I picked up the few belongings I had brought on the journey and began to follow her out of the room. As we exited, I overheard Gustav speak to Master.
"Thank you—for agreeing to fulfill my master's final wish."
[Final wish? What does he mean by that? Doesn't the Duke have anyone else to talk to besides Master? I should've listened longer—I might've learned more. Oh well, I'll follow the maid for now.]
Meanwhile, the conversation between Valorant and Gustav continued.
"Even a man sentenced to execution is granted final words."
"My Lord insisted I not let you leave empty-handed. Here." Gustav handed him a small chest.
"Alaris still can't stop tying money to everything," Valorant muttered, taking the chest.
"There's one more thing the Duke asked me to tell you."
"What is it?"
"The moment he dies, you must take Anna away from here."
"What about everything else?"
"I'll handle everything that remains. I'll use everything I have to prevent problems—even at the cost of my life."
—
I followed Suna through another part of the mansion. The house continued to surprise me.
[How many rooms are in this place? The hallways alone go on forever! Where is Suna even taking me?]
As I walked behind her, I quietly observed her. She carried herself gracefully and politely—at least, that's how it seemed to me.
Eventually, we stopped in front of a room. Suna opened the door.
"Here you go, young master."
"You can call me Attu. 'Young master' makes me feel a little awkward."
"Alright, Attu. This room is yours." She stepped inside, and I followed.
The room wasn't bad. It had a single bed, a desk with a chair, and a large wardrobe off to the side. I looked around, taking it all in, until Suna cleared her throat like she wanted to say something.
"Is there anything else I can help with?"
"I have a question."
"Of course, ask anything you like."
"What's for dinner?"
"I'll come get you when it's time for meals. Any other questions?"
[Maybe I should ask about Anna… Gustav said she doesn't talk to anyone, but I saw her playing with this maid. I can't help but be curious.]
"Yes, the girl you were playing with…"
"She's Duke Alaris's granddaughter—Anna."
"I heard she doesn't talk to anyone."
"That's usually true. But when it's just the two of us, she opens up. She feels close to me."
"Any more questions?"
"No, that's all."
"If you'd like… I could introduce you to Anna," she added with a smile.
[Wait, what? Did she say she'd introduce me to Anna? I don't want that! But now she probably thinks I'm interested in her just because I asked… How do I explain that's not the case? Better just politely refuse.]
"Thank you, but that won't be necessary," I replied, my face a little flushed.
"In that case, I'll take my leave," she said with a smile and exited the room.
After she left, I began unpacking my things and placing them around the room. Just as I sat down on the bed, Master Valorant walked in.
"Master, what happened?"
"There's something we need to do. Look at this," he said, showing me a small chest and opening it.
"What is this?" I leaned over, peering inside the chest—and froze in awe. It was full of gold coins. My mouth fell open. I had never seen so many gold coins in my life.
"I think this should be enough to buy your sword."
"Amazing!" I exclaimed. But as I was celebrating, something struck me.
[Where did Master get all these coins? No ordinary person could earn this much gold even in a lifetime. I should ask him.]
"Where did you get this money?"
"Why do you ask?"
"I'm just curious. Where could you have gotten so much gold so suddenly?"
"Gustav gave it to me, as advance payment for the task they mentioned."
"Why did they pay in advance? Usually, payment comes after the job is done."
"There are reasons. Don't worry—this gold will be enough to buy your sword and cover what lies ahead."
The master told me not to worry. Still, something about this bothers me. I feel like we're about to make a mistake.]
"Tomorrow we'll go get you a sword."
"Why not today?"
"We've just arrived. It wouldn't be polite to leave right away. Let's rest a bit."
"Understood. We'll go tomorrow, then."
After our conversation, Master left the room. I lay down on the bed for a while, and without realizing it, I fell fast asleep. The long journey had worn me out completely.
When I opened my eyes, someone was calling me.
[Who's calling me? From the voice, it sounds like Suna. I should get up and open the door.]
I dragged myself up and opened the door. Just as I thought, Suna was standing there. She had woken me from my sweet nap.
"Attu, can you hear me?" she knocked.
"Yes, I'm up. What's going on?" I asked, opening the door.
"It's dinner time. Come down and eat something."
"I'll be right down."
Just as she said, I went down for dinner. It took me a bit to find the dining hall, but I eventually did. When I entered, the first thing I noticed was that the table was set for three people.
Two seats were side by side, and Master Valorant was already sitting in one. Across from him, there was one empty seat.
I went and sat next to Master, but as soon as I did, he stood up and left.