Ebony Castle

The walls of the library on the second floor of the mansion were entirely made of bookshelves. In the center of the high domed ceiling hung a massive gold Gothic-style chandelier, though the many small lightbulbs on the candelabra were not lit. Late afternoon sunlight streamed through the tall arched windows, bathing the hardcovers displayed on the shelves in a deep golden hue.By the sunlit window sat an antique armchair. The nobleman, seated with a book open on his lap, did not raise his eyes even at the sound of several soft knocks on the door.“Sir, may I come in?”Creak, one side of the heavy door slowly opened. The secretary, peeking her head through the gap, hesitated as she glanced at the man by the window. Through long experience, she could gauge her employer’s mood just by looking at his profile, and now did not seem like a good time to interrupt.“What is it, Lowell?”When the silence stretched, the employer spoke first. His long, delicate fingers slid the page over. The sound of the old paper rustled softly, like a butterfly’s wings.“Sir.”The secretary began.“There are people downstairs who have come to see you.”The man finally lifted his head. Reflected in his clear gray eyes was the dense forest beyond the window, an expanse where no trace of human presence could be found for miles.“Did you open the gate?”He asked. The secretary shook her head, recalling the intruders currently in the drawing room.“They seem to have walked up from the entrance of the forest. Even when I told them I’d call the police, they insisted it was urgent and that they had to speak with you directly… So, I told them I would let you know.”Normally, the employer would have dismissed such intruders by now. There had been others who ventured to the village below the mansion, but none had ever met him or gotten what they wanted.But, curiously, the man seemed intrigued this time.“It must not have been easy, walking all the way through the forest.”“…Yes. They’ve been calling for the past few days, but it didn’t seem important, so I didn’t pass the message on.”“Who is it?”The secretary hesitated for a moment.“I doubt you know him. He’s a young Asian pianist who goes by the name Eden Yeon. While studying at a university in London, he received support from our foundation for young talents and won the Leeds International Piano Competition three years ago. It looks like he’s here with someone from his management company.”The employer had an extraordinary memory since childhood but also the ability to easily forget anything unnecessary. The secretary waited quietly as the man closed and reopened his eyes.Finally, a faint smile appeared at the corners of the man’s lips.“Didn’t that pianist disappear?”“…Yes, you remember correctly. After winning the competition, he canceled all his scheduled concerts the following year and vanished. There were even rumors he had died.”“If he’s downstairs now, it seems he didn’t die.”“That’s true, but…”The secretary trailed off. As they conversed, the sun slipped behind a cloud, and the brilliant late afternoon light was swallowed by a blue shadow. In the forest, dusk always seemed to fall abruptly. It would soon be time to light the fireplaces in every room.“Why would someone who disappeared suddenly come here?”The man mused absentmindedly as he gazed out at the long shadows cast by the trees.“Does he need money?”“Most likely, yes. I’m not sure how he found out this location, but I’ll make sure to tighten security again.”The employer’s gaze had already lowered back toward the bookshelves, seemingly losing interest. The secretary waited for a moment, bowed, and prepared to leave, hand on the door handle.It was then.“Send him up.”“…Pardon?”The secretary turned back. The employer was resting his elbow on the armrest of the antique chair, smiling. His gray eyes gleamed beneath his straight eyebrows.“Send the pianist up, but not the management person.”“You’ll meet him yourself?”“If he went through the trouble of coming all the way here, I’m curious about what he wants.”The secretary bowed her head.“I’ll send him up.”The door closed, and the sound of footsteps descending the stairs faded. The man stared down at the book open on his lap for a moment before pulling on the soft ribbon attached to the spine with his thumb and forefinger. The ribbon slipped out from between the pages and settled into the shadowed hollow of the bookshelf.Thud, the door to the study rattled slightly, then slid open with a soft sound. As the quick steps approached, the man slowly extended his arm without looking up.“Out playing, were you?”Sniff.A wet nose pressed into his palm. A large golden retriever, tall enough to reach the man’s waist, licked his hand and rubbed its shoulder against his trousers.“Ulysses. Did you just let the uninvited guests stroll into the front yard?”Whine.