302 – Approaching Stage -4-
Walking through the dense fog, Mikhail shivered at the sudden chill.
“…”
Moonlight like a mirage.
The village beneath it.
It looked unusually gloomy.
As he entered the village, Mikhail muttered softly and tilted his head. He wondered, ‘Was there a village here…?’ More precisely, ‘Was there such a road?’ This thought strongly crossed Mikhail’s mind.
‘…’
Thinking about it, Mikhail shook his head and let out a hollow laugh, suspecting that he might have taken a different path than usual. The coachman, who was more familiar with the road than someone who had ridden the carriage a few times, must be right.
‘…’
Suppressing his uneasy feeling, Mikhail moved towards the village.
Green meadow.
Mud road soaked by rain.
Ordinary houses.
Not long after.
Mikhail passed by a young couple walking down the street. A smile of envy spread across his face as he watched them walk harmoniously, holding hands.
—
—
‘What is this?’
The feeling quickly dissipated.
The expressions on the couple’s faces up close were chilling. The couple, moving forward with stiff, expressionless faces as if someone had ordered them to hold hands, sent a shiver down his spine.
Mikhail turned around and stared blankly at the backs of the couple he had passed. He had never seen such expressions in his life.
‘…Strange.’
– Heh.
The couple, as if nothing had happened, smiled and patted each other’s shoulders. Their faces were not visible, but their affectionate gestures made Mikhail shake his head and move forward.
‘They must be tired.’
The eerie feeling did not easily fade, but Mikhail tried to erase the scene he had just witnessed from his mind. Bad memories become poison if held onto for too long.
– Thud. Thud.
There was an inn in the center of the village.
An old-looking inn.
Maybe it was because he had just seen the strange couple, but the chilly wind felt even more eerie today.
Even the flower bed in front of the inn.
The gravel underfoot felt like the haunted house in a ghost story told by a friend.
Mikhail looked up at the inn built with old bricks.
“…”
Yellowed curtains hung in the windows, completely obscuring the inside. The faint light seeping through the cracks in the windows was the only indication that there were people inside.
Three people on the second floor.
Four people on the third floor.
‘Looks like they’re open for business.’
The doorknob of the inn he grabbed was cold and unfamiliar. Strangely so. It could be because of the rain, but it felt even colder.
Mikhail swallowed the saliva that had pooled in his mouth and knocked on the doorknob.
-… Knock. Knock. Knock.
Each time the doorknob knocked on the door, a low, dull sound spread like it was seeping into the fog.
There was no sign of life beyond the door, and the returning sound was so silent that it made him doubt whether this place was even alive.
In the stillness, an inexplicable tension was felt. It was as if someone, or rather something, was waiting in the darkness, holding its breath.
‘It must be my imagination.’
Mikhail turned the doorknob and went inside.
—
—
“Excuse me.”
As the creaking sound of the old hinge echoed chillingly, the woman in the middle of the inn looked at him.
“Hello.”
“Oh, hello!”
As if she had been waiting for him, the innkeeper, who was looking at his face and smiling brightly, approached Mikhail with light steps.
She was an ordinary person.
Unlike the couple he had seen earlier, she did not have a creepy expression, but rather, she was a middle-aged woman with a warm impression.
Mikhail finally sighed in relief and smiled. He felt like he had been unnecessarily tense.
Following the innkeeper’s bright smile, Mikhail bowed his head and slowly walked along with her guidance. Then he asked if there was a room available.
“Do you have a room available?”
“Of course.”
“Oh, then…”
As Mikhail made a gesture to take out money from his pocket, the innkeeper leaned against the desk and started a trivial conversation.
“By the way, what brings you here?”
“…Pardon?”
“Our village is in such an ambiguous location that we don’t get many guests. So I was curious about why you came. Hohoho…!”
“…”
“You’re not here for a romantic getaway or being chased by someone, are you?”
“No, it’s just that there was a bit of an accident with the carriage on the way… Haha..”
“Oh, you’re a special guest….”
“Sorry?”
The innkeeper, who had muttered softly, waved her hand at Mikhail’s question and responded, “No, no. Oh dear, you must have had a hard time,” as she placed the inn key on the desk.
“You can go up to room 202.”
“Thank you.”
“Oh, wait!”
As Mikhail was about to leave, the innkeeper handed him a towel and comfortable clothes from the shelf and said softly.
“Have a good night.”
