The communal cemetery, shrouded in deep darkness, exuded an eerie atmosphere. It was when the moon, previously hidden behind clouds, revealed itself that an unfamiliar sound was heard in the cemetery, where only the sound of the wind brushing against the leaves had been rustling.

Under the dim moonlight, two men were ransacking the cemetery. Although a cool night breeze was blowing, beads of sweat had formed on the men’s foreheads.

“Whew, they buried it damn deep.”

When the man with a relatively small build grumbled, the other man was startled and brought his index finger to his lips.

“Be quiet, Jordan! What if someone hears you!”

The smaller man, Jordan, leaned on the shovel stuck in the ground and laughed cynically.

“You’re worrying unnecessarily. No one would come to a communal cemetery this late at night.”

“What do you mean no one? There’s the caretaker.”

“Ah, the caretaker who passed out after drinking the liquor we gave him? Tom, do you really think that caretaker will show up?”

Tom smiled sheepishly and scratched his cheek, as if that wasn’t the case. Jordan slung the shovel he had deeply stuck into the grave over his shoulder and scolded him.

“If you have time to worry unnecessarily, dig hard. The day will break at this rate. Then we’ll really get caught by other people. You don’t want that, do you?”

“Of course not! I’ll work hard!”

Tom put all his energy into it and started digging vigorously. Jordan quickly joined in, and before long, the deeply buried coffin was revealed. Seeing the plain wooden coffin without decoration, Jordan frowned.

“Doesn’t look like much.”

His prediction was spot on. Inside the coffin, there were only worthless items such as an old fountain pen covered in rust, a tattered notebook, a book that had turned yellow, a nameplate with ‘Madison Benjamin’ written on it, and so on.

Aristocrats usually put a pouch containing gold or platinum coins as a fare for Charon, the ferryman of the underworld, but no matter how much they looked, there was no such thing.

“This is the first time I’ve seen such a shabby coffin. How can there not be a single item that could be worth money?”

“I know. But we received a hefty commission, so let’s be satisfied with that, Jordan.”

As Tom opened the bag he had brought while laughing as if telling a joke, Jordan clicked his tongue and muttered.

“…People who worry a lot are usually pessimistic, but you’re quite optimistic.”

“Huh? What did you say?”

“Nothing. Let’s just quickly gather the stuff.”

The request was simple. Bring all the items inside the grave. They said we could take the money as we pleased, so I had expectations, but to think it would be like this. The greater the expectation, the greater the disappointment that came.

If only we hadn’t received a hefty commission, I would have quit right away. As Jordan was grumbling and gathering the items, something shiny caught his eye. It was a gold cufflink with an eagle pattern engraved on it. Jordan’s lips loosened as he picked up the cufflink that looked expensive at a glance.

“This is what an aristocrat should be like.”

Jordan laughed with a smirk and secretly pocketed the cufflink without Tom noticing. Since Tom said he was satisfied with the commission, Jordan intended to keep this for himself.

If there was a slightly concerning part, it was that the client had asked to bring all the items. Jordan briefly scanned the items packed in the bag. They were all things that could be called trash without hesitation.

Considering that the client had asked to bring such trash, it seemed that the item the client was looking for wasn’t the cufflink. Then it should be fine for me to take this. They said we could take anything that could be worth money in the first place, right?

The client had clearly said that only ‘money’ could be taken, but Jordan arbitrarily expanded the interpretation and finished rationalizing it to himself.

After gathering all the items, the moon that had been faintly illuminating the surroundings hid behind the clouds again. The eerily blowing wind was slightly damp.

“It looks like it’s going to rain soon, so let’s bury it quickly.”

As Tom, who had the bag containing the items on his back, urged, Jordan smirked.

“Did you forget what the client lastly asked us to do? They told us to make it known to the whole world that grave robbers had come.”

“Ah, right. That’s what they said.”

Tom, who had momentarily forgotten the fact, muttered as he looked down at the grave that had been ransacked haphazardly and even had the coffin lid wide open.

“Making it known to the whole world, and asking us to gather such trashy items… I can’t understand the client’s taste at all.”

“No need to understand. We just need to do as we’re told and get paid.”

Yeah, that was it. There was no need to understand the tastes of the aristocrats who lived as if they were the best. They didn’t want to understand either.

“Let’s go now.”

Thinking that it didn’t matter as long as it wasn’t discovered that they had done it, Jordan left the place with Tom.

Not long after they left, heavy rain poured down. Due to that, the collapsed pile of soil mercilessly buried the deceased who had been resting in peace.

Rumble, boom−

“…!”

The moment lightning flashed outside the window and a deafening roar was heard, Lily, who was sitting in front of the dressing table, was startled and turned to look at the window. Then, the maid who was tidying the bed closed even the outer door and drew the thick curtains.

