I stared forward and scratched my head.
“Well, you’re in better shape than I thought.”
Indeed, it was.
Unlike the ‘seemingly deserted’ or ‘dead’ or ‘rat’s den’ from earlier, the building in front of me seemed to be in better shape than I had imagined.
No, I’d say it’s rather splendid.
Unlike the mansions of the capital, each oval-shaped building rose high like a spire, with solid stone walls surrounding it.
It looked like the ‘citadel’ of a king, not the usual noble residence.
‘But why does he look like that?’
As my doubts grew stronger, I turned to find that the division commanders still had the same reluctant look on their faces. Someone stepped in front of us.
“We’ve been waiting for you, Your Excellency.”
The first of the men to greet us bowed toward us. Judging by his neatly pressed suit and white hair, he was the Duke’s butler.
Rudrick nodded lightly. Then, without looking at him, he asked briefly.
“Are the preparations ready?”
“Finished in time for your arrival. I’ll show you inside.”
“Right.”
He walked straight into the mansion.
As I followed him in, I glanced at the butler. He bows his head at my gesture, which he does skillfully, but the behavior of the servants behind him was strange.
They seemed to be cowering a little too much as they bowed after the butler.
‘…I must be mistaken, right?’
The way they were all bending their heads in unison made them look frightened, but I let it slide.
It’s natural for people of noble families to have difficulty with nobles; our Averine residence was just a bit unusual, and it’s to be expected of the average dignified noble.
But it didn’t take me long to realize that I was not mistaken.
On the first day, I didn’t notice.
Exhausted from my travels, I was preoccupied with resting.
I staggered into the room, not paying attention to which one I was given, and fell straight onto the bed. I fell asleep immediately.
It was the best night’s sleep I’d had in a long time.
‘I slept well.’
After such a dreamless sleep, I was in a much better mood. The next morning, I bade the maid a quick good morning. Just as I had done in Averine.
But that’s when things took a turn for the worse.
“Did you organize my room? I slept well, thank you.”
“Oh, no, I just did what I was supposed to do, you don’t have to say that…!”
But the maid’s reaction was a little strange.
Of course, Averine’s servants would have joked about it, saying something like, ‘Oh, the lady drooled more than she should have,’ but honestly, I wasn’t expecting that.
I would have been happy to just be greeted normally.
But they were trembling weirdly. It was almost as if I had said ‘die’ instead of ‘thank you’.
‘What’s wrong?’
But I felt like if I asked, she’d actually faint, so I swallowed hard and let her go.
After that, nothing was too far-fetched.
For example, for once, the Duke was unusually quiet.
The neatly organized interior and clean floor made it obvious that people were living there, but they didn’t appear suspicious. I always left the room to be greeted by an empty hallway and a sense of strange silence.
Whenever I saw them, they would freak out and run away, and when I tried to talk to them, they would stutter and stammer.
The worst of it was at the first dinner at the Duke’s residence.
“Oh, tonight’s set meal is a whole roast baby pig wrapped in herbs and served with a salad…”
With a brief explanation from the chef, the food began to appear on the plates.
The diners were very organized as they lined up the food in an orderly manner.
Their movements were strained, as if they couldn’t afford to make a single mistake.
But maybe they were too nervous, and eventually one of them made a mistake.
Clank—!
“…!”
One of the maids, a rather youthful-looking girl, dropped the plate.
Up until that point, I hadn’t thought much of it, thinking that it was a mistake, that everyone makes mistakes, and that she would apologize, say ‘I’m sorry,’ and clean up after herself.
But the maid didn’t behave as I expected.
“Lord, I’m truly sorry, I’m guilty as charged, Your Excellency, please forgive me!”
She apologized. But then she suddenly fell to the ground, slumped over, and put her head on the ground.
I stared at her in disbelief, for it was like a ‘kill me, Your Majesty’ posture straight out of a historical drama.
But despite the stunned gazes of those around her, she only stood there, frozen in place. As if she was about to be decapitated at any moment.
‘Isn’t this a bit of an overreaction?’
Before I could say anything, Rudrick spoke up.
“That’s enough, clean it up.”
From that moment on, the employees, who had been watching the situation with bated breath, rushed out and immediately began to clean up the mess.
The maid who had banged her head in front of us was dragged away by the others. She was so terrified that she remained rigid and unable to move on her own.
‘What is this?’
Reluctantly, I peered ahead again.
And there it was. Unlike the imperial knights, who, despite their unfamiliarity with the situation, wore familiar, grim faces.
It was the same with Rudrick. He looked calm and tired, as if he’d been in this situation many times before.
Suddenly I understood the meaning of what the division commanders had told me, why they didn’t like to stay here, why they called it an ‘uninhabited place’.
