Chapter 29

Part 4: Bastard vs. Bastard (1)

To put Adria's lengthy explanation simply, it went like this:

Unlike me, who was born and raised in the duke's mansion, Martin was born and raised outside the castle.

His mother was a maid in the marquis's household and was expelled from the castle when she became pregnant with him.

She worked hard with the money she received upon being expelled, gave birth to and raised Martin.

She also met and married a commoner man and gave birth to Martin's younger sister.

Despite having a rather ordinary childhood, he was summoned to the castle at the age of six by the marquis.

This was because the marquis, who had come for an inspection, recognized that Martin was ready to awaken his inheritance ability.

Fortunately, he awakened his inheritance ability, and his mother and younger sister, who were struggling due to the death of her commoner husband, were also able to move into the castle.

However, since his mother was a former maid and not a concubine, Martin's position was even worse than that of an ordinary bastard.

He had to work hard to hone his abilities.

"Martin worked hard in training. He learned diligently from the knights and studied hard."

Adria's eyes sparkled as she spoke.

Was it because of Martin that she dreamed of becoming a knight?

"Many people envied him, and there were many who disliked him among the older brothers and adults, but everyone had to acknowledge Martin's skills."

Simon, who had been listening, glanced at me.

Perhaps he thought I was in a similar situation.

However, I had no particular complaints about the Grecia dukedom. The person I had complaints about had already been expelled from the house.

"Despite being recognized by everyone and winning in sparring with the knights, something happened."

It was a common occurrence in noble families.

Martin's half-sister, born to his mother from a commoner husband, became pregnant.

"I don't know whose child it was, but it caused more talk because of Martin's mother."

Martin's mother had been a maid who bore the marquis's child, and the same thing happened to her daughter, so the marquis's family couldn't just let it go.

"There were also rumors. In the end, Martin's family had to leave their home."

It was a puzzling outcome. To expel a bastard who had awakened the inheritance ability just because of that.

Rumors could be quelled, and they could have given a house outside the castle to the other two while keeping Martin. Why did they do that?

As I continued to think, I recalled something Adria had said earlier.

'Right. There were rumors. They were likely malicious, and the worst rumor would ultimately... be related to the marquis's family.'

In the worst case, one of the marquis's sons might have been the father of the pregnant child.

'It might not just be a rumor.'

If that were the case, the family tree would be terribly complicated.

While some of the nobles in this world practiced polygamy and had complex family trees, it was all among the nobles.

The nobles here valued the bloodline of the nobility due to the inheritance ability. Relationships with commoners, which diluted the bloodline, were a disgrace to their honor.

Adria and Simon hadn't caught on yet. They were still innocent young people who didn't know about such matters.

'So, I think I've figured out the reason they were expelled...'

However, I still tilted my head in confusion.

It didn't seem like Martin would be so angry just because of being expelled.

In my previous life, he burned down the mansion and wiped out the marquis's family, and even sent someone to kill Adria, who had survived.

From the brief conversation I had with him when I came to the marquis's family, I could feel his strong anger.

Although I didn't see him for long, Martin didn't seem like someone who would harbor such strong anger just because he was expelled from the mansion.

There must be another story that Adria doesn't know.

"After leaving the mansion, it became difficult to meet him. I tried to find him, but he was often not in the territory, and it seemed like he was avoiding me. We used to be very close before I left..."

Adria, who had been speaking with a sad expression, brightened up again.

"That's why I was curious about my brother and decided to visit the inn where he was staying tomorrow. I wanted to know if I could see him, so I invited you."

Even when I saw her again, Adria was the type who couldn't tell a lie.

She could have said she was curious about me as a formality, but she didn't say a word about it.

Well, it wouldn't hurt my feelings, but her focus on her brother, unlike in my previous life, seemed a bit unfamiliar.

"I don't know if I'll be at the inn tomorrow."

Perhaps because it seemed unfamiliar, my response came out rather curtly.

An awkward atmosphere lingered in the room for a while, and the tea time ended like that.

The next day, Adria, Simon, me, Bianca, and a few guard knights went on a city outing together.

Simon and Adria took a separate carriage, and I rode with Bianca and the other maids.

It was quite discriminatory treatment, but there was a legitimate reason to prioritize the two who were engaged, so I obediently got into the carriage with the maids.

For me, this city outing was quite boring.

It wasn't cleaner than the dukedom, and there wasn't much to see.

As expected, there was no danger inside the city, so I had to listen to the maids' chatter.

The outing ended up being a complete failure for all three of us.

First, Adria didn't meet Martin.

When they visited the inn, Martin wasn't there, and she had to leave a message for the innkeeper and go out.

As a result, Adria was depressed all day, and the inexperienced Simon couldn't comfort her, making him fidget all day.

And I didn't get any information during the outing.

Juan, the soldier, found out the lodging and a bit more information about the 'Red Bear Mercenary Group,' but that was all.

There were limits to what a soldier from another territory could investigate.

I wanted to move and investigate, but I couldn't as a guard.

Even if I weren't a guard, it would be difficult to move due to my age.

After the meaningless outing, when we parted ways, Adria asked me,

"Will you come back tonight?"

