Majori's POV:
After putting on my coat, I waited a moment for the maid to leave before stepping outside. The two guards took notice when they saw me. One of them, the taller one with thick eyebrows asked in a voice that was half inquiry half reminder:
"Young lady, you aren't asleep yet? Going out at this hour isn't very good."
I tried to match my words to a calm expression:
"I can't sleep. I'm just going for a walk to feel better."
I emphasized the word walk as if to erase any other implication.
He paused, glancing at me with a hint of concern. I caught a flicker of suspicion in the corner of his eyes but then he sighed, looking understanding:
"If you're going for a walk, avoid the main path. And return soon."
I replied, "I won't go far." Then I opened the door, pushing past him with just enough frailty in my demeanor to put him at ease. He bowed out of habit and I moved quickly into the dim hallway where few people passed by at this hour.
Pulling my hood deeper over my head, I walked along the dark path leading to the west hallway, where the hydrangea bushes were just as the girl had described. Each step felt heavy as though pressing into the beat of my own heart. Cold wind swept through the treetops carrying rustling sounds that made me turn back countless times.
Even though I reminded myself that my parents were waiting, that I had no right to hesitate, there was still a thorn lodged deep inside my chest a vague but persistent sense of unease.
The road ahead was so dark I could barely see the faint outline of the ground. Silent. Too silent. If this truly was the place the maid had mentioned, why wasn't there any sign of anyone?
I swallowed hard, my breath breaking apart as if sliced by the wind. The farther I went, the more nervous I grew so much so that even a small noise would've made me jump.
"You've arrived."
The voice came right behind me. Close. Too close. I jolted, my heart leaping into my throat. I spun around, nearly slipping. The maid stood directly behind me, her pale face stark in the dim light. No footsteps. No rustling leaves. She had appeared as if grown out of the darkness.
"You… you're here…"
I stepped back half a step, trying to hide the fear spreading down my spine.
"We can't go through the main gate to get outside. We have to take another route."
She was breathing hard, but the corner of her lips curved slightly barely visible, impossible to grasp.
My heart still hadn't calmed from the fright. I stared at her, searching for anything out of place but her eyes shone with urgency that felt too real.
"Hurry," she continued, her voice trembling with insistence. "They've been waiting for you for a long time."
And despite the alarms ringing endlessly in my head… I still lifted my feet and followed her deeper into the shadows.
The path was dark lit only by scattered lantern light. The walls were damp and smelled of cold food and faint machine oil. The maid led me around a row of storage rooms before stopping at a rusted metal board covering a hole in the wall. Without explaining much, she pulled me down, pushed the sheet aside, revealing a narrow passage leading downward.
"This way," she murmured, her voice so soft it was as if she feared any echo might expose us. "This is the secret route Lord Vincent's people use when they need to leave urgently."
I peered into the dark gap, smelling damp earth. Inside, the air was cold as stone, the floor lined with old, wet tiles.
I hesitated.
For a few moments, I wanted to turn back, return to my room, and wait for Vincent to handle everything his way. But the image of my parents rose again and I wanted to gamble, to try, unable to let go.
My mother's trembling hands, my father's weary smile flashed through my mind stronger than all fear.
I remembered the sound of them calling my name in my dreams; I couldn't push that away.
The maid turned back and gripped my hand with surprising strength:
"If you hesitate any longer, they'll be taken away. I'm begging you, Majori. Please step forward."
Those pleading words tore through the last layer of my rationality. I bent down and slipped into the passage like a child crawling away from warmth. The tunnel was low enough that I had to crouch, its damp walls brushing both my shoulders. The thin flashlight beam in her hand cast a dim golden circle illuminating streaks of moss and cracks in the earth. Every step was the crunch of shoes on stone; every breath, warmth stolen instantly by the thick cold.
At one point, the path opened into a fork. I stopped, hearing my own heartbeat pounding as if it might burst out of my chest. Doubt crept in like a beast: was this truly the way to Vincent or to some other place entirely?
I almost turned back, but at that moment, the maid turned and saw my hesitation. She placed a hand on my shoulder, looked me straight in the eyes, and spoke a sentence that froze everything inside me:
"If we don't hurry, it will be too late. Your mother called your name, Majori. I heard her calling you. They're gravely injured. If you stay here any longer, that voice will fall silent forever."
The tunnel eventually opened to a small iron door leading to the back courtyard. I stepped through, overwhelmed by the wide, icy space. Snow fell thickly covering the brick ledge like a white blanket. The sky above was dark like a heavy quilt and the air held a clean scent, completely unlike the kitchen smells and antiseptic fumes of the building.
About fifteen or twenty meters away, a silver car waited. It sat still in the snow, its engine humming softly like a steady heart, headlights off so its shape was just a faint outline under the veiled moonlight.
The maid pulled me closer and whispered:
"That's the car Lord Vincent prepared for you. Get in quickly."
I stood at the edge, looking at the driver through the fogged window. He wore a low cap, collar pulled high, hands in gloves. His eyes flicked up: cold like a beast silently watching prey in the night before returning to the wheel. Something didn't match: his uniform lacked the Silverfang pack insignia and the way he sat, the way he listened gave me the sense he was waiting for orders, not escorting someone Vincent trusted.
I turned to the maid, searching her face for reassurance. She looked back at me, eyes pleading, lips pressed tight:
"He's Lord Vincent's man. He was ordered to drive straight to the location. Please, just trust me this once."
A part of my mind whispered:
Go back. Call Vincent. Don't go with strangers.
But the frail, aching part of my heart answered with another whisper:
They need you.
I stepped forward, overwhelmed by turmoil. Wind flung snowflakes against my face, stinging cold. The maid opened the back door, bending down as she urged:
"Hurry, Majori. If we don't leave now, everything will be too late."
My hand touched the metal handle: cold as brass. I pulled myself into the car. The door shut behind me, severing the last bit of safety I had left. The engine rumbled softly and the car slid across the snow, carrying me away from Vincent's mansion away from what had once been a sanctuary straight into a night thick with hope and doubt.
I curled up in the back seat, hands clasped tightly to keep warm. The car moved in silence, only the crunch of snow beneath the tires and the occasional sweep of weak lamplight across the window. No one spoke.
The driver sat rigid, chin tucked into his coat, eyes as cold as a frozen lake. The maid beside me remained silent too, hands clasped tightly on her lap, gaze fixed ahead.
The farther we went, the faster my heart pounded. I realized this road felt strange not the direction to the hospital or the city center but toward the outskirts. I wasn't good with directions, but I still remembered the tree lines, the hills, the lights of Silverfang pack guard posts. Now, all I saw were endless dark forests and a winding gravel path.
"We… we're going the right way, aren't we?" I asked, trying to keep my voice normal but it came out hoarse.