CDMGS 33🌻

Chapter 33

“Wouldn’t it require the Duke’s permission for someone to enter the manor?”

I was merely the head maid. What authority did I have?
At this rate, it was no different than attempting to break into the manor—
and not even through the front or back gates, but through the storage shed of all places.

The man, however, pressed on with unwavering confidence.

“Your permission is enough.”

“…My permission?”

“Yes.”

I mulled over his words, soft and coaxing like someone soothing a child.

Of course, with the Duke’s orders, I had no intention of opening the door. Not even a little.
But the question lingered—why on earth was this man suddenly in the Vermanion manor’s storage?

That was the puzzle to solve first.

“Oh, I just arrived.”

He said he had “just” arrived.

Assuming my deduction was right, let’s untangle the threads.
This man—he was the Duke’s only close friend, the wizard.

A wizard… wait. Could it be?

“Did you perhaps try teleporting and end up in the wrong place?” I asked nervously.

“Well… something like that,” he replied vaguely.

I knew it!
His answer was a little evasive, but the pieces started falling into place.

No matter how many letters he sent, the Duke never replied.
So, desperate to reconcile, he must have attempted teleportation directly into the manor.
But as skilled as he was, he couldn’t rival the Duke.
He must’ve fallen into one of the Duke’s traps and gotten himself locked in the storage.

“The Duke foresaw this, and that’s why he ordered me not to open the door.”

Brilliant. Truly, he was a great archmage.

Awestruck, I covered my mouth with my hand—
forgetting that it wasn’t empty.

Crash!
The cleaning tools I was holding spilled everywhere, clattering loudly.

From inside, silence—perhaps flustered silence.
Embarrassed, I scrambled to gather them back into my arms.

As I straightened, my eyes caught on the storage door’s handle.

The handle had not moved once since he began speaking.
But when I glanced down, I noticed the key ring sticking out of my pocket.

The door wasn’t locked yet.

“He thinks it’s locked.”

I swallowed hard. If he pulled the handle from inside, the door would open easily.
And the moment I pressed the key to the lock, he might just fling it wide open.

Better confirm his motives first.

“Why did you come here?”

“To reconcile with the Duke,” he answered immediately.

Just as I expected. But… wasn’t that answer a little too fast?
Almost as if he’d been waiting for me to ask.

Before I could ponder further, a faint rustle of cloth sounded from inside.

“I even brought several kinds of tea leaves for tea time.”

That… admittedly made me curious.

If I left him here, he’d probably linger in the cold storage, maybe even cry before finally leaving.
No one else was scheduled to fetch cleaning tools today.

But—hadn’t the Duke ordered me not to open the door?

“I’m sorry, but I can’t open it for you.”

“You don’t have to open it. The Duke only said, ‘Do not open the door,’ didn’t he?”

“How do you know that…?”

“Because we were close enough for me to know.”

So close, huh?
Close enough to predict each other’s actions, word for word?

That was… unsettling.

My arms relaxed a little, though, still burdened with the pile of tools.

His voice turned pleading.

“Surely you won’t abandon me here alone in this cold storage?”

“Well, that’s…”

I stalled for time, pretending to deliberate.
But I had no intention of opening the door.

This was Vermanion Manor.
The Duke’s word was law.

Besides, if he’d arrived by magic, he could surely leave the same way.

Then—something else.
A faint, eerie sound drifted through the wood.

I pressed my ear to the door.

It was… almost identical to the strange laughter of the manor’s monsters.

“You said yes—just now,” he whispered.

“Wha—? No, that’s not what I—”

Click.

Before I could defend myself, the handle turned.

“What—!”

I jumped back, flattening myself against the far wall.

Bang!

The man kicked the door open with force, as though to make a point.

With one hand, he swept back his black hair, his crescent eyes locking on me.
His grin carved deep dimples into his cheek—but it wasn’t charming.

It was predatory.

He was smiling like a predator toying with prey.

“Thank you for granting me permission, Head Maid.”

Instead of advancing, he bowed with the elegance of a noble.

And true enough, he held multiple pouches of tea leaves in his gloved hand.

But how was this permission?

Just because I’d said “yes” at some point?
That was absurd.

I clamped my lips shut and studied him from head to toe.

Something was off.

He must have noticed I’d caught on, because he tilted his head and smiled.

“Allow me to introduce myself properly.”

Gone was his plain attire. Now, he was immaculately dressed in a tailored black suit and tie.

Not the garb of a nobleman—

“I am the butler of Vermanion Manor.”

The attire of a butler.

My mind reeled as words from the rulebook resurfaced:

“3. There is no butler in this manor.
If anyone claims to be one, ignore them and knock twice on the Duke’s office door.”

…A butler?
The butler who supposedly didn’t exist?

And I remembered the Q&A clearly:

Q: What happens if I break the rules?
A: Correct! You’ll be expelled from here!

My thoughts spiraled in panic.
I forced myself to breathe.

Think of the rules.

If someone claims to be the butler—ignore them. Knock on the Duke’s office door.

Without hesitation, I spun around and bolted down the corridor, ignoring his honeyed smile.

“Head Maid, how could you abandon me like this?”

His voice followed, dripping with wounded sorrow.
But I did not look back.

No matter what, I couldn’t get expelled. Not from here.

The pay was good, the meals were delicious, the work satisfying.
I’d fully adapted.

And now, of all times, the question I’d once dared to ask the Duke returned to haunt me.

What happens if you break the rules?

I dashed down the hallway, tears streaming from regret and determination.

“Head Maid? …Th-that man—!”

I leapt two steps at a time up the staircase.

“H-how are you here…!”

Finally, panting, I reached the Duke’s office door.
My lungs burned, but I raised my trembling fist.

I had to knock.

“Didn’t you already grant me permission, Head Maid?”

“Eek!”

A whisper right by my ear.

I shrieked, stumbling back onto the floor with a bruising thud.

Of course—it was him again.
The tea seller.
The man claiming to be the butler.

He stood behind me, hands clasped behind his back, smiling down effortlessly.
Not a single breath short.

He’s a wizard. Did he just float the whole way here while I ran myself ragged?

Cowardly. Absolutely cowardly.

I rubbed my aching backside, glaring up at him.

Those blue eyes I once thought clear now looked like the depths of a treacherous sea.

But I couldn’t stop here.

Still seated, I raised my hand and knocked.

Knock, knock.

“Knock twice on the Duke’s office door.”

I had followed the rule.

At last, the door opened.

I lifted my head—and there it was. The Duke’s white hair, swaying lightly.

Relief washed through me, my face lighting up.

“Duke!”

But his expression twisted into something unrecognizably grim.

“Shasha.”

“Duke! I didn’t break the rules! He opened the door himself, claimed to be the butler, and so I knocked twice just like the rule said!”

I knew what the Duke would say.
So I pointed at the man beside me and shouted before he could.

If I made myself look innocent first, maybe it would save me.

The Duke looked utterly dumbfounded.
I could feel the man’s gaze burning into me from the side.

But I stood tall, jabbing my finger at him.

What? I wasn’t lying. Not one bit.

First, I had to survive.

The noble resolution to reconcile them both was already long forgotten.