COARV Chapter 34

At the end of that young summer, in the green estate that somehow remained beautiful until then, the arrogant abnormal sexual deviant who was his father screamed for salvation while spilling blood and flesh, and his mother committed suicide before his eyes—that scene.

They said two people's blood combined to create a child. Therefore, Lesche's body as the legitimate heir of Berke should have had the Grand Duke's blood and the Grand Duchess's blood mixed half and half. Had that alone been insufficient? Lesche had to stare vacantly at the mixed bloodstains of both parents that had splattered on his body.

How old had Lesche Berke been then?

His indulgence in sentiment was brief. Lesche shifted his gaze to the green estate. He'd sought and employed nearly every means available to eliminate those unidentifiable shadows.

The foreign sorcerers from distant lands had shown at least minimal effect. This was also the last opportunity. If even they failed, he'd doubt whether any other means existed in this world.

"……."

As he gazed at the green marble shining in the snowy landscape, Seria—whom he'd handed over to Masha like a bundle—suddenly came to mind.

What reaction had she shown upon seeing the moving shadows inside?

She might have been horrified, or perhaps surprisingly calm, nagging Linon to clean properly. If it had been last year's Seria Stern, her reaction would have been easily predicted, but now not at all. It wasn't easy. Lesche smiled briefly and moved his feet.

"Now, please sleep here just for tonight."

I nodded and sat on the bed as Masha led me. It was a very antique, majestic bedroom. Imposing enough that a commoner with weak spirit would be overwhelmed and sink down upon entering. Masha tied up my hair and spoke affectionately.

"When you leave the manor, you really must speak casually to everyone."

"I definitely will."

"How lovely you are. Though it's sadly only for a few days, I'm truly delighted and honored to serve a Grand Duchess like you, Miss."

'Only a few days….'

"I'll live up to your expectations, Masha."

"Even your responses are warm."

After Masha left with a warm smile, I looked around the bedroom. Masha had spoken as if this were a room I could stay in, but I knew better. This was the Grand Duke's bedroom.

'The door color is identical to the Grand Duke's bedroom in Berke Castle. The crest engraved only in silver too.'

The Berke Grand Duchy's crest bore a sword made of pure silver. And throughout all noble houses in the Gleick Empire, only the Berke Grand Duchy could use pure silver in their crest. Pure silver was said to drive out evil spirits. Perhaps because of this, people's admiration for the Berke Grand Duchy grew even stronger. It was a fitting setting for a male protagonist in a novel.

The bedroom contained no lavish ornaments. However, everything was remarkably antique. Close examination revealed considerable care from the materials to places not visible on the surface. That kind of nobility nouveaux riches couldn't dare imitate…. Right. Meaning Seria couldn't imitate it. I tilted my head and stood up.

His bedroom being Lesche's, there was no reason to refuse sleeping here unless I'd gone insane. I wasn't the type to be so conscious of propriety between men and women. I wasn't particularly conservative about gender relations either. Moreover, I thought sharing the same bed was fine since neither of us had feelings for the other. That's what I thought until before departing the castle today.

'Why did he have to lick someone's cheek?'

Was he originally so careless? Could powerful people do such things? I shook my head.

I wanted to storm out of Lesche's bedroom immediately.

But this estate held too many stories. Hadn't I heard from Linon? Why Masha and the others couldn't leave this estate full of demonic energy, this nightmare that gradually blackened and seemed destined to swallow everything eventually.

'It's not even in the original story, but does it need to be that miserable?'

Besides, this was technically the male protagonist's past, so why had the original work cut all of this out? Irritatingly. I muttered to myself, but my troubled feelings didn't fade.

I lay on the bed and pulled the blanket up to my neck.

Lesche returned to the green estate late in the evening and stared at the gradually increasing black shadows. As always, they had increased again this time. Annoyingly.

The luggage carriage had returned safely.

"Your Grace. Linon has fallen asleep."

"I thought he'd somehow follow despite the cold."

It was expected. Ben, who diligently carried luggage from the carriage, tilted his head upon seeing eight boxes filled with cake.

"The Miss must particularly enjoy cake? It's… quite a quantity."

Lesche answered a beat slowly.

"Yes."

"We had nothing suitable for dessert, so this is fortunate. I'll make sure she can have some starting tomorrow."

