The snow on the ground was deep. William’s feet sank with every step.

“Are you sure the plantation is around here?” he asked, looking around in complete confusion.

It was the first time he had been to that part of the mansion. Since the day he arrived, he had only stayed in the mansion or inside the mines.

03 nodded. “Yes, I’m sure. I came to take care of the plantation once, so I know where it is. We’ll see some greenhouses soon.”

And indeed, it didn’t take long for them to find the greenhouses. They had followed a small path through the forest until they reached an open area with the greenhouses.

William quickly glanced around and saw about ten large greenhouses and three cabins.

“Are those cabins for the workers? Maybe the woman who came with me is sleeping there?” William asked.

03 was always the playful type. He nudged William with his elbow and smiled. “Are you in love? Don’t worry, your damsel is definitely there.”

“That’s not it,” William said, pushing him back.

The two laughed at the situation—something rare in that mansion—and then headed toward the greenhouses.

William did think Wendy was a beautiful woman, but he wasn’t thinking about relationships. What he wanted was to find out what had happened to her.

Despite only being there for a few days, he had already noticed that Jonas and the rest of his family weren’t careful with their employees, let alone their slaves.

Not to mention the strange lights at the back of the mansion at night.

‘I feel like they’re hiding something…’ William thought.

As they approached the greenhouses and cabins, one of the greenhouse doors opened, and out came Wendy!

Wendy saw William approaching, and a smile appeared on her face. She couldn’t contain her happiness at seeing him.

She ran to him and gave him a hug. 03 didn’t say anything, just watched how things would unfold.

“I was worried about you,” William said, placing his hands on Wendy’s shoulders. “You disappeared out of nowhere, and I tried to ask about you, but no one said anything.”

Wendy looked sad after hearing that. “Yes, I know. For some reason, they decided I should sleep here, and they won’t let me go back to the mansion anymore. It’s a bit uncomfortable, but at least it’s quieter here.”

“Do you want to see my place?” she asked.

“Of course.”

They followed Wendy to one of the cabins. On the way, she explained that other women were working with her, and each had their own cabin.

Once inside, William noticed the interior. It was simple but cozy. Most importantly, there was a good bed with warm blankets and a fireplace. This made him less worried about Wendy.

But the reason she had to stay there so suddenly was still strange. Even though it was closer to where she worked, the mansion wasn’t far either. Why did they want to keep her away like that?

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“Overall, my job is fun but exhausting. There are a lot of plants to take care of here, from food to magical plants,” she said.

William and 03 exchanged glances. “And our job sucks. Imagine being stuck in a hot mine collecting mana stones all day.”

“Wow,” Wendy said. “I can’t even imagine the suffering. But why are you here today? I thought it was forbidden to leave the mansion?”

“There’s a noble dinner tonight, and everyone’s focused on that,” William explained.

“Really?”

Wendy seemed very surprised when she heard that. It was as if she had no idea what was happening in the mansion, which was strange because it was right there.

It was as if she was trapped in her own little world, unable to see what was happening outside.

“You didn’t know?” William asked, surprised. “I thought everyone knew about it.”

“No, I didn’t. I don’t know anything about what’s going on there. The only person I see is a guard who brings me meals, and we don’t talk much.”

“Is that really true?”

William hadn’t imagined they would keep Wendy so isolated from everything happening. It didn’t make much sense.

There seemed to be another reason behind it, and William wanted to find out, but Wendy didn’t know anything at the moment.

“That’s all I know,” she said, “but thank you for visiting. It means a lot to me.”

At that moment, there was a knock on Wendy’s cabin door.

She got up and went to answer it. She had no choice.

On the other side of the door was a guard in heavy armor, with a sharp sword at his waist. “I noticed you have visitors,” the guard said.

William and 03 had just arrived, and yet a guard already knew they were there. They were constantly being watched, and this was a reminder that their mission to explore the mansion at night without being seen was quite risky.

“Yes, I do. Is there a problem? I heard there’s a dinner tonight, and they’re off today,” Wendy said.

The guard smiled. “Yes, there’s indeed a dinner tonight, but they can’t be here. You two,” the guard pointed at both of them, “can come with me?”

Without any choice, William and 03 said goodbye to Wendy and left, following the guard. William was glad he at least found her and saw she was okay. That took away the bad thoughts that had been running through his mind…

‘And why was the guard so polite with her? That’s rare with us. Everything is so strange…’ William thought.

The guard stayed with them until they returned to the mansion’s entrance, where he warned them, “Don’t go there again. Next time, there will be consequences. And behave today so Lord Jonas doesn’t get embarrassed.”

Jonas had let the slaves roam free during the day not because he was kind but because he wanted them out of the way, not interfering with the dinner.

William and 03 knew this well. After the guard left, 03 said, “So now what? Wait until night?”

Their plan would only happen at night. Trying to go in before that was too risky.

“I guess so. Can you meet me in my room?” William said.

“Yeah, no problem. I’ll find something to do in the meantime. If I find anything useful, I’ll let you know later.”

Each went their separate way during the day. William was also unsure what to do. During free times like this, he loved practicing magic and getting stronger, but that was impossible with the seal on his body.

Speaking of the seal, I think there’s a library here… Maybe there’s something there?

William entered the mansion and looked for the library. As soon as he entered, he encountered two guards at the door who wouldn’t let him in.

“No employees or slaves are allowed in the library,” one of the guards said. “Access is restricted to specific individuals. Go away.”

William left, a bit annoyed, even though he had expected something like this. However, he found where the library was and memorized the route from his room.

‘I’ll check it out when I get the chance…’

In the end, he just wandered around the mansion, trying to find anything useful inside. There were several rooms he couldn’t enter, and each time, William mentally marked the room to return to in the near future.

Another thing that happened was him overhearing a conversation without being noticed. The conversation was between Jonas—William recognized his voice—and another man William had never seen before. He was an older man.

“And how’s the procedure going? Do you think it’ll work this time?” the older man asked.

“Yes, it will, believe me. I think in three months, everything will be ready.”

“Great.”

At that moment, William noticed they were starting to move, so he left the area to avoid being seen and went straight to his room, where he spent the rest of the hours until nightfall.

That scene and the things the two had said stayed in his mind for the rest of the day. He wanted to understand what he had heard, but no matter how hard he tried, nothing came to mind.

When night fell, the mansion became very quiet. Well, the part where William and the employees stayed.

The nobles who had come to visit Jonas stayed in the other part of the mansion, the area where guests slept, dined, and relaxed.

The slaves and employees slept in the back part of the mansion, in a place where the nobles wouldn’t go.

03 came to William’s door around 8 p.m.

“This is the perfect moment,” he whispered. “It’s really empty.”

William gestured for him to come into his room. After that, he closed the door.

“How are the guards? Did you see anything before coming here?” William asked.

“There are guards all over the mansion’s perimeter. Like I said, they don’t want anyone escaping. But that gives us a chance to explore other places inside,” 03 said.

“Great,” William said. “Let’s start with the cabin with the strange lights.”

He went to the window of his room and opened it.

“Shall we?”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep