Chapter 31

-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 31
Chapter Title: The Duchess's Secret Double Life
-----------------------------------------------------------------

The bridge of Luna’s freckled nose turned red.

She began to speak cautiously.

“I have something to tell you.”

“Go on.”

“...A few days ago, you told me to let you know if there was anything I wanted. Do you remember?”

“Hm?”

“As a reward for bringing you back from the imperial palace when you fainted.”

“Ah, I remember.”

“That... may I tell you now?”

“Yes. What is it you want?”

“...”

“Must I wait longer?”

Luna seemed to make up her mind, clenching her fists and shutting her eyes tightly.

“C-Could you please forgive Cecil, just this once? I beg you!”

“...”

I could only blink. The words were so unexpected that my reaction was slow.

*‘Forgive Cecil?’*

Who’s that?

I waited for Luna to explain, but she said nothing more.

She seemed certain that I would naturally know who Cecil was.

[Stage 2: (Indifferently) I don’t see why I should do that.]

I didn’t know what was going on, but I figured I should just follow the directive.

“I don’t see why I should do that.”

“My lady, Cecil has been reflecting deeply. She wanted to apologize to you but couldn’t see you, so she cried every night. And she worked very hard cleaning the laboratory.”

The laboratory?

“Ah...”

So the maid I assigned to clean the laboratory was named Cecil.

The directive back then was to have her clean the laboratory for fifteen days, wasn’t it?

“Have fifteen days passed?”

“No... tomorrow marks the fifteenth day, my lady. Including today, there are still two days left.”

So that’s why she was asking.

“Very well. Tell Cecil she can return to her duties.”

“Um, but, my lady...”

“What is it?”

“A-Actually, Cecil didn’t return to her quarters last night. That’s why I brought it up...”

“She didn’t return? Do you mean Cecil spent the night in the laboratory?”

“...Sh-She probably couldn’t get out.”

Luna seemed to think Cecil was trapped in the laboratory.

*‘I gave her the key. Why couldn’t she get out?’*

“Bring me the butler.”

“Yes, my lady!”

The butler entered immediately. He looked tense, as if Luna had already told him the gist of the situation.

“One of the staff failed to return to their quarters, yet you neglected to report it. Why?”

“You told me not to bother you with trivial matters...”

“A person has gone missing within the estate. Is that a trivial matter?”

“My apologies.”

“Is it possible Cecil left the estate without permission?”

Before the butler could answer, Luna dropped to her knees with a thud.

“No, my lady! Cecil is not an irresponsible girl! She’s so diligent and meticulous. That’s why she was entrusted with attending to you. Something must have happened in the laboratory!”

“I gave her the key. It’s impossible for her to be trapped.”

“N-No, that’s not it, my lady...”

Luna began to tremble visibly. Her pupils instantly filled with terror.

“C-Cecil isn’t trapped... sh-she was... e-e-eaten by the laboratory!”

“What?”

At that moment, the chapter changed.

[Chapter 2: The Duchess’s Secret Double Life]

[Stage 3: Adrian headed to the laboratory for the first time in a while.]

***

We took a carriage, so I thought the laboratory was quite far away.

*‘It’s closer than I expected.’*

The carriage stopped in a dense forest within the estate grounds.

Before us stood a three-story building made of red brick.

*‘This must have cost a fortune.’*

Vines were delicately carved into each and every brick.

The double-door entrance was wide, and the arched windows were large.

Lush vines climbed the exterior walls, creating a classic, elegant atmosphere.

Even the window frames were individually decorated with white-painted, rose-shaped castings.

What kind of incredible research requires an entire building like this? I would have used it as a library.

*‘It is... a bit creepy, though.’*

It looked fine on the outside, but it felt strangely unsettling.

A building normally needs human presence to feel alive.

They said the laboratory had been sealed off for a long time, so that must be why.

“How long does it take to get to the staff quarters from here?”

The butler hesitated for a moment before answering.

“The first through third floors of this building are the staff quarters, my lady.”

This really wasn’t my fault. Who puts their personal laboratory in the same building as the staff quarters?

Besides, the atmosphere was so damp and gloomy, like an abandoned house, that I really thought it was a derelict building.

I lifted my chin with a brazen expression.

“Was that so? The information was so trivial I must have forgotten.”

The butler nodded as if it were a matter of course. Truly loyal, never doubting his master.

[Stage 2: (With a suspicious gaze) Butler, you’re certain the lab has been sealed for the past five years, yes?]

