When Laila was hesitating to find words to answer, Eustar lightly touched the back of her hand.

At first, she thought he was urging her to respond, but that wasn’t it. Laila continued to gaze into his eyes, which held a faint hint of a smile.

She felt she could spend an eternity looking at her reflection in his eyes, then back at his face…….

At that moment, a rattling noise and an irritated groan were heard from the back of the carriage.

Startled, Eustar and Laila whipped their heads around.

They were so flustered that Laila didn’t even realize Eustar had pulled her close with one arm. The rattling sound continued briefly, then a small head popped up over the seat.

Muge, looking alternately at Eustar and Laila with wide eyes, spoke in a disinterested voice.

“Why are you making such stupid expressions?”

She roughly tidied her disheveled hair as she slid over the seat. Eustar held Laila with one arm and seated her beside him as if he had encountered a wild beast, and seeing this, Muge snorted again.

“What are you doing here, Olga?”

Eustar looked over at the luggage compartment Muge had emerged from and continued to ask.

“Why were you in there?”

Muge, who had been frowning with her arms crossed, said.

“I hate the bustling of humans, I hate the inexplicably energetic Ord Hyanmorik, and I’m sick of being in that castle, so I was looking for a quiet place, but what’s this all about? I should be the one asking.”

Laila was quite surprised by Muge’s blunt speech.

Though it wasn’t the first time, she acted as if she didn’t care about Eustar’s status or anything else. Though she hadn’t seen it, Laila thought she would probably have a similar attitude in front of Ord as well…….

Just then, Muge looked towards Laila.

“How can you put up with this guy’s smooth-talking?”

Laila’s eyes blinked in confusion.

“Smooth-talking… you say?”

Her gaze flicked briefly to Eustar, then back to Muge. At her look that seemed to say ‘Surely you don’t mean this man’, Muge let out an incredulous laugh. Then she stared straight at Eustar.

“You’re good at handling innocent girls.”

Eustar’s eyes narrowed.

“That’s enough.”

Muge snorted and shrugged her shoulders with her arms still crossed. Eustar cleared his throat, glanced at Laila, and then turned the topic towards Muge.

“Anyway, this is good. I was looking for you.”

“Why me?”

Eustar briefly explained about the strange occurrences at Count Haliwell’s mansion and said that he had hoped Olga would take charge of the royal castle and Cercita along with Marnak.

However, before he could finish speaking, Olga made a face of disgust.

“Good thing I was hiding in the luggage compartment.”

Olga, who had briefly turned her gaze to the window, continued.

“But Eustar, from what you’re saying, it doesn’t sound like someone who simply died in an accident. Such beings aren’t usually this persistent. Right? And it’s even stranger that they appear in front of the family members.”

Then Olga said this to Laila as well.

“Don’t you think so too? As a medium.”

Laila nodded with a thoughtful expression. The exact situation would only be known once they visited the Count’s mansion…….

Eustar said.

“It seems you’ve become rather interested in this matter?”

Olga retorted as if to say, what nonsense are you talking about.

“I’d rather dance in a pit of fire than play nanny to Ord Hyanmorik.”

A bitter smile played on Eustar’s lips.

“My elder brother is past the age of needing a nanny.”

“But he still needs one, doesn’t he? That’s why you want to leave me at the royal castle with the devout Deamer, right?”

“It’s because you’re the suitable person for it.”

Muge waved her hand as if to say don’t even mention it anymore.

“I’ll pass. Yes, as you said, this is more interesting. It’s a type I’ve never encountered before. Though I find studying magical beasts more fun…….”

Trailing off, Muge asked.

“Any synch reactions?”

Eustar’s shoulders rose slightly and then fell.

“Nothing reported yet. The seeker hasn’t shown any particular reaction either.”

Laila interjected.

“It might be hidden like last time, right?”

Eustar nodded.

“That’s right. You’re correct. So we’ll need to thoroughly examine the Count’s mansion and its surroundings. It seems we might be a bit short-handed with just the three of us…….”

Muge quipped.

“If anything comes up, call everyone down to the lowest ranks and clean it all out. You two will be busy with your love affair, so I’ll do the calling.”

For a moment, Eustar coughed as if he had choked on something. Laila, not understanding what Muge’s intentions were in saying such things, asked in confusion.

“Eustar and I aren’t doing anything like that.”

At this, Eustar’s face turned even redder. Muge looked back and forth between the two with an expression of disbelief, then clicked her tongue and shook her head.

When the carriage arrived at Count Haliwell’s mansion, the servants who opened the door all bowed with puzzled expressions.

