Bailonz Street 13

My gaze suddenly turned to Liam. His eyes were still on me. Always. Even now. Unchanging.

Looking at him, I suddenly wanted to ask:

‘Could I leave you behind?’

Ah, I couldn’t do it. Just thinking about Liam being left alone made my chest burn as if on fire.

How fickle human emotions are. Those ash-grey eyes that once terrified me now only bring joy. It seemed impossible for those eyes not to hold me; it was such a natural sight.

Perhaps this is what the Black King truly wanted. If I end up truly loving Liam, I will never be able to run away.

The Black King already knows. That I’m not someone who could throw Liam away as bait and escape alone. Maybe this fate was decided from the moment I embraced Liam in that cave?

‘When did we start being played?’

Is this also ultimately God’s arrangement?

I don’t know. But… for some reason I don’t understand, I had a clear sense of it.

Even if I had met Liam Moore somewhere else, I would have fallen in love with him. Because he’s a person impossible to hate.

When I reached out my finger and gently stroked Liam’s cheek, he slowly closed and opened his eyes. His lips curled up softly, as if enjoying the caress, and I found it newly endearing.

Just as I was about to speak—

“Hey, if you’re going to be lovey-dovey, go outside.”

“Ah.”

Only then did I remember there was someone else here besides us. Sorry, Owen. We didn’t mean to make you watch this cockroach couple’s public display of affection.

Liam whispered to me.

“Shall we return to Bailonz Street?”

It was a welcome suggestion. I was uncomfortable staying in Greenwich for long, and I was worried about Mary, who had been left alone at home for quite some time.

Liam also seemed eager to return to Bailonz Street as soon as possible. I could read the urgency on his face.

“Don’t use the glass.”

“Jane, but—”

I warned him. Knowing his physical condition, I couldn’t let him further damage his health.

“Promise me you won’t use it for a while, Liam.”

Under my stern gaze, Liam finally raised both hands and feet in surrender. He shrugged once and replied.

“…I promise.”

“You heard that, Owen?”

Though he suddenly became a witness to our exchange, Owen seemed rather amused. He muttered as if finding it fascinating.

“What the Greenwich folks couldn’t get him to do after a hundred requests, one word from the miss does the trick. Is this why they say people should get married?”

“…Cassfire.”

Liam’s sharp gaze shot towards Owen. Facing it directly, Owen cried out exaggeratedly.

“Oh my, I’m scared to death!”

He didn’t look scared at all.

Owen grinned shamelessly. Then he struggled to his feet, shoved his feet into the shoes he had taken off, and headed for the door, scratching his messy hair. He looked quite shabby.

“You can use the passage instead of the glass. Please make sure he doesn’t use magic for a while, even if it’s inconvenient.”

“Of course. That’s my specialty, after all.”

“You two are quite the perfect match, aren’t you?”

Liam grumbled. Hey, you’re jealous over the strangest things.

Liam and I followed behind Owen. We stopped midway to receive and change into new clothes, as our current appearance made us look like patients who had escaped from a hospital. They said they had made new clothes based on the measurements of what we were wearing when we were found. Great discharge gift sense. They said they burned our original clothes. We would have burned them anyway, so I was very grateful to Greenwich for taking care of it for us.

We then headed straight for what they called the passage. Liam seemed to know the location too, naturally heading that way. For my benefit, as I knew nothing, Owen explained.

“We’ve created several passages that can lead to Greenwich. Any Greenwich person can use them, so they’re commonly used. It’s safer too. Only people with short tempers like Liam use the direct entry method, which honestly, I think is crazy.”

I remembered Owen rushing in breathlessly and getting upset before. I asked.

“Why choose the difficult path?”

“Think about it. It’s like digging a tunnel to enter when there’s a door right in front of you.”

I see. Just hearing about it, it seems very inefficient. Why abandon the established path to forge your own? While being a self-directed adult is praiseworthy, this was too much. I glared at Liam from the corner of my eye, and he subtly averted his gaze. What an amusing man.

