Chapter 28 – Doppelgänger (4)

Dusk fell, and a serene night arrived.

The salons lit up brightly, and gas lamps flickered along the streets, creating colorful patterns on the brick road as light mixed with the petals on the trees.

Liv sat at the counter, watching the students walking along the path. Noble children flaunted their glamorous attire, as if they were more beautiful than the street itself, boarding carriages. After their lectures, they were eager to head into town to watch plays at the theater or enjoy fine dining at reserved restaurants.

In contrast, the footsteps of those visiting the convenience store gradually lessened.

Knowing the day’s business was coming to an end, Liv stood up and lightly circled the store. It was time to clean up and close the shop.

She dusted off the parchment that held the bread on the display, replacing it with a new one, and refilled the toilet paper in the restroom. She neatly organized the unopened notebooks and magic scrolls and noted down any items that were running low.

Today, unusually, a lot of calming potions had been sold. The head administrator had come in urgently in the afternoon, requesting all the potions they had in stock, including those in the basement.

The boss will be pleased.

Potions were high-end items, so they had a good profit margin.

After finishing the inventory, Liv returned to the counter and glanced at the clock. It was already 11 o’clock. Louis hadn’t returned yet, even though it was quite late.

Was the lecture running longer than expected? Or perhaps he had gone out to do some shopping?

It was about time to close up the store—

“Oh, right.”

Liv remembered she still had some tasks left. She needed to tidy up the storage room, which had gotten messy when she took out the potions in the afternoon.

She hung the [Closed] sign on the door, fetched the keys from the key holder, and opened the basement door.

With a heavy clunk, the lock was released.

The basement, sealed off by a thick wooden door, was filled with various items covered in dust. Louis had told Liv not to bother with the heavy items in the basement, as he would handle them himself unless it was absolutely necessary. However, Liv often went down to the basement for inventory purposes.

“Still got one box left.”

A crate in the back of the storage room still held potions that she thought had all been sold. Rechecking the label, Liv adjusted the inventory and placed it on a visible shelf, bending down in the process.

“Huh?”

Then, Liv noticed a bent passage leading further into the basement. A faint blue light illuminated the area, and as she cautiously approached, she saw a very old wooden door that was slightly ajar.

Gulp.

Liv swallowed hard and carefully stepped forward.

Louis had always been very reluctant to let anyone into the basement. He rarely talked about himself, so she knew little about who he was or what he did. Even if he didn’t come back late, she never knew where he had been.

So what did she really know about the boss?

A mix of slight guilt, curiosity, and a fragile pretext pushed her forward.

It’s probably nothing special.

From Liv’s perspective, Louis seemed like a relatively frivolous man. Should she say he was cheerful or that he lacked decorum? He occasionally spouted surprising knowledge but mostly enjoyed calling her “Baroness” and making her feel embarrassed.

So there shouldn’t be anything special back there. Probably just old cleaning tools or dust-covered antiques, or maybe even some adult magazines.

Liv wasn’t doubting Louis but trying to dispel her own doubts as she moved forward.

And when she finally opened the door, she collapsed on the spot.

***

The basement.

Flickering old magic stones, cobwebs hanging from the ceiling, dust covering the shelves, and the floor lifting in places. Supplies scattered all around, walls stained yellow, handles rusted red, and a dead black rat at her feet.

But the innermost area was—unusually clean.

Under a warm, alabaster light stood a stone monument. Surrounded by countless wreaths and bouquets that showed no signs of wilting. The area was kept meticulously clean, with no trace of dust or dirt.

The sacred and serene sight before her was an aspect of Louis that had never been revealed in his usual demeanor.

“Ah…”

Liv staggered toward the monument.

What shook her heart was not just the oddity of a tombstone in the basement.

[Numquam Obliviscatur Votum]

No name, no date of death, no date of birth, no cause of death, no epitaph—

Just a single line carved into the stone.

When she understood the meaning of those three words, tears welled up in Liv’s eyes.

[Never forget the vow.]

What kind of story could have led to someone being buried here without even their name? And why had Louis taken such care to maintain this place?

