Chapter 09
“The Imperial family?”
The knight thought for a moment, then said,
“Since the Empire has only one ducal house, their relationship isn’t bad.”
Not the answer I wanted. I narrowed my eyes slightly.
To get the information I actually wanted, I asked again.
“Does the Duke personally meet with members of the Imperial family?”
“No, not really. Their relationship is formal and external, not personal.”
“Does the Imperial family ever summon him?”
“You can assume it almost never happens.”
That much was enough. I bowed to the knight.
“I see. Thank you for telling me.”
“By the way, why did you ask?”
Hmm. I hadn’t thought of an excuse yet. After a moment of thought, I replied,
“Just a commoner’s little curiosity.”
“I see.”
The knight nodded. Thankfully, he didn’t seem suspicious.
I thanked him again and quickly walked away.
It really must be a secret.
Strange. In the original story, didn’t the villain poison the Emperor to steal the throne?
If the blood relation had been publicly known, he could have simply threatened the Emperor and taken it.
But if the blood relation was a secret…
…Then why?
I couldn’t understand. Why had the Duke attacked the Emperor?
The moment I realized Lewin existed, the image of the villain I remembered from the original began to crumble.
In my mind, Duke Brecht had always been a typical villain who desired power. Simple, predictable.
But what if that had been wrong from the start?
Then suddenly another puzzle piece clicked into place.
Was it the Imperial family who killed Lewin?
But the rest of the picture was still shrouded in darkness.
Why would the Emperor attack people who were living quietly? And a child, at that.
Frustrating.
But with only the faint scraps of the original plot I remembered, I couldn’t figure anything out.
The Crown Prince only appeared briefly as a sub male lead anyway, so I never knew his true nature either.
Despite the strength of my past-life memories, I still carried the ingrained awe of the Imperial family that any citizen of the Empire would have. But to think such dark truths were possibly involved…
There was no mistaking it—I’d gotten entangled in something terrifying.
In my room, which I reached before realizing, I collapsed onto the bed.
Let’s sleep and think later.
My guess that the Imperial family was targeting Lewin was only speculation, after all.
With that thought, I closed my eyes.
I’m thirsty…
Perhaps the stress from meeting the Duke had exhausted me, because I fell asleep instantly.
When I opened my eyes from the thirst, stars glittered outside the window.
Grrrrr—
My stomach growled.
Should I look around the room for something to eat? I shook my head.
This was a guest room in a well-maintained mansion—there was no way there’d be snacks lying around.
But I also didn’t feel comfortable pulling the bell cord and calling a servant.
I’ll just go to the kitchen, drink a cup of water, and go back to sleep. Hunger can wait for breakfast.
With that in mind, I left the room.
The hallway lights were all off, leaving everything bleak.
The grand paintings and suits of armor that seemed impressive during the day now looked eerily ominous.
I relied on the faint starlight coming through the windows as I walked.
The carpet muffled each step.
I had just turned a corner when I bumped into someone.
“Ah!”
A small scream escaped me before I could stop it. Who wandered around at this hour with no lights?
A ghost? An assassin?
My heart pounded violently. But then a familiar voice spoke.
“Lady Rohela?”
As my eyes adjusted, I saw a maid wearing a white cap trimmed with lace, sweat beading on her forehead.
She grabbed my hand—then gasped and instantly let go.
“I’m so sorry, I shouldn’t have!”
“It’s fine. I’m a commoner too.”
Relief washed over me. Maybe she could take me to the kitchen.
When I smiled, her eyes welled with tears.
I opened my mouth to politely ask why she was out here.
“It seems urgent—is something wrong?”
She answered immediately, as if waiting for the question.
“Young Master Lewin woke up and is crying for his ‘mom’!”
“I see.”
I thought he’d call for me less after coming to the ducal estate, but apparently not at all.
And after losing his parents, he’d become selectively mute… How lonely he must have felt, waking alone in the dark.
I was hungry, but soothing Lewin first wouldn’t hurt.
If he was crying, a few servants should already be in that room.