“Liam.”

“Ahem.”

As he cleared his throat in embarrassment, I couldn’t help but laugh. Owen pulled me aside, saying, “Let’s let it slide this time.”

After turning down a few more corridors, we stood before a door. It was a teal-coloured door with a keyhole engraved on it. As we approached, we could feel a breeze coming from inside.

Owen reached out first, and we heard several clicking sounds from inside the door. Winding a spring, pulling down a lever, and then the door slowly opened by itself.

A thin cloth was fluttering slowly over the black darkness. Beyond it, various scenes, like shards of broken glass, distorted and disappeared repeatedly.

“All the doors of London converge here. Conversely, from here, you can choose from the many doors of London.”

“Hmm. I understand.”

“Miss, how about just becoming a Greenwich person? Honestly, I think you’d be more capable than Liam.”

I grinned and took Liam’s hand.

“Maybe later.”

The thin cloth enveloped us. We felt a strange sensation of being pulled somewhere.

* * *

When we opened our eyes, we were next to a church bell. Whether there was no one to guard it, or it wasn’t time yet, the bell wasn’t ringing.

This place was quite high up, offering a full view of the Thames River below. Outside, it was dawn. In the distance, we could see the horizon where land met the sky turning red and brightening. A fishy, slippery river breeze brushed past our foreheads. It hadn’t been long since we left, but London’s murky air felt oddly welcoming.

“How much time has passed since we disappeared?” I asked.

“I’m not sure. But I’m certain our Mary will be screaming for the second time.”

True. How surprised she would be if we returned at dawn. I could already imagine Mary’s shock when she comes up to clean the fireplace ashes as usual, only to find us sitting comfortably on the sofa.

I hoped Greenwich had shown some flexibility this time and informed others of our whereabouts in advance. But that was probably a vain hope. I knew the Greenwich people were even more old-fashioned than Liam or Herschel.

“We’re pretty terrible tenants, aren’t we?”

Liam agreed.

“Yes, that’s why we pay Mrs. Mayer a hefty boarding fee.”

As if paying rent and causing mental distress to the landlady were the same thing. Goodness, an adult who tries to solve everything with money. How did that small, cute Liam grow up like this?

As I giggled, Liam’s expression softened, and he laughed along with me. I leaned my head on Liam’s shoulder.

“I’m already scared thinking about getting scolded by Mrs. Mayer.”

“Don’t worry, Jane. I’ll take your share of the scolding.”

“No, we should contact your parents too. It’s better if we both get scolded equally.”

“Ah. My parents…”

Liam reached out his hand. I naturally took it. The warm touch spread across my bare skin.

“Be careful, Jane. The stairs are steep.”

As we slowly descended the stairs, corroded by humidity, we realised something. London’s dawn was not as quiet as we thought. The streets were chaotic. The black night sky and the red horizon. We also realised how discordant they were.

Liam crouched low, holding onto me.

“Something’s off.”

I agreed. The ring on my thumb kept flashing, warning of danger. The sapphire light was blinking like a lighthouse in the night. That’s when we heard it.

—Screech!

An ominous beast-like sound tore through the night sky. It sounded like a large cloth hitting the air. Flap. Something was gliding towards us.

Liam cursed and pulled me close with one arm, ducking low. We heard something rush past above our heads. Then it was gone in an instant. Though it was too dark to see clearly, it seemed to be a flying creature about twice our body size.

“Does it react to light?!”

We instinctively knew it would return.

I stopped Liam’s hand as he tried to grasp at the air. I couldn’t let Liam strain himself. Instead of him, I drew out my sword. Liam looked at me with a surprised face.

“I’m not sure. It was too dark and quick to see what it was.”

“We need to move from here first… Liam, duck!”

I swung my sword. It was almost reflexive. I felt the blade cut through something hard and tough. A long, terrible scream rang out.