Only Obedient to Me! Sir Knight Chapter 17

With those words, the butler left the room without further explanation. It was unlikely he would have given a straight answer even if he had been pressed.

‘A curse? What on earth does that mean?’

What kind of curse? If it meant the place looked like it would collapse at any moment, that was understandable enough. Van flopped down onto the bed, having roughly dusted it off, and stared blankly around his new room.

Even if it looked like it might crumble, it was, at any rate, a noble’s castle. The faded silk wallpaper and the carpet on the floor were all high-quality goods. The antique furniture also exuded a dignified charm befitting its age. In short, this was a room prepared for a noble. Naturally, the butler had led Van to the room directly across from Rowy’s. And then, he had said:

‘Do not leave the master’s side at night.’

What could that possibly mean? After pondering it, Van finally sat up. The word “curse” really bothered him. He felt he had to check on Rowy’s condition.

Knock, knock.

“Master, I am coming in.”

Van went straight to the room across the hall and opened the door with a click, without even waiting for Rowy’s reply.

“Master?”

However… the room was completely empty.

. ꕤ ｡ ˚⋆

At that moment, Rowy was walking down the corridor.

“Yaaaawn….”

He had wanted to collapse onto his bed and sleep, but because his head, which felt like it would shatter, wouldn’t get any better, Rowy had forced himself up.

“Yaaawn….”

Yawns poured out of him incessantly. Rowy rubbed his bloodshot eyes. Physiological tears welled up. Even though he was walking with his eyes closed, there was no hesitation in Rowy’s steps. He had been living in the castle for two years now; it was enough time for him to adapt.

‘Of course, there are still some things I haven’t adapted to….’

Thinking that, Rowy looked down at a hole in the floor where the boards were missing and jumped right through it. Rowy was currently on his way to the basement. Of course, there were stairs, but it was safer to just jump than to step on stairs that had long since collapsed.

“Oof.”

Rowy, who had cast a cushioning spell only at the very end to save his limited mana, slowly stood up. A spacious cavity lay before him. Was it originally a warehouse? Or a prison? It seemed there had been various small spaces partitioned off, but the walls had collapsed long ago, so their original appearance was impossible to guess.

Rowy walked deeper and deeper inside, being careful not to slip on the moss that had grown over the ground. Eventually, a corridor blocked by a pile of rocks revealed itself before him.

“Hmm, hmm.”

Humming a tune, Rowy tapped the wall with his hand. And at that moment, the space, sensing Rowy’s mana, began to restore itself in an instant. The cracked walls fused back together, the collapsed floor rose up, and… the dark bloodstains vanished. Whoosh. Soon, flames flickered to life on the empty candle holders.

“Hmm, hmm….”

Rowy walked into that space, humming his tune. In the flickering light, Rowy’s shadow stretched out grotesquely.

. ꕤ ｡ ˚⋆

‘Where on earth could he have gone? Especially when he’s not feeling well.’

Van, having left Rowy’s room, was lost in thought. Even if he wanted to go look for him, how was he supposed to find where Rowy might go in a castle he had just arrived at…? The problem was that he didn’t even know where the butler, who he could have asked, had gone.

After thinking it over, Van decided to head to the dining room the butler had told him about. He figured he could ask where Rowy might be, and grab a meal while he was at it. Van began to walk down the corridor, gauging the location of the dining room.

“…”

But… is a castle supposed to be this quiet? In a castle of this size, shouldn’t he be encountering servants along the way? Crunch, crunch, Van, walking down the corridor, fell into doubt.

The castle was larger than he thought, and the path to the dining room, avoiding the central staircase, was quite long. However, throughout the entire time he traversed that long corridor, Van didn’t encounter a single person. While walking down a path where not even a hint of human presence could be felt, Van was now completely bewildered.

‘What on earth is this castle?’

A castle of this size—although it seemed only the second floor was used—had not a single servant despite its considerable area. Yet, for a place without servants, the castle was remarkably clean. Who does the cleaning? Van tilted his head, looking at the floor carpet, which didn’t have a single speck of dust or stain.

Without even guessing that the castle itself was being maintained by Rowy’s magic, Van walked down the corridor in that state of confusion.

“Excuse me.”

