CHAPTER 110
I eagerly searched the study, but nothing significant stood out.
"How about we try somewhere else?"
"Somewhere else?"
"Yes. Somewhere your father might have left traces."
"Others might already be searching elsewhere. Is there any place left for me to check?"
Lewis, pondering for a moment, mumbled as he moved.
"I'm not sure, but it’s worth checking."
I followed Lewis to a certain room. Inside the room was a staircase leading upward. As we climbed, a small room with a low ceiling appeared.
"Here it is."
It was the attic of the Marquis' residence.
"It's just a storage space since there's no real use for it."
"I see."
Where could father's traces be?
"We don't need to search long."
As I glanced around the attic, Lewis approached a stack of boxes.
"We should check these."
So, this was the reason we came to the attic.
Opening the box revealed not much significance.
"Your father's notebook?"
"No, that's mine."
"Then what about this? Your father's wooden sword!"
"That was my childhood toy."
"Oh, your toy, Marquis?"
"Why was this kept instead of being thrown away?"
Lewis, rummaging through the toys, seemed puzzled. Then he pulled out a small notebook.
"Is that yours too, Marquis?"
"No."
This time, he gave a different answer.
"It's my father's."
What's written inside? Is it a diary?
Lewis suddenly seemed to remember something.
"I recall seeing this while organizing a long time ago."
"Really? May I look?"
Lewis nodded.
"There's nothing in it anyway."
Nothing at all?
Opening it revealed an empty notebook. It seemed unused.
"Nothing significant, right?"
"Yes, but it feels strange."
"What's strange?"
As I flipped through the pages, I replied.
"Look at this. It's empty, but it doesn't seem like it was completely neglected."
Here. The crumpled part!
Some pages were crumpled as if they had been wet.
"If it had never been opened, the paper would just be yellowed. But this looks worn as if it’s been used."
"You're right..."
Lewis seemed to realize it for the first time.
"Did your father buy this second-hand?"
"Who buys second-hand notebooks? They’re not that expensive."
Lewis retorted incredulously.
"Who would want to buy something so dirty?"
"True."
It was certainly strange.
Noticing my point, Lewis also seemed suspicious and closely examined the notebook.
"It wouldn’t be odd if there were writings. But there's no writing at all."
"Strange."
The wear and tear weren’t just on one part but throughout the whole notebook.
"Did he really buy it second-hand? How did it get so dirty?"
Lewis, puzzled, decided to take the notebook with him.
"I'll take this for now."
As we left the attic, we saw several servants gathered in front of Lewis's study.
"Did you find a lot?"
"Yes, Marquis!"
They presented various items to Lewis, including clothes, pens, and several books.
"Move them to the study and leave."
"Yes, sir!"
After dismissing the servants, Lewis grinned.
"See? They brought everything. No need to waste time on each item."
"True..."
Lewis made everything seem so simple.
It felt unnecessary that I had wasted so much effort.
Unfortunately, none of the items the servants found were particularly helpful.
"It seems there's nothing here in my mansion."
Lewis said while examining his father's belongings with me.
"Indeed."
I didn't expect to find everything in one day anyway, so it was unavoidable.
"Let's search the rest next time. Let's head back for now!"
I stood up, ready to return to the duchy.
But Lewis grabbed my hand.
"Already?"
"Yes. You have work to do, Marquis."
It wasn't a day off, and he had been away for too long.
I said it out of consideration, but Lewis frowned, displeased.
"You've spent too much time outside today. Others might not like it."
"That’s fine. There's no one left to dislike me more."
"Rock bottom, huh?"
"Exactly."
No wonder Lewis had no close friends except for his family.
Still, he had worked with me several times.
Today alone, we spent a lot of time traveling between the palace and Lewis's mansion.
Wouldn't this really cause some resentment?
"I'll come back on your day off and spend proper time with you."
I promised Lewis, shaking the hand he held.
He reluctantly nodded.
"Alright. Let’s go for now."
