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Chapter 40
“Are there any differences from the original?”
“Something like this is child’s play.”
To a question anyone might have asked, Franz answered with confidence. It wasn’t exactly a precise answer, but it sounded convincing enough.
Angelina examined the treasure map again, still finding it unbelievable.
“So what exactly are we supposed to find with this map?”
“Nine diamonds. Which means we have to visit nine different locations.”
Their grandfather may have loved puzzles, but this was excessive.
Did he really want his grandchildren to find the diamonds?
Giving up on deciphering the map herself, Angelina asked:
“Are all treasure maps like this?”
“This is my first time seeing a real treasure map too. But I guess it depends on the person who drew it.”
“We should’ve asked the Duke of Lyon more about it. It might’ve helped.”
“He must’ve been a weirdo. A complete weirdo.”
Aleksei spread a map of the Tordi Empire beside the mysterious treasure map.
“But there are things we can tell. These drawings—they probably represent places. This one’s a bell tower, and this one’s a theater. The others are probably the same.”
Just as Aleksei said, the illustrations directly represented actual locations. The bell tower wasn’t symbolized as a god, nor was the theater drawn as applause.
“If we compare it with this map, we should be able to identify where the treasures are buried.”
“You’re right.”
Aleksei and Franz traced both maps with their fingers from top to bottom.
It wasn’t a difficult task. They managed to identify eight locations.
“One’s missing?”
At Angelina’s question, Aleksei pointed to one spot.
“I’m not sure about this place. It looks like a mansion… what do you think, Franz?”
“I think so too.”
“Like the home of some wealthy tycoon?”
“We’ll know once we get there.”
“Then let’s go.”
Angelina concluded immediately after Aleksei’s answer.
“But that alone won’t help us find the treasure. The area’s too broad.”
“Maybe we’ll figure it out once we get there?”
“I think these symbols are the clues.”
Aleksei pointed at the strange marks drawn beside each location.
“I have no idea what they mean.”
“I’m saying we should go first.”
“We’ve only been given two months. In that time, we have to visit all nine places. Charging in blindly is too risky.”
“Just sitting around won’t make clues magically appear either.”
“I’m trying to minimize trial and error. We also can’t afford to look suspicious.”
“So what exactly are you trying to say, Aleksei?”
“That we should figure out what these symbols mean first.”
“We might find out once we visit the locations.”
“I doubt it.”
“And I doubt we’ll figure them out just by staring at the map.”
With every exchange, their voices rose higher.
The two stopped arguing and locked eyes instead. As the silent battle showed no signs of compromise, Franz finally stepped in.
“Wait. Just wait a second.”
Feeling sharp gazes flying over his head, Franz tried once more to calm them down.
“You both have valid points.”
“So you agree with Aleksei? You want us to just sit around staring at the map?”
“No, not that.”
“Then are you siding with Angelina and saying we should just wander around blindly? Which place should we go to first? Are we supposed to start digging holes and tearing down walls?”
“Of course not.”
Honestly, Franz had no idea how he was supposed to handle them.
Caught between the two hostile faces, he struggled to find the right balance.
“You weren’t like this last night or this morning. Honestly, go back to that. Better to have tired eyes than exhausted brains.”
A wife willingly catching mice for her husband who feared them, or a husband covering his wife with a blanket and offering his thigh as a pillow when she slept uncomfortably.
At the time, it had looked awkward, but now Franz preferred that version of them.
At least he hadn’t needed to mediate then.
“We’re usually like this. Last night was the strange part.”
“You said it had been seven years since you last met. Watching you fight, it doesn’t seem that way at all.”
“True. Back then we didn’t fight like this. Angelina just talked nonstop by herself.”
“And Aleksei was stubborn as a wall. No matter what I said, he barely responded.”
“I did respond.”
“So you’re saying you never fought before marriage, but started fighting after getting married?”
“We didn’t get married. It fell apart halfway through.”
“……”
“And we did fight before marriage. A lot.”
Angelina folded her arms and glared fiercely at Aleksei.
“Aleksei never apologized or explained himself. That’s why we cut ties.”
“You were the one who said we should stop seeing each other.”
“If you’d apologized immediately, it wouldn’t have happened. Or at least if you’d explained why.”
“You already know why.”
“Was that really all? Just because I touched your book without permission?”
“Have you never considered that something you think is trivial might be important to me?”
“There’s still such a thing as common sense!”
“If you had common sense, you wouldn’t have touched it.”
“F-Franz… can I say something too—”
“You touched it before too, so why didn’t you get mad then?”
“You think that excuses it?”
“You never said anything, so I thought it was fine. An unspoken permission!”
“Stop it! Both of you!”
Franz suddenly shouted at the top of his lungs.
The two instantly froze like mice caught by a cat.
“The resentment between you two is none of my business. Whether you reconcile after returning home or break off your marriage entirely, deal with that yourselves. Right now, we’re in a discussion. One that concerns our survival.”
“……”
“You can argue. But if you’re just going to turn this into a personal emotional fight, then I’m done. I can’t tell whether this is an adventure or a honeymoon.”
“It’s not a honeymoon. We’re not married.”
Angelina muttered awkwardly.
“You are married.”
“No, we’re not. There was never an official declaration.”
“But the ceremony happened, so it counts.”
“Then are we supposed to resume from the middle? We’re obviously not married.”
Franz frowned deeply.
“Are you seriously going to keep this up? Enough with the lovers’ quarrel.”
“Lovers’ quarrel? This is just a normal disagreement.”
“If you fight like that, you’ll split up in no time.”
“People say married couples fight like enemies all the time.”
That was what Lara had said.
So even if she saw another side of the Crown Prince, she should just accept it. Even if they seemed so incompatible that she wondered how they could spend a lifetime together, she should still accept it. That was simply how honeymoons were.
“In that case, you two are an excellent example.”
Franz said sarcastically.
“Sorry. I lost my temper for a moment. Where were we?”
Aleksei finally regained his composure and asked.
“You said we needed to figure out the symbols on the map.”
“Something just occurred to me. What if they’re ancient characters?”
“That’s possible.”
“There should be books on ancient scripts. We need to find a library.”
Fortunately, there was a large library in Is.
Since it was quite far away, they decided to rent horses first. To reduce risk, they also split their travel funds evenly into three shares.
The map given by the Duke even marked the locations of horse rental stations. It was the ideal map for travelers.
They guessed their grandfather had prepared it in advance for whoever sought his treasure.
The rental station was close to the inn.
The three of them immediately got ready and headed outside. They had no time to waste if they intended to fulfill the Duke’s conditions.
“Welcome! Our establishment, Good Horse, has the widest variety of horses in all of Tordi. What kind of horse are you looking for?”
“A gentle and sturdy one would be nice.”
One that eats little feed too.
Behind Aleksei, Angelina quietly muttered to herself.
“Well, that’s easy enough. We only rent out horses that have been perfectly trained by professionals.”
The smug attitude was annoying, but the horses did seem healthy.
The two men each picked out the horse they wanted.
“Angel, you choose one too.”
Now it was her turn, but Angelina could only stand there silently.
She knew how to choose dresses, not horses.
And more importantly—
she didn’t know how to ride.
When you buy someone a car, shouldn’t you normally check whether they even have a driver’s license first?
As Aleksei urged her on with his eyes, she responded with a look of her own.
