Chapter 4: CH 3

Despite the sunny spring weather, the mansion was somewhat eerie. Ivy vines were climbing over the blue-gray walls of the mansion. On top of it was a dull green roof like ivy vine covering the house.

‘How can I run away from here?’

The novel did not tell the exact date when the owner of this body, or Vivi, encounters Kid.

‘I think I she lived for around a week.’

But I don’t know if it’s exactly a week or more than a week.

Just a week or so later, there was only one narrative: ‘As soon as Vivi ran into him, she died right away’. So I was even more scared.

‘Will it be okay as long as I avoid him whenever I notice him?’

The carriage slowly began to slow down. My fingertips and toes had been cold for a long time. As I was about to crumple the hem of my wedding dress without saying a word, I heard a sweet voice next to me.

“… Miss Jezline, no, I mean… wife.”

“… Yes?”

Since we had gotten married, I was now Madam McCourt, not Lady Jezline. As I looked back at Seniel with anxiety, Seniel’s eyes trembled slightly as if he was also anxious.

The two of us faced each other with shaky eyes.

“I am very sorry to say this on the day of the ceremony, but I have to go to a temple in another province, so I won’t be staying here today. It will take me a week to return.”

“R-Really? Thank you, no, I mean…”

I was so happy that my sincerity came out unconsciously. Shaking my head in urgency, I tried to manage my expression.

“How come you are so busy? But this is not the time for this. You should hurry up and go!”

Well. I seem to have failed.

Seniel was startled by my intense reaction. A slight embarrassment crept up on his face.

But I couldn’t help but welcome the plan. Because him going to another temple meant that at least I wouldn’t die today.

‘Yeah, no author would have done such a shameful thing like killing an extra on her first day of marriage.’

He stared blankly at me for a moment. Then, he slowly lowered his eyes again. As described in the novel, he was timid and introverted.

“… Thank you for your understanding. The butler will help guide you through the mansion. I’m sorry I couldn’t be by your side.”

“No! You don’t need to feel sorry at all! One can’t hold a busy person for long!”

Did I look genuine enough? I couldn’t afford to act clumsily. I wanted to run out of this mansion right away, but I had no way of escaping and living on my own.

Seniel added to me, who seemed eager to send him away at any moment.

“Before I leave, may I ask something of you? Promise me that you will protect yourself.”

“What? Oh, yes.”

Seniel’s soft eyes had a determination that I had never seen before.

“Never leave your room after 9 pm. Even if you hear strange noises, don’t come out.”

Even if you hadn’t said that, I would’ve done so.

After he said that, I decided to stay still and hide in my room even more.

“Perhaps the butler will explain this himself, but you will not be able to call the servants at night because they do not stay at the mansion after finishing their work. So don’t look for a servant at night. It may sound strange, but…”

The end of Seniel’s words became more and more blurred.

The average person would pry into suspicious requests. But I nodded my head violently and agreed.

“No, I understand. You did it to keep the ‘time of silence’, didn’t you?”

The ‘time of silence’ was the temple’s discipline that one had to be solemn after 9 pm.

However, the reason why Seniel is now asking me not to go out at night was, of course, not just to keep the time of silence.

Kid often goes around at night, so if you don’t want to be unlucky, don’t go out.

“… Yes. It is to keep the time of silence.”

Seniel’s red eyes shook slightly. My eyes widened at his answer. You’re really bad at lying.

The carriage stopped.

I waved my hand with a smile at Seniel, who was stained with guilt and fatigue. From Vivi’s memory, I learned that greeting by hand was against etiquette in this world, but I was not in the mood to abide by it.

“You must be busy, so go ahead. I’ll see you in a week.”

I’d rather not see you in a week, though.

Knock, knock. The carriage door opened from outside. I got off the carriage without looking back.

No matter how good Seniel was, he was someone who’d eventually kill me, so I didn’t want to be with him for even a second longer.

***

As I walked into the mansion uncomfortably in a long wedding dress, I saw attendants lining up to welcome me.

The gray-haired middle-aged man in the front looked like the butler Seniel had mentioned.

“Welcome to McCourt’s mansion, madam. I am Hubburn, the butler who will be serving you in the future.”

“Welcome, madam.”

The butler came forward and bowed to greet me, and the servants bowed after him.

‘There are few people considering the size of the mansion.’

He had said that the servants did not live in the mansion, but in addition to that, he seemed to have hired fewer servants to prevent any unexpected accidents.

I received their greetings and quickly glanced around the mansion. What is important to me now is not their greetings, but how the interior of the mansion is.

