Chapter 82

The greenhouse had no lighting, so they prepared a candlestick and headed there. Along the way, Allo was waiting at the entrance to the greenhouse as promised.

"Allo! You could have waited inside. It must have been cold."

"No."

Allo's voice, as Marievel ran up to him, was nasal.

His pale complexion made him look even more pale in the cold, and his nose was red.

"Don't you have a jacket?"

Eidan, who said this, was also dressed lightly in a thin shirt.

"Oh, I do."

Clothing was provided, and the servants often gave hand-me-downs. He just hadn't gotten into the habit of wearing them.

"You don't wear a jacket either, brother."

"I'm not cold. ——You just don't have enough muscle. If you build more muscle, you'll be warm."

Indeed, Eidan didn't seem cold, and his hands were always warm, in stark contrast to Allo's always cold hands.

However, when they stood side by side, the difference in their physiques was striking. Eidan, and Allo, who gave an impression of being frail and unreliable—.

Marievel felt a bit uneasy and took Allo's hand.

"Muscles are fine, let's go in quickly."

The two entered the greenhouse first. Eidan also took Sofia's hand and followed.

As they entered the greenhouse, they were enveloped in a warm atmosphere.

The scent of flowers also wafted from somewhere.

"——So, what kind of ghost are you talking about?"

Eidan looked down at Sofia.

Sofia tilted her head.

"I don't know."

"I've never heard of a ghost here. Who told you?"

"I don't know the name. A maid."

"You should remember the names of the people who take care of you."

Marievel, who seemed careless, actually followed Cynthia's instructions and called the maids by their names and treated them with respect.

Cynthia believed in expressing gratitude and treating people as equals. The Penzilnia Duke family, despite being high nobility, treated their servants with respect, not making unnecessary distinctions.

The servants also understood their positions, and Eidan thought that being aware of the details was also good for security.

Eidan found it endearing that Marievel, who had trouble remembering things, followed the instructions so diligently.

Marievel, who liked to be pampered, also often talked to the servants.

"Sofia hasn't memorized them yet. ——So, what did they say?"

"Daria said she wanted flowers for decoration, so she told me to pick them. But I said I didn't want to because a ghost appears at this time. We argued."

Ah, it must have been a young maid.

"What's that? I've never heard of it?"

When asked if he knew, Eidan also tilted his head.

"I don't know... I've lived here for 12 years and never heard of it."

"Allo, did you hear anything from the other servants?"

"Ah, that..."

Marievel turned around in surprise.

"No, did you hear it?"

"Ah, but not in the greenhouse. In the tool shed..."

The tool shed, where the gardener's tools were stored, was a small building a bit away from here.

With everyone's attention focused on him, Allo spoke hesitantly.

"The sound of sharpening blades can be heard at night. If you hear it, you'll be killed by that blade, so don't go near the tool shed after midnight."

"Who told you that?"

"Stop, that way of speaking."

Marievel intervened at Eidan's interrogative tone.

"Stop... You just heard it, right?"

"That's a harsh way to speak. You're not a knight, you know."

"That way of speaking makes it sound like I'm harsh on the knights."

"You are, you act so superior."

"Where am I being superior—"

"Ah, that!"

Allo called out in a barely audible voice. The two stopped arguing in the quiet night.

"I don't remember who. I'm sorry..."

"I'm not blaming you."

Feeling like the bad guy, Eidan shrugged.

"——There are plenty of stories like this among the servants. So..."

It was probably a bit of entertainment for the servants, who had little to do.

Telling a bit of a scary story to new servants and enjoying their reactions was common. Such topics rarely reached the ears of the masters.

"Well, this mansion has been around for over a hundred years. It's not strange to have such stories."

"If that's the case, I'd think more ghosts would appear in Hietran's mansion."

The construction and history were older there.

"What other stories are there?"

"Like the instruments in the music room playing by themselves, or touching them and getting hurt. And... a knight who died halfway through his training, practicing in the training ground, making the sound of blades."

"Isn't that just the sound of brother practicing with his sword?"

"No, I don't swing my sword at night."

He was strictly told to sleep at night.

For some reason, Cynthia's strict order was to be in bed by 10 PM.

