Working at a Haunted Mansion Chapter 131 - Side Story Chapter 7

Nobert Rader walked to the gambling hall tonight with an excited step.

As a reward for excellently completing the task given by His Excellency Caleb Shayworths, he had received a huge payment. The money was enough to pay off all kinds of debts and still play dozens of rounds of gambling.

His job had been to ruin the reputation of a maid during Emperor Julius’s funeral.

When he heard the maid was the duchess’s match, he at first wanted to refuse. Getting involved with nobles usually brings nothing good.

But the other side promised an amount he couldn’t refuse. They even handed him half the pay on the spot as an advance, and showed him a chest with the rest of the money right in front of him.

In the end Nobert sold his soul for gold. He carried out the job with great zeal.

His noble master even rented a luxury hotel for him and sent people to wash and dress him.

He wore the clothes they sent, rode to where the carriage dropped him off, and recited the given script convincingly.

In the story, he was a fairly well-off shopkeeper from the Kashimir estate — someone who had never actually been there.

More exactly: he was the cousin of the guardian of the nephew of Caleb Shayworths’s relative, a model citizen mentioned in letters between Caleb and his kin.

Caleb, pleased with him, had meant to show him around the capital, but then the Emperor died.

So, while the funeral drew crowds, the plan was to learn about the maid’s current situation and expose her true self in the name of justice.

He felt a little uneasy about ruining a woman he didn’t even know, but his guilt vanished as soon as he left the first noble house.

Thinking about it, he didn’t see any reason to feel sorry for the maid.

She had risen from maid to duchess. Her reputation might take a little hit, but she would live comfortably in a fine castle far better than the one he’d just left.

Meanwhile he was scraping by on watery soup. Obviously the one who deserved pity was himself.

If his lies ended the engagement with the duke, he might feel guilty then… but—

“No need to worry about something that hasn’t happened yet!”

Nobert hummed as he descended the stairs to the gambling hall.

When he opened the door, everyone inside turned to look at him. He swaggered and accepted the greetings tossed his way. The weight of a thick purse was astonishing.

The gambling-house owner himself came out and, with an unusually friendly manner, showed him to a table — the one with the largest stakes in the room. He didn’t decline and sat down.

Across from him, Ebing pressed.

“Nobert, what on earth have you been up to?”

“You asking me to teach you how to make money?”

Nobert had heard that question at least ten times yesterday. But Ebing shook his head as if that wasn’t it.

“There are people everywhere looking for you!”

“What are you talking about?”

At Ebing’s words, others nearby averted their eyes and pretended not to listen.

“They’re even asking at gambling houses and taverns whether anyone’s suddenly been spending a lot or vanished. Of course they came here too.”

Someone added, “They’re looking for a guy called Norbert Rider, to be honest. That’s you, right? What’s with that fake name that’s missing a letter? Do you think anyone here wouldn’t recognize you after just changing one letter?”

“You told them it was me, didn’t you?”

Ebing gave a slimy smile.

“Come on, give me a break. And I’m not the only one — everyone here probably got a gold coin. So don’t go making enemies in the first place! With that much money spread around, whoever’s doing it must be a major noble — so why blow it like that?”

No trace of loyalty in those guys.

Muttering curses, Nobert stood up.

“I’m heading out.”

“Already leaving? One more round!”

He moved his trembling legs and left those unlucky faces behind.

‘It’s Duke Kashimir. No doubt about it. He’s looking for me to get revenge!’

Nobert remembered the warning Caleb’s aide had given him when he checked out of the hotel after the job.

If this got to the duke’s ears, he would surely move to find who leaked it and settle scores.

So until the nobles finished the banquet and left the capital, he was to act normally — don’t change his routine. If he suddenly prowled the busy streets because he had money, he might run into nobles; if he vanished, that’d be suspicious too. Act like nothing’s different.

Above all, the aide insisted, don’t show off that you’ve come into money.

