The Duke’s Obsession Leads to a Death Flag

The sky cleared up, and the rain had stopped, but I had to wait until the cold air warmed up again with the breath of spring. Two more days passed like that.

I packed my bag full of food and a blanket thick enough to cover the child, then carefully slipped out of the room. Maybe because it had been a while since I last went outside, I felt a slight thrill.

‘Let’s hurry.’

Keeping my head low, I dashed toward the western forest, worried that someone might see me. Like an agent on a secret mission, I moved cautiously, scanning my surroundings as I crept forward. Thanks to that, I made it all the way to the warehouse without drawing anyone’s attention.

I unlocked the rusty padlock that had been corroded by a week’s worth of rain and pushed open the heavy iron door. Thud. At the weighty sound, birds that had been perched on the nearby trees took off into the sky with a flutter of wings.

Maybe it was because of the nonstop rain over the past week, but the air inside the warehouse was stiflingly heavy, thick with moisture.

For a brief moment, I was horrified by the mold covering the walls, but that shock quickly faded as my habitual greeting to the child was cut short. My mind went blank at the sight of the empty space.

“Where is he?”

There were traces of someone having lain there, with towels stacked in layers on the bare floor, but the most important thing—the child himself—was gone. Could it be that Han Jae-hoon moved him somewhere else?

As unease gnawed at me, my frantic eyes darted around, only to land on a chain fixed to the floor. Clink. It moved slightly as I followed its length with my gaze—and there, curled up in the corner, was the child.

“Thank god.”

I muttered as I let out a sigh of relief. I had no idea why he had chosen to huddle in the corner instead of lying in a more comfortable spot, but at least he was still here. That was enough to reassure me.

I set down my bag and took out the blanket, some food, and a flashlight. The warehouse was too dark, so I had brought something to brighten the space. The batteries were nearly dead, but they should last for a few hours.

“There.”

The moment I turned on the flashlight, the suffocating darkness of the warehouse receded. I propped it up against my bag to keep it from falling, then approached the child, who was crumpled like discarded trash.

“Hey…”

I called out cautiously, but as always, there was no response. I had grown used to his indifference, so I let it slide—but then, I heard a faint groan from him.

Was he in pain? Worried, I gently pulled at his hunched shoulders. In an instant, his eyes snapped open, and he lunged at me.

“Ahk!”

The world flipped upside down in a heartbeat, and I found myself sprawled on the filthy warehouse floor. My vision swayed from the impact of the fall, my head having hit the ground.

My mind was too dazed to process what had just happened. I tried to push myself up, but a small yet heavy hand pressed down on my wrist. It was the child.

“What the hell are you—”

Haa. A rough breath brushed against my cheek. His red eyes, unable to focus and shaking wildly, looked terrifyingly unstable. He seemed even more frightening than when I first met him and he had been wary of me.

I clamped my mouth shut, realizing I needed to calm him down first. Whether it was a person or a beast, provoking someone in an agitated state was never a good idea. But it was already too late—the beast, having lost all reason, had already been provoked.

“Ugh.”

He bared his sharp teeth and sank them into my shoulder with all his strength. The pain was so intense that it felt like my flesh was about to be torn off. A scream almost burst from my throat.

It hurt. It hurt so fucking much that tears pricked my eyes.

“G-get a hold of yourself!”

In the end, I couldn’t hold back and yelled. Maybe my voice startled him, because the pressure of his jaw on my shoulder eased slightly. I didn’t waste the opportunity and shoved him away with all my might.

“Ah, fuck…”

His small body, unable to keep its balance, was pushed aside, and I quickly put some distance between us. He tried to lunge at me again, but the length of his chain stopped him just short.

“That seriously fucking hurts.”

The pain radiating from my shoulder was no joke. When I looked down to check, my clothes were soaked in bright red blood. I didn’t even have to look underneath to know the wound was a complete mess.

“Are you actually a goddamn dog?”

I demanded, my voice dripping with frustration. He wiped his blood-smeared lips and growled menacingly at me. I hadn’t expected an apology, but this was just ridiculous.

We were both furious, both on edge, glaring at each other with everything we had. The tense standoff dragged on until, once again, I was the first to look away.

“Ah, this is fucking annoying.”

Had he completely forgotten about me just because I hadn’t come for a few days? I thought we’d gotten a little closer, but now the distance between us had stretched impossibly wide again. And I had no idea how to close it.

‘This is a goddamn headache.’

I considered using food to win him over, but seeing the state he was in now, it would probably be useless. I couldn’t even get close to him—what the hell could I even do?

“Nothing is fucking easy, huh.”

