Interstellar Beastworld: Raising A Cub With My Mummy System!-Chapter 55: THE STORAGE ROOM IN THE EAST WIN
The door opened to admit an older woman with greying fur and the long, gentle face of a sheep beastman. Her ears were drooped slightly, and she kept her hands clasped in front of her as she stepped inside. She stopped just past the threshold, eyes darting to the desk, to Lin Yue, to the baby on the blanket, then back to the desk.
"You must be Madam Lin Yue," she said, her voice quiet. "I am Elara. I have been with the estate for thirty‑two years."
Lin Yue smiled warmly and gestured to the chair across from the desk. "Please, sit. I wanted to meet everyone who helps run this house. Thirty‑two years is a long time. You must know every corner of this place."
Elara sat carefully, perching on the edge of the chair. "I was here before His Majesty inherited it. Before his father, even. I knew the old prince when he was a boy."
"Then you are exactly the person I wanted to talk to first." Lin Yue picked up her phone and pretended to glance at her notes, but she was watching the woman’s face. "I am trying to understand how the household runs. The rhythms, the routines. What works well. What might need attention."
She let the pause stretch just long enough, then asked, "Have you noticed any changes in the past few years? Anything that seems... different from how it used to be?"
Elara’s hands tightened in her lap. She glanced toward the door, then back at Lin Yue. "Things change, Madam. People come and go. New ways of doing things. I am old. I do not always understand."
"But you notice when something is not as it should be." Lin Yue kept her voice gentle. "I have been looking at the accounts, just to learn how things work, and I saw that some of the supply orders seemed... off. Not large amounts, but repeated. Do you know anything about that?"
Elara’s ears flattened. She shook her head quickly. "I only work in the kitchens, Madam. I do not see the accounts."
"Of course." Lin Yue smiled again. "But you see what comes into the kitchens, what goes out. Have there been shortages? Items that were ordered but never arrived?"
The older woman was quiet for a long moment. Then she said, so softly Lin Yue almost missed it, "The good flour. The kind we used for the prince’s birthday cakes. It stopped coming three years ago. They said the supplier changed. But the bread is just not the same."
Lin Yue made a small note on her phone. "Thank you, Elara. That is exactly the kind of thing I need to know. I want this house to run well for His Majesty and for the little prince." She glanced at Auriel, who was still kicking contentedly on his blanket. "If you think of anything else, you can always come to me."
Elara stood, relief softening her features. "Yes, Madam. Thank you, Madam."
After the door closed, Lin Yue leaned back and let out a slow breath.
[The good flour stopped coming three years ago. That aligns with the timing of the larger discrepancies.]
"I know." She made a more detailed note on her phone. "She knows more than she is saying. But she is afraid."
[She has been here thirty‑two years. She has seen people come and go. She knows who holds power in this house.]
Lin Yue nodded and looked down at Auriel. He was staring at the ceiling now, his tiny fist pressed against his cheek. "One at a time," she murmured. "We will get there."
The second knock came, firmer this time.
She called out, "Come in," and prepared to meet another piece of the puzzle.
The door opened to admit a man she had seen before in the corridors, always carrying something, always moving. He was a dog beastman, his fur a warm brown, his ears perked forward. He walked with the easy confidence of someone who had been in the house long enough to know where everything was but not so long that he had forgotten what it was like to be new.
"Madam," he said, dipping his head. "I am Joren. I work in the supply room. Mira said you wanted to see me."
Lin Yue gestured to the chair across from her. "Please, sit. I am trying to understand how the household runs, and Mira said you were the one to talk to about supplies."
Joren sat, his posture relaxed, his hands resting on his knees. "I have been here eight years. I know where everything is and how much we should have of it."
"That is exactly what I need." Lin Yue picked up her phone, pretending to consult her notes. "I have been looking at the accounts, just trying to learn, and I noticed that some of the supply orders do not match the delivery logs. Small things at first, but they add up. Do you ever see orders that do not make sense? Things that come in but never seem to go anywhere?"
Joren’s ears twitched. His easy posture did not change, but his eyes shifted toward the door for just a moment. "I see what comes in, Madam. I do not always see where it goes after it leaves the supply room."
"Of course." She smiled, letting the warmth reach her eyes. "But you must notice when things are ordered that you do not need. Or when things are not ordered that you do."
He was quiet for a moment. Then he said, "There is a storeroom in the east wing that I do not have access to. It is always locked. The orders that come in for that room, I never see what is inside them. I just sign for the crates and they are taken away."
Lin Yue’s pulse quickened, but she kept her voice light. "Who has the key?"
"I do not know, Madam. It is not in the system."
She nodded slowly, filing the information away. "Thank you, Joren. That is very helpful. I will look into that storeroom." She paused, then added, "If you notice anything else, anything at all, you can come to me. Or you can leave a note with Mira. I want this house to run well for His Majesty and the little prince."
