✠

The guest room was located at the eastern end of the third floor.

With a slightly oversized bed draped in a square canopy, windows adorned with elegant grilles and glass, and a desk set in front of them, the room was neither luxurious nor shabby.

The heavy-toned wooden furniture and deep wine-colored bedding seemed perfectly suited to host a dignified and ascetic priestly guest.

Only, thanks to the dark-romance genre filter, the room was dim even in broad daylight.

One wall was practically nothing but windows, but the tall garden trees and ivy crawling up the glass blocked much of the light.

"Isn't it a bit dark?"

"That’s why I like it."

What could I say? It was the guest’s taste.

Come to think of it, the view of the garden peeking through the trees was quite beautiful. The desk was placed right against the window, and the lighting wasn’t so poor as to make reading impossible.

After confirming that a decent amount of light fell onto the neatly arranged books and writing tools on the desk, I handed Reid the room key.

"There’s only one chair. Mind if I sit for a bit, Ai?"

As soon as it became his room, he offered me a seat.

It seemed the tightly fitted black clerical robe had made his mind more uncomfortable than his body. He immediately took it off and even unfastened two buttons of his shirt, dimming the holiness a bit.

And as if that still wasn’t enough, he sat on the bed and casually crossed his legs.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

"No reason."

It was probably because this was the first time I’d seen his pristine appearance looking so disheveled. I must have stared too intently.

Reid let out a low chuckle, like someone who had read my mind. But he didn’t press.

Lost in thought, he threw out a casual question.

"The Countess’s room—is it on a different floor?"

"Yeah. The guest room’s on the third floor, and the Countess’s room is on the second."

"You know it well, considering you haven’t even read the novel."

Reid’s eyes gleamed.

"Now that I think about it, you also led me here without hesitation. Did someone tell you?"

"Mm, something like that. I’m given just enough information to properly fulfill the Countess’s role."

"I see."

I was relieved to have sidestepped the tricky question.

[ ‘Duties of the Countess (2)’

Return to your room and check the Countess’s daily schedule and the mansion rules.]

The mansion rules, huh. That sounded interesting. I rose from the chair right away.

"Looks like I need to check out the Countess’s room now. Want to come?"

I naturally assumed he would join me in exploring. But the reply was unexpected.

"That won’t do."

"Huh? Why not?"

"A guest isn’t allowed to enter the Countess’s room freely."

"Oh."

I understood what that meant.

["The Scales that Judge the Soul" makes a scandalous fuss, saying you nearly dragged a strange man into your bedroom on your husband’s funeral day.]

["The Inspector of Forbidden Revelations" is appalled by the immoral setup.]

So the original setting made things a little awkward. As I grew slightly flustered, Reid added teasingly:

"Too bad. I have a lot of restrictions as a priest."

"Well, I mean, even if you weren’t a priest, adultery still wouldn’t be okay."

"Adultery? I’d like to correct that term."

"Huh?"

"Since the husband is dead, it’s not really adultery, is it?"

"Ah... now that you mention it, you’re right. Then what do you call it?"

"By Order Church standards... fornication."

"Aha."

While ‘adultery’ and ‘fornication’ are generally used interchangeably, in extremely conservative doctrine, they’re distinguished.

In chastity-centered sexual ethics, even unmarried men and women engaging in relations would be considered guilty of fornication.

["The Word Spirit That Constructs Worlds" grumbles about how rigid {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} Order Church doctrine is.]

Indeed. Our Word Spirit religion is far more lenient.

Meanwhile, Reid’s expression seemed uneasy. As if he regretted uttering the word ‘fornication’ despite being the one who brought it up.

Well, no matter how far he’s fallen, he did live conservatively for a long time.

That’s when another possibility hit me hard.

"Wait... no way. Is he thinking about the 86th round?"

On that night, he entered Muriel’s bedroom to “give her the rest of his lifespan.” That’s when his record was created...!

["The Scales that Judge the Soul" frowns, saying you’re acting like a canon-purist again.]

["The Word Spirit That Constructs Worlds" crosses their arms and nods.]

Judging by the gods’ reactions, I had a general sense—but no proof.

