Chapter 53

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"Olivia hasn't returned yet?"

After finishing his search of the second floor, Silas visited Olivia's room, intending to spend the time before dinner with her. He was puzzled when the guard stationed outside her room informed him that Olivia was not there.

Dinner was to be had with King Wilson and his family. Normally, Olivia would have finished changing for the dinner and would be reading a book by now.

Silas had last seen Olivia at lunch.

They had finished their meal while chatting about trivial matters, and when he asked about her plans, Olivia had said she would be reading. It was strange that she wasn't in her room.

He hesitated to enter the room without her permission, but Silas, feeling increasingly concerned, stepped inside.

On the table were a half-drunk cup of milk tea, a map of Filarus spread out, a thick leather-bound book, and what appeared to be notes written by Olivia.

Silas first picked up the book, checked its contents, and then looked at Olivia's notes.

"Kazave, Luselle, Beruche, Quarruce... So she was investigating the map from the secret room."

These place names also piqued Silas's interest. He had already asked Ritzberg to look into them, but it seemed Olivia had decided to start with the first king's biography.

(If she was rearranging the order of the place names, Olivia must have been looking for some pattern.)

However, she had left in the middle of her work. The fact that she had left the room with her milk tea only half-drunk suggested that she had been called away or had something on her mind. Given that Taylor was also absent, Silas speculated that the latter was more likely. Perhaps she had thought of something about the selection ceremony and had gone out with Taylor.

Putting the book down, Silas casually peeked into the bedroom.

A dress was carelessly placed on the bed.

"She changed her dress. ...But since this dress doesn't seem like something she would wear around the room, she shouldn't have needed to change just to go out."

As long as they were staying at Filarus Castle, Olivia would change into a proper dress every morning in case she was called by anyone. It made sense for her to change for dinner, but there was no need to change just because she was called during the day.

The guard outside Olivia's room had said she left in the afternoon. Therefore, it was certain that she hadn't changed for dinner.

Feeling increasingly curious about why Olivia had changed, Silas asked the guard what she had been wearing when she left the room.

"Her outfit? Well, she was wearing... a dark blue... something like a maid's uniform."

"A maid's uniform?"

Silas couldn't imagine Olivia owning a maid's uniform. Perhaps it belonged to Taylor.

(But why would she wear such a uniform? Even if Olivia chose it herself, Taylor wouldn't have allowed it... This means Taylor approved of Olivia wearing a maid's uniform. But why?)

Wearing a maid's uniform, Olivia was unlikely to have been called by a noble or royal.

(If that's the case, it must be about the secret room... Yes, that seems to be the only possibility.)

Probably, she wore the maid's uniform to avoid dirtying her dress. This meant she had gone to a place where her clothes might get dirty and hadn't returned yet.

Silas's face changed abruptly.

As a guest and a representative of Brioll, it was impossible for Olivia to forget the dinner time and get absorbed in something.

Silas hurried back to his room and asked Colin and Ritzberg to ask the castle staff if they had seen Olivia.

Then, he rushed to Edward's room.

(Something might have happened to Olivia...!)