* * *
“This is our lodging.”
Gary led Ranshel to a room at the end of the corridor.
The interior resembled a school dormitory, with multiple beds crammed together, leaving only a handspan of space between them.
After changing into the provided clothes, Ranshel sluggishly lay down on the bed assigned to him.
The mattress, which had likely been used by several people before him, was sunken in, but the freshly laundered sheets felt pleasantly crisp.
It was far better than the damp floor of a cheap rental room that made squelching noises with every step.
If this was the kind of place he’d be sleeping in every night, being a servant didn’t seem half bad.
While lying down, Ranshel slid his old clothes under the mattress.
Before long, he dozed off.
“Wake up!”
Kang! Kang! Kang!
Ranshel’s eyes flew open at the racket.
A kitchen servant, wearing an apron, was standing at the entrance, banging the bottom of a pot with a ladle to wake everyone up.
“You wanna skip breakfast? Get out here, now!”
After quickly gauging the situation, Ranshel followed suit when he saw the others scrambling out of bed.
“One bread roll per person! If there’s not enough soup, just say so—I’ll get you more!”
The aroma wafting from the pot full of soup hit his nose, instantly wiping away any lingering sleepiness.
Ranshel kept asking for “one more ladle” until his bowl was nearly overflowing, earning him some scolding before he finally sat down.
The soup contained nothing but a few chunks of potato, but taking a steaming spoonful made him let out a satisfied sigh.
Even the dry, hardened bread was tolerable when dipped in the broth.
Without realizing it, Ranshel devoured his meal at a speed that left the other servants staring in shock.
‘Being a servant isn’t bad at all.’
No rent to worry about, and regular meals, too.
Ranshel was starting to think he could live like this forever—until he was brought back to reality.
“Young Master Zavad resides on the top floor. From today on, you’ll be attending to him every evening until the bells ring.”
Blinking, Ranshel looked up at the impossibly tall staircase.
He had expected to be assigned to the young master, but he hadn’t expected his workplace to be this high up and isolated.
‘What is this, Rapunzel? Did they lock him away in a tower or something?’
The thought of climbing those stairs every day already gave him a headache.
But that was tomorrow’s problem.
“Well then, good luck.”
For now, he had to deal with today’s problem first.
He quickly stopped the departing attendant.
“Wait a moment. Is there anything else I need to know?”
“Like what?”
“Uh… my exact duties…”
“You want me to explain everything to you? Is this your first time doing this job?”
Yes, actually. Ranshel clicked his tongue inwardly.
He had memories of working as a servant, but he knew nothing about noble households.
“Well, this is my first time serving someone of such high status. I was always assigned to general chores in other houses.”
The attendant scoffed.
“Figured. Well, it’s not that different from what you’re used to.”
“…Huh?”
“Just don’t overthink it and focus on keeping things clean.”
“Ah, I see. Got it.”
Realizing he wouldn’t get anything useful, Ranshel trudged up the stairs.
Judging by the guy’s attitude, pressing for more details would only get him an earful.
For now, he’d just focus on cleaning properly today.
He could always ask someone else later.
Most physical labor was just about reading the room anyway.
‘Seriously, though. Why isn’t there an elevator in this game?’
Upon reaching the top floor, Ranshel clung to his wobbly legs and let out a deep sigh.
His stamina definitely seemed worse than in his original body.
After catching his breath, he knocked on the door.
But no matter how long he waited, there was no response.
After some hesitation, Ranshel decided to just go in.
“…Excuse me.”
The moment he stepped inside, he stopped.
Despite the sun having been up for a while, the room was shrouded in darkness.
Gary’s words from earlier surfaced in his mind—something about the young master being possessed by a ghost.
‘I’m not exactly trained in exorcisms…’
Hopefully, he wouldn’t end up startled out of his wits.
With a hand over his uneasy heart, Ranshel strode forward.
First, he pulled back the heavy curtains to let the sunlight in.
The room was dark for a reason—thick, double-layered curtains blocked out the light completely.
Ranshel shook his head and went around opening all the tightly shut windows as well.
He had already suspected it upon entering, but now that the room was bright, he could see it clearly—it was covered in dust.
Every movement sent tiny clouds of dust swirling into the air, making his nose itch.
Had no one cleaned in all this time just because there was no assigned servant?
Ranshel scanned the room with narrowed eyes.
So that’s why they had emphasized cleanliness so much.
The room was so vast that he’d have no time for anything else just keeping it tidy.
‘Seriously, shouldn’t they hire more people for this?’
Muttering to himself, Ranshel cautiously approached the bed at the center of the room.
With the curtains drawn, the young master had probably slept through the morning.
Ranshel already knew what Zavad looked like from the game.
However, since the story had always been told from the heroine’s perspective, he had never seen what Zavad looked like before their official meeting.
‘If he’s going to grow into that face, he must already be stunning now.’
Curious, Ranshel peeked under the covers.
No one was there.
That, he hadn’t expected.
A little thrown off, he glanced around the room.
In the corner of his vision, something glinted.
Instead of the person he was looking for, he found shards of glass scattered on the floor.
‘Did something break?’
Looking closer, tiny fragments of shattered glass were strewn beneath a display case that housed various decorative ornaments.
One of the art pieces must have fallen and shattered.
The fact that dust had already settled on the broken shards made Ranshel chuckle dryly.
So, this was a room where, without a designated servant, things were left unattended.
It didn’t matter if something broke, got damaged, or if someone stepped on the shards and got hurt.
“…….”
Rubbing a hand down his face, Ranshel started searching the room.
This place was at the top of a tower, meaning he had to climb all those stairs to get here.
There was no way anyone was carrying brooms and dustpans up and down every day.
After a while, Ranshel’s gaze landed on a small storage cabinet in the corner of the room.
It was placed at the very edge of the space, amidst luxurious decorations, but unlike the others, it looked old and well-used.
Ranshel took a step forward and opened the cabinet door.
Inside, there was a broom and a dustpan.
And next to them, curled up tightly…
“……”
The second in line to inherit the duchy.
The second son of the Pomel family, a despised illegitimate child.
Or perhaps, a secret royal bloodline.
A boy born with one of the rarest bloodlines in the empire was hunched over in the most remote and shabby part of the castle, as if he were no different from the broom or dustpan beside him.
“……Young Master.”
Ranshel called out softly, but Zavad didn’t move an inch from his curled-up position.
He almost seemed to be asleep.
Even though he had a bed big enough to fit five of him comfortably, he had chosen to squeeze himself into a cramped corner of a storage cabinet.
‘This is insane….’
Ranshel shut his eyes tightly.
His head throbbed.
* * *