I immediately knew who she was talking about.

"Of course. I've already paid for the room."

A maid standing next to Adria glared at her.

"You can't go out at night."

Ignoring the maid's fierce gaze, Adria asked me again,

"Don't you want to see your brother Martin again?"

Why was she asking this? I was curious, but I answered normally first.

"I do, but there's no way."

Before I finished speaking, the maid shouted at Adria.

"Miss!"

"It's just a question."

Adria waved her hand at the maids and said goodbye to Simon and me.

"Thank you for today. Have a peaceful night."

She held up the hem of her dress and bowed politely.

Simon also placed his hand on his chest and bowed, and I followed suit.

Adria and the maids smiled at my bow.

It seemed they found it cute that a child was doing an adult's bow.

"Hmph!"

A snort came from the side.

Simon, who had been in a bad mood all day, finally showed his frustration.

When Adria was out of sight, he turned his head and silently went to his room.

It seemed to be a noble way to ignore a bastard like me, but to me, it was just cute.

I also entered the guest room and sat on the bed.

The sun had set, and it was dark outside the window.

"The obstacles are greater than expected..."

No, it wasn't just greater obstacles; the path ahead was completely blocked.

I had obtained some information, but it wasn't enough to do anything.

I needed more detailed information and secret stories, but being held in the castle, I couldn't do anything.

It was difficult for a guest to leave the castle alone, and it was even harder for a young person like me to go out.

Talking about going out at night was out of the question.

I wished I had learned a thing or two when I met the assassin.

I didn't want to learn how to kill with a dagger, but learning how to sneak into a mansion would be useful in situations like this.

While I was pondering what to do next, I heard a knock.

Knock. Knock.

Was someone visiting at this hour?

I got up and walked to the door.

Click.

When I opened the door, there was no one in the corridor.

Did I hear it wrong?

Knock. Knock.

The knocking sound came again.

"It's not the door, right?"

The knocking wasn't coming from the door.

It was coming from the floor.

"Alex... Alex..."

And a woman's voice could be heard.

I got goosebumps.

"Are there ghosts too?"

With mana, superpowers, and divine law, ghosts could certainly exist.

"No, that's a bit much."

But ghosts didn't suit me.

Well, I was a reincarnated person from another world, but ghosts were a different matter.

"It might not be a ghost. It could be an auditory hallucination. I must have been too nervous."

As I muttered to myself,

Thud!

Suddenly, a floorboard under the bed moved.

"Can you help me? I called you, but you didn't help."

A woman's voice came again, clearer this time.

"Adria?"

I ran to the bed in surprise.

"Ugh."

I tried to push the bed to check, but it wouldn't budge.

Adria's voice came from under the bed again.

"The bed won't move here either. There's no choice. Alex, you'll have to crawl in too."

Following her words, I lay down next to the bed.

Looking under the bed, I saw that the floor was missing.

I cautiously stuck my head under the bed.

A square area about one meter on each side was missing, and stairs leading down were visible.

At the bottom of the stairs, Adria, holding a lantern in one hand, was waving at me.

"Ta-da, surprised? It's a secret passage in our castle."

She pointed to the stairs and the passage behind her proudly.

I cautiously put my body on the stairs.

When I went down a bit, I could barely stand up.

"A secret passage?"

"Yeah. It was closed a long time ago, so no one knows about it. I found it."

Her words made sense.

Given Adria's personality from my previous life, she must have searched around tirelessly to find it.

No one else would have discovered such an old passage.

"Luckily, I'm staying in this guest room. Many rooms aren't connected."

"Why the secret passage all of a sudden?"

"Yeah. This secret passage leads outside the castle. We're going to meet Martin."

When I looked at her again, Adria was wearing men's clothes for going out.

Due to her figure and face, she didn't look like a man at all.

"Me? You're taking me with you?"

"Yeah. Didn't I ask you earlier?"

No, I didn't know that was what she meant.

However, I was very grateful for her offer. It was the help I needed when I was stuck.

Fortunately, I was already in my outdoor clothes, so I grabbed a knife and followed her.

Creak.

Adria touched a part of the wall, and the passage above the stairs closed again.

The two of us walked through the secret passage, guided by the light from the lantern Adria was holding.

The secret passage was very narrow and dark.

As Adria said, it was old and dusty, and there were no signs of human activity.

"Alex, this is the first time I'm showing this to anyone. You can't tell anyone else."

Well, telling a guest about the castle's secret passage is more of a problem.

Telling an outsider about the castle's secret passage. If the marquis found out, he would surely collapse in shock.

However, I nodded and promised.

It was her and the marquis's problem, not mine.

Now that I had a way to get information, I intended to use it well.

She continued to talk as she walked in front.

"I plan to tell Martin about this. If he comes through the secret passage, no one will know. I'll ask him to come secretly later."

Tell Martin?

Could it be...

I recalled a story from my previous life.

The marquis's castle burned down, and Martin became the successor.

I couldn't understand how a well-guarded castle could burn down, the culprit wasn't identified, and how Martin became the successor.

Adria was now explaining the reason.

I pointed at the back of her head with my finger.

'You're the culprit, aren't you!'