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Chapter: 17
Karina used her internal energy to sense any presence around her.
Still, there was no sign of anyone nearby.
“Kiiiiii…”
A strange wailing sound reached Karina’s ears again, despite her heightened senses.
It sounded like the groan of a restless spirit… or perhaps the cry of some animal.
Karina carefully stepped in the direction the sound came from.
It led her to the prison at the farthest corner.
When she had cleaned the corridor and glanced inside earlier, there had been nothing.
Although Karina didn’t believe in ghosts, she remembered the atrocities of the Blood Sect she had faced in the martial world, raising corpses…
Maybe such phenomena weren’t entirely impossible.
A chill ran down her spine. Feeling a sudden unease, Karina deliberately stepped boldly toward the prison.
Peering through the small iron bars set in the sturdy door, she looked inside again.
The cell was still empty.
Was it really a ghost…?
“Kiiiii…”
Suddenly, a groaning wail came from nearby.
Karina’s eyes shifted to the corner of the cell.
There, in total darkness with no light at all, a small creature huddled.
It wasn’t human.
Raising her vision with her internal energy, Karina examined the little being in the dark more closely.
The small creature, ears drooping and body curled up, seemed to sense her and perked its ears.
Its cold, blue eyes stared directly at Karina.
A puppy…?
No, why would a puppy be in a prison?
Karina tilted her head at the unexpected sight.
The little creature also tilted its head in return.
Its gray, scruffy appearance suggested it had been confined in the cell for a long time.
If the little puppy was dangerous, it explained why a restraint as big as its body was fastened around its neck.
The puppy writhed, scratching at the iron restraint with its hind legs, groaning as it tried to remove it.
The source of the strange sound from the underground prison was finally revealed.
But why would the Count lock up such a tiny creature in the prison? And with a dangerous-looking restraint, as if it were a criminal?
Karina dismissed the thought.
Whether the puppy was confined or roaming freely in the room wasn’t important to her.
If there had been a prisoner, she would have tried to gather information—but puppies don’t talk.
Having settled her thoughts, Karina turned and left without hesitation.
The little gray creature stared at the door long after she was gone, lost in thought.
“…You saw a puppy in the underground prison?”
“Yes, a tiny little puppy.”
Karina answered bluntly to Alvin’s hesitant question. Then Isabella interjected with an annoyed tone.
“You were supposed to investigate, and you were messing around with a puppy?”
“Listen properly. I wasn’t messing around. The puppy was locked in the underground prison. With a restraint.”
“Looks like the Count is a weirdo.”
Unlike Isabella’s indifferent response, Ariel spoke with pity.
“How could a tiny puppy have done something bad enough to end up in prison with a restraint? Poor thing…”
At that moment, Alvin, who had been quietly listening, spoke in a timid voice.
“It… it might not be an ordinary puppy.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean… the Count of the Frederick family, the martial house second only to the Batius Dukes, wouldn’t lock up a mere puppy out of fear.”
Karina nodded at the reasonable explanation.
“I’ve heard that rare divine beasts exist… it might be one of those.”
Isabella, hearing Alvin’s excited voice, yawned in boredom.
“Anyway, this has nothing to do with our exam, right?”
“Yes… that’s true.”
“Then let’s not worry about it. Who cares if some puppy is locked in a prison or starves to death?”
“…”
“That’s harsh, Isabella…”
Ariel murmured softly behind the closed lips of Alvin, but even Karina agreed with Isabella this time.
She had shared the information hoping it might be linked to the Frederick family’s corruption, but it didn’t seem relevant.
“For now, I’ll help clean the Count’s office. If I notice anything suspicious, I’ll report it.”
At that moment, the senior maid walking ahead called to the lingering Karina.
“Bessie! Stop dawdling! The Count’s office cleaning must be finished within thirty minutes!”
“Yes, coming!”
Finishing her response quickly, Karina calmly followed behind the senior maid.
While cleaning the office alongside the senior maid, Karina glanced at the Count.
As the other maid had said, Count Frederick didn’t leave the office even while cleaning was in progress.
Nothing unusual had happened so far.
At that moment, a secretary knocked on the office door, holding a bundle of letters.
“These are letters addressed to you, Count.”
With an elegant expression, the Count received the bundle and skimmed through the letters indifferently.
Then, the Count’s hand froze mid-flip.
He stared at a letter as if verifying something, suddenly rose, peeked out the window, and drew the curtain. Luckily, the cleaning maids seemed oblivious.
Relaxing slightly, the Count tore open the letter and quickly read its contents.
Karina felt something suspicious—the Count’s eyes moved across the letter so rapidly it seemed he was scanning a secret document.
At the same time, she was certain: this letter was a clue.
Her senses focused on the letter. If her internal energy had been slightly stronger, she could have read through it.
But physical evidence was necessary; merely seeing it wouldn’t solve anything.
If the letter was indeed proof of corruption, she would need to get her hands on it.
Karina sharpened her senses to remember where the Count kept the letters. But before she could act, the Count finished reading and immediately burned the letter and envelope in the fireplace.
Damn. No evidence left behind, huh?
Cursing silently, Karina watched as the Count took out stationery from a drawer and wrote a short note. He then took a small box from the drawer.
Inside the locked box was a small seal—different from the usual Count’s seal used for regular letters.
It looked like something secretive, used by clandestine groups to authenticate one another.
He stamped the seal at the bottom of the letter, returned it to the box, locked it carefully, and placed it in another locked drawer.
Karina, keeping her gaze on the floor while cleaning, confirmed everything with her senses. She memorized exactly which drawer the Count had stored the box in.
After finishing the cleaning, Karina walked with a bucket, deep in thought.
Without a key, she couldn’t carelessly search the study. She would have to wait for the Count to leave to open the drawer.
Maybe clever Alvin could help solve this.
Organizing her thoughts, she headed to the mansion entrance—then suddenly spotted a familiar face.
A boy dressed like a mail carrier.
It was none other than Adolf.
Adolf recognized Karina immediately and looked shocked.
Had Denian not told him?
Ah, no—he probably couldn’t have.
Karina, expressionless, simply looked at Adolf calmly.
“You… you…!”
“Long time no see.”
Karina’s composed greeting left Adolf dumbfounded.
“These fools! I knew it!”
Shouting suddenly, Adolf seemed about to reveal Karina’s identity.
“Hey! There’s a maid here—!”
But his words never came out.
Thwack—!
Karina’s fist connected squarely with Adolf’s lips.
“Ugh—!”
Struck so hard he couldn’t even scream, Adolf clutched his face and fell backward.
