The carriage bearing the crest of House Valerian came to a slow stop before the mansion, its wheels rolling over the pale stone road until the horses finally settled beneath the morning sun. The great estate looked unchanged from the last time Seris had seen it. Tall walls surrounded the property, dark banners bearing the Valerian crest moved lazily in the breeze, and the wide courtyard remained as orderly as ever, with guards stationed near the entrance and servants moving between the buildings with practiced efficiency. Compared with the chaos she had spent days dealing with after the banquet attack, the mansion almost seemed detached from the rest of the world.
The carriage door opened, and Seris stepped down in her knight’s armor.
Several guards immediately straightened.
"Welcome back, Miss Seris."
"Good morning, Miss Seris."
"Welcome home."
Seris answered them with small nods and polite smiles as she crossed the courtyard. She had been away dealing with the investigation into the terrorist attack at the banquet, and although the work was far from finished, being back at the Valerian estate gave her a sense of relief she hadn’t realized she had been missing. More importantly, there was someone here she had been looking forward to seeing.
Kain.
The thought alone made her expression soften slightly.
Their relationship had never been particularly complicated. He was her assigned young master, a noble who was famous more for being useless than for accomplishing anything impressive, while she was a knight tasked with protecting and accompanying him. Yet after spending enough time around him, Seris had become accustomed to his strange habits, his suspiciously lazy behavior, and the ridiculous situations he somehow managed to find himself involved in. She had expected him to complain when she returned, perhaps ask how long she would be staying or make some strange remark about her work.
She was already wondering what kind of expression he would make when she walked into his room.
Seris entered the mansion and made her way through the familiar corridors. Sunlight streamed through the tall windows, laying long pale shapes across the polished floor, while the walls were decorated with portraits of former members of House Valerian and old weapons mounted beneath them. Servants passed quietly, carrying trays and documents, and the distant sound of footsteps occasionally echoed through the adjoining halls. Everything felt normal, yet as Seris approached Kain’s section of the mansion, she noticed that the corridor was unusually quiet.
Then Edwin stepped into her path.
The old steward bowed politely.
"Welcome, Miss Seris."
Seris returned the greeting. "Good morning, Edwin."
"It has been some time since your last visit. May I ask the purpose of your return to the young master’s residence?"
"I came to meet Kain."
The answer was simple, but Edwin did not respond immediately.
His pause lasted only a moment.
It might have been nothing.
Seris noticed it anyway.
"The young master is currently occupied," Edwin said at last. "He has given strict instructions that no one is to disturb him."
Seris raised an eyebrow.
"Kain is occupied?"
"Yes."
"With what?"
Edwin maintained his calm expression. "The young master did not explain."
Seris studied him for another moment before deciding not to argue yet.
"Then tell him I’m here. I’ll wait until he is finished."
"Of course."
Seris turned slightly toward the corridor.
"And how long do you think that will take?"
Edwin hesitated again.
"About a—"
He stopped.
Seris looked at him.
"About a?"
Edwin seemed to search for the right answer.
"About a week, perhaps."
Seris stared at him.
"A week?"
"Possibly."
There was no amusement in her expression now.
Kain disappearing for a week without explanation was already strange. Kain specifically refusing to see her despite knowing that she was his assigned knight was even stranger. Most importantly, Edwin’s hesitation had become impossible to ignore.
"You are hiding something."
"I assure you, Miss Seris, I am merely following the young master’s instructions."
"Then move aside."
Edwin did not.
The quiet corridor seemed to tighten around them.
"Miss Seris," he said evenly, "I cannot allow you to enter."
Seris’s hand rested on the hilt of her sword.
"I am not asking for permission to search the mansion. I only want to see Kain."
"The young master has instructed me otherwise."
"Then he can tell me that himself."
"I am afraid I cannot allow that either."
Seris slowly drew her sword.
Steel slid from its sheath with a clean sound that echoed through the corridor. Her expression remained controlled, but the patience in her voice had disappeared.
"Edwin, I don’t want to fight you."
"Nor do I."
"Then step aside."
"I cannot."
For a moment, neither moved.
Seris finally advanced.
Edwin raised his hands defensively, taking a step backward. Seris moved with the controlled efficiency of someone who had spent years training for real combat, and within moments Edwin was forced down onto the polished floor. She did not strike him with the intent to injure him. She simply used enough force to put him out of her way.
Edwin hit the floor and remained there.
Seris immediately stepped past him.
"Forgive me," she said without looking back. "I will speak to Kain myself."
She had taken only a few steps when a sharp pull caught her ankle.
Her balance vanished.
Seris fell hard, one hand striking the floor as her sword slid several feet away. She immediately twisted around, expecting to see a rope or wire.
There was nothing.
Only the empty corridor.
"What..."
Edwin was already beside her.
"Miss Seris!"
He sounded genuinely concerned.
"Are you injured?"
