He Opened A Matchmaking Agency In 18Th Century London [EN]: Chapter 89

< 89. Entering the Mansion >

Jonathan, who was observing the situation with binoculars from behind, shouted with an excited voice.

“Ah, it’s done! It’s done! The blacks who came out to check what was happening are now running frantically towards the mountain, startled by the sound of the infiltration team’s attack!”

Surprised by the sudden surge of soldiers, they panicked at the sound of attacks coming from the flanks.

The rebelling slaves, deceived by the approaching wave of red uniforms, mistakenly believed that a large-scale British army was invading, and eventually began to flee to the mountain in uncontrollable fear.

“Ah—this can’t be! It seems to be going exactly as Lord Sanderson said! The blacks are fighting and falling over each other to escape! Hahaha!”

The area around the mansion occupied by the rebelling slaves turned into chaos as the blacks tried to escape first.

Not only the entrance to the mountain behind the mansion, but also the pathless mountain was endlessly lined with black people.

Tae-oh let out a sigh of relief, but was puzzled by the anticlimactic result.

‘I was expecting it, but they’re retreating much faster than I thought? Then, that means there’s no proper leader among the rebelling slaves…’

If so, it was really fortunate.

An organization without a leader scatters like sand the moment it collapses.

Tae-oh did not miss this opportunity and continued to hold the reins.

He had to make them run as far as possible to buy time for the rescue operation.

“Fire again!”

Bang- Tatang-

Tatang- Bang-

“Beat the drums, shout, and blow the trumpets!”

Waa– Waa-

Ppa-ppa-ra- Ppa-ra-ppa-

Doong- Doong- Doodoong- Doong

Now, the vivid scene of the slaves crawling up the mountain began to be clearly captured by Tae-oh’s naked eyes.

“Reload!”

Doodoong- Doong- Doodoong- Doong

Ppa-ppa- Raparappa-ppa-

“Fire!”

Bang- Tatang-

Tatang- Bang-

It seemed that anxiety and fear were pouring out from the sight of the rebelling slaves fleeing.

They had completely lost their will to fight.

Tae-oh adjusted the command.

“Now, proceed slowly! Let them all escape!”

From the start, he had no intention of engaging in direct combat with them.

Tae-oh adjusted the speed, maintaining a constant distance, waiting for them all to escape.

*

About 20 minutes later.

Finally, the main force, led by Tae-oh, entered Evans’ mansion.

Following behind, the infiltration team from the forest also gathered in front of the mansion.

All the rebelling slaves had fled, and the surroundings were as quiet as a mouse.

Around the mansion, the corpses of white managers who had been brutally murdered were scattered here and there, and occasionally the corpses of black men or black male slaves wearing maid outfits were also seen.

When the managers were all gathered, Tae-oh issued the next instruction.

“The escaped slaves will be watching our movements from afar on the mountain. So, as we discussed in advance, maintain formation here while patrolling the surroundings as if guarding. The black slaves who followed behind will be sent back to the plantation.”

Tae-oh approached the bald manager who was standing in the front.

He was a man named Kelly who led the main force following Tae-oh’s instructions.

“Mr. Kelly! From now on, the rescue team will enter the mansion to search for Evans’ family. But in a little while, the rebelling slaves who escaped to the mountain might notice and come down.

If the slaves start coming down from the mountain, you must inform us of the fact quickly. Then, Mr. Kelly, take all the remaining personnel here and evacuate quickly.”

“We are also British. We will fight while defending from the front to the end here!”

Tae-oh strongly shook his head.

“That’s reckless! If they come down, the 40 or so personnel here will not be a match. We will also try to find and evacuate the Lord’s family as quickly as possible, so you also escape quickly first, keeping a distance from the rebelling slaves.

Because it is a narrow road that only one transport wagon can barely pass through, if the routes overlap, it can only hinder the escape instead.”

Kelly reluctantly replied.

“Yes… I understand.”

*

Tae-oh, along with Butler, Jonathan, Benjamin, Murphy, etc., who formed the rescue team, rushed into Evans’ mansion.

Creak-

The rescue team, pushing aside the front door that was almost falling off, could not close their mouths upon entering the mansion.

The house was truly a mess.

The large and splendid living room that Tae-oh had seen last time had been transformed into a chaotic state as if it had been bombed.

