The capital hadn’t changed much in our absence except that it had grown warmer noticeably enough for this undead. We arrived at the gates at nightfall, and the patrol bid us to a stop, scurrying away after we showed them our passes. Igan had to stop for deeper scrutiny from higher-ranked sentries, but she returned to us unscathed.

“I’ll be at the guild or my usual tavern should you need me, Igan,” Garlan said. His usual tavern didn’t have a name, and it was famous enough among mercenary guild members that it didn’t need one either. Regulars alone emptied the stock of ale every night.

“Give me the reins,” he extended his hands toward my lady’s, and she handed them to him with resistance.

“I’ll visit you, mare,” my lady nuzzled against the mare for a while.

“Bread lad, I’ll see you at the Academy the day after tomorrow,” Garlan waved at me before turning to Letitia. “Go easy on him, Letitia.”

“Scram,” my lady said and held my hand. “He’s mine, so I will handle him as I deem fit.”

That earned her a smile, maybe two, as even Igan had gotten used to her possessiveness by now. Strangely, she found my lady adorable and riled her up all the more.

We split up and returned to the mansion after walking through the market plaza that didn’t have many people owing to the chilly winter. Warmer didn’t mean the temperature returned above sub-zero. That wouldn’t happen until the end of the season, which was closer to a month away. Igan glanced at the opulence of the capital with a glittering gaze and often forgot to follow us every time we stumbled on a new building. Mostly noble residences held her attention and the gates alone were larger than most of the shabby houses in the port. My lady slowed down her pace despite her apparent dislike toward the new maid’s capers.

You see, she treats those who gain her acceptance fairly. Just like certain someone.

The atmosphere in the mansion was stuffy, and even my lady’s reappearance didn’t earn her any snickers or stares. All that followed were gazes filled with fear and uneasiness. And trepidation. Something had happened, and I curved my lips as Igan took a step away from me. Well, a maid she was, her inherent nature was no different from mortals. None greeted us as we ambled to the western courtyard, and my lady was too exhausted even to address the uneasiness of the mansion. The news that my lady had returned spread like wildfire, probably fiercer, but no one dared to step through the western courtyard.

“You can choose any room you want,” my lady said, handing her the master key to the courtyard. We had changed our locks, so it didn’t work on our room doors. “But remember that two quarters are off-limits. This,” she pointed at the large door decked with two emeralds, “is my room. I will break your legs if you enter my room without my permission. And I will kill you if you enter Rudolf’s room. Permission or otherwise. Don’t touch my clothes either. Apart from the two rules, we don’t have any. Feel free to roam around the courtyard.”

“This servant understands, my lady,” she bowed.

“I’m not your lady,” her cold gaze made Igan shiver. “Call me lady Letitia in the manor.”

“This servant seeks forgiveness, lady Letitia,” Igan said and scurried away to the farthest room from ours. Garlan might have taught her basic etiquette of noble households on his way because apart from her speech and mannerism, even her footsteps were light and paced. Much different from mine.

My lady turned to me, and her cold gaze turned all mushy.

“Did you see it?” she glanced at me haughtily. “I can scare commoner with just my gaze. I’m not far away from you, Rudolf.”

I grinned and redid her pony that had come apart. “If you could scare the King with that gaze, then I would acknowledge it, my lady.”

“Call me my woman,” she tried again, and I nudged her inside her door.

“Have a bath and leave your clothes in the basket. I’ll wash them tomorrow.”

“But my toiletries are in your bag,” she pointed at my traveler’s bag and walked around me.

“Then, we’ll unpack first,” I said and opened the door to my room. “We have to get Yule tomorrow. Hope he hasn’t been too mischievous. If not massacring mortals, then demons are usually busy with their mischiefs. Yule tried to drink my bread perfume bottles the other day and peed over my notebooks for revenge. I smacked him hard the next day.”

Letitia giggled and followed me inside. “I want to learn baking from Joane once we get Yule. Her cookies are on par with the commoner’s bread store, so I can’t wait to become an amazing baker. Maybe I can rightfully attain the first rank on your bread rank list. It will be easy to bribe you once you get addicted to my bread.”

“Have you ever cooked before? At the bare minimum, heated water?” I raised my brows, placing my backpack over my hard cot.

“W-what do you think of your lady?” her smile froze, and she glared at me. “I have eaten meals before, and that’s good enough for me to start learning.”

Well, I decided not to prod any further. On the off chance she did become a genius baker, then I was losing out on a lot of bread. I could bait her with kisses, and she might bake me bread. A good deal indeed. Free meal with nothing to lose. For the sake of bread, no amount of machination was too much.

I handed her the minimum necessities. “Pick any night dress for the night from the closet. Preferably one that covers your arms. Even if you are resistant to chills, an extra layer of clothing never hurts. I’ll inquire about the situation in the mansion. Everyone is acting suspiciously.”

“Do you have anyone to talk to apart from me?” my lady asked.

“I had scared a couple of maids before we left off. If they are still here, I can threaten them again for answers.”

She didn’t quite entertain the idea but nodded. “Then I will wait for you. We can snuggle again tonight,” she gave me a flirtatious glance, which appeared harmless in her innocent eyes.

“Go to sleep,” I rolled my eyes. “My hard cot is much better than the soft cushion.”

She appeared dejected and ambled toward the entrance.

