Between Your Letter and My Reply

Chapter 18

[Translation By Divinity]

The village headman’s house was located in the center of the village. The coachman knocked on the door, and a middle-aged woman peeked out.

“Oh my, Carl! What brings you here?”

“Hello, Lucy. I brought a guest. He wants to see Josef. Is he home?”

The coachman pointed to Damian standing behind him, and Damian quickly bowed his head in greeting. Lucy returned the greeting, then furrowed her brow and said,

“My husband is out working. What’s this about?”

“I’d like to ask about the fire at the Benbrick mansion and the people who lived there.”

Lucy’s gaze swept over Damian suspiciously.

“What business do you have asking about that? I need to think about whether I should be sharing village matters with an outsider…”

Damian quickly waved his left hand.

“It’s nothing serious. My name is Damian Stern. I’m just looking for a friend. I came to see her, but the house was like that… I’m just curious about what happened.”

“A friend? Who?”

Damian was momentarily at a loss for words. ‘Whose name should I mention here? Seyra or Lintray?’

Before Lucy grew even more suspicious, Damian made a quick decision and gave the name of the person who was reportedly alive.

“Lady Seyra… is my friend.”

“Is that so?”

Lucy was still wary but smacked her lips and said,

“Well, I can tell you some trivial things, but we didn’t interact much with the people from that mansion. So I’m not sure how much I can help you.”

“That’s alright. I just have a few questions. Among the people who lived in that mansion, who did your son, Glenn, usually hang out with?”

“That would be Lady Seyra.”

“Not Lintray?”

“Lintray was around too, but she was there to attend to Lady Seyra. Glenn was closer to Lady Seyra.”

“Lady Seyra…”

Damian stroked his chin and nodded slightly before continuing his questions.

“Then, can you tell me about Lady Seyra’s current condition? What kind of injuries did she sustain, and how severe are they?”

“I don’t know the specifics, but I heard she was in critical condition from smoke inhalation. She was initially admitted to a nearby hospital, but she remained unconscious for two weeks, and they couldn’t treat her adequately with the facilities here, so she was transferred to a hospital in the capital.”

“Do you know which hospital she was transferred to?”

“I’m not sure about that…”

“Then who took her? Does Lady Lintray… I mean, Lady Seyra, have any relatives besides her father?”

“Actually, we don’t know that either. She just disappeared one day.”

Lucy shrugged and furrowed her brow.

“As far as I know, Lady Seyra didn’t have any close relatives, so we were taking care of her hospital bills and such. My husband is the village headman, after all. But then we received a call from the hospital saying that someone claiming to be her guardian came and transferred her to the capital. They said this guardian paid for all the medical expenses and everything.”

“A guardian… Are they trustworthy?”

“I don’t know, but the hospital must have verified their identity before allowing the transfer.”

“I suppose so.”

Damian took a deep breath and asked again.

“Then, can you give me the contact information for the hospital where Lady Seyra was initially admitted? And could I borrow your phone? It won’t take long. Please.”

Lucy wasn’t thrilled about letting a stranger who was investigating the Benbrick mansion incident into her house, but Damian’s expression was so earnest that she nodded and let him in.

As soon as she gave him the hospital’s contact information, Damian called them.

After a few rings, the call connected.

—Hello, this is Nelson General Hospital. How may I help you?

“Hello. I’d like to inquire about Lady Seyra Benbrick, who was recently a patient here. Could you tell me which hospital she was transferred to?”

The person on the other end of the line replied in a somewhat awkward voice.

—I’m sorry, but we cannot disclose a patient’s personal information over the phone.

“I’m a friend of Lady Seyra. Can’t you make an exception?”

—I’m truly sorry, but we were asked by her guardian not to share any information about Ms. Benbrick with others. We cannot provide any further assistance.

“I’m just asking for the name of the hospital she was transferred to. Please.”

—I’m sorry, but we cannot provide that information over the phone, as per our policy.

Damian felt a tightness in his chest. It was suffocating.

The person on the other end kept repeating, “I’m sorry,” and “We cannot provide that information,” like a parrot. He continued to question the operator, but nothing changed.

Damian’s persistence seemed to irritate the person on the other end, and he could sense their annoyance through the receiver. He finally gave up and hung up the phone, his voice drained.

He squatted down, burying his head in his arms. After a moment of contemplation, he stood up and bowed to Lucy.

“I apologize for the inconvenience. Thank you.”

“Oh, it’s alright. I hope things work out with your friend.”

Damian thanked Lucy a few more times and got back into the carriage, asking Carl to take him to the train station.

The next thing he knew, he was on a moving train.

He could vaguely piece together what had happened, but many things still didn’t make sense. He still didn’t know if the person he had been exchanging letters with was Lintray or Seyra.

If it was Seyra, he couldn’t understand why she had used Lintray’s name. And if it was Lintray, then the Lintray who corresponded with him had claimed to be from a noble family.

‘Either way, it’s strange.’

Damian felt a sense of loss and his energy drained from his body.

He had come all the way from Lebe to Edenfallen, determined to meet Lintray, only to find himself in this bizarre situation. The worst he had imagined was being turned away at the door.

But a fire…? And casualties…? Only then did he realize how desperately ‘that Lintray’ must have wished for his safe return.

If ‘that Lintray’ was in critical condition, beyond the capabilities of the local hospital, could she still be fighting for her life? The worry was driving him crazy.

Damian, who had been running his hands through his hair in frustration on the train seat, suddenly lifted his head.

‘Find her.’

‘How?’

‘By searching every general hospital in the capital.’

He needed to visit hospitals for his own outpatient treatment anyway.

Damian nodded to himself, mistakenly believing this was a good plan. But he wasn’t thinking rationally.

There were countless general hospitals in the capital. How could he possibly search them all? And how could he find someone he didn’t even know the face of, with just the name Seyra Benbrick…? It was a plan bordering on impossible, beyond just being simple and reckless.

Damian needed someone to bring him back to his senses, but unfortunately, he had no close friends around. The only person he could consider somewhat close was Paul, who was back in Lebe.

‘I just hope she’s alive and well.’

Damian looked out the window, trying to calm his troubled heart, but it wasn’t something that could be easily soothed.

‘I should have replied to her letters diligently.’

Belated regret stung his heart.