CHAPTER 155…………………………………………….
“I’m back~.”
As soon as I stepped into the house and greeted them, I heard a commotion coming from inside.
“?”
What’s that?
“Yulia, are you there~?”
I raised my voice, but no other sounds came from beyond the hallway. Huh. That’s strange.
“Isaac oppa? Or Ed oppa?”
I asked as I walked down the hallway. Then, another thud-thud, like something had fallen over, echoed.
This time, I could tell exactly where the noise was coming from.
It was Edmond’s study.
“…Who’s there?”
Recently, his study had been partially used as a place for family gatherings, so it wouldn’t be unusual for someone to be there.
But if someone was there, there was no reason to hide without answering me.
‘So, it’s not family… could it be someone else?’
If that were the case, things would be even stranger. Edmond’s study had strict access restrictions.
He had hidden something huge in the basement passage connected to it.
So, could it be that someone who wasn’t family snuck in and was now hurriedly hiding, afraid I might catch them?
“…….”
A strange tension filled the air.
I couldn’t hear any sign of the rest of the family.
I considered calling another servant to check, but if it really was an intruder, there was no benefit in alerting others nearby.
‘Maybe I’ll just check a little?’
If it’s truly dangerous, I can run away later. And even if I fail to escape, well… the worst that happens is another corpse added to the list of ingredients.
‘…My sense of perception is acting a bit weird.’
I never thought I’d be thinking about a human body this way.
Silencing my footsteps, I slowly approached Edmond’s study.
Slide.
I carefully turned the doorknob, and it clicked almost immediately.
It was locked from the inside.
‘So there really is someone in there.’
Thinking that made my tension spike. If I turned the knob any further, the person inside might escape.
‘As quietly as possible.’
After confirming no one was around, I drew out a bit of magic.
Shhhh. The magic slithered into the doorknob and soon solidified into the shape of a key.
Click.
The sound of the door opening echoed.
Swish. I turned the knob, and the gap between the door and the frame slightly widened. Peeking through, all I saw was pitch-black darkness.
I couldn’t see what was inside at all.
‘No choice.’
I exhaled silently and began counting.
One… two… …three!
Bang!
I flung the door open, and the person inside screamed immediately.
“Aaahhh!”
Startled, I screamed as well.
“Aaahhh!”
Immediately, the lights flickered on with a crackle. I realized a face, somewhat similar to mine but not quite, was right in front of me.
“Yulia?”
“Emily?”
We called each other’s names, utterly confused. What on earth was happening?
Only then did I notice the surroundings.
Decorations sparkling so brightly they hurt the eyes, a white tablecloth, and a small cake with crooked lettering saying, “Congrats! Emily’s Return!”
“…Huh?”
Then, Edmond’s head adorned with a flashy party hat, looking at me while pressing the light switch, and Isaac standing next to him painting red streaks on Andrea’s face.
So… this, it seemed…
“Su-surprise!”
I smiled brightly on behalf of my family’s blank expressions. As I spread both hands wide, party poppers on either side went off.
Pop! Bang bang!
“…….”
“…….”
In contrast, the atmosphere in the study sank even deeper.
“Emily.”
“Yeah.”
“I thought I had locked the door. How did you open it?”
“Well… that’s a long story.”
I couldn’t exactly explain in front of Andrea that I drew out magic and solidified it into the shape of a key.
At my answer, Edmond squeezed his eyes shut. Years of experience as Duke Walker were useless when facing a failed surprise party.
Apparently, the family had planned a small welcome party to celebrate my safe return.
I smiled awkwardly and asked,
“Should I pretend I didn’t see it?”
“No way.”
Yulia immediately shot back. Hmm, that figures.
Scratching my cheek and smiling awkwardly, Yulia let out a small sigh and grabbed my hand.
“Here! Put this on, hold this.”
She placed a party hat on my head and handed me the cake.
“Congratulations on returning safely to your family, Emily.”
Yulia hugged me tightly. I almost dropped the cake.
