North x Northwest
Chapter 193

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Lil’s smiling face Ed eventually got to see on the deck of the Bell Rock, quickly turned into one that rebuked him. Back then and due to his own efforts, Lil finally trusted him.

‘It wasn’t always easy and there were times when I got angry at her for not allowing herself to trust me so confidently, but it’s all in the past. Now I so desperately miss the smile she gave under the blazing southern sun…’

simultaneously, another memory came to mind.

{ “Lock him up. We’ll throw him on a suitable uninhabited island soon, let’s discuss the timing later.*” }

Ed couldn’t get the image of her turning away from him out of his head. She was so cold that he couldn’t believe she was the same woman he had drawn while she was sleeping in his bed until dawn. When Ed remembered those moments, the sensation of his flesh being ripped and torn from all over his body returned. It wasn’t easy, even for him, to get over the trauma of being plunged into the dreadful night sea. Compared to all that had happened to him, that part was the absolute worst, because it left a wound that didn’t heal and left a pain that didn’t go away.

Ed extracted a bottle of wine from the barrel. Because the ice that had filled the barrel had almost completely melted, he decided to just take the whole bottle with him. He then slid a glass between his free fingers and walked out of the room. As soon as he descended the stairs his unfastened gown began to fly wildly and servants on their way to and from the second level casually greeted the master of the residence as they walked by.

Without Ed noticing, one of his personal servants had caught up and outpaced him. Ed walked into the room, where the devoted servant had quickly opened the door. The servant then bowed the moment his master walked in before leaving and closing the door.

Several stringed instruments, including a harp and a cembalo, were arranged like exhibit pieces in the inner room*. The organ, which occupied a wall corner, was wrapped in white cloth. Ed stood in silence, staring at the only window with its curtains drawn. He eventually lowered his gaze to match the angle of the sunlight, its gentle slope crumbled against one of the instrument’s legs. Ed went over to the cembalo and set his round glass down on the frame of the instrument. He greedily poured the wine and took a seat.

When Ed opened the lid, dust sleeping on the black keys greeted him.

***

The place where the knight statue was located resembled an art gallery. Marble sculptures and figures were arranged meticulously, and gloomy war paintings were hung on the walls at appropriate intervals for viewing. Retiro’s ancestors were collectors during the monarchy, so their collections had grown enormously over the years. As a result, Lil had the luxury to choose between a mace and a spear from a massive bronze equestrian statue. Those weapons had the most destructive power, but she needed her weapons to be portable as well. Naturally, they were much longer than her skirt or too heavy to carry under it, so Lil had to put them back despite feeling greedy. In the end, she had to be satisfied with just the couple of extra daggers she had already hidden on her body.

Upon hearing an unfamiliar voice, Lil quickly thrust the mace, she was still holding, into the saddle.

“Is there anything I may help you with?”

A middle-aged maid, seen between the statue’s arms and head, drew her neck towards Lil. Looking further ahead, there were several other employees gathered at the entrance. Lil smiled sloppily, knowing well how suspicious she must be looking.

“Who are you?”

“I am Elodie, a maid.”

“I was looking for the library. Where is it?”

Lil told Levi she was going to see Ed, but she had planned on going to the library from the beginning. Finding a map had her highest priority and most of all, she didn’t want to face Ed just yet.

‘Not only are my thoughts in disarray, but I’m also afraid of what I’ll say if I ran into him right now.’

Lil reasoned that it was for the best to replace a map and leave the house as soon as possible.

“Please, follow me.”

When Elodie took the lead without showing any signs of vigilance, Lil brushed off her hands and followed the maid, but not before she glanced back. The moment she did, she saw that the people gathered beyond the entrance were all looking at each other with curious expressions. But as soon as Lil’s eyes met theirs, they scattered in all directions while nervously rubbing their aprons.

Elodie and Lil passed the billiard room and turned around the stairwell. Every time Lil passed through a door, it was the same scene. Two dressed-up servants would greet her. They also occasionally passed by maids carrying out their work, but that was about it. In other words, except for Lil, the only people walking around there were servants.

‘As it’s a residence belonging to a Marquess, shouldn’t it be crowded with vassals and people doing administrative work? Why is it so quiet?’

“Why aren’t there more people here? Isn’t there a lot of governance work to do?”

“It’s because Sir Linhardt uses the southern building, all business transactions take place there.”

“Then this is…”

“Sir Edgar is using this building.”

“Is the library here too?”

“Yes.”

The seasoned maid was reserved. She could have gone into greater detail about how each section of the house was used, but she remained silent after her initial response.

‘At first glance, it appears to be an old mansion in a complex style that has been extended and repaired over time. The art displayed in each room alone must be priceless, but the mansion itself is a cultural treasure whose worth can’t even be measured. Normally, with a mansion this size, maids would proudly recite epic poems about every corner of the mansion to strangers… This can only mean that Elodie is deliberately keeping her mouth shut.’

