Entering the lounge, five sets of eyes looked my way.

Seeing me, one of them spoke up.

“Well look who we have here! Had a good sleep I wonder?” A cheerful voice greeted me.

The owner of the voice was a boy who had blonde hair and wore an attire that was just as formal as mine. Along with his personality, his smile gave him an atmosphere of being carefree.

Just like me, he seems to be around 16. Maybe even older.

“Don't mind him. He's better off being ignored.” A female voice came from the side.

Looking at her, she seemed to be around 19 years old.

Donning a slightly-revealing red dress and heels(1 inch) that complemented her blood-red hair made her very eye-catching. On top of that, her above-average proportions worked well with her clothes.

Although almost everything about her contributed to the color red, her sharp eyes were amber colored.

“D-don't say that!” The blonde haired boy said to her then turned to me. “Don't misunderstand okay? I'm a good person! Right, Princess?” He asked the girl that was a little bit behind him.

“E-eh? Oh, um...” The girl called Princess stuttered as her voice trailed off.

Just like the boy, she had blonde hair that went all the way to her back, as well as being around the same age as us. What she wore was a blue dress and shoes that went along with it. It also went along with her innocent eyes that were of the same color.

“-sigh-... this is why you should be better off ignored.” The red haired girl said. “Well anyways, I think it would be appropriate to introduce ourselves. Is that alright? King?” She asked the person sitting on the sofa.

Following her gaze, I saw a black-haired guy that was also around 19 or 20 years old.

Like us, his attire was formal. Except that, on top of his suit, he wore a brown fur coat that made his presence feel powerful. His sharp gaze was completely different from the red haired girl, as it felt cold and computing.

Giving the red haired girl only a moment's glance, he said nothing as he turned his head away slowly and closed his eyes.

“I'll take that as a yes. Sooo. My name is Queen. Pleased to meet you.” The red haired girl offered her hand as she gave a smile that made me think of her as an older sister.

“N-nice to meet you too...” I took her hand and greeted her as well.

After shaking hands, she continued and motioned towards the blonde haired girl.

“That girl over there is Princess.”

Having her name called, she became a bit flustered and quickly bowed.

“P-pleased to meet you!” She said.

“Yeah... pleased to meet you too.” I replied.

After that, Queen motioned to person sitting on the sofa.

“This person here, is King.” Not even giving us a passing glance, Queen continued not minding it.

“And finally, the person behind King.” Following Queen's hand as she motioned towards the person behind King, I involuntarily let out a my voice.

“Ah.” Just as Queen has mentioned, there was another person behind King.

Unlike everyone else here, she was wearing a maid's uniform. She had short hair which was color black just like King, but had soft caring eyes which contrasts his. Being a little short, she was around the same age as us. And even though she was wearing a maid's uniform, she was just as beautiful as the other two girls.

I didn't react like that not because she was pretty or anything, but when I took a look at her, it felt like...

I knew her.

I tried to remember, but when I was sort of close enough, it felt as though it would slip further away and instead gave me a slight headache.

“Hello?”

A gentle voice snapped me back.

“Uh... yes?” Looking towards the owner of the voice, I was greeted by the black haired girl whom was already in front of me.

“Are you okay?” She asked.

“Y-yeah... just, a little headache...” I replied.

Ahem.-

Clearing her throat, Queen continued. “As I was saying, this here is Maid.”

After being introduced, Maid gave me a bow and greeted me.

“Nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you too.” I replied in kind.

“Alright. Now that that's done, let's move on-”

“What about me?!” A voice interrupted Queen.

“Hn? Ohh, my... who are you again?” Queen coldly replied.

“PRINCE!! My name is Prince!!”

“Ah yes. That one insiginifcant person.”

“Oi!”

Seeing this, I made a small smile.

“Well anyways.” Queen turned towards me. “As for your name, it would be Jester.”

“Jester? Why is that?”

“Before you came here, the four of us agreed to use the words on the nameplates as our names.”

I see... but wait.

“Does that mean you guys can't remember anything either?”

“Yeah... but, even though it's like this, it felt almost... natural.” Maid answered.

“Hold on a minute!!” Prince once again interrupted.

“What is it?” Queen coldly asked.

“About what you said earlier!! There's something I'd like to make sure of!” Prince pointed.

“And what is that?”

“You said... four, right?”

“As I was saying. It seems that none of us here remember anything. And just as we were about to begin disussing, you came along and...”

“Would you listen to me?!!”

Laughing wryly at how Queen treated him, it made me wonder just what happened to warrant such behavior. So I asked Maid.