Holding it in one hand, I barely managed to keep it safe.
“I want to do it too, I want to do it too!”
Then Andrea lunged at me, creating another moment of crisis, but I somehow managed.
“I’m so glad my sister woke up safely… I missed you!”
Andrea’s heartfelt words made my chest tighten. Oh, my.
I wasn’t the only one moved. Isaac sniffled and, unable to resist, ran toward us.
“Ah! Isaac oppa, you’re heavy!”
“Bear with it, little one. It’s the weight of love…!”
He ignored Andrea’s complaints, tears welling in his eyes. I couldn’t help it.
With three people holding onto me, I teetered dangerously.
“What are you doing, Ed! Hurry up!”
“Huh?”
Wait, Andrea. Adding one more person now is a bit…
Before I could say anything, Edmond sneaked closer as if waiting for this moment.
“Hmm. All this….”
And yet, he kept glancing at us, clearly disappointed he couldn’t join. Well, it can’t be helped.
“Hurry up, Ed oppa.”
I gestured with my other hand, and Edmond hesitated before finally standing with us.
Then we tilted, unable to hold ourselves, and began to lean dangerously!
“Wha-what?!”
Yulia tried to escape, but everyone was tangled together, making it impossible.
No, more importantly…
“The cake!”
I shouted, and Isaac responded.
“Throw it! I’ll catch it!”
There was no time to think. I tossed the cake into the air!
One flip, two flips. Time felt like ten minutes. The cake spun twice midair and started falling to the floor…
“Got it!”
…Just in time, Isaac snatched it!
“Phew.”
“Wow, Isaac oppa, your reflexes are insane. I’ll admit it this time.”
Even Yulia clapped. Isaac, feeling proud, scratched the back of his neck with one hand.
“This is just the basics~.”
I mean, holding the cake in one hand.
Thud!
“…….”
“…….”
Isaac, hit in the face by the cake, kept his eyes shut and said nothing. We exchanged glances, stayed silent for a moment, then burst out laughing.
“Ah~! This slapstick is insane! You did it on purpose, didn’t you? Huh? You did it on purpose!”
“Don’t laugh….”
Yulia laughed, clutching her stomach. Isaac muttered something low, embarrassed, but nobody seemed to care.
Andrea giggled and scooped some whipped cream off Isaac’s face, popping it into her mouth.
Edmond, trying to hold back his laughter, turned his head and shivered.
I suppressed my own laughter and patted Isaac on the shoulder.
“It’s okay, Isaac oppa. You caught the cake, didn’t you? Haha.”
“You’re the worst, Emily…”
Isaac mumbled weakly. We couldn’t resist laughing loudly together.
I wiped the tears welling up at the corners of my eyes and murmured,
“Really… you don’t even leave me time to think about anything else.”
Thanks to them, all lingering thoughts vanished. I looked at my family and smiled brightly.
“Ah, let’s do that! That! The cheer we made before. Andrea, you taught me, right?”
“Yeah! I know it too!”
At Yulia’s prompt, Andrea raised her hand and shouted first.
“We are!”
I immediately recognized what Yulia was about to say. The cheer we had used when sneaking into the royal corpse storage before.
“…Family!”
—Later scene—
Wiiiiiing.
Flies crawled over the meat. With a flick of a hand, they all flew off, then slowly returned.
“Tch. These damn flies are driving me crazy!”
“I-I’ll do it…! Y-You rest, okay?”
Hermann gripped Penelope’s hand tightly and begged. She handed him a shovel with an air of generosity.
“Fine, do that.”
“Y-Yes! Th-thank you. I-I’ll do it!”
Penelope turned sharply and walked back with heavy steps.
“Ugh, this is annoying. How long do I have to keep doing this?”
A man hiding in the darkness was asked. Deep navy eyes shone from beneath his robe.
The man, Claude, tapped his thigh with his fingertips and smiled.
“It won’t be long.”
He looked up at the night sky and continued.
“The right time will come soon.”
