Chapter 11
Sis glanced at him and then turned her eyes back to the flowers. It was always awkward to answer his questions with lies, but this time she was able to answer sincerely.
“That’s right.”
After answering politely, she took a sip of tea.
Another thing I learned from my time with him was that his personality was surprisingly delicate. The tea she drank on the first day didn’t suit her taste, but he quickly noticed that and changed the type little by little from then on. And he asked her every day if she was okay.
After going through that process, the tea that was finally served today was just to Sis’s taste. It was sweet but had a slightly bitter aftertaste, and it reminded her of her life.
“You can’t take your eyes off something like that.”
“Isn’t it beautiful?”
“Isn’t that why people usually like flowers?”
The tone is that I don’t understand why you say you don’t like it when you also realize the reason.
“Well.”
Flowers grow vigorously with sunlight and water as their friends for the sole purpose of showing off their seasonal beauty. Then, after displaying the most gorgeousness they can, they wither away.
“No matter how beautiful it is… … it will eventually wither.”
Sis hated that splendid change. As she looked at the flowers that clearly showed the passage of time, she felt so desperately that she alone was standing still.
It wasn’t just the silk flowers. When I was among things that naturally changed their appearance, I felt like a monster. The more I thought about it, the more sad my cursed immortal life became, so Sis bit her lips.
“Anyway, I think what you see isn’t everything in the world.”
Even though Siss Millan looked young and beautiful on the outside, she had long since rotted and decayed on the inside. She was so soaked in dark loneliness and cold solitude that she couldn’t show it.
That’s why appearance didn’t really interest her.
Alexis stared blankly at her as she blurted out such profound words. Sis said she was twenty-three, a year younger than him, but sometimes she showed a maturity that belied her age.
Her appearance could be described as mature, or else as sorrowful. Sometimes, she would reveal a lonely look in her eyes, as if she had seen everything in the world, like falling leaves. Alexis knew that she was armed with lies, but he could be proud that those eyes were not lies. The sorrowful emotions contained in her fresh green eyes were close to the truth.
That’s why it was even more suspicious and subtle. She didn’t actively pushed him around, saying she liked me and came all the way here, and what on earth were those inexplicable feelings she occasionally showed?
At first, I was curious about the intentions inside that tiny head, so I watched silently, but as time went on, she was changing into something like a thorn. It didn’t mean much, but it kept bothering me. I wanted to get rid of her because it was so annoying, but I couldn’t touch her rashly because I was afraid that it would bring about unbearable consequences.
His aide, Samuel, was running around diligently, gathering information about her, but he hadn’t found much yet. He was becoming increasingly anxious about Sis’s identity, which seemed elusive. Was this face that he had been longing for so desperately, something he had intentionally copied to approach her, or… .
“It may not be the whole world, but it can be a good hobby, right?”
Feeling frustrated, Alexis decided to boldly take out the number he had.
“I have a hobby of collecting good works of art. I have an exhibition hall in my mansion where I store them.”
He added naturally, looking closely at Sis.
“A few weeks ago, something ridiculous happened. One of my attendants was bribed by an outsider and entered the exhibition hall without my permission.”
Her gaze, which had been looking at the flowers, slowly returned to Alexis. However, inside, a cold sweat was running down her spine at the topic he had suddenly brought up.
An attendant who was bribed by an outsider. This is definitely the story of an attendant who was bribed by Sis to steal the music box of the deceased. According to Derrick, the attendant is still missing. The only trace he left behind was a piece of paper that said [Exhibition Hall on the 3rd floor].
“Did something like that happen?”
She tried to keep her expression as straight as possible, but it wasn’t easy. Her heart clenched tightly at the thought that he might know the whereabouts of the missing attendant. Maybe the attendant had said something strange, and Alexis already knew why she had approached him… … It was only a matter of time before her peaceful mind became a mess.
Sis hesitated for a moment about which part of the story she had brought up to focus his response. Then she decided that asking about the exhibition hall rather than the missing attendant would be more appropriate for someone who ‘knew nothing’.
“But I had no idea that the Duke had such a hobby. If someone is willing to bribe a servant… … I guess there are many special things in the Duke’s exhibition hall.”
During the week that she visited the duke’s mansion to spend time with him, Sis tried to visit the exhibition hall several times,
but since she had to be with Alexis most of the time, she couldn’t make much time, and because the mansion was so large that it was easy to get lost without guidance, her attempts failed every time.