“Did... something happen between the two of them?”

“Well, nothing really. When I came with King, Queen and Princess were already there. And when Prince entered, she suddenly became... colder?”

“I see.”

While Queen and Prince were busy arguing, I took a look at the room.

Just like the ones upstairs, this room was also fancy. It was also as big as our bedrooms.

With black and white checkered floor tiles that seemed to be so clean, you could see your reflection and various decorations such as pedestals, vases, plants, and paintings, this place held a feeling of relaxation.

Opposite the stairs are double-doors that were made of polished wood.

Unlike the one upstairs, it wasn't as big nor does it have decorations made of gold.

Just some simple, wooden doors. But even then it could still be considered beautiful.

In the center of the room was a wooden coffee table, and on both sides of it were two sofas.

With the one on the right being occupied by King.

Looking at the sofas, they were somewhat similar to the bed I woke up in.

They had a sturdy looking frames and the cushions were red and lined with yellow embroidery.

As my eyes surveyed the room, another set of eyes met with mine.

Noticing my gaze, Maid gave me smile.

Taken aback by this, I tried not to let it show as I smiled wryly.

Thud!!

A loud sound silenced us as we looked towards the one who did that.

“Alright, enough fooling around.” It was King.

It seems that he hammered his foot down on the coffee table.

Putting his foot down, he motioned with his chin to Queen as if saying to get it over with.

“R-right. Moving on, does anybody have any ideas as to what to do next?” Queen asked us.

Looking at each other, the four of us remained silent.

So I reluctantly raised my hand.

“Yes?”

“How about we explore the place?” I said.

“Hmm. Alright, let's do that. But first, does anyone have any other ideas?”

Why does this feel like some sort of business meeting?

“No? Okay then. We'll split up into three groups and meet back here after you think you're done inspecting your assigned places. As for the groups, let's go with King and I; Prince and Princess; and Jester and Maid. King and I will investigate the second floor; Prince and Princess, the third floor; and Jester and Maid, this floor- ...yes, Jester?”

“Well, you see... I already took a look at the floors above us.” I said.

“Ahh, did you now? So what did you find?” Queen asked.

“Well, the floor above us has our bedrooms, comfort rooms for both genders, a library, and five locked doors. As for the one above that, it's one room that takes up the entire floor.”

I kept that part about another room in the library to myself, just to be safe.

“I see. Well no harm in looking again. We might even find some stuff you might have overlooked.”

Nodding to her, I asked another question.

“How... many floors are there?”

“...? Three, with the one we're on being the first. I checked and there are doors leading outside. Why?”

“Well, when I was on the second floor, I looked out the window and found that I was unable to see the bottom because it was too dark.”

“Too dark? Well I guess that's true. When I took a look outside, I couldn't see anything as well so I dropped the idea of investigating whatever's out there.” Queen contemplated. “Anything else?”

“N-no nothing else.”

“Okay.” Queen looked at each of us and said. “If there's nothing else, let's split up and come back here after say... one hour? … Scratch that, does anybody have a clock or a watch or something?”

The four of us shook our heads, so Queen put a hand on her chin.

After a while, she sighed. “Just be back here when you're done, then we'll each report what we found.”

After saying this, everybody moved to their destinations and left me and Maid here in the lounge.

“Sooo let's get started then.” Maid said happily as she heads for the double-doors.

I follow closely behind.

Okay, so first off, what we found was a dining room. Not as big as the one on the third floor, but still big enough to house a few tables.

Inside, there were three, long rectangular tables parallel to each other, each with ten or eleven chairs paired with a plate and a set of utensils. On the center of the table was a vase holding a beautiful white flower.

Just like the lounge, it had many plants here and there, as well as some painting hanging off a wall.

Decoration meant to relax who's inside.

Beside the dining room was the kitchen.

It had many stations for cooking, together with the necessary tools to go along with it.

There was also a huge refrigerator that housed many ingredients.

Apparently, there's also a set of white double-doors that connected the two rooms.

Other than the double-door, was a door leading to a cooler. Inside, were many meat products as well as some other things one would find in a cooler.

After that, we found an infirmary.

Twice as long as our bedrooms, it had six sets of beds divided by some curtains.

There was also a table with some medical documents and a chair behind it.

In the back were two cabinets that contained many different medicines, tools, and many other items in relation to this.

Next we found two comfort rooms for their respective genders.

Other than these five rooms, the rest were locked.

In total I've counted around ten locked rooms.

