The Forbidden Fifth Floor
On the pocket watch the Grand Duke treasured above all else — on the lid of that watch, in every last corner of it.
It's not there…….
Not there, not there! It's not there!
No initials. Not so much as a scratch that might have been an initial.
There's nothing, nooo!
Chaos descended upon my mind.
Ah, my salary!
My 120 gold!
When we arrived at the village, we found rooms and unpacked. Since we planned to spend one night and leave early the next morning, we carried in only the bags we immediately needed.
I fetched the Grand Duke's bathwater and laid out his change of clothes in advance.
After seeing him off at the bathroom door with a farewell wish for a good rest, I went into the next room and collapsed onto the bed just as I was.
"……"
I stared blankly at the grain of the wooden planks holding up the ceiling.
In the end……
Back to square one, is it.
The slender thread of hope that I might be recovering my memories had been shattered to pieces. No — at this point, I found myself doubting whether the dreams I kept having were truly a fragment of this body's memories at all.
What if they're just useless dreams?
That thought had begun to creep in. And then, all at once, I grew curious about why I was so obsessed with this body's memories in the first place.
Whether they surface or not.
Nothing changes. I'd still be at odds with the Grand Duke, and I'd still have to leave the duchy eventually.
So why?
Would the Grand Duke even be happy if I recovered my memories?
I'm not the owner of this body, am I?
Even if I did get those memories back, the plan to use them to take the Grand Duke's head had lost all meaning the moment our alliance was decided — it was utterly worthless now.
So I had decided to live freely. Part of me genuinely wanted to face the Grand Duke properly, sword to sword, but my ambition to build a new life was just as strong.
That doesn't mean I'm not curious about this body's owner, though.
If the day came when I left the duchy, and I still hadn't heard my true identity from the Grand Duke's own mouth by then — I'd spend the rest of my life wandering alone, wondering who this body's owner was.
Once was more than enough of that…….
Back in my days as Sia, I had tried everything to find my past, everything to recall my lost memories. And in the end, I'd come away with nothing, living a half-finished life with half my memories missing.
And now I'm supposed to do it all over again…….
Of course, I knew that even if this body's owner's memories surfaced, they wouldn't become my memories.
But that's just too cruel, isn't it? To live a second life with my memories missing too…….
Something…… it felt, at some point, like all the lines of my emotions had tangled hopelessly together.
Could the body's owner's feelings still be lingering in me?
Whew……. The long sigh drained me, and my eyelids grew heavier and heavier.
Right, I should wash up and sleep……
But……
Swallowing the empty words before they could even leave my heart, I sank straight into slumber.
And I dreamed that damned, godforsaken dream again.
-"What are you doing here?"
-"A memory box."
-"A memory box? What's that?"
-"Oh, Kadrian. You really are an old soul in a child's body."
-"……I beg your pardon?"
In the dream, the little girl was pulling back the grass, digging into the dirt with her hands, and burying something there.
-"It's all the rage in the capital these days. You put your memories, your keepsakes, inside this box and bury it. And then someday, far in the future, when someone digs it up and finds it — wouldn't that feel like receiving a gift?"
-"……"
-"Huh? That look. That's the 'she's off doing pointless things again' look!"
-"……I'm not."
-"And your answer was late, too!"
Not doing pointless things, my foot. It absolutely is! Yes, of course it is, Kadrian!
The children's bickering voices slowly faded into the distance.
Only after their voices had gone entirely silent did I open my eyes, slowly.
…….
What? What do you want me to do about it?
Why do those kids keep showing up in my dreams if it's just a worthless dream?
Am I supposed to get up and go poking around because of this ridiculous nonsense?
As if being collared like a dog weren't enough, now I'm supposed to dig in the dirt like one too?
Haa…….
I sat up in bed.
How considerate of them this time — they even showed me exactly where they were.
As if to say dig there, as if to say this one's real, so make sure you go look.
This is the last time.
Just this once, I'd check it out. And if there was nothing there again, then……
Then it really is just a stupid dream.
Just then, I heard movement in the next room. The Grand Duke was awake.
Does he even sleep at all? What is he.