Pulling her hand, Sofia looked up impatiently.

"Hey, let's go."

The greenhouse was about 15 minutes to walk around. With tall trees, many areas were not visible unless you walked around them. It was like a small botanical garden with tropical fruit trees, trees with large leaves all year round, and carnivorous plants.

It was apparently the hobby of the previous master.

"Let's walk around."

Eidan suggested, and Sofia nodded. Marievel also started walking, holding Allo's hand.

"——Marie, this way."

Eidan took her hand and placed it on his arm.

"Allo, take care of Sofia."

"Yes."

Marievel was about to complain but was silenced by Eidan's silent pressure.

Since she usually did as she pleased, it felt a bit unfair to be overruled here, so she decided to follow Eidan.

If she pushed too hard, Eidan might tell her parents to remove her as a lady-in-waiting. It was better to maintain the "appropriate distance" Eidan often talked about.

Allo gently offered his hand to Sofia.

"Sofia, may I hold your hand?"

"Sure."

They followed Eidan and Marievel, who were walking ahead, illuminating the ground.

Sofia, being small, was a bit of a concern. Allo, who had never held a child's hand before, was unusually tense, worried that the small hand might break.

"Allo, your hand is cold."

"Ah, I'm sorry."

"I'm not mad. Your hand is always cold, isn't it?"

"Yes."

It had improved a lot. Before coming here, he couldn't even eat properly, and his extremities would freeze in winter. His hands and feet would turn red and be hard to move, causing a lot of trouble.

Now, even when it was cold, his hands and feet moved freely.

"Brother's hands are warm. Dad's too. Mom's are warm."

"Is that so?"

"Scoot me up."

Sofia reached out, and Allo picked her up. Her head immediately rested on his shoulder.

"Sofia, are you sleepy?"

"Mm, I'll try hard."

Despite her words, Sofia's body was warm, indicating she was quite sleepy.

He thought about stopping the two walking ahead but decided it wouldn't take long to go around once. Allo supported Sofia with his right hand and held the light with his left.

"——Hey, want to hear an interesting story?"

Marievel gave Eidan a disinterested look.

"When you say that, it's usually not interesting."

"Then, a scary story."

Eidan whispered, so Sofia wouldn't hear.

"A story I heard on a camping trip. It was really scary."

"Oh, the one where you couldn't even go to the bathroom alone?"

Marievel, uninterested, sniffed a passing flower.

"Ah, this smells like Mother's perfume."

"Who said that..."

"Lord Orenzia."

"That guy..."

"It's true. Did he come with you?"

"No, no. I just waited until it got light."

Eidan cleared his throat to cover up.

"The forest at night has a unique atmosphere. The darkness around the campfire feels even darker, and the cries of animals are eerie."

"Hmm. ——Ah, this flower was in my room yesterday."

"One time, a merchant was running late and hurried home. He and his attendant were riding their horses as if being chased by something. They felt something chasing them from behind, gradually increasing their speed... Finally, they saw the lights of the town in the distance, and the merchant, relieved, turned to his attendant—only to find that the attendant's head was missing."

"Hmm."

It was a completely different reaction from what he expected.

"Aren't you scared?"

It might have been scarier if they had heard it in the forest at night. But here, in the familiar greenhouse, where they had walked just that afternoon—.

"——Maybe I'm not good at telling stories."

"Brother, you take stories too seriously. You should take them with a grain of salt."

Indeed, he had been imagining the scene vividly while listening.

Eidan didn't quite understand how to take things with a grain of salt.

"Besides, why are you scared when you train so much?"

"You don't know if your training will be effective."

"Exactly, why do you always think—"

Marievel, sounding exasperated, stopped mid-sentence.

She stopped so suddenly that Eidan stopped and looked at her.

"Marie?"

Marievel was listening intently to her surroundings.

Eidan, who had been talking, felt a bit scared and held Marievel's hand.

"Marie, don't suddenly stop talking. It's scary."

"Didn't you hear something?"

"No, nothing."

Marievel turned to Allo.

"Allo, did you hear anything?"

"Yes, a crying sound..."

"Ah!"

Eidan let out a pitiful cry.