Chapter 38

"It's fine. I'm here with you, so please choose the book you want to read."

Prompted by Kamie, Via looked at the books on the shelves. She had come here today to research something she needed to know as the Empress. All she had to do was finish her task and leave as soon as possible.

Before picking up a book, Via put on gloves first. The books stored here were all valuable, and touching them with bare hands was not allowed.

The next time, the princess of the Siena Principality of the Secrete Federation was going to stay in Ancheze for a long time. Since Secrete believed in the Kana religion, there was a certain mindset for spending a long period there. After all, the princess who was coming had the potential to become the Empress of Celtes.

Still... Via felt like sighing. Despite his charming appearance, Celtes had been very popular among the princesses, but after saying a certain word, all the candidates for Empress were gone. Via thought it was probably a deliberate act. Celtes was only seventeen. It wasn't hard to understand why he might dislike marriage.

However, Via never expected it to affect her as well.

"When the phrase 'sister supremacy' started to become popular in Ancheze, I felt completely drained," Via thought, unsure how to express the feeling. Celtes was indeed a cute younger brother. She had always been willing to do anything for his survival, and Celtes was very attached to her. After all, they had grown up together in a world isolated from society, holding hands.

"Was he too honest, or did we raise him wrong somewhere? Or was it Antoire's fault?"

As she blamed others, Kamie, who had been listening, burst out laughing. She seemed to know immediately who Via was talking about.

"I don't know if he's honest, but he certainly seems very intelligent."

Kamie had heard from a friend in Antoire that the prince was a genius, able to infer much from little information. He was more of a strategist, and at the age of thirteen or fourteen, he had made a noble who was about to become an enemy of Emperor Alex fall from power in a ruthless manner.

"Despite his beautiful appearance, his personality is quite harsh. In front of all the courtiers, he apparently said that any woman who would become his Empress must have a face that doesn't look inferior to the Empress."

This statement made the entire court freeze. The princesses who were candidates to be the Empress of Prince Celtes, after hearing this, all cried to their fathers, not wanting to be in such a miserable position.

"Is it really okay to say such things?"

Via was naturally concerned about her brother's future, but Kamie shrugged and answered without hesitation.

"It's probably fine. Without any troublesome marriage prospects, he has plenty of playmates. Prince Celtes is enjoying life to the fullest. If he really wants a princess in the future, he will use whatever means necessary to get her."

"If you say so, Kamie, I might as well believe you."

Via laughed and reached for a book about the secret teachings of Kana. It was a bit high, and she accidentally bumped the shelf, causing her hairpin to fall with a small sound. The hairpin seemed to have fallen into a gap in the shelf.

"I'll get it."

Via told Kamie, who offered to help, that it was fine. The height wasn't that high, and it was strange that there was a gap there.

"This hairpin is special."

While reaching into the gap, Via spoke to Kamie with a smile.

"Do you remember the time we went out in disguise?"

"Of course."

It was impossible to forget. Being asked to exchange jewels for cash and eating street food in the lower town were first-time experiences for her.

"At that time, the Emperor bought it for me. It was the first time someone paid for a gift in front of me."

While the Empress was lost in her memories, Kamie thought to herself, "Of course, it would be."

It was almost unheard of for the Emperor (who was then the prince) to pay for something out of his own pocket. Kamie also remembered the incident well. The side empress, Vi, had thoroughly enjoyed shopping while making the prince wait like a servant. The prince had said, "What a trouble," but Kamie remembered it clearly.

"Oh, it's deeper than I thought."

After struggling to reach the hairpin, Via finally managed to grab it, feeling relieved. She had started to regret wearing the hairpin casually after a long time.

Holding the precious hairpin tightly, she tried to pull her hand out but frowned.

"Trouble. It seems the lace on my sleeve is caught on something."

When Kamie, who was about to approach, asked if she was okay, Via replied:

"I don't know what's going on. Kamie, could you bring that candlestick over?"

As she tried to free her hand, a hard, unpleasant sound was heard, and something seemed to move.

