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“Wasn’t this a strategy game? Episode 123.”

Once again, I was tensed, thinking that Asmun might charge into the Yuren Grand Duchy and slice Jepar’s head off, but surprise, surprise—our lord was perfectly fine.

As usual, he was busy handling his duties, investigating the whereabouts of Silverstone, eating well, sleeping well, and showing no signs of distress whatsoever.

His composed manner was starting to feel anything but composed.

No, is he really fine?

Every now and then, he’d freeze up as if holding back something, staring blankly into space.

A man living in a mansion with such a large garden, who had never taken a stroll in his life, quietly meandering through that empty garden.

Is this okay?

But aside from those trivial observations, Asmun’s daily life after Eden’s departure was surprisingly peaceful.

However, why did this peace feel so unsettling?

It was like standing on a super thin sheet of ice that could shatter with just a hint of gold.

And as if on cue to fulfill my ominous premonitions, disaster was about to break that very sheet.

“Ronpell!”

Ronpell’s jumbled thoughts were interrupted as he was jolted awake by Baint’s frantic call.

“Ah, Baint.”

As he greeted him warmly, Ronpell quickly noticed the unusual expression on Baint’s face and furrowed his brows.

“What’s wrong with your face? What happened?”

Baint, his face flush with panic, immediately spilled the news he had brought. Ronpell’s expression grew increasingly serious.

“…What?”

Once Baint’s breathless voice came to an end, all color drained from Ronpell’s face.

“Ha, finally…”

As the long window darkened and silence enveloped the large mansion, Eden, who had been under the covers all along, suddenly sprang up from his bed.

‘There’s no curing a faker.’

Eden had pretended to be unwell since last night, successfully avoiding that outing with Jepar.

「It seems you have overexerted yourself recently. Your immunity is low, and above all, you’re apparently suffering from extreme fatigue, so you should rest for about two days to recover.」

The claim of being unwell was a lie, but it was true that gallivanting around the Grand Duchy had drained his energy.

Everyday extravagance had become the norm—touring notable locations in the Grand Duchy, visiting big markets, indulging in festivals, and hunting like there was no tomorrow. It truly felt like a constant festival.

If I said there was never a moment of joy, it would be a lie, but it was also true that my body was worn out, so the physician who was summoned kindly provided Eden with a favorable prescription.

‘Who would’ve thought not boosting my stamina stats would come in handy like this.’

Thanks to that, Eden was actually able to stay holed up in his room all day, preserving his energy.

‘This is a grand achievement made in 14 days!’

Swallowing tears of joy, Eden hurriedly got out of bed and cautiously peeked out into the corridor.

It was deep dawn, yet there were no guards, who should have been keeping watch, in sight. Until now, he hadn’t noticed because they had all conked out like it was evening.

‘Ha, right. They probably think I won’t escape at all.’

Jepar must have known that as long as he had the upper hand on Asmun’s weaknesses, Eden wouldn’t get far even without any guards.

Annoying, but somehow, this turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Having guards around would’ve been a headache.

“…Alright.”

Eden made a firm resolution to find that troublesome statue tonight and took very cautious steps.

‘Let’s see, I only looked around the left side on the first floor.’

As Eden intended to explore the right side as well, he hesitated for a moment, pondering.

‘There’s no rule saying it has to connect to the first floor, right?’

The mansion had three floors, and Eden’s room was on the second floor.

‘Think, Eden. If you were Jepar, where would you hide your weaknesses?’

Eden stroked his chin, falling deep into thought. That thought process quickly ruled out the first floor.

There were just too many risk factors clustered there.

After all, the dining room and the kitchen were both on the first floor, and it was also where the servants frequently passed through.

Goodness, he hadn’t even had the luxury of making such obvious deductions until now. Perhaps that was exactly what Jepar had aimed for—never letting him think for even a moment.

‘My exploration of the first floor was a huge waste of time.’

Eden lamented the lost time, keenly observing the end of the dark, long corridor.

‘What was the structure of the second floor like?’

His memories of peeping at it while heading to the carriage were all he had, so he had no concrete idea of the layout.

Eden knew that Jepar’s room and study were both on the second floor, located opposite the direction of his room.

“……”

Having settled on a decision, Eden decided not to waste any more time and took a step forward. This time, his journey was aimed at the end of the second-floor corridor, not the stairs.

