Chapter 55

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According to the testimonies of the servants who saw Olivia, she headed towards the underground warehouse.

After informing Edouard that Olivia was missing, Silas went down to the underground with Colin.

Ritzberg is investigating Olivia's room to see if there are any suspicious points.

Edouard was supposed to report this matter to King and Queen Wilson and then join up with Silas.

"Olivia?"

Thinking she might be locked up somewhere in the warehouse, Silas raised his voice and checked each one, but there was no sign of Olivia anywhere.

Since it had already been confirmed that there were no hidden rooms in the basement, it was unlikely that she had entered one and couldn't get out.

"Could she have gone to the dungeon?"

"I don't think so... I'll check with the soldiers."

Colin said this and ran off. Since there are always soldiers guarding the entrance to the dungeon, it should be easy to get a statement on whether Olivia went there. After a while, Colin returned and informed them that Olivia had not appeared in the dungeon.

(Where did she go...)

A restless feeling welled up inside him. Unable to stay calm, he ran his hand through his hair and wandered the hallway when Edouard arrived.

"Olivia?"

"She's not here."

"Then, come up to the surface for a moment."

There was no point in staying in the basement any longer. Silas nodded and headed to Edouard's room. Elizabeth was also there, her face clouded with worry.

"Considering Olivia, I don't think she would leave the castle without permission. Perhaps she was searching for a hidden room and got caught in some kind of accident. What do you think, Prince Silas?"

"Yes, I think that's the most likely scenario."

Olivia was supposed to be acting with Taylor. The fact that both of them were missing suggested they might have been locked in a hidden room. However, Silas and the others had almost thoroughly searched the hidden rooms in the castle and didn't think there were any dangerous places where someone could be trapped.

"...It must be in a hidden room we haven't found yet."

"Any clues in Olivia's room?"

"There was a note, but it didn't seem particularly meaningful."

All that was there was the first king's biography and Olivia's handwritten note. The note might have some meaning, but Silas couldn't figure it out. When Silas got up to fetch the note as a precaution, Edouard shook his head and said he would go with him.

When they arrived at Olivia's room, Ritzberg, who had been investigating, reported that there were no significant clues. Edouard, after looking at Olivia's note, only tilted his head in confusion at the list of old place names.

"I can't understand this alone."

"Yes... I think Olivia was probably concerned about the place names marked on the old map, but she couldn't figure it out from this alone, so she might have gone to look for another hidden room."

"But there are no hidden rooms in the basement... So, did she go to look somewhere else right after checking the basement?"

"That might be the case... but..."

Silas and the others had already searched all the empty rooms in the castle. It was hard to imagine Olivia breaking into a room that was in use, and if she had been wandering around the castle, the servants would have seen her.

"...Did she go outside?"

Silas muttered to himself and suddenly looked up.

"Right...!"

Silas spread out the castle's floor plan that Olivia had left on the table.

"Prince Edouard, we haven't checked these places, right?"

"Ah... Yes, because they can only be accessed from outside... I see."

Edouard seemed to understand what Silas was getting at and nodded vigorously. Silas and Edouard had only been searching for hidden rooms from inside the castle. Rooms that could only be entered from the outside had been overlooked. However, these rooms, which were part of the castle, were still part of the castle, just without an internal entrance.

"Colin! Ask the soldiers standing at the castle's entrance if they saw Olivia go outside! They probably changed shifts around noon, so check with all the soldiers who were on duty at the entrance this afternoon!"

While Silas was asking Colin, Edouard called a servant and ordered them to fetch the keys to the three rooms. These rooms, it seemed, were once used by soldiers on duty and were now sealed off. The servant brought the keys, which Ritzberg took. As Silas and the others headed to the castle's entrance, Colin had just finished checking with the soldiers.

"How did it go?"

"Yes. They saw Olivia and two others leave the castle around noon."

"Three?"

Olivia was supposed to be with Taylor, but there was someone else with them. Silas was puzzled, but there was no time to think about such details. Colin took a candlestick from one of the soldiers, and Silas and the others went out into the darkened castle grounds.

"Let's go clockwise."

Edouard said this and took one of the three keys Ritzberg was holding. Silas was about to nod when he suddenly noticed the keys Edouard and Ritzberg were holding.

(...Three keys?)

Silas furrowed his brow, but as Edouard and the others started running, he put his thoughts aside and hurried to catch up with them.

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