RGS Volume 5 Part 15

There had been no contact from Erei for three days. Although he was holding out better than expected, the Commander of the Royal Guards was not anxious. In the evening, a servant reported that Erei had been irritable and wild. By tomorrow, Erei would not be able to hold out any longer and would contact him on his own.

What was more concerning was that Lylie had been absent every night for the past three days. Initially entering as the Commander of the Royal Guards’ servant, his friendly nature had him being called around for work even from early morning. Then at night, he would wait until everyone was asleep before sneaking out again.

At first, he thought he was sneaking out to go to the bathroom or something, but he always came back around dawn. And in a dirty state covered in mud. Then he immediately went out to work again. The strange thing was that he seemed happy to be able to work inside the mansion, but that only lasted for the first day.

After that, he spent all his time running errands for the gardener.

What on earth is he thinking?

The Commander of the Royal Guards, who hadn’t had a proper conversation with Lylie for several days, felt a bit upset.

How could he be planning something without my knowledge?

Today, no matter what, he was determined to catch him and find out what was going on. He then lay down with his back turned to him, intentionally not sleeping all night, waiting for him to wake up.

He fell asleep as soon as he lay down, probably because of his short sleep time. However, strangely, when midnight came and everyone was asleep, he would suddenly wake up and sneak outside. And on this night, as usual, he got up with a rustling sound. The Commander of the Royal Guards raised his upper body as if he had been waiting.

“Where are you going?”

Startled by the sudden question, Abel, who had been walking on tiptoe, turned around.

“You’re not asleep?”

“I asked where you’re going. I know you’ve been sneaking out at night for several days.”

“You knew?”

“Of course.” The Commander of the Royal Guards fully rose and raised his chin, pressing him further.

“Where are you going? What are you plotting alone in the middle of the night?”

At his intimidating voice, Abel quickly shook his hands and head simultaneously.

“No, I’m not plotting anything. I was just looking for the Marquis’s objects.”

The Marquis’s objects?

The Commander of the Royal Guards tilted his head in confusion and asked.

The first thing that came to his mind was, of course, the room that the Marquis kept secret.

Could it be…

“Have you been sneaking into the mansion every night?”

However, Abel’s answer was different. He shook his head and hesitantly pointed outside into the darkness.

“I’ve been surveying around the mansion.”

“Why? The room where the Marquis hides his things is inside the mansion.”

“That’s right, however, the mansion is very large.”

So what?  

Seeing the Commander of the Royal Guards’ eyes grow fierce, Abel quickly added his incoherent words.

“Oh, I mean, every servant I’ve met has had an experience of being scolded by the Marquis. And it always happens when something changes in the mansion. Isn’t that a bit strange?”

“Perhaps it’s just because the Marquis has a notoriously bad temper.”

The Commander of the Royal Guards answered dismissively, but Abel shook his head slightly.

“That’s part of it, but as I said, the mansion is very large. How can one person remember and point out everything? Especially since the garden is incredibly vast.”

“Well.”

The Commander of the Royal Guards tried to refute but found himself at a loss for words. Abel, lost in his own thoughts, continued speaking without paying much attention to him.

“Moreover, according to the gardener who I became close to, he has been scolded more often than others. At first, I thought it was because of the Marquis’ meticulous nature. The maid I met at the mansion said the same thing. That the Marquis is sensitive to changes inside the mansion. However, she added that it was all because the Marquis was too shocked after his son died. Since his son’s death, he has avoided going out and stayed inside the mansion, scolding the servants more frequently.”

Abel paused as if pondering and then raised his eyes.

“But I haven’t heard such things from the gardener. He doesn’t know the Marquis’ old temperament. Because he’s been here for less than a year.”

“So? What on earth is bothering you?”

“The gardener told me that he would have to leave the mansion soon. He said that the gardener is always replaced before the pruning season in November.”

“…Always replaced?”

The Commander of the Royal Guards also sensed something strange and muttered. Abel nodded and turned his eyes outside again.

“That custom has been in place since before the Marquis was confined to the house due to shock. So, I wonder if the Marquis’ object is hidden outside. The room inside the house that no one can enter might be a decoy. Honestly, the fact that the way he draws attention to it so obviously feels like he’s trying to lure people there.”

Indeed. They weren’t the only ones looking for the Marquis’ things. Truyde and Norhox’s sides must have also infiltrated inside the mansion to find them.

So, is the room really a trap and the real thing is outside?

“But where outside could it be hidden? Are you saying it’s buried underground?”

“That could be possible. He could have designated a tree as a marker and buried it underneath.”

What? How are we supposed to find it then?

As he said, the garden is so incredibly vast that they couldn’t dig up the whole area. However, Abel responded to this seemingly impossible problem with surprising ease.

“Luckily, I think we only need to dig under 23 trees.”

How could he be so precise with that number?

 The Commander of the Royal Guards stared at him blankly, at a loss for words, thus, Abel thought his explanation was insufficient and quickly continued.

“It’s because of the pruning. I thought there might be a reason why the Marquis is so particular about it. If pruning the branches reveals something secret, he would make sure to replace anyone who worked on it. So, I wondered why that could be.”

When Abel paused, the Commander of the Royal Guards, growing impatient, asked.

“Did you find the reason?”

“The reason is that the garden is incredibly vast.”

It felt like they were back to square one. At first, the Commander of the Royal Guards’ pride was hurt for not following a mere servant’s thoughts, but by now, his curiosity had taken over him.

Why was that the reason?

Fortunately, the other person kindly explained everything to him.