The interior of the mansion was generally reddish-brown, and the furniture was also similar in color. Nothing could really be used to differentiate them, so it’d be difficult to just run out without a lamp after the sun sets a little.

A luxurious chandelier hanging from the center of the ceiling brightly illuminated the mansion, but inevitably, it would be useless if there was a chase at night.

Behind the chandelier was an arched wall, and behind the arch was a wide hall. There seemed to be no entrance.

Candlesticks the size of a person decorated both sides of the wall in symmetry. At the end of the wall, there was a staircase leading up to the upper floor. The stairs are on both sides, but I don’t know if this will be useful for running away.

“I would like you to guide me through the mansion after I have been escorted to my room. I’m tired of walking around in this kind of clothes all the time.”

“Yes, I’ll show you the room. Please follow me, madam.”

The butler bent his back and turned around slowly. I followed Hubburn and looked around the house.

There were many large and small windows, so sunlight came in well, but I could not erase the gloominess and darkness, perhaps because of prejudice.

One of the maids gently lifted the hem of my dress to make it easier for me to walk. Normally, an exclusive maid would do this, but I didn’t have an exclusive maid. Well, I have one, but I couldn’t bring her.

Because Seniel had asked me not to bring a maid.

‘There is the problem of the residence of my exclusive maid, and she might catch Kid’s attention, so he must have wanted to prevent it in advance.’

I personally do not know if it’s a good or a bad thing. Should I say it’s fortunate that there are fewer eyes to monitor me? Or am I screwed because there’s no one to help me?

Hubburn opened the door, and the large door that reached the ceiling slid open without a sound.

“This is the room where you will be staying. Do you like it?”

Instead of like… I… Oh, my breath.

As I climbed the stairs to the third floor without stopping, I was out of breath. This body was too fragile.

I looked at the room breathlessly. The room was spacious and antique. But I didn’t like it. It was not a matter of ornaments, feng shui geography, the direction of the bed, or water veins.

First, is the matter of running away. Second, is the matter of running run away.

This room seemed very uncomfortable to run away from.

I might have to jump out of the window if I have to, but I was a bit uncertain about jumping from the third floor.

With this fragile body, which was difficult to climb even the stairs, it was certain that I’d break some bones.

“Is there any spare room on the first floor?”

At my words, Hubburn’s, who had been smiling softly, looked slightly disturbed.

I guessed the reason for Hubburn’s frown must have been because the immature madam wanted to increase his workload even though this was already the best room.

“Excuse me, but Master said that the rooms on the first floor cannot be opened. Also, you can only move to the second floor with Master’s permission. Should I go ask Master?”

My face frowned at the word “Master”.

‘Was there such a setting in the original?’

I could’ve been stubborn and insist to ask for a room on the first floor, but I soon gave up.

It did not seem like the second floor was open, and I didn’t want to inconvenience Hubburn only to hear his master say “no”. I dissuaded Hubburn, who was about to go out at once.

Hubburn might end up meeting Kid if I sent him to Seniel at this hour.

‘Let’s not do that.’

I was afraid that a corpse would appear after someone went out of their room without permission.

“Then I’ll just use this room.”

“Thank you for your understanding. I will introduce a maid who will serve you in the future. This is Jane.”

As Jane bowed her head to greet me, her long ponytails of brown hair ran down her shoulders. There were subtle wrinkles around Jane’s brown eyes, making her look older than me.

“I would like to show you around the mansion after you finish changing. However, our attendants work only until 8 pm, so please call me before then.

I glanced at the watch. It was just past 6 pm. It was a little over two hours before they got off work.

After removing makeup and changing clothes, it seemed that there was not enough time to listen to the butler’s guidance. After the explanation, I waved my hand to the butler who was about to leave.

“I have a question. What time do you go to work? And how many people are there in all?”

“We start at 6 am, and there are a total of 20 servants on duty.”

20 people. It’s a lot more than I thought. A lot of watchmen would watch me run away.

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‘But looking at their faces, I don’t think they will stop me.’

It’s a marriage that was made through a trust, so it’s worth glaring at. The servants I just greeted were only smiling as a courtesy, and they didn’t seem very interested in me. If I were to guess their expressions, it only looked like ‘I want to get off work quickly’.

‘I don’t think they will even know if I just run away after saying I’m going out.’

Well, looking back, they don’t know that Seniel is that famous ‘Kid’, so they may not think there’s any reason for me to run away, and they will not be on guard.

Sweeping down my tired eyelids, I waved to Hubburn to dismiss him.

“That’s all. You can leave now.”

“Yes, I hope you have a nice rest.”