Chapter 36: The Music Room
“Valar… why? Have we ever treated him poorly? Why would he do something like this?!”
Catherine bit her lip, her face a mask of anger, clearly baffled by Valar’s antics.
The Duke, however, seemed to be taking it all in stride.
“Well, that’s something you’ll have to ask him directly… Charlie.”
He waved to the door, and in walked a butler named Charlie.
“What is it, Your Grace?”
“Go tell the hunters outside to have Hoover notify Bella. Check if Valar has returned to the workshop. If not, send people to search the whole city! Once you find him, keep an eye on him and report back to me.” The Duke gently tapped the desk, then added after a moment’s thought, “This needs to be handled quickly — we can’t let him leave the city. Once you’ve done that… have Hoover come to my study to see me.”
“Yes, sir.” The butler bowed deeply and quickly exited.
“Why not just grab him?” Catherine asked, clearly unhappy with the Duke’s handling of the situation, her eyes wide with disbelief.
“Ah, don’t rush. Capturing Valar isn’t a challenge, but he wouldn’t have any reason to assassinate Miss Silvya. There’s definitely a mastermind behind this; finding that person is what’s important.” The Duke snorted lightly. “To think they’d dare to send someone to stab my guest right under my nose — that takes guts!”
He turned to me, and despite his stern expression, a smirk tugged at the corners of his lips.
“Miss Silvya, as a Pope Knight, you might not fear these people, but I’d prefer if you just sat back and waited for the results.”
At that moment, the Duke looked quite composed; there was no sign of panic on his face.
He wasn’t the type who looked particularly friendly, despite the smile that often graced his features. It was as if a sense of authority was etched into his very being.
Such a person wouldn’t be easy to approach, and yet, inexplicably, I found myself trusting him.
“Yeah.”
I nodded, about to say a few polite words when—
Gurgle—
My stomach chose that unfortunate moment to make its presence known.
“Oops! Look at us, so busy talking that we completely forgot about dinner… You must be starving! Let me get you something to eat; it’ll be ready in a jiffy.” Lady Catherine gently patted my head before turning to head towards the kitchen.
Watching her quick exit and then glancing at the Duke’s bemused expression, my cheeks heated slightly and I awkwardly lowered my head.
Perhaps sensing my embarrassment, the Duke deliberately shifted the topic.
“Miss Silvya, do you like music?”
Music? I used to love it in my past life, but in this world, the word had barely crossed my ears.
Maybe it was because Carlos had the romantic charm of a wet sock.
“I like it.”
“Can you play the piano?”
…Does this world even have pianos? That was my best instrument! But I had no idea if their pianos were anything like the ones I knew, so I hesitated to answer and simply shook my head.
“I don’t know.”
But the Duke clearly misunderstood my implication.
“Ah, I nearly forgot you don’t remember your past.” He paused, casually glancing my way as if it didn’t matter. “There’s a music room in the castle, right next to your bedroom. I had it specially made for Peilo. She loves the piano and plays it beautifully. Whenever I had a rough day, she’d drag me in there to play some lovely tunes.”
I looked up, surprised. The Duke’s sharp features suddenly seemed softer.
Then he waved his hand as if brushing off the topic.
“Ha ha, no need to think too much about it! If you also enjoy music, why not go take a look for yourself and give it a try? I think it would be a shame for those long, beautiful fingers of yours not to play the piano.”
His words came off as casual, but there was a hint of expectation in his gaze.
“…Yeah.”
I wasn’t sure how to respond, so I mumbled a quiet agreement.
After a brief silence, the Duke decided to jump back into conversation.
“Miss Silvya, since you lost your memory, it hasn’t been six months, right?”
“No.”
“Do you remember anything from before? I heard from Carlos that the Church found you in a village. What were you doing there?”
“I was… living there for a while. Then I encountered the Abyss.”
“And you don’t remember anything before that? Like how you ended up in the little village of Silgaya?”
I fell silent.
Part of me didn’t want to deceive this man, but there was no way I could confess, “Actually, I’m a monster from the Abyss.” After a moment of hesitation, I slowly shook my head.
“…Is that so?” The Duke murmured.
“Ha ha, sorry for asking such odd questions. I was thinking, since you don’t remember anything, and have been hanging out with that Carlos kid, you must be pretty clueless about a lot of things, huh? I know that kid; he’s all action and terrible at teaching.”
That hit home, and I nodded eagerly.
“Here’s an idea! After dinner, you should check out my study. I have some treasured books there; pick a few to read.”
