CH 35

The Rosenberg mansion was splendid, as if it were made of every beautiful and rare thing in the world melted together.

From the short staircase at the entrance to the pillars of the building, nothing was less than perfect. Even Heiner, who was not easily moved by most things, stopped in his tracks by the opulence.

Lion statues towered on either side of the huge, high marble staircase. The square columns supporting the lion statues had a script in an ancient language, but he could not make out what it said.

Standing in front of it, Heiner thought he looked like a little ant.

Inside the dining hall was a long table. The Marquis sat at the top, followed by the supervisors and officers, and the trainees sat in a row below.

The food was new to him. The chef came out to explain each plate personally, but Heiner could not understand him well because of the mixture of fancy words.

Heiner answered questions from time to time and continued eating. He looked up and saw a huge mural on the ceiling.

Even to Heiner, a complete stranger to art, it was a solemn mural painted with an incredibly delicate touch.

Since the ceiling was so high that it was impossible to capture it all at a glance, only part of it could be seen.

When Marquis Dietrich confirmed that Heiner was looking at the ceiling, he suddenly opened his mouth.

“It’s a two-hundred-year-old mural.”

Everyone’s eyes, including Heiner’s, fell on Marquis Dietrich. The Marquis chuckled as if he was enjoying the attention.

“I’ve called in some of the best muralists and they’ve been repairing it for a long time.”

“…I’m sorry. I’ve just never seen such an amazing mural before.”

“No, the commoners can’t help themselves but be shocked, even the ordinary aristocrats are amazed to see it. Monk Gustav and Saint Marianne, August the Righteous…………. most of the famous religious figures are depicted.”

Marquis Dietrich was not a particularly frivolous man. However, this mural was one of his greatest pride, and it was also a work of art that was worth exactly that much.

As soon as the Marquis finished his words, people began to compliment.

“When I first saw it, I couldn’t keep my mouth shut. It is still a marvelous work of art no matter how many times I see it.”

“This mansion is probably the only place, apart from the royal palace, where you can indulge in such a mural.”

Heiner let their words sink in and gazed up at the mural for a long time. Sunlight streamed in through the multicolored windows throughout the ceiling.

His eyes stopped for a long moment on a Saint praying with her hands clasped together. The Saint’s face, shining brightly in the light, was holy and sacred.

Heiner had never believed in God. He had never thought of his sins as sins, nor had he ever repented for them.

Yet somehow he felt that the Saint was asking God’s forgiveness for the sins of all the people gathered here. It was a rather odd feeling.

It was as if he could understand why people believed in God.

***

After the dinner, the trainees went out to the rose garden of the mansion with the Marquis. The rose garden at the Rosenberg residence was said to be as famous for its beauty as the gardens at the royal palace.

Heiner looked around the garden in silence. The roses were in full bloom in late spring.

The scent of roses wafting from all directions stung his nose. He closed his eyes for a moment, as the strong fragrance seemed to encroach his head.

‘I’m tired.’

He felt sorry for Ethan, who should be in this place instead. In fact, Heiner actually had no great interest in joining the Special Operations Corp. This dinner party was no different.

Heiner had never craved anything before. He had fallen short of his expectations and learned more quickly to give up than to hope.

Few things in his life were important enough to crave in the first place.

“Um, Marquis.”

The deputy hurriedly approached the Marquis and said something to him. The Marquis nodded, touching his chin.

The trainees stopped walking altogether abruptly and waited for the Marquis, who had stopped. Like someone who belatedly realized their existence, the Marquis said ahh and opened his mouth.

“I have some business to attend to and must be going now. It was a nice time to see all of you.”

Marquis Dietrich, who spoke in a somewhat insincere tone, turned around. Even in the midst of the suddenness, the trainees raised their hands in salute after the Marquis, as was their habit that stuck like glue.

Instead, Deputy Larsen explained to the trainees.

“The carriages will leave at four o’clock. Until then, you are free to look around the garden here. If you want to see the library, halls, etc., just ask the butler and he will guide you. Please thank the Marquis for inviting us to his mansion.”

