Chapter 29
“Hnnngh…”
May’s face crumpled as she begged pitifully.
“If I have to carry all this luggage up those stairs, I’ll die for sure!”
“You won’t die from that.”
“So coldhearted, my lady.”
May faked tears, stalling at the bottom of the spiral staircase that seemed to stretch on forever.
Normally, any building taller than three floors had an elevator.
That’s exactly why this place was so cheap, I thought grimly.
I patted her shoulder.
“Just take it slow, May!”
“My lady, at least help me carry—”
“Ahem. And where did that May go, the one who always said, ‘A maid must never let her lady do her work’? The one who prided herself on independence?”
“Ughhh. I hate you, my lady.”
Ignoring her cute little tantrum, I bounded up the stairs.
…Or at least, I tried to.
Unlike Adrian, who was naturally athletic, my body wasn’t built for this. By the time I reached the fifth floor, I was gasping for air.
“Haa… haa… I’m dying…”
I wiped sweat from my forehead with a handkerchief and prayed for the ordeal to end soon.
Finally, I stood before the door marked Mazia Club.
Why does the fifth floor look even worse than the first?
The hallway was filthy, no doubt neglected because of the lack of an elevator.
I’ll have to make May come clean this place sometime…
Of course, she’d scream bloody murder if she heard me say that.
And yes, it’s definitely revenge for last time, I hummed smugly, about to knock—
When a sudden shriek rang out from inside.
“Kyaaah!”
Lottie?
I yanked the door open in shock.
Inside, Lottie Beige was clinging to someone’s back, wailing.
The poor man she was climbing on—half his glasses sliding down his nose—trembled helplessly.
And in front of them…
“Eh?”
A woman was trying to catch a mouse bare-handed.
The instant she was distracted by me, her grip loosened.
The gray mouse darted free—straight toward me.
Our eyes met. Terror mirrored terror.
“KYAAAA! A mouse! A mouse!!”
My scream was even louder than Lottie’s, rattling through the entire clubhouse.
The chaos ended only when May swooped in and caught the fainted mouse with ease.
Holding it up by the tail, she muttered,
“All this fuss over a little thing like this?”
Her eyes gleamed with mischief—and just a touch of resentment for the lady who had abandoned her earlier.
The roles had reversed, and I was forced to grovel.
“Throw it away, May! Please, I’m begging you!”
I backed away as far as possible, terrified she might bring it closer.
May snorted.
“Our lady really is fragile. Fine, I’ll get rid of it.”
She walked off primly with the mouse in hand, leaving the room finally quiet.
Lottie, now back on the ground, gave me a shy wave, her cheeks still flushed with embarrassment.
Then a tall woman stepped forward with an awkward smile, offering her hand.
“Welcome, Lady Rodelia Ferris. I’m Sierra Breeze, leader of Mazia. That trembling one there is Glaster Meyer, our treasurer.”
Glaster hunched his shoulders, hastily pushing his glasses back up.
“Ah, h-hello, Lady Ferris. That—uh—the incident just now, it was extremely rare! Truly, not something that happens often!”
He was still pale and rambling, clearly shaken.
Just then, May returned—slamming the door behind her so hard it detached from the wall.
“…Huh? What’s wrong with this door?”
It had come clean off its hinges. Putting it back was hopeless.
“That’s what happens when someone has superhuman strength,” I said dryly.
“How refreshing. Haha,” May replied, setting the door neatly to the side as if nothing had happened.
Now the room was completely exposed to the hallway.
Glaster’s lips trembled, no doubt worrying about repair costs.
I quickly reassured him.
“Sorry for the damage. I’ll send someone tomorrow to fix it.”
“N-no, you don’t have to—”
“Yes, please do,” Sierra cut him off with a sweet smile.
Then she shot Glaster a glare that clearly said, ‘Unless you’re paying, shut up.’
At least the sofa seemed decent. Sitting down, I sipped the apple cider they served.
“Are these all the members?” I asked.
“Most left recently. At least we still have enough for minimum numbers, thanks to two new recruits,” Sierra explained.
“I see.”
“There’s actually one more member, but… he rarely shows up. More trouble than he’s worth, really.”
“A ghost member?”
“Closer to a nuisance,” Sierra muttered, frowning.
That was when I spotted movement outside the window.
Wait… isn’t this the fifth floor?
A shadow was rapidly approaching from outside.
“Uh… oh?”
The figure launched straight toward us, clearly aiming to break in.
“Watch out, my lady!” May cried, shielding me.
Crash!
The window shattered as someone burst inside.
Thankfully, Sierra had already cast a wide-range protective spell, keeping us all safe.
“Damn it… that lunatic again,” she growled, utterly unfazed.
She’d even had time to calculate and deploy a full-scale barrier.
Whoa… impressive. She shielded five people in that instant.
Through the shards of glass, a man landed gracefully before us.
Black hair whipped in the wind, his dark skin offset by eyes even darker—like midnight itself.
He brushed the glass from his clothes, raised a hand, and said casually,
“Yo.”
“‘Yo’ my ass, you menace! How many times have I told you to use the door?!” Sierra roared.
“I told you, I was practicing flying,” he said lazily.
“It’s Sierra, not Jiera! And because of you, nothing in this clubhouse survives intact! Why don’t you just quit already, you nuisance?”
Her fury barely fazed him. He dug a finger in his ear, ignoring her completely.
Meanwhile, Glaster quietly swept up the shards, clearly used to this chaos.
They had their roles down perfectly—it was obvious they’d been through this many times.
“This is insane…” I muttered.
The newcomer’s gaze snapped to me.
“Oh? A newbie?”
He strode over and looked me up and down.
May clenched her fists behind me, bracing for a fight.
“Hey, newbie. Got money?”
His rude tone screamed troublemaker.
Still, I wasn’t exactly normal myself.
“How much do you need?”
I pulled out my wallet. His grin widened.
“How much can you give?”
“This much, for starters.”
I waved a check. His eyes lit up—and even Sierra’s expression shifted.
Glaster actually dropped his dustpan, eyes wet with relief.
Like he’d just seen a savior.
Their reactions made me puff up a little with pride.
Well, if money’s all I’ve got, I might as well use it to fix up this dump.
“Let me know if you need more.”
I’d show them what a true patron looked like.
The man burst out laughing.
“Haha! You’re hilarious. What’s your name? I’ll remember you specially.”
His arrogance didn’t quite match his casual, rough attitude.
Clearly, he wasn’t your typical noble.
“I’m Edwin. Just call me Ed. I hate formalities.”
Edwin Range.
I knew that name.
The villain of this story—the man who would one day become dangerously obsessed with Summer.
