The Haunted Basement
I let out a long yawn. “Ahaam…!”
That night was no different from any other. I had just finished Era’s lessons and was heading back to my quarters in the palace late at night.
“Ugh, I’m so tired…”
I fought off the crushing fatigue while scanning my surroundings, just like last time, checking to see if any shadows were lurking. Thankfully, there was no sign of them. The imperial guards and the Maryeokche were diligently patrolling without rest.
‘This should be safe enough.’
Security had doubled since that incident, after all. At least for the time being, no one would be sneaking into Era’s room with a knife again.
But then—
“Hey… did you hear that story?”
“What story?”
From one side of the corridor, two imperial guards started chatting away.
‘Those guys…’
Of course, a short conversation during duty could help chase away drowsiness and wasn’t exactly against the rules. Still—
‘Era nearly died last time. These are the same guys who passed out right in front of her door, and now they’re casually gossiping?’
It didn’t sit well with me at all.
‘Well, I wasn’t planning to scold them too harshly. Maybe I’ll just sneak up and give them a little scare.’
It wasn’t a big offense, and my only goal was to remind them to stay alert. If I cleared my throat behind them, their reactions would probably be worth seeing.
I crouched down quietly and began creeping closer.
“I heard it from another guard on duty.”
‘Oh ho. So he’s been chatting with other guards too?’
‘They’re really living it up. This is the imperial palace, not a bunch of village women gossiping by the well.’
But as I got closer, I started getting a little curious about what they were actually talking about.
“One day, that friend of mine went down to the palace basement to look for some weapons.”
“Yeah? So what?”
‘The palace basement?’
‘What’s down there?’
“You know how the underground layout is insanely complicated, right? Go through one room to the right, turn around and you’re suddenly back in the same spot. Keep going straight and somehow you end up on the left.”
“Exactly. Whoever designed it must’ve been crazy.”
‘Now that I think about it, I do remember hearing somewhere that the imperial palace basement is like a maze.’
In the original story, the palace basement had barely been mentioned. Even I didn’t really know what was down there.
“So apparently that friend got lost after going in. He wandered through dark corridors for three whole hours. It was already dawn, but he still couldn’t find the exit.”
‘What is this? The mood is getting…’
The story was slowly drifting into very familiar territory.
‘Don’t tell me… this is a ghost story?’
Without realizing it, I quieted my footsteps even more. The plan to scare them was completely forgotten. Instead, I found myself listening with rapt attention.
I had always been weak to these kinds of creepy tales. The type who gets scared but can’t stop listening until the very end.
“And then, right at that moment! A beautiful singing voice came from somewhere.”
‘Here it comes.’
‘Midnight, a maze-like basement, and a mysterious singing voice. What a perfect cliché.’
Even though I was mocking it in my head, I couldn’t help the slight chill that ran down my spine.
The guard started humming the song awkwardly.
“Gri… like… nama… ju… ki… na… ge neun…”
‘…?’
For a moment, I froze.
‘What is this song?’
The lyrics were mumbled and broken, the tune clumsy. But somehow… it sounded strangely familiar.
‘Where have I heard this before?’
‘Is it just my imagination?’
I shook my head once and focused on the story again.
“So who was singing it?”
“Wait for it. The friend said he got drawn to the voice without even realizing it. One step, then another. His feet moved on their own.”
‘Drawn in, huh.’
‘What kind of song could make someone follow it like that?’
“He followed the voice down the corridor, up some stairs. After walking for a while, he reached a room. The door was closed, but there was a small gap, so he could peek inside.”
“And that friend looked through the crack!”
I swallowed hard without thinking.
‘Ah, damn. This is always the scariest part.’
In stories like this, nothing good ever came from peeking through a door crack.
“What was inside was a truly dazzlingly beautiful woman, sitting on the edge of a bed and singing.”
‘A woman?’
‘I thought this was a ghost story. Why is a beauty suddenly showing up?’
“He stared at her for a long time, completely lost in a daze while leaning against the door. He didn’t even notice time passing. But from her body, something like white smoke was rising, and her figure looked somewhat transparent.”
‘White smoke. A transparent body.’
Suddenly, my heart sank in a strange way. A body that looked transparent. It was clearly a creepy description, but for some reason it felt more lonely than scary.
‘She’s trapped down there… singing all by herself.’
Whether she was a ghost or a person, it sounded pitiful.
“Then suddenly—bang! The door flew wide open from the weight of his body leaning on it. He was so startled he froze, not knowing what to do.”
‘Oh no. He got caught.’
“The woman glared at him, and some strange energy shoved him away. The white smoke instantly turned pitch black, the bright surroundings grew darker and darker. When he came to his senses, he was already collapsed in front of the main entrance.”
‘The white smoke… turned black.’
I froze again at that part. Black energy. A few days ago, the black smoke that had risen from my fingertips when I took down the shadow suddenly came to mind.
‘It must be a coincidence.’
It was just a common ghost story. Yet for some reason, a corner of my heart felt uneasy.
“So who was that woman?”
“Who else? A ghost, obviously! A ghost!”
‘So it ends up being a ghost after all.’
