With those words as his last, the butler left the room without explanation. Though even if he had grabbed him and asked, it seemed he wouldn’t have gotten much of an answer anyway.
‘A curse, what on earth does that mean?’
What curse? If he meant it would collapse soon, that would be understandable though. Van, who had flopped down on the bed after roughly dusting it off, blankly looked around his new room.
Even if it seemed like it would collapse, it was still a noble’s castle. The faded silk wallpaper and the carpet spread on the floor were all high-quality items. The old furniture also exuded a dignified charm befitting its age. In short, this was a room prepared for nobility. The butler naturally brought Van to the room right in front of Rowy’s. And then,
‘Don’t leave Master’s side at night.’
He said that. What on earth did that mean? Van, who had been pondering, eventually got up. The word “curse” kept bothering him. He felt like he needed to check on Rowy’s condition.
Knock knock.
“Master. I’m coming in.”
Van, who immediately went to the room across the hall, opened the door with a click without even hearing Rowy’s response.
“Master?”
However… the room was completely empty.
* * *
At that moment, Rowy was walking down the hallway.
“Haaam….”
Though he wanted to collapse on the bed and sleep, Rowy had forced himself to get up because his head, which felt like it would split, wouldn’t get better.
“Haaaam….”
Yawns poured out continuously. Rowy rubbed his bloodshot eyes. Physiological tears welled up abundantly. Even though he walked with his eyes half-closed like that, there was no hesitation at all in Rowy’s steps. It had already been two years since he’d lived in the castle—enough time for Rowy to adapt.
‘Of course, there are still things I’m not used to….’
Thinking that, Rowy looked down at the gaping hole in the floor, then jumped down into it. Rowy was currently heading underground. Of course there were stairs, but rather than stepping on the already collapsed stairs, it was safer to just jump down.
“Heup-cha.”
Rowy, who had cast a cushioning spell only at the last moment to conserve his insufficient mana, slowly got up. A spacious cavity was before Rowy’s eyes. Originally it was a storage room, or was it a prison? In any case, there seemed to have been small spaces divided into several parts, but the walls had long since completely collapsed, so the original form was impossible to gauge.
Being careful not to slip on the grown moss, Rowy walked deeper and deeper inside. Eventually, a corridor blocked by a pile of rubble revealed itself before Rowy.
“Hmm hmm.”
Humming, Rowy tapped the wall with his hand. And at that moment, the space that detected Rowy’s mana began to restore itself in an instant. Cracked walls stuck together, collapsed floors rose up, and… thick bloodstains disappeared. Whoosh. Soon fire blazed atop the empty candlesticks.
“Hmm hmm….”
Rowy walked into that space while humming. In the flickering firelight, Rowy’s shadow stretched out grotesquely.
* * *
‘Where on earth did he go? When he’s not feeling well.’
Van, who had left Rowy’s room, was troubled. Even though he wanted to go look for him, how could he find where Rowy might have gone in a castle he was visiting for the first time…? The problem was that he couldn’t even find the butler to ask.
After pondering, Van decided to go to the dining room the butler had told him about for now. He could go there and ask about places where Rowy might be, and while he was at it, get some food too. Van started walking down the hallway, gauging the location of the dining room.
“……”
But… are castles originally this quiet? If it’s a castle of this size, shouldn’t he be meeting servants on the way? Step step, Van, walking down the hallway, fell into doubt.
The castle was bigger than expected, and the path to the dining room going around without using the central staircase was quite far. However, during the entire passage through that long hallway, Van didn’t meet a single person. While walking a path where he couldn’t feel any signs of people at all, Van was now completely at a loss.
‘What on earth is this castle?’
A castle of this size—though it seemed like only the second floor was being used, even so, the area was considerable—yet there wasn’t a single servant. However, for having no servants, the castle was quite clean. Who does the cleaning? Van tilted his head while looking at the floor carpet without a speck of dust or stain.
Not even guessing that this castle itself was being maintained by Rowy’s magic, Van walked down the hallway in that state of doubt.
“Excuse me.”
