Startled, Lumiere turned slightly and stared at the small window next to the lobby.

‘…Did I hear wrong?’

Holding her breath, she stared into the darkness.

After waiting for a few seconds, she tilted her head and started to turn away.

Tap, tap.

A shadow passed by the window.

“……!”

Lumiere immediately crouched down and silently approached the window.

Listening carefully, the sounds outside became clearer.

‘Someone’s outside.’

It was still too early for Cindy or the twins to be up, and their quarters were in the wings on the first floor.

Could it be Jeffrey from the outer quarters or someone Chris brought?

Holding her breath, Lumiere peered beyond the small window.

It was dark outside, but thanks to the gas lamp in the courtyard, she could vaguely see someone moving busily with something in their hands.

‘Who is that?’

The person wore a deeply pulled-down hat and shabby clothes.

They were slim and short.

Lumiere squinted to see more clearly.

At that moment, the figure turned, and she saw what they were holding.

‘Is that…?’

In the person’s hand were a matchbox and a bundle of oil-soaked rags.

It was clear what they intended to do with those items.

Fire.

More precisely, arson.

Yes, it was definitely arson.

Lumiere’s heart dropped.

She bolted out of her place, shouting like a madwoman.

“Stop there, who are you!”

When she burst through the door and shouted, the intruder looked at her in shock.

But instead of running away, the intruder hastily struck a match and ignited the oil-soaked cloth.

The cloth caught fire instantly.

“No!”

As if not hearing her scream, the small intruder threw the flaming cloth towards the first-floor reception room window with all their might.

* * *

“…Lumiere!”

At the faint sound of Lumiere’s voice, Karl’s eyes snapped open.

‘Where am I? Where is this?’

He reflexively sprang out of the bedroom and dashed towards the first floor without hesitation.

Crash!

The ominous sound of shattering glass followed.

A chill ran down the back of Karl’s neck.

“Lumiere.”

No, no, no, no…!

Whatever happens, nothing must happen to Lumiere.

Nothing, nothing at all!

His keen hearing quickly pinpointed the source of the sound.

Using his long legs, Karl flew down the stairs to the second floor and dashed towards the wide-open front door.

At that moment.

Bang!

A destructive explosion echoed through the quiet mansion like a wild beast’s roar.

“……!”

A momentary silence weighed heavily on the mansion shrouded in darkness.

‘Lumiere!’

A murderous intent gleamed in Karl’s eyes.

Fortunately, she wasn’t far away.

His glowing golden eyes found Lumiere sitting collapsed in front of the entrance.

Fearing she might be hurt, Karl hurriedly checked her condition.

“Are you alright?”

Karl’s eyes turned red as he examined her.

Was this what it felt like for every blood vessel in his body to burst?

His heart pounded as if it would explode, but at the same time, his blood turned ice-cold.

“I-I’m fine. My-my hands are just a bit shaky…”

She showed him her hands, taking deep breaths to calm herself, trying to assure him she was okay.

And seeing her hands, Karl realized where the gunshot had come from.

Between her pale fingers was a sleek silver colt, the same model Karl always carried.

“Oh, right. The fire! We need to put out the fire!”

Lumiere, who had been in a daze, urgently grabbed Karl’s arm with a pale face.

Karl kissed her trembling hand and reassured her.

“It’s alright, Lumiere. There’s no fire.”

He pulled her into his large embrace.

His trembling hands ran through her fiery red hair as he held her tightly.

It’s okay. It’s okay. Lumiere is okay.

Murmuring words, unsure for whom they were meant, Karl held her shoulders firmly.

Thanks to his suffocatingly tight embrace, Lumiere quickly regained her senses.

“The fire…! Is the fire really okay?”

Despite the bold crime, there was no sign of flames inside the broken window.

Two identical shadows flickered inside the broken window.

It seemed the twins had rushed to that spot.

Karl quickly checked Lumiere and the broken window, then looked at the fleeing figure being chased by Gustav.

The intruder, possibly hit by Lumiere’s shot, was clutching one arm and running desperately.

Hearing the sound of an approaching carriage, it seemed they were coming to pick up the intruder.

Karl coldly watched the fleeing figure.

It was a considerable distance, but not out of reach.

Karl placed his hand over Lumiere’s hand, which was holding the gun.

“……?”

Lumiere looked at him in confusion, but his gaze was fixed on the intruder reaching for the carriage.
Click.

The colt’s hammer fell.

He squinted, aligning his sight with the gun.

“…Karl?”

Her voice calling his name was sweet.

Was it the first time in months he had heard his name?

Karl tightened his grip around Lumiere’s waist and smiled softly at her.

Then he turned his gaze back and pulled the trigger in an instant.

Bang!

Once again, the sharp gunshot echoed through Lumiere’s courtyard.

“Argh!”

The intruder, hit by the bullet, collapsed forward with a death cry.

But unfortunately, the rapidly approaching carriage reached the fallen intruder.

The door swung open, and a hand emerged from the darkness, pulling the intruder in.

“Damn it! Stop right there!”

Gustav, who had been in close pursuit, gritted his teeth and threw his dagger.

The dagger embedded itself in the rump of the running horse.

— Neigh!

The horse, startled by the sudden pain, snorted violently and bolted forward.

The carriage quickly disappeared into the dawn darkness.

* * *

The mansion was in chaos.

Everyone, including the twins, Cindy, and Jeffrey, rushed out to assess the situation.

“Wh-what on earth is going on?”

“You seem very shaken. Please have some warm tea first. Your hands are cold, Miss.”

Tamia wrapped Lumiere in a thick blanket and quickly handed her a cup of warm tea.

Thanks to that, her ice-cold hands began to warm up.

“Thank you, Tamia.”

Meanwhile, Karl was receiving reports from the twins, who had assessed the situation.

“Normally, it should have been blocked by wooden shutters, but only that spot was open. They wrapped the oil-soaked cloth in a stone and broke the glass.”

“But the strange thing is, we found this hidden under the window with the wooden shutters open.”

Arwin brought out a box filled with newspapers.

The top part was slightly burned but hadn’t completely turned to ashes.

“We were lucky. If it hadn’t been discovered quickly, it could have turned into a big fire.”

Someone had deliberately placed it there.

As if they knew a fireball would be thrown there.

“It seems to be the work of someone inside the mansion.”

“That’s strange. I cleaned the reception room last night. There was nothing like this when I last checked…”

Cindy looked at the paper box with a worried expression.

Of course, Lumiere knew Cindy hadn’t placed that box there.

But… then who on earth did it?

The half-burned paper box seemed ready to engulf her in flames at any moment.

Lumiere shivered and quickly turned her head away.

She looked around the intact mansion interior, marveling as she muttered.

“But how did such an oil-soaked fireball not spread the fire elsewhere?”

“Everything in this mansion is treated to be fireproof.”

It was Karl who answered.