The only person alive who went to bed later than me and rose earlier than me.
I got out of bed, hurriedly changed my clothes, finished preparing for departure, and headed to the Grand Duke's room.
"Your Highness, I have completed the preparations for departure."
"……Get out."
We made our way back to the duchy.
"Freya!"
The moment we arrived at the duchy and set down our bags, the staff came swarming toward me.
"What's all this?"
I cleared my throat, ahem, and addressed the gathered employees.
"The ribbon ties here are for the female staff. And these cuff links are for the male staff."
The center of each ribbon tie bore a gold plate engraved with the Grand Ducal crest, and the cuff links had been made with the same crest stamped in gold. They weren't ornate pieces dripping with jewels, but overall they made a gift that was clean, refined, and quietly luxurious.
I turned to the staff who were receiving their gifts.
"His Highness chose every one of these himself."
"His Highness himself?!"
Whoaaaa—! The employees' cries of delight practically shook the manor to its foundations.
Watching them happily accept their gifts and admire them, I smiled warmly.
Must be nice.
Mine's a confinement device, remember.
I want to wear something ordinary like that too…… something that isn't enchanted, that's all I ask…….
Anyway. I was back.
This manor as vast as the imperial palace, the distinctive scent of wood unique to the duchy, the sound of people laughing and the crisp chill of winter in the air — all of it. It hadn't even been that long since I'd left, and yet it felt like I'd returned home from a full-blown war.
Back, huh…….
I wasn't sure whether this manor was really a place I could call somewhere I'd "come back" to. And yet that was exactly how it felt. Finally, I'm back.
Well, so what if it is?
As long as I was the butler of this duchy, no one could say the expression was wrong, could they?
Good to be back.
A hundred times better than the capital with all its piercing stares trying to size me up!
Clap clap—! I clapped my hands and spoke to the staff.
"Now, everyone, back to your posts, if you please. Lend, please hurry with preparations for dinner."
"You got it, Freya!"
"Barisol, could you help me sort His Highness's luggage?"
"Of course, dear."
And just like that — back to everyday life.
[You're back, Butler.]
"……"
I returned to my room to sort the luggage, only to find that the room's layout had changed.
What is this? Is this not my room?
No — it was, unmistakably, my room. The room was still neatly kept. But a wooden structure as tall as a tower now occupied an entire corner of it.
The structure was built in several levels, with thick, sturdy pillars at its center and broad platforms supporting each floor.
"What in the world is this monstrosity?"
Well, monstrosity wasn't quite fair. It seemed to be made of fine hardwood, and the ropes and carpet wound around the platforms looked expensive too.
As for the furball itself, it was sprawled out on the carpeted third-level platform, rolling this way and that.
[Butler. That dog is a good dog.]
"What?"
The "dog" the furball spoke of was, presumably, Chief Aide Ed.
Ah, I could see it now. That plumply padded belly fat, the sheen flowing through formerly dull, bristly fur, and — of course — that wooden structure ruining the aesthetic of the entire room.
Ed's handiwork, clearly…….
Haa. I pressed a hand to my forehead and sighed.
First I'd unpack; the scolding could come after.
Shaking my head, I opened the travel bag I'd brought with me, pulled out a heaping pile of chicken breast jerky for cats, and tossed it to the furball.
"Jerky made by the imperial head chef himself. Since you met me, you get to eat imperial palace cooking too. You'd better be grateful."
Meow! The furball climbed down from the tower, took a piece of jerky in its mouth, and gnawed. It wasn't dried to a rock-hard state, so a few bites and the chicken breast vanished.
Well, as long as it's eating, that's what counts.
Smiling contentedly, I went back to unpacking. The furball, chewing away at its chicken breast, spoke up.
[I have a gift for you too, Butler.]
As I hauled clothes out of the bag and put them away in the wardrobe, I answered absently.
"Oh? What is it."
[You told me to earn my keep, didn't you?]
"I did."
[Well, so I did!]
The furball declared with supreme confidence:
[I went inside that fifth floor. The one that was strictly forbidden!]
"……What did you just say?"
I spun around in a panic to look at the furball.
"What exactly do you mean by that? Explain. Now. In detail."