Thanks to that, the lightning strikes were not visible at all, and the sound of thunder was so faint that it could barely be heard even when listening carefully.

The fact that the servant understood her feelings without her saying a word and acted accordingly was just like Harold. The saying that servants resemble their masters was indeed true. It could be seen just by looking at the servants in the current Benjamin Count’s residence.

The maid, who was combing Lily’s long and luscious hair, asked.

“Shall I apply perfume to your hair, Young Lady?”

“No. It’s alright.”

Lily refused, thinking that applying perfume when not going out and just going to sleep didn’t seem right. Then, through the dressing table mirror, it could be seen that the maid looked a bit disappointed.

“Hmm, then… could you recommend a good one?”

“Of course!”

When Lily softly asked, the maid took out a bottle of perfume from the case as if she had been waiting.

“This is an apple-scented perfume, but it’s not the sweetness of a ripe apple, but the refreshing scent of a green apple, so it won’t be burdensome at all even if you apply it before going to bed.”

The maid explained so well that she could be believed to be a perfume merchant.

“The refreshing scent of green apples is also a fragrance that the Young Master has been enjoying recently.”

“…!”

Lily, who was about to say she would take that as if she were possessed, swallowed her answer with a startle at the added words. Her gaze naturally shifted to the perfume bottle the maid was holding. The pretty bottle made of crystal contained a light green liquid that swayed.

Lily finally realized the reason why the maid had asked if she wanted to apply perfume before going to bed and recommended the green apple scent he liked among the many fragrances.

She thinks I’m going to have a passionate night with that man. From Lily’s perspective, it was nonsense, but from the maid’s perspective, who believed Lily was Harold’s lover, it was natural.

Should I say now that I have no relationship with that man and that it’s all a misunderstanding?

Lily pondered for a moment but eventually didn’t. It was because she knew that the maids wouldn’t believe her even if she made excuses. It would be strange for them to believe her after seeing the scene of him kissing her cheek.

What was that man thinking, doing such a thing? Lily frowned, feeling resentful of Harold’s actions.

“If you don’t like the scent of green apples, shall I recommend another fragrance?”

The maid, who misunderstood that Lily was frowning because she didn’t like the recommended perfume, asked carefully.

“Now that I think about it, it’s better not to apply perfume. I can’t sleep well if there’s a fragrant object next to me.”

“I understand.”

When Lily politely refused, the maid immediately agreed. This time, she didn’t even show a disappointed expression.

As soon as the maid finished combing Lily’s hair and put down the comb, there was a knock on the door.

“May I come in?”

It was Harold. Since he was in his sleepwear, Lily put a shawl over her shoulders and answered.

“Yes. Please come in.”

As the door opened, Harold entered, pulling a tray. Harold Braden, the second son of the prestigious Maximilian ducal family, Count Braden, and the hero of the empire, personally pulling a tray. Lily’s eyes widened.

“I will do it, Young Master.”

The maids seemed to have the same thought and were startled, trying to take the tray, but Harold stopped them.

“It’s fine. I’ll take care of it, so don’t worry and attend to the Lady.”

Before setting the table, Harold asked Lily.

“I was thinking of having a brief tea time before bed… Would that be alright?”

“If I say no, will you leave again?”

Lily, who was slightly upset because of the sudden kiss on her cheek, asked bluntly. Harold rubbed his chin and pondered for a moment before answering.

“Well, that would be difficult. I will kneel until the Lady permits me.”

As Harold bent his waist as if he were really going to kneel, Lily was startled and waved her hand.

“It was a joke! It was a joke, so you don’t have to do that.”

Harold, who had straightened his half-bent waist, smiled brightly.

“That’s a relief.”

“…”

Lily, who finally realized that Harold was also joking, clicked her tongue inwardly.

As the quick-witted maids gave them space, only Harold and Lily were left in the bedroom. At first, she had no particular thoughts, but sitting face to face with him made her a bit nervous, and Lily swallowed her saliva.

Harold placed a steaming mug in front of Lily and said. The cup contained sweet hot chocolate.

“I brought it because I heard that eating something sweet makes you feel better when you’re in a bad mood.”

Lily thought she had heard that somewhere before, and it was similar to what the owner of the shabby inn she had visited before had said.

“Isn’t it alcohol, not something sweet?”

When Lily asked in puzzlement at the different story from what she had heard from the inn owner, Harold’s expression became subtle. He narrowed the space between his brows and spoke in a slightly serious tone.

“Alcohol does have that effect as well, but… I think it’s better not to drink it today.”

“Why?”

Lily was about to ask if it was because she had gotten drunk before, but Harold spoke first.

“If I get drunk on alcohol today… I don’t think I’ll be able to hold back.”