Chapter 54
Cayente flinched, startled with the ledger still in hand, but he calmly headed toward the door.
“Why is this…?”
That’s when the real problem began. He had ignored the dripping sound he’d heard earlier, thinking it was just a minor leak somewhere. While briefly checking the storage room, the doorframe and the door had absorbed the water and become significantly heavier. As a result, the door, which was already tight, refused to budge no matter how hard he pulled.
To make matters worse, after a flash of lightning came another thunderclap, and the overhead light in the storage room flickered out with a sharp crackling sound.
Cayente hurried to inspect the window, wondering if he could escape that way, but it wasn’t large enough for a person to pass through. Moreover, iron bars had been securely fixed in place, probably to keep animals out.
“Hey! Is anyone there?!”
He shouted, hoping someone might hear and come down, but his voice was drowned out by the sound of the rain and failed to escape the basement. With weather like this, no one was likely to be out in the garden either.
Cayente tried to ignore the fear crawling up his back, but the next thunderclap made him raise his hands and cover his ears.
—Cayente!
It felt like that voice had torn through his body.
—Out helping again, I hear.
—Th-the thing is, Mari looked like she was struggling to carry everything alone…
—Of course it’s hard for servants. What, are you planning to keep doing maid work even after becoming a Count?!
Though known for his joviality outside, Cayente’s father was a tempest at home. From the moment Cayente was old enough to understand speech, his father’s voice had left only harsh shouts and criticisms etched in his memory.
It wasn’t just verbal abuse. Even a single drop of ink spilled on the floor earned a strike, and if he misspelled a word, he might be forced to skip a meal as punishment. But the things Cayente found hardest to endure were watching his mother take a beating in his place, and being locked in the dark closet.
Inside that lightless closet, he couldn’t even sense the passing of time. The silence and darkness were overwhelming for a young child and enough to make him tremble in terror.
—Father! I’m sorry! Please forgive me! Father!
The punishment Cayente feared most was being locked in the closet during a thunderstorm. Inside, where no other sound could be heard, thunder somehow echoed even louder. When lightning crashed with a roar, it felt as if the entire world were being torn apart—and like his body would be struck and shattered into pieces.
“Is anyone there?! Anyone?!”
He had long forgotten the pain of beatings and the look of worry on his mother’s face…
But no matter how much time passed, the sound of thunder was something he never got used to.
Even the mere hint of approaching rain filled him with dread. Of course, not every rainfall came with thunder and lightning—but on such days, he always found himself desperately praying for silence. Though his body and mind had grown, that one piece of him still hadn’t changed.
“Anyone?! Is no one there?!”
If only there had been light, maybe it wouldn’t have been so bad… In the oppressive darkness that seemed to swallow even his breath, Cayente began to lose his composure. The fear that no one would find him, that he might be stuck there until sunrise, pressed in on him.
He knew logically he wouldn’t die from this—but it was getting harder to breathe, like he would.
Maybe he could pry open the bars, maybe squeeze through if he got his shoulders past the gap… Grasping at that idea, Cayente pulled over a nearby chair and stood in front of the window. He tried to use an old candlestick as a lever to force the bars apart, but instead of opening, the candlestick broke. At that, Cayente completely lost it.
Help me. Please. Someone, anyone—get me out of here.
He didn’t even know if he was actually shouting or just screaming inside his head. Like a madman, he shook the bars violently. It seemed like if he kept going, the dirt around the bars might start to fall away, so he began pounding the thick wall with his fists, clawing at it with his fingers.
Even as his hands became a mess, he couldn’t feel any pain. He didn’t even notice the sound of someone throwing their body against the door behind him.
BOOM. CRASH!
He couldn’t tell whether the sound of the door breaking open or the thunder came first. Startled by the noise, Cayente stumbled backward off the chair.
But instead of falling to the floor, a pair of arms caught him just in time.
“Brother!”
It was Yulia.
* * *
Cayente had believed no one would hear him from the garden—but Yulia was out there at that very moment. She hadn’t told Maria, not wanting to cause worry, and had instead gone out with just Henry and Lucy to search for Cayente, who had vanished on this rainy night.
And then she heard it—his voice, crying out for help.
No one else seemed to hear it over the rain, but Yulia caught it clearly. His voice was higher than usual, trembling with fear.
—“There are some documents I need to get from the basement. I’ll be back.”
The voice had come from somewhere low. Suddenly, Yulia remembered what he’d said that morning. He had definitely mentioned the basement.
The moment realization struck, she sprinted toward the basement. There were many rooms down there, and she didn’t know which way to go—but she could hear strange groaning sounds coming from deep inside.
She finally found the most likely room—but the door wouldn’t open no matter how hard she pushed.
She couldn’t wait for the others to arrive—not when Cayente was clearly inside, groaning in distress.
Yulia slammed her body against the door with all her strength. She thought something might break—not the door, but her own bones. Still, she didn’t stop. She couldn’t, not when she remembered how terrified Cayente had always been of thunder.
For Cayente, the fear of thunder was like facing death.
“Brother!”
Thankfully, at the same moment another thunderclap shook the sky, Yulia burst into the storage room—and caught Cayente as he fell. With her support, he regained his balance and slowly climbed down from the chair.
“Brother, are you okay? The rain came so suddenly… And what happened to your hands?!”
Cayente stared at her blankly, as if calming down but still unfocused. That alone was worrying enough. Then Yulia noticed his hands—nails cracked, palms torn and bleeding. They were a complete mess.
She grabbed his hand and examined it with concern. Cayente just continued to look at her with a dazed expression.
“What could have been so urgent that you came down here in the middle of the night?! Your hands are ruined!”
Despite her scolding, Cayente only kept staring. Then, without warning, he pulled his hand back—not to yell at her, but to suddenly wrap her in a hug.
“Yuri…”
He whispered her nickname in a voice filled with pain. Yulia was a bit startled, but quickly raised a hand to pat his back.
“It’s okay now. I’m here.”
She could feel his trembling through their embrace, and her eyes welled up unexpectedly.
For someone so grown to still be so afraid of thunder… The broken light had only made the darkness worse, amplifying his fear. Yulia’s heart ached.
She had thought he was over it—but he wasn’t. Not at all.
“Count!”
“Young Miss! Is the Count all right?”
“Other than his hands, he seems fine.”
“We’ll take him to his room right away.”
Henry and Lucy, who had come running in, moved to support Cayente—but he had no intention of letting go of Yulia. In fact, as soon as they reached out, he tightened his grip around her.
Cayente’s breathing finally calmed—but now Yulia was having trouble breathing.
“Brother, I can’t breathe.”
Just when it seemed like she might pass out, Cayente’s arms finally loosened.
“Mr. Henry! Please help!”
Yulia shouted, supporting Cayente’s limp body as he fainted in her arms.