The dining room was on the opposite side of the hallway, just as the butler had said. Van, who had checked the interior through the half-open doorway, carefully opened the door and entered. Unlike the splendid door, inside there was only a single large dining table. Since Rowy didn’t use the dining room much, it seemed he hadn’t decorated it separately.
Van, who had been looking around the interior, discovered signs of life from inside another door in one corner of the dining room. This was the first person he was meeting since entering this castle besides the butler and Rowy. Van’s face brightened as he headed that way.
“Good day. Is this the kitchen….”
“Eek!”
At the sudden appearance, Fin, the head chef who had been sitting in the corner half-dozing, screamed in surprise.
“Ah, I’m sorry.”
“Aaaah!”
“……”
“Aaaah!”
At the more extreme reaction than expected, Van apologized in confusion. However, Fin just kept screaming and backing away.
“No, um. I’m not a suspicious person. The butler said the dining room is this way….”
“Eek! Are you, are you human?”
“Pardon?”
If not human, then what?
* * *
“Ahem, I’m sorry. I was startled because I’d never seen you before.”
After a commotion, Fin apologized to Van repeatedly while offering him a seat at the table. Then, saying it was an apology, he also brought out food. Soft white bread and milk.
“Not at all. I should have properly greeted you before entering.”
Van spoke politely while continuously putting bread in his mouth. The soft and moist bread was incredibly delicious. Honestly speaking, much more so than the desserts Rowy was crazy about. Only kids like sweet things like that. While naturally treating Rowy like a child and downing the milk in one go, Van finally looked at Fin sitting across from him.
‘Head chef Fin.’
The man who introduced himself as Fin was a youth with orange shaggy hair. His large and burly body contrasted with his young face, leaving an impression. He said he’d just turned twenty, didn’t he? The man with an innocent impression kept glancing at Van with eyes full of curiosity even while being wary of him.
“You came with the young master?”
“Yes, I look forward to working with you.”
“You’re too kind. I should be the one saying that.”
Fin waved his hands and cleared away the dishes Van had used. Van reached out saying he would do it, but Fin declined, saying it was his job.
“The bread is delicious, right? This was made by my mother. The young master likes it too.”
“Is that so? Then I should have eaten just a little. When he hasn’t eaten yet….”
Van, who thought of Rowy, went “Oh no.” He had come to look for Rowy, but somehow got distracted by the bread.
“Do you happen to know where Master might have gone? He’s not in his room.”
“Hmm, I’m not really sure.”
Fin smiled and stood up.
“Then shall I prepare something for the young master to eat? I’ve made lots of other dishes besides bread. You said you were coming back today.”
“I would be grateful if you did that.”
Van nodded. Since he hadn’t eaten anything since morning, Rowy must be hungry too.
“But… are there not many people working here?”
“Ah… here, yes. It’s just the four of us—the butler, me, and the twin uncles who do cleaning and laundry. Sometimes more people come to help when there’s work though.”
“Can this large castle be maintained with just those people?”
At those words, Fin shrugged and went straight into the kitchen. Van, suddenly left alone, peeked into the kitchen. Fin was preparing food. It seemed to be for Rowy.
With Fin’s quick handiwork, the tray was soon filled with food. Fin handed it to Van. On the tray were the white bread Van had eaten deliciously, salad, chicken dishes, and such. A very good smell came from the warm-looking food. Van unconsciously swallowed his saliva.
“I think you can take it to the young master. Please eat together. I’d be grateful if you could bring the dishes back here. The young master returned later than expected, so I need to leave soon.”
“Pardon? Where are you going?”
“What? I’m going home.”
Going home? At those words, Van tilted his head.
“Is there a house here? The island was small.”
The island he saw while coming by boat was very small. According to the captain, you could walk around the entire island in an hour. Does he live in a separate house here? Leaving this large castle empty? Fin, who noticed Van’s doubt, shook his head.
“Ah, no one lives here. I live on an island about an hour away by boat from here. It’s called Sono.”
“Pardon? Then you commute every day?”
“That’s right. Everyone does.”
“Everyone, you say? …Surely not even the butler?”
“Yes.”
“What? But then….”
Rowy was alone on this island every night…? Van’s face instantly became serious.