They seemed to want to ask why a carriage bearing the crest of the Hyanmorik royal castle had come to such an insignificant place.

As the three of them stepped out of the carriage in order, a person who appeared to be the head butler came running hurriedly with several servants. He bowed politely and introduced himself as Follet.

“Please come inside. The two lords have been anxiously waiting for your arrival.”

He was referring to Count Haliwell. The three followed the servants into the mansion.

It was an ordinary mansion commonly seen in the outskirts of the capital. The structure wasn’t particularly unique, and its size was small as well. Laila discreetly took out her seeker to check, but the needle didn’t move at all.

“Your Highness the Prince, Your Highness!”

Having heard their approach, Count Haliwell appeared in a fluster. Laila, who had been looking at the eerie wall adorned with mounted heads of hunted beasts, turned her gaze towards the Count. His complexion seemed worse than when they had seen him at the royal castle.

“Please come inside. Oh, but who is this…….”

Seeing Muge standing with the two, the Count looked at Eustar with an expression that seemed to ask what was going on. It was understandable, as Muge gave the impression of being a teenage girl not even twenty years old.

Eustar said.

“This is Director Olga of the 2nd Branch Havashuka. She has accompanied us to see how we can solve your problem along with the two of us.”

The Count’s expression changed immediately. He bowed even more earnestly, repeatedly inviting the three to come inside.

Muge looked around the mansion with indifferent eyes, as if she had no interest in the Count’s hospitality and respect.

Her expression wasn’t particularly good, but even considering that she was usually in a not-so-good mood, there seemed to be something that made her uncomfortable.

“Miss Olga, what’s wrong?”

Laila asked in a lowered voice. Eustar was preoccupied with listening to the talkative Count’s lamentations.

Muge, who had been looking up at the ceiling of the mansion that somehow felt gloomy, answered.

“It’s nothing. I’m going to look around elsewhere.”

Then, before Laila could stop her, she disappeared quickly and silently.

“Laila.”

Eustar called Laila, gesturing with his eyes for her to come over. Laila looked back once in the direction Muge had gone, then followed Eustar and said.

“Eustar, Olga said she was going to look around something.”

Eustar looked at Laila and then shifted his gaze to the back. Then he let out a short sigh and shook his head.

“It’ll be fine. Leave her be.”

Even if we try to stop her, she won’t listen. Eustar added quietly.

Count Haliwell led the two to an empty guest room. He continued to ramble incoherently like someone overwhelmed with anxiety, and when they reached a closed door, his words became completely disconnected.

Laila could see the cold sweat that had broken out on his forehead. He clearly seemed reluctant to approach the closed door.

Eustar said.

“Step back. I’ll open the door.”

The Count, who had been gesticulating and speaking nonsensically, finally closed his mouth obediently and stepped back without a word. If left alone, he looked like he might run to the end of the corridor.

Eustar held the doorknob for a moment. When he opened the door, Laila felt an inexplicable chill, but that was all. There was nothing and no one beyond the door.

Count Haliwell seemed noticeably relieved, but at the same time, he looked even more worried than before. He seemed concerned that Eustar and Laila might not believe his words.

Eustar asked.

“How many rooms are there in this mansion?”

The Count gaped as if he was speaking in an incomprehensible foreign language, then suddenly came to his senses.

“Fourteen… about that many, Your Highness. The servants’ rooms are separate, about ten of them. Two or three people share a room. When we came to the capital from the county, we brought only about thirty servants with us.”

“So there are about twenty-four doors in total. And this Wells fellow doesn’t appear in any specific place, nor is there a particular pattern…….”

Eustar trailed off, lost in thought, then said.

“Let’s investigate. You go and tell your family and the servants to avoid entering unnecessary places as much as possible.”

“Understood, Your Highness.”

The Count withdrew. The two entered the guest room and closed the door. It was a clean, tidy room, though not particularly luxurious.

Every sheet and curtain was placed exactly where it should be, as if painted in a picture, giving the feeling of having entered a stage set.

Laila, taking out her seeker, said.

“It doesn’t seem like there’s any synch, Eustar.”

Eustar also took out his seeker to check. Then, letting out a short sigh, he nodded.

“Mine shows the same. No synch energy is detected. I’m not sure if we should be relieved or if this makes things more troublesome…….”

Saying this, he put on a monocle over his left eye. The thin chain that had fallen down blended with his hair, emitting a faint light.

Laila said.

“Ghosts don’t necessarily appear only when there’s synch. It’s possible, but I’m curious about how this person Wells died and what kind of accident it was…….”

Eustar nodded in agreement.

Just then, a lingering gunshot was heard from outside.