CH 112

Author: Tam

“Lady!” 

The maid who followed Serdel grabbed her arm. 

“Do you want to get some air? It’s so chilly because it’s late at night. It looks like it will rain soon. Wouldn’t it be better to just go in? Or I will come out with an umbrella and a thicker coat, so please wait until then.”

Serdel gave a firm command to the maid, who was worried about her catching a cold. 

“It’s all right, you should go in.”

Leaving her behind, Serdel tried to move quickly, but had already missed the Butler. She had no idea where he went.

[Nuna. The grandpa butler went over there!]

Dell, who jumped out just in time, took the lead, waving his tail. 

Blenn was letting off some energy nearby.

It was as if he was protecting her so that she could relax.

A bitter smile came out.

‘This is my house anyway.’

Cartal had already laid down several instructions before leaving his seat.

Therefore, the current vice-captain had placed knights and squires in various places.

So, there was no danger as long as the enemy didn’t invade.

She wanted to be comfortable moving alone, so she thought about asking Blenn about that.

But the Butler she saw earlier wasn’t in very good condition, so she thought she might need his help at some point. 

Then she started moving again, crossing the garden along Dell and going further inside.

Serdel’s steps slowly slowed down.

It wasn’t that big compared to the main building, but she could see a building that looked like it had been maintained with great care. 

‘It must be an annex.’

When Rudella was a maid, it was a place where she took care of both the indoor garden and the annex, which was in a quiet, lonely place.

She was startled by the cold sensation of the energy that had poured into her surroundings.

‘Is this my first time coming here?’

In the past, she only went to places guided by Siri, and after entering the second round, she never really came here. 

As she took on more family responsibilities, she only knew where it was, but because they hadn’t used it in so long, she had forgotten where it was. 

Why the hell did the Butler come here at this late hour? 

Does he have any urgent business?

‘In a place like this? There doesn’t seem to be any problems that need to be resolved right now—’

He can take care of it when the sun comes up tomorrow, but why should he now—?

She wondered with anxiety. When she opened the door carefully, raindrops fell just in time.

With her head up, two or three drops were also splashed on Serdel’s cheek. 

Meanwhile, Dell entered the annex first. 

It was dark inside. After walking through the hall, she noticed that there was not a single light that lit on as she stepped on the stairs. 

But Serdel had no problems. Her eyes quickly got used to the darkness. 

How much did she move while looking outside through the big window in the middle?

When she reached the end of the hallway, another staircase appeared.

She went up, walked down the hallway, then went up again and walked down the hallway. 

It seems to be the last floor. 

When she got to the fifth floor, the butler was standing by the doorway and looking through his key pack.

“Ah, isn’t this right? Then is this it? Oh, no. No, why can’t I remember?” 

The Butler was trying to force the keys in, but when the right key didn’t come out, he panicked and didn’t know what to do. 

Then, seeing Serdel, he stopped. 

A flash of light flashed through the window in an instant. Then, lightning struck one after another without a sound.

Once, twice, three times.

After that, the darkness came.

Serdel approached the butler first, just in case he was surprised.

At the same time, the Butler also moved slowly toward her. 

As they were so close that they could feel each other’s breath, the Butler grabbed Serdel’s right hand.

“M, Madam—!” 

“….!”

Is he okay— the thing she was about to ask went down her throat.

“Madam, oh my, Madam, where have you been and that you’re coming back now?”

She couldn’t close her open lips. Surprised, Serdel kept blinking because she didn’t know how to react. 

Blenn, who had noticed something was off, tried to move forward, but Serdel put her left hand up to stop him. 

His butler’s wrinkled hand, holding her right hand, was trembling softly. 

“Do you know how worried the master was? Madam. Where the hell did you go, and how did you come so late? The Master waited for you without a wink of sleep.”

Tears flowed from the butler’s eyes. 

“You should have told me where you were going. Or you should have taken this butler, too.”

As the amount of water pouring out from his eyes increased, the light around his eyes also disappeared. 

“My master was so worried.”

As he continued, Serdel felt suffocated.

Before she knew it, the breath that came out of her mouth was filled with an uncomfortable trembling.