‘They’re afraid.’
Everyone here was terrified.
They looked at Rudrick as if he had come back from the war and was out to kill them.
So they were avoiding him with all their might, and hiding from him as much as possible. The ducal residence had become a ‘rat’s den,’ as someone once said.
‘I wonder how he survived here.’
Suddenly, I understood why Rudrick had changed. When he was younger, the environment must have been worse, if anything, not less.
At the same time, I felt suffocated. I was even convinced that if I stayed here, I would break down and cry at some point.
‘Should I… move up my return schedule?’
But if I was going to speed things up, I had to accomplish my goal.
I’ve followed Lord River to seduce him, but I’m ostensibly here to find the demonic beast.
I clenched my fists and vowed to myself that I would find them immediately.
‘I’d better find them right now.’
And let’s get the hell out of here!
But I hadn’t anticipated it. That my troubles at Duke Bouser’s were far from over. There was one man who had been paying attention to Lord Leona until she had scabs on her ears.
The leader of the First Division of the Knights of Bouser.
“What is it, you lowly woman?”
The fact that Kassar had stayed behind.
To find out what I could about demonic creatures, I picked up a copy of Duke Bouser’s book.
They’d been slaying demons for generations, since the founding of the family, so they must know a thing or two about them.
I remembered clearly how Rudrick had told me as a child that the Duke’s library contained many books on monsters.
‘I never thought I’d use them.’
Anyway, such a vague memory served me well, so as soon as I remembered, I went straight to the butler. Luckily, he didn’t hide when he saw me, as some other servants did.
“You mean the key to the library? That’s…”
But when I mentioned the library, his complexion darkened again.
“I’m afraid I can’t help you with that, it’s not in my jurisdiction.”
“Then whose jurisdiction is it?”
“It’s been in the family for generations, and the lord of the manor holds the key.”
Which meant that Rudrick had it.
Although this would normally have sent me running to find him, I hesitated.
A thought came to mind that I’d been trying to forget.
‘How would I face him?’
The speculation that Rudrick might like me.
I’ve run into him a few times before, but it’s usually in public or in the presence of other people.
We had never been left alone after that, but if I went to his office…
‘What should I do?’
I was conflicted for a moment, but not for long.
‘Let’s just pretend not to notice.’
I honestly wasn’t sure I could manage the facade, but it was the only option.
Rudrick wasn’t the most perceptive person.
‘I don’t want to play with you anymore,’ he said, but it sounded more like he said it out of frustration than with intent. As long as he kept it to himself, I might as well pretend not to know.
Without further ado, I asked the butler for Rudrick’s whereabouts.
“Rudrick, where is he?”
Before I knew it, I was in front of his office.
In response to my insistent question, the butler graciously escorted me to his office, saying, ‘He’s in his office looking over some papers, as he doesn’t have any plans for the time being’. This made me feel comfortable coming to him.
I stood in front of the door, which now seemed exceptionally large, and took a deep breath.
‘I can do this. Yes, I can!’
Once again, I reassured myself.
Thinking of all the casual greetings I could say to him as soon as he opened the door, I raised my hand and slowly knocked on the door, feeling a little nervous.
Knock, knock—
“…?”
But there was no response from within. I stared at the door, wondering if he hadn’t heard, and knocked again.
Knock, knock—
But the result was the same.
‘I thought I heard him.’
It was strange that I’d knocked twice and Rudrick hadn’t heard it, and that there was no response. Maybe he had left for a while to visit someplace else.
‘Maybe I should come back another time.’
I felt a twinge of regret that I hadn’t run into Rudrick a moment ago.
I fiddled with the doorknob in vain.
‘Huh?’
The doorknob turned smoothly.
It wasn’t because I put any force on it. I just put my hand on it, and it turned on its own.
No, the doorknob wouldn’t turn on its own, so it simply means that the door was opened from the other side. I looked up, thinking it must be Rudrick.
“Rud…”
And then I stiffened.
It wasn’t Rudrick I saw in front of me. It was a tall man, more than a foot taller than me, and I had never seen him before.
‘Who, who is this?’
The man had a very distinctive appearance.
He had copper-colored skin not often seen in the Empire, dark navy-blue hair cut short enough to show his forehead, sharp features, and scars across his face.
Nothing about him was unremarkable, but it was his eyes that stood out the most.
Like the eyes of a beast, they stared straight into me, and for a moment my heart nearly dropped.
As I froze in shock, he slowly opened his mouth.
“What is it, you lowly woman?”
What, what woman?
But I didn’t even have time to react. For some reason, as he scrutinized me, his eyes lit up as if he realized something. No, more accurately, they sparkled.
“Ah.”
As if he had found an enemy.
“The witch?”
