Chapter 48

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Olivia stood in the first-floor salon with Eugenia and the others. This was one of the five rooms that Ritzburg had found to be out of place after comparing the map with the actual room sizes.

Edwar and his team had said they would investigate the second floor, so Eugenia's team decided to start with the first floor. Olivia looked around the room, checking for anything unusual. Eugenia, looking at the floor plan of the castle she had brought, began to inspect the room, following Olivia's lead.

"Is it something like this? Moving a painting on the wall to reveal a hidden door?"

Enoch, while checking behind the paintings on the wall, said.

"That's a possibility, but it doesn't seem to fit this room."

Olivia, looking at a painting hung next to the window, said. If there was a door behind the painting, it would only lead to the garden. The wall wasn't thick enough to hide a secret room.

The salon had a rectangular table in the center and four sofas. This was the smallest of the five salons in the castle, with two two-seater sofas and two single-seater sofas, making it unsuitable for more than six people to have a conversation. However, if the room was designed according to the floor plan, it should be much larger.

(This room should be longer from north to south. If that's the case...)

There was a window on the east side of the room, with a garden outside. On the west side was the entrance, and the wall there wasn't thick enough to create a room. To the south, there was a decorative shelf about as high as Olivia's waist, and the wallpaper didn't seem unusual. To the north, there was a closet, but it didn't appear to be in use, with a shelf in front of the closet door holding some flowers.

"Miss Eugenia, don't you find the closet suspicious?"

"Closet?"

"Yes. At least, I've never seen a salon with a closet before."

"Indeed, now that you mention it. I've always thought it was normal since I was born, but a closet in a salon is unnecessary."

"Let's check it out."

Enoch moved the vase from the shelf to the table. Enoch's friends, a count and a marquis who were also part of the team, each held one end of the shelf and moved it to the entrance wall. Olivia opened the full-height closet and peered inside. It wasn't very deep. In fact, it was so shallow that dresses would have to be hung diagonally to fit.

Eugenia and Enoch also peered inside. Taylor, looking over Olivia's shoulder, said, "Isn't it too narrow?" with a puzzled look.

"It's so narrow that even children's clothes might barely fit."

"Yes. From the outside, it looks like a closet, but it doesn't serve its purpose."

"It's suspicious."

Enoch, tapping the back wall of the closet, said. Olivia wanted to help, but Eugenia told her to let Enoch handle it and stepped back to avoid getting in the way. Enoch carefully tapped the back wall, stopping at a spot on the right side. He pressed his hand against the right end of the wall, frowning.

"Is it indented? No... This is it. Lady Olivia, this part moves."

It turned out to be a hidden room inside the closet. The wall opened inward like a hidden door, and Olivia and the others followed Enoch through the open door into the dark hidden room. It was dark because there were no windows.

Taylor brought a candlestick from the table in the salon. Enoch lit the candle and entered the room, then told the others it was safe to enter. The hidden room was spacious enough for everyone to fit.

The hidden room was about half the size of the salon. A wooden table was placed against the wall, and Enoch put the candlestick on it.

The room seemed to have been closed for a long time, as it was dusty. The room contained only a table and a chair. The only other thing was a map of Filaurush pinned to the wall. The table was simple, with no decorations. Olivia, hoping to find something interesting in the drawers, opened them but found nothing. She was a bit disappointed.

The map, however, was quite old. The names of places on the yellowed paper were different from today's. Beyond Filaurush's borders, the names of the countries of Brioire and Granoria were written, suggesting it was from around the time Filaurush was founded. Olivia, who had been disappointed, felt her heart race as she stared at the old map.

The empire had first split into Brioire, and a few years later, Filaurush was established. Finally, the first King of Levanor, who defeated the last emperor of Granoria, founded the country in the remaining imperial territory, forming the three countries of Renoa. This map was from before Levanor was established.

(How wonderful... If it's from before Levanor was established, it must be from the time of the first king... over six hundred years ago. It's amazing that something so old still exists...)

It could easily be considered a national treasure. It should be stored in the treasury. The fact that it was left here so carelessly was suspicious.

"There's a pin stuck in here."

Olivia, who had been staring at the map, noticed a golden pin stuck in an unnatural spot.

"…This might be real gold."

"Which one? …Yes, it's hard to tell without an appraisal, but it feels heavy for its size."

Pure gold is too soft, so it must be mixed with copper or silver, but it has a different luster than a plated pin. Moreover, if this pin is old, plating technology didn't exist at the time. Of course, it could be recent, but that's uncertain.

"But why is it stuck here…?"

"Maybe it's just a coincidence?"

"But there are pins at the four corners to hold the map, and they seem to be made of iron, judging by the rust. Why is this one made of gold? It's concerning."

"You have a point…"

The pin was stuck in the northeast of Filaurush, near the border of Granoria—now Levanor. The old name of the town was Quarruce. At this time, the old Granorian names were still used, and the spelling was in the old Granorian script, which is not found in modern Filaurush.

"Maybe it was just stuck there by chance?"

Edwar, like Cyrius, showed little interest in the map. Eugenia also didn't seem particularly interested in the golden pin. She searched the walls and floor for anything unusual but found nothing and sighed in disappointment.

"It doesn't seem like the Sword of Selection is here."

"I didn't expect it to be easy to find, but there doesn't seem to be any clue."

Eugenia and Enoch concluded that there was nothing here and suggested moving on. Olivia wanted to look at the old map more, but she couldn't stay against their decision.

(Quarruce… I'll make a note of it when I get back to my room.)

For some reason, Olivia felt that the location of the Sword of Selection was hidden in this map.