A Monodrama for Carolyn August - Chapter 69

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Episode 69.
“Will you be leaving the Mansion, miss?”
The servant asked as if he’d been waiting for the question, and Caroline shook her head with a start.
“No, I… Is it possible to leave and come back?”
“Yes, it is possible. Since you have sufficient reason, the master has granted permission. However, you must return to the Mansion before midnight.”
“That’s a relief… I understand.”
Returning before midnight wouldn’t be difficult.
But.
As Caroline washed, changed her clothes, and packed her bag, she bit her lip.
At least going to the Academy and returning was better than being discovered by her parents and never being allowed back into the Mansion. Still, all of this was eating away at her time.
‘Today is the ninth day…’
If she left now, Caroline would have to give up both of her meals with Aiden and their tea time. She’d lose an entire day.
‘Is this some kind of game system? Or is it happening because I’m a Player?’
She considered waiting it out instead of going, but Caroline concluded that would cause even greater problems.
Go to the Academy quickly, return without sleeping.
With that goal in mind, Caroline boarded the Carriage that Aiden had arranged. He stood before the Mansion’s First Floor door, waving his hand to her.
A tired shadow beneath his eyes, a comfortable smile on his face.
The smile that had meant nothing when she first met him contrasted sharply with the one the 3 a.m. Aiden was giving now, making it feel somehow brittle.
‘Have I already grown attached to an NPC?’
Caroline waved back at him the same way. And the Carriage departed.
“Why does this feel so ominous.”
Perhaps it was because leaving the Mansion while progressing through a game that takes place within it was absurd.
Caroline kept wetting her increasingly dry lips and repeatedly rubbing her hands, which had begun to sweat. It would be fine. It would be fine.
‘The Mansion was such a terrifying place at first, and now I’m afraid to leave it.’
She thought that when she returned, she’d have to find the 3 a.m. Aiden and complain to him about this, and just as that thought crossed her mind, the Carriage departed.
“Caroline! Hurry up. Your parents are arriving at 6.”
She arrived just before 2 p.m. on a bright afternoon.
Caroline quickly put on the Academy uniform that Anna had even finished ironing for her, and hid away the luggage bag she’d brought. She repeated the process of taking things out and putting them back.
“So, what was the great actor’s Mansion like? Was it incredibly extravagant? Could you tell he was rich?”
Anna, who had done all sorts of things to help Caroline, finally sat down and wiped the sweat from her brow.
“Yeah, it was really fancy. But Aiden said he bought the Mansion before he started acting as an actor. He seems to live frugally when it comes to himself.”
“Whoa— I saw a gossip report that Aiden Darvel pays the most taxes of any actor. But he lives like that anyway? That’s amazing.”
Anna nodded in admiration.
‘That’s right, frugal. Frugal doesn’t even begin to describe it.’
There were fewer servants for the size of the place, and he didn’t enjoy excessive entertainment throughout the vast Mansion.
She’d heard that wealthy actors throw countless parties at their homes, but Aiden had none of that.
She spent time with only Aiden, just the two of them. The only person she talked to was Aiden. The young Aiden’s resentment had vanished, and the servants weren’t merely mechanical beings.
Though Caroline had met only Anna, she now felt anew just how desolate and suffocating the Mansion had been.
‘I feel so much lighter just from stepping out of the Mansion for a short while.’
It wasn’t much time, but now that she was at the Academy, Caroline resolved to spend as much time with Anna as possible.
“Anna, let’s grab these drinks and go walk in the Garden.”
“Sounds good!”
Caroline and Anna took their drinks to the Garden. But just as they were heading out, a boy who appeared to be Anna’s boyfriend appeared around the corner.
His expression suggested he had much to say.
Caroline very naturally left Anna there and turned down another path.
‘I hope they get along well soon.’
Even alone, she could use the time to collect her thoughts.
Her mind unsettled by the abrupt change in environment, Caroline simply walked along the path.
‘What must Aiden be doing?’
How will the day unfold for Aiden without their shared breakfast, tea time, and dinner?
Is he playing billiards alone? Enjoying a solitary picnic by the lake?
Either way, the Aiden in her imagination looked far too lonely. The fact that Caroline had no one else to talk to meant that daytime Aiden had only her as someone for proper interaction.
Then the Mansion must feel terribly barren to him.
‘In fact, his diary also said the Mansion was nothing but silence for him.’
Though barely ten days had passed, leaving the Academy felt like it had been an eternity ago.
As she walked with these thoughts, she soon found herself in the deeper part of the Garden.
Caroline came face to face with a stone statue of a winged angel playing a flute.
‘That’s right, something like that was here.’
In the moment she looked at it as it came closer into view, thinking—
[Settings Bar]
‘?’
A short window materialized above the stone statue.
“What’s a Settings Bar?”
Caroline, who had never seen anything like it, hurried toward the statue.
A massive stone sculpture, twice her height. Even as she drew closer, the window remained. She raised her hand and touched the statue tentatively.
In that instant.
“!”
[Settings Bar]
[Background Music – OFF/
ON
Red Triangle – ON/
OFF
Yellow Exclamation Mark – ON/
OFF
Aiden Tracking Enabled – Disabled/
Enabled
Aiden’s World View – Locked
System AI Version Setting – Locked]
A window arranged like a table scrolled down before her. Caroline’s eyes widened as she slowly read through this unfamiliar interface.
‘Background music setting?’
She tapped ON, and it shifted forward while OFF disappeared.
And then,
“?!”
Caroline startled at the soft melody that began to play, quickly covering her ears.
‘What is this!’
A light composition of piano and castanets blended together. It seemed utterly unnecessary, and Caroline hastily reverted the setting to its original state.
‘So Players actually play games with this music on?’
It was astonishing.
In any case, Caroline moved on to the next settings—the Red Triangle and Yellow Exclamation Mark. These were clearly the same marks she had seen before.
[▲]
[!]
“Those can’t be turned off. They’re too important.”
Caroline decided to leave those settings as they were.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————