“You should’ve chased them off.”The man wasn’t particularly scolding, and the dog, lying with one paw tucked under its belly, only flicked one ear, unconcerned. The slow, panting breath of the dog filled the silence. The man lazily scratched Ulysses’ head and neck, picking off a few leaves clinging to the fur and flicking them onto the carpet.The door remained half-open, just as Ulysses had left it. Through the gap, both the man and the dog heard the sound of footsteps approaching from the first-floor stairs, growing louder, clearer, until they finally stopped abruptly.The man’s tone wasn’t particularly scolding, and the dog, lying with one paw tucked under its belly, merely perked one ear, unconcerned. The slow, panting breath of the dog filled the silence. The man lazily scratched Ulysses’ head and neck, plucking off a few leaves caught near his ear and flicking them onto the carpet.The door remained half-open, just as Ulysses had left it. Through the gap, the man and the dog heard the slow sound of footsteps climbing the stairs from the first floor, growing louder, clearer, until they finally stopped abruptly.The person who had arrived seemed not to have expected the library door to be open. They hesitated at the threshold, unsure. Ulysses, still lying down, stiffened his neck and growled.“May I come in?”A low voice came through the gap in the door. Without pushing it open further, a slender figure appeared through the opening.The man watched the sunlight play across the dog’s golden fur before finally raising his head to take in the former pianist standing on the Persian carpet in the library.The young man was dressed formally, as if for an interview. His suit pants were folded up at the cuffs from trudging through the mountains, and his white shirt, which seemed too large for his thin frame, was dirtied and wrinkled in several places. Though his face was striking, it was pale and gaunt, almost sickly.“Excuse me, Mr. Locke.”The young man stood straight and spoke with an air of formality, seemingly unaware of the mud smeared on his cheek.“I didn’t think you’d meet me unless I came in person.”“You must have something urgent to say to me.”The man replied softly, locking eyes with the young man. It was only then that he noticed the desperation in the young man’s eyes, a desperation born of hours spent struggling through the rugged mountains. Behind the calm facade, a fire flickered in his dark eyes. It was the look of someone who wanted something intensely, someone prepared to cross the line of reason and bare their teeth like a dog for what they needed.The man liked that look. He adjusted his posture and said,“Go ahead, speak.”Instead of responding, the young man’s pale lips pressed together. He turned around and faced the window, moving to close the door behind him.“May I turn on the lights and close the curtains?”“…I don’t see why not.”With permission granted, the young man pressed the light switch near the door with his shoulder. The small bulbs in the chandelier flickered to life, casting a soft glow throughout the room.He limped toward the window. The nobleman, holding down Ulysses’ growling head, finally confirmed the source of the irregular footsteps from earlier. Every time the young man moved, his left leg dragged sluggishly. From afar, the limp was subtle enough not to notice, but up close, it was clear that his knee couldn’t bend properly, leaving his leg stiff.The man thought it was remarkable that the young man had managed to make it through the woods with that leg, while holding back Ulysses, who kept tugging at the youth’s pant leg.“Come here and sit.”Ulysses whined and crouched down, circling around to sit by the chair. The young man, who had flinched slightly under the large dog’s attention, slowly straightened his posture.“Thank you.”“He won’t bite unless I tell him to. No need to worry.”“…Yes.”At the sound of a string being dropped, the man looked up. The young man, who had gone around the chair, was closing the curtains attached to the window. His white hands, which had been hidden by his sides until now, were curled like hooks on both sides. Instead of using his useless fingers, he awkwardly gripped the heavy curtain strings with his stiff, paralyzed wrists, letting go several times while trying to pull them.The man watched silently without offering any help. Though he couldn’t remember, he might have once seen those fingers flying over the piano keys. The Locke Foundation held concerts twice a year for its sponsored students, and back when pianist Eden Yeon was still in university, the man had been more involved with the foundation’s activities. Fingers that had once crafted delicate movements on stage were now shriveled, like dead branches.The young man finished closing the curtains and took a few limping steps back. Standing in the middle of the luxurious Persian carpet, he looked at the man and spoke.