“Letitia,” I called her before she reached the door. “Thank you.”

My lady just smiled. “Then we will sleep together today. I won’t eat you, mongrel.”

“What about your training?” I asked and removed my overcoat. I noticed her gulp as she tried to avert her eyes from my body. Well, there was a shirt underneath, so I didn’t understand her embarrassment.

“I’ll resume form tomorrow,” she turned around and walked out.

The conspiracy brewing in the manor occupied my thoughts as I ambled through the corridor of the western courtyard. I had no clue how these damned spiders had returned, but they had, and with their cobwebs. Gleaming red eyes hadn’t been forgiven either. After some thought, I lighted up the mana lamps lining the walls on either side. We weren’t alone in the courtyard anymore, so some opulence to flaunt my lady’s status was harmless. I doubted Igal would betray us, but mortals were ungrateful cretins down to the core. My memories had only increased my repugnance toward them. Only fear of death kept them loyal for eternity.

Exceptions were, of course, my lady’s villainess friends and Garlan.

Why, you ask? Because they fed me bread free of cost. Without expecting any gains from me. Nevertheless, if they deceive this undead, only torturous nightmares await them. Even if they were once deemed as free bread suppliers.

If you think I am heartless, you still have a chance to degrade my status. I’m much worse than heartless.

After some honorable detours and careful scrutiny of the overgrown lawn of the western courtyard, I ambled in the direction of the main kitchen. The two maids hadn’t paid the price of insulting my villainess, so I would get some information out. I sincerely hoped they would give me a chance to torture them and then ask for facts.

That seemed hardly likely when they almost shivered at my presence inside the door.

I removed my bread knife, and they quickly beckoned me inside, lying on the floor prostrate.

“I’m here just to inquire about the status of the manor,” I smiled. “Please, treat me as my lady’s butler and nothing more.”

One of the maids burst out in tears and slammed her head to the floor. “We j-just k-know what we h-heard from others.”

I sighed. “Can we please have an amicable conversation? Why are you making me look like I am some terrifying being from the unknown lands beyond?”

My smile only widened, and the second maid didn’t dare to raise her head.

“Please forgive us,” they said in unison. “We will never badmouth lady Letitia again.”

“I am not here to talk about that,” I said, leaning against the wall beside the door. “Raise your heads. I am not interested in selling you out, either. You can do whatever you want behind closed doors.”

They did raise their head after much hesitance and stood up, taking a seat on the bed after my wave. Both of them were wearing pale green kirtles, something befitting the maids of the lowest rank in the mansion. Brown hair implied they were from the mainland like the rest, and they had tied it to a pony, securing it with a worn-out matching pin. Probably exchanged gifts like our bracelet, but much cheaper.

“Lady Marlica d-died two nights ago,” the taller brunette said. “Some say she was poisoned to d-death. We didn’t dare spread the rumor or verify it. So, we haven’t visited her courtyard since that day. Don’t know anything about the situation outside, and our fate only scares u-us more. Will they sell us to meet the financial deficit of the manor?”

I ignored her question because easing their worry wasn’t my job. “What about the funeral?”

“Escavs took the body,” the second maid answered, clutching the taller brunette’s hand in fear. “Said it was attempted murder. And they are trying to find clues behind the assassinations.”

“Has lady Arabell stepped out of her room?” I asked, trying to remove her from the potential suspect’s list first. She had bitter enmity with her mother, and who knew what a frenzied girl her age could manage.

If you think it’s hard to kill one’s mother, then you are one ignorant person locked within the confines of your room. Get some fresh air and some bread. Maybe you might see the cruelty of mortals on the streets below.

“She has been cooped up in her room since the ball,” the taller brunette said. “Kicked out all the maids from her eastern courtyard and didn’t eat a single meal. She finally started eating again yesterday. The plates I usually placed outside her room were getting cleared.”

Then it might have been an external assassination attempt. One who wants to see the Marquis manor crumble. Or one who wants to stuff their heir to the mansion. Either way, their pipe dreams wouldn’t be realized as long as my lady was in the manor. And they had just helped us get rid of one annoyance without us expending any bread.

“What about lady Miesei?” I wrapped my hands around myself, regretting my decision to remove my coat.

“She…” the taller brunette started. “She has not stepped out of the room, either. Lady Arabell disfigured her face after they had some heated discussion. The ones present say she used a knife. Some others say she used a fork. We weren’t there, so we don’t know the extent of her injury. Rumors, we dare not believe anymore.”

“Good,” I nodded, and they thought it was for the latter. But I just appreciated lady Arabell’s ruthlessness. Of course, after murdering her former fiancé, disfiguring her sister hardly sounded terrifying. Then again, everything had happened in my lady’s absence, so I didn’t quite feel as hopeful about the situation as I should have felt. Maybe this world was trying to nip her status first before throwing her to the dirt.

“What will happen to us?” the shorted brunette asked, tears reappearing on her face.

“I will talk about your service and bad deeds to my lady,” I said haughtily, trying to use the status of my lady to the fullest. “She will decide for you. Till then, live like mice, and skitter out for meals without anyone seeing you. Obviously, for your own good.”

Their faces fell one after the other, but they nodded wordlessly. Equipped with enough information, I made my way back to my lady’s room to fill her in on the content, excited to see how everything would play out.