Despite the drowsiness from the motion sickness medicine, I couldn’t sleep at all. I was afraid I’d forget the mansion’s layout that I had crammed into my head in such a short time. It was a necessary choice to efficiently explore the four-story mansion that extended down to the basement.

While mentally drawing the floor plan against the clear sky, Asrein spoke first.

“Feeling better now?”

“Oh, yes! Thanks to the medicine, I’m perfectly fine!”

I answered energetically, but Asrein’s expression remained dark. It was natural for him to be worried since we would soon meet Baron Klaus. Trying to think of a way to ease his concerns, I smiled more brightly than ever.

“Don’t worry! I brought the Sarracenia medicine just in case.”

As soon as I finished speaking, one of his eyebrows twitched. …Was that wrong? Feeling like I might have offended him, I cautiously asked.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, I just suddenly feel deflated.”

A soft laugh broke the silence. Asrein was smiling faintly and shaking his head, looking much more relaxed than before. Seeing him smile after so long made me happy, but at the same time, memories of what happened in the backyard that day kept overlapping, leaving a bitter taste in my mouth.

Finally, our carriage entered the mansion grounds. Outside the window, purple waves stretched endlessly, and the distinctive scent of Dehid flowers filled the carriage. This was no ordinary garden. My bright smile had now stiffened with tension.

Noticing my anxious demeanor, Asrein said:

“Tae-oh. You know what you need to do from now on.”

“…Yes.”

“This might be our last chance. So trust your instincts and follow them, no matter what happens.”

It was the same thing he told me when we first went for the site survey. Asrein emphasized that I should fulfill my duty regardless of the circumstances. Even if…

“Even if a colleague gets hurt right in front of me?”

“Yes. I’ll take responsibility, so don’t back down.”

“Understood, Professor.”

I composed myself and stepped out of the carriage. Entering the banquet hall, I found more people gathered than I had expected. People holding wine glasses and chatting in groups, a typical banquet scene.

Asrein didn’t head toward the crowd but calmly surveyed the hall. His gaze fixed on a greenhouse that occupied an entire wall.

The greenhouse at the center of the mansion was much larger than I had imagined. Flowering trees climbed up the stone pillars, stretching so high that their tops weren’t visible from the first floor.

The scenery of various flowers and trees intermingled looked less like a well-maintained garden and more like a section of forest transplanted directly.

Asrein, who had been quietly examining the interior of the greenhouse, suddenly frowned.

“…Something’s strange.”

“What is it? Did you find a prohibited species?”

“No, the plants here are extremely ordinary. However…”

Looking up at the ceiling through the glass wall, Asrein muttered quietly.

“The greenhouse is filled with magical power, but I can’t see any power supply device.”

Following his words, I looked around carefully but indeed found no device. It was completely different from the greenhouse at Angelus University, which was also maintained with magical power. Where was all this magic being drawn from?

While pondering this, a hearty laugh came from behind us.

“My, if it isn’t Professor Asrein!”

When Asrein turned around, an elderly nobleman greeted him cheerfully. Because of that overly friendly greeting, Asrein became like the Pied Piper.

Suddenly surrounded by various nobles with no way to escape, he finally gave up trying to avoid the crowd and quietly signaled to me.

Reluctantly moving away from Asrein, I surveyed the greenhouse again. Although there were no birds like Iris had mentioned, setting aside other suspicions, it was truly a beautiful greenhouse. 

It seemed to be a good attraction for other nobles as well. Two young ladies approached the greenhouse wall while chatting amicably.

“Did you see that flower over there?”

“Yes, I did. A devoted husband is truly different.”

Following their gaze, I spotted hyacinths growing next to a stone pillar.

“Planting flowers with the same name as his wife in the greenhouse and always looking at them with longing…”

“It’s heartbreaking to see him still unable to forget her after all this time.”

Baron Klaus’s wife had passed away before Iris arrived at the mansion. Although it was an arranged marriage, the baron had protected his sickly wife and boasted of their strong bond. 

However, their honeymoon dream was short-lived as his wife died after just two years. Years had passed, but the baron still hadn’t taken a new wife, leading people to say:

“He must have truly loved his wife.”