“If it’s not too much trouble, may I take off my shirt?”“It’s not that much of a bother.”The man responded generously, wondering how his secretary downstairs would react if they saw this scene.The young man began unbuttoning his shirt with his curved hands. Under the yellow chandelier light, his pitifully thin chest was revealed. His collarbones jutted out as though they were about to tear through the skin, and his ribcage was no different. He must have been thin to begin with, but with no muscle or fat left, it was as though his bones were merely draped in a thin layer of skin.Leaving a few buttons undone, he pulled the shirt over his head. The man watched the impromptu strip show without much reaction. The pale, frail body, littered with scratches from branches, invoked a solemn atmosphere, as though they had stepped into an anatomy classroom. It was a fragile body, a reminder of the human form as a collection of bones, flesh, and organs.The young man seemed to have no intention of removing his pants. He dropped the shirt to the floor and turned around, revealing a bony back with a deep groove running down the center.“Here it is.”He placed the edge of his curled hand on the groove in the middle of his back, just above where the spine curved into his hips. The man, increasingly losing his patience with the odd display in front of him, narrowed his eyes.“What am I supposed to be looking at?”Without answering, the young man took a few steps back toward the chair, ignoring the growling dog and bending his back to make it more visible to the man.“Here….”The man tilted his head slightly. On the young man’s skin, where his fingers had touched, was a thin, black line about the length of a thumb. At first, it seemed like a shadow caught between the grooves of his back, but upon closer inspection under the bright light, it looked like a poorly drawn tattoo. Tiny, crooked letters in an indecipherable language formed a line without any gaps.The young man withdrew his hand and turned around, locking eyes with the expressionless man, Tristan Locke, before saying,“It’s been two years since the symptoms first appeared, and three months ago, the name became legible enough to be identified. I have the appraisal document from a name interpreter downstairs.”“……”“It is Tristan Locke’s name.”***The fire crackled in the fireplace. Niklas, who was crouched beside it, warming his hands, looked over at Yeon Doha for the third time and asked,“Eden, should I add more logs? Are you really not cold?”“…I’m fine.”Doha sat on the bed, wrapped in a blanket. He had taken some suspicious medicine given by the innkeeper along with dinner, but while the pain in his body remained, his mind was foggy. Niklas glanced at Doha again, looking restless, like an uncle left alone with a sick child.“Your body might not feel the cold because of the fever. I wonder if that fever reducer is working… When I pulled it out, I saw all sorts of random pills jumbled together in the first-aid kit.”“…Niklas.”“I’ve heard that being in the cold when you have a fever isn’t good. Let me add some more wood to the fire before I go.”Doha watched quietly as Niklas busied himself pulling logs from the basket beside the fireplace. He couldn’t be bothered to explain that he could still do most things with his paralyzed hands. He could lift light objects with his hooked hands and, if he pressed his palms or wrists together, could manage to pull or push things.Niklas, who had been assigned to accompany Doha on this trip by the management company, was a young newcomer who hadn’t been with Doha for long. The company likely didn’t want to waste more experienced staff on the futile task of bringing a pianist with little hope of recovery all the way to northern Scotland.Niklas prodded the fire with a kindling stick, then sat down with a sigh on a small wooden stool. Red embers floated up, dancing toward the chimney. The faint howl of the wind rattled the chimney and window frames. The ceiling creaked as though it might collapse.“This place is really falling apart.”Niklas murmured nervously, glancing up at the tilted ceiling.“When I asked earlier, the owner proudly mentioned the building was over a hundred years old. I wonder if they even inspect old buildings like this out here in the countryside.”“……”“At least it’s not raining. I once stayed in a room like this while traveling, and in the middle of the night, I woke up to find the room flooded up to my knees.”“…Sounds like you’ve traveled a lot.”It didn’t seem like Niklas was particularly speaking to Doha, but then he turned toward the bed as if suddenly aware of his presence.“Oh, I just love traveling. I spent a year touring Europe after I finished university, and I still travel whenever I get the chance. I haven’t seen much of the UK, though. I didn’t realize the northern part was so beautiful.”