I stared forward and scratched my head.
“Well, you’re in better shape than I thought.”
Indeed, it was.
Unlike the ‘seemingly deserted’ or ‘dead’ or ‘rat’s den’ from earlier, the building in front of me seemed to be in better shape than I had imagined.
No, I’d say it’s rather splendid.
Unlike the mansions of the capital, each oval-shaped building rose high like a spire, with solid stone walls surrounding it.
It looked like the ‘citadel’ of a king, not the usual noble residence.
‘But why does he look like that?’
As my doubts grew stronger, I turned to find that the division commanders still had the same reluctant look on their faces. Someone stepped in front of us.
“We’ve been waiting for you, Your Excellency.”
The first of the men to greet us bowed toward us. Judging by his neatly pressed suit and white hair, he was the Duke’s butler.
Rudrick nodded lightly. Then, without looking at him, he asked briefly.
“Are the preparations ready?”
“Finished in time for your arrival. I’ll show you inside.”
“Right.”
He walked straight into the mansion.
As I followed him in, I glanced at the butler. He bows his head at my gesture, which he does skillfully, but the behavior of the servants behind him was strange.
They seemed to be cowering a little too much as they bowed after the butler.
‘…I must be mistaken, right?’
The way they were all bending their heads in unison made them look frightened, but I let it slide.
It’s natural for people of noble families to have difficulty with nobles; our Averine residence was just a bit unusual, and it’s to be expected of the average dignified noble.
But it didn’t take me long to realize that I was not mistaken.
On the first day, I didn’t notice.
Exhausted from my travels, I was preoccupied with resting.
I staggered into the room, not paying attention to which one I was given, and fell straight onto the bed. I fell asleep immediately.
It was the best night’s sleep I’d had in a long time.
‘I slept well.’
After such a dreamless sleep, I was in a much better mood. The next morning, I bade the maid a quick good morning. Just as I had done in Averine.
But that’s when things took a turn for the worse.
“Did you organize my room? I slept well, thank you.”
“Oh, no, I just did what I was supposed to do, you don’t have to say that…!”
But the maid’s reaction was a little strange.
Of course, Averine’s servants would have joked about it, saying something like, ‘Oh, the lady drooled more than she should have,’ but honestly, I wasn’t expecting that.
I would have been happy to just be greeted normally.
But they were trembling weirdly. It was almost as if I had said ‘die’ instead of ‘thank you’.
‘What’s wrong?’
But I felt like if I asked, she’d actually faint, so I swallowed hard and let her go.
After that, nothing was too far-fetched.
For example, for once, the Duke was unusually quiet.
The neatly organized interior and clean floor made it obvious that people were living there, but they didn’t appear suspicious. I always left the room to be greeted by an empty hallway and a sense of strange silence.
Whenever I saw them, they would freak out and run away, and when I tried to talk to them, they would stutter and stammer.
The worst of it was at the first dinner at the Duke’s residence.
“Oh, tonight’s set meal is a whole roast baby pig wrapped in herbs and served with a salad…”
With a brief explanation from the chef, the food began to appear on the plates.
The diners were very organized as they lined up the food in an orderly manner.
Their movements were strained, as if they couldn’t afford to make a single mistake.
But maybe they were too nervous, and eventually one of them made a mistake.
Clank—!
“…!”
One of the maids, a rather youthful-looking girl, dropped the plate.
Up until that point, I hadn’t thought much of it, thinking that it was a mistake, that everyone makes mistakes, and that she would apologize, say ‘I’m sorry,’ and clean up after herself.
But the maid didn’t behave as I expected.
“Lord, I’m truly sorry, I’m guilty as charged, Your Excellency, please forgive me!”
She apologized. But then she suddenly fell to the ground, slumped over, and put her head on the ground.
I stared at her in disbelief, for it was like a ‘kill me, Your Majesty’ posture straight out of a historical drama.
But despite the stunned gazes of those around her, she only stood there, frozen in place. As if she was about to be decapitated at any moment.
‘Isn’t this a bit of an overreaction?’
Before I could say anything, Rudrick spoke up.
“That’s enough, clean it up.”
From that moment on, the employees, who had been watching the situation with bated breath, rushed out and immediately began to clean up the mess.
The maid who had banged her head in front of us was dragged away by the others. She was so terrified that she remained rigid and unable to move on her own.
‘What is this?’
Reluctantly, I peered ahead again.
And there it was. Unlike the imperial knights, who, despite their unfamiliarity with the situation, wore familiar, grim faces.
It was the same with Rudrick. He looked calm and tired, as if he’d been in this situation many times before.
Suddenly I understood the meaning of what the division commanders had told me, why they didn’t like to stay here, why they called it an ‘uninhabited place’.