“That’s true, but losing both child and wife at the same time must have been even more shocking.”

The lady sighed heavily, hiding her mouth with a fan. I wasn’t the only one surprised by this unexpected story.

“Child?”

“She was pregnant with twins. He found out after his wife had passed away, which must have made it even harder.”

“How did you…”

“We have a servant who used to work at Baron Klaus’s mansion.”

A woman who died from illness and the twins sleeping inside her. And a baron who couldn’t forget his wife. It was a tragic story, even considering all my suspicions about the baron.

As I slowly walked around the hall looking for more information, I noticed something I hadn’t perceived when I first entered.

“…What’s that smell?”

There was a faint odor in the hall, like incense burning. The more I smelled it, the more nauseated I felt, unconsciously covering my mouth slightly. But none of the guests around me mentioned the smell. I wondered if they had all gone nose-blind.

Unable to bear the queasiness any longer, I stepped out of the hall. The servants busy carrying food paid little attention to me walking down the corridor. It was good that I had worn the clothes from when I worked at Count Ameli’s.

“The smell is less intense here…”

Walking down an L-shaped corridor, I took out the flower hidden inside my vest. After quietly checking my surroundings, I gently called for Hyperion’s Seeds. The wildflower withered, and with a small flash of light, four leaf butterflies appeared.

[Yawn, another experiment?]

“No. I called you because I need your help.”

[Finally, some real action!]

[Last time was so boring.]

[Yeah, I almost wanted to run away.]

The butterflies, who saw my request as an entertaining game, flapped their wings energetically.

[So what do we need to do?]

“This mansion has four floors in total. I want each of you to take one floor and investigate. Tell me immediately if you find anything suspicious.”

[Suspicious things…]

[What’s the criteria?]

“Hidden spaces that are difficult to access. Places where magical energy flows unstably, or areas that smell of non-human entities would be good too.”

[That’s easy~]

[I’ll be the first to find something.]

[Ha, you’re joking. I’ll find it first!]

“I’m counting on you.”

The butterflies scattered in different directions, competing with each other. Even if they encountered humans, their appearance would make them look like leaves blown in from outside.

After the butterflies disappeared, I threw the flower used for summoning out the window. The withered petals scattered across the garden filled with purple waves. A perfectly natural destruction of evidence.

The Dehid flowers dancing in the winter wind were both beautiful and eerie.

“Haah…”

Years ago, a maid died in this mansion. She was said to have died from illness, but she was actually eliminated because “she saw something she shouldn’t have.”

A clear but suspicious death.

Having lived as a servant for several months, I knew very well. For us, whose sealed lips were more precious than our lives, curiosity was a luxury. So it was impossible for a servant with a fixed daily routine to suddenly find and enter a secret space.

Therefore, the maid didn’t deliberately seek out the secret—

“…She accidentally witnessed the truth.”

While I was lost in thought, staring at the purple sea, an energetic voice broke into my mind.

[Tae-oh. Tae-oh!]

It was a message from one of the distant butterflies.

[Come to the second floor. I think I found something!]

“I’ll be right there.”

Just as I turned to go, another voice spoke.

[Tae-oh!]

“Huh?”

[I found something too! Come to the third floor now.]

[Tae-oh. Come to the first floor~]

[Come to the basement first.]

Talk about bad timing. The seeds all spoke at once, seemingly having made a prior arrangement. With four options before me, I stopped in my tracks. I couldn’t tell which floor held the real clue, but I knew where I needed to go first.

“I’ll start with the basement.”

Unlike the other floors, servants lived in the basement. With the kitchen there too, meeting a servant moving around the basement would raise suspicion.

But with everyone busy at the banquet, the basement should be relatively empty now. I needed to search the basement thoroughly before servants came to rest.

[Tae-oh. This way.]

After confirming no one was around, I followed the butterfly down to the basement. Unlike what I had imagined from the floor plan, the basement was quite clean and bright.

The sleeping and resting areas for servants were separated, indicating relatively good welfare conditions.

Following the rooms one by one according to the floor plan, I asked the butterfly:

“Where’s the strange part?”

[Here. Here.]

