Invariably, those who first detect changes in the mansion’s owner are the servants who assist in their every move.

This was also true for the Allen mansion. The Johnson couple, who had clearly noticed the subtle changes in the atmosphere between the master and mistress, had been on edge lately.

From some point on, when the madam stopped showing much interest in the master’s comings and goings, they thought, ‘Oh my, our foolish and pitiful madam has finally become steadfast.’ But lo and behold. This time, it was the master who began to change.

Before, they had only thought with concern how the couple’s relationship seemed to run on parallel lines. But then, the master’s stubbornness, which seemed like it would never bend, began to give way, and the relationship between the two started to change.

Of course, whether the change was for better or worse, the fact that changes were beginning to occur wasn’t entirely comfortable for the servants.

New tasks different from before were given one by one as they were about to forget, and there were more occasions when they had to read the situation carefully.

But even so, the Johnson couple found it quite enjoyable.

They had unnecessary expectations about what beautiful picture the still-young master and mistress would paint.

So today, when Agatha Johnson received the sudden picnic schedule, she asked with rather a pleased expression.

“Oh my. You two have a weekend outing planned. Where are you going? The weather is nice today, so a walk in Lawrence Park would be lovely.”

But the answer she received was far from her expectations.

“The laboratory.”

“Pardon?”

Mrs. Johnson asked again in confusion. But Edward continued to speak without even looking at her.

“We’re planning to go to the laboratory, so complicated attire won’t be necessary. Just prepare the usual outing clothes, and only pack the picnic basket and mat.”

At the master’s confident declaration, Mrs. Johnson hesitated to respond for a moment.

On a weekend, for the two of them, and after such a long time, the destination was merely the laboratory.

At this rate, it was no different from the two of them going on his usual solo commute.

As Mrs. Johnson looked uncertainly at Louisa, not knowing what to do, Louisa smiled brightly and said.

“It’s a place I haven’t been to yet, so I’m looking forward to it. We plan to leave around 11 o’clock, and since there might be people who have come to work, it would be nice if you could prepare some light snacks as well. Please make sandwiches for the lunch box as they have less odor and might be less of a nuisance.”

“Understood, madam.”

When the promised time of 11 o’clock came, the master and mistress came down to the first floor, dressed in exactly their usual outing attire.

Mrs. Johnson, who had brought the picnic basket, asked.

“Since there’s luggage, shall I send Rachel along?”

“That won’t be necessary. Having more company will only make things busier. Give me the basket.”

“What are you doing, trying to carry it yourself?”

Edward reached out his hand before Louisa. He snatched the basket from Mrs. Johnson’s hands and said.

“We’ll be back soon, so from now on, prepare the clothes to wear to the opera house tomorrow. For Louisa’s, pay special attention and choose something glamorous.”

At this sudden order, both women’s gazes turned to him. The first to respond was Mrs. Johnson, drawing on her years of experience and professional spirit.

“Yes, I’ll do that.”

“What’s this about an opera, Ed?”

“Let’s go.”

He turned and took his wife’s hand, which was holding a parasol. As her husband opened the door and strode out, Louisa had no choice but to follow, asking.

“What’s this about an opera house? I’m hearing this for the first time.”

“Today we’re going to the laboratory as you wished. So in return, tomorrow you’ll come to the opera house with me.”

“I can go, but it’s just so sudden.”

“I’m granting one of your wishes. You should grant one of mine too.”

He said peremptorily and opened the passenger door for her.

Seeing Louisa sigh, Edward quickly added another word.

“If you don’t like the opera, consider joining our rooms. If you’re going to sleep so late anyway, I think there’s no point in me having separated the bedrooms.”

Louisa looked at him with even more surprised eyes, then just let out a deep sigh and said.

“Your words these days are hard to follow. It’s like a bouncing rubber ball, startling me every time.”

“Is it that bad? Why?”

Edward frowned and asked back. But instead of answering that question, Louisa made a date promise.

Louisa said as she got into the passenger seat.

“Let’s go see the opera.”

“Alright. It’s a promise for tomorrow.”

Edward quickly responded and then opened the back door to load the picnic basket. Then he walked with wide strides past her to the driver’s seat.

Thump. As the large-bodied man got in, the car shook once towards the driver’s side.

He looked once at his wife sitting next to him and stepped on the accelerator.

The main gate of the laboratory.

While a wrecked car could be replaced with another, the laboratory’s main gate was not something that could be replaced so easily.

Because of this, the laboratory’s main gate still showed the damage it had suffered on the day of the King’s Birthday celebration.