I muttered the complaint loud enough for him to hear, but he didn’t react at all. Before, he at least understood words, but now it felt like I was dealing with a beast that couldn’t even comprehend language.

“I’m not actually turning you into a dog just because I called you one, right?”

I glared at him, his lips still stained with dried blood, and asked. Naturally, there was no response.

Fine. The kid in front of me was a dog. I decided that on my own.

Pulling a towel from my bag, I pressed it against my shoulder to stop the bleeding. At some point during our pointless standoff, the wound had stopped oozing. As the blood dried, my clothes stiffened. I carefully lifted the fabric to take a look—and sure enough, it was a fucking disaster.

‘How the hell am I supposed to hide this?’

If overprotective Han Jae-hoon saw this wound, flipping the entire mansion upside down would be the least of his reactions. At the very least, I had to hide it until the bite marks faded—but that felt impossible.

No matter how much I rubbed at my shoulder, the deep, clear imprint of his teeth wouldn’t disappear. I let out a sigh, staring at the stubborn wound. That was when I noticed—the boy, who had been growling so viciously just moments ago, had gone completely still.

‘What now?’

Curious about his sudden change in behavior, I followed his gaze. It was fixed on the light illuminating the warehouse. His red eyes, which had been filled with unease and trembling without focus, were slowly regaining clarity.

“Ah…”

I had forgotten. In the original story, Vincent Shining was absolutely terrified of the dark.

I lifted my head and looked at the warehouse’s only window. It was barely the size of a palm, letting in a mere sliver of sunlight that stretched only about a handspan across the floor.

For the past week, during the relentless storm, he must have been trapped in this pitch-black warehouse with not a single ray of light. Of course, he’d be terrified.

‘Even I would’ve developed trauma from that.’

Once I shifted my perspective, I began to see things I hadn’t noticed before. His pale, blood-drained lips, the nails bitten down from anxiety, the fear-filled eyes. The vulnerable child who had been hidden in the darkness was now in plain sight.

“Hey.”

At the sound of my voice, he flinched. His red eyes, now more lucid than before, were brimming with tears.

If I had known, I would have come at least once, even if it meant getting sick from the rain. Regret hit me like a wave.

“Why….”

A voice—unfamiliar and hesitant—sounded from somewhere.

For a second, I panicked, thinking someone had followed me. I whirled around in alarm, but the warehouse door was completely shut. Not even the slightest gap. Seeing that, I let out a relieved breath and turned back—only to find the boy standing right in front of me.

“Shit, you scared me!”

It was the first time he had ever closed the distance between us on his own. Surprised, I instinctively took a step back.

But before I could get far, his small hand darted out and grabbed onto my sleeve.

I tensed up, half-expecting him to sink his teeth into me again, but as the seconds passed, he didn’t attack. The tension eased just slightly—then his lips parted, as if he had something to say. And finally, a voice.

“Why… didn’t you come?”

For a moment, I thought I had misheard.

The fact that he had spoken at all—when he had kept his mouth stubbornly shut all this time—was shocking enough. But even more than that, the realization that he could speak at all left me stunned.

‘I thought he couldn’t talk.’

Since I didn’t respond right away, he must have grown anxious. His grip on my arm tightened, and before I knew it, I was being pulled forward. Off balance, I stumbled—straight into his arms.

‘What the hell is happening?’

I quickly tried to push myself back up, but his trembling arms wrapped tightly around my waist.

His touch, ice-cold even through my clothes, sent shivers down my spine. It felt like I was being embraced by a living corpse.

“You said… you’d keep coming.”

His trembling voice was filled with reproach. The boy, resentful over my broken promise, clung to me even tighter, demanding an answer.

“Hey, just let go for a second—”

“Answer me first.”

He cut me off firmly.

Honestly, I could have pushed him away if I really wanted to. But for some reason, I couldn’t bring myself to be harsh with him.

I had my own reasons for not coming, but explaining everything in detail would just sound like a bunch of excuses. I groaned softly, trying to think of a simple, direct answer. But before I could settle on one, his grip around my waist tightened. He was urging me to speak.

“If it rains, I can’t leave the mansion either. My body’s weak, so if I get caught in the wind, I’ll be sick for days.”

“…….”

“I told you everything, so let go now. This position is uncomfortable.”

Only after I had explained myself did his arms gradually loosen around my waist.

I gently pushed him away and, for the first time, I was the one to create some distance between us.

A brief silence settled between us as we kept a reasonable distance. I distracted myself, pretending not to be conscious of him, but after a long pause, I found myself looking up—only to see that we were still standing far apart, staring at each other.