Chapter 26
The footprints were smaller than the ones seen earlier.
And among the people who came and went in the mansion, there was only one person with feet that small.
Soon, Joseph also found a candle lying on the floor.
The wax had melted and hardened messily. He picked it up and started brushing aside the pile of gold coins.
…But there was nothing underneath.
Why was the gold stacked like that if there was nothing hidden? And more importantly—dust.
Everywhere else had a thick layer of dust, but not the gold.
Not completely dust-free, though. Some coins were dusty, while others were clean—as if someone had already moved them around.
If no one had touched it, all the coins on top should’ve been dusty.
Joseph looked around the storage room.
“There’s a door here.”
Someone had definitely been here not long ago.
There must have been someone in this place earlier, and they had locked all the doors before leaving.
But still, they managed to escape somehow.
Joseph quickly found the door. He just had to follow the footprints.
The trail ended at a wooden crate.
Inside, the crate was empty—but in the back, there was a small indentation like a handle.
He grabbed the handle and slowly pushed it aside.
A hidden passage was revealed.
Joseph’s face turned serious and cold.
“Who would know about this secret tunnel?”
Without hesitation, he went down the path. Using magic, he lit the candle he picked up earlier, lighting the pitch-black tunnel.
At the end of the tunnel, Joseph emerged outside the mansion.
The sky was painted in soft purple just before sunrise. Joseph closed his eyes and breathed in the cold morning air.
Then he muttered in a quiet, almost kind voice,
“…Izana, was it you?”
Joseph Rohia always had a sharp instinct for the truth.
Even if he didn’t remember his past lives, his instincts always brought him close to the truth.
And this time would be no different.
The sudden scream from the basement. The prisoners found dead, as if they had been killed instantly.
A mysterious intruder who entered the long-abandoned storage room…
Even his younger sister suddenly acting like a completely different person.
Joseph Rohia would uncover everything, just like he always did.
“Miss, Miss!”
“…Huh? Mmm…”
I had only been asleep for less than two hours when Loti burst into my room like she was about to tear the door off.
“Yaaawn… I’m not hungry…”
I had given up my bed to Loti and had to curl up in the corner for five whole hours.
Just when I thought I could finally sleep comfortably, Loti grabbed me and shook me awake.
“Miss, this is no time to be sleeping!”
I barely opened my eyes and saw Loti’s unusually serious face. Something was definitely wrong.
“Why, what happened?”
“Miss… You didn’t go to the basement while I was gone yesterday, right? I mean, you couldn’t even go down there, right…?”
“Uh? Oh… yeah. Of course not. The basement? What’s that?”
I lied through my teeth while nodding like it was no big deal.
Loti, shaking slightly, said,
“Miss, a bunch of prisoners in the underground jail were found dead!”
“W-What?!”
“They were bleeding from their ears. Joseph found them when he went down to the basement, and now the whole mansion is in chaos!”
“WHAAAAAT?!”
My jaw practically dropped to the floor.
『Please do not go into the basement. Something dangerous sleeps there.』
The spirit’s voice clearly echoed in my ears again.
“They’ve sealed off the basement. Miss, do you know anything about the storage room down there? It’s where they keep old things from the mansion—some of them have ancient magic.”
Loti hugged her arms, trembling with fear.
“There are all sorts of scary rumors among the servants about that place. They think some kind of magic escaped and caused all this. The mages are coming to investigate. They might even clean out the whole place.”
I couldn’t say a word.
Not because I was sad I didn’t grab more gold coins…
Definitely not because of that.
“…Izana, are you awake?”
It was my actual older brother—standing at the door that Loti had left wide open.
Joseph lightly tapped the wall, like a polite knock.
“I came with good news. Father said you can join the family meals from now on. I didn’t expect you to still be asleep.”
Did you go to bed late last night?
Joseph smiled kindly and spoke softly. But his words carried a hidden sharpness, like a blade.
“Sir, this is early morning for the young lady,” Loti laughed without knowing the situation.
Ugh! Don’t say unnecessary things!
I got up awkwardly and said,
“Joseph oppa, this might be a little inappropriate.”
“…What?”
“A man shouldn’t just walk into a lady’s room without warning. That’s what I heard.”
“Izana…”
Joseph chuckled and replied,
“A lady changes into sleepwear before bed. Looks like you’re wearing the same clothes from yesterday. Did you fall asleep after playing too late?”
His words had a heavy meaning behind them.
“That’s because…”
I looked at the dusty and dirty hem of my dress and raised my right hand, forming a circle with my thumb and index finger.
“I don’t have any of this. I only have three dresses. If I want new clothes, I need this, right?”
If you’re going to scold me, give me some money too.
Was it just my imagination, or did Joseph’s eyes suddenly look distant?
He quickly shook his head to refocus and said to Loti,
“Loti, if Izana needs anything, write it down and send it to me.”
“Um… Sir, I can’t write…”
Joseph closed his eyes tightly for a second, then said,
“…Then tell Betty and have her send the list.”
“Yes!”
I gave Joseph a big thumbs-up.
“You’re the best, oppa!”
He didn’t say anything in response. I thought about giving a thumbs-up with the other hand too, but Joseph had already left the room.
***
I was called by the Duke, so I washed up and changed into one of my two remaining clean dresses.
It wasn’t very pretty or fancy—just a simple, clean dress without even a bit of lace.
As soon as I entered the dining room, Boris, who was already seated, yelled like a demon.
“You!”
“Boris! You raise your voice in front of your father? Where are your manners!”
Duke Bern Rohia scolded him immediately.
Joseph, sitting to the left of the Duke, gestured to the seat next to him.
“Izana, come sit here.”
“No, sit next to me.”
Boris cut him off, glaring at me with sharp eyes, and pointed to the seat beside him.
Joseph looked slightly flustered, but then calmly said,
“You’re sitting with Mother, right? To keep the seating even, wouldn’t it be better if Izana sat next to me?”
Hearing that, Boris raised one eyebrow and stood up suddenly.
“Joseph, let’s switch seats. You sit next to Mother.”
Hearing this, Yudis—who was putting food on Boris’s plate—froze for a second.
The Duke rubbed his forehead and finally shouted,
“Boris! Can’t you behave for once?!”
Boris ignored him, shrugged, and moved to Joseph’s seat.
“Someone needs to help her cut her meat, Father. Do you think she’s ever even seen meat before? As the eldest son, I should at least take care of my little sister, right?”
He slung an arm around Joseph’s shoulder, and Joseph quietly stood up from his seat.
“…If you insist.”
Duke Bern closed his eyes and clenched his fists to hold back his anger.
Yudis glared at me as she handed Boris the plate filled with food she had prepared.
And so, I ended up sitting next to Boris—of all people.
“If you’re planning to cause more trouble, do it before the food gets cold!”
“Of course not. Please eat before it gets cold, Father.”
With Boris’s sly reply, the Duke sliced his turkey with an annoyed expression.
And so, the first family meal with everyone present began—not with warmth, but with tension thick in the air.
