His will, enduring pain and overcoming adversity for his goals while suppressing all his desires, could only be described as strong.

Since ‘that incident’ over ten years ago, his master had hidden himself in the mire, waiting for the right moment.

Without collapsing even once, maintaining a dignified posture.

Chris Gunther had the honor of being with him through every step of the process toward that moment he desired.

Chris felt pride in being able to move for him. But there was a place where his master let down his guard. A place where he shed all his masks and lived with his pure, unadorned face.

That place was here, Lumiere Lashantia’s mansion.

He cherished her so much that he disguised it so no one would know how much he loved her. His master cared for that woman, Lumiere Lashantia, to such an extent. Observers couldn’t deny it was love.

But it was also so complex that it couldn’t be simply wrapped in the sweet word ‘love.’ And something had happened to Lumiere Lashantia.

Chris felt a stronger sense of tension than ever before.

‘Things are going to get busy.’

Whether it was truly an accident or not, Chris was bound to get busy with matters related to this. Karl watched Nore Lyman move beyond the window.

Soon, the carriage carrying him departed.

As he watched the shadow of the departing carriage, Karl spoke in a calm voice.

“Are you the one who brought my painting?”

Chris stepped back to allow the woman standing behind him to step forward. The woman, who had been quietly standing with her hands folded, took a step toward Karl.

“My name is Tamia Moom.”

Petite, with exotic features and eyes so deep, it was hard to gauge her age. Karl slowly turned his head and narrowed his eyes at her.

“A face I’m seeing for the first time at this mansion.”

At his polite tone, Tamia bowed her head even deeper and spoke.

“I met Miss Lumiere at the square about ten days ago, and at her request, I came to the mansion.”

“She’s not one to suddenly increase her servants…”

“I stayed at the Lashantia mansion briefly as a nanny when Miss Lumiere was young. She remembered me and called me to her side.”

At Tamia’s words, Karl’s eyes briefly widened as if he remembered something.

‘When I couldn’t sleep, the nanny would hold my hand and sing to me like this. Then, miraculously, I’d fall right asleep and sleep soundly until late.’

The voice of Lumiere, whispering while holding his hand and singing, echoed in his ears.

Her voice was infinitely sweet, yet she couldn’t keep the pitch or rhythm, which made his sleepiness vanish.

‘Don’t laugh and go to sleep, Karl. Or you try singing.’

Lumiere, who would hug and soothe him while grumbling.

…My Lumiere.

Karl looked at Tamia with darkened eyes and moved. Just one step, standing at that distance, he put his hands in his pockets and stared at her intently.

“My secretary said you had something to say when you delivered the painting… Could you tell me again?”

His tone was infinitely polite, but there was a subtle pressure in his demeanor. Tamia lowered her gaze as if avoiding his eyes and spoke.

“I asked you to protect Miss Lumiere.”

“What exactly do you mean by that?”

“On the first day I arrived, Miss Lumiere told me she felt threatened. She said she received an unwelcome commission and was pressured not to refuse it.”

As soon as he heard Tamia’s words, Karl’s face hardened.

He didn’t need to ask who it was.

‘Landers Tartien.’

Karl’s hand, which was in his pocket, clenched. But he hadn’t lost his composure yet. Karl spoke again in a lower voice.

“I heard Lumiere painted a portrait for Tartien. If they pressured her to paint, wasn’t it over once she accepted the commission?”

Tamia hesitated before speaking with difficulty.

“Even after the commission was completed, Miss Lumiere seemed to be, cough, dealing with something distressing.”

As she spoke, Tamia coughed several times as if her throat was choked.

She clutched her scarf-covered neck and slowly caught her breath. For some reason, her previously healthy complexion turned pale in an instant.

“Are you feeling unwell?”

“…No. I have a respiratory condition. It’s chronic, so you don’t need to worry.”

Tamia immediately denied it and lowered her head to hide her face. Karl watched her, looking somewhat suspicious, and asked again.

“I’d appreciate it if you could tell me more about it.”

“I don’t know much more. That’s why I asked the Count for help.”

“What do you mean by help?”

“…In this mansion, ha.”

Tamia swallowed her labored breaths and slowly lifted her head. Her pale face was marked by striking amethyst-colored eyes. Depending on the angle of the light, they seemed to have a reddish hue.

‘…I could have sworn they were a bright brown just a moment ago. Did I see it wrong?’

While Karl felt a chill, she spoke in a strained voice.

“I believe there is a traitor in this mansion.”

Karl’s thoughts came to a halt. Chris, standing behind them, also looked up sharply at Tamia.

Tamia, with a rough but clear voice, pleaded.

“Please, find that traitor.”

* * *

“Danger!”

“Watch out!”

Cindy’s body was tilting. From the second-floor window, down to the first-floor ground.

“Oh my, oh my! Oh my!”

Two similar voices overlapped, followed by successive screams.

Cindy closed her eyes tightly, anticipating the fall.

At that moment, with quick footsteps, two solid bodies instantly embraced and rolled with her.

Thud!

There was definitely a loud sound, but her body didn’t hurt.

When Cindy opened her big eyes, two identical faces were grimacing in front of her.

“Huh? Arwin? Darwin?”

“…Ugh, our witch is pretty heavy, huh? Gained weight?”

At Arwin’s words, Cindy blushed and jumped up.

“I’m very light!”

“Not at all! You’re really heavy!”

“What do you know!”

Cindy, who had been worrying about gaining weight recently, flared up. Darwin, who got up a beat later, straightened Cindy’s disheveled skirt and mediated between them.

“Are you hurt? Why were you so dangerously distracted? If it weren’t for us, you could have been seriously injured.”

“Right. Shouldn’t you thank us first?”

Realizing her mistake, Cindy quickly expressed her gratitude.

“Oh, right! Thanks for saving me, guys. You saved my life. Whew.”

“Geez, took you long enough.”

“Too early, huh? Should’ve waited longer?”

As Arwin, Darwin, and Cindy chatted, the person who had startled Cindy by calling her name came running, out of breath.

“Are you okay, Cindy? Are you hurt? I’m sorry, I didn’t think you’d fall.”

“I’m fine, Laurel. Arwin and Darwin caught me, so I’m not hurt. Did you just start work?”

“Yeah, just got here… I’m really sorry. I called too loudly, didn’t I?”

Cindy smiled, assuring her it was okay. It seemed the start time overlapped as two other non-resident maids came running.

It was Maylene and Tacey. Their faces were pale, probably having heard something alarming.

“Cindy! Cindy Cindy! They said Miss had an accident? Is she okay?”

“Oh, right! I was going to ask about that. I forgot. So, Miss had an accident yesterday?”

“And that black carriage over there, it’s ‘his,’ right? Did he come? Finally?”

Cindy instinctively squinted and covered her ears at the barrage of questions. Their voices were so loud they echoed through the courtyard.

“Ugh. Please, be quiet. You’ll wake Miss who just fell asleep.”

Cindy raised her hand to her lips, calming the three who were pressing her.

“Okay, I’ll be quiet. Shh!”

“Shh!”

The Lashantia mansion had both resident and non-resident servants.

These three were the non-resident servants who commuted from their homes.