PMEVBO 11

“If you’re not scared, that’s a relief.”

Even though he seemed to accept it readily, Iser’s upturned eyes never lowered. If anything, they grew even sharper than before.

Why…?

I have no idea. Looks like I’ve really earned his hatred. I still have two more praises to deliver to succeed, and I’m in big trouble.

Though my insides were in turmoil, my mouth dutifully delivered the words I had to say.

“Come out of there for now.”

“……”

“What’s wrong? Can’t you come out by yourself? Need help?”

At that, Iser, who had been standing still on the ladder, trembled and growled.

“I can get out on my own without your help…! You… just try touching me.”

His glare was so murderous, it felt like if I made a wrong move, I wouldn’t even get my bones back. What a temper…

But he was just a skinny little kid. What kind of threat could a kid throwing a tantrum really be?

Come to think of it, he kind a resembled a Maltese. Over Iser’s furious face, the image of a scruffy little Maltese who wouldn’t put up with anything overlapped.

“If you can get out on your own, why are you still here?”

“…I just don’t see why I need to leave here.”

“What? What do you mean?”

Without realizing it, I asked in an acerbic tone. Iser opened his mouth with a calm expression I’d never seen since we met.

“It’s too dangerous for me to stay in this room with you.”

“…….”

“Just now, we were lucky and weren’t caught, but there’s a limit to hiding when you know someone will enter this room.”

“…….”

“If I make even one mistake, the duke will find us in no time.”

Iser’s words were undeniably true.

Though the duke had accepted my demand that no one else be allowed in this room, it was an achievement gained only through blackmail and threats. His suspicion regarding Iser’s abduction hadn’t been completely cleared either, so the duke was likely still waiting for an opportunity.

Even so, I couldn’t agree with the conclusion Iser had reached.

“So you’re going to go down that ladder? Because it might lead outside the castle?”

If this rabbit hole was a secret passage, it was highly likely the end connected outside the castle. Secret passages in medieval castles were typically used for people to slip in and out covertly.

From Iser’s perspective, he’d probably want to get the hell out of this miserable castle right now if possible. But the problem was that my position was fixed here at Hayut Castle.

I had to stop him somehow. Maybe after clearing the praise quest, but right now, I couldn’t let Iser go.

“……”

But I couldn’t bring myself to speak. How could I hold back a child who, desperate to escape this castle, had genuinely rejoiced even when kidnapped by a stranger…?

“Ha…”

The thought of an adult like me having to bind such a child to my own selfish desires made my stomach churn. As I stared down at the floor, fidgeting with my lips, that familiar, hoarse voice reached my ears.

“No, it doesn’t connect.”

I turned my head up and met Iser’s gaze directly. His eyes, once as vividly blue as brass copper crystals, now were dark and sunken within the cabinet, untouched by moonlight or lamplight.

“This isn’t a passage to the outside of the castle. It connects to a hideout. So I can’t get out of the castle through here.”

This rabbit hole connects to a hideout?

The duke had stayed in this annex for barely ten minutes. In that time, Iser had descended this long ladder, investigated where it connected to, and returned? …This little one?

How did this kid even know the cabinet floor could open in the first place…?

Then, Iser spoke in a low voice.

“…You said it. If I stayed with you for half a month, you’d let me out of the castle.”

“I did.”

“Would it be okay if I stayed in the hiding place below this room instead of this one during that time?”

“Uh, it wouldn’t matter, but…”

“Alright, then let’s do it that way.”

With that, Iser started to climb down the ladder. I called him back.

“Wait a moment.”

“…What?”

Iser frowned and looked up at me.

“Before you were locked up in that room at the top of the spire, where did you live? Could it be—”

“Right. I used to live in this annex.”

Iser answered, glancing over my shoulder at the interior of the room.

It made sense that he recognized at a glance that this room belonged to the annex, and that he knew about the secret passage leading to the hideout beneath the cabinet.

“The duke seemed unaware of the hideout.”

“Right.”

If the duke had known about the hiding place, he would have searched there first the moment he entered this room. But the duke’s gaze had only lingered on the cabinet when one of the maids fell off the dressing table and landed on her butt.

Anyway, this is a ridiculous situation.

I brought the kidnapped kid here, thinking it was the one place I knew best, only for him to know this place better than I do. Though he couldn’t have read my thoughts, Iser said with a smug expression.

“I guarantee it. No one in this castle knows this annex better than I do.”

I couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Really? That’s reassuring.”

***

A hideout known only to the duke’s son, unknown to the duke himself. Honestly, scenarios where something like this was possible were extremely rare.

Information about secret spaces within the castle was directly tied to the lord’s safety, so it was naturally classified as top secret. Therefore, it wasn’t particularly strange that only the lord and his immediate family monopolized information about those secret spaces.

Typically, such information is secretly passed down only to the castle lord’s descendants.

But the duke’s ignorance was peculiar. It would made more sense if the duke was the one who told Iser about the hideout’s existence. If Iser had discovered the long-forgotten space entirely by chance, that would make sense, but…

If it was something they’d give to an exiled priest, this annex was likely a forgotten space, completely separate from the main castle. If so, the hideout hidden within the annex had probably been gradually forgotten through successive inheritances. Being forgotten for so long meant it had been neglected for a long time.

As expected, beneath the ladder I had climbed down ahead of Iser to verify the hideout’s stability was a filthy, dark, musty corridor. Being underground, it had no windows. The hideout itself would likely be no different.

This is insane. How can someone leave a kid alone in a place this bad?

Anyone who’s lived in a windowless room knows how profoundly ventilation and sunlight affect a person’s physical and mental health. Even that wretched room at the top of the spire had windows. Bringing him here was worse.

“…I should lead from here on.”

Iser said calmly as he took the lamp from me.

I didn’t want to put a child in front in such a gloomy place. It was dangerous.

But the dimly lit corridor, visible only by the flickering lamp light, looked like a maze. As a first-timer, I had no choice but to let the child who knew the way lead the way.

“…We’re here. This door.”

Iser pointed at the massive iron door. Seeing the child naturally reach for the doorknob, I urgently said,

“Wait. I’ll open it.”

Who knew what danger lurked beyond that door?

Whether he knew my intention or not, Iser’s eyes narrowed fiercely. But instead of insisting on opening it himself, he turned his head away and retorted curtly.

“Do as you please.”

How cute. I forced back the laughter threatening to escape and grabbed the iron door handle.

“Alright, thanks for letting me go first.”

Squeak―!

As the door swung wide open, revealing the hideout at last, I froze in shock.

What the hell? This is nothing like I imagined.

As expected, the hideout had no windows. But everything else was unexpected. It wasn’t spotless like Lucariel’s room, needing immediate cleaning. There was dust and a few bug friends. But the furniture and fixtures were all intact, and even small consumables were plentifully stocked.

For a space that had been abandoned for decades, its overall condition was surprisingly good.

“Great. Just need to clean it up.”

“…You’re going to clean it?”

“Of course. Hey, you’ll suffocate to death sleeping in this dusty dump.”

“What kind of…”

Regardless of Iser staring at me with a dumbfounded expression, I rolled up my sleeves.

“I won’t ask for your help, so just relax and rest.”

Even so, I had no intention of borrowing the skinny little kid’s hands. I’d rather borrow a plump cat paw to kill bugs or something…

I wish he’d be a little happier about how things turned out.

Let’s get that second point out of the way while we’re at it.