“…Is that so.”Was it a landscape that could be described as beautiful? All Doha remembered was the oppressive brown of autumn draped over everything.The nearest airport was about two hours away by car. After landing early that morning, they had rented a car, and Niklas had skillfully driven them all the way here. On the roadside, vast, desolate plains stretched endlessly. Dying brown, swaying reeds, and thick thorns filled the scenery. Occasionally, there were stretches of heath covered in purple. As they drove along winding hills, Niklas had let out a small gasp of admiration.‘The heather in Scotland is truly beautiful. My camera is in the backseat….’Then he remembered that Doha’s hands couldn’t take photos and grew noticeably flustered. Despite Doha suggesting they stop to take some photos anyway since there were no other cars on the road, Niklas had refused.Despite Doha’s suggestion that they could stop and take pictures since there were no cars around, Niklas ignored him.Though they got lost a few times, they eventually found the village they were looking for just after lunchtime. Niklas insisted they eat, so he went into a local restaurant, bought some food to go, and came back. He had also asked the restaurant owner about the nearby forest, but they didn’t know much about it.After driving around the forest for a while, they found a dirt road that a car could go up. “This must be it!” Niklas said excitedly, but soon they were blocked by a high gate and barbed wire.Niklas got out to check the gate and returned with a troubled look.‘It’s private property, and no one’s answering the phone number posted on the gate.’‘This must be the right place,’ Doha said.‘Even so, if we can’t get through the gate, there’s nothing we can do…,’ Niklas hesitated, watching Doha’s expression.‘Maybe we should go back to the village and ask around. Someone might have another contact number.’‘They wouldn’t have fenced off the whole forest,’ Doha replied. The terrain was too rugged, and the forest too vast.‘But there was a no-entry sign…,’ Niklas looked toward the village with lingering uncertainty, but when Doha got out of the car, he had no choice but to follow. They left the car by the gate and walked along the fence into the forest. As Doha had predicted, the fence was broken and sagging in places, and it ended where the terrain dropped off sharply.‘Let’s try the other side,’ Niklas sighed, following behind.Doha dragged his uncooperative left leg, passing the gate and continuing in the opposite direction. After a while, they found another spot where the fence ended, this time near a shallow stream.‘We could probably cross here,’ Doha said.‘Niklas… Even so, we can’t take the car. We don’t have any equipment or a map, and climbing the mountain on foot is too dangerous!’‘Then you should go back to the car. I’ll go alone.’Niklas watched as Doha took off his shoes and waded into the stream, his face showing concern.Thus began their hike, which continued for several hours. As Niklas and Doha wandered through the dark forest, the sun sank closer to the horizon. Doha’s left leg grew increasingly numb, and he endured a twisting pain in his bones as he climbed the mountain. His curved hand made it difficult to grasp trees for support, and he stumbled and fell several times. The crunching leaves underfoot and the dense brown forest that seemed to obscure the sky evoked a somber, desolate feeling, as if abandoned by humans.“Eden.”“…….”“Eden, would you like a drink?”At the clinking sound, Doha looked up. Niklas was holding dusty bottles of liquor from the mantelpiece with both hands.“The owner said it’s okay to drink. This is real Scotch.”The dark liquid in the heavy glass bottle shimmered. Doha, wrapped in a blanket, shook his head silently. Niklas suddenly looked embarrassed.“I forgot that you’re ill. Then I’ll take this to the room later…”“Just have it here; it’s fine.”“…Then I’ll just have one drink. I’ve been so out of it, I thought I was dreaming when that gloomy mansion appeared in the forest.”The sound of pouring whiskey filled the room. Niklas poured a small amount of the amber liquid into a glass and sat back down on the stool.“Wow… And then that secretary at the front door told me to just leave and that he’d call the police… It was really overwhelming.”The strong whiskey smell seemed to reach Doha. The painkiller was finally taking effect, dulling his senses. Doha fought off drowsiness, blinking his blurry vision.After drinking a couple of sips, Niklas seemed more relaxed and continued talking.“Can you believe it, Eden? Honestly, when we left London, I thought it was a wild goose chase.”“…Yeah.”“Who would have thought Tristan Locke would be here? It’s news that could turn Britain upside down.”“…….”