Not only precious porcelain or paintings, furniture, etc., but also various liquor bottles and plates, teacups, windows, etc., there was nothing that was not broken or shattered.

“Let’s go to the kitchen first!”

“Yes! Let’s do that!”

Murphy quickly flung open the door that was next to the dining room and entered the kitchen.

The kitchen was as large and spacious as the dining room. But this place was also a mess with food and cooking utensils that had been thrown on the floor, and broken dishes.

The rescue team loudly knocked and shouted here and there in the kitchen to find hiding places.

Knock-knock-

“Leonard! Leonard! It’s Jonathan! We have to evacuate now! Where are you? Leonard! Leonard!”

“Lord! Lord! Are you here? It’s Murphy!”

But there was no response.

Butler, who was touching the walls corner by corner, asked.

“Murphy! Is it really that there is a secret place in this place? I can’t see any place that could be used as a hiding place?”

“That’s right. It doesn’t seem to be there no matter how much I look. Mr. Murphy, is it really that there is a secret place inside the kitchen?”

“That’s… the repairmen whispered for a while, saying that the wall was strange while working on the kitchen. Even if I asked the Lord, it seemed like he was avoiding the answer on purpose.”

“Then, it looks like this is the right place…”

Since there was nothing no matter how much they searched the kitchen, Tae-oh quickly went outside.

“Where are you going?”

“I’ll briefly look around some other rooms!”

Murphy, who was searching thoroughly here and there, opened his mouth in a voice that was unsure after Tae-oh went out.

“Thinking about it, maybe I might have misheard the repairmen’s words. Shouldn’t we look for another place?”

“Can we easily find another place?”

Benjamin said with a worried look.

“Perhaps, have they already been captured and… killed?”

“That’s right. Maybe that’s the case. Even if there is a secret space in the house, it’s obvious. Shouldn’t we rather go out and look for the bodies?”

“Then, isn’t doing this a foolish thing here?”

Then, Tae-oh, who had briefly gone outside, came back into the kitchen, and opened his mouth.

“No. Unless they didn’t evacuate this mansion before the rebellion, it is certain that they are hiding somewhere in this house.”

“Why are you so sure?”

“Evans’ family is not a subject of negotiation to the rebelling slaves.”

“Huh?”

To the slaves who started the rebellion, the white plantation owner or family was not a subject of negotiation. It was only a subject of retribution and execution, which was a record left in history.

If they were discovered in the house, there should have been at least bloodstains left here and there, even if it wasn’t a corpse.

But there was no bloodstain at all visible in the living room or room, only traces left for finding them.

It was contrasting with the messy bloodstains of the dead managers outside the mansion.

“The rebelling slaves will have killed them in that spot immediately if they see the Lord’s family. But I just checked now, and there was no bloodstain. Then, it seems likely that the Evans family who were in the house have all hidden together somewhere, and haven’t been discovered yet.”

“It’s true now that I hear it. It seems like Lord Sanderson’s words are correct.”

“Then, let’s search quickly!”

“Yes!”

But no matter how much they searched, the place that could be a hiding place was not visible in the end.

The rebelling slaves who are watching from the mountain will soon realize something strange.

It was clear that they would come down and investigate, suspecting that more troops were not pushing in, as well as not chasing them.

‘It’s only about 20 minutes left at most. We have to find them and evacuate within that time…’

Tae-oh’s heart gradually became anxious.

If we delay any longer, we could face a miserable death in the hands of the slaves coming down from the mountain.

Whoosh-

Then, the fire that was burning redly into the wooden window came into Tae-oh’s sight.

It was because of the arson that the rebelling slaves committed.

‘Fire… fire…’

In an instant, there was something that flashed through Tae-oh’s head.

‘Yes, it’s not here!’

It was the common pattern of the black slaves to set fires in various places and run away if a rebellion occurred.

Of course, the deceased Lord Isaac Evans would also know this well.

Then, it seemed that he would not have prepared a hiding place in a place above the first floor even in preparation for a fire.

“Mr. Murphy! Is there a basement that can be descended to directly from inside the house without going outside the mansion?”

Murphy, who was blinking his eyes for a moment at Tae-oh’s question, soon nodded.

“Ah, yes! There is.”

“Of course, the basement is made of solid stone, right?”

