Chapter 76: The Spider Is Good at Running Away
“Ascal, I’ve completely burnt the stew black! Ah, ah! We need to put out the fire right now――!”
“Hehe, I bought an elixir from an Eastern merchant that supposedly grants immortality for just 10 gold coins. Here, drink it all in one go―― huh, why are you coughing up blood――”
“Ha, I brought in a cat that was miserably getting drenched in the rain. You’re asking if there are already more than ten cats I’ve taken in? That could be true.”
At the Crown Prince’s Proposal.
As soon as Ascal heard the suggestion to take Sushia as his companion, a panorama of imaginary futures played out in Ascal’s mind.
After a serious consideration―of about three minutes―Ascal responded.
“That would be difficult.”
“I thought so.”
The Crown Prince understood.
Of course, for Sushia’s safety, there was also the slightly underhanded method of a sham marriage. However, a man and woman bound in such a way could never be happy.
It would be better to find another suitable man.
Someone with a solid background, who could handle Sushia’s personality――
‘Oh.’
‘Is that me?’
The subject swiftly shifted back toward the Crown Prince.
“If there’s no bread, let them eat cookies.”
“I’m sorry! I spilled cocoa on the documents! It’s not important, right? Oh, it says ‘Treaty of Alliance’?”
“Can I borrow the crown for a bit? Hehe, wouldn’t wearing a crown help me float better in the water?”
Men can communicate just by looking at each other.
Without needing to say anything, Ascal immediately grasped what the Crown Prince was thinking.
The Crown Prince spoke.
“It’s going to be tough after all.”
“It does seem that way.”
The Crown Prince looked through the window at Sushia, who was leaning against a tree.
She had been sobbing, but now she was playing with a fallen twig on the ground.
Soon, Sushia was drawing pictures in the dirt with the twig.
Cakes, cookies, lemon bread――and like a family photo, a man smiling with two women.
“Who’s going to take that mischievous girl...”
“Let’s take our time and think about it slowly.”
There’s still some leeway for the Duke of Senestia.
Even if things don’t work out, the Crown Prince has a last resort to extract Sushia and send her to a convent in the Empire.
In this era, a convent―the Rainbow Shield―had the fatal flaw that once you entered, you could never leave, but it was a safe haven where one’s life could be preserved, a last bastion for shady nobles.
Moreover, wasn’t Sushia almost chosen as a saint at one point?
Surprisingly, Sushia and the convent might be a good match.
While the Crown Prince was torn between various options―an urgent messenger arrived.
“The Duke of Senestia has escaped!”
“What?”
The Duke had fled in the middle of the night.
***
“I’m home!”
As night fell, Sushia wandered around the mansion after returning home. Her family always welcomed her warmly when she came home from work.
At first, after regaining her memories, she sometimes struggled with how to interact with her father, the Duke.
It felt like someone had come up to her one day and whispered―― “Actually, your father is the mastermind and the final boss blocking the protagonist,” and then disappeared.
And it turned out to be true.
‘But he’s still my family.’
Of course, she had already reported him, but until the final moment arrived, Sushia planned to treat her father as she always did.
However.
“I have no idea where the master has gone. He didn’t give me any specific instructions. Recently, though, he seemed particularly anxious……”
All the major and minor affairs of the Duke’s mansion were managed by the head butler.
Even the head butler did not know the Duke’s whereabouts.
Sushia felt a surge of anxiety.
She hurried to the master bedroom. It was unchanged. The bookshelves standing side by side, the office tools…… and the unfinished documents. It was as if the owner had suddenly vanished into thin air.
“Ah, Dad. Mom. Where did everyone go without me?”
Sushia, who had suddenly become an orphan, collapsed onto the floor.
Just before her emotions reached her tear ducts and a mix of warm saline tears began to flow, Sushia noticed something at her eye level, visible only from her sitting position.
A oak wood rod placed on a small pedestal.
The rod used to discipline Sushia.
“Eek!”
Sushia reflexively flinched.
But why was that legendary rod here?
Sushia pondered.
Her father, the Duke of Senestia, always taught Sushia that everything he did had a purpose.
Therefore, this oak wood rod must have been intentionally placed by her father.
Why?
‘Oak wood rod, oak wood rod, plump raccoon…… No. That’s not it. Hmm……’
Sushia put her brain into full gear.
Thirty minutes passed.
And finally, she found the answer.
***
“Help me! Head Butler!”
“What is it, Miss?”
When lacking ability, one should borrow the hands of others!
How many people in this world and in history have struggled alone and failed because they did not realize this simple truth?
Humans are originally creatures that live helping one another.
The head butler listened to Sushia’s story and headed to the master bedroom.
And within thirty seconds, he had an answer.
“Look at the end of the oak rod. It’s pointing in a certain direction.”
Sushia looked at where the rod pointed, just as the butler suggested. It was pointing at a bookshelf.
“Maybe it’s a message to read and study until he returns?”
“I don’t think that’s the case.”
The butler approached the bookshelf.
The rod was precisely pointing at one book. The title was “The Secret Lies to Your Right.”
Sushia looked to her right.
“There’s nothing here...”
“It seems to mean you should push the bookshelf to the right.”
“Are you a genius, butler?”
“Your deduction was also sharp, miss.”
Sharp like a kitchen knife that’s been left in the drawer for ten years.
“So, what will you do? Should I push the bookshelf for you?”