“Butler, has anyone entered the laboratory in the past five years?”

“Of course not. No one can enter an area sealed by you, my lady.”

[Stage 3: (Glaring at the butler warningly) Wait here. Do not, under any circumstances, come inside until I call for you.]

*‘This is getting stranger and stranger...’*

Why did she seem so intent on hiding this laboratory? It was enough to make anyone suspicious.

*‘Did Adrian commit serial murder in this lab or something?’*

I suppressed a laugh and said, “Wait here. Do not, under any circumstances, come inside until I call for you.”

“Understood, my lady.”

A chill washed over me as I stepped inside the building.

*Shudder.*

It was the middle of summer outside, but it was so chilly in here that I got goosebumps on my arms.

*‘There are so many windows, so why is there so little sunlight? They don’t face north, and they aren’t blocked by trees.’*

No matter how perfectly it was built, no one could live in a building like this.

Natural light and ventilation are the most fundamental and important elements of a residence.

The laboratory was in the basement.

As soon as I descended the stairs, I saw a pitch-black iron door at the end of a long corridor.

It was a door that didn't fit at all with the rest of the building, where even the window frames were painted white.

Did Adrian have this specially ordered and installed?

*‘...But why do I feel a demonic aura?’*

The feeling grew stronger as I approached the iron door.

It was very faint, but a demonic aura was definitely leaking out.

*‘So this is why Cecil and Luna were so scared.’*

It was only natural for the staff to be afraid of the laboratory.

Even if they couldn’t identify the demonic aura, they would have been plagued by an instinctual fear.

I unlocked the black iron door with the key and gave it a push.

*Creeeak—*

The heavy door slowly swung open, finally revealing the laboratory's interior.

“What the? It’s perfectly normal.”

Then why was Adrian so desperate to hide it?

Expensive-looking books and rolled-up documents were neatly arranged on ornate furniture.

Aside from the demonic aura, it just looked like the dignified study of an archaeologist.

*‘Is the demonic aura the problem?’*

I tilted my head and tried to find the source of the aura.

But no matter where I looked, nothing seemed particularly suspicious.

Could a dark spirit be dwelling in one of these objects?

*‘If that’s the case, this will be a pain...’*

To exorcise a dark spirit, you have to find the exact object it’s hiding in, which takes a long time.

*‘I should get Cecil out of here first, then search with the spirits.’*

I approached Cecil, who was lying asleep on a sofa.

She was even thinner than she had been fifteen days ago.

Her pale cheeks were hollow, and she had dark circles under her eyes.

*‘Tsk, she must have gone through a lot.’*

I gently patted Cecil's cheek to wake her.

“Cecil, Cecil?”

“...Nngh...”

“Cecil, wake up.”

“M-My... my lady?!”

Cecil's eyes flew open, and she shot up. A wave of dizziness seemed to hit her as she clutched her forehead and swayed.

I quickly steadied her by her thin arm.

“Why were you sleeping here?”

“Ah... I was cleaning yesterday when I suddenly felt dizzy... I only meant to sit down for a moment...”

Cecil trailed off, as if she couldn't remember clearly.

It seemed she had intended to sit but ended up falling asleep.

[Stage 1: (Smiling meaningfully) You’re lucky.]

What was it talking about? The girl looked half-dead, and it was telling me she was lucky.

I pretended I hadn’t seen the Stage 1 directive.

“Um, my lady, how long was I here?”

“A day.”

“Ah! I'm so sorry, my lady. I didn't realize so much time had passed.”

“Get up. And you can stop cleaning the laboratory.”

Cecil covered her mouth in disbelief.

“B-But it hasn't been fifteen days yet?”

[Stage 2: You think I don’t know that? That’s why I said you’re lucky.]

Did it mean she was lucky because she could stop cleaning the lab without finishing the promised period?

“You think I don’t know that?”

“Th-Thank you, my lady! Thank you so, so much!”

[Stage 1: (As if annoyed) Go outside. Wait by the carriage until I've finished my work.]

How could it give me a directive like that after seeing her exhausted face? You damned author, learn to be human before trying to be a writer.

“The butler will be outside. Return to the main residence with him. I'll have the carriage sent back before dinner.”

“Yes, my lady!”

Just then, a directive appeared.

[Stage 3: (Narrowing her eyes as if she has discovered something) Wait.]

“Wait.”

“Yes?”

[Stage 2: (Tapping the carpeted floor with her foot) Did you put this here?]