Chapter 15

After about an hour's carriage ride from the town of Beimar, the excavation site of the White Rose Palace ruins comes into view. A dome-shaped museum stands a little distance from the ruins, where most of the tourists gather. This is because the excavation site is generally off-limits to the public, with ropes strung around it and constant surveillance, making it impossible to enter without a permit.

Olivia and her companions have been granted permission to enter the excavation site, so they head towards a nearby building. This building houses those supervising the site and the soldiers who stay there. Further back, there is another building where the prisoners who have committed minor to moderate crimes stay. The excavation of these ruins is also a form of labor for these prisoners. Tourists cannot be allowed to approach freely to prevent the prisoners from escaping.

As Olivia and her group arrive, Dr. Weibar, the site supervisor, greets them. Dr. Weibar is a tall, middle-aged man with small round glasses, and he is tanned from long hours of excavation work in the sun. Guided by Dr. Weibar, Olivia and her companions enter the building. Inside, there are living spaces for the doctor and the soldiers, as well as rooms for temporarily storing excavated items. In the reception room, Olivia is shown a hand-drawn floor plan by the doctor.

"This is the current floor plan of the White Rose Palace that we have."

It seems this is a floor plan created by Dr. Weibar, showing only the known parts of the palace. Although there are many blank sections, it is still more detailed than what Olivia has read in books. According to Dr. Weibar's floor plan, the White Rose Palace has only one floor above ground, with several rooms underground. The palace's structure is the reason it became buried underground.

(It looks more like a snail than a rose.)

The floor plan shows a design with dozens of circular patterns, and many dead ends, making it extremely difficult to reach the central area where the royal family is believed to have lived, almost like a maze. As Olivia, engrossed in the ground floor plan, asks, "Is this an underground passage?" a low voice is heard. Looking up, she sees Legion, standing next to Princess Florenzia, asking Dr. Weibar about the underground floor plan.

"Yes, that's right. It's an underground passage extending from the royal living area, reaching as far as Lake Accai in the current Calzor Kingdom. However, during a minor conflict with the Calzor Kingdom, it was sealed off at the border for national defense, so it's not possible to go any further from there."

"I see."

Legion listened intently to the doctor's explanation. He seems interested in the ruins, which is a bit surprising since Princess Florenzia, who had expressed a desire to see the ruins, doesn't seem particularly interested.

After finishing with the floor plan, the doctor offers to show them around the museum, and they head there together. The prisoners on labor duty are about to take a break, so they will be able to tour the ruins later.

The museum is cool and refreshing inside. Although there are many tourists, the museum is so large that it's not overcrowded, and the exhibits are still visible.

After passing through the exhibition area displaying items excavated from the ruins, they head to a section where a small, three-dimensional model of the reconstructed palace is on display. The model is a three-dimensional version of the floor plan, making it very easy to understand.

"Looking at it in 3D, it really does look like a maze," Cyrius says, peering at the model. Olivia is impressed that people who lived in this palace didn't get lost more often, given how complex and intricate the design is.

"The underground areas also have many dead ends," Cyrius adds.

"Yes, it seems that way. Also, it appears that you can't enter the royal living area from the underground."

"Really? The underground area of the royal living quarters was completely sealed off from the outside."

"Looking at this, it seems King Adrian was indeed a very suspicious person."

In the model, the underground passage is cut off, but if it was impossible to enter the royal living area from the surrounding underground rooms, the royal family would not have been easily caught if they needed to escape. It's well-designed, but it also suggests that the king was only concerned with saving himself and his family. It's a common story to hear about the royal family escaping while using their subjects as decoys in times of crisis, but to design the palace with this in mind from the beginning is quite remarkable.

After finishing with the model, they visit an area displaying reconstructed clothing and lifestyle of the ancient dynasty, and then return to the building where the doctors and researchers live near the ruins. It's almost time for the prisoners working on the excavation to take a break. Olivia and her group are given a tour of the ruins, avoiding dangerous areas, and their visit for the day is complete. Tomorrow, they will be shown a part of the actual excavation site, not where the prisoners work, but where the experts are working. Olivia is excited to see the actual excavation in progress.

After thanking the doctors, Olivia is about to get into the carriage when she suddenly feels a gaze and looks up.

(...?)

But there is no one there when she turns around.

"Is something wrong, Olivia?"

"No, it's nothing..."

It must have been her imagination. Thinking this, Olivia gets into the carriage.

Thank you for reading!

The book version is on sale today (^○^)

Label: Housekeeping and Life (PASH! Books)

Illustrator: Ayano Shion

There are two original short stories at the end of the book and a bookstore-exclusive special short story (*^^*)

Thank you very much for your support!!