Slamming [Simon’s Log] shut, Miss Elisa picked up the newspaper and decided she wouldn’t look at that infuriating fellow again for the entire day.
How could the gossip of a mere male servant compare to the [Searl Daily], which covered all the important affairs of the kingdom!
I won’t look at [Simon’s Log] again all day. I’m going to study the [Searl Daily] seriously and learn about the kingdom’s affairs! That way, I’ll have something in common to talk about with the nobles!
She spread out the newspaper, sat up straight, and time flew by.
A knock sounded at the door, and Miss Elisa’s eyes snapped open.
Who am I? Where am I? What’s for dinner?
She rose from the sofa in a daze and looked around. The newspaper had fallen onto the floor beside it.
Right, I was reading the newspaper, and then I fell asleep…
Is there some kind of hypnotic spell hidden in the text of this newspaper?!
Elisa warily nudged the [Searl Daily] on the floor with her foot.
It must be the newspaper’s fault. It can’t possibly be mine. I can read [Simon’s Log] all night long!
Another knock sounded, and Eve poked her head inside. “Miss Elisa, it’s time for dinner.”
Elisa discreetly wiped the corner of her mouth and stood up. “Let’s go.”
After enjoying dinner and taking a bath, Elisa lay down beneath the soft covers.
She picked up the [Searl Daily] again, but after reading just two lines, her eyelids grew heavy.
Damn it, did they mix sleeping drugs into the paper when they made it?!
I’ll read something else to wake myself up first. Yes, purely to wake myself up.
She set the newspaper aside and opened [Simon’s Log]. The effect was remarkable; her drowsiness vanished instantly.
Still, something was missing.
Elisa picked up the newspaper again and dragged the floating screen over it.
That’s the feeling. Perfect!
She happily resumed reading [Simon’s Log].
[Simon took off his coat and handed it to Eve. Eve ran back to her room and quickly sewed the button back on for him.]
Hmph, so he chose Eve after all?
Well, that makes sense. Eve and Maria have about the same bust size, and compared to the stern Maria, the sweet, dependent Eve is obviously the better choice. Men are all the same.
After analyzing the situation, Elisa felt she had seen right through Simon.
She continued reading.
[After thanking Eve and returning to his room, Simon took off his coat and used the sewing kit Maria had given him to sew the button on again.]
“……?”
[On the collar button, Eve’s thread and Maria’s thread intertwined, inseparable from one another. Simon put on his coat with satisfaction.]
“…..?!”
Elisa’s lips parted as she stared at the log in astonishment.
You can actually do that?!
What a scumbag! Even back in the Archipelago, I never met anyone this scummy!
Elisa hesitated. Should I warn Eve and Maria to stay away from that scumbag?
And Mabel too. I have to reduce the amount of contact they have.
Mabel clearly has feelings for that scumbag. I have to stop her, otherwise…
The image of a third-rate novel about a young lady eloping with a male servant flashed through Elisa’s mind, and she shuddered.
When that happens, an enraged Baron Percy will put out a warrant for my male servant, and I’ll be implicated too!
I have to keep a close eye on that scumbag!
Whenever I have free time, I need to watch [Simon’s Log]. I absolutely cannot give him any opportunities!
Having found herself yet another excuse to keep an eye on the log, Elisa completely forgot about reading the newspaper and happily continued spying on her male servant’s private life.
“Miss Elisa.” When bedtime arrived, Eve came in to remind the young lady in bed not to remain engrossed in the [Searl Daily].
Elisa closed the newspaper and cleared her throat. “The recent political and business news has been fascinating. It has given me a great deal to think about.”
Eve looked at her young lady with admiration. “Whenever I look at a newspaper, all I feel is sleepy.”
“Hehe, that’s because you haven’t yet grasped its deeper meaning.” Miss Elisa closed [Simon’s Log], handed the newspaper to the maid, and gave her a wise smile.
The maid put the newspaper away, extinguished the gas lamp, and closed the doors and windows.
The bedroom was pitch-black, every piece of furniture shrouded in shadow, yet the floating screen remained perfectly clear.
Elisa suspected that the screen was not a visual image at all but some kind of object residing within her mind.
She opened [The Young Lady’s Late-Night Lessons], selected [Mysticism], and prepared to continue teaching the male servant.
However, the classroom failed to activate for a long time because the male servant had yet to fall asleep.
[Simon is studying the Mysticism knowledge in his mind.]
Was he so excited about his first encounter with Mysticism that he couldn’t sleep? Elisa guessed.
How nostalgic. When I was little, after learning my first ritual from my teacher, I played with it for an entire day and didn’t sleep at all.
That male servant really is childish in some ways!
Elisa closed the floating screen and pulled the thin blanket over herself.
Little baby Simon can play by himself. The mature Miss Elisa is going to sleep. I’ll get up tomorrow morning and see what you’ve been playing with.
***
The silver bracelet had already been returned to Eve, so Simon used the chain of his gold pocket watch to repeat the [Finding Ritual] several more times.
He wasn’t searching for anything. He was simply familiarizing himself with the ritual and simplifying it.
With the help of the spirituality he had stolen from Elisa, combined with an entire day of practice, he could now perform the [Finding Ritual] using only a chain, without needing white candles or clean water.
After his final practice session, Simon held the gold pocket watch in his palm and pressed the button with his thumb. The cover sprang open with a click, and the blued steel hands ticked across the white enamel dial, pointing to the Roman numeral I.
It was already one in the morning.
Time to act.
He stood up, opened his bedroom window, and climbed out into the moonlit garden.
The manor Elisa rented covered seven acres, with an annual rent of 1,800 pounds. A large part of that exorbitant price was due to its location.
The manor was somewhat secluded, but it was still considered part of Searl’s urban district, where police patrols operated at night. Because it was close to the East District, there were even more patrol officers than in other areas.
For that reason, the manor had neither the custom nor the need for a night watch.
No thief would be stupid enough to rob a seven-acre manor. Even servants who had just arrived frequently got lost, let alone thieves who knew nothing about the layout.
But as it happened, there were several idle men in Searl who were familiar with the manor’s layout, and their leader happened to be penniless for certain reasons.
They also happened to have connections inside the manor, allowing them to recruit an accomplice on the inside.
Under the moonlight, the inside man, George, crept out of the mansion and crossed the garden. Every rustle of wind or grass frightened him, so he moved very slowly.
When he reached the manor’s back gate and unlocked it with his key, his companions outside immediately slapped him.
“What took you so long?!” A masked man dressed in black cursed.
“Mr. Charles, I’m a little scared,” George stammered.
“Don’t say my name!” Charles slapped George again.
“No need to be nervous,” Another masked man reassured them. “I’ve already guaranteed that no one will be able to discover us.”
“Really, Mr. Sheldon?” George asked, half-convinced.
“I told you not to say names! Shut your mouth! Not another word!” Charles glared at George in frustration.
Sheldon waved a hand, putting an end to their argument.
“I have a special method,” he assured them. “Even if we walk right past someone, they won’t notice us, as long as we don’t make any noise.”
He glanced up at the moon, took a grayish-white finger bone from inside his coat, and beckoned to his two companions. “Come here. I’ll cast a spell on you. It lasts for one hour, and during that time, we’ll all be invisible!”
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