BOVBD 12

Chapter 12

I had managed to find out that the steward had lost his prized pocket watch, but I still had no idea how to use that information to gain his favor.

The pocket watch was somewhere at the bottom of the lake.

The lake was shallow enough for someone to enter, but the problem was the cold weather. To find it, you’d have to dive in. If you went in carelessly, you might just end up getting sick without finding the watch.

Buying him a new one wasn’t an option either. The steward didn’t value the watch because it was expensive; it was precious because it was a gift from the previous lord, whom he served so loyally.

Lost in thought, I decided to go see the lake for myself and left the mansion. I thought I’d observed carefully last time, but the scenery outside the mansion still felt unfamiliar.

‘Well, I wasn’t going to get familiar with it after just one look anyway.’

I walked towards the lake Anne had mentioned. She said it wasn’t a lake deep in the forest, but one you could reach with a short walk, and there was only one like it, so I’d know it when I saw it. Sure enough, after walking for a while, a moderately sized lake came into view. I knew immediately this was the lake in question.

A bridge stretched across it. Since the steward said he dropped it while trying to retrieve something else, I guessed he must have dropped it while crossing there. To see if I could even enter this water, I dipped a finger in.

“……”

A shiver ran down my spine instantly. The lake water was much colder than I had imagined. It was practically ice water, just without floating ice. If I went in there, I’d surely freeze to death. I quickly pulled my hand out and let out a deep sigh. It seemed I had to think of another way.

I turned to head back to the mansion. No matter how I looked at it, the pocket watch was beyond my help. Just as I was about to take a step, someone spoke to me.

“I haven’t seen you around these parts… Are you visiting from the capital?”

I instinctively flinched. Knowing the territory residents had a poor opinion of me, I immediately worried. ‘This person is going to say something bad to me, too.’

‘To think I’ve become like this after just one day… Living in this territory won’t be easy.’

However, judging by the speaker’s tone, they didn’t seem to know who I was. Visiting from the capital… I looked curiously at the elderly man who had addressed me. Without me even having to ask, he continued explaining.

“The Layton family’s territory is famous for its beauty, so nobles from the nearby capital often visit. Quite a few fine ladies like yourself. I’ve seen many such nobles, so I’m used to it.”

He seemed to think I was a noblewoman briefly visiting the territory. Not particularly wanting to correct his misunderstanding, I gave a vague reply.

“I see… It really is a beautiful area.”

“It is. This lake is especially famous for its scenery, so quite a few people come to see it. Of course, it’s not as beautiful as it once was, since all the surrounding trees burned in the fire a long time ago.”

‘A fire… I see.’

But who was this person, and what was he doing here? He didn’t look like someone employed to maintain the lake, and it was unlikely there even was such a person. Had he also come just to enjoy the view? Driven by simple curiosity, I asked.

“And what were you doing here, sir? Were you also enjoying the scenery, like me…?”

“Haha, I live in this territory. Why would I come to see a view I look at every day?”

“Then…”

“It’s nothing special. I just came to look for something I recently dropped in this lake. I know it’s hard to find, but I came on the off chance.”

‘Do the people in this territory have a hobby of dropping things in this lake?’

It felt like an incredible coincidence, but it was fortunate. Perhaps I could even help find the steward’s pocket watch along the way. Not that I had high hopes, of course.

“What did you drop, sir?”

At my question, the old man made a complicated expression. It was a look that seemed to weigh whether or not to tell me about this matter. I was wondering if he’d dropped some treasure, but then the words that came out of his mouth made my eyes widen.

“I’m not sure if I should share these circumstances with an outsider, but it’s not such a huge deal… Actually, what I’m looking for is the pocket watch of the steward who manages our Lord’s mansion.”

I couldn’t believe we were looking for the same thing.

“The steward’s pocket watch?”

“It’s a long story. Would you mind listening, thinking of it as just an old man’s grumbling?”

The fact that he was willing to talk about it was a boon for me. I nodded eagerly, urging him to continue.

“You probably know, Miss, that a great fire broke out in the Layton family’s mansion long ago. It caused a huge scandal, as the previous lord and most of the servants died.”

I knew that story very well. The Layton family’s affairs had been mentioned several times in the novel.

“Many servants working in the mansion also died. The steward was the chief steward managing the mansion even then, and he almost lost his life in that fire.”

That was new information to me. All I knew about the incident was how the fire started and that everyone in the mansion except Keris had died. The novel never mentioned the steward nearly dying.

“But he survived.”

The old man nodded at my words.

“They say the previous lord protected the steward, who refused to leave his master, and escorted him out, barely escaping the collapsing mansion. And that pocket watch was given to him by the previous lord right at that moment.”

“……”

“The steward cherished that pocket watch so much that it was noticeable to us residents of the territory. Whenever he had a break from work, perhaps remembering his former master, he would come to this lake, look at the pocket watch, and get lost in thought.”

“So losing such a watch in the lake must have been devastating for him.”

In response, the old man gave a bitter smile.

“Perhaps it’s heaven’s will that he should finally forget the past and live his life. It’s been a very long time since that incident happened. Still, from my perspective, it’s regrettable, so I was wondering if there was any way to find the pocket watch.”

Having said that, the old man looked up at the sky and spoke again.

“The sun is setting. I should be on my way to attend to my matters. Thank you for listening to this old man’s ramblings.”

“Not at all.”

And with that, the old man disappeared.

Left alone, I stared blankly at the lake, lost in thought.

To be honest, I didn’t have particularly positive feelings about the previous lord. Strictly speaking, he was also a victim, but according to the novel I read, he psychologically abused the young Keris. But he must have been an important person to the steward.

It wasn’t that I felt pity for the steward or anything like that. My goal was solely to gain his favor.

It’s just that, hearing that story, I was suddenly reminded of my own childhood.

My parents both worked, so I was largely raised by my grandmother. When I was in middle school, my grandmother passed away. I received her hand mirror, which she always carried, as a memento.

For me, it was a truly important item. I even took it with me on school trips. But one day, I lost it. I should have hidden such a precious thing away. I was so heartbroken I cried for a whole week.

The current situation overlapped with my own from back then.

‘Anyway, if I find the pocket watch, I can also gain the steward’s favor.’

I turned my head and stared intently at the calm surface of the lake.