“I’ll do it! I need to be useful too!”
Sushia energetically pushed the bookshelf to the right. Nothing happened.
The butler pushed the bookshelf to the right with force. As it moved, an empty wall was revealed.
“...There’s nothing here?”
“If you look closely, there’s a small hole.”
“Hmmm――”
A small slot that looked like it could hold something. What could it mean? Detective Sushia realized after five minutes of intense thinking.
“Could it be that we need to insert the rod in here?”
“Impressive, miss.”
The butler clapped. Sushia puffed up with pride.
“This is nothing!”
Then she inserted the rod into the slot in the wall.
It fit perfectly.
Rumble―――
“Eek!”
Suddenly, the wall sank down. A space large enough for a person to enter opened up, revealing a staircase leading downwards.
It was a bit scary.
Sushia looked at the butler with doe-like eyes.
“I’ll go ahead, follow me, miss.”
Every noble family has its secrets.
After about a hundred years, even if you don’t want to hide things, various incidents occur that make it necessary.
Common themes include concealed illegitimate children, incestuous relationships, and assassinations of rival families.
And such dark histories need to be recorded just in case they’re needed later.
That way, if someone suddenly comes claiming to be an illegitimate child asking for a tenth of the estate to go away quietly, you can confidently say, ‘You’re not in this shadow genealogy, you fraud,’ and swiftly deal with them.
The perfect place to gather such evidence is the basement.
However, if not properly maintained, basements become unusable due to humidity.
――Therefore, if you need a magically dehumidified, artificially ventilated perfect basement, please contact the “Shinbiad Trading Company.”
For a limited time, we are offering a free premium care service guaranteed for a hundred years. Don’t miss this opportunity!
- Shinbiad Trading Company Representative, First-Class Demon Retina.
***
“O-our family had a basement?”
Shocked, Sushia looked around the basement.
Sushia was also a duke’s daughter. She had heard the rumors circulating in noble society. Which family commissioned an assassination, which family kidnapped someone. Which family’s dinner was the best ever.
But the Duke of Senestia’s household had no such rumors. The reason they maintained neutrality between the nobles and the royal family was because the Senestia Duke’s reputation was spotless.
And yet, there was a basement.
“...Did you know about this, butler?”
“No. The master kept this a secret even from me.”
The only consolation was that the amount of stuff in the basement didn’t seem overwhelming.
Sushia took one cautious step after another. Then she tripped over something. The butler shone a mana stone lamp over it.
There lay a skeleton, bones exposed.
“AAAAAAHHHH!”
Sushia, who had resolved not to be surprised by anything she saw, found her resolve shattered in less than a minute.
“Calm down, miss.”
“Sniff, sob. Okay, I understand.”
“If you don’t mind, may I check the records first? There might be something dangerous.”
“Yes, yes. Please do.”
The butler skimmed through the records in the basement. If he saw something he shouldn’t have, he was prepared to take his own life.
[ On such-and-such day, a young man claiming to be an illegitimate child appeared. Upon comparing records, we found he was a fraud and sent him to the labor camp. Let him work there until he dies.
On such-and-such day, the young man who claimed to be an illegitimate child has become the overseer in the labor camp. They say he’s exceptionally good at his job. Did he have a talent for that place?
On such-and-such day, he’s now called the maestro of the pickaxe. Considering his merit in discovering magic ore, we decided to add him to the family register. He is now my adopted son.
On such-and-such day, Father. Thank you. (This part was written in different handwriting.) ]
The butler spoke.
“There doesn’t seem to be any dangerous records that you were worried about, miss. It should be safe to look.”
“Really?”
Sushia picked up the old parchment the butler handed her.
However, the butler did not know. This parchment was enchanted to show different content depending on who read it.
[ Sushia―― If you are reading this, I am no longer here.
I am likely already dead or have disappeared.
I have no time or space for idle chatter, so I will get straight to the point.
You are not my daughter.
No, to be precise, I am not the Duke of Senestia.
I am a doppelgänger who has taken on the appearance of the Duke of Senestia.
Sushia’s face began to turn pale. ]
***
Sizzle.
The steak was cooking to a perfect brown, emitting a rich aroma. The man wiped the sweat from his forehead, waiting for the exact right moment.
――The moment to flip the steak.
Now.
The steak was flipped.
“Hey! The customer at table 3 is asking when their steak will be ready! Cook it enough and get it out fast!”
“It’s not ready yet.”
“‘Not ready yet’?”
“Just a little longer. It’s almost done.”
The owner’s eyebrows rose.
The newly hired chef was excellent at cooking, but he had an unnecessary artisan spirit.
‘Well, at least he came with no proper identity papers, so I can employ him for cheap.’
In other words, he was an illegal immigrant.
And the fact that he was feeding, housing, and paying this illegal immigrant made him feel like such a good person. Surely, he would go to heaven when he died.
The store owner in the Allied Nations smiled contentedly.
‘Sushia... by now you should be reading the letter.’
The man grilling the steak, once known as the Duke of Senestia and the leader of the Spider, had a complicated expression.
It was pure luck that he noticed the Crown Prince’s surveillance and managed to escape, but he fled so hastily that he brought nothing with him.
Overnight, he had become a pauper.
He had even lost contact with his other legs.
‘I will definitely make a comeback! Wait for me, Empire!’
“When will the steak be ready!”
“Yes, yes, it’s coming right up!”