“Yes. There is an underground warehouse that stores food ingredients. Ah! Thinking about it, maybe we could use that as a hiding place?”

Tae-oh urgently requested.

“Where is it? Please guide me to that place quickly!”

“Ah, yes, yes! It’s right here below.”

Murphy pushed the small side door that is inside the kitchen.

Then, a narrow staircase that goes down appeared.

“Let’s go down!”

They lined up and went down following Murphy.

Murphy said, having come down to the basement.

“As you can see, it’s a warehouse and very narrow, and the wall is all large stone… I don’t think we can prepare a hiding place here. Maybe the Lord was aiming for that.”

Really large stones were blocking the way like a wall.

Tae-oh and the rescue team diligently searched every place in the underground warehouse holding torches.

But, this place also did not have a place that could be considered a hiding place.

Tae-oh’s disappointed eyes inadvertently turned to a certain wall.

‘······.’

But, it was noticeable that the stone of one place on the wall was broken off and missing, about the size of a fist.

In a strange thought, Tae-oh shone a torch through the gap where the stone had fallen off.

‘!’

Something like an iron plate was reflected inside.

Tae-oh shouted.

“Here… it’s here!”

The rescue team flocked around Tae-oh.

“It’s here?”

“Yes! This wall… it seems like the back is a hiding place?”

“Here?”

“Yes! It seems like this is the entrance. The stone came out, falling off and greatly splitting the door that was covering it.”

“Oh? It’s real?”

Tae-oh shouted, knocking on the wall with his fist quickly.

“Leonard! Leonard! Can you hear my voice?”

Knock-knock-

“It’s Sanderson! Come out quickly if you hear my voice!”

The people next to him also shouted, sticking to the wall while knocking.

Bang-bang-

“Leonard! Leonard! Is there anyone in there? It’s Jonathan!”

“Lord! Can you hear me? Lord?”

But there was no reaction.

Cold sweat started flowing down his back as time passed.

“We can’t do this. Shall we try pulling it once?”

“Yes.”

But no matter how much they pulled, it didn’t budge. The same was true even if they pushed.

Then, the urgent voice of the manager was heard from the staircase above.

“Lord Sanderson! We have to evacuate now! The blacks are coming down little by little from the mountain! It seems like they realized it’s not the army!”

“Damn…”

It was moving faster than expected. They had to evacuate immediately.

Tae-oh shouted, hitting the wall wildly.

“We have to evacuate now! Everyone will die if you don’t open it quickly! It’s only a matter of time before the rebelling slaves discover this place!”

Benjamin shouted, turning towards the stairs as there was still no response.

“It won’t work! We have to evacuate quickly, it seems! There can’t be anyone in here!”

“That’s right! Lord Sanderson! Let’s evacuate first.”

But then,

Thud- Creak-

The sound of a huge rock moving was heard, and a part of the wall was pushed out.

“Huh…?”

Everyone stared at the wall that stopped with surprised eyes.

A narrow and dark cave-like room appeared as the rock wall opened, and a man was standing in it.

“Lo… Lord Leonard!”

It was Leonard Evans.

A long iron rod was held in Leonard’s hands, pushing out the stone, and behind him stood his mother, Evans’ wife, younger brother, younger sister, butler, and even the maid, with terrified eyes.

“Everyone is safe!”

Jonathan and Butler shouted, rushing forward.

“Why didn’t you open it quickly? We have to escape quickly!”

“Yes! I’m sorry. I couldn’t hear the voices clearly from inside. I only knew it was the rebelling slaves.”

“Let’s go out quickly! The blacks are coming!”

“Yes? Ah… yes!”

“Everyone, run! You have to get on the wagon waiting outside and run for your lives!”

The Evans family was hesitating to go up even at Butler’s urgent voice and Lord’s voice.

“What are you doing? The blacks are coming!”

Lord Leonard said to his wife and youngest sister at Butler’s urging.

“Grace and Mother, go up first. Henry and I will go up with my brother.”

Tae-oh asked with questioning eyes at Leonard’s words.

“Is the Lord here… brother? I didn’t see him inside?”

That was the moment.

Someone was crawling out from the floor of the hiding place.

“Just go up and leave! What are you doing, taking them? Hurry!”

It was Lord Jacob Evans.