At this point, I really wanted to ask Reid directly. But...

‘Hey, Reid. Did nothing really happen between you and Muriel in round 86? The gods say the canon was broken—so is that true? I mean, not that I’m interrogating you about your ex or anything! I’m just curious, as someone currently possessing!’

...No matter how I rephrased it, it sounded ridiculously petty.

I must have stared at him too long, deep in thought.

"Ai, do you have something you want to say?"

Before I knew it, Reid had straightened his posture and was watching me closely. It struck me again how endearing his natural kindness could be.

Reid was sharp. He wouldn’t believe me if I brushed it off with a vague ‘it’s nothing.’ I needed a decoy.

"Yeah. I just wanted to say that, in the Word Spirit religion, we don’t label relationships between unmarried people as fornication."

"I see. I’ll keep that in mind."

"Yup. I hope you’ll think about it positively."

"Alright."

For once, Reid didn’t scoff or tease my attempt at proselytizing. His serious expression made me wonder if my long-term effort was finally working.

["The Cynical Balancer of Order" bursts out laughing at your wishful thinking.]

["The Scales that Judge the Soul" eggs you on to try harder.]

["The Word Spirit That Constructs Worlds" gently warns you to stop before it gets misunderstood.]

...It seems there was room for misinterpretation.

Still, I was too embarrassed to clarify. Better to just excuse myself.

"Ahem. I’ll go check my room now. Get some rest, Reid."

"Sure. See you later, Ai."

Reid opened the door for me like a gentleman as I left the room.

The hallway echoed with the clack of my heels on the floor, otherwise completely silent.

I opened the system map in my peripheral vision. Memorizing the mansion’s layout, I walked down the corridor and descended the central staircase to the second floor.

"Oh..."

I couldn’t help but exclaim upon entering the Countess’s room.

Unlike the restrained elegance of the guest room, the mistress’s room was dazzlingly luxurious, reminiscent of the royal palace in Vinchester.

Bright red and orange drapes and bedding immediately drew the eye. Every wooden frame decorating the walls was adorned with delicately sculpted marble reliefs in the shape of flower bouquets.

Moreover, the room was filled with artworks that looked more expensive than gold or jewels. It was hard to tell whether this was a bedroom or a treasure vault.

In the center of the room was a vibrant lavender dress, prominently displayed. Now that the funeral was over, I was apparently supposed to take off my mourning clothes and change into it.

"Wow, is this a rofan? Oh, right. It is a rofan."

Without a maid to assist, I used aura to dress myself and finish the makeover.

While admiring my reflection in the mirror, I spotted a letter placed on the vanity.

"This must be the schedule and rules the subquest mentioned."

And I was right. Tearing open the red seal revealed two sheets of paper. I started with the first one.

[Countess of Heisenberg Mansion – Daily Schedule

(5:00) Wake and morning grooming

(6:00) Prepare breakfast

(9:00) Manage the mansion

(11:00) Prepare lunch

(13:00) Tea time or stroll

(15:00) Mansion maintenance

(17:00) Prepare dinner

(19:00) Reading

(21:00) Evening grooming

(22:00) Sleep]

A fairly ordinary routine for a lady of the house. Though I wasn’t sure how I was expected to manage such a large mansion alone.

Well, I’d manage somehow. I looked at the second sheet.

[Six Rules the Countess Must Follow in Heisenberg Mansion

The Countess must always be beautiful.

The Countess must prepare and serve meals to the guest with care.

The Countess may take a nap during the afternoon mansion management time.

The Countess may ask the guest one favor per day if she wins enough of his goodwill.

The Countess must ensure the guest can fall asleep comfortably each night.

There is a taboo the Countess must not violate.]

This one didn’t sound so ordinary.

"Suspicious. Very suspicious."

Why would rules like always being beautiful or being allowed to nap need to be written out?

But what bothered me most was the final line.

"A taboo? What even is that?"

I needed to know what it was in order to obey it—or break it. But no one would tell me. Rude.

["The Architect of the Tower of Trials" enjoys the mysterious element.]

At that moment, a vintage wind-up clock rang out, announcing the hour.

[ Notification. It is now time to prepare lunch.]