episode_0130

***

The funeral began the day after her master died.

The bewildered maid cried all day beside the bed where her master died.

If the son of the general store owner, who felt strange about the noise coming from the mansion, had not called someone to open the door, the maid would probably have cried until she died next to him.

The people of the village were truly saddened by the death of the once famous writer.

Although his fortunes declined and his departure was extremely lonely, I remembered the warmth of his writing.

Everyone worked hard to prepare for the funeral.

His name appeared in the obituary section of the daily newspaper.

His body went to the undertaker, who carefully cleaned the body of the writer whose soul had now passed away.

Only after putting the clothes he liked to wear and the pen and notebook that represented his identity into the coffin did the real funeral begin.

The only people who attended his funeral were villagers and his maid.

The mourners who visited one by one placed flowers in front of the coffin.

Since the season was seasonal, most of the flowers bloomed in winter.

Some even wiped away tears remembering him, who was as soft as the spring breeze.

Some people bit their lower lips in regret and went to a far corner to light a pipe.

Three days later, the coffin was buried in the cemetery.

As dirt fell on the grave, a majestic song played.

The funeral was held quietly and solemnly.

And through all of this, the maid just stayed by the owner’s side and didn’t say anything.

“……”

People went back to their homes.

Kang In-ho’s maid, Emma, stared endlessly at the coffin where her master was buried.

For hours she continued to stand.

There was no momentary shaking or sound in that immobile posture.

There was silence again silence.

It was when the sun was setting that she hurried back home.

***

Emma opened the tightly locked iron door and entered the mansion, shuffling her feet.

– squeak squeak

The sound coming from the wooden stairs was sad.

– smart

Emma, who came up to the second floor, habitually knocked on the owner’s door.

“Ahh….”

And then I realized it.

What did she let go of?

“Ahh….”

She slipped and fell to the floor, crying like chicken shit.

Her throat, which had already rested, only made the sound of air leaking out, but no sound came out properly.

She raised her fingernails and scratched at the bedroom door.

The nails going down the wood grain made an unpleasant noise.

It could have been opened at this point, but the door was closed tightly and would not be opened.

“Augh….”

Emma pounded her chest.

Rather than the pain of hitting her with her own fist, the lump of sadness that was stuck in her throat and couldn’t escape bothered her more.

I was out of breath and scared of being left alone in this large mansion.

She grabbed the doorknob and barely managed to get herself up.

And then he stumbled down the stairs again. The destination was the kitchen.

She looked for a knife that was comfortable to hold and had a sharp edge.

Emma, holding it tightly with both hands, widened her eyes and aimed the blade at her neck.

The hand holding the sword shook in all directions, perhaps out of fear that he would die soon, or hope that he would see his master again.

“Phew….”

She took a deep breath, made up her mind, and was about to stab the knife.

-Jiiing

Suddenly the bell rang.

“……”

Emma was worried.

Will I plunge the knife I’m holding into my own neck without hesitation, or will I welcome the person who comes to the mansion this night?

Perhaps, it could be an old friend of the owner who came after hearing the news of his death late.

She put the knife back in its original position and adjusted her clothes.

Even if In-ho died, she was his maid.

Showing your shabby appearance to others is dishonoring your owner.

***

The visitor was Mr. Ricardo of the Lougheed Wissen Weekly, whom Emma had seen several times.

Emma greeted him with a gloomy face, and Riccardo was guided by Emma to the drawing room.

“This letter is from Miss Emma, right?”

He took out a letter from his pocket and showed it.

It was a letter that the owner had asked her to send before he died.

“Yes. It’s probably a letter from the owner about a new work.”

The new work could no longer be serialized.

“I was skeptical because the letters were so messy and there were a few grammar mistakes.”

Ricardo nodded and said to her words.

“Is that so? But for some reason…”

“Oh, that’s right, according to the letter, it says there is teacher Inho’s work.”

“Yes. But the manuscript…”

“Is it written in unreadable characters?”

“How did you know that?”

“Please read this letter.”

Ricardo handed the letter to Emma.

Emma looked at the last traces left by her owner with trembling hands.

The content of the letter was simple, but bizarre.

When Emma finished reading the letter and saw herself, Riccardo opened his mouth.

“Teacher Inho said you could decipher it.”

Emma remembered the note Inho had given her, but remained silent.

“Actually, I don’t care whether your last work was a masterpiece or a poor work. I just want to serialize that work as a last courtesy to the deceased.”

“Can you decipher your last work…?”

“But I didn’t hear anything properly.”

She averted her gaze as if unsure.

Ricardo said with a sad look on her face as she heard her hoarse voice.

“I’m not asking for it right away. Teacher Inho also said it would take time. Here is the next page of the letter.”

Ricardo took out another letter from his pocket and handed it to her.

It was a piece of paper filled with places written on it.

“This?”

“Well… I heard that it was a place I stopped by to learn the letters. Isn’t there some kind of clue?”

“……”

Emma silently swept the paper with her palm.

“Wow, it’s already time.”

Ricardo stood up, pretending to look at his watch.

After putting on his coat, he emphasized to Emma again as he left the mansion.

“Like I said, it doesn’t matter how long it takes. Please decipher your work. Even for the sake of the teacher’s honor.”

“…I will try my best.”

The owner’s honor was at stake. Emma had no reason to refuse.

“Ah, because you wrote that you can use it as much as you want to go to the area listed there. Don’t go overboard and skimp on expenses.”

Ricardo left the mansion, and Emma was lost in thought, unable to even think of seeing him off.

She reached into her pocket and took out a piece of paper.

Unknown letters written by the owner.

and.

[When spring blooms comes.] My own text.

She looked again at the letter she had received from Ricardo.

Names of various regions and accommodations.

She didn’t know what this meant, but it was clear what Emma had to do.

“Master, I will present your work to the world.”

The next day, the door to the mansion was tightly closed, and the maid suddenly disappeared somewhere.