A dead gaze swept over Lars, with Siegfried refraining from commenting. The silence was like a graveyard while the chef stood idly behind the two. "Cocky, aren't you?" Siegfried started, "You're scared of something. Nerves jumping, you're getting closer to your breaking point. It's very desperate behaviour."
"Fear keeps us alive," Lars replied.
"Mhm. Smart…" Siegfried said unconvincingly. "But there's no need to let others see it. There's no advantage in doing so, unless you're garnering sympathy. Do you think I'm a sympathetic man, Lars?"
"I don't know what kind of man you are." Lars stood up, looking at the plate that was made up of mostly meat. "Why don't you meet me in my office tomorrow, after you've eaten? Around 7 p.m. We can get to know each other."
"Is the clue in your office?"
"Maybe so, maybe not. Come and find out. Okay?" Lars then left the kitchen, not elaborating further on the matter. It was a satisfying result enough to catch his curiosity. Siegfried would definitely come, regardless of his thoughts on whether the clue really existed or not.
With that matter dealt with, Lars quickly changed focus on to the next. The frequent attacks were becoming a concern. In the beginning, the manservant, Carl's assault using a steak knife was instigated by Victoria. She had been a source of torment long before his arrival that replaced the older version of himself. Therefore, her death should have mitigated further threats, along with the addition of Siegfried providing relief against the lurking dangers that the voice anticipated.
However, a deadlier assault occurred recently, with Niall suddenly returning and pointing a revolver at him. There were some ideas for where to investigate, surrounding the business and whatever happened that caused Niall to leave, only to return in the last week. But the exact motive was unknown. Was it calculated? Or an emotional outburst? Had someone instigated it? Who else was involved?
Since there were so many variables, Lars didn't know how to prepare or counter future attacks. There was a good chance Niall would return. But would anyone else attack, and who exactly? The threat might not even be human. Including himself, Victoria, and Siegfried, he had seen three people capable of influencing and controlling others through powers. For all he knew, even Charles might end up taking out a knife and trying to stab him.
"For now, I need to prepare in a way that doesn't require information. I need to set up a safety net or two," Lars muttered. An idea already came to him, but he needed to wait until tomorrow. Putting off the meeting with Siegfried, where he would be confronting the closet, was for this reason. He wanted to finish both tonight and tomorrow's preparations before finally engaging with the confirmed anomaly.
As Lars walked through the corridor, he came across a servant. She was young with the air of a rookie; curly ginger hair, freckles, and brown eyes made up her features. At this point, she seemed to be in her own world and hadn't yet noticed the master of the house looking at her. So when he spoke, "Excuse me…" she nearly jumped out of her skin in fright.
"M-Master—?! I mean, do you need something, Master…?"
Her eyes widened in shock, before she lowered her head, speaking timidly.
Is that an accent…? Sounds… sort of scottish? I wonder where she's from… Lars mused idly, confirming that no name appeared in his head. It really hadn't proved useful to dig through his memories for anyone other than his family. Perhaps the older him valued his family that greatly, or he simply hadn't paid much attention to the employees. Judging by the issues surrounding Victoria, as well as Leonard's strangeness, it seemed likely to be the latter.
Lars spoke calmly, "Could you join me for a quick talk? There's a few things I need to ask."
"A-Ah, of course… No problem," the maid said shakily, looking like a deer in headlights.
Does she think she's in trouble? Lars picked one of the vacant rooms in the hallway, quickly sticking his head inside to confirm it really was empty. After checking around the two of them to make sure no one was nearby, he invited the maid in, holding the door open for her.
She slowly walked in, briefly thanking Lars for holding the door before asking, "Is, uhm, is something the matter? Did I do something wrong…?"
Lars shook his head, "Take a seat for now. Get yourself comfortable."
"Right." The maid nodded meekly, finding a spare chair to sit down as asked. Lars did the same and sat opposite her.
"Let's calm down first, you're not in trouble."
"I'm not…?"
If you keep acting like that, I really will suspect that you've done something you shouldn't have… Lars jested. He knew that she was simply nervous, suddenly getting called out like this, and so he explained, "I didn't call you out specifically. I was looking for someone to speak to in private, to ask some questions one-on-one. Is that alright with you?"
"Uhm," she mumbled.
"It won't take long. Really. If you're worried about your work, then there's no need; I'll handle it with the person in charge of you."
With Lars' persistence, she eventually agreed. "Okay…"
"Great," Lars said in a light tone. "Firstly, could you tell me your name?"
The maid froze. All over her face was written, 'He doesn't know who I am?', before her expression turned into something conveying: 'Of course he wouldn't, why would he…'
"It's a courtesy question. Hm... I worded it badly, didn't I? Sorry. What I mean to say is… Could you introduce yourself? Where you're from, how you found this job, what your future aspirations are… That sort of thing."
Realisation dawned on her face. Seeming to understand what was asked of her better, she started, "Uhm… My name is Isabel. I'm from down south, born in a small village to a working class family. My dad helped me find the job and now… I'm saving up while sending money back home. He said he wanted me to mature in an independent work environment before returning to marry. They have an idea who to engage me with, but I'm not too familiar with that person so… I'm not too sure about it."
Her head turned downwards some more, a faint blush visible on her face, "I've thought of telling my parents that I'm iffy about marriage at this point, but I don't think they'd listen. Maybe if I found someone I liked here, then I could tell them I already have someone, and intend to stay in the city…"
Lars smiled, noticing something in her eyes as he hurriedly exclaimed, "Well, I hope it ends well for you. Marrying Vanessa was the best thing to happen to me—so I'm rooting for you to find someone who matches you."