She recalled Louis’s face when he was happy that sales had increased after hiring her. She had never imagined he was carrying such a painful past.

Click!

Just then, she heard the sound of someone unlocking the front door from above.

There was only one person who could have the key. Panicking, Liv bolted out of the small room with the tombstone.

— Baroness Liv~? Have you gone home already?

The boss was back. What should she do?

Liv hurriedly moved the wooden crate blocking the passage back into place. And just as Louis poked his head through the open basement door, she pretended to be checking the inventory with her notebook in hand.

“Oh, you’re still here.”

“I noticed some discrepancies in the inventory. I stayed to check the supplies and wait for you.”

“Really? You could’ve gone home first.”

“It’s fine. How did the lecture go today?”

“Uh, well… It went fine. I think I did my part. It took a bit longer to wrap things up.”

Liv followed Louis out of the basement.

“You should probably head back to the dormitory now. It’s almost curfew.”

It sounded like he was suggesting she leave because he was uncomfortable with her presence there. But Liv knew better. His words were motivated by concern for an employee who had stayed late waiting for him.

Why hadn’t she known this side of him before?

Using the Lit-Vice exam papers as an excuse to erase her memory, Liv once again felt the courage to reach out to Louis’s past.

“You’re right. I should get going.”

“Yes. Be careful on your way back…”

“Since it’s late, could you walk me to the dormitory?”

This time, her reaching out wasn’t driven by cold hostility like before.

With the salon’s lights turned off and the sound of insects filling the night air, asking to be walked home wasn’t something she thought she’d ever say, much like a noble young lady.

“Sure, why not?”

Louis agreed without hesitation.

It was a simple act of kindness, with no grand carriage or elaborate escort. Yet, a small smile spread across Liv’s face.

Hm, this is taking longer than expected. This academy is vast.

I never had much reason to walk around the academy, but following Liv to the dormitory made me realize how big it truly was. No wonder there were carriages on campus.

“……”

“……”

As expected, our Baroness Liv was very quiet, and silence filled the journey.

If it were Adela, she’d be chattering non-stop, making it impossible to concentrate, and by the time we reached the dormitory, everyone would know she had arrived.

Maybe Liv would regret this situation.

Asking to be taken home usually implies asking for a ride. She probably didn’t expect me to come out in slippers.

Hm, should I get a carriage?

“Boss.”

“Yes?”

While lost in such thoughts, a voice broke the silence beside me.

Maybe she was going to quit because she didn’t get to leave on time.

Turning my head, I saw Liv looking at me with a calm expression.

“You said you experienced the Great War, right?”

“Well… yes.”

“Then you must have fought alongside comrades?”

“Yes. I did. We’ve scattered now, though.”

“What kind of people were they?”

Liv’s question made me pause.

If she found out about my true identity—would she resent me for the death of Paris Greenwood?

If so, there was no reason to reveal everything about Wiblet and Terra either.

“They were just ordinary folks. We used to talk about our dreams for after the war.”

“Really? What kind of dreams?”

“Hm…”

I let my mind drift back to the past.

Wiblet said he’d stay on the front lines to prevent the remnants of the demons from invading the kingdom. Terra said she’d complete the ultimate Unique Magic that penetrates the truth of the world. Nova said he needed to go home to feed his pet salamander, and Eris…

“She wanted to travel. Freely, across the entire continent.”

“And you, boss?”

“Me?”

It’s obvious, isn’t it?

“I said I’d become a god.”

“What? A god?”

“A landlord. So here I am.”

“What? That’s… Haha…!”

Liv laughed softly at my words. It was the first time I’d seen her laugh.

“Was that really all?”

“Hmm… Oh! There was one more thing.”

“What was it?”

I hesitated for a moment, looking up at the sky.

In the pollution-free night sky, a vast Milky Way spread out like a river of stars.

“I promised to let them do as they wished.”

“Do as they wished?”

“Yes.”

I nodded, recalling Eris’s wish.

“To travel. I promised to help make that happen.”