the child shouldn’t be punished, but the butler was more resolute than ever. I had forgotten—people here were endlessly indulgent toward me, but not toward others.

Especially when it came to an attendant stealing from the mansion—let alone an expensive jewel. They would make an example out of the child. The butler, and more so Han Jae-hoon, would absolutely go through with it.

“I was the one who asked for it.”

In the end, I surrendered and confessed. The butler sighed deeply, as if he had expected this. He carefully folded the letter and returned it, along with the jewel, before lowering himself to my eye level.

“The child you’re trying to send to Sector 2—is it that thing the District Lord received as a ‘gift’?”

“…How do you know about that?”

“Wouldn’t it be stranger if I didn’t?”

His words hit me like a slap. Of course. The butler was Han Jae-hoon’s closest aide. It would have been odd if he didn’t know. If I had taken a moment to think, I would have realized that. But I was too desperate to send Vin away, and in my haste, I had overlooked too many things.

“Does my father… know?”

“Know what?”

“The reason I wanted to send this letter.”

“No. I haven’t reported it yet.”

I clenched the letter he returned to me, crumpling it in my hand.

Thankfully, Han Jae-hoon didn’t know yet. At least, not until he returned from Sector 1.

That was a small relief.

If I sent Vin away now… but how? My head felt like it was going to explode from how tangled my thoughts were.

“Why are you so concerned about that thing?”

“‘That’?”

“Yes. I have no idea why you care so much about that.”

The butler was casually referring to Vin as that. Since Han Jae-hoon had received him as a “gift,” neither he nor the butler even considered treating Vin like a person. That’s why they gave him food unfit for human consumption and locked him away in that small, dark storage room.

“Don’t you and Father think you’re being too cruel?”

My voice trembled as emotions surged up uncontrollably. Of course, at first, I hadn’t been any different from them. I was more concerned about escaping my own death flag than about Vin’s condition or circumstances.

I had felt a twinge of pity, sure, but to me, Vin had been nothing more than a troublesome burden that I needed to send away as soon as possible.

Yet, as time passed, I couldn’t ignore the child who waited for me in that damp, cramped space. Eventually, I truly wanted to help him escape from there.

No, anyone with a shred of humanity would have felt the same.

“What exactly do you mean by too cruel?”

The butler furrowed his brows, his voice indifferent.

I had seen Han Jae-hoon beat Vin with my own eyes. I knew what kind of person he was as a district lord, so I wasn’t even disappointed in him.

But I had thought the butler was different.

The butler I knew was the kindest, most gentle person. Even in this twisted world, I believed he was someone who hadn’t lost his warmth.

“Please return to your room. The District Lord has permitted me to restrict your outings if necessary.”

The butler spoke as he gently placed a hand on my shoulder.

He was telling me to stay locked in my room until Vin was disposed of.

I slapped his hand away with all my strength and shouted at the top of my lungs, my voice echoing down the hallway.

“I refuse!!!”

“Young Master!”

The butler called out urgently, but I ignored him and ran.

As I dashed down the stairs, I misstepped and twisted my ankle, but I gritted my teeth and forced myself to keep going, sprinting toward the western forest. I didn’t have a second to waste.

‘Please, just be there.’

I desperately prayed that Han Jae-hoon and the butler hadn’t moved Vin somewhere else overnight. This was my only chance. My last chance.

‘I didn’t want to send you away like this.’

That was why I had sent the letter to the orphanage in advance.

I knew what the world beyond these walls was like, and I didn’t want to send a child out there without any form of protection.

Was that such a terrible thing?

All I wanted was for Vin to leave this place and live happily. I just wanted him to start fresh somewhere—somewhere that wasn’t Sector 1 or Sector 5.

“Hah… hah…”

It felt like my heart was about to burst out of my ribcage.

I had thought my health had improved, but Han Seo-yul’s body was still too weak to handle sprinting nonstop from the mansion to the storage.

Wiping away the sweat pouring down my face like rain, I forced my exhausted body to move forward.

Fortunately, I soon spotted the roof of the storage building peeking through the dense trees.

Pushing past the branches that blocked my view, I stepped forward, opening my mouth to call for Vin—

But the sight before me crushed all hope.

“What… is this…?”

What greeted me was not the usual tightly shut door but a storage shed with its doors flung wide open.

No. It couldn’t be. The door must have just opened by chance.

Clinging to that fragile hope, I stepped into the dark interior, where everything was fully visible.

The place was a mess.

Broken crates, shattered light fixtures, fresh bloodstains. My eyes darted around, taking in the chaos—but Vin was nowhere to be seen.

“Vin!! Where are you!!!”

I screamed until my throat felt like it would tear, but no response came.

Had they really taken Vin somewhere else? Had they gotten rid of him to a place where I would never see him again?

“No….”

Tears welled up and spilled down my cheeks.

The helplessness crushed me, and my vision blurred with despair.

I sank down onto the blanket, which was now a mess of footprints, barely holding back the sobs threatening to escape.

“…Just now….”

As I drowned in despair, a voice suddenly rang out, someone shouting with all their might.

I rushed out of the storage shed and turned toward the source of the sound.

Then, I heard it again.

And the person being called—was me.

I closed my eyes and listened carefully, straining to catch another call.

But all I could hear was the rustling of leaves swaying in the wind.

Was it just my imagination?

I was about to give up when—

Again, the voice called out to me.

“Vin…!”

Before I could think, my body had already started moving.