**********
Yet what he found there only deepened his confusion.
Servants stood upright.
Knights tested their limbs.
Faces that had once been pale with pain now carried only lingering shock.
"How's everybody?" the young master asked.
No one answered immediately.
Instead, they stared at him.
Fear.
Anxiety.
Unease.
Something was wrong.
'Something isn't right.'
He observed them more closely, brow furrowed. Trauma explained some of it—but not all.
This was different.
"Ah… y‑young master?"
He turned toward the trembling voice of a maid. She looked as though she might collapse at any moment, hands clasped tightly before her.
Despite himself, the young master felt a flicker of approval.
'She's scared… but she still spoke.'
"Yes?" he asked calmly. "Do you need to say something?"
She nearly jumped.
Realization struck him.
'They started acting like this the moment she appeared.'