Lewis stood up, following me.
* * *
As the workday ended, Michael returned to the duchy.
"Didn't you come back with the Marquis?"
'I'll drop by later tonight.'
Lewis had mentioned he'd drop by, so I thought he’d come with Michael.
"Lewis contacted me. He said he'd come later if he could find the time."
"Really?"
"Yes. He told us to go ahead and have dinner, not knowing when he'd be free."
"I see..."
He told us to eat first.
Lewis arrived just as we finished our meal, using teleportation magic.
"If you had come a bit earlier, you could have joined us for dinner."
Lewis, looking a bit tired, replied.
"I have to go back soon."
So that's why he teleported here instead of using a carriage.
If it were the end of the day, he would have taken the carriage.
Just because no one scolds Lewis for being away from work doesn’t mean he has no work to do.
"Did you eat?"
"I had a quick bite before coming."
Feeling concerned that he really had a quick meal, I felt a pang of sympathy.
He should at least eat properly...
Feeling a bit emotional, I looked at Lewis, who noticed and glanced back at me.
He chuckled, making me feel awkward. He knew too well that I was concerned about him.
Since it was a dinner setting, the Duke and Bella were also present.
"You two went to the palace library today?"
"I should have been there too!"
Bella lamented, regretting not being there to help.
"I should have been there."
"We didn't go there to play."
Lewis dismissed the idea, but Bella persisted.
"So, what did you find, Selina?"
The Duke inquired, and I responded.
"We found records from the late emperor's time, but some parts were strangely omitted."
The nature of the research wasn't mentioned, and the record ended abruptly.
Lewis and I found it suspicious.
"Could it be what you mentioned, Duke?"
I offered my opinion.
"The previous emperor was researching immortality, wasn't he?"
That would explain the secrecy and the lack of historical records.
Listening to this, Michael was surprised.
"So, what the Duchess said was true? The late emperor's research?"
"The problem is, the records are too vague."
Lewis added.
"The magician who stopped the research in the middle was, I think, my father."
Bella looked bewildered.
"What's going on?"
Exactly!
I nodded as Lewis continued.
"We tried to find traces of my father, but we found nothing yet. It seems there’s nothing in my mansion."
"What now?"
"What else? We keep searching. We'll find it."
If anyone could, it would be Lewis.
Lewis glanced at me as I had that thought.
"With Selina."
"Yes, of course!"
I smiled brightly in response. Though I wasn’t sure how much help I’d be...
We'll find it, right?
* * *
It was a week later when I visited Lewis's mansion again.
This time, I was here to hang out, not to look for clues. I had promised to visit the Marquis' residence again.
Since it was a holiday, Lewis, who was at the mansion, greeted me at the entrance.
"Stay for a long time today."
Don’t worry. I’ll stay until you beg me to leave!
We had agreed to have lunch together, so I arrived just in time.
Lewis led me to the dining room.
The table was set with just enough food for the two of us, mostly things I liked.
As expected, Lewis knew my tastes well.
"I know what you like now too, Marquis!"
"Oh? What is it?"
"Lightly salted chicken breast salad..."
I confidently listed Lewis's favorite foods.
Lewis wasn't the only one observing me!
I had been watching Lewis closely too. What he ate, what made him smile, and so on.
"Everyone has slight preferences, even if they say they dislike everything."
I finished listing Lewis's preferences with confidence.
Lewis chuckled as he listened attentively.
"You're right."
"See? I got it right?"
That’s how much I know!
I proudly displayed a smug expression.
Lewis looked at me with a gentle gaze.
If others saw Lewis's eyes like this, they’d all question their eyesight, but I had heard his feelings directly before.
So, it only made me feel embarrassed.
But the embarrassment didn’t last long.
"You've been watching me closely without me knowing, huh?"
Because Lewis focuses on strange things.
"Secretly."
"What? No, not secretly!"
Lewis's amused smile confirmed he was doing it on purpose.
He really is mean!
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