Chapter 13: I Didn’t Lie
Unknowingly stepping backward, Erika had already retreated to the door.
Her gaze remained fixed on the position of the curtain. Her small mouth slowly inhaled once more, and her palm lightly rested on the doorknob.
Stay calm, everything will be fine… he didn’t bother with me…
She reminded herself inwardly.
Erika gripped the doorknob tightly, her breathing growing more and more rapid.
“Click.”
The door was opened by her. The soundproofing on the second floor was excellent. The scene was eerily quiet, and the sound of the door opening was clearly audible.
Erika’s heart thumped violently, and her palm was drenched in sweat.
The person behind the curtain must have heard the door open too…
Would he make a move?
……
However, the figure behind the curtain did not move at all.
Regardless, Erika bit her lip, quickly turned, and stepped out of the room.
“Bang!”
With a loud sound, after stepping out, she shut the door heavily without the slightest hesitation.
The noise caused her heartbeat to accelerate even more.
Immediately after, she hurriedly took out the key and locked the door from the outside.
Although she didn’t know whether this would be effective, at least for now, it was all she could do.
Extremely flustered, she quickly ran downstairs and didn’t stop until she reached the tavern counter.
At this time, the Tavern Owner was wiping a wine glass with a towel. The snow-white towel was stained with red grape wine.
Seeing a little head suddenly peek out in front of the counter, the Tavern Owner paused for a moment, “Little girl, didn’t I tell you to stay in the room and wait for your mother to come back?”
“I… upstairs…”
Having run too fast just now, Erika was slightly out of breath. She tiptoed with effort, her small hands clutching the counter tightly to raise herself a bit higher.
“What’s wrong with you, flustered like that?”
The Tavern Owner squinted her eyes. She seemed to sense that something was off with Erika’s mood, so she put down the towel and wine glass in her hands and asked, “Did something happen in that room?”
While breathing rapidly, Erika nodded vigorously.
That was pretty much the situation.
Upon hearing this, the Tavern Owner’s expression changed.
Because of rumors about strange happenings, the Holy Church had sealed that room for a full five years. Now that she had tried renting it out, something had gone wrong so soon.
She quickly came out from behind the counter, crouched down, and said, “Don’t worry, speak slowly. What happened in that room?”
“Someone’s inside!”
Erika pointed upward in a panic, “A strange man is in the room!”
“A strange man?”
Frowning deeply, the Tavern Owner knew that Erika’s guardian had gone out, and there shouldn’t be anyone in the room. Erika didn’t look like she was lying.
Could the man-eating room rumor have been fabricated by someone?
The Tavern Owner was a businesswoman. Although there were many strange things in this world, it was rare to encounter them. She had never believed in room ghost stories.
Hearing that someone was in the room, she asked again, “What did he look like? Is he still inside?”
“I don’t know. He was hiding behind the curtain. I could only see a shadow. It should be a man.”
Erika answered truthfully, her eyes showing some anxiety. “But I locked the door with the key. If he didn’t escape through the window, he should still be inside.”
“Hmph, then he must still be inside!”
The Tavern Owner’s eyes sharpened, and a trace of anger appeared between her brows. “That room’s window is a special one from the Holy Church. Ordinary people can’t damage it. I want to see who’s playing tricks in there!”
Immediately, the Tavern Owner instructed a few of the tavern’s workers and also notified the patrolling soldiers outside.
In an instant, the stairwell on the tavern’s first floor was filled with people.
Five soldiers arrived in total. They all wore light armor, appeared strong and sturdy, and carried swords at their waists. On the chest of their armor was the four-leaf clover national emblem of the Aarlan Empire.
The group ran up to the second-floor room’s door.
The leading soldier looked down and once again confirmed with Erika, “Little girl, this is the room with the stranger, right?”
“Mm.”
Erika nodded and bit her lip, “If he hasn’t escaped yet…”
“Don’t worry. We have someone watching the window from outside. It’s just a piece of glass and can’t be opened. No one has broken it.
Also, there are no signs of forced entry on the door. If what you said is true, the person should still be inside.”
As he spoke, the soldier stretched out his hand, “The key?”
“Here it is.”
She obediently handed the key to the soldier, and then the Tavern Owner pulled Erika back to a relatively safer spot.
At this moment, everyone held their breath, waiting for the soldier to open the door and find out the truth.
Since Luka Town had indeed been somewhat restless lately, the soldiers were doing their best to protect the safety of the people.
“Click.”
The room door was opened.
Inside, it was still a bit dim. Only the faint silver moonlight seeping through the curtain faintly illuminated the room. That window indeed had not been damaged.
Seeing this scene, Erika guessed that the person hiding behind the curtain must still be inside!
Standing at the doorway observing for a while, the lead soldier frowned slightly and then waved his hand.
“Charge in and search!”
“Yes!”
In an instant, the five soldiers, including the captain, rushed into the room almost simultaneously. They swiftly drew the swords at their waists and began searching the room thoroughly.
Erika stood at the door with the Tavern Owner, watching.
Their hearts had risen to their throats.
……
Time passed minute by minute.
The soldiers practically turned the entire room upside down, but in the end, found nothing—not even a trace of a person.
After a fruitless search, the lead soldier looked at Erika with a puzzled expression.
“Little girl, where exactly did you see that person hiding?”
“Right behind that curtain.” Erika pointed.
“Are you sure you didn’t see wrong?”
“I didn’t!”
“Then did you see what he looked like?”
“…No, he was hiding behind the curtain. How could I have seen clearly?”
Erika shook her head, but she was very sure that she had definitely seen a shadow behind the curtain just now. Someone had definitely been hiding there.
The lead soldier looked a bit helpless. He waved for everyone to stop searching, then pointed at the room.
“Little girl, you saw it too. We searched the entire room and didn’t find a single person.”
“Maybe he’s hiding somewhere… or he escaped… there really was someone just now.”
“We didn’t miss a single hiding spot.”
The soldier sounded somewhat displeased, “Look at that window. It’s just a piece of glass, can’t be opened, and it’s still intact. You tell me, where could that person have gone?”
“I don’t know…”
Erika’s voice became a bit softer, “But there really was someone just now…”
“Where are your parents?”
The lead soldier seemed unwilling to argue further with Erika. At this point, he simply thought Erika was lying.
“Why are you asking about my parents? You should be finding the guy who was hiding in the room.”
“Heh.”
Ignoring her, the soldier gave a helpless chuckle, “You’re still too young to understand. I don’t want to argue with you. Do you know, deceiving Imperial Capital soldiers like this comes with punishment.”
“I didn’t lie!”
Erika retorted, her eyes firm, but a trace of grievance flickered in her red pupils.
“Enough. Whether you lied or not, we can see for ourselves. Now tell me where your parents are.” The soldier said coldly, “We need to have a talk with them.”