And if I ran into more servants, maybe someone would make me a small snack.
I nodded and patted the maid’s trembling hand, as she looked at me like I was her savior.
“Please lead the way.”
I already knew how desperately Lewin searched for me once he started.
And that he wouldn’t stop crying unless I came.
He hadn’t shown that in front of the Duke, true, but the Duke did say Lewin refused to speak. If Lewin wandered out looking for me on his own, it could be dangerous.
So going myself was the right choice.
“Yes, this way!”
I hurried after the maid as she climbed the stairs. A bit of red hair peeked out from under her cap.
It looked like the same maid I’d seen at the training grounds. I’d thought she resembled the protagonist, but if she was Lewin’s personal maid, I’d be seeing her often.
It might be good to get along.
“Could you tell me your name?”
She turned her head, eyes widening.
Then she smiled brightly.
“Scarlet. Just call me Scarlet.”
Her smile almost dazed me for a moment. Her name wasn’t anything like the protagonist’s.
Scarlet led me to the third floor. So Lewin’s room was on the third floor.
My room was on the second…
Since mine was a guest room, the third floor must be for the Duke and his family.
The hallway was eerily quiet at night.
I rubbed my arms uneasily.
Empty suits of armor lining the walls made the atmosphere worse.
“How far is it?”
I asked Scarlet, who answered without turning around, her voice sympathetic.
“We’re almost there. Since the Young Master’s mutism is a secret, his room is a bit deeper inside.”
“Isn’t it selective mutism?”
“Oh… is that so? As a lowly servant, I don’t see doctors often, so I just used the term I knew.”
She giggled softly.
Her red hair swayed with each laugh.
Still… it’s too quiet for a child who’s supposedly crying for his mom.
Something felt wrong.
Just then, Scarlet stopped in front of a door.
“…It’s quiet?”
No sound from inside.
No Lewin crying for his mother, no servants soothing him.
Our eyes met. Scarlet’s irises glimmered faintly blue.
“He must’ve fallen back asleep from exhaustion. If I go in first, I might startle him. Could you go in first? I don’t want to get scolded by the head butler for making him cry again.”
She smiled awkwardly, eyes folding, pupils disappearing under her lashes.
“Teacher”…? Did the entire household already know my role?
The silence was suspicious, but this was the ducal estate.
And Scarlet had met me earlier at the training grounds.
After hesitating, I nodded.
“All right. I’ll check if Lewin is okay.”
I grasped the door handle.
If it was quiet inside, nothing too dangerous could be happening… right?
A real ducal maid wouldn’t do anything worse than lock a guest in an empty room.
She wouldn’t have a magic tool, nor enough mana to use one.
And Lewin would search for me desperately enough that the Duke would turn the mansion upside down and find me quickly.
Thinking that, I casually turned the door handle.
And then—
“Thanks for following me even though you were suspicious.”
Scarlet’s bright voice was the last thing I heard before I lost consciousness.
“Damn it.”
I cursed loudly on purpose. The echo didn’t carry far—it was obvious I was in a small enclosed space.
It smelled musty, but I couldn’t identify where I was.
The blindfold scratched my eyelids. I scraped my fingernail against the rope tying my wrists.
Like this would cut it.
I was tied in three places:
My ankles together, my waist to the chair, and my wrists bound behind the chair’s back.
I had no idea how long I’d been sitting here. My hips and back ached, but there was no sound except my own breathing.
How could this even happen?
With my sight blocked, I couldn’t tell if it was day or night.
Judging by my constantly growling stomach, a lot of time must have passed… maybe morning?
I didn’t even know if I was still in the ducal estate.
Was this the end of my extra life?
For someone with such a useless constitution, I sure survived long enough.
Then a realization hit me—my hunger and aches were worse because mana was nearby.
I never felt it this strongly before.
That was why skipping meals at the academy had been manageable.
Since my ankles and wrists burned where the rope rubbed, maybe I wasn’t far from the ducal grounds.
If so… where exactly was I?