Seeing the laboratory’s main gate with its center caved in and a separate barrier installed, Louisa asked.

“My goodness. It seems there was a big accident.”

“Ah… well. That’s right.”

“Do you have to keep it like this? There must be many visiting guests.”

“It’s fine. We’ve been compensated and placed an order for a new one.”

Gilford must have taken care of that. He calmly told a lie.

“And originally, we don’t get many visitors here anyway.”

The first statement was a lie, but this one was the truth.

The case of the Ernst father and daughter last time was unusual. Most cases were usually handled at Gilford’s level.

But at her husband’s words, Louisa’s eyes wavered.

He had said the company’s situation was unstable and they needed to be mindful of investors, but she hadn’t expected it to be to the point of saying there were no visitors.

The urgent visit of Lord Theodore the other day must have been related to this company situation, no doubt.

“Lord Theodore must have a lot to worry about…”

“Huh? Oh, well. That’s right.”

Since he’s almost single-handedly taking on all the responses.

Edward unintentionally added more flesh to his own lie.

He roughly parked the car in the empty lot next to the laboratory, which was vacant due to the lack of people. Then he hurriedly got out of his seat, opened Louisa’s car door, and held out his hand.

Louisa got out of the car, accepting his escort. She lightly adjusted her skirt and asked.

“Are both Lord Theodore and Mr. Curtis at the company today?”

“Jeffrey should be there. As for Gilford, I’m not sure. I rarely go to that guy’s office.”

“Weren’t you working together in this laboratory?”

Louisa asked again, surprised at his words.

“He asked for a separate office in the center of town, so I gave him one. I set one up for him near Central.”

“I see.”

She nodded quietly.

As soon as they arrived here, unknown facts were pouring out. Louisa sincerely thought that it was good she came, even if she had to insist.

The laboratory door opened and a man came out.

“Oh, Mrs. Allen?”

“Guess I can’t go anywhere to badmouth you.”

Edward threw a half-joking, half-serious remark as soon as he saw the familiar face.

Jeffrey, who was suddenly attacked as soon as he came out, frowned and said.

“You must have been in the middle of badmouthing me. It’s okay. I badmouth the boss a lot too.”

“I’m not even curious.”

Hmph. Jeffrey snorted once and then approached Louisa.

“What brings you here, madam? If there’s anything you need, please say so. I’ll roll up my sleeves and help you.”

Edward glared at him and said.

“If you’ve come to work, go do your job instead of saying unnecessary things.”

“My goodness, Ed.”

Louisa called out to him, surprised at his blunt words. Then Edward said nonchalantly.

“I’m just encouraging him to work hard. Right?”

“That’s right, Mrs. Allen. I’m just a horse running well for the boss, so… Oh my, boss!”

Edward raised an eyebrow as he listened to his words. Jeffrey, who had stopped talking and urgently called out “boss,” raised his palms high and said.

“Then I’ll go in, call me if you need me later!”

“Wait, wait a moment.”

Louisa stopped Jeffrey who was about to run away. As he stopped, looking at Edward nervously, Louisa took out the picnic basket from the back seat of the car and said.

“We brought this along with lunch. I think it’s before mealtime, so if you’re hungry, please have some of this while working.”

She took out neatly packaged snacks from the basket and handed them over.

“Thank you, Mrs. Allen. I’ll enjoy them. Then I’ll be…”

Even until the moment he received the snacks from her, he kept glancing at Edward, and with his hands full of snacks, he disappeared at a fast pace.

As the sound of the door closing hurriedly was heard, Louisa spoke up to Edward.

“Why are you so eager to eat people alive?”

He looked at his wife’s face, whose eyebrows had risen quite high, and thought.

Of course, it’s because I can clearly see what kind of things you’ll say again in response to that guy’s nonsense.

It was truly vivid even without seeing it.

The image of Jeffrey listing various hardships, and his wife listening to it all and saying she could help with this and that, trying to do something.

“It’s nothing like that. More importantly, didn’t you come to see the laboratory? Let’s go in quickly.”

Edward pointed to the door in front of him without saying much else.

Louisa didn’t seem to want to nag anymore either, as she just gave her husband a sidelong glance and moved her steps.

The two opened the door of the laboratory and went in.

“So this… is the laboratory.”

Louisa said dazedly as she looked around.

There was a huge facility that was much larger than it looked from the outside, perhaps even giving a sense of vastness.

She took in one by one the scents that stimulated her nose – the fishy smell unique to metal, the musty odor of an old space, and something like the smell of oil applied to the equipment.

This was what her husband’s space in Lindblum consisted of.