Chapter 181: Exploration

"Papa takes all the fun out of architecture."

For perhaps half a second, something dangerously close to amusement flickered across Sebastian’s face, seeing how his single blue eye twitched with the faintest hint of suppressed amusement.

"Indeed."

He extended one large, scarred hand toward her.

"Come with me, my lady. I shall show you around the Grand Gallery."

Seraphina immediately grabbed his index finger with both hands.

Sebastian’s finger was nearly as thick as her wrist, her grip warm and trusting, and began to trot happily alongside him down the sprawling, blueberry-carpeted hallway.

She looked at it. Then at him.

"You have very big fingers."

"I am aware."

"Do they get tired?"

"No."

"Can you pick up a cow?"

Sebastian paused.

"...Probably."

Seraphina’s eyes widened.

"You’re definitely a giant."

"I am merely a man, My Lady." Sebastian replied stoically.

"You don’t look like a normal man, Butler."

She giggled as they started walking.

"You look very strong." She glanced up at his scar. "And your scar is really cool."

Sebastian’s stride slowed.

Seraphina continued talking cheerfully. "It makes you look super handsome."

The veteran knight nearly walked into a wall, but he recovered instantly.

Seraphina tilted her head. "Are you okay?"

"I am fine."

"You almost fell."

"I did not."

"You wobbled."

"I did not wobble."

"You totally wobbled."

Sebastian cleared his throat.

Seraphina continued her assessment.

"You look like a pirate king."

Sebastian’s remaining eyebrow rose.

"Papa is handsome too."

She thought carefully.

"But Papa is like..."

Her face scrunched up as she searched for the correct word.

"A shiny, pointy ice-prince!"

Sebastian’s mouth twitched.

"And you are rugged."

He stumbled again.

This time, he definitely stumbled.

The hardened veteran of a hundred Northern campaigns actually had to stop walking for a moment.

Seraphina stared up at him.

"Mr. Sebastian?"

"...Your flattery is noted, My Lady."

His gravelly voice sounded suspiciously strained.

Seraphina smiled. "You’re welcome."

Sebastian resumed walking.

Inside his head, however, there was complete chaos.

’She called me handsome. The Little lady is really something.’

He had spent twenty years commanding soldiers, stared down the demons, survived assassinations, sieges, blizzards, and more than one attempt by Kaelus to get himself killed through sheer stubbornness.

None of those experiences had prepared him for this.

’I have half a face and look like a gargoyle that lost a fight with a bear.’

He glanced down at Seraphina.

’And she thinks I’m a pirate king.’

His chest tightened with an unfamiliar warmth.

’This child is dangerous.’

Seraphina swung their joined hands happily.

"Pirates are cooler, though."

Sebastian’s expression became solemn.

"Why?"

"They get parrots."

"...I see."

"I want a parrot."

"We shall discuss it with the Archduke."

"Yay!"

Sebastian immediately regretted agreeing to anything.

The tour continued.

They passed through magnificent halls decorated with polished marble, ancient tapestries, enormous windows, and enough expensive furniture to furnish a small kingdom.

Eventually, they reached the Grand Gallery.

Seraphina stopped dead.

Her eyes widened.

The enormous corridor was lined with towering suits of ancient mythril armor, glass cases containing legendary weapons, and massive woven tapestries depicting the historical victories of the Archdukes of the North.

Seraphina slowly turned in a circle.

"Whoa."

Sebastian watched her reaction with quiet satisfaction.

"These are relics of the Nacht bloodline."

"Are they real?"

"Yes."

"Can I touch them?"

"No."

Seraphina sighed.

"Everyone says no."

Sebastian pretended not to hear.

They continued deeper into the gallery.

Seraphina craned her neck toward the vaulted ceiling.

"Why are the ceilings so high?"

"The architecture was designed by the First Emperor."

"Why?"

"It was intended to inspire awe."

Seraphina continued staring upward.

"And make people feel small."

"Correct."

"It just makes my neck hurt."

Sebastian paused.

"...That is one interpretation."

Seraphina rubbed the back of her neck.

"I think the First Emperor should have made shorter ceilings."

Sebastian decided not to argue with imperial architecture.

As they continued through the gallery, something inside Seraphina quietly stirred. Her Supreme Dark Core, relaxed and completely unshielded within the safety of her home, began passively sensing the hidden ethereal layer surrounding the estate.

The mansion was not empty.

Not remotely.

There were presences everywhere.

Tiny flickers.

Whispers.

Old emotions clinging to the walls.

Seraphina blinked.

Then she smiled.

Because she could see them.

***

The Imperial Capital was swarming with ghosts. But the spirits residing inside the Nacht Estate were a very particular breed.

They were not terrifying wraiths. They were not tragic phantoms wandering the halls in search of revenge.

They were servants.

Maids.

Butlers.

Cooks.

Stablehands.

Gardeners.

People who had lived, worked, laughed, complained, and eventually died within these walls over the course of three centuries.

And apparently, dying had not convinced them to retire. They had loved the Nacht family too much.

So they stayed.

Seraphina discovered this in the Grand Conservatory. She stopped walking.

Sebastian glanced down.

"My Lady?"

Seraphina stared at an elderly ghost hovering beside an enormous porcelain vase.

The ghost was a pale, translucent blue. She wore an old-fashioned ruffled maid’s uniform, her silver hair tied into a neat bun.

In one hand she held a spectral feather duster. She was furiously dusting the vase, the feather duster passed directly through it.

The ghost frowned.

"Drat this modern porcelain!"

She dusted harder.

"It simply refuses to shine!"

Seraphina covered her mouth.

The ghost continued muttering. "In my day, we used elbow grease and beeswax!"

She attacked the vase again. "These young maids leave fingerprints everywhere!"

Seraphina’s shoulders began shaking.

Sebastian looked down at her.

"Is there something amusing, My Lady?"

Seraphina squeezed her lips together.

"No."

Her shoulders shook harder.

"I just..."

She took a breath.

"...like the vase."

Sebastian nodded slowly.

"I see."

He did not see.

They continued.

They passed a grand staircase.

Seraphina suddenly stopped again. A headless knight was crawling around on the stairs.

He wore antique spiked mythril armor, and his helmet was nowhere to be found.

"Where did I leave it?"

His spectral voice echoed from somewhere around his chest.

"I know I had it!"