CHAPTER 099
Lewis gave me something that looked similar to the communication sphere, right?
Even though it was somewhat hidden by the pool, I could clearly see something like a sphere being raised in front of the face.
The servant said something to it.
Maybe because he was so focused on it, he started walking in my direction!
I should pretend I didn't see it. If not, I'd run into him head-on.
I quickly turned my head and pretended to look at the distant mountains, and soon I heard the servant's startled voice.
"Oh dear!"
Only then did I look at the servant again.
He was hiding something behind his back. It must be what he was holding a moment ago, right?
Instead of asking what it was, I tilted my head. As if wondering, 'Why is he surprised?'
And I naturally left the garden.
Good, that was perfect acting!
As soon as I entered the mansion, I quickly went up to my room.
I didn't show any signs of suspicion in front of the servant, but the scene I had just witnessed seemed suspicious.
Wasn't that a communication sphere?
What was so urgent that he had to hide it quickly as if he shouldn't be caught?
I saw something suspicious. Rather than worrying alone, it might be better to get an expert's opinion.
The best person to talk to about this is, of course, Lewis.
Without further thought, I contacted him right away.
"Marquis."
-Hmm?
Lewis quickly responded.
"I went out to the garden earlier, and..."
I told him about what happened in the garden.
Was the communication sphere such a common item? Common enough for a servant to use?
I don't think so. It's unfamiliar to me as well!
"Isn't it unusual for servants to use communication spheres?"
Just in case, I asked, and as expected, Lewis's answer was what I thought.
-Communication spheres, like other magic tools, are generally expensive. It's not something a servant can easily buy with their salary.
"Exactly. What was the salary of the Croft household's servants again?"
I remember it being quite high.
Lewis told me bluntly as I muttered to myself.
-It's double that of other households.
Ah, right. Because of the rumors about danger, there were hardly any applicants!
-Anyway, even Croft servants can't easily buy such items.
"That's suspicious."
Isn't it really suspicious? Why would someone spend their entire salary on a communication sphere?
-Not to mention, if it's a communication sphere, there must be someone to receive the communication. Who was that servant communicating with?
Wow, that makes it even more suspicious!
Lewis's words made the servant even more suspicious.
"Could he be a spy or something?"
Like someone planted by another household!
I said it just in case, and Lewis readily agreed.
-Could be. Especially since it's Croft we're talking about.
Lewis thinks it's possible too.
Croft isn't an ordinary household at all, but living here has made me too familiar with its presence.
Even Bella is getting along well with the ladies now...
-It's suspicious, so I'll talk to Michael about it. Be cautious around that servant for now.
"Okay."
The conversation with Lewis ended for now.
* * *
I gathered some information about the servant over a day.
His name is Tom. He's in his mid-30s and joined the Duke's household a month ago.
"What has he been like? Have you talked to him much?"
I asked my maid, and she answered.
"He's not very talkative, so I haven't spoken to him much. We haven't had much chance to meet while working."
"I see."
She added that he didn't seem to get along closely with the other servants.
"It seems to take him some time to adjust. But I hear he works well."
A person who just quietly does their job.
So, he didn't have a bad reputation among the servants. He did his job well, after all.
After sending the maid away, I spoke to Lewis again through the communication sphere.
"I asked my maid, and it seems he keeps to himself among the servants."
-I told Michael to keep an eye on him. Told him something suspicious might have come into the mansion.
If I had told Bella, she would have rummaged through his things immediately.
The mansion would have been in an uproar.
We were having such a conversation as I stood by the window, looking outside.
"Huh?"
-What's up?
I saw that servant leaving the mansion.
As I tilted my head, I heard a knock behind me.
It was my maid returning from picking up the laundry.
"Anne."
"Yes?"
"That servant named Tom. Is he leaving work early today?"
"Oh, he applied for leave. He'll be back later."
"Really?"
The communication sphere was still on, so Lewis also heard the maid's words.
Maybe that's why, as soon as Anne left, Lewis spoke immediately without me explaining the situation.
-Let's follow him.
"Follow him?"
-Yeah. Aren't you curious about where he's going?
