Chapter 07
After a short while, Killian produced a cheesy potato gratin that looked like something out of a foreign movie.
There was probably a proper dining room somewhere in the mansion, but we were both hungry and impatient, so we decided to eat right there in the kitchen.
I took a bite of the gratin Killian had served me.
“…!”
“How is it? Does it suit your taste?”
“Well… it’s okay.”
In truth, it wasn’t just “okay.” It was better than what you’d get at most high-end restaurants.
“That’s a relief.”
The man who had been joking and acting smug before now looked genuinely pleased.
I didn’t understand why someone so suited to being a chef had been running around as a dark underworld boss.
Killian’s smile, with the corners of his eyes curved upward, was so handsome that I forced my gaze downward and focused on my meal.
“By the way, let’s continue what we were talking about earlier.”
“What talk? The artificial respiration?”
“No, not that. About our… father being executed.”
It felt awkward to call someone I didn’t even know my father.
I also knew that Yurina was the one who knew the most about the Count’s death.
But I wasn’t Yurina—I was Kim Malhee. And Killian was already looking at me suspiciously.
He looked at me intently, spoon in hand.
“Don’t tell me… amnesia?”
“It comes and goes sometimes.”
“I see. Do you remember Lord Mathieu Artur claiming the end of the world?”
“Yes.”
No, I didn’t.
“There were always plenty of people who disliked Lord Mathieu. Even the street kids in Yustiba’s alleys knew of him.”
So Count Artur had been famous. Well, he was the royal magician, after all.
“People might have called him the Mad Magician. The problem was that he supposedly had a negative influence on the country after the Emperor fell into chaos.”
“But the world did end, just like Dad said.”
“True. Nobody believed it at the time, though.”
Killian shrugged and drank some water.
“You didn’t believe it either?”
“Me? Of course I thought it was nonsense.”
“You say that in front of the mad daughter quite boldly.”
“Sorry. Did that upset you?”
“No, not really.”
I never would have guessed that Yurina had such a past. But was her father really a prophet?
“Just kidding. But I thought there was some possibility. After all, some of Lord Mathieu’s predictions did come true.”
“For example?”
Killian said nothing, only observing me. Frustrated, I asked:
“Were you acquainted with my dad?”
“I’ve seen his face.”
Maybe he didn’t want to say more. I wanted to press him further but restrained myself.
After that, Killian and I silently finished the remaining gratin.
Once I drank some water and exhaled in satisfaction, he immediately took the dishes and turned away. He put them in the sink and began washing.
Was he really planning to live as a servant in this house for the foreseeable future?
Watching quietly, I noticed him finish washing the dishes skillfully, then he gave a playful smile and asked:
“Were you waiting for me?”
“No. I was watching.”
I answered without smiling. Killian raised one eyebrow and stroked his chin.
“It’d be troublesome if you got obsessed already.”
“You don’t like obsessive women?”
“No. I like them insanely.”
I retorted, refusing to just take it, and he reacted like this again.
I fled from the kitchen. The kitten waddled behind me, and Killian followed leisurely.
“Which room should the cook use starting today?”
He asked while climbing the stairs.
“This one’s free. Take any room.”
“Then I’ll take the room next to Marie’s.”
“…?”
“Why? Too forward on the first day?”
“No, just…”
I nodded reluctantly. I had just recalled his seductive smile as he said he’d come by every night.
Even though I knew he wasn’t serious.
Confused, I creaked my way up to the second floor.
“You really are taking the room next door?”
“Yes.”
I asked again just to be sure, but his decision hadn’t changed. Reaching the hallway lined with bedrooms, I opened the door next to mine.
“Has it been empty for a long time?”
“Seems so.”
I felt Killian’s gaze on me. I groped for the light switch on the wall, and the room lit up.
The empty room, with no sign of prior use, was dusty enough to see in the light.
Cobwebs hung in every corner, and the white bedding had faded so much its original color was barely recognizable.
“You’re going to sleep here?”
“Not tonight, I think. What should we do?”
“Sleep at the entrance, or the hallway is clean too.”
I should be grateful that he was allowing me to stay in the mansion.
I left him and carried the kitten, which had been lying in the hallway, back to my room.
“Yaaaawn…”
Full and warm with the cute kitten in my arms, sleepiness began to creep in.
So many things had happened today.
From waking up in this room for the first time to recalling Killian threatening my life, everything swirled through my mind as I drifted off.
…Or at least I wanted to. I held the dagger he had given me tightly and kept my eyes open, unsure when he might change his attitude.
When I woke again, the world outside had turned gray.
“…?”
Meow?
It wasn’t a natural disaster. The kitten was just lying on my face.
I moved it aside, got up, and drew the curtains. The deep blue sky was slowly lightening toward early morning.
After washing up and changing into fresh pajamas, I stepped into the hallway. Killian was there, cleaning in a lace apron he somehow found.
“…?”
“Good morning. Want some breakfast?”
“Uh? Uh…”
He smiled brightly at me while sweeping the hallway with a long broom.
He didn’t look sinister at all. Right now, he was nothing more than a handsome, strong servant.
“What do you want to eat, Marie?”
“Hmm… rice with sausages?”
“Simple enough. Go wash your hands, and I’ll make it.”
Even though he’s from a foreign world, he can cook rice? Well, rice is eaten everywhere.
I followed Killian downstairs, still astonished.
“Where did you get that apron?”
“I found it in the servants’ quarters. Probably belonged to a maid who worked here before.”
“It suits you.”
“I think so too.”
His frame was too large for the apron, but a handsome man could make anything look good.
“What about the kitten? What does it eat? Yesterday I fed it goat milk.”
“Good. That’s enough for now.”
“Will it eat fish when it’s bigger?”
“Do we even have fish in this house?”
“No, I don’t think so.”
Our conversation was strangely peaceful, like that of an old married couple.
Could one meal together and sleeping under the same roof really make us this close? Perhaps our unique situation made it happen.
I held the handle of the pantry door.
“Have you checked in here?”
“I tried, but it was locked when I tried to open it.”
“The Artur mansion really is a place just for me…”
“That’s right. Without Marie, I might starve to death now.”
I focused less on Killian’s relentless flirting and more on the fact that he had tried to open the pantry without me. He was sneakily searching around. Untrustworthy, indeed.
I brought out sacks of rice, sausages, and goat milk, placed them on the large table, and sat in the rocking chair in the corner.
I planned to skim through the diary a bit more today.
“I wish we could eat vegetables too.”
Killian poured goat milk into a bowl for the kitten. Now that we were a bit more settled, his desires seemed to grow.
I wanted fresh salad too.
“They spoil quickly. There’s nothing we can do.”
I opened the diary. With a potentially dangerous housemate who might betray me at any moment, I needed to start learning the mansion’s layout.
But first, something caught my attention.
“Killian! Look at this! They grow herbs, lettuce, and all sorts of vegetables in the greenhouse!”
Killian, who had been washing rice, quickly wiped his hands on his apron and came over. I handed him the diary, seeing him take cooking seriously.
“Look here. If you go out the back door on the first floor, there’s a greenhouse in the center of the mansion…”
“What am I supposed to see, Marie?”
He squinted his red eyes at me. I pointed to the map drawn in the diary, but Killian just tilted his head.
“To me, it just looks blank.”