…

Somehow I feel like the first floor is bigger than the floors above.

Shrugging, We continued to navigate our way through the many hallways and the occasional corridors.

While walking around, we had various conversations. Mostly just to pass the time.

And after a while, we found another door.

But this one was different.

It was bigger and it was see-through.

Looking through, what we saw was darkness.

And immediately we knew, that it was a door leading outside.

Exchanging glances with Maid, I asked her a question.

“So... what do we do now?”

“Dunno. Do you want to check and see what's outside?” She asked back.

Turning back to the door, I thought of what to do.

“You stay here and I'll check outside.” I said.

“But what if it's too dangerous?” She said in a worried tone.

“It'll be alright. I'll just walk a few meters and come back.”

Although still hesitant, Maid just nodded and told me to be careful.

Nodding back, I opened the door and stepped outside.

After taking a step outside, I took another.

Then another. And another.

I kept going for a bit and still couldn't see anything.

Well, except for the dirt floor beneath me.

Getting a bit scared, I turned around.

But once I did, I became awestruck.

In front of me was an enormous mansion.

Just as Queen has said, it had three floors. Looking at it's roof, it had a few spires here and there that gave off that certain distinct feeling. It had that natural brown color one would expect from wood, coupled with a complex design that made one think that the ones who made this house spent a lot of time making it. And because of that, it looked as if each and every little detail felt essential and necessary.

Seeing me like this, Maid became ever more worried and called out to me.

“Jester? Are you alright?”

I responded with a slight nod.

“Are you sure you're alright?” She asked again.

“Y-yeah. It's just...” I trailed off. “...the mansion.”

“Mansion?”

Becoming curious, she cautiously jogged towards me and turned around.

And just like me, she was taken aback.

“Wow... to think that we were inside this?” She asked.

“Yeah...”

Maybe it was kind of obvious because of the rooms inside, but still...

It was beautiful. It was definitely beautiful.

It's just that, I can't shake off this feeling that I've... been here before.

“C-come on. Let's go back.” I suggested.

She nodded and we made our way back inside.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

Once inside, Maid heaved a sigh of relief.

“Phew... that was fun.” She smiled at me.

“That was fun? But we just stared at the building right?”

“Yeah but, it was kind of thrilling you know?” She said, still smiling.

Seeing this, I smiled back.

… Well I guess it was kind of fun.

“So do you want to go back?” I asked.

She shook her head.

“No. There were some places we didn't explore yet. Queen said there were other exits right? Why don't we try to find those?” She said rather happily.

Thinking about it, I nodded.

“I guess we can.”

Becoming even happier by my response, she then led us around to places we haven't been to yet.

So far, we've only encountered more locked doors, which again made me think that the first floor is bigger than the second. And the third.

“Hey did you know?” Maid asked.

“...? Know what?”

“That, when you walked outside, it looked as if you were walking on nothing.”

“Really now... that's interesting.”

Talking a little bit more about some trivial stuff, we finally found another door leading outside.

But unlike the other one, this one was bigger and it wasn't see through.

They were double-doors made of marble with some gold here and there.

We only found out it led outside when we opened it.

Maid turned towards me with a mischievous grin.

“Wanna go?”

Nodding, I followed her outside.

What we noticed first was that, instead of dirt, we stepped on cement.

We took note of this as we carefully made our way to a distance we think is suitable.

Looking at each other first, we both simultaneously turned towards the mansion.

What we saw was just as magnificent as the other side. Maybe even better.

I think it might be because this is the front of the building, but it was great either way.

Nodding satisfied, I turned back to Maid, who in turn looked at me.

She smiled and said. “Sooo, do you want to go back?”

Raising an eyebrow, I replied in kind.

“No. There are still a few places we haven't checked.”

Now beaming from ear to ear, she led us once again to the rest of the first floor.

And just like before, we found more locked doors until finally, we found the last one.

It was just like any other door, so I had no expectations.

But even so, I turned the handle.

Click-

Surprised, both Maid and I peeped into the room.

Inside was a big room that, like others had the same decorations like plants and paintings.

What made this room different though was the Grand Piano that sat at the very center of the room.

Along with the piano, was a rectangular chair that had a red cushion on top of it.

Light filled the room from the windows that looked as if they replaced the walls themselves.

Covering these windows were light-green, silk curtains that made the room even brighter.

“Uuuaah. This place keeps getting better and better huh?” Maid said as she surveyed the room.

“Yeah, I guess so.”

“Hey. Did you ever wonder, where the light came from?” She suddenly asked.