“Yay!”

The other trainees gathered in groups to debate. Heiner answered briefly to the other seniors who approached him, then went deep into the garden alone.

He intended to rest in a corner of the yard. His body, which had not healed in a short time, was complaining of severe fatigue.

Heiner wandered around looking for a place where he could relax without being disturbed. The further into the corner he got, the more distant the conversation became.

Soon he found a bench among the vines. Placed in the shade of the trees, the area was empty and peaceful.

Heiner lay on the bench for a long time. A speckled shadow fell over his face as he lay looking at the sky. He squinted and looked to the front.

Tall, large tree branches were entwined with leaves. The leaves swayed with the currents of air. Heiner closed his eyes, feeling not so bad.

He was tired, but he couldn’t sleep. Lying there in the quiet seemed to wake up all his senses even more keenly.

At that moment, a piano melody was carried in the wind from somewhere. He opened his eyes.

”This …….?”

The sound was very faint, but Heiner recognized it clearly. It was a familiar melody. He knew this tune.

He did not know whose tune it was or what was the title of the song, but he remembered this melody.

During his time at the orphanage, Heiner had a small music box. The music box had been given to him as a gift by a noblewoman who had volunteered at the orphanage.

And it instantly captivated the little boy.

The music from the music box was like a lullaby that no one had ever sung to him. Every day, Heiner would hide deep in the backyard of the orphanage and listen to the music box.

When he was beaten for no reason and his whole body was full of bruises, when he had a terrible cold and his fever was boiling, when his stomach ached painfully from hunger, when he was lonely and alone………….

The music box was the first precious thing that young Heiner acquired. He intuited that he would never get anything like it again in his life.

Less than a few days later, another boy from the orphanage stole the music box. It looked quite expensive, so he thought he could make some money by selling it.

Heiner struggled with the boy to get the music box back. The boy was five years older and bigger than him, but he desperately fought him and won.

However, the music box broke and shattered to pieces during their struggle. It was hit so hard that not only the music box was damaged, but other fixtures as well.

As punishment, Heiner was severely beaten by the Director and did not receive food for three days.

Heiner tried to fix the broken music box but failed. When he tried to turn the stick, it only spun around instead of producing sound.

The young man kept the broken music box for a month. Then, the day before the patrons’ visit, someone mistook it for trash and threw it away during cleanup time.

The leaves rustled in the wind.

Fragments of old memories creaked and assembled in his head. Heiner slowly rose from the bench. His feet moved as if possessed, following the sound of the piano.

This was the melody that had been playing on that music box.

Music was of no use to survival. Heiner did not know about music, nor did he want to know much about it.

But he could not stop walking. The sound of the piano gradually became clearer, as if he could hold it in his hands. Eventually, Heiner arrived in front of a building in a secluded area.

It was an all-white building, as if it should not be touched. The sound of the piano was streaming from an open window on the first floor.

Heiner approached the window with quiet steps. The curtains were still half drawn on the window. The performance continued.

He slowly popped his head out. A dress whiter than the walls of the building flickered between the curtains. Heiner blinked for a moment. Soon his vision became clearer.

‘Ah.’

The surfaces of all the objects glowed white in the sunlight.

A large piano, white and black keys, tiny hands, white dress, braided blond hair, downcast eyes, sacred and holy face………..

Heiner froze like a stone statue, gazing upon the landscape of the room. He couldn’t move, as if his breath had caught in his throat.

He felt an emotion similar to, but more intense than, the one he had felt when he saw Saint Marianne in the mural.

A soft, beautiful melody, similar to a cloud, wrapped around his ears. Excessive ecstasy resembled the reverse side of fear. Heiner involuntarily backed away.

Crack.

Branches were stepped on and crushed under his feet. He inhaled quietly. At the same time, the piano stopped playing.

The girl in the white dress turned her head. Heiner quickly ducked for cover. The piano chair was pushed back gingerly in the room. He heard small shoes approaching the window.

Heiner fled from there.