The dining room was, just as the butler had said, on the other side of the corridor. After checking the interior through the crack in the door, which was ajar, Van opened it cautiously and stepped inside. Unlike the ornate door, there was only one large dining table sitting in the middle. Since Rowy said he didn’t use the dining room much, it seemed it hadn’t been decorated separately.

As Van looked around the interior, he discovered a sign of life coming from another door in one corner of the dining room. It was the first person he had met in this castle other than the butler and Rowy. Van felt relieved and headed in that direction.

“Excuse me. Is this the kit—”

“Aaaah!”

Taken by surprise by the sudden appearance, Finn, the chef, who had been dozing off in the corner, shrieked in shock.

“Ah, I’m sorry.”

“Aaaaaah!”

“…”

“Aaaaaah!”

At the reaction that was more intense than expected, Van was flustered and apologized. But Finn just kept screaming and backing away.

“No, um. I’m not a strange person. The butler told me the dining room was over—”

“Aah! You—are you a human? Are you really a human?”

“Pardon?”

If I’m not human, then what am I?

. ꕤ ｡ ˚⋆

“Ahem, I’m sorry. I was surprised because I hadn’t seen you before.”

After the commotion, Finn apologized profusely to Van and offered him a seat at the table. He even brought out something to eat, saying it was an apology. It was soft white bread and milk.

“It’s alright. I should have introduced myself properly before entering.”

Van said politely, continuing to stuff bread into his mouth. It was soft, moist, and incredibly delicious. To be honest, much more so than the desserts Rowy was crazy about. Those things are only liked by kids, anyway. Treating Rowy like a child as a matter of course, Van finished the milk in one go and finally looked at Finn, who was sitting in front of him.

‘Chef Finn, huh.’

The man who introduced himself as Finn was a young man with messy orange hair. His young face, contrasting with his large, burly body, was impressive. Had he said he just turned twenty? The man with the innocent impression looked at Van repeatedly with eyes filled with curiosity, even while feeling intimidated by him.

“You said you came here with the young master?”

“Yes, I look forward to working with you.”

“Looking forward to it? I’m the one who should be saying that.”

Finn waved his hands dismissively and cleared the dishes Van had used. Van reached out, saying he would do it himself, but Finn declined, saying it was his job.

“The bread is good, right? My mother made this. The young master likes it, too.”

“Is that so? Then I should have only eaten a little. You haven’t had your meal yet….”

Thinking of Rowy, Van realized his mistake. He had come to find Rowy, but he had gotten distracted by bread.

“Do you happen to know where the master might have gone? He wasn’t in his room.”

“Hmm, I’m not sure.”

Finn smiled and stood up.

“Would you like me to prepare something for the young master? I’ve made plenty of other dishes besides bread. He was supposed to come back today.”

“I would be grateful if you did.”

Van nodded. Since he hadn’t eaten anything since morning, Rowy must be hungry, too.

“But… are there not many people working here?”

“Ah… here, yes. It’s just the four of us: the butler, me, and the twins who do the cleaning and laundry. Sometimes more come to help if there’s work to be done.”

“Can this large castle be maintained with just those people?”

At that remark, Finn shrugged his shoulders and walked into the kitchen. Suddenly left alone, Van peeked into the kitchen. Finn was packing food. It seemed to be for Rowy.

Thanks to Finn’s quick hands, the tray was soon filled with food. Finn handed it to Van. On the tray were the white bread Van had enjoyed, a salad, and a chicken dish. The food, which looked piping hot, smelled wonderful. Van gulped down his saliva before he knew it.

“You should be able to take it to the young master. Why don’t you have a meal with him? You can bring the dishes back here later. The young master returned later than I thought, so I need to get going soon.”

“Pardon? Where are you going?”

“Hm? I’m going home.”

Going home? At those words, Van tilted his head.

“You have a house here? I thought the island was small.”

The island he had seen while riding the boat was quite small. The captain had said he could tour the whole island in an hour on foot. Are they living here with separate houses? When they have this large castle? Finn, noticing Van’s doubt, shook his head.

“Ah, no one lives here. I live on an island about an hour away by boat. It’s called Sono.”

“Pardon? Then are you commuting to work every day?”

“That’s right. Everyone does.”

“Everyone? …Don’t tell me the butler does too?”

“Yes.”

“Pardon? But then….”

Rowy has been alone on this island every single night…? Van’s expression turned serious in an instant.