Chapter 7
Finding the Path in the Darkness
“Path?”
“Yes, I made it to the kitchen somehow, but since this isn’t my mansion, I didn’t know where the rooms were, so I was having trouble finding my way.”
This was a reasonably believable explanation.
The kitchen, as usual, was located at the back of the mansion, so it wasn’t hard to find, and as long as you knew the general layout of the mansion, you could guess the location of the owner’s room and other living spaces.
However, the guest rooms were different.
Except for the main spaces, all the guest rooms looked similar in both location and appearance.
Moreover, the Greyston mansion was known for its complex and intricate structure.
For someone like Richard, who had only been there for a day, finding his room without guidance was nearly impossible.
Eliana looked at Richard with pity in her eyes, then tilted her head.
“I’ll guide you.”
“Then please.”
Richard chuckled playfully as he watched her confidently march ahead, her round head bobbing.
They left the kitchen and walked down the dark hallway, relying on the dim light from a small lantern.
Eliana, walking briskly, stopped in front of a door.
Richard, following her, naturally stopped as well.
“We’ve arrived.”
She opened the door and said.
The room inside was as dark as a cave.
Richard peered inside through the open door.
“Well then, I’ll leave now. Have a good night.”
“Princess, I appreciate you guiding me this far, but this isn’t my room.”
“Pardon?”
Richard opened the door wide for her to see. Eliana quickly held the lantern closer, inspecting the inside.
There were no belongings, not even a trace of someone having stayed there—it was a completely empty room, abandoned.
‘I thought I gave him the best room in the mansion?’
While it wasn’t a huge difference, most noble houses had guest rooms ranked according to their structure and location.
This was a typical aristocratic custom, where the room you were given depended on the importance of the guest.
As a member of the royal family, Richard, naturally, should have been assigned the best room available.
The best room Eliana remembered was supposed to be this one.
But she had been absent for three years.
Enough time had passed to cause changes in the arrangement of the rooms.
“Princess, maybe it’s because you’ve been away for so long that you also…”
“No, no. It’s just that it’s too dark, and I got a little confused.”
As the hostess, she couldn’t admit, “I don’t know where the rooms are either.”
“I’m sorry. I’ll guide you again.”
Eliana, pretending it was truly a mistake, shamelessly closed the door and turned to go in a different direction.
She quickly tried to sketch a mental map of the vacant rooms in her mind.
But time and time again, her predictions were off.
After walking around the mansion and checking each room, they finally reached the right destination.
His room was in an entirely unexpected location.
It was the second room from the last at the very end of the left corridor on the third floor.
It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t the best either.
From the window, you could see the entire garden of the mansion, which was a nice feature, but except for nights with a new moon, the moonlight was so strong that it would make it difficult for anyone, unless they were particularly dull, to fall asleep easily.
When the door opened, a faint scent of iris filled the air.
The room was illuminated by the pale moonlight, which added an eerie glow to everything.
It was by no means the best room to offer Richard.
She couldn’t understand why this room had been chosen for him.
Maybe the reason he couldn’t sleep was because of this.
“I’m sorry, Duke. It seems there was a mistake in assigning the room. The moonlight here is too strong, and it might be uncomfortable for you to sleep. I’ll talk to my elder brother so we can move you to a room on the second floor as soon as possible.”
“You don’t need to do that.”
Richard waved his hand dismissively.
“Seems like siblings think alike. You’re saying the same thing as the Duke.”
Richard looked at her with surprise, taking in her appearance slowly.
When she first assigned the room, Emil had also chosen a vacant room in the center of the second floor, just like Eliana’s.
That room was, indeed, well-placed and had excellent furniture arrangement.
However, aside from that, it was far too dark for Richard.
Memories he didn’t want to recall kept surfacing whenever he stayed there.
“I actually asked to be placed where the moonlight is the strongest.”
“Why…?”
“Because I like the moonlight.”
Richard shrugged casually.
“Well, I’m glad it doesn’t bother you. Since I’ve shown you to your room, I’ll take my leave now.”
“Thanks, Princess. I only asked for the room, but thanks to you, I got a bit of a meal too.”
Richard smiled gently, his eyes narrowing in amusement.
‘This guy really…’
Eliana puffed her cheeks at Richard, who was teasing her.
Richard lightly laughed and grabbed her hand.
His warm lips touched the soft back of her hand.
“I really appreciate it. I hope you have pleasant dreams.”
Beyond his crescent-shaped eyes, his golden irises gleamed brightly.
For a moment, Eliana stared into his eyes as though mesmerized.
But she quickly regained her composure and responded to his night greeting.
“Thank you. I wish you a good night too, Duke.”
