The Clockmaker's Enigma

After seeing the Princess off in her carriage, I walked alone.

A light spilled from a corner of the dim street. The hum of a drunkard accompanied it. I continued walking through the shop district.

All that day, an unsettling feeling lingered in my heart, one I couldn't shake.

I continued past the Fish Shop that remained in my memory.

The old man from the Clock Shop. Why had he tried to help the Princess and me?

Was he a loyal spy of the Duchy? Or was it a conspiracy by an entirely different faction? This unpleasant aftertaste would surely be resolved if I found that old man.

I stopped walking.

In my memory, the old man's store should have been right here.

But there was no trace of a building in its place. Was I dreaming? There wasn't even a sign of demolition.

Only a blackened, leafless, withered old tree stood tall there, as if struck by lightning...