Seris pushed herself upright and looked down at her boots. There was no visible wire, no broken tile, and no trap that she could identify.
"What was that?"
"I am not certain," Edwin replied. "You may have caught your foot on something."
Seris narrowed her eyes.
She knew what she had felt.
Something had pulled her.
But there was nothing here.
She looked farther down the corridor, then back toward Edwin. The last few days of investigation had left her exhausted, and she had been sleeping less than she should. Perhaps her focus had been affected.
Edwin offered his hand.
"You have been working late for several days. You should rest before continuing this."
Seris accepted his hand, though reluctantly.
"What about Kain?"
"I will inform him that you came."
She opened her mouth to object.
Then Edwin’s hand moved.
A tiny sting touched the side of her neck.
Seris’s expression changed instantly.
Her fingers loosened.
Her legs became strangely weak.
She tried to reach for her sword, but the corridor seemed to sway beneath her feet. The light from the windows blurred into pale streaks, and Edwin’s face was becoming harder to focus.
"Edwin..."
"I am sorry, Miss Seris."
Her knees gave way.
Edwin caught her before she struck the floor.
He waited until her breathing had settled before carefully lifting her into his arms. His expression held none of the satisfaction of someone who had won a fight. Instead, he looked toward Kain’s empty room with a troubled frown.
He had known there was no other way.
"If they learn that the young master is gone..."
He didn’t finish the thought.
His eyes lowered to the unconscious knight.
"What has that child gotten himself into?"
Without attracting attention, Edwin carried Seris away from the corridor.
Meanwhile far from the estate...
The town was louder than I expected.
After spending the night in the dungeon with nothing but the weak flames burning along the walls to light our way, walking through a crowded street beneath the morning sun felt almost overwhelming. People filled the roads from one end to the other, pushing carts, carrying baskets, shouting to one another, arguing over prices, and calling out to anyone willing to stop at their stalls. Vendors seemed determined to make themselves heard over everyone else, each one trying to convince passing customers that their bread, fruit, clothes, tools, or food was somehow more valuable than whatever the merchant five steps away was selling.
Asura walked beside me with his nose wrinkled.
"This place smells terrible."
I glanced at him.
"Shut up."
"I am serious. There are too many smells."
"You don’t have to smell everything."
"Unfortunately, I do."
I sighed and kept walking.
The town itself was much livelier than I had imagined. Buildings stood close together along the narrow streets, some tall and well maintained, others leaning slightly as though they had forgotten which direction they were supposed to stand. Wooden signs swung over shop entrances, laundry hung between upper windows, and small children ran around adults who were far too busy to notice them. Somewhere deeper in the street, a blacksmith hammered metal against an anvil, the repeated clang carrying between the buildings.
I slowed for a moment.
This was the first real town I had seen since waking up in this world.
Until now, everything outside the original novel’s memories had felt distant. The estate had been enormous and beautiful, but it was still a noble’s world, separated from ordinary people by walls, servants, guards, and rules.
Here, there were none of those barriers.
A woman was arguing with a merchant about the price of vegetables. A man was dragging a cart loaded with sacks. Two children were chasing each other through the crowd while their mother shouted at them to slow down.
No nobles.
No servants.
No knights.
Just people.
I found myself staring longer than I intended.
Then Asura ruined the moment.
"I’m hungry."
Of course.
We continued searching until we finally reached the place where I had decided we would stay.
I stopped in front of the building.
For a few seconds, I said nothing.
The three-story structure was squeezed between two larger buildings as if someone had regretted constructing it halfway through the process. The plaster had faded in several places, revealing old brick beneath it, while the windows were uneven and covered with curtains that had clearly seen better days. A wooden sign hung above the entrance at a slight angle, its paint worn almost completely away. The narrow gate leading inside looked as though it had spent years being left open and had only recently been remembered.
Asura slowly looked up.
Then down at me.
"What is this?"
"Our place."
He turned his head.
"Our place?"
"Yes."
He stared at the building for several seconds.
"This looks like a haunted house."
"It’s not."
"It looks abandoned."
"It’s not."
"Are you certain?"
"I checked."
"When?"
I paused.
"I didn’t."
Asura’s ears drooped.
I could practically hear his disappointment.
"Do you have enough money for a luxury hotel?" I asked.
"No."
"Do you have enough for a normal hotel?"
"...No."
"Then this is what we have."
He stared at the building again.
"This place has three floors."
"That’s supposed to make you feel better?"
"It makes me suspicious."
I reached for the gate.
"Asura, we spent the entire night being chased by stone wolves through a collapsing dungeon. I’m not going to let a cheap building intimidate me."
The gate opened with a long, horrible creeeeeek.
I stopped.
Asura stopped.
The sound slowly faded into the street behind us.
I stared at the dark entrance.
"Fuck."
Asura looked at me with complete seriousness.
"We’re fucked."
I sighed and stepped inside.
At this point, I could only hope the bed didn’t try to kill me.