“Thank you.”
The innkeeper smiled slightly as she watched Mikhail’s back as he went up the stairs.
And then.
—
“…”
They stood stiffly with expressionless faces, just like the couple from earlier.
*
Pushing aside the uneasy feeling, Mikhail lay down in the room and ran his hand through his hair with a complicated mind.
“…Hoo.”
Lying on the bed seemed to relieve his fatigue. The training with Ricardo and the meals with him were not ordinary tasks for Mikhail.
Focusing all his nerves in one place, Mikhail gently closed his eyes against the overwhelming fatigue.
Still.
“For the first time, I did something for Ricardo….”
It wasn’t a bad day.
Like the sun rising for the first time on a day filled with dark clouds, Mikhail smiled slightly at the warmth that had quietly come.
For the first time, he was able to buy Ricardo a meal and talk with him a little more.
Although he could only get this close for now, if they met more often and talked a lot, they could get closer.
Then someday….
Mikhail thought he would have the courage to show his embarrassing self to him and even say ‘sorry.’
Because he had to.
Because only then could he have even a little greed in their stagnant relationship, Mikhail pressed his tired eyes with his sleeve and held back his tears.
“Should I wash…”
Mikhail muttered as he looked at the towel and clothes placed on the old desk.
Having roughly wiped his rain-soaked body with a towel, Mikhail strongly felt the desire to wash.
So, one step.
-…
Two steps.
-…
When he took three steps.
Mikhail suddenly stopped walking and stood still at one question that came to mind.
“Why.”
-…
“Is it quiet?”
It was silent.
—
Since it was an old inn, the soundproofing would be even worse, but strangely enough, the inn was quiet.
The next room too.
The room above too.
The hallway too.
Clearly. I saw the light on in the next room. I clearly saw the light seeping through the curtains of the rooms, but strangely enough, the inn was quiet.
I wondered if I was reacting sensitively because I was alone, but still, this was too quiet…
It was at that moment.
– Ah, refreshing.
A woman’s voice was heard from the next room.
“Ha…”
Mikhail let out a sigh of relief and moved his steps back to the bathroom.
He wasn’t being chased, so why was he so tense? Mikhail shook his head at his timid self.
And in the next room that Mikhail had left.
-…
Silence fell again.
It was eerily quiet, as if listening with an ear to the wall.
*
“Damn.”
The young lady, who had woken up from her nap, spat out a curse with a sullen expression.
“Yawn.”
I put a piece of fruit into the mouth of the young lady, who was staring blankly at the ceiling with tired eyes, and asked.
“Why are you suddenly cursing?”
“A pig appeared in my dream.”
“Isn’t that a good dream?”
The young lady shook her head and replied.
“I was the pig.”
“…?”
“I was wearing pig pajamas and eating meat.”
“Oh…”
The young lady said with a gloomy expression.
—
—
“I like the dragon pajamas….”
“…?”
“I wanted to wear the dragon pajamas.”
“Surely, you didn’t swear because of that, did you?”
The lady looked at me with a face that said, “Why are you asking something so obvious?”
“Yes.”
She was a lady who had strange desires.
I put an apple in the mouth of the lady, who was a pioneer of fashion, to keep her quiet. If I listened to her philosophy any longer, I might have ended up buying her the dragon pajamas.
“Nom nom nom…”
The lady chewed the apple and looked at me, seemingly enjoying its taste.
“Ricardo, you should eat too.”
“I’m fine, thank you.”
“Are you trying to make me a pig?”
“Aren’t you already a pig?”
“…Oink.”
“Ha ha ha!!!”
I couldn’t help but burst into laughter at the lady’s sudden cuteness. She made a sound I never thought she would make.
What kind of noble is this?
“Don’t laugh.”
More like a neighborhood friend.
“Stop laughing!”
“Ha ha ha! No, I won’t.”
“Stop it!”
I lightly dodged the lady’s flailing fists with a small smile.
“I’m not a pig!”
“I know. Oink… Snort… Snort… Ha ha ha!”
“Why are you laughing!”
“Well… How can I not laugh when it’s so funny!”
“Stop it!”
After a long bout of shouting, the lady turned her head towards the window as small raindrops started to knock on it and said to me.
—
—
“Ricardo.”
“Yes…”
“It’s raining.”
And then.
-Ssshhh…
Suddenly feeling a chill, I turned my head towards the window.
“It is. It’s… raining.”