188 Empty Room

It was not until he stepped out into the open and heard the crunching sound from the snow beneath his shoes, did Old Chon truly believe in Lora's words. The chilly temperature made him shudder.

One of the maids swiftly brought Old Chon a warm blanket to him, so that he could keep warm. But even then, he could already feel the cold air seeping into his hands, his bones. His hands were already shaking from the cold.

He breathed warm air into his palms and rubbed them together swiftly, hoping to generate enough warmth to keep them from getting numb.

What on Earth was going on?

It was too dark to see anything beyond what was directly in front of him. Old Chon looked up towards the main building of the mansion and towards the entrance that led down to the dungeon.

Why was the entrance to the dungeon not lit?

"Butler Chon, what do you think is going on here? Do we need to inform the Baron?" one of the servants asked as they continued to rub their hands together to create warmth.

Old Chon's eyes widened in shock as he looked towards the entrance to the dungeon. He quickly looked up, squinting his eyes in the darkness to search for the window that would be Baron Koufer's room.

The Baron's room windows were wide open, or at least it seemed to be. It was difficult to see without proper lighting.

It was at this point that Old Chon remembered that a guard had come by earlier. The Baron had asked for bandages to be brought to him. But as he was so engrossed in the work he had been doing, he had completely forgotten about it.

He hit his palm against his head, thinking of the scolding he would be getting for his forgetfulness.

"Butler Chon, Butler Chon! Are you alright?" Lora asked as she tugged at his sleeve.

"I'm alright, Lora," Old Chon replied.

As he spoke, a breeze of cold air sent shivers down his spine. Even if it meant he would be getting a scolding, he had to go and inform the Baron. This was a highly unusual occurrence.

-Could this be the work of a curse?- he wondered to himself.

Just then, it dawned on him.

Could it be a diversion?

With that thought in mind, Old Chon made haste for the Baron's room. Some of the guards, seeing Old Chon running, followed him too. When they finally reached the Baron's room, the door to his room was still closed.

He turned the door handle and opened the room door. As it creaked open, Old Chon peeked into the room. With the light from the torches in the hallway, he was able to get a slightly better view of the room.

Old Chon walked into the room while the guards remained outside, fearful of what might happen to them if they entered the Baron's room without permission. But their curiosity had them hovering at the entrance.

He could see the open window and the broken glass bottle of liquor on the table. When his eyes shifted to the bed, Old Chon his heart sank. He rushed over to the bed to confirm what he was seeing.

The Baron was not there. His instincts drew him to the window. Old Chon looked out of it and turned from side to side. When he squinted his eyes to look further into the distance, he thought he saw something unusual.

Old Chon widened his eyes in shock. He focused on the shadowy shape that was flying away in the sky. Was that a raven? A huge one? Was it holding something in its claws? Looking back at the bedsheets, Old Chon noticed some bloodstains.

Just then, he noticed a piece of paper on the bedside table. He picked it up and brought it closer to the entrance of the room so that he would be able to read it under the light. There was only one sentence written on it.

For the lives he had taken.

Old Chon stared at the sentence written on the piece of paper. He read it over and over again.

"Butler Chon, has the Baron been kidnapped? Do we need to form a search party?" one of the guards asked.

He looked up at the guards that stood before him, eagerly waiting for his orders. He looked back into the room as his eyes darted around looking for more clues.

"Butler Chon?" the guard called out his name again.

Old Chon turned back to the guards and said, "Ye… yes. We need to form a search party."

Koufer Estate used to have at least 100 guards on staff, but right now, they were only down to 35. Something told him that the search would be futile. But at the very least, he needed to give it a shot.

For the lives he had taken.

The phrase kept replaying in his mind.

"Butler Chon!" someone down the corridor shouted, "The guards in the dungeon were knocked out!"

"What?" Old Chon gasped in shock.

Could this provide him with more concrete proof?

Old Chon stepped out into the corridor just as the person who brought them the news arrived before him. It was a guard who was on duty in the dungeon.

"Was anything taken? Taken from the dungeon?" Old Chon asked.

"We're still checking, Butler Chon."

He pondered for a while.

"Did anyone see who knocked them out?" he asked the guard.

"No, we didn't. The lights were all blown out. We could not see a thing! When we came to, it was all pitch black. We fumbled our way up the stairs and were surprised to see the snow!" the guard replied.

Old Chon followed the guard back down to the dungeon with additional torches and light sources. He instructed them to see if anything had gone missing. After a while, they came to the conclusion that the items confiscated from Vyrena Blackfire were nowhere to be found.

He bit his lip.

This greatly reduced the chances of them finding the Baron alive.

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