Translator: Nox

Chapter 4

Seo-ah slipped her hand inside the lapel of her thick coat.

The clerk watched her intently. From inside the worn coat, she pulled out a small pouch attached to a string that seemed sewn into the lining. The mouth of the pouch was wound tightly with cord, a clear testament to her determination never to lose its contents.

However, that in itself wasn’t suspicious. As a rule, only one key was ever issued as the sole means to open a vault. Consequently, many clients went so far as to turn them into necklaces, wearing them around their necks day and night.

The clerk’s gaze, which had been fixed on the pouch, traveled up her slender white fingers and settled on the woman’s face.

Her face, revealed by her auburn hair tied back, was a translucent, pale white. Based on her complexion alone, she looked like a nun who had spent her entire life within a convent, never once seeing the sun. She had a rounded forehead framed by a halo of fine baby hairs and straight, neat eyebrows. Her eyes, which he had met for a fleeting moment, were a distinct light brown.

A pale face, auburn hair, and light brown eyes.

These were common enough colors. Though she was exceptionally pale, fair skin was typical of the people of Norfolk, and her hair and eye color were unremarkable.

Yet, he couldn’t help but wonder why she drew his eye so persistently.

Just then, the woman succeeded in untying the pouch and placed a key onto the tray. Her face, which had been tilted downward, rose like the moon emerging from beneath the water’s surface. Only when he faced her directly could the clerk finally find the words for the peculiar aura she exuded.

Like a lone white lily blooming amidst red roses, or a sudden chill caught in a midsummer breeze… she felt profoundly alien and unfamiliar.

It was obvious she wasn’t from Pelfe, but she didn’t even seem to be from the Norfolk Continent. This was true despite her fluent use of the common tongue.

Then, the woman, who had been staring stubbornly at the key, pushed the tray a little further toward the clerk. At her prompting movement, the clerk retrieved the tray. Only then did his gaze, which had been pinned to her face, finally break away.

The shape of the key passed the initial inspection.

“Please tell me the number of the vault you wish to open.”

“Vault No. 5555.”

5555.

The clerk, jotting down the numbers as he heard them, blinked. He looked at the numbers he’d written, then at the key, and finally lifted his head.

“Did you say Vault No. 5555?”

Seo-ah gave a slight nod as she looked at him.

“…Yes.”

In that instant, the suspicion he had cultivated while scrutinizing her appearance receded into the background.

The number 5555 acted like a magic spell, instantly transforming the clerk’s demeanor. He asked several times to confirm if this was indeed the key to Vault No. 5555, and Seo-ah answered faithfully each time.

“Yes, that’s right. …Yes, 5555.”

“…….”

“Is there a problem?”

It was only when the woman, who had been avoiding his eyes, stared back at him as if asking what the matter was that the clerk had no choice but to believe the stranger before him hadn’t mistaken the number.

“…No, not at all.”

The clerk carefully lifted the velvet tray with both hands and requested her understanding with a polite tone.

“I must go and verify the key. Please wait a moment. Would you like some coffee or tea while you wait?”

“Oh… no. I’m fine.”

The clerk offered a slight bow and exited through a private door. He moved quickly down the staff corridor and arrived at the key verification room in an instant. As if he couldn’t afford to waste a single second, he headed straight for a storage area tucked to one side. It took four separate keys just to open the storage door.

A moment later, he emerged from the storage area carrying a set of old documents and a small box. With practiced movements, he lined up the key, the documents, and the box, then pulled a thick magnifying glass from a drawer. He began to compare the information in the documents with the inscriptions on the key, magnified under the glass.

Opened April 25th, Year 878. The shorthand seal of the president at the time, Matis von Bete… present.

After confirming the information on the front, the clerk magnified the tiny script engraved on the side. He cross-referenced the unique identification numbers written in the documents one by one.

“…5608, …87…BX.”

To his surprise, even the complex identification numbers matched perfectly. He calmly double-checked the information, and there were no errors.

Once he confirmed everything was in order, he set the documents aside and brought the box forward. His hands trembled slightly as he set it down.

The palm-sized black box, engraved with ‘5555,’ had a small hole that looked exactly like a keyhole. This box was specially crafted for key verification.

While rare, there were occasional instances of Pelfe Bank vault keys being forged. Most were caught during the verification of the engraved information, but there were cases that had passed that stage. However, in those few instances, the forgeries were always exposed when the key failed to turn the lock.

Pelfe had long been famous for its superior vaults, and to this day, the city treated its master locksmiths with the utmost respect.

The only things in the world a unique key could open were its corresponding Pelfe Bank vault and its verification box. Opening the verification box meant the key would also open the vault, thereby proving the key was genuine.

The clerk slid the key into the hole. With a mechanical rasp, the key slid in smoothly. Click. He felt the grooves of the key engage with the pins inside the lock.

He held his breath, staring at the end of the key like someone threading a needle. Then, he calmly turned the key. And…

Clack.

“……!”

Most significant events happen without warning.

But he had never imagined that such a thing would happen today, of all days, and in the middle of the night.

The box, which had not been opened once in approximately twenty-five years, slowly parted its lips. A stale, woody scent that threatened to trigger a sneeze wafted out from the narrow gap.

Just then, the supervisor of the verification room approached.

“What’s the vault number?”

Without waiting for an answer, the supervisor peered over the clerk’s shoulder, confirmed the number engraved on the box, nodded, and began to walk back to his station. But after a few steps, he suddenly turned back and asked bluntly.

“Who brought this in?”

“I’m not sure yet. I haven’t checked their identification.”

“Is it a man?”

“No. It was a woman.”

“A woman? What did she look like?”

The clerk’s eyes rolled aimlessly for a moment before he murmured.

“A coat….”

“A coat?”

He nodded.

“Yes. She came in wearing a coat.”

“A coat? In this season?”

“Yes.”

“…….”

“…….”

The two men’s gazes locked in the air for a moment.

Then, the sound of rain-heavy clouds rumbling in the distance reached them, and as if by unspoken agreement, both their gazes drifted toward the window.

---

Once the clerk left and the door closed, Seo-ah was left entirely alone. Only then did her gaze, which had been under constant scrutiny, find comfort, and the tension left her stiff shoulders and back.

She leaned back against the sofa. Then, she rubbed her face as if scratching an itch where the clerk’s gaze had been stuck.

“Did you see the youngest lady? She’s a strange one.”

Gazes are inherently silent, yet Seo-ah felt as if she could hear those words in her ears. It was the same here. It simply meant that, to everyone, she was an unfamiliar, different, and peculiar existence.

She wished it had been something other than her face that was strange.

Then it wouldn’t have been this uncomfortable.

Seo-ah rubbed her face until it turned red, then frowned at the heat rising from inside her collar.

Should she take it off for a moment?

She looked at the door where the clerk had disappeared. She strained her ears to listen for any sounds from outside, but there was no sign of anyone coming.

Seo-ah unbuttoned her coat and quickly pulled her arms out of the sleeves. However, the dress she wore underneath was just as thick, so the heat didn’t dissipate. She felt as if her whole body was slick with sweat. But the heat was only one of the many problems she faced.

“I should have gone to an inn first.”

She had planned to find a private place to organize her things, wash up, rest, and then come here early tomorrow morning. But hadn’t those people who had been watching her since the train to Pelfe followed her even after she got off? In an attempt to lose them, she had ducked into a dense crowd and ended up climbing into a carriage in a daze.

“Where to, Miss?”

In Pelfe—no, in the entire Norfolk Continent—there was only one place she could call a destination. Without a moment to hesitate, Seo-ah had named the only place she knew.