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Chapter 4 …
“What do you mean?”
“No, you were smiling.”
“Smiling?”
At my out-of-the-blue remark, he returned the most nonchalant question, his face having long since reverted to its usual expressionless state.
“…Never mind.”
I must have seen it wrong. Just like when I thought I heard “Waaah” before. Let’s just blame both my eyesight and hearing.
A self-mocking laugh slipped out. I’d once sworn that nothing in this world could surprise me anymore. Clearly, I’d sworn too soon.
Without another word, we walked down the hall until we reached the central hall. The vast, three-story-high, empty space looked more like a haunted house… or the ruins of some ancient place.
In short, it didn’t look like somewhere living people should be.
“Has it always been like this?”
“No, my lady. When the Duchess was alive, it was much livelier than it is now.”
“Ah… when Mother was alive…”
I tried to recall the days when Ariel’s mother was still around. Unfortunately, Ariel’s memories were fragmented—perhaps because she had been sick since childhood.
Her memories of staying in the main building as a child came only in scattered shards.
I looked around the enormous mansion, which felt not vibrant, but barren. Poor maintenance was one thing, but there wasn’t even the faintest trace of people living here.
Amid the gloomy stillness, Mikhail’s sudden murmur brushed my ear.
“If Madam were alive, the family would never have ended up like this.”
…?
Did I hear that right?
“What did you just say?”
“What do you mean, my lady?”
Ha. This guy, seriously.
I rolled my eyes at his shameless face.
He had an impressive talent for feigning ignorance. Like master, like servant—they really did say birds of a feather flock together.
“Never mind.”
I’d pretend I hadn’t heard it.
I was sure he’d said something about “the state of the family.” But that wasn’t something worth pressing on.
Flashes of my past life as a long-suffering eldest daughter ran through my mind, and my brows drew together.
One lifetime of rolling up my sleeves to fix the household was more than enough. In this life, I wouldn’t care if the place fell apart around me.
My happiness—that alone was my reason for living. Let anyone call me selfish if they wanted.
“My lady.”
“Huh? What?”
“Do you see the staircase ahead?”
Mikhail suddenly stopped. I halted my thoughts and squinted in the direction he meant.
A staircase? Here?
I saw nothing but endless darkness. It was like black paint had been poured across my vision.
“Do I have to see it with my ‘mind’s eye’ or something?”
“This is the pride of the Valienor estate—The Stairway of the Abyss. To eyes unaccustomed to darkness, it may be invisible.”
“…I see.”
The Stairway of the Abyss?
My eyes squeezed shut involuntarily, goosebumps prickling from my scalp down to my toes. It reminded me of the “edgy” trauma my younger siblings in my previous life used to inflict.
I decided right then—not only would I avoid meddling in household matters, I would leave home the moment I came of age.
Just seeing this staircase was proof enough this house wasn’t normal. And anyone who called it “a point of pride” clearly wasn’t right in the head either.
“My lady, if you don’t mind, may I carry you up?”
“How?”
“There is the option of carrying you in my arms or on my back.”
I asked if that was really the best he could offer, then decided being carried in his arms was better.
As soon as I gave permission, Mikhail lifted me with a lightness like I weighed less than a feather. The unexpectedly steady hold was… quite nice.
“Are you uncomfortable, my lady?”
“My body’s not uncomfortable…”
Just your face is, a little. I’m shy around strangers—especially strangers with unfamiliar features.
A perfectly straight profile crossed my vision—so flawless it could be printed in a textbook as the definition of “handsome.”
In an instant, all my confusion and stray thoughts were cut away. The power of handsomeness was truly remarkable. I forgot to even close my mouth as I admired his face.
“My lady, are you all right?”
“Of course.”
More than all right.
Mikhail looked at me with his trademark blank face, then quickly turned his head. For a second, I thought I saw the corner of his mouth twitch upward, but I let it slide.
“We’ve reached the second floor, my lady. Would you like to walk the rest of the way, or continue to the office like this?”
I glanced at the pitch-black second floor and rolled my eyes.
It was far darker than the first floor—so much so that the dim ceiling lights seemed only to be there to tell faces apart.
The floor stretched ahead like a bottomless void. I wouldn’t have been surprised if I fell into a black hole.
“Why is it this dark?”