“Hm? From outsid-” I stopped for a moment. “From the light bulbs?” I answered while looking up.

Searching the ceiling, I became disappointed as well as intrigued.

“Yeah, where does the light come from?” I asked not as a question, but to agree with her.

“Right? … Maybe it's sunlight. 'Cause look, it's kind of warm see?”

Following her to one of the windows, I let the light bathe me.

“I guess it is.” I said. “Hmm.. maybe it's because it's too dark out? Even though there's light.”

“Hmm.” Maid put a finger on her lip as she thought about it.

Shrugging, she skipped towards the piano and asked me another question.

“Say, do you know how to play the piano?”

“What? Well, no? I think...”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah.. I don't think I've touched one before either. How about you? Do you play?” I asked back.

“Well...”

She sat herself down in front of the piano and opened the lid, revealing a set of black and white keys.

Although she sat herself down, she didn't play but instead caressed the keys.

“Guess not?” She said as she closed an eye and stuck her tongue out. After which she sighed. “Wish we could explore more.”

I chuckled. “You really like exploring huh?”

“Hmhm~ That's because I'm an adventurous woman!” She said as she puffed her chest out. “But sadly, we have to go back now huh..”

Although she said that with a bit of sadness, she quickly reverted back to being cheerful.

“Well whatever.”

Seeing this, I gave a suggestion. “We could explore the upper floors, if you want. If not... there's always outside.”

Hearing me say this, she turned towards me a bit surprised and smiled. “Thanks.” She then turned towards the window “But still, outside huh...” I looked as well. “Alright. You better keep your promise.”

“Wait, promise?” I asked as I turned towards her.

“Yeah. You suggested it, so you better keep it.” She said, not looking away from the window.

I only nodded as a reply.

After a while, Maid spoke up again.

“Should we get back?”

“......yeah.”

Silently, we exited the room and walked back to the lounge.

Once in front of the double-doors, we opened both at the same time as we entered.

“Well you guys, sure took you're sweet time.” A cheerful voice greeted us.

“You're... Prince, right?” I asked. Looking around, it seems everybody else is here as well.

“Ohh! You remembered! Ha! See that Queen?” Prince turned to the red-haired person.

Queen sighed. “Jester.” She said as she walked towards me.

“Y-yes?”

She looked at me with caring eyes. “I know you're a good boy... so, I'm telling you right now. That you should really stay away from this pathetic excuse of a person.” She said solemnly.

“U-um, what?”

“NOW HOLD IT RIGHT THERE!”

Prince intervened.

“Don't listen to her! I'm not a bad person! She's just sadistic! Princess! Do you think I'm a bad person? We searched the top floor together so you should know best, right?”

“Eh? Oh, well... that's...” Being abruptly questioned, Princess stuttered.

Seeing this, Queen shot him a cold glare. “Don't molest her any further, scum.”

“I'M NOT MOLESTING?!”

Laughing wryly at this, I watched as they continued their charade.

After a while, Queen turned towards me.

“Well anyways, about your search Jester, what took you so long anyway?” She asked.

“Ah. Well, you see, the first floor was much bigger than we had expected it to be.”

“Bigger?”

“Yeah.” Maid answered for me. “We found a few open rooms, but the rest we found were all locked.”

“I see... say, how many rooms did you find?” Queen asked.

“Well, there was a kitchen, a dining room, two comfort rooms, an infirmary, and one with a piano.” I enumerated.

After this, Queen thought for a moment and asked another question.

“And how many locked rooms?”

Exchanging glances with Maid, I tried to give a number approximate to how many we've encountered.

“Fourteen, maybe? Or fifteen. Maid?”

“I think it's fourteen.” She said after counting her fingers.

“Fourteen?” Queen said bemused.

“Something wrong?” I asked.

“No, nothing. Anything else?”

I looked at Maid and she shook her head.

“No, that's it.”

Queen nodded. “Okay then.”

“How about you guys?”

“Hm?”

“What did you find?”

“Ah yes, about that...”

While we were talking about what they found, I notice Prince talking to Princess. With Prince doing most of the talking. As for Princess, she just stood there looking a bit... lonely. Or maybe just bored.

Either way, she wasn't enjoying 'talking' with Prince.

Back on topic. What Queen told me was mostly what I've already seen. What's new was that the number of locked rooms was not five, but eight.

“What about the third floor?”

“Well, it was just as you said but, there were balconies as well.”

“Balconies?” I asked.

“Yeah. Wide ones at that.”

“Was there anything there?”