Eden soon realized that, although not as much as the first floor, the second floor also had quite a few statues positioned around.

‘Statues that are weeping… tears…’

The layout of the mansion was strange. Although it was clearly the same corridor, the further he walked to the left from where his room was located on the right, the darker it became.

‘The windows are getting smaller.’

It didn’t look like this from the outside; it seemed magic was used to block the windows on the inside. Consequently, the air felt colder the further he headed left.

With no lighting to speak of, relying solely on the faint moonlight coming through the dwindling windows to inspect the faces of the statues felt downright spooky, but there were no alternative methods available.

‘What kind of interior design is this…?’

Even if he complained, this mansion was already over a hundred years old, so it mattered not.

Eden finally found himself in a corridor where all the windows had vanished, leaving only the faint moonlight behind, now engulfed in complete darkness.

The atmosphere inside the lightless mansion was truly horrifying.

‘What even is this genre…?’

With visuals that practically screamed horror game, a chill ran down Eden’s neck.

He really had to check the exact genre of this game once he met Hamun.

“I’m not scared…”

Eden muttered that mantra to himself as he continued to take careful steps forward. Observing this bizarre structure, he felt increasingly convinced that the statue would be ‘here.’

The stony glares from the statues seemed to be directed at him, sending a shiver down his spine, but he couldn’t stop.

It was only after examining around eight of those statues buried in darkness that Eden finally found one weeping.

“Gah…!”

Eden let out a gasp before he could stop himself, and the sound startled him, causing him to cover his mouth with both hands. Holding his breath, he turned to examine the large statue once more.

On the statue depicting an angel, clear tear marks ran from the corner of its eyes to its cheeks.

‘Found it!’

Filled with joyous excitement wanting to burst forth, just as Eden reached out his hand—

“…Saint.”

“Aaaah!”

Eden dropped to the ground before he could even react to the voice that appeared out of nowhere.

“Oh dear, did I scare you?”

The calm voice that left him stunned made him whip his head up in a flash.

“G-Grand Duke…!”

In the darkness, the face that greeted his surprised eyes was Jepar, just as he had expected.

Eden’s back stiffened. It was the worst-case scenario out of all that he had imagined.

Jepar kindly seated himself beside Eden, wrapped his arms around her shoulders, and gently lifted her startled body up.

“You’re sweating, Saint.”

Then he tenderly wiped the sweat from her forehead with gentle hands.

“Oh, I’m fine. Haha, I was just startled.”

Eden hurriedly rejected his touch, wiping the sweat off herself.

Jepar, watching her, turned his gaze to the statue Eden had been staring at just moments before.

“So…?”

His smile speckled with curiosity fixed back on Eden.

“What were you doing here?”

The gentle inquiry sent cold sweat trickling down Eden’s back.

“Um… well… I couldn’t sleep…”

“Ah.”

Jepar let out a quiet exclamation and then fell silent.

In his eyes, that was not a sufficient explanation for why the Saint, who had been claiming to be too unwell to leave her room all day, would be in a place like this at midnight.

Acknowledging that, Eden quickly regained her composure and calmly offered a different excuse.

The fresh excuse made Jepar raise an eyebrow skeptically.

“…Statues?”

“Yes. There are so many wonderful statues in this mansion. After lying in bed all day and feeling stiff, I thought I’d take a little look around, and somehow ended up here.”

Eden played the role of the shy Saint who had her secret hobby discovered, bowing her head with a smile.

Jepar’s expression was obscure, caught between believing and questioning her sincerity.

“I see.”

“Yes, oh, I really should get back now. It’s getting quite late.”

Unfortunately, with events turning out this way, Eden’s plan to wait for another opportunity was quickly thwarted by Jepar.

“Just a moment, Saint.”

He skillfully took hold of Eden’s hand like water flowing.

“I couldn’t sleep either.”

As the sly smile spread across his finely sculpted face, the inherent chill in his features dissipated like a lie.

If they hadn’t met like this, Eden might have mistaken him for a sweet and thoughtful person, not the one he was.

“Since we’re here, how about I show you some interesting sights?”

Eden’s face fell at the unexpected suggestion. But she feared that turning it down outright might look even more suspicious.

“Uh… what kind of sights?”

Trying hard to smile with feigned curiosity, Jepar took a step closer to the weeping statue.

“…!”

He lightly twisted the ring embedded in the statue’s hand.

 

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