Chapter 23

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As Nice led her through the ruins, the prisoners engaged in excavation work stared at her curiously.

Normally, the area where the prisoners were excavating is off-limits, so it must be rare for anyone other than a guard to come here.

"Everyone, I'm sorry to bother you."

And every time Olivia's eyes met someone's, she would say this, which only made things worse.

"You don't have to greet everyone one by one, you know."

Nice said this, but it was awkward to walk through silently without saying anything.

As they walked, Nice, who had been holding his head, arrived at District Eight with Olivia. She looked around the narrow excavation site and couldn't help but sigh in amazement.

Broken pieces of walls dug out of the ground were lined up everywhere. There were also fragments of pots, and Olivia was about to be drawn closer when Silas grabbed her hand and pulled her back.

"Olivia, I told you not to, didn't I?"

"S-Sorry... I couldn't help it."

"Really. Silas, keep holding Olivia's hand. If you take your eyes off her for a moment, she might go anywhere. We might have to send out a search party for Olivia again."

That was too much. Olivia was a bit irritated, but Silas seemed to be half-serious, and he showed no sign of letting go of her hand.

Reluctantly, Olivia gave up on looking around the artifacts and compared the map she had brought with the location.

"Well, this is the center of the White Rose Palace, right...?"

The center of the White Rose Palace, where the royal family once lived, should not be accessible from this location, but a part of the wall on the right is broken, allowing access. However, a rope is stretched across the hole in the broken wall, and it seems that going beyond it is prohibited.

"Why is there a rope here?"

When Olivia asked, Nice pointed to the map in her hand and said,

"Beyond this point, from here to the center, the ruins are quite fragile. People have been injured by falling walls, so we don't allow anyone to go beyond this point now."

"Speaking of which, you said the underground passage was blocked halfway, right?"

"Yes. Probably due to the construction of the wall near the border. They had to cut and dig in various places to build the wall."

Olivia peered beyond the rope. Although the rope was stretched, it was easy to cross and go further. However, since there was no way to escape from anywhere, the prisoners did not seem to go beyond this point.

(Something just doesn't feel right...)

Tiana, who had lost her noble status, is no longer a noble. Moreover, she was charged with a crime right after becoming Prince Alan's fiancée, attracting a lot of attention. Even if she finished her labor and was taken in by her relatives and returned to noble society, she would not be able to live the glamorous life she once had. First of all, the proud Tiana would never accept a lower status than the people she had previously looked down upon. In other words, even after completing her labor, she would have a hard time living in this country.

Where would such a person run to in this country? Even if she finished her labor, it's unlikely that her relatives would take in a fugitive prisoner. And it's hard to imagine Tiana living a humble life, crawling on the ground and avoiding people's eyes.

(Even if she ran away, there would be no good outcome for Tiana...)

On the other hand, it's possible that she found some benefit in fleeing. If so, what could it be?

As Olivia was thinking, two men were brought by a guard. They were prisoners who had been working on the excavation in the same district as Tiana.

When Olivia greeted them, the two men looked at each other with puzzled expressions.

"Um... You called us...?"

"Yes, it's me."

When Olivia nodded, their puzzled expressions deepened.

Silas and Alan stepped forward to protect Olivia, but the two men seemed genuinely calm, so it was fine. Thanks to Nice's selection, they were not subjected to rude stares.

"Thank you for coming. I would like to ask you about prisoner number 214, Tiana. Is that okay?"

"Oh, that girl."

Since they had been working in the same area, the two men nodded immediately.

"Could you tell me about prisoner number 214's behavior yesterday? For example, during the afternoon break."

"Break? Oh, right, that girl didn't take a break yesterday."

"Huh?"

"I invited her to drink water so she wouldn't get tired, but she said she wanted to dig in one spot. Usually, she would make a face and say she didn't want to get dirty, but she seemed unusually cheerful. Maybe she found something interesting where she was digging."

"Even if she found something good, she couldn't take it back with her."

"She also said something grandiose, like everything in this country should have been hers. Maybe she's a dreamy girl."

It seems these two men did not know that Tiana was a former noble and Prince Alan's fiancée.

Olivia smiled ambiguously and continued.

"Did prisoner number 214 continue working when she returned from the break?"

"Hmm? ...Now that you mention it, I didn't see her after she returned. Did you see her?"

"No, I didn't see her either."

"What?"

Nice frowned.

"Prisoner number 214 wasn't in District Eight?"

"We weren't always looking around, but I don't remember seeing her."

"…So, she disappeared during the break? But... that's impossible."

It's understandable that Nice was confused. Even during the break, a guard stood at the entrance, and there were many prisoners and guards outside. It was impossible to escape.

(...Could it be...)

Olivia looked at the hole in the wall where the rope was stretched and thought.

The portable oil lamp that was missing from Tiana's room. Tiana, who disappeared during the break. The guard who always stood at the entrance. Tiana, who had no place to go in this country. ...What would Tiana do?

Olivia raised her head.

"I might have an idea where Tiana is."