Chapter 10

“Marchioness? How dare you speak so arrogantly to your aunt—!”

“Your Grace, please calm down!”

A short man clung desperately to the Marchioness as she threw her bow to the ground and started raging.

Though in reality, he looked more like a cicada hanging from her swinging arm and getting lifted into the air.

“Isn’t this embarrassing in front of the Holy Knights? You’re the one disgracing the family here, so please stop!”

Even while sweating buckets, he still said what needed to be said.

Brown curly hair. Huge round glasses.

Alright. I respect you.

“Is that her aide?”

Wolfgang, who had somehow approached close enough to stand beside me, asked quietly.

I was just thinking that he probably was when Lothar gave an unexpected answer.

“That’s the Marchioness’s husband. Though he used to be her aide as well.”

“…Her husband? That man?”

Wolfgang muttered in disbelief.

Come to think of it, I remembered what I’d read before meeting the Marchioness.

Apparently she’d fallen in love with a commoner aide ten years younger than herself and eventually married him.

Actually seeing it with my own eyes felt strange.

Anyway, it seemed Curly Hair had finally succeeded in calming the Marchioness down.

It was a little annoying how he kept wildly pointing toward me while talking, but her expression was clearly softening.

Eventually, the Marchioness shouted in a much gentler voice,

“I’ve kept my nephew’s wife standing outside for too long! Come inside!”

Right. So I’m the excuse here.

The Marchioness and her husband quickly disappeared from the tower wall.

Soon after, I heard Lothar click his tongue quietly.

“This is part of why I didn’t want to come here.”

Lothar brushed his bangs back with a sharp expression.

Yeah, that had been a little harsh.

I didn’t have the confidence to soothe Lothar the way Curly Hair handled the Marchioness.

Instead, I picked up the remaining edelweiss flowers scattered on the ground and handed them to him.

“Win through mental coping. Just imagine the Marchioness personally placing every one of these flowers.”

“……”

Now that I pictured it myself, maybe that wasn’t comforting at all.

Lothar’s brows furrowed even deeper.

Still, he seemed to like the bouquet in his arms.

After letting out a short sigh, he held the flowers beside my face and whispered,

“They suit you. A flower just like you.”

“How?”

“In the sense that they’re stubborn.”

Was that an insult or a compliment?

While I was still thinking about it, he placed the bouquet into my arms.

Then he started walking ahead, and Wolfgang, standing beside me, nodded and added,

“I agree with that as well. Saintess, you really do have the kind of nature that survives no matter how many times you get trampled on.”

“Want me to test what happens if you get trampled?”

“Aw, come on. That was a compliment.”

After kicking him once in the shin, I followed after Lothar.

A short while later, we entered the interior of the castle.

It was simple, yet elegant.

The crimson lighting and red carpets placed throughout were surprisingly effective.

The Marchioness and her husband were nowhere to be seen.

Instead, an extremely elderly butler who looked like he might collapse at any moment greeted us with trembling legs.

“Welcome, everyone. Hohoho.”

The butler first ordered several maids to guide the Holy Knights to their rooms.

Then he said he would personally guide Lothar and me to ours and began walking toward the stairs.

“Your Highness seems even healthier than before, hoho.”

“Thanks for saying that at least. How’s your health?”

“As for me, I could die any day now, hoho.”

“Don’t say things like that. They say death doesn’t follow any order.”

What kind of conversation even was that?

I half-listened to their exchange while looking around the castle more carefully.

Three floors were visible above ground.

But in one corner of the first floor, I spotted stairs leading underground.

Judging by how openly placed they were, it probably wasn’t a secret passage.

“Butler. How is the underground area used?”

At my question, the butler turned his head.

For some reason, the tiny eye behind his monocle seemed to sparkle.

“The underground! A truly marvelous place, hoho. It is divided into two levels. The first level contains the prison, torture chamber, discipline room…”

“……”

Wait.

This butler is also kind of insane.

Still, the next part was actually pretty interesting.

“And below that is the treasure vault. You could call it the spoils House Stauffen has secretly withheld from the Imperial Family for generations, hoho.”

“Take me there first. Right now.”

I smelled it.

The scent of a premium collection gathered by generations of professional embezzlers.

But even as we descended the underground stairs, I never expected—

“…Huh?”

That I would meet the partner my soul had longed for my entire life here.

***

Let’s skip ahead a little.

Even after hearing that the newest member of the household wanted to raid the vault first, the butler happily nodded and changed direction.

“Let us slowly tour the first underground level first. It holds many memorable memories for me as well, hoho.”

How exactly does someone make memories in an underground prison?

Confused, I followed the butler down the stairs.

Eventually, we reached the underground floor where iron prison cells lined the walls.

No prisoners were currently inside.

But—

“Oh dear? It seems that cell still hasn’t been cleaned yet, hoho.”

…One prison cell was absolutely covered in blood.

I pretended not to see it.

I should’ve continued pretending when I noticed the iron door standing alone between the prison cells.

Five locks hung from its handle.

Above it was a sign reading:

“Torture Chamber and Discipline Room.”

Why?

Did House Stauffen use the same tools for torture and discipline?

While I was internally questioning the family’s moral standards, the butler began feeling around the wall near the torture chamber.

Soon, a perfectly ordinary-looking wall rose upward with a loud clanking sound.

“Please watch your step from here onward.”

The path leading down to the second underground level behind the butler was extremely dark.

Only the lantern in his hand illuminated the space.

Then, the moment we reached the bottom of the stairs, I stared at the dimly lit underground vault and blurted out,

“If I were Emperor, I’d execute Marquis Stauffen immediately.”

“If this were discovered, that might indeed happen, hoho.”

Ah. I’d accidentally said that out loud too.

Still, there was a reason my mouth betrayed me.

Gold. Silver. Jewels and treasures.

The dazzling riches were literally piled into mountains.

Holy shit, why does this look like a black-market treasure warehouse?

The butler walked confidently through the darkness and lit the lamps along the walls.

The entire underground level quickly brightened.

The moment I saw everything clearly, I thought:

“We’ll never have to worry about money for the rest of our lives.”

“As long as we avoid being tracked, hoho.”

Damn it. That one came out loud too.

I wiped drool from my mouth with the back of my hand.

Right after that, I noticed something sticking out from among the glittering treasures.

Huh?

Unlike the other valuables, it was matte black.

And when I looked carefully at the tip of the long object, I noticed a circular hole.

Something about it felt incredibly…

“…Huh?”

Familiar.

So familiar it sent chills down my spine.

I immediately dropped to my knees and began pulling the object out from the mountain of treasures.

“Elise?”

Lothar’s surprised voice approached from behind.

“There are sharp jewels there. Please move your knees.”

I even heard the rustling sound of his jacket.

He was probably trying to place it beneath my knees.

Unfortunately, I had no attention to spare for that.

I finally pulled the heavy object free from the pile and held it in both hands.

Then I stared at it silently for a long time.

“Elise, what’s wrong?”

Lothar’s low voice settled near my ear.

There was a hint of tension in it.

Slowly, I lifted my head to look at him.

Then I asked,

“Lothar, do you know what this is?”

Lothar quietly examined the object in my hands before answering,

“Isn’t it an ancient weapon used by mages? I believe it was called…”

“A gun, hoho.”

Right.

A gun.

I lowered my gaze again.

Walnut-colored stock.

Long cylindrical barrel.

Trigger inside the guard.

In my next life, I want to live a long time. With healthy hands.

The one and only reason I made the wish that brought me here.

The thing that had once been my entire life.

After six lifetimes, the only weapon I knew how to use had finally returned to my hands.