The Duke’s Obsession Leads to a Death Flag

The next day, unlike yesterday, I came fully prepared and headed to the storage room where the child was.

When I picked the lock with a wire and pushed open the rusted iron door, the child inside, who had been shrouded in darkness, squinted heavily against the pouring sunlight.

“Hi.”

As I awkwardly greeted him, crimson eyes focused on me. The child, staggering to his feet, flashed a fierce glare before suddenly charging at me.

“Ah!”

Just before he could collide with me, the shackle on his left ankle stopped him short, causing him to crash onto the ground with a thud.

“Are you okay?”

Startled by the loud noise, I moved toward him, but he rejected me with his entire being. Seeing the blazing hostility in his fiery eyes, I had no choice but to step back and widen the distance.

‘I can’t even go near him because he’s so scary.’

The way he bared his sharp teeth, warning me not to come any closer, reminded me of a terrifying dog I once saw at my grandmother’s house in the countryside.

A mad dog that looked like it would snap at my hand the moment I reached out.

“I’m not a bad person.”

I tried persuading him while keeping a safe distance, but it was useless. What was the point of bringing medicine? I needed to get close to treat his wounds, but since I couldn’t even approach him, my frustration only grew.

“Hey.”

The child, who had been curled up, lifted his head to look at me. Since I couldn’t just leave without accomplishing anything like yesterday, it was time to try a different approach.

I didn’t want to be childish, but I couldn’t think of a more effective method than this.

“Look here.”

Once I caught his attention, I deliberately opened my bag. As my hand slipped inside, his eyes sharpened.

I made a show of moving my hand around inside the bag. Each time a rustling noise sounded, his shoulders flinched.

“I brought some food.”

After playing around just enough, I finally pulled out a snack. The moment he recognized what it was, his eyes wavered intensely. Then came the growling sound of his stomach—a belly alarm.

Got him.

“You want this, don’t you?”

I shook the snack back and forth where the child could see it. Though he pretended not to care, curling up in place, his eyes betrayed him. Unable to resist his instincts, his gaze followed the snack as it moved.

“I brought a bunch just for you.”

After placing the snack on the floor, I took out everything else I had packed in my bag. As the child laid eyes on the considerable pile of snacks and rice cakes, he began to stir.

Gulp. His throat bobbed. Slowly unfolding his curled-up body, he stared at me intently. The wariness in his eyes hadn’t disappeared, but hunger had dulled it significantly.

“You can eat it.”

“…….”

“Really.”

I pushed one snack toward him and waited—like a fisherman casting a line, hoping for a fish to bite.

After much hesitation, the child finally succumbed to his hunger. The same child who had fought desperately to keep me away just moments ago now approached me and began devouring the snacks and rice cakes.

He tore open the packaging haphazardly and stuffed food into his mouth with reckless abandon. It was as if he no longer saw me at all.

“You eat well.”

Without thinking, I reached out to ruffle his messy red hair. But the moment my hand got close, the child, too busy eating, suddenly recoiled and swatted my hand away with force.

A brief silence followed. Then, gripping food tightly in both hands, he scrambled away from me once again.

Damn it, I ruined everything at the last second.

Rubbing my stinging hand, I regretted my mistake.

“Now that you’re full, how about we take care of those wounds?”

“…….”

“If you leave them like that, it’ll be bad. They could get infected.”

Because of my poor judgment, I was right back where I started. If I had known this would happen, I should have given him the food little by little to win his trust. Or I should have told him that he could eat only after letting me treat his wounds.

Why do good ideas always come too late?

“I won’t ask you to do anything else, just let me see your wounds, okay? I’m worried about you.”

“…….”

The child glanced at me before turning his back completely.

If only I hadn’t reached out my hand.

You idiot, Jung I-hyun.

Though I cursed myself internally, I kept my face fixed in a bright, friendly smile.

“I’m not doing this for me. It’s all for your sake.”

“…….”

“If you don’t want the medicine, at least let me disinfect the wounds, okay?”

“…….”

“Hey! Don’t ignore me—say something!”

My thin patience quickly wore out. When I suddenly raised my voice, the child, who had been stuffing a rice cake into his mouth, froze in place.

Hic! Startled enough to get the hiccups, he hurriedly covered his mouth with both hands. Realizing my mistake too late, I quickly calmed myself and tried to soothe him.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“Hic.”

