The Safety Guidelines of The Duke’s Haunted Castle Chapter 62

In the end, it wasn’t wrong to say that he had killed someone who shared his blood. Even so, the reason I couldn’t bring myself to think badly of Edwin at night was… because of what he had said to me. That they had made him want to kill them.

“Why did he kill them?”

“…Why are you curious about that?”

Edwin’s question sounded as though he couldn’t understand why, even after hearing all of this, I was still trying to find a reason to defend the Edwin who appeared at night. And apparently, it wasn’t just my imagination, because his expression had turned cold.

“I just don’t think he would have killed them for no reason….”

“It doesn’t matter.”

Edwin’s response was sharp as well.

“Whatever the reason may have been, killing someone is something that must never be done. You agree with that, don’t you?”

Of course, people shouldn’t kill other people. But I thought that way because I was from the twenty-first century.

Judging by everything I’d seen, it didn’t seem like my way of thinking would necessarily apply in this kind of(?) feudal world….

“Nadia.”

“Yes….”

“He is a bloodthirsty madman and a devil covered in madness. Do not forget that your life could be in danger if you become too close to him.”

It sounded like a rather forceful warning, but Edwin was probably saying this not only because he hated ‘him,’ but also because he was worried about me.

Even so, I couldn’t easily answer him. After thinking for a while, I finally spoke.

“I’ll think about it some more. I… will be careful.”

Perhaps he realized from my answer that I wasn’t going to do exactly what he wanted, because I could feel his gaze grow a little more intense.

But he didn’t force the issue any further and changed the subject.

“So… did you come here simply to ask whether I had eaten?”

“Ah, no!”

Oops. I suddenly realized that I hadn’t even gotten to the main point yet, so I quickly shook my head.

The reason I had come to see him today was actually…

“I came to suggest that we rewrite the employment contracts.”

“The employment contracts…?”

“Yes.”

I remembered the heated discussion I’d overheard between the head maid and the advisor before coming here.

“The servants have been reluctant to work at night lately because they’ve become lazy.”

“That’s not it, Advisor. It’s because there aren’t any clear rules about it. They all think it’s unfair….”

“But they should work according to what is written in their contracts. If it weren’t for my agreement with Lady Windsor, I would have handled this according to the rules. Tsk!”

In short, the terms written in the employment contracts were making it impossible to completely resolve the issue of adjusting their working hours. Naturally, I came to a conclusion.

‘What the servants of Belmont Castle have lost…’

Maybe it was their names and… human rights, or something like that. Or perhaps the ability to think reasonably.

Phew, I really had no idea. Anyway, it was obvious that this problem had happened because of me, so I wanted to do whatever I could to properly solve it.

“Is there a problem?”

“Actually, while organizing the castle, I noticed that the servants seemed to be working unnecessarily long hours. So I tried to coordinate their working hours with the advisor, but apparently we couldn’t completely resolve the issue because of the contracts.”

After briefly explaining what had happened, I went on to explain that all of the servants of Belmont Castle had essentially signed contracts with the head of the family—the Duke of Belmont himself. Therefore, he also had the authority to change the terms of those contracts.

So naturally, wouldn’t Edwin be the person who could help me complete this quest?

“…That makes sense.”

Fortunately, Edwin didn’t let the uncomfortable atmosphere drag on for long and returned to his usual calm demeanor.

“But there is one thing we need to do before we can rewrite the employment contracts.”

“What is it?”

“The servants of the castle were hired after undergoing strict background checks one by one. Their documents are sealed and kept in a restricted area. They should be in the secret archives… but there are so many documents mixed together that I don’t know how long it would take to find them.”

“Really? Would you like me to help?”

“I appreciate the thought, but access to the secret archives is strictly restricted.”

Heh heh heh. I wasn’t just saying that for no reason either. I had a special library access pass that I’d received after completing the librarian quest!

“I’ll be fine. I have a special library access pass.”

If the duke hadn’t mentioned the secret archives first, I might have completely forgotten about it. The card with a crow and a book drawn on it was still safely tucked away in a drawer in my room.

“How did you get that?”

Because I completed the quest and received it from the librarian, of course!

But I clearly remembered what the librarian had repeatedly told me that day.

“Please don’t tell anyone about this. Normally, you need His Grace the Duke of Belmont’s permission to receive this pass.”

“Hmm, then wouldn’t I get in trouble if I were caught? Why would you just hand something like this to me? What if I went around telling everyone about it?”

“Somehow, I don’t think Lady Windsor is the sort of person who would cause any harm.”

I couldn’t betray the librarian’s trust after they had believed in me. Therefore! Without even blinking, I lied.

“I found it while I was walking around.”

“You… found it?”

“Yes. Ha, haha.”

I wasn’t very good at lying, but when it was a white lie meant to protect someone, that was a different story.

Edwin stared at me for a moment as if he’d lost his words, then spoke in a low voice.

“‘He’ must have given it to you.”

“What?”

That’s not true.

But before I could deny it, he added,

“Hm. I understand. In any case, if you have that, you can enter the library whenever you wish.”

Just as our conversation seemed to be coming to an end, Edwin gave me another warning.

“Still, do not become too close to him.”

Had it been bothering him? Unlike his usual self, he kept repeating himself several times. Without thinking, I asked him a question.

“There is something I’m curious about.”

“Go ahead.”

“Does Edwin… always change when it becomes night?”

“Not necessarily.”

He firmly shook his head, then seemed to think for a moment before continuing.

“When I fall asleep… he appears in my place.”

“Then, as long as you’re asleep, he can come out regardless of whether it’s day or night?”

“Yes.”

Hmm. Then there wasn’t much point in separating him into Edwin during the day and Edwin at night.

“Don’t you get tired?”

“What do you mean?”

“From one perspective, you can’t really rest during either the day or the night.”

I said it while remembering how exhausted I’d been after staying up all night just once, but Edwin firmly shook his head.

“Just because I fall asleep doesn’t mean he can move freely. On certain days, his power becomes stronger, and when that happens, he can move freely, but normally….”

For a moment, it felt as though the temperature around us had dropped by at least ten degrees.

“I place restrictions on him so that he cannot move. That way, the body is still guaranteed a minimum amount of rest.”

I didn’t feel like asking what those restrictions were. His expression was far too frightening.

‘It’s probably better not to know.’

I smiled and vaguely brushed off the question before returning to the main topic.

“W-Well, then I’ll take that as your permission and start looking for the contracts tomorrow.”

“I’ll visit whenever I have time as well.”

I stood up casually and was just about to leave when, the moment I grabbed the doorknob, Edwin’s voice came from behind me.

“Nadia.”

“…Yes?”

“I don’t want you to spend too much time with him. And don’t take what we talked about today lightly.”

Edwin’s red eyes gleamed like a warning.

Judging by how he kept bringing up the Edwin who appeared at night and warning me about him… was he really that worried about me?

It could have felt like he was meddling, but somehow, I didn’t dislike it.

“I’ll take it as you worrying about me.”

“What?”

For a moment, it seemed as though a crack appeared in his stiff expression. But seeing that, I became even more certain.

The reason Edwin’s words had been unusually long was because he really had been worried about me.

Maybe that was why I could genuinely smile and reassure him.

“Thank you for worrying about me. I’ll always be careful.”

I didn’t bother waiting for his answer. I already knew he probably wouldn’t say anything to me.

[Affection +3 (11/50)]

However, when I closed the door and stepped outside, the screen that appeared before my eyes gave me an indirect answer to what he had wanted to say to me.