A Monodrama for Carolyn August - Chapter 95

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 95.
‘So this is the cell in the Underground Dungeon.’
Lucky for her. Caroline pressed the Settings Bar and quickly disabled the option for “Aiden’s Perspective” from the window that appeared.
[Settings Bar]
[Background Sound ― ON/
OFF
Triangle Marker ― ON/
OFF
Exclamation Mark ― ON/
OFF
Aiden Tracking ― Disabled/
Enabled
Personality Affinity Display ― Disabled/
Enabled
Aiden’s Perspective ― Disabled
System AI Version Settings ― Locked]
The landscape around her shifted as though a lens had been wiped clean. The storehouse of moments before became a dim Underground Dungeon, and beyond the corridor—where the Administrative Office wall had seemed to stretch—lay the deeper basement with its Armory and Wine Cellar.
‘I can breathe again.’
Knowing Aiden’s perspective had helped her immerse herself in the performance.
‘But it was suffocating.’
With the space no longer appearing in its familiar form, she’d be at a disadvantage when facing Aiden in his character state. Just look at the dungeon door—moments ago it had been a solid iron gate with no view outside, but now the bars were spaced wide enough to see through to the lock itself.
Caroline resolved never to enable that option again.
‘That’s enough.’
She clenched her hands, which had gone cold, and steadied herself. Now she could relax.
“I have my trusty Hairpin.”
She opened her bag, and there it was—a long, curved pin waiting for her.
Caroline drew it out and reached through the bars toward the lock on the iron door. Threading her hand between the bars on either side of the lock, she inserted the pin into the keyhole and turned it gently.
Click-click.
After a few repetitions, there came a soft metallic sound.
“Got it!”
Caroline cheered and rushed forward, then stopped short.
‘Wait.’
She still needed to find Will’s Key, but while Aiden was awake as Will, rifling through his Tuxedo would be impossible. That much she could only do after three in the morning.
If she returned to the Mansion now, she’d have to sneak into her room to avoid Will’s gaze and then emerge again at the right time anyway. Wouldn’t the Underground Dungeon—where the servants rarely ventured—be safer?
Having made her decision, Caroline resolved to rest in the cell until three in the morning. She’d catch a few moments of sleep.
Opening Ipros’s bag from the Armory, she drew out a Pocket Watch and waited for three o’clock.
Then her head drooped and…….
“Gasp!”
When Caroline jolted awake without warning, the watch showed half past three.
“That’s enough.”
She hurried to tuck the watch back into her bag, closed the dungeon door, and placed the Hairpin in her bag as well.
Using the Dollhouse, Caroline confirmed the servants were patrolling the Garden, then immediately began climbing the stairs. She pulled herself up through the secret passage on the second floor and dashed toward the third.
By three in the morning, Aiden had already fallen asleep—all the doors on this level were shut.
‘……Is he really asleep?’
By three-thirty, he would have woken, finished his aftercare, and settled back to sleep. Even so, it was late to have fallen asleep again, but Caroline found herself feeling a pang of regret.
‘I only saw him yesterday.’
It seemed she’d grown quite dependent on him without realizing it.
Pushing the disappointment aside, Caroline entered Will’s room. She opened the wardrobe and——
“!”
Caroline gasped and stepped back. It was completely empty.
‘Could Will still be awake?’
The moment her eyes darted around, ready to flee at any second, she caught a familiar sky-blue color in a wide basket beside the wardrobe.
“Ah!”
A sky-blue Tuxedo, top and bottom, a sleek shirt, two pairs of gloves, even a handkerchief—all collected for laundering, it seemed.
‘Does Aiden always do this when he goes to sleep at three in the morning?’
How meticulous of him. With that thought, Caroline reached into the basket.
[Will’s Key Location: Inside the pocket of Will’s Tuxedo jacket.]
She lifted his slightly wrinkled sky-blue jacket and felt inside the outer pocket, but touched nothing. With a flutter of unease, she turned the garment over and discovered two more pockets along the inner breast.
In Will’s left pocket, Caroline found the Key.
“Ah!”
Unlike James’s Key, which had been flat and elongated, Will’s Key was round in shape. Its top resembled a heart, and within it, a red gem was inset in the same heart pattern.
Caroline closed the door, wary of any passing servants, and leaned against it.
She drew Will’s Book with its crimson velvet cover from her bag, and the moment she was about to fit the key into it…
“?”
The bathroom door beside the bed swung open.
It had been so quiet she hadn’t realized anyone was there. While Caroline stood frozen in surprise, her mouth agape, a half-naked man emerged, toweling his hair dry.
“Ah, …no.”
She couldn’t decide whether to announce her presence or remain silent. In her confusion, the words barely formed on her lips.
As she stammered and stumbled, the man briskly shook the water from his caramel-colored hair and looked up.
“!”
Mercifully, she could tell by his eyes alone that this was Aiden at three in the morning.
The problem, however, was that the moment he saw Caroline, he staggered backward. Fresh from the bath, bare from the waist up save for a towel, his face flushed crimson in an instant.
Both of them stood frozen in the room, unable to flee, unable to speak, fumbling helplessly—until Aiden hurriedly pulled on a Shower Robe, and that was the end of it.
“…I’m terribly sorry.”
“Don’t be.”
“…For such an unsightly display.”
“Even if you climbed out of a trash bin, Aiden, you’d never look unsightly. Don’t say such things.”
Caroline shook her head firmly.
She meant it sincerely. What could possibly be unsightly? Wet or dry, Aiden possessed striking beauty, and to her eyes, he was simply lovely. Moreover, after bathing tonight, he seemed like a figure from some mythological tale.
At her earnest words, Aiden’s expression flickered with bewilderment before he broke into a smile. He hesitated as if to approach, then thought better of it, crouched down to meet her at eye level, and drew near.
“Why are you here today? You didn’t come to my room as usual.”
“It was so quiet I thought you were sleeping. And besides, I had business with Will.”
“…With Will.”
As he spoke, a flicker of subtle disappointment and jealousy crossed his expression, but Caroline didn’t notice.
“Strictly speaking, it was Will’s Tuxedo. I found the key to Will’s diary hidden in it!”
Caroline held up the key with a flourish.
As expected, his beautiful green eyes widened.
“How did you know the key was there?”
“My Personality Affinity with each of your personalities grew, so a Special Mission unlocked. It involved reconstructing a murder scene from a play and solving it. The reward was the location of Will’s Key. There were trials along the way, but…”
Caroline recalled Will, who had ruthlessly dragged her away and locked her in the Underground Dungeon.
At that moment, she’d truly feared she might be trapped forever, wondered if anyone would come to rescue her—but it had resolved quickly, thankfully.
No need to mention it. She didn’t want Aiden to worry unnecessarily.
“…It all worked out in the end.”
“You received James’s Key yesterday, yet you’ve already found this one. Remarkable, truly.”
Aiden’s admiration was completely genuine. He crouched before her, leaning against the door, and offered his sincere praise—and Caroline felt her cheeks flush with embarrassment.
Heat rose to her ears, and her heart seemed to quicken. Searching for an escape from this moment, she noticed a small droplet of water trailing from Aiden’s wet caramel hair.
“Your hair isn’t dry yet. Let me get a towel.”
“Ah, I can manage.”
“You’re not doing a very good job. Come here, and I’ll dry it for you.”
Fearing she’d lose herself if she continued to look into his face, Caroline guided him to sit at the edge of the bed, then climbed up behind him. Settling onto her knees, she gazed down at his golden-toned head and began to gently dry his hair with the towel.

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