Working at a Haunted Mansion Chapter 106

“Miss!”

Marie ran up to Lily, pouring out her worry and reproach.

“How could you go wandering around on your own like that! You should’ve at least told me! You just told me to wait in the guest room and didn’t explain anything, so I was debating whether I should go ask the aide!”

“S-sorry, Marie. My walk just took too long. Were you really worried?”

“Of course I was!”

“With no servants in the mansion, I thought maybe you were gone too.”

Lily made excuses as best she could, and Marie answered with a pout.

“Everyone’s confined to the servants’ quarters. It’s an emergency after all. They still haven’t caught the culprit, so it makes sense. I was given special permission to stay by your side.”

Now calmer, Marie dusted off her apron for no reason and said,

“Lady Dienta is inside. I’ll go prepare some tea.”

“Thank you, Marie. Truly.”

“Next time you have to tell me.”

Lily nodded several times before going inside.

“You took a while.”

“Yes, I was talking a bit about what’s to come.”

Lily studied Julia. She looked composed at first glance, but there was a gloom about her.

There was something Lily wanted to ask her grandmother. But instead of jumping straight to the point, she began by briefly recounting what she had experienced in the capital:

Her reunion with Aiden, persuading the knight commander at the imperial palace, the cult leader’s trap, and the proposal she was now facing.

Julia listened closely and then said,

“It’s surprising that after storming out like that, you’ve agreed to meet the duke again… but fine. You must have your reasons.”

Then, after a pause, she asked,

“But what did they mean, that Saul is paying attention to you? Did he try to harm you, perhaps…?”

That was exactly the topic Lily had wanted to bring up.

“No, it wasn’t like that. More like he kept warning me, as if he were trying to quickly get rid of someone before the emperor noticed. He was shocked when he heard your name, but I had no idea you two had a history together.”

Had Julia said it was a bad relationship?

Lily knew her grandmother was the daughter of a fallen noble, but that was all. She knew almost nothing about her past relationships or upbringing.

“Are you curious?”

Julia smiled faintly at Lily’s awkward, guilty eyes, then her expression grew somber as she confessed,

“He and I once dated, long ago.”

Lily’s mouth fell half-open in surprise.

She had never once wondered about her grandmother’s love life. And to think, not with her grandfather, but with another man…

“But I made a terrible mistake. So grave that it’s shameless to even hope for forgiveness. I’m sorry I gave him false hope. No matter how I think it over, it’s hard to expect his cooperation.”

Julia bit her lip. The air in the room grew heavy.

It was already uncomfortable enough that a key insider and a potential ally from the enemy’s side had once been lovers.

But now, to learn that the breakup was Julia’s fault—and that she had wronged him so badly that even hoping for forgiveness was too much…

As Julia said, persuading Saul Ots seemed impossible. They could only pray he wouldn’t interfere, let alone help.

Lily sighed inwardly as she thought of Saul Ots.

So… that old man and my grandmother were once… like that? I can’t believe it.

Then a sense of dissonance struck her.

The chamberlain had learned of Julia and Lily’s blood relation during the imperial banquet.

No matter how much Lily replayed the memory, she hadn’t sensed any resentment or hatred from him toward Julia.

He had been shocked, yes, and couldn’t take his eyes off Lily. From that point on, he had even started stepping in, as if to protect her.

Very carefully, Lily offered her thoughts.

“Um… since it was so long ago, maybe he’s forgotten a lot of it by now? Or maybe he remembers it differently. He did seem to want to help me.”

“That can’t be. How could it?”

Julia denied it instantly, her tone unusually emotional.

“Whatever his reasons, it’s not something to dwell on. If I have a conscience, I shouldn’t hope for anything more from him.”

Lily bit her tongue. What sort of breakup had it been, that not even a shred of optimism was possible?

She fidgeted in silence, then finally said,

“Still… don’t give up too quickly. Let’s wait and see. You never know.”

The truth was, Lily herself was growing more uneasy. But for now, the only thing she could do was keep up a hopeful front.

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

Saul entered the emperor’s office. The emperor, who had been skimming through the empire’s confidential documents with a faint sneer, raised his head. With a flushed face, he asked,

“Has the carriage arrived?”

Saul waited until everyone else had left the office before answering.

“Your Majesty, Lily Dienta did not appear.”

“A brave maiden.”

The emperor wore a strange expression. But it was by no means the look of a man ready to give up on Lily Dienta. Saul swallowed a sigh.

At present, the emperor was secretly gathering Solmon cult followers and preparing for research.

Even Saul did not know exactly what that research was. The cult leader had set up a private site outside the capital that only a limited number of people could access.

But there was one thing Saul knew with certainty—the object the cult leader most desperately desired. That he learned one day when the emperor had muttered darkly:

—I need eyes. A lens…

If the “eyes” the cult leader wanted had been ordinary human ones, it would have been simple. Any condemned prisoner could be dragged out, their eyeballs harvested.

But the cult leader demanded Lily Dienta’s eyes specifically.

Whenever Saul thought of Julia’s granddaughter, his heart grew heavy. His personal efforts had all failed, and even Aiden Kashimir was on the brink of death.

With every safeguard gone, Lily Dienta would inevitably fall into the emperor’s hands.

There was nothing Saul could do. The greatest kindness he could hope to show was to ensure her body was recovered intact when the end came.

The emperor was silent. Watching closely, Saul could see him contemplating his next move. Just then, as the emperor tapped the desk twice with his fingernail, a knock came at the door.

A knight entered.

“Your Majesty, I have a report.”

He was a bright-eyed young knight, proudly displaying the brooch bestowed by the emperor.

Saul looked at him with a stiff expression. The young knight was a recent disruption.

There was an unspoken rule in the palace: all matters brought before the emperor must pass through the chamberlain. Likewise, the emperor’s words were relayed by the chamberlain.

Saul had established that arrangement from the moment the emperor awoke from his coma.

When the emperor opened his eyes, what lay within them was no longer Julius Scheiwertz.

The instant Saul realized this, he treated him like a newborn child, constantly suggesting that he was the only one in the palace the emperor could trust.

Soon they had formed a partnership: the cult leader was allowed to continue his religious rites, while Saul, under the emperor’s tacit approval, could manipulate the empire’s nobility.

But in recent days, the emperor had taken actions outside their agreement. He had, on his own, begun keeping this knight at his side.

One might argue that was only natural for an emperor. But not in the context of their relationship.

Blocking the knight’s path, Saul said sharply,

“Sir Ramond, do not trouble His Majesty.”

The knight immediately bowed his head.

“My apologies. I meant no disrespect, but I have urgent news regarding Lily Dienta.”

The emperor gestured for Saul to stand aside.

“Speak.”

Saul secretly clenched his fist.

The meaning behind the emperor’s behavior was clear: when it came to Lily Dienta, he did not fully trust Saul.

The emperor had not forgotten that when summoning her to the capital, Saul had also brought the duke along.

And Saul was not the only one facing the emperor’s suspicion. As of yesterday, the commander of the First Knight Order had also fallen out of favor.

It seemed the emperor believed the commander had chosen not to kill the duke outright, rather than failing due to lack of ability.

Whatever the reason—whether incompetence or hidden schemes—the emperor had abandoned him. That left a brash youth running wild, heedless of rank or propriety.

Ramond began his report.

“Julia Dienta, Lily Dienta’s grandmother, arrived today at Duke Kashimir’s estate.”

At the familiar name, Saul’s breath caught.