"Should we?"
As long as Lewis had time.
-Can I come to your room now?
"Yes. Are you coming right away?"
There was no response from beyond the communication sphere. Because Lewis was already in front of me.
"When following someone, you need to move quickly, right?"
He smiled and grabbed my wrist.
In the blink of an eye, the scenery changed.
We were outside the Duke's mansion.
"Marquis, over there."
As I looked around, I saw the servant right away.
He was getting on a hired carriage to go somewhere.
"We need to catch a carriage too!"
The Duke's carriage would be too conspicuous, so a hired carriage would be better for us too, right?
"No. We won't take a carriage."
Contrary to my expectations, Lewis grabbed my hand again.
And just as my vision shook for a moment—
"Ah!"
We were floating in the air.
"Marquis, my feet feel empty..."
We were higher than the buildings below, with a clear view of the ground, but there was something under our feet.
Just like standing on the ground.
This is a spell that someone with acrophobia could never use...
Even I felt dizzy.
"Is it safe? The ground won't suddenly disappear, right?"
My voice trembled unknowingly.
"You don't need to worry about that."
Lewis said with an amused tone.
But I'm not used to this kind of magic!
My grip on Lewis's hand tightened unknowingly.
"If you're scared, stick closer."
"Should I?"
I half-joked and stuck close to Lewis.
"But if we're floating in the air like this, won't people be surprised to see us?"
"I cast an invisibility spell. No one else can see us."
Oh, I see?
I then looked at the carriage the servant was on and asked.
"Wouldn't it be much easier to follow in a carriage?"
"It might leave while we're calling one. That hired carriage seems to have been prearranged."
Indeed. It's rare for an empty hired carriage to pass through this area.
"And I like looking down from up here. You can see far."
"Yes, you can see far indeed..."
No fear at all.
We didn't just stay in one place.
Whenever the servant's carriage moved away, Lewis adjusted our position.
Eventually, the carriage stopped and the servant got off.
His destination wasn't far from the Duke's mansion. It was a place I was familiar with, which was unexpected.
"This is the place I came with Bella?"
40th Street, where I came with Bella and Charlotte!
The servant got off there.
"Last time I was here, I met some thugs, and His Highness the Crown Prince helped us."
"Is that what you mentioned last time?"
Lewis immediately understood, having heard the story once before.
"Does he know someone here?"
"He might. When I checked, he didn't live on 40th Street."
We quietly followed the servant.
Still, under the invisibility spell, we finally stepped on solid ground.
Ah, finally, solid ground!
Lewis looked somewhat regretful as he watched me.
"Marquis, are you sure we can't be seen?"
"Yeah. Even if we're right next to him, he won't notice us."
But he warned that we couldn't hide our sound.
Tom walked into a narrow alley without hesitation.
Where is he heading?
Lewis and I followed from a distance.
"He's going much deeper than when I came last time."
"Avoid places like this if you can."
"Yes."
Whispering to Lewis from a distance, Tom stopped walking.
He went into some sort of restaurant. From the look of it, it seemed to serve food during the day and alcohol at night.
"He probably didn't come all the way here just to eat... It's an appointment, right?"
"Seems like it."
Before the door closed, we slipped in quickly.
The place had no customers and spacious tables.
We sat at a random table. If we weren't invisible, we would have ordered something.
Tom sat alone and ordered a beer.
The strange thing was, that even after the beer was served, he didn't drink it.
He just stared at it.
"He must have someone coming."
Otherwise, there would be no reason to leave it untouched!
Soon, the door opened again. When I looked back, my mouth dropped open in surprise.
No way...!
Startled, I turned to Lewis, who also had a bewildered expression.
It was because Philip had entered the store!
Could Philip be the one he was meeting?
Philip was accompanied by a knight I had seen before, both with hoods up.
I had seen Philip and that knight together on 40th Street once...
Could this be why he told me not to come?
Because it's a dangerous area, he told me never to come again, and I still remember that!
A new servant in the Croft mansion.
Philip meets that servant in such a secluded neighborhood.
This is really suspicious...
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