“It is tradition for the Valienor main family’s second floor to be as black as pitch.”
“…I see.”
So that’s why every Duke of Valienor turns out insane. Environment really is everything.
While I was still digesting his AI-like reply, another perfectly enunciated murmur hit my ears.
“Of course, had Madam been alive, she would have paid no attention to such traditions.”
“…”
This again. Was he doing it on purpose?
I narrowed my eyes at Mikhail, but he just stared ahead with a face of pure innocence.
An awkward silence weighed in the air—until something bright caught my eye.
…What’s that?
A silver object was floating in midair. Like a moonlit cloud drifting across the night sky.
“What is that?”
“That would be Young Master Jeremia.”
…?
I squeezed my eyes shut again. Clearly, this was not a neighborhood where common sense applied.
So the villain-to-be had glow-in-the-dark hair? I racked my memory for any mention in the original story and, thankfully, recalled a line:
“Jeremia’s hair shone more brilliantly at night than in the day. But the self-luminous silver threads were only a backdrop to his beautiful face and pure madness.”
Right. “Silver threads” came up a lot. And now that I saw it, the phrase fit perfectly.
The owner of those silver threads closed the distance between us at a steady pace. My nerves tightening, I clutched Mikhail’s arm.
“My lady, is something wrong?”
“How should I greet him? It’s been so long, it feels awkward…”
He was still my little brother, after all. No need to throw my arms around him and bawl, but a simple greeting seemed right.
At least something out of an English textbook, page one—“I’m fine, thank you, and you?”—would do.
When I gave him a worried look, a flicker of surprise crossed Mikhail’s usually emotionless eyes.
“You… wish to greet him?”
“What kind of question is that? Of course I do.”
While we went back and forth, Jeremia passed by without a word.
His expression was cold, his presence radiating a chilling hostility.
And he didn’t so much as glance in my direction.
“…He’s just going to walk away?”
The Confucian instincts buried in my chest stirred to life.
When you see someone, you greet them! Clearly, being the future villain, he was rotten from the roots.
I clicked my tongue at my ill-mannered little brother’s retreating head. The urge to beat some manners into him was strong, but I held back.
It takes at least three years to turn a beast into a human—and that’s with a strict garlic-and-mugwort cave diet. Usually, it takes much longer.
“I greet Lady Ariel.”
The greeting I’d been expecting came from an unexpected source. Turning, I saw a stern-faced man bowing politely. I didn’t recognize him.
I tugged Mikhail’s neck closer to whisper in his ear.
“Who’s that?”
“Count Pavel, my lady. A vassal of the Valienor family. His house has been in charge of educating the heirs for generations.”
“Ahh.”
So he was my rude little brother’s tutor?
Then there were only two possibilities.
Either he was the poor soul suffering under the young villain… or the one who’d made him that way.
I was about to try being friendly when he proved himself to be a true match for his student.
“Well, nice to—”
“Then I shall take my leave.”
Pavel cut me off mid-word, turned on his heel, and followed after Jeremia.
…
What the hell? Was he insane?
Pulling that in front of someone from the “Land of Courtesy in the East”?
These two must have tossed their manners to the dogs.
“Ha. Ha ha ha.”
A coarse laugh, rising from deep in my core, scraped through the darkness. It was a voice so deep I could hardly believe it came from Ariel’s body.
I clutched my pounding head, barely reining in my anger.
“Mikhail, is it normal here for both family and vassals to have no manners whatsoever?”
“That would be accurate, my lady.”
His reluctant answer told me this was a matter of family custom. What could I do? I resolved not to lose my temper, and fixed a serene smile to my lips.
By the time I came to, I was standing before the Duke’s office. Leaving Mikhail waiting outside, I stepped carefully inside.
The office was empty—the Duke must have stepped out. I glanced around the room.
To put it politely, the Duke of Valienor’s office was… “hip.” Piles of half-sorted documents and half-moved furniture made quite an impression.
To be blunt, it looked like a burglar had torn the place apart.
Click—
Footsteps sounded behind me. The Duke must be back.
“…So, you’ve come.”
The moment the master of Valienor stepped inside, a chill ran down my spine. Goosebumps prickled across my bare arms.
My body must have been signaling danger.
But I welcomed him with a warm smile, as if I sensed no threat at all.
“I greet Your Grace. I trust you have been well?”