“No... just plants and tiles. It was bright, at least. But, at the same time... dark?”

“I-I see.”

So it was kind of the same as when we were outside and could only see the mansion...

“Sooo, what do we do now?” Maid asked.

Queen thought about it for a while and gave a suggestion.

“Well, we haven't eaten breakfast yet right? Why don't you lead us to the kitchen.”

And with that, Queen gathered the rest as we went to the kitchen.

While walking, I notice Queen looking around curiously.

“Queen?”

“Yes?”

“Is... something bothering you?”

“.........No. Just, carry on.” She said.

Shrugging, I decided not to mind it.

While walking, the only one talking was Prince.

And the only one he was talking to, was Princess.

“So how 'bout I help you cook? Wouldn't that be nice?” He said in a cheerful tone.

“...”

“I know all sorts of dishes we could make! Well, if there are ingredients.”

“...”

“I wonder what the kitchen looks like? I think Queen said something about a cooler as well.”

“...”

“Say, do you thin-”

“Prince.” Queen said, with a hint of irritation.

“Yes?”

“I thought I told you to stop molesting her already.”

“What are you talking about?! I'm not molesting! And besides! It's not like Princess is actually bothered! Right, Princess?”

“...”

“Uuh, Princess?”

“Hmph.”

“Uuaah! Cold!!”

This went on for a while more, until we finally reached our destination.

“Alright! You boys go to the dining room and leave the cooking to us.” Queen said.

“Eh? Are you sure?” I asked.

“Do you know how to cook?”

Guess were going to the dining room then.

“What about me? I'd be a good asset!” Prince persisted.

“No. You're presence will make the food turn foul.”

“......Tch.” Prince marched off.

Well that was new. I looked at Queen and saw that she wasn't the least bit troubled by it.

“He's kind of mad now.” I said.

“Hn? Oh yeah.” She snorted. “Word of advice, Jester. Don't get close to him.”

She left with the other girls and went straight into the kitchen.

What was supposed to mean?

Maybe it's just her being cold towards him again.

Being left alone in the corridor, I quickly entered the dining room.

I sat myself down in one of the tables the others were sitting at.

“Geez. Can you believe her? Being all condescending and all that... Hey? Are you listening?”

There, Prince was doing a one-sided conversation with King.

In response, King only gave a yawn.

“Bastard.. Hm? Oh! Hey Jester! Man, can you believe it? I don't understand why they have to be all jerks to me like that! Can you? And all I'm trying to do is be friendly you know?”

Laughing dryly, I just nodded in return.

“Yeah.. especially that Queen.” Suddenly, even if for a moment, I noticed a slight change in tone. Or maybe that was just my imagination. “I don't know why, but I get this feeling that I really won't get along with her.”

He continued ranting for a while, with me giving vague responses like 'yeah' or 'maybe' here and there until he asked me a question.

“Say, what's your opinion of her?”

“Huh? Oh. Well, an older sister? Maybe?”

“I see...”

“...”

“Say, have you ever fallen in love?”

I looked at him for a moment.“What do you mea-”

“Boys, thank you for waiting!” A voice emerged from the white double-doors that opened with a bang.

There, Queen lead two other girls holding trays into the dining room.

Looking at them, I noticed that they were wearing white aprons.

“Here it is!”

Saying that, Queen motioned with her chin and Princess brought in and placed a silver tray holding two dishes on the table. The first dish were omelettes shaped into half-circles with a few greens decorating the side. The other one was a plate full of what looked like hash browns.

Pretty fitting for a breakfast I suppose.

After that, Maid put down her tray which had two dishes as well. One was a really colorful salad and the other was a bowl of soup which had a ladle sticking out of it.

“As for your plates and stuff, it's in the kitchen. Now c'mon. You weren't expecting us girls to carry those now were you?”

With the three of us boys looking at eachother, we shrugged and went for the kitchen.

Searching around a bit, we found a cabinet full of exotic plates with spoons and forks to match.

We took a set each along with some bowls for the soup.

Getting back to the dining room, we took what we wanted and sat ourselves down.

As for me, I took a bit of everything just like everybody else.

Having our meals in front of us, we only ate in silence as it seemed only right.

A little around 20 minutes, we finished and talked about what to do.

“We could keep searching. If nothing turns up today, we just try again tomorrow.” Queen.

“But what if we really don't find anything? Do we just continue living here?” I asked.

“Hmmm... If we really can't find anything, we'll hold a discussion and piece together what we know.”

Queen paused.

“... as well as what we don't know.”

With that, we continued our search.