“Good. The sturdy chair doesn’t seem to need fixing, so what should we do next?”

Fortunately, the young master quickly turned his attention elsewhere. Emily told him what she was supposed to do.

“I need to dry the books.”

“All those books, by yourself?”

“Yes. It won’t take long.”

Emily answered with her head down. Pushing the young master out of her field of vision made it somewhat easier to speak, thanks to the slightly diminished sense of awe.

“Good. Your hands will be busy, but you can still talk with me, right?”

Unable to refuse or agree, Emily quickly moved her body. She started pulling books from the bottom shelf and laying them one by one on the sunlit floor when the young master laughed.

“No, don’t lay the books flat—stand them up. So air can flow between the pages, like this.”

While he demonstrated personally, Emily couldn’t hide her bewilderment. What could possibly be his reason for showing such kindness?

No matter how much she thought about it, nothing came to mind. She didn’t know any secrets about the Tollum region, nor was she a spy sent by someone.

The noble gentleman sat down on the floor himself and began opening the books she had stacked, gesturing to her.

“Come on, go get more.”

It couldn’t be because these were particularly cherished books. Nor could it be because he had great enthusiasm for cleaning. 

Every assumption Emily could think of made no sense whatsoever. About as much sense as the delusion that the young master might actually be a spirit living in the attic rather than human.

“I’ll do it myself.”

“It’ll finish faster if we do it together.”

Emily hesitated for a moment. It would really be problematic if he stayed sitting here. So she reluctantly spoke words that felt wrong to say.

“Someone else might come up. If you, young master…”

She had only spoken out of concern that his noble dignity might be damaged by sitting on the floor.

The young aristocrat looked up at her. A brief silence passed, and as she glanced sideways at him, she screamed silently in her mind.

“Arthur.”

“…”

“I told you my name, didn’t I?”

Why hadn’t anyone told her that his madness was of this particular variety? Though really, who would bother explaining their master’s weaknesses in detail to someone from Tollum?

The young master clearly showed the same symptoms as princes in old tales who wanted to pretend to be commoners.

“Yes, Arthur.”

“Good. Then I’ll just watch.”

Fortunately, the young master got up and walked toward the window. With the distance between them, Emily felt more at ease and busily moved and arranged the books.

“But no one will come up yet anyway.”

“Excuse me?”

“I checked everything.”

Not knowing how to respond to these cryptic words, Emily continued moving her body. But the young master’s strange words and behavior continued as well.

“Emily. Have you ever been to a theater?”

“No. I haven’t.”

“I see… Do you have hobbies like watching plays or reading novels?”

Though puzzled, Emily answered in the most polite tone possible.

“I’m sorry, but I’m not well-educated enough to be a proper conversation partner on such topics.”

“You really speak well. You know more difficult words than I expected.”

She hadn’t expected to receive such praise. Moreover, the noble’s questions didn’t end there.

“Have you and your family always lived only in Tollum?”

Wondering if this was an interview, Emily bowed her head and answered respectfully.

“Yes, I was born and raised here. My father worked in the coal mine until he died in an accident.”

“Strange. You seem to have a Surphis accent.”

Emily paused, but since accent wasn’t something she could excuse with the pastor and his wife like last time, she had no choice but to answer truthfully.

“My mother apparently worked in that region for a long time before.”

“Which family? Somehow, when you said ‘not well-educated enough,’ you sounded just like someone from that region.”

“It wasn’t a noble house at all—she said it was a merchant’s house.”

Emily answered as she had heard, and the young master thought for a moment before questioning again.

“Anyway, yes. What kind of place is Tollum?”

How should she answer to make him satisfied enough to leave the attic? After brief consideration, Emily replied.

“We don’t eat rats, and the last murder in Tollum was seven years ago, so security isn’t that bad. However, it’s true that since we can’t afford to buy coal, every household picks up scraps from around the mine to use.”

Then the young master, who had somehow come closer, burst into quiet laughter.

“You have an interesting personality.”

“Thank you for the compliment.”

“It would be even better if you looked this way while talking.”

Oops. Had she avoided eye contact too much, making it seem like she was hiding something? 

