Noctis stood still for a moment, staring at the door, before slowly walking toward it. Just before opening it, he spoke from inside,

  “Who’s there?”

  The violent knocking stopped at once. Silence lingered for a brief moment, and then a voice slipped through the door,

  “Open it and find out.”

  Noctis recognized the voice immediately. It was one he could never forget.

  He opened the door slowly and said,

  “It’s strange. Someone who was knocking so violently just a moment ago is now standing several feet away.”

  “Well, would you really prefer someone staring at you the instant you open the door?” Silas replied calmly.

  “That’s an odd thing to hear from you. So why are you here?” Noctis asked.

  “To call for you, obviously. You’ve been skipping quite a bit of work lately,” Silas answered.

  Again. He remembers every single day spent in this mansion, yet he never mentions it.

  Noctis thought briefly before responding—

  “I’m sorry about that. I’ll get to work now.”

  “Good. But remember this as well—we are watching you,” Silas said, his voice low and serious.

  That strange tone of speaking… I just can’t get used to it. But this time, I think I understand what he means by that “we,” and I can’t outright ask him either.

  Noctis thought to himself before turning back inside to grab his tools.

  When he returned, Noctis saw Silas still standing near the door. After a moment of contemplation, he said, “You can come inside if you want.”

  Silas looked at Noctis for a brief moment before walking toward the door. But just as he was about to place his right foot inside the room, he stopped, as if something unseen had seized him. He remained there with one foot suspended in the air for a moment before slowly pulling it back.

  Noctis watched carefully before asking, “Why did you stop? This used to be your room, right?”

  “It’s fine. I’ll wait outside. Come fast,” Silas answered, turning his back toward the door.

  After grabbing his tools, Noctis closed the door and told Silas that he was ready to leave. Silas glanced at him with an expression that clearly said took you long enough before leading the way toward the garden.

  While walking, curiosity got the better of Noctis, and he asked,

  “Why did you refrain from entering the room earlier? Didn’t it used to be your room?”

  Without turning back to look at him, Silas replied, “It used to be. But now it’s yours, and I’m not allowed to enter the mansion anymore, remember?”

  “I see. So, do you know what date it was yesterday?” Noctis asked.

  Is he going to show that strange behaviour again like last time, or is he simply going to reply with June 4th?

  Noctis thought to himself as he waited for Silas’s answer.

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  Silas paused for a moment without turning back and replied, “I don’t remember, nor am I interested in knowing.” Then he continued walking.

  Noctis stared at Silas’s back for a moment before asking, “Why is that? Bad memories, or something?”

  Silas kept walking as he answered, “That’s the problem. I barely have any memories.”

  Noctis fell silent. This was the first time Silas had sounded almost like a normal person. He finally understood what he meant by not having his “memories.” It had already been mentioned in the diary—the longer you stayed here, the more you lost.

  They continued walking until Silas stopped, turned to Noctis, and said, “Start your work here. Cut the branches growing from those trees and shorten the grass.”

  “I understand. Then I’ll start right away,” Noctis replied.

  Silas took a few steps forward, then paused and turned to look back at Noctis. “Also, aren’t you moving around a little too freely? Be careful of the places you go—especially those you don’t fully understand. Take this as advice.”

  Unfazed by Silas’s demeanour, Noctis asked, “Is that so? Then can you tell me some of them?”

  “Figure them out for yourself,” Silas replied before walking away.

  “I will,” Noctis murmured to himself.

  Time passed, and Noctis finished his work in the garden. It was already afternoon, but before returning to his room, his thoughts drifted back to what he had been thinking about before Silas’s knock.

  He recalled the incidents and the note related to that child. Noctis wanted to see the child—just once—before drawing any conclusions. Then he remembered that the previous gardener had been able to meet the child in that strange garden.

  But how? Noctis thought to himself.

  After pondering for a while, only one idea came to mind. He grabbed the shears and headed toward the garden without grass. When he arrived, he had no idea what to do. Holding the shears in his hands, he wandered around aimlessly until he suddenly heard a child’s giggle from behind him.

  He turned to look, and the giggling burst into loud laughter. Standing there was a girl who looked to be around ten or twelve, playing in the mud and laughing at him, her black hair gleaming like polished silk, and her violet eyes shimmering with the quiet brilliance of a gemstone. Before he could say anything, she shouted,

  “What are you doing here, mister? This place has no plants to chop down—or are you just stupid? Hehehe~”

  Noctis, taken aback by the sudden question, replied, “I—I just got lost and ended up here.”

  “That means you are stupid,” the girl said excitedly, unable to control her laughter.

  “And who might you be? Going around and calling others stupid?” Noctis replied sarcastically.

  “Then guess who I am. If you guess correctly, I’ll answer any one of your questions,” the girl replied with a mischievous grin.

  Noctis stepped toward the girl, trying to get a closer look, but something felt wrong. Instead of getting closer, she seemed to drift farther away.

  But she didn’t even move an inch… then how is this possible? Noctis questioned himself.

  Then he remembered—When I tried to approach her before, she only seemed farther away, until she disappeared into the garden without grass.

  Noctis stayed where he was and replied to the girl, “Sure. But you have to answer any question I ask, okay?”

  “Okay! But only if I know the answer,” the girl replied, a smile spreading across her face.

  “Then… is your name Ilya?” Noctis asked, a smug smile forming on his lips.

  The smile vanished from the girl’s face. She stared at Noctis with wide, shocked eyes, as if they might pop out at any moment.

  “H–HOW DID YOU KNOW?!” Ilya shouted.

  “No, no. I guessed who you were correctly, so now you have to answer my question. No turning back now,” Noctis replied smugly.

  “Tch, fine. Ask whatever you want,” Ilya said in an annoyed tone.

  “Then how can I gain access to the third floor?” Noctis asked seriously.

  “Wha—why would you want that? Leave. To gain access to the third floor, you need an access pass letter written directly by the master of this place,” Ilya answered.

  “And how am I supposed to get that? He’s always locked in his room with the butler standing guard,” Noctis asked, his voice tinged with frustration.

  “Hmmm, lucky for you, I hid one of them behind a painting in the corridor. You can take that one,” Ilya replied in a mischievous voice.

  “Which one?” Noctis asked.

  “That’s for you to figure out. I’m leaving. You’re no fun anyway,” Ilya said as she turned away from him.

  Noctis watched Ilya walk off before suddenly shouting, “Happy Birthday, Ilya!”

  Startled by the unexpected words, Ilya turned back—but Noctis was already gone. After a brief pause, she continued on her way, a small smile forming on her face.

  Night soon fell. Noctis sat at his desk, quietly processing everything he had learned that day. He realized that if he wanted access to the third floor, he would have to uncover the puzzle hidden behind the ever-changing paintings.