Ridiculous. How could anyone not show it when they actually have money in hand!

Of course, he was now desperately regretting that he hadn’t listened.

He slipped out of the basement and stared anxiously at the dark street.

Usually he would stay at the gambling hall until dawn. But tonight he had to get through this darkness and go home. He felt like the duke could come to seize him at any moment.

Then a man stepped out of a shadow in the alley.

“Nobert Rader.”

“Eek!”

The man was cloaked head to toe in a robe, looking suspicious. Like a grim reaper, Nobert froze.

It was a voice he had never heard. He had to run now! But the robed man had already blocked his path.

The man opened his fist in front of Nobert, who was in a panic.

“Calm down. I was sent by my master.”

Nobert froze. A small cloth pouch rested on the man’s palm.

“He said you handled the business far better than he expected and was pleased. He wanted to give you a bigger reward, so I came.”

The man didn’t step closer; he only moved his palm up and down where he stood.

Nobert checked quickly for any hidden weapons, then snatched the pouch with lightning speed.

The pouch felt heavy for its size and he heard metal clinking inside. With trembling hands he opened it and found gold coins the size of a child’s fist.

To pay that much and still give more gold just because it pleased him — do royal families grow money on trees?

A rush of thrill hit him. It felt like holding the perfect hand in a game.

He was so lucky this job fell to him.

He bowed awkwardly at his unexpected fortune.

“Th-thank you, your grace!”

“Actually, my master wants to entrust you with one more task. But judging from the situation, it might be difficult.”

Nobert’s eyes widened. How much would this careless noble pay this time? Not just a few months’ worth — maybe enough to play for years!

He answered eagerly.

“No, no. Give it to me and I’ll do it well.”

“Do you know Duke Kashimir is snooping around? It seems you haven’t been caught yet, but you’d better keep a low profile.”

It was the same as what Ebing had said. But the warning only made Nobert more impatient.

“Tell me what it is and I’ll decide!”

The man hesitated a moment, then said,

“All right. But this isn’t the place to talk. There’s a carriage waiting; we’ll talk there.”

Clutching the cloth pouch, Nobert followed the man into an old coach.

Up close the man wore glasses. He looked and sounded different from the aide he’d seen at the hotel.

But when the man revealed the job, Nobert was sure he was another of Caleb Shayworths’ men.

“There’s word the maid still wants to attend the palace banquet. My master wants to shame her in front of everyone so she’ll never show her face again.”

“I’ll be driven out at the palace gates,” Nobert said.

“That won’t be a problem. We’ll ask the lady who pitied her most to bring her along as a servant. She can beg with a few tears, saying she wants to see her lost lover one last time.”

The man let out a short sigh.

“The real problem is Duke Kashimir. If he notices you, things won’t go well. The luck is that he doesn’t know your face. Watch the situation and approach when the maid is alone. Make a scandalous scene, then leave quickly.”

Nobert swallowed. It was clearly far more dangerous than spreading rumors.

“A carriage bearing my master’s crest in the duke’s patronage will be waiting. Whether you succeed or run off halfway, we’ll nevertheless hide you at my master’s villa so you can avoid the duke’s wrath. The choice is yours.”

“And if I succeed…?”

“You’ll receive a reward far beyond what you received last time. You might even get a house with servants and a pension.”

His heart pounded. He was about to say yes at once.

But a doubt flashed through him.

Is a member of the imperial family really spending so much on such a petty thing? Is it really worth the waste?

“One thing — why is he doing this?”

The eyes behind the glasses sharpened. The man hurried to add,

“It’s not that I doubt — it’s because the reward is so good! The maid’s reputation isn’t that important to him, is it?”

The man snorted.

“What he gave you is pocket change to him. Don’t judge by your standards. And that maid is under my master’s instruction. Low birth should not take the place of noble blood.”

A very aristocratic-sounding line.

Nobert agreed to take the job.