The butterfly stopped in front of a door painted pure white and circled around. Though cleaner than other rooms, I strangely felt reluctant to enter.

When Iris drew the floor plan, she had noted the purpose of each room for clarity. But no matter how hard I tried to recall, I couldn’t remember this room’s purpose.

“…It’s a room with no designated purpose.”

[Really? I can feel heat coming from inside.]

It was impossible for heat to come from a room so far from the kitchen. Trusting the seed’s instinct, I bravely turned the doorknob, but it was firmly locked. Faced with this unexpected obstacle, the butterfly gently fluttered its wings and said:

[Leave it to me. This is easy.]

The butterfly slipped through the paper-thin gap in the door. Soon, I heard the door unlock. Fearing someone might come down to the basement, I quickly grabbed the doorknob.

Despite my determination to find clues, I was speechless at the sight before me.

“…This is…”

Purple flowers lined a path, and candles filled the room, creating a solemn atmosphere. Thin fabric draped from the ceiling to a wide altar, upon which rested someone’s coffin.

The flickering light illuminated a portrait of a woman. Seeing the cursive writing below it, I froze in place.

‘In memory of my beloved Hyacinth Klaus, who embraced even my flaws.’

The room of unknown purpose was a memorial space for Klaus’s deceased wife. The hyacinths, not withered at all, showed that it was still meticulously maintained. After looking around without touching anything, I turned to leave.

“We… should probably leave this place alone.”

No matter how suspicious the baron was, I couldn’t disturb a place dedicated to mourning the deceased. While asking the butterfly to lock the door back, another butterfly’s voice came.

[Tae-oh! People are starting to gather in the hall.]

“Okay. I’ll head back.”

It seemed Baron Klaus was about to present his research in detail. After safely locking the door, I asked the butterfly:

“Were there any other suspicious places in the basement?”

[No, I looked everywhere, but this was the only one.]

So the basement was a dead end. Still, there were suspicious places on the upper floors worth investigating. I hurried my steps, knowing that entering while everyone was focused on Baron Klaus would raise unnecessary suspicion.

That’s when it happened.

[…Give me…]

“Huh?”

I heard it clearly. A strange voice with slurred pronunciation. A cold breeze on my nape made me instinctively turn around. But the corridor was empty. Frowning, I stood in place for a while before asking the butterfly:

“What did you just say?”

[Hm? Me?]

I wished it had been the butterfly’s prank… But its innocent voice suggested it knew nothing. I’d heard many hallucinations before, but none had felt this ominous.

Goosebumps rose on my spine, and cold sweat trickled down.

“…Let’s go quickly.”

I hurriedly left the basement and entered the banquet hall. Fortunately, with many people moving around, I could blend in naturally. Soon, that unpleasant smell hit my nose again. Yet people were still enjoying the banquet without any issues.

I couldn’t understand how they could eat so normally while smelling this.

Feeling like I might throw up any moment, I covered my nose with the back of my hand and quickly crossed the hall. Approaching Asrein, who was standing alone near the greenhouse, he asked:

“Did you find anything?”

“Nothing certain, but there are suspicious points.”

While considering where to start, I noticed Asrein’s reflection in the glass wall. With his eyes tightly closed, he was deathly pale. When he raised his head, I saw cold sweat covering his forehead and cheeks.

“Are you okay? You look terrible.”

As I tried to place my hand on his shoulder, Asrein lightly brushed it away. The look in his eyes was unusually sharp, unlike his normal self.

It was the first time I felt intimidated meeting Asrein’s gaze. Instinctively stepping back, I stammered in confusion.

“I-I’m sorry. I just…”

“No. It’s fine.”

His face was anything but fine. Asrein pressed his trembling fingertips against his forehead and remained silent for a while. Then suddenly, turning his back to me, he said:

“I need to step out for a moment.”

“What?”

“I’ll be back soon.”

“Professor…?”

Before I could stop him, Asrein left the hall. Just as I was about to follow, the clear sound of someone tapping a glass rang out. Naturally trapped among the crowd, I couldn’t move.

“Thank you all sincerely for coming today.”

Baron Klaus raised his glass on the platform. The red wine in his glass cast an ominously bright light.