Chapter 66

Chapter 66

When they reached the top of the stairs, a wide attic came into view.

Long untouched by human hands, the space was thick with cobwebs and dust, and odds and ends were scattered across every corner.

“Had I known there would be this much dust, I wouldn’t have brought you along.” James forced open the stiff window, letting in a shaft of sunlight.

“No, it’s fascinating and fun—ah-choo! These hidden places are really—ah… ah-choo!” Rose looked around while sneezing repeatedly. The dust sparkled in the light streaming through the window, like fairy wing powder in a dreamlike haze.

“This was my hideout as a child. No one else knew it existed.” He picked up a book from the floor and beat the dust off it. “Books, marbles, shell casings, stones… I used to stash away anything I thought of as treasure.”

The wistful warmth in his eyes, edged with something like hidden pain, was an expression Rose had never seen on him before.

“But today, this isn’t our destination.” He mastered the sudden rush of feeling and opened a small door at the far end of the attic.

A rush of fresh air carried the dust away, and beyond the door, a slice of blue sky appeared.

“Do you like high places?”

“I’ve never really thought about it, but I think I might.” Sniffling from the dust, Rose still smiled as she answered. Something in that smile made James’s heart tighten.

“Then let’s find out.”

There was no reason to refuse his invitation to yet another adventure.

“Be careful. Hold on to my arm.”

Rose clutched his offered arm tightly and stepped forward with care.

“Wow…”

Whatever nervousness she felt about the height vanished the moment she saw the view. From the roof of the mansion stretched a panorama so breathtaking it left her speechless: the distant Oos Mountains and lush green plains unfurled endlessly before her eyes.

“The pink over there is the heather hills. The yellow beyond that is a canola field.”

She had thought she’d grown tired of scenery after crossing the Ashville plains by train, but from this height, nature’s grandeur was overwhelming.

“When I was young,” James began, pausing for a moment before continuing, “I came up here whenever I felt trapped.” His blue eyes shimmered as he gazed far into the distance. “Looking at this impossibly vast landscape, whatever weighed me down felt smaller than a pebble underfoot.”

Rose was surprised. She had always thought of James Dautryche as a man trailed only by victory and success. His presence was defined by the arrogance of the powerful, the leisure of a winner grown bored with conquest. To imagine such a man climbing onto the roof for solace—she could hardly believe it.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“No, I just…” She hesitated, then asked softly, “What about now? What do you do when you feel trapped these days?”

He blinked, caught off guard.

“Did you not hear me? I asked—what do you do now, when things weigh you down? Surely you don’t still climb onto the Dautryche mansion roof?”

James pressed a hand to his face and burst into laughter.

“Ha! Hahaha! Rose, you really are…” His laughter rang out bright and clear, like sunlight breaking across a summer sky.

Rose could only stare, dumbfounded. She had never seen him laugh so openly. The way his eyes crinkled, his mouth curved, his cheeks faintly flushed—just for a moment, she glimpsed a boyish version of James she had never known.

It was only her imagination, but she blushed as though she had witnessed something she shouldn’t.

“Thank you. Next time I feel stifled, I’ll be sure to climb the roof again. Though I expect the butler and Philip will be horrified.”

Playful words, yet his gaze rippled like calm water, deep and quiet as the sea.

“Rose.”

His hand cupped her cheek, warmth seeping through his touch.

“Tomorrow, I’ll be leaving this mansion for a time. There’s much to be done at the company’s southern branch.”His voice was gentler than she had ever heard it. “So I’m entrusting Trident Mansion to you.”

“To me?”

“And this… is a message I want to give you in advance.”

“Ah…”

The musky scent of cedarwood wrapped around her as his magic surged through her, dense and overwhelming in a way it never had been with casual touches. It was as though his very presence claimed her, surrounding her utterly.

“I’m truly glad you’re here, Rose.”

Don’t say things like that. Don’t say words I can’t interpret. Otherwise, I’ll take them the wrong way and end up hurt.

It was probably no more than a simple take care of things while I’m gone; yet it pulled her one step, two steps closer.

Rose ignored the ache blooming in her chest and gave a slow nod.

“Go safely. I’ll keep myself busy while you’re away.”

Work piled high would be a welcome distraction. After all, they hadn’t come to Egarde for leisure.

The sunroom on the first floor of Trident Mansion was filled with warm light.

“Fuaaaahm—”

She had come here to shake off her drowsiness with sunshine, yet the gentle warmth only made her sleepier. Abandoning all pretense, Rose yawned wide.

It had already been three sleepless nights. Even her morning coffee had lost its power to keep her awake.

“If the bedding is uncomfortable, please tell me.”

The housekeeper, Maria, with her calm, kind face, spoke in worry as she cleared away the empty cup. Rose’s dark circles betrayed her restlessness.

“I’m fine. It’s not uncomfortable.”

And it was true. The mattress, blanket, and pillows were perfectly comfortable. The problem wasn’t the bed—it was the dreams.

From the very first night, the same dream always began and ended within Trident Mansion.

At first, I couldn’t make sense of it at all.

She replayed the dream that had come three times now. In it appeared a strikingly handsome blond boy and a tall, beautiful lady.

The sharp nose and blue eyes left no doubt: the boy was a young James.

Which means… that elegant lady must have been his mother.

It was only a dream, yet the woman’s gaze, her tall stature, and her poised bearing were all uncannily similar to James.

The dreams never varied much. His mother would gaze endlessly out the window, never turning toward her son, no matter what he did. And young James, in turn, treated her like a chair—there, but unnoticed.

There was a wall between them, impenetrable and cold.

Rose had no proof the boy and woman were truly James and his mother, but after witnessing such a frigid bond, her heart could not rest easy.

It was too vivid to dismiss as nonsense, and each time she woke from it her body felt heavy, as if she hadn’t slept at all.

That’s right… come to think of it, there are no portraits or photographs in this house.

Her eyes wandered around the sunroom. Not just here—the hallways and the parlor walls bore only landscapes and still lifes.

Not a single family portrait. She had no way to confirm whether the faces from her dream were real, and that made it all the more frustrating.

“The master is thoughtless, isn’t he? No matter how busy with work, to leave the house from the very first day…”

“Ahaha, I don’t mind. He’s working, after all.”

Just as James had said on the roof, he had left Trident Mansion the morning after they arrived, staying in Egarde’s downtown to manage the southern branch office.

He lodged at the best hotel there, working day and night. But was he truly all right?

“Still, to send you telegrams morning and evening without fail… I never imagined the master would turn into such a lovesick man.”

Maria’s dramatic exclamation made Rose give a weak, awkward smile—neither agreeing nor denying.

The telegrams never contained anything sensitive; they both knew such messages were easily intercepted. Nothing about the Ouroboros priests or future plans—just trivialities that hardly seemed worth sending.

That business would take longer to resolve. The downtown was already in festival mood. He missed her.

He missed me? Really… how embarrassing.

Blushing, Rose unfolded that morning’s telegram again and read it over.