"Ah..."

Suddenly, her body swayed. The floor tilted, and a hole appeared, causing Via to slide down into it.

She didn't know what was happening. The floor that had swallowed her quickly returned to its original state. Before she fell into the darkness, she heard Kamie's cry, "Your Majesty!" but the sound stopped as the floor closed, and Via slid down into the darkness.

She realized she had opened a hidden passage, but that was all she could understand.

She didn't know how far she had fallen. When she came to, she was crouching in a dimly lit passage. As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she realized it was a narrow corridor.

"Kamie!"

She called out desperately, but there was no response.

"Kamie! Help me!"

Her voice echoed, intensifying her fear. Via finally crouched down, hugging her arms. She didn't know what to do. Although there didn't seem to be any immediate danger to her life, the musty smell, as if no one had entered for decades, increased her fear and anxiety.

Via decided to stay put. She had heard Kamie call her name. Kamie had definitely seen her fall. Kamie would surely come to her rescue. If not, Kamie would immediately contact the Emperor.

"Your Majesty!"

Calling out his name made her feel even more alone, and tears began to overflow.

"Your Majesty, help me..."

The darkness and fear were overwhelming. Tears streamed down her cheeks. No one in the darkness responded to Via's words.

"What's going on!"

Upon hearing the news, Alex rushed to the warehouse. Kamie, who had witnessed the Empress fall into the passage, immediately let the guards inside and carefully examined the mechanism that the Empress had triggered.

The reality was the worst. The mechanism was likely created during the reign of Emperor Amarius, who had been constantly at war. The mechanism was half-rotten and had malfunctioned, causing the supporting pillar to break completely. It was impossible to reactivate it. The heavy stone floor was closed, and there was no way to open it.

Alex, who had rushed to check the mechanism himself, couldn't help but let out a groan of despair. There was no way to save Via from inside the warehouse. If the stone floor was broken, it could bury Via alive.

Alex had only heard that there were hidden passages in the palace. Even the guards standing by shook their heads when he asked them.

Alex immediately summoned the former head of the palace staff who had served Emperor Palesis. He thought that someone who had served the previous emperor might know something.

However, the answer was unbelievable.

"The documents about the hidden passages created during the war were all burned by Emperor Palesis."

Everyone present was speechless.

"Burned?"

"He was afraid that others would find out and kill him. He set fire to the papers himself and confirmed that they were completely burned, saying, 'Now I can rest easy.'"

Alex spat out all the curses he could think of. It was exactly the kind of thing Palesis would do, caring only about himself.

Gruuk, who had been examining the mechanism, stood up.

"The fact that it even activated is a fluke. It was probably created by the tenth Emperor Amarius... over two hundred years ago. Looking back at history, there has been no situation where the hidden passage in the warehouse was used.

"Your Majesty, may I ask, is the Empress familiar with the palace's architecture and history?"

Alex thought for a moment and shook his head.

"I don't think Via is familiar. She only knows the general knowledge of a noblewoman."

"If a knight were in her situation, they would have been taught thoroughly about the construction and history of buildings. As Kamie noticed, a knight would immediately consider the possibility that the mechanism, which had malfunctioned after two hundred years, was already broken.

"If they judged that help was unlikely to come from the broken mechanism, they would move immediately. If they stayed in a place without water, they would only dry out. They would need to move while they still had the strength.

"They would follow the walls to find an exit. If they reached a dead end, they would turn around and go the other way. If they reached a fork, they would leave a mark and proceed. Knights are trained to do this.

"However, the Empress lacks this knowledge and training, and she has no physical strength. Kamie said she was afraid of the warehouse. Despite her strong and resilient nature, she is also very weak and afraid of violent acts and darkness.

"Most likely, she believes help will come and hasn't moved from her spot. Or she might be so scared that she can't move at all.

"We need to rescue her as soon as possible. If Emperor Amarius created it, there must be more than one map of the hidden passage. We should split up and search."