‘But still… throwing a person out with some kind of power? That’s way too specific for a regular ghost.’
“A ghost, huh. Then take me there too. To the place where you said you got lost.”
‘I’m kind of curious now too.’
“Come on, it wasn’t me who got lost, it was this friend… Huh? Wait, who are you—”
“Me?”
“…Your Highness the Prince?”
“Yep. That’s me.”
“…”
“…”
“W-we have committed a capital offense!!!”
‘This guard is a bit slow on the uptake. I’ve been standing right next to them listening the whole time.’
The other guard had already thrown himself to the floor in a perfect bow of repentance.
“It’s fine~ Capital offense? Please.”
“N-no, Your Highness! How dare we chatter during duty—”
“Enough. Just answer my question. Where exactly did you meet that ghost?”
“…Pardon?”
“You go into the underground corridor, turn right, go straight, then left. After that… after that I don’t remember because I was following the voice.”
“Hmm. Interesting.”
I had always been quite interested in occult stuff like this. I wasn’t the type to just let a story like this slide.
‘Plus, black smoke and the power to fling a person away. There are too many parts that catch my attention to just ignore it.’
“There’s no lie in what you said, right?”
“Y-yes! It’s exactly what I experienced myself!”
‘He says he experienced it himself. Earlier he definitely said it was a friend’s story.’
‘Well, that’s how these stories usually go. People always pretend it happened to someone else.’
“…Alright, fine. I’ll forgive you. I enjoyed listening to it. And you on the floor, you can relax too.”
“Th-thank you, Your Highness!”
‘Why do they keep punishing themselves when I didn’t even order it? The military discipline in the imperial palace must be terrifying.’
“Anyway, patrol properly from now on. If I had been an assassin, you two would’ve been sliced in half already.”
“Yes, sir!”
“Hmm. A ghost, huh.”
It really did make me curious. And it was the middle of the night anyway.
‘A maze-like basement, a singing woman, black smoke… Should I go check it out?’
My feet started to turn toward the basement.
But then—
“Haaam…”
A huge yawn escaped me, and I finally realized just how exhausted I was.
‘No way. I’m way too tired today.’
‘If I wander around a dark maze, I’ll probably pass out from sleepiness before I even meet any ghost.’
‘I’ll go tomorrow. Tomorrow.’
Come to think of it, it would probably be better to take someone with me instead of going alone.
‘Should I tell Era tomorrow? Would she find it fun? Or would she be so scared she’d shake like a leaf?’
The image of Era trembling but stubbornly insisting on coming along was so clear that I couldn’t help but chuckle.
‘But that song… where did I hear it before?’
Even until the end, that clumsy melody kept circling in my head. The tune that felt just out of reach kept bothering me.
With those thoughts in mind, I headed back to my quarters.
Deep in the dark predawn hours, inside Diabel Sogo’s grand mansion.
In a room thick with shadows, several figures knelt silently, holding their breath.
And then—
Tap. Tap.
With light footsteps, Diabel Sogo, dressed in luxurious attire, walked over and sat down in the chair before them.
“Hmm. So. Did any of you manage to obtain useful results this time?”
“…This one from the imperial palace division will report.”
“Go on.”
“I am truly sorry, but after the previous incident, security in the palace has increased dramatically. Further infiltration seems nearly impossible. This time as well, we failed—”
“I see. Understood.”
Diabel’s cold words cut the shadow off mid-sentence.
“Next shadow. You will satisfy me, won’t you?”
“…I will begin my report.”
“Yes. Proceed.”
“Following your command to investigate where that unidentified commoner appeared from, I approached people from the border village and gathered information.”
“What did you obtain? Was there anything useful?”
“I am ashamed to say… the only information is that she was a pure, bright, and suddenly appearing poor girl. None of the villagers knew anything beyond that.”
“Hah.”
Whoosh. Crash!
The sound of a teacup shattering against the floor sliced through the room.
“You failed as well.”
“B-but! There is one more important detail!”
“…What is it?”
“The residents… none of them even knew that His Highness the Prince had visited the village.”
“…What?”
Diabel’s eyebrows twitched ever so slightly.
“A visit from the prince would have been impossible to keep secret. Rumors would have spread. Moreover, I was told that the villagers and the prince held a welcome party together. That is what the Maryeokche reported to the capital.”
“…It seems… there is something more to this.”
“Hmm.”
Diabel slowly rose from her chair.
“Understood. That is actually quite valuable information. You’ve done well.”
As she walked toward her room, she murmured quietly to herself.
“The villagers didn’t know…”
“Haze.”
“Mental manipulation.”
Diabel Sogo had not become the leader of a massive merchant guild by chance. It was the result of her natural talent, and above all, her exceptional intellect.
Right now, she was gathering the small fragments of information in her hands, using that brilliant mind to carefully trace Era’s weaknesses.
The haze that had shimmered in the prince’s quarters.
The bizarre fact that none of the villagers remembered the prince’s visit.
And the completely vanished memory of the welcome party.
The scattered dots in her mind began to connect into a single line.
“…!”
“It can’t be.”
And Sogo easily arrived at one conclusion.
“Black Star Veins…!”
A chilling light flashed in her cold eyes.