Isabel's face froze for a moment, only then realising the tangent she had been on, "Oh… I said more than I should've! I'm really sorry, it was supposed to be brief. But then it felt like the words just kept coming out of my mouth…"
"Right," Lars interrupted before she talked too long again and veered off topic, "It's nice to meet you, Mary. I'm Lars." He then moved on to the next question, "How has the estate treated you? Are you getting along with the staff?"
"Uhm, yes, everyone's very kind!" Mary insisted. She sounded genuine, which was reassuring.
It should work now… Lars decided that enough time had passed. Her guard shouldn't be so raised, as it was with Niall, when the seduction failed. He asked sincerely, "There's something that's been troubling me these days. Would you be willing to do me a favour?"
"What is it?" Mary asked, openly expressing her curiosity after becoming more comfortable.
"I need someone to keep a watchful eye out. There's been strange things happening lately, and I believe people close to me may be conspiring. It's important that trustworthy people can keep a watch on whatever's occuring while I'm not around. Now, I don't want you to do anything dangerous or excessive. Avoid anything that goes beyond simple observation, okay? If you encounter something suspicious, or you find someone entering the estate who's not an employee or a trusted person, then report back to me immediately."
Mary nodded, listening with an unnaturally compliant expression. She answered, "I can do that."
"Thank you," Lars smiled. "Then that's all I need. You can return to your duties now."
"Yes," Mary lowered her head. "Have a good night, Master."
"You too, Mary."
The next day came quickly. Lars had been busy the whole night, randomly selecting servants and putting them through the same process Mary had gone through. He collected various people employed at his estate and gathered a network of individuals who would keep watch, reporting back whenever something strange is seen. This was the first half of his preparations!
Let's get this next part over with… With that done, Lars used the time before meeting Siegfried to conduct his other plan. For the first time since arriving in this mansion, overtaking the life of the other him, he readied himself to leave the estate and venture out. There was a single destination in mind for this journey.
"Have a nice trip, Lars… Be back soon okay?" Vanessa smiled as she saw him off at the gate.
Unfortunately, Leonard wasn't present, so Lars had chosen one of the seduced servants to accompany him. But he found this was preferable, considering that he could now ask questions with little restrictions to ensure he found his way there and back. The influence from his seduction would effectively prevent the other person from harbouring suspicions.
"I will, don't worry," Lars said as he smiled in the way he imagined a loving husband would. For now, Vanessa was under the belief that he was headed out to pray at church. After the consecutive incidents, where his life had been put at risk, this was a reasonable development. Therefore, his leave wasn't protested at all.
However, entering the city and using the servant as a guide, what Lars reached wasn't a church, but rather, the nearby police station. This visit was to meet a certain someone who was currently spending time behind bars while the trial was still ongoing!
A woman in uniform waited at the desk, talking with a colleague somewhere behind her. When she noticed two men walking in, she switched her attention to the front, asking, "Hello, may I help you?"
Lars walked forward, while his servant silently stood behind him. He smiled politely, introducing himself, "Good day. I'm Lars Wold, from 13 Cherry Grove."
"Ah… Yes, I heard a few things around that address. We visited it recently, correct? Is there something you need to inquire about?"
Lars nodded, explaining, "A servant of mine, by the name of Carl, should be held in a jail cell here. Is that right?"
"Uhm… Give me a moment, I'll ask…" the woman turned around and disappeared for some time, only returning around ten minutes later. "Yes, he's still in custody."
"Great," Lars smiled, "I want to drop all charges against him."
"Uhm… Sorry," she said, "I think I heard you wrong?"
"I'm no longer pressing charges against Carl. I want to drop all charges held against him."
After another ten minutes of back and forth, asking many times if Lars was sure in his decision to do this—as well as making sure he knew what would or could happen if Carl wasn't incarcerated—they eventually agreed to let him drop the charges. It was made apparent, however, that the investigation wouldn't stop simply because of this, and furthermore, his act not cooperating only served to harm the course of justice. Regardless, Lars held steadfast.
Some time later, he found Carl walking out of the station, looking around nervously. His eyes held great suspicion as if he couldn't believe that he was free. But when the servant found Lars among those waiting outside, his eyes widened in shock as he froze. Meanwhile, Lars calmly walked over.
Lars approached Carl, exclaiming, "Carl! It's good to see you. Let's have a talk—I know you weren't yourself, so I want to discuss that."
In a tired voice, clearly not falling for the theatrics, Carl asked, "What do you want from me?"
Lars smiled, "I'm offering you your job back."
"What…?" Carl muttered, his eyes widening further.
"Let's talk privately."
The two then found themselves in an alleyway, having an impromptu discussion, in which Lars explained how he had dropped the charges and no longer wished to stand against him in court. Meanwhile, he allowed the facade of an endearing demeanour slowly faded away. He had learnt from his interaction with Niall that an overly vigilant person would find such behaviour suspicious even with the use of seduction. Therefore, he set the terms clearly.
"I want you to stay close to me, acting as a personal assistant. But you aren't replacing Leonard's job—so don't think that. You are to help me with random tasks, whenever I need it, and in the meanwhile, protect me from harm."
"Protect you from harm…?" Carl couldn't believe what he was hearing. He had previously injured, nearly killing this employer of his, and now he was supposed to act as a bodyguard? It made no sense from that standpoint… And even then, what would he do? He was an ordinary person, not a fighter or skilled bodyguard.
"That's it! You were surprisingly competent, when you tried to kill me with that steak knife. If I teach you a few things, then you could prove useful; in the meanwhile, it's good to have a helper at my side, for various reasons. Besides, who else is going to employ you? No home or business owner will want to take in someone who violently attacked their employer... Don't you think so?"
As Lars spoke softly, he realised that there was another way to use seduction. To incite fear and dependence.