It was driving her crazy because she couldn’t just ask someone outright where the exhibition hall was. It was such a stroke of luck that he brought it up first.
“What is mainly on display at the exhibition hall?”
Alexis answered absentmindedly, while rubbing his chin.
“It’s literally a hobby, so I don’t have any standards. Whenever I participate in an auction, I just buy something I like. Last time, I bought a magic tool that was one of a kind in the world.”
At the word ‘Magic tool’, Sis’s eyes sparkled, knowingly or unknowingly. It was the one and only magical tool in the world that he had obtained at the last auction. For some reason, he was certain that it was referring to the ‘Music Box of the Dead’.
“Hearing your story, I become curious. Could you show me around sometime?”
Alexis, who had his chin rested on his hand, stared blankly at Sis, who was speaking with a faint smile. When she tilted her head at his clear gaze, Alexis only then slightly raised the corners of his eyes. Contrary to his fake smile, his mind was busy trying to fathom her true feelings. However, his clean face was hiding his true feelings well, as if it was about to show something.
“Okay, when I get the chance.”
Although I spoke grandly, the exhibition hall was not created simply as an extension of my hobby. There was a solid and clear reason for its creation.
As I told her, the exhibition hall was filled with things like magic tools that were acquired from the auction house, but it was filled with much more valuable items. That was why the exhibition hall was more secure than any other place in the mansion, and the reason why the servant who sneaked in was caught was for the same reason.
Alexis wondered how she would react if she saw the ‘precious things’ in the exhibition hall. Perhaps, contrary to his expectations, she would react indifferently.
The servant who had been bribed by Count Millan was immediately captured by the knights on the day he entered the exhibition hall and was locked in the basement of the mansion. The servant was so scared that before they could even begin to torture him, he confessed that he had received money from a butler of a certain family.
Alexis sent an article to the meeting place where the buyer was supposed to meet to find out exactly who it was. He even went so far as to reveal the location of the exhibition hall in order to lure him in. Rather than saying he was complacent, it would be more accurate to say he was confident that he wouldn’t lose anything even if the location was revealed.
As a result, we identified the man who showed up at the meeting place and, after investigating, we found out that he was the general butler of Count Millan’s family.
The attendant who suddenly broke into the exhibition hall and Siss who suddenly appeared in front of him, and the Count Millan. They were suspicious and were clearly in cahoots. Seeing that they were aiming for the exhibition hall, it seemed like there was something they wanted there, but Alexis couldn’t figure out what it was at the moment.
“Uh?”
Suddenly, Sis let out a questioning sound. Her gaze was turned towards the sky.
At the same time, a drop of water fell onto the palm of her hand that was stretched out in front of her. The dark clouds that had been gathering since a while ago finally began to turn the sky dark gray and began to pour down rain one or two drops at a time.
“I guess we should go in now.”
The servants who had stepped aside to allow time for just the two of them hurriedly came and cleared the table. In the meantime, Alexis, who had gotten up, led Sis, who had gotten up in a daze, and headed towards the mansion.
They started walking before the rain started pouring down, but because the garden was so large, it took them a while to reach the entrance of the hall. As a result, when they came inside, his white shirt and her light pink dress were already soaking wet. They looked like rats drowning in water.
“I think you’d better change your clothes.”
Alexis frowned at the sight of her dress, which was so tight that it revealed her pale skin. Siss blushed as she finally realized her condition after hearing his comment.
The cold that had been felt slightly even outside hit even harder as the rain poured down on him. Sis crossed her arms, hugged her upper body, and trembled with her lips.
Alexis led her into the drawing room and ordered his servant to bring out fresh clothes and towels. The drawing room was empty, but a fire was burning in the fireplace that took up one wall. The warmth in the room made the cold much less noticeable.
Alexis, who was sitting on the velvet sofa with his sleeves rolled up, glanced at her and opened his mouth.
“Your face has turned pale.”
“It’s a little cold… … .”
“Has it been like this since we were in the garden? Why didn’t you say anything?”
Sis immediately threw up both hands.
“No, it was fine until it started raining.”
After her answer, the conversation between the two ended.
Ssaaaah.
The raindrops suddenly got heavier. The only sound that spread through the living room was the sound of wet rain. A dark, gray cloud-like atmosphere gathered in the living room as well. Sis, who had been standing like a stone statue, slowly walked over and sat down next to him. The man’s silhouette was half-covered in the darkness, but strangely enough, his presence felt even more solid.