“Madam, Madam— Uh-huh. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I don’t know. I’m not sure if I’m doing well.”

Suddenly, the butler began to cry out loudly. His mood was also strangely different from before.

“Madam asked for it, but I couldn’t protect the Master, the Young Master, and the two Lady.” 

At that moment, the light shone through the window again. 

“I couldn’t do anything. How can I see you when I die—”

Once, twice without sound—. 

Boom, boom, boom! 

The third lightning strike was different from the previous one. 

The light that came out was loud enough to shake the ground, and the sound was harsh and violent, like a roaring beast. 

The only thing in the hallway was dark, but now it was full of anxiety and brightness, and it seemed like he had come to his senses a little. 

“…Lady? “ 

The face of the Butler was full of surprise.

His tears stopped before he knew it. His lips trembled.

The Butler’s hand, which was weak and loose, dropped the bundle of keys. 

Dell, who was paying attention, quickly bit it and hid in the darkness.

Then the sound of loud footsteps came. She turned around and saw Monem and the head maid.

“Huh!” 

When the head maid saw Cerdel, she was very surprised, and she had a rope in her hand.

“Uhhh, ugh.” 

The butler, who was sitting on the floor and hitting his head hard, may have found it hard to deal with the situation. 

“L, Lady—” 

Taking turns looking at the Butler and Serdel, the head maid swallowed her saliva.

“First.”

Serdel forcefully pulled out her words that seemed unlikely to come out. 

“Take care of the butler first. His condition doesn’t look very good.”

The head maid came up behind the butler and forced him to stand up. 

The Butler didn’t even recognize the head maid.

It seemed hard for the head maid to handle him alone since he twisted his body all over and told her not to touch him.

Eventually, Blenn stepped up and overpowered the Butler.

“Blenn. Take the Butler to the bedroom.”

Blenn, who carried him on his shoulder, went down first after the head maid.

Boom, boom, boom! 

This time, lightning came with the rain. The sound of hitting the window was quite loud.

“Monem.”

Monem, who was left alone without chasing the two, knelt in front of Serdel.

“Explain what happened.”

“…there’s something wrong with the butler’s head.” 

‘Is it dementia?’

“Since when?”

“Since 2 years ago—it flickers often. It got worse last winter.”

“Does father know?”

“He doesn’t know.” 

“I see.” 

If Cartal had known, he would have told his butler to retire right away and take steps to make sure he could rest well. 

‘I can’t believe he’s still survived in that condition—’

It could be seen that his loyalty was deeper than Serdel had thought.

“Anything more to say?”

“…I’m sorry I couldn’t report earlier.”

Monem’s hands and body trembled as she lay flat on the floor.

She didn’t think she had anything else to say, so Serdel stood in front of the door where the Butler was about to go and held the key pack that Dell had given her.

A silver air current appeared when she opened the key package on her palm.

She took the key that it pointed to and opened the door. 

Soon a large space appeared.

There was nothing but a chandelier. She stared blankly at the empty space for a while.

It was impossible for him to have important business in a place like this.

Judging from the condition of the butler, it must have been that he set his foot in the wrong place while trying to go somewhere else.

If so, where did he originally want to go?

[Would you like to see the interior view of the mansion?]

The status window popped up as if she had been waiting for this moment.

“…..”

Her heart was pounding.

She felt strangely uncomfortable. 

However, she also thought that now is the right time.

This couldn’t have been delayed much longer as Cartal was already in the territory and she learned about the butler’s secret. 

Serdel blinked one eye slowly, and the interior view of the mansion unfolded.

Near the basement of the annex, a silver air stream that had never been seen before flashing.

Her body, which had stopped, moved again.

When she’s just about to pass Monem.

“Lady.” 

She grabbed Serdel’s foot.

It seemed that she instinctively knew where Serdel was going.

“Please… please don’t open the door.”

The voice was desperate. 

Monem’s face was a mess when she raised her head.

“Please, don’t open the door.”

Serdel bent down and took Monem’s hand off of her foot.

“Lady—!” 

Serdel went down, ignoring her scream.