Ben was a born butler. A person whose nature was managing the house and looking after the master's household. But the house—the green estate—had already deteriorated beyond human management. The master's household was the same.

In other words, this was synonymous with having nothing left to do as a butler.

So days like today when Lesche stopped by the manor were days when Ben regained considerable vitality, even if he pretended otherwise. Moreover, though it had been an unusual wedding ceremony, he'd come with a young lady who was the mistress anyway, so Ben was in very good spirits. He pretended as usual, but his eyes were visibly sparkling.

Lesche walked up to the second floor while drying his half-wet hair with a towel. The second floor was also completely covered in shadows. At first, they'd thought it was mold full of moisture and placed charcoal, fanned all day, and drew in sunlight. It was useless. During those few years, those black things completely covered and swallowed this manor.

'This will be the last time, Your Grace. The manor's land can no longer endure.'

Lesche quietly looked at the ominously stirring shadows.

After this business ends.

What happens after it ends?

The estate had been covered in shadows of unknown origin. He couldn't even know precisely when or where it had started.

Did it make sense for inerasable mold to exist? No amount of cleaning made it disappear; instead it proliferated like moss. It even moved.

As soon as the thought occurred that it might not be mold, they'd responded fairly quickly. First, priests from the Grand Temple were invited. Ordinary priests, high priests, and thanks to his position as Grand Duke of Berke, even the High Priest.

But no one knew the cause. This was an age when contamination from demonic beasts ran rampant, and much land was abandoned because of it. The conclusion was that it might be that kind of thing.

The temple people tacitly acknowledged that Berke Grand Duchy's manor was related to demonic energy. If it had been elsewhere, they would have immediately demanded it be burned, but they raised no further objections regarding Laurel Manor. Well, if they didn't show that consideration, the enormous donations the Berke Grand Duchy sent annually might be cut off, so it might be natural goodwill.

The shadows gradually consumed the estate. And from some point on, plants wouldn't grow properly in the manor.

Gold and marble slowly corroded. They moved various items stored in the manor to the castle. Objects could be obtained again when they crumbled.

But people didn't work that way.

No matter how much they struggled.

If only the previous Grand Duke of Berke—Lesche Berke's father—hadn't brought his illegitimate child and woman together. No, the premise was wrong. If only that kind of human hadn't been his father, he would never have looked back at this green estate. Lesche frowned as he recalled the eyes of the previous Grand Duke rippling with greed and madness. His mouth tasted bitter.

Lesche turned his gaze from the shadows. He moved his feet again.

Laurel Manor, where only the Grand Duchy's direct line could stay. The estate's second floor was space only for the Grand Duke and his wife. The central staircase was already half-consumed by those shadows. The right staircase had been closed last year because of the shadows, and the only intact one was the left staircase.

Going up the left staircase led immediately to the Grand Duchess's bedroom. Continuing onward, the Grand Duke and his wife's bedroom was in the center. Passing even that large door finally revealed the Grand Duke's personal bedroom. Lesche entered the bedroom with a familiarity that never became comfortable. He closed the door and entered the innermost area.

"……."

Strange breathing sounds could be heard.

Lesche walked to the end of the bed. But contrary to expectation, the bed was empty. Someone lay sleeping deeply on the sofa beside the bed. That green hair he'd wrapped in blankets and loaded onto a horse came into view. Lesche silently stared at Seria for a moment.

He lifted her, blanket and all, and moved her onto the bed. For a while, Lesche only gazed at Seria's face intently. After lightly brushing aside the disheveled hair on her white forehead with his hand, he went back down to the first floor.

Few places had lights burning. The dining room, where butler Ben, Masha, Joanna, and Susan were present.

"Why is Seria sleeping in my bedroom?"

"My apologies, Your Grace."

Masha immediately looked abashed.

"Properly cleaning and furnishing the Grand Duchess's bedroom will take several hours, but the Miss seemed very tired, so I took the liberty of placing her there. I'll move her bedroom starting tomorrow."

"Then why did you let her sleep on the sofa instead of the bed?"

"Pardon?"

Masha looked puzzled.

"I placed her on the bed."

Lesche frowned. He understood. Masha had placed Seria on the bed, but Seria had moved to the sofa on her own. Why?

Masha let out a laugh.

"It seems the Miss yielded the bed to Your Grace."