KTEESH Chapter 119

No, perhaps it was because slaves weren’t bought with money in the first place, so there were no separate costs involved — in terms of a normal business, there was no such thing as production cost — which meant they might not have recorded it from the beginning.

‘It would be good to uncover even that, but since trafficking slaves alone would earn them the maximum sentence, it’s not a major issue.’

So, although the downfall of House Lansval was inevitable anyway, I decided to investigate the methods by which they acquired slaves later, step by step.

If I added those charges as well, it would prevent that Gerald bastard from being released on parole later on, just in case.

Perhaps just recalling that experience was frightening, because Sally’s voice and hands trembled faintly. I tightly held her hand.

“It’s alright now, Sally. Just like you said, we’re in the safety of the ducal estate, so something like that will never happen to you again.”

She nodded at my words, then suddenly lifted her head as if something had occurred to her.

“Ah, right. I heard you almost went through something terrible yesterday too, my Lady.”

“Yeah. You heard it from the Duke.”

“Yes. He said I needed to know. Because from now on, I will be serving you exclusively!”

“What?”

For a moment, I was so happy that I covered my mouth with my hand. Sally, her face brightened, said proudly.

“I heard you were coming, so I begged them to let me be the one to serve you!”

‘But…’

Looking at her, who seemed excited, I spoke carefully.

“I’d love to live together with you again, but I’m only planning to stay here briefly before leaving.”

“Why?”

I briefly explained to Sally that I would soon be breaking off my engagement and that I would be leaving far away afterward. At that, her head tilted in confusion.

“Still… it would be nice if you stayed here forever.”

For some reason, I sensed a familiar hint of Ris in her — that slightly unhinged devotion toward House Blake.

“Did you like it here, Sally?”

As expected, her eyes lit up and she rattled off words like a rapid-fire volley.

“I love House Blake, my Lady! The work system is well organized, the pay is high, and the Master doesn’t treat the servants carelessly either. I have decided to work here for the rest of my life, you know? If you stayed here with me forever, my Lady, I would have no more wishes!”

Did House Blake give some kind of mental conditioning to their servants? Why was every single one of them like this…

Rubbing my forehead, I suddenly recalled one important fact.

‘Come to think of it, both Ris and Sally owe Rastan their lives.’

In that case, it wasn’t hard to understand their near-fanatical loyalty.

“I’m really glad you found a place you want to work at for life, Sally. But I have things I need to do outside.”

“I do not know what it is, but can you not do it from here?”

Like Master, like servant. Seeing her ask the exact same question as Rastan, a faint smile slipped out.

If it were any other matter, I’d try to handle it from here as much as possible, but since what I wanted to do was “to live happily ever after with Rosie,” there was no helping it.

“Yeah. I don’t know how long it’ll be, but at least while I’m here, let’s live happily, the two of us.”

Sally looked like she couldn’t understand why I’d leave such a nice place, but since I couldn’t explain any further, I changed the subject.

“By the way, there’s something I’m curious about regarding this room.”

“Yes?”

“Is this really the only vacant guest room in the manor right now?”

“What? Of course not. Almost all the rooms in the annex are guest rooms, and even here in the main building there are more than just one or two.”

‘Just as I thought…’

Since I was asking anyway, I should confirm one more thing.

“By any chance, is the annex under construction right now?”

“No? I even went there this morning to help with cleaning.”

My head rang as if I’d been struck hard from behind.

Since the head butler would never dare to lie to his Master, it was safe to assume that this had been done on Rastan’s orders.

‘But why, exactly…?’

Then Sally continued, answering the earlier question.

“Oh, and this isn’t a guest room either.”

“Then what is it?”

“It’s the Duchess’s room! You didn’t know it was connected to the Duke’s room?”

“What? Kh—cough, cough, cough!”

So startled that I sharply inhaled, I ended up choking and coughing for quite a while.

‘That explains it. No matter how much it was meant for a distinguished guest, I kept wondering why a guest room would be right next to the Head of the household’s bedroom…’

Sally patted my back and pointed to a door in the corner beside the bed, one I hadn’t noticed the previous night.

“If you open that door, it is the Duke’s bedroom. The previous Duke and Duchess must have had a very good relationship.”

I completely forgot about coughing and just stood there with my mouth hanging open. Not just the next room — he had given me a room that was actually connected to his own bedroom?

“Th-then when other guests come, they don’t usually stay in this room?”

“There are hardly any guests to begin with. While I have been here, my Lady, you were the first guest. And besides, this room isn’t a guest room.”

Shaking her head, Sally went on to explain what had happened earlier that dawn.

“While we were asleep, they suddenly called everyone together and said that a very important guest would be arriving, so we were to prepare the Duchess’s room, which had been left empty for a long time. We rushed through cleaning, preparing the bedding, changing the furniture, even replacing the curtains — everyone thought we would lose our minds.”

Even so, everyone had been excited, wondering who the guest that would be using the Duchess’s room would be.

“His Grace really does think of you as a special person! So please stay here with us for a long, long time, hm?”

‘You really do live long enough to see everything. To think the day would come when Sally would take Rastan’s side and try to persuade me…’

When evening came, I once again sat at the dining table with Rastan, who was dressed neatly.

“It looks like you have been working all day again. You must be tired.”

I said it remembering how he had mentioned earlier that he hadn’t slept well. But surprisingly, his expression was bright.

“My body is a little tired, but I am in a good mood, so I feel energized.”

“Did something good happen?”

“The fact that you finally came to my manor. I was overflowing with happiness all day.”

Hearing that he was so happy just because I had decided to stay in this manor for a while made me feel strange.

As if I were someone very important to him.

“Even though we are not engaged and I am only staying briefly?”

“If you had entered this household after becoming engaged to me, I might have been so happy I would have died by now.”

I was a little taken aback by how he no longer even pretended to hide his desire for an engagement. Then, suddenly thinking of Ris, I asked.

“Oh, right. Did Ris return safely?”

“Yes. She came back safely at dawn.”

“Did she happen to find any clues about who was behind those assailants?”

At that, Rastan’s face darkened.

“She tried to bring one or two of them back for that purpose… but after we left, when she went down to the yard, she found that they were all dead.”

“What?”

Startled by the completely unexpected turn of events, my voice rose. Rastan calmly continued his explanation.

“Certainly, their bones were broken and they had lost consciousness, but they were not in a critically wounded state.”

“Then…”

“In the meantime, either someone killed them, or they took their own lives after collapsing.”

Sometimes, among assassins, there were those trained to take their own lives if captured.

A chill ran through my entire body.

“What incredible secret is it… for that many people to have to die just to conceal who was behind it?”

Rastan nodded with a troubled expression.

“Indeed. It has made our investigation more difficult as well, but we will find a way somehow, so please do not worry too much.”

“I am sorry to ask this of you, but please.”

It was something I had already decided to leave in his hands anyway. After giving a small bow, I brought up the question I had wanted to ask him.

“Rastan, it seems like you lied to me earlier at lunch. About the room I am staying in.”

Perhaps realizing that I had no intention of accusing him aggressively, Rastan answered with a slightly brighter expression.

“Ah. So you found out it was the Duchess’s room. I was not trying to deceive you; I simply wanted to give you the best room.”

“I am grateful that you treat me as an honored guest, but the Duchess’s room is a bit too much…”

“What troubles you about it?”

Was he really asking?

“Because I am not your wife…?”

“…For now, that is.”