Emily had no choice but to step back and turn her head toward the young master. But she couldn’t quite meet his gaze, so she looked only at his lips.

“So, how is working here?”

“I only worry that my shortcomings might be a burden to others, but everything is good. Everyone here is so refined—”

Oops. Seeing the young master’s lips stiffen, her answer must have been wrong. Come to think of it, hadn’t he shown symptoms of delusions that everyone here was strange? 

Emily hurriedly added, “Of course, I’m just a worker, so I only do what I’m told.”

“Really?”

The young master turned his head and muttered quietly.

“Working here is good.”

Emily felt her breathing quicken with tension. Why had she said something so foolish in front of the very person she shouldn’t make mistakes with?

She blamed herself, but with her attention divided between accent, gaze, standing position, and distance, a formulaic answer had slipped out without her realizing it. 

Moreover, now she had to suppress even her breathing sounds, worried that the noise from her rapid breathing might displease him.

But an even more bewildering question was added to this.

“Do you have someone you’re seeing? Oh, do you call them a boyfriend?”

Emily gathered herself and spoke. When an employer asked such questions, the reason was obvious.

“Absolutely not. I don’t even have friends, let alone someone I’m seeing, and there’s no one in my family who would follow me here. My mother is unwell and my brother is young—”

If the noble gentleman was worried that rats from Tollum might invade or multiply in the manor, she could say with certainty that they had that much sense at least.

“No, no.”

The noble shook his head with a smile.

“I’ve never been to Tollum, but you’re probably the only one there who would speak with that manner of speech, aren’t you?”

“…”

“Ah, Emily. So that’s why you have no friends.”

She bit her lips tightly, but the young master seemed to be marveling at something unexpected.

“I actually thought you were just spouting words carelessly because you found me bothersome, but all your statements were truthful.”

“How could I dare?”

“I’m talking about your truthfulness right now. What if you lie immediately?”

The young master had seriously misunderstood. She didn’t feel bothered at all—she just wanted to avoid the traps hidden everywhere.

But explaining this would likely offend the noble, so Emily frantically waved her hands.

“No, that’s not it.”

The young master, standing among the densely arranged books, smiled bitterly.

“I’d prefer if you didn’t lie.”

This was a danger signal. Startled, Emily thought repeatedly. She couldn’t be branded as a cunning schemer by her master.

“I’ve never harbored such feelings.”

To add sincerity to her next statement, Emily raised her gaze up to the young master’s nose bridge.

“I’m just afraid I might make some mistake before you, young master. I’m so uneducated, and also—”

“Emily. A mistake?”

The young master’s voice became much brighter. Thank goodness.

“Let’s do this. I don’t have friends either.”

No, it wasn’t good news. A harbinger of greater misfortune was approaching.

“You don’t have friends either.”

Oh God. Please, not those words…

“How about it. Let’s be friends.”

But her desperate prayer didn’t reach heaven. Though really, none of Emily’s prayers throughout her life had ever been answered. She felt despair while constantly wondering what expression she should make.

“How could I dare?”

“Arthur and Emily are friends now.”

The unapproachable person had bestowed excessive honor upon her.

“Friends cover for each other’s mistakes. Now, can you treat me more comfortably from now on?”

It would be better if he could draw the line for what mistakes could be covered. Besides breathing nearby, how far was she allowed to go?

“Though since you don’t have friends either, you probably don’t know right away. So…”

The young master was about to add something when he paused and frowned.

Emily glanced around nervously. Seeing him move toward the door, had he finally come to his senses?

But such luck hadn’t arrived yet. Even while leaving, he kindly left her with a parting word.

“It was nice to talk more today.”

While she pondered what words to use to thank him for this excessive honor, the one who had forced friendship upon her left the attic.

* * *

Arthur’s face became completely expressionless as he returned to his room.

Even though the medicine he’d been forced to take had run out, the tinnitus was becoming more frequent rather than less. He couldn’t tell if it was simple withdrawal symptoms or another side effect.

Meanwhile, that woman rarely had moments alone, and even when he managed to catch an opportunity, she was completely guarded and wouldn’t even make eye contact. 

He had left room for possibilities just in case, but at this rate, that country girl would be about as useful as a gamekeeper.