“If important items were buried somewhere in such a large garden, the Marquis would be anxious. However, checking it every day would be too obvious, so he needs a way to easily check it without going near it. That would be from his own room.”

“Room? Inside the mansion?”

“Yes. The room the Marquis mainly uses is on the second floor. I thought if the trees nearby were overgrown, he wouldn’t be able to see what he wanted.”

With this explanation, the Commander of the Royal Guards finally caught up with his thoughts and exclaimed.

“So that’s why he’s paid so much attention to the pruning!”

Because he needs to see a specific tree.

“Yes. Fortunately, on the first day when the Marquis was out, I managed to sneak into that room. Interestingly, from there, you can see the root of the trees in one direction clearly.”

“…”

“Oh, and there are exactly 23 trees in total.”

Abel quickly added, thinking that perhaps his explanation was lacking, but the Commander of the Royal Guards just stared at him silently. Truyde and Norhox would have used every means possible to find out about this. The Marquis had kept this secret for hundreds of years. And yet, a mere servant solved it in just a few days.

What kind of servant is this smart? Moreover, he sneaked out every night, digging up the ground alone to find something he didn’t even know about.

He doesn’t even consider what might happen if he gets caught.

What would happen if his pretty face got injured…

Huh? Pretty?

Flinch.

The Commander of the Royal Guards quickly scolded himself for what he had been thinking. Fortunately, the darkness of the room hid his blushing face, but the problem was his gaze. As if to confirm his recent thoughts, his eyes naturally turned to the small, delicate figure in front of him.

The face with large green eyes blinking in front of him was now completely free of swelling, and the bruises had almost faded, making it truly look beautiful. Kin had a good reason for needing him to put on a disguise. Sometimes in the mornings, when he hadn’t yet smeared soot on his face, the Commander of the Royal Guards would find himself staring at him without realizing it.

However, it wasn’t just his appearance that kept drawing the Commander of the Royal Guards’ gaze towards him. He moved around like a squirrel, restlessly, trying to find the Marquis’ things. Even more so himself, the emperor’s close aide.

Why?

Swallowing the rising questions in his mind, the Commander of the Royal Guards stepped forward.

“Let’s go together. I’ll help you.”

However, Abel, looking as troubled as when he first mentioned it, added a smile.

“It’s not something you need to get involved in, Commander of the Royal Guards. It’s just my guess, that the real thing might be inside the mansion.”

“No. I agree with your guess. There’s no harm in searching. And we can just have someone else search the mansion.”

“Someone else?”

“Yes. Someone who should contact me by tomorrow.”

The Commander muttered, thinking of Erei. It might be a good opportunity to confirm if Lylie’s guess about the trees was correct.

“I’m thinking of having that person provoke the Marquis a bit. But the Marquis goes to the palace every day, so…”

The Commander of the Royal Guards trailed off, tilting his head in curiosity. Abel had also found this strange at the same time.

“Yes, I find it odd too. No matter how much His Majesty has returned to the palace, going every day and coming back late at night is unusual. Could something have happened at the palace? Haven’t you received any letters from Sir Kin?”

“Yeah, what’s happening at the palace? I haven’t received any letters from Sir Kin yet. Well, even if it comes under the name Tom, the examiner knows my situation and would regard it as my letter…”

“What’s wrong?”

Abel sensed a sudden tension from the Commander of the Royal Guards and urgently asked. However, the Commander of the Royal Guards, as if in shock, questioned back.

“S-Surely, someone else hasn’t received the letter and just sent it back. right?”

“Ha, haha, no way.”

“R-Right? Ha ha.”

“R-Right.”

“…”

“…”

A long silence followed.

“I’ll go check and come back right away.”

“Please do.”

The Commander of the Royal Guards, forgetting it was the middle of the night, ran off to wake the other knights, his mind only thought of one person. It was the reaction Kin would show once he knew that he hadn’t received the letter. Just imagining it sent chills down his spine, and he trembled.

Already in a precarious position, he couldn’t afford to give anyone an excuse to scold him when he was already being bullied. Desperate, the Commander of the Royal Guards ran down the long hallway and opened the door to the room where the other knights were sleeping. Unlike his room, which he shared with just a servant, this room was shared by several knights who were all in a deep sleep, but he didn’t care.

Clunk!

“It’s urgent! Has anyone for Tom—”

He shouted as he stepped inside but found himself speechless. There was no one inside. The Commander of the Royal Guards, puzzled, walked into the dark room and checked each bed, but no one was lying down.

Where did everyone go?

The distress and fear of being scolded by Kin suddenly cooled. His heart calmed, just like the silent, empty room. The Commander of the Royal Guards looked around again and stepped back into the hallway. This time, he made his way on tiptoes and opened the doors to the knights’ rooms one by one to check. When he finished and returned to his room, Abel, who had been waiting, asked urgently.

“Have you checked?”

Instead of answering, the Commander of the Royal Guards said something else and pulled Abel further inside the room.

“I think it’s better not to go out tonight.”

“What? But I’ve only checked ten trees so far.”

“If we run into others who are also looking for the Marquis’ things, the situation might get worse.”

The Commander of the Royal Guards walked to the window and glared fiercely at the mansion standing like a monster in the darkness. Abel, not understanding, looked curious, but the Commander of the Royal Guards had little to explain.

It was just a hunch for now. All the knights disappeared, except for the examiner who was sleeping soundly.

“I think I’ve found the servants that Truyde planted. And it seems they’ve decided to strike us first.”