Chapter 52

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Olivia, along with Taylor, came to the underground warehouse and began inspecting each one by opening them one by one.

Even though it was underground, the place was very bright as the candles embedded in the walls were lit.

After checking about four rooms, Taylor shrugged and said, "See, there's nothing here."

"It's a warehouse. There shouldn't be any built-in closets or suspicious doors."

"That's true..."

As Taylor said, the rooms designed for use as warehouses were all made of stone walls, with no carpets on the floor.

There were plain wooden shelves arranged for functionality, but there were no suspicious doors or closets that might lead to a hidden room, nor any storage under the floor.

"There doesn't seem to be anything in the ceiling either. ...Then, could it be? Not inside the room, but a door hidden in the corridor that doesn't look like a door..."

"Miss Olivia, you've been reading too many novels."

Taylor stepped out into the corridor, counting the doors while shaking her head.

"There's nothing strange. The doors are evenly spaced."

"...Then, a dungeon?"

"The dungeon is not an option."

"That's true."

When she thought of the basement as a good idea, Olivia was disappointed and dropped her shoulders because there were no clues.

"Let's check again. I'll start from this end, and Taylor, check from the other end."

Unable to give up, Olivia sighed, and Taylor headed to the room at the other end.

Olivia also went to the room in the opposite direction and peered inside.

Rough stone walls lined with shelves about as tall as Olivia, filled with grains, wheat, potatoes, and other non-perishable foods. The room was cool and chilly, as it was in the basement.

Olivia ran her hands along the walls, searching for any moving parts, when she suddenly felt a shadow behind her and turned around.

"Taylor? Are you done already?"

Thinking it was Taylor, Olivia turned around and was surprised to see the person standing there.

"Hello, Lady Moana."

The person standing there was Lady Moana, the Countess of Arnet. She seemed to be a classmate of Elizabeta, and they had met once when she heard that she would join Edward's team. She was a gentle-looking woman.

"Good day, Miss Olivia. What are you doing?"

"I'm looking for a hidden room... but unfortunately, it seems to be a dead end."

"His Highness Edward and His Highness Silas searched the underground yesterday and said there was none."

"Really?"

"Yes. But if you're looking for a hidden room, would you help me? I found a suspicious room, but I can't open the door alone."

Olivia, who was disappointed to hear that there was no hidden room underground, perked up at Moana's words.

"Where is it?"

"I'll show you."

"Wait a moment, please."

Olivia excused herself to Moana and went to call Taylor. Taylor, who was searching under the shelves in the second room from the back, turned around with a dusty head.

"I told you there wouldn't be anything here."

"You're right, I'm sorry."

While patting the dust off Taylor's uniform, Olivia apologized and hurried to where Moana was waiting with Taylor.

According to Moana, the suspicious room was an unused knight's quarters.

It had been vacant for several years since the new quarters were built and no one had used it.

The knight's quarters were inside the castle, but the entrance was outside, and it couldn't be accessed from inside the castle. That's why Olivia and the others naturally considered it "outside the castle" and hadn't checked it.

"Were you searching alone, Lady Moana?"

"Yes. We decided to split up and search today, so everyone is scattered and looking."

According to Moana, Silas and Colin were searching the second floor again, Ritzburg was looking for clues in old books in the library, and Edward's aides were searching the third floor with Edward. Moana was searching the first floor.

Moana led Olivia and Taylor out of the castle.

They circled the wall and stopped in front of the old knight's quarters. The knight's quarters were built to protrude outward from the castle.

The door was locked, but Moana had the key, so she used it to open the door.

The room, which had been closed for a long time, was dusty.

This room was used by the on-duty knights, and in addition to a large room right inside, there were three smaller rooms. They seemed to be used for taking turns napping.

Olivia looked around the room and immediately noticed something odd.

"The room is too small for its size."

This room was built to protrude outward, but it seemed to be only as wide as the protruding part.

"Yes, I thought so too..."

Moana approached the wall on the castle side and lifted the large Filarus flag that was pasted on the wall.

Under the flag was a door.

"I found the door, but the doorknob won't turn."

"Really? The doorknob won't turn..."

No matter how much they tried to turn the doorknob, it wouldn't budge.

Taylor also tried, but it didn't move either.

"That's strange. Even if it's locked, or just rusted, it should have some play."

It was strange that it wouldn't move at all.

While Olivia was puzzled, trying to push and pull the door, she exclaimed, "Ah."

"There are no hinges."

"Huh?"

When Olivia muttered, Taylor's eyes widened in surprise.

"That's true, there are no hinges... but aren't they on the other side?"

"Maybe, but... hmm."

Olivia ran her fingers along the opposite side of the doorknob and was certain.

"This is a sliding door. I just got confused because there's a doorknob."

"A sliding door?"

"Yes, because, look, there's a wall in front and a door panel behind it. This is how a sliding door is made."

Olivia said, and instead of turning the doorknob, she pulled it to the left, and the door creaked open.

"See?"

"Oh!"

Moana's eyes widened.

"Amazing, Miss Olivia!"

Taylor clapped in amazement and peered into the room.

"It's pitch black."

"That's true. We need a light."

"I'll go get one."

Moana smiled and went out of the room.

Then, she closed the door with a thud.

Taylor frowned.

"Hey, if it's closed, the air will be bad and we won't be able to work!"

The windows of this room were originally boarded up because glass was expensive when the castle was built. After the room was no longer used, to prevent intruders, the windows were nailed shut from the outside, so no air could enter if the entrance was closed.

Taylor, unable to tolerate the dusty smell, tried to open the door that Moana had closed. -- But.

"...No way, it won't open..."

Taylor shook the doorknob and muttered in disbelief.