“I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean it.”

He had already been thrown into an unfamiliar environment and suffered abuse on top of that. It was only natural for him to be wary of me. But in my impatience, I had let my voice rise.

I waited until he settled down, then pulled out a thermos from my bag and poured some water for him. The child, who had just managed to stop hiccupping, stared at the water I offered.

“Here, drink this.”

As expected, his suspicious gaze returned. To reassure him, I took a deliberate sip from the thermos cap in front of him, then poured fresh water into the lid again.

“It’s not poisoned or anything. You saw me drink it just now.”

The child, who had been glaring at me with mistrust, carefully examined the rippling water in the thermos cap. I had no idea what he expected to see, but once he seemed satisfied, he slowly reached out his hand.

“Go ahead and drink. I told you, it’s fine.”

Even with all my reassurances, he remained cautious, taking a small, hesitant sip. After pausing for a moment, confirming the water was safe, he finally gulped it down in one go. Then, as if asking for more, he silently held out the empty cap to me.

“You want more?”

Instead of replying, he nodded.

I refilled the cap, and just like before, he drank it all in one go. This cycle repeated until he had downed five capfuls, and only then did his hiccups finally stop.

“Wait a second.”

Seizing the opportunity before he could return the cap, I swiftly grabbed a towel soaked in disinfectant and took hold of his arm. His skin was colder than I expected, and when I glanced at him in surprise, he lifted his head and quietly met my gaze.

I thought he would push my hand away again, but for some reason, he remained still, letting me hold his arm. Still, those crimson eyes continued assessing me, weighing whether I could be trusted.

“I came here to help you.”

“…….”

I left out the part about it also being for my own sake. Either way, I needed to get him out of here. That wasn’t a lie. In fact, it was better for him. He wouldn’t have to stay in this horrible place any longer.

“This is disinfectant. If it hurts, let me know.”

The moment the disinfectant touched his deep, raw wounds, his body flinched violently. I tried my best to clean them as gently as possible, but even so, faint whimpers slipped through his tightly pressed lips.

“Does it hurt a lot?”

He didn’t say anything, but seeing his pale face and the way he bit his lips made me anxious. Even while clearly in pain, he forced himself to act indifferent.

You don’t have to hold it in.

As I reached out to wipe the cold sweat beading on his forehead, the child flinched the moment my shadow fell over him. Seeing the wariness in his gaze, I quietly lowered my hand and picked up the towel again.

“See? I’m not a bad person, right?”

I spoke to him on impulse, but he had already shut me out, refusing to react. Talking to myself like this felt pointless, so I followed his lead and fell silent, focusing on cleaning the wounds instead.

Once I set aside the towel, now stained with pus and blood, I took out some medicine and bandages. The whole time I had been tending to his injuries, his red eyes had been fixed somewhere on the ground. But now, they slowly rolled toward me, staring intently.

“Do you have something to say?”

His gaze was so intense that I thought maybe he wanted to say something. But, as always, his lips remained tightly sealed. If he wasn’t going to speak, why stare at me like that?

What a difficult child.

With a sigh, I stuffed the dirty towel into my bag. If I left it here, it might rot, so I planned to throw it away along a secluded forest path where no one would come across it.

“Feeling a little better now?”

“…….”

“I only disinfected the wounds, so if it still hurts too much, use this. It’s an ointment that helps relieve pain. There’s nothing weird in it, so don’t worry.”

I pushed the small jar of ointment toward him, but he didn’t spare it a single glance.

Everything I was doing was for his sake, but of course, he wouldn’t know that.

I was exhausted today, so I decided to stop here. Talking to a wall that refused to respond was surprisingly draining.

When I absentmindedly lifted my head, I noticed how the sunlight filtering through the small window had slanted significantly. It was time to go back.

Before stepping out of the storage room, I glanced back at the child sitting alone.

“I’ll come again next time.”

As expected, he didn’t respond.

The last thing I saw before the heavy iron door shut was his back, utterly indifferent to me.

Even as the final gap closed, he never once looked in my direction.

His complete lack of interest left an unpleasant feeling in my chest, but in the long run, this was probably for the best.

There was no point getting attached to a child I’d have to send far away eventually.

“Just focus on what needs to be done.”

Exhaling my tangled thoughts along with a sigh, I quickened my steps toward the mansion.