Lil took another look around. Even though it was a building away from business, she still found it odd that it was so quiet.

‘Besides the 3^rd floor, the 2^nd floor is even less crowded… This will allow me to move around discreetly… But it feels like such circumstances aren’t without reason, so I first need to figure out what’s going on.’

“Even so, isn’t it a bit too empty?”

Elodie replied with a sigh.

“This is essentially a place where outsiders can’t come in.”

“Why? I would understand if it’s the third floor, which has the main bedroom, but I wonder why the second floor is like this as well.”

“Hmm! Well, Sir Edgar is very picky…”

“..?”

Lil tilted her head after hearing that.

‘Ed is picky? …He was indeed a bit shy and reluctant to mix with people, but well… he ate the bread he picked up from the floor and the meat I tore off and passed on to him. Although he was sometimes obsessed with the fabric of his clothes… even then, when I mistreated him, he would obediently follow my words. I truly can’t reconcile it, no matter how hard I try. Who knew he would order to empty an entire mansion’s floor just because he’s picky? Ed is someone Elodie has known for a long time. So she knows him better than I… I’m the one who has been deceived all along…’

“…because he was born with a keen, sensitive and sophisticated temperament…”

As if she was stabbed in the side, Elodie immediately shut up. She shook her head with a guilty expression as if she had just cursed at her master. After all, that ‘keen, sensitive and sophisticated temperament’ didn’t seem to be used as a compliment. Lil never thought of Ed as a temperamental person or someone who wants to save face, but Elodie’s words made sense to Lil when she realised that his personality at that time was all part of his act.

Elodie didn’t say anything after that, it was as though she had become wary of Lil. So Lil was back to follow Elodie in silence. Or at least she tried, but the shoes she had gotten from Levi were a size too big, so her heels rang loudly with every step she took.

It didn’t help that the gallery appeared endless no matter how much she walked. It has been a long time since she visited such a large mansion, so Lil became impatient and was about to increase her pace. However, she had to slow down again when Elodie warned her with a stern look.

– …Clack …Clack… –

The sound of her shoes echoed in the space as wide as a banquet hall. This gallery was also filled with paintings and sculptures. Within its centre, a series of masterpieces made by Chauvron, Alsene, and Tange were neatly lined up.

‘Whether his ancestors loved art so much, or whether these were all collected because they were enthusiastic supporters, but this entire mansion reminds me of an art museum.’

Lil, examining the pieces in an alcove⁵ with a tired face, suddenly heard a strange sound blended with her steps.

She paused. As her clicking feet stopped, a faint melody was heard. The melody, that had been mixed like a cacophony* with the verbal noise, gradually became clearer. Elodie, who glanced back at Lil, eventually looked up into the air to intently listen to the music as well.

“It’s the ordre* of Count Ior.”

“…”

“What makes him play the cembalo at this hour? Besides, it’s not a joyful song…”

It was a song that even Elodie knew well. Love Song No. 5 was written by Count Ior right before he took his own life. It became one of his more famous songs due to the fact it was incomplete.

“The library…”

“..?”

Lil scuttled back. As soon as she passed Elodie, the maid quickly caught up. Lil then rolled up her skirt and widened her stride.

“Where is the library?”

“Oh, yes. Just past the gallery.”

Even when Lil stumped her feet deliberately, the melody was louder than her footsteps.

Suddenly, her imagination* took over and Lightning flashed above the melancholy tune. A window blew open, and its curtains fluttered so strongly that it appeared as if they were about to tear off. This happened all the while a monotonous rainstorm raged. The sound of thunder coming from her left and right sides struck at the same time. Between the spaces, the frames of the high windows creaked intimidatingly.

Lil ran out of the gallery.

The death of a musician, who was a master of the Watteau II era, came as a shock to everyone and creations depicting the end of the Count had overflowed society. Lil, too, had seen countless portrayals suggesting a hanged figure by a stormy window. Next to him were always his cembalo and scattered torn sheets of music…

Footnote:

5. Alcove: Space made by hollowing walls for decoration.

Cacophony: A blend of inharmonious sounds. The word originates from Greek, actually meaning ‘bad sound’. An example of a cacophony in real life would be like dishes crashing on the floor, or horns blaring and people yelling in a traffic accident. [STUDY]

Ordre: a set or suite of short pieces for harpsichord or ensemble in 18th-century France. [MERRIAM-WEBSTER]

Inner room: A room that can only be accessed by walking through another room. Therefore an inner room is never adjacent to a corridor.

Imagination: just so it’s clear to everyone, this whole part about the raging storm happens all in Lil’s head. The several paintings Lil has seen about the tragic death of the musician are coming to life in her mind.

References:

{ “Lock him up. We’ll throw him on a suitable uninhabited island soon, let’s discuss the timing later.” } = Chapter 132, after the pigeon incident and Courant and Cesar coming into the room, Alain and Jericho are called. Lil will give this order as soon as they step into the cabin.