‘They’re afraid.’
Everyone here was terrified.
They looked at Rudrick as if he had come back from the war and was out to kill them.
So they were avoiding him with all their might, and hiding from him as much as possible. The ducal residence had become a ‘rat’s den,’ as someone once said.
‘I wonder how he survived here.’
Suddenly, I understood why Rudrick had changed. When he was younger, the environment must have been worse, if anything, not less.
At the same time, I felt suffocated. I was even convinced that if I stayed here, I would break down and cry at some point.
‘Should I… move up my return schedule?’
But if I was going to speed things up, I had to accomplish my goal.
I’ve followed Lord River to seduce him, but I’m ostensibly here to find the demonic beast.
I clenched my fists and vowed to myself that I would find them immediately.
‘I’d better find them right now.’
And let’s get the hell out of here!
But I hadn’t anticipated it. That my troubles at Duke Bouser’s were far from over. There was one man who had been paying attention to Lord Leona until she had scabs on her ears.
The leader of the First Division of the Knights of Bouser.
“What is it, you lowly woman?”
The fact that Kassar had stayed behind.
To find out what I could about demonic creatures, I picked up a copy of Duke Bouser’s book.
They’d been slaying demons for generations, since the founding of the family, so they must know a thing or two about them.
I remembered clearly how Rudrick had told me as a child that the Duke’s library contained many books on monsters.
‘I never thought I’d use them.’
Anyway, such a vague memory served me well, so as soon as I remembered, I went straight to the butler. Luckily, he didn’t hide when he saw me, as some other servants did.
“You mean the key to the library? That’s…”
But when I mentioned the library, his complexion darkened again.
“I’m afraid I can’t help you with that, it’s not in my jurisdiction.”
“Then whose jurisdiction is it?”
“It’s been in the family for generations, and the lord of the manor holds the key.”
Which meant that Rudrick had it.
Although this would normally have sent me running to find him, I hesitated.
A thought came to mind that I’d been trying to forget.
‘How would I face him?’
The speculation that Rudrick might like me.
I’ve run into him a few times before, but it’s usually in public or in the presence of other people.
We had never been left alone after that, but if I went to his office…
‘What should I do?’
I was conflicted for a moment, but not for long.
‘Let’s just pretend not to notice.’
I honestly wasn’t sure I could manage the facade, but it was the only option.
Rudrick wasn’t the most perceptive person.
‘I don’t want to play with you anymore,’ he said, but it sounded more like he said it out of frustration than with intent. As long as he kept it to himself, I might as well pretend not to know.
Without further ado, I asked the butler for Rudrick’s whereabouts.
“Rudrick, where is he?”
Before I knew it, I was in front of his office.
In response to my insistent question, the butler graciously escorted me to his office, saying, ‘He’s in his office looking over some papers, as he doesn’t have any plans for the time being’. This made me feel comfortable coming to him.
I stood in front of the door, which now seemed exceptionally large, and took a deep breath.
‘I can do this. Yes, I can!’
Once again, I reassured myself.
Thinking of all the casual greetings I could say to him as soon as he opened the door, I raised my hand and slowly knocked on the door, feeling a little nervous.
Knock, knock—
“…?”
But there was no response from within. I stared at the door, wondering if he hadn’t heard, and knocked again.
Knock, knock—
But the result was the same.
‘I thought I heard him.’
It was strange that I’d knocked twice and Rudrick hadn’t heard it, and that there was no response. Maybe he had left for a while to visit someplace else.
‘Maybe I should come back another time.’
I felt a twinge of regret that I hadn’t run into Rudrick a moment ago.
I fiddled with the doorknob in vain.
‘Huh?’
The doorknob turned smoothly.
It wasn’t because I put any force on it. I just put my hand on it, and it turned on its own.
No, the doorknob wouldn’t turn on its own, so it simply means that the door was opened from the other side. I looked up, thinking it must be Rudrick.
“Rud…”
And then I stiffened.
It wasn’t Rudrick I saw in front of me. It was a tall man, more than a foot taller than me, and I had never seen him before.
‘Who, who is this?’
The man had a very distinctive appearance.
He had copper-colored skin not often seen in the Empire, dark navy-blue hair cut short enough to show his forehead, sharp features, and scars across his face.
Nothing about him was unremarkable, but it was his eyes that stood out the most.
Like the eyes of a beast, they stared straight into me, and for a moment my heart nearly dropped.
As I froze in shock, he slowly opened his mouth.
“What is it, you lowly woman?”
What, what woman?
But I didn’t even have time to react. For some reason, as he scrutinized me, his eyes lit up as if he realized something. No, more accurately, they sparkled.
“Ah.”
As if he had found an enemy.
“The witch?”
