OPDPS 108

‘Why did he lie to me?’

Aeryl tried to think in the best possible light. Maybe the Grand Duke didn’t know about the basement, or maybe he simply wanted to keep it hidden—or perhaps he only said it to calm Aeryl down. It might be rash to assume he’d lied on purpose.

But no matter how he tried to rationalize it, the unease lodged in his heart wouldn’t go away. The inventor’s words came to mind again—the reason he chose isolation over the Grand Duke’s help was tied to that basement. It was highly likely it held something related to dynamics.

‘Honestly, isn’t it suspicious? What could His Grace be hiding in the basement that he’d lie about it?’

Lady Merel’s words also replayed in his head, her gentle yet cunning tone fanning the flame of impulse.

‘I want to know.’

A strong curiosity took hold of him.

He wanted to know what was in the basement. Whether the Grand Duke really had lied, and if so, why. What the basement meant to him. What he felt then—and what he wanted to do now.

He wanted to know everything about the Grand Duke.

It wasn’t a passing whim. Ever since the Grand Duke had started acting strange, Aeryl had realized just how little he truly knew about him. That curiosity had only grown stronger with time.

If the Grand Duke were a book, he would have read it so many times he’d have it memorized. But the Grand Duke was a person, and people couldn’t be deciphered that easily.

‘Maybe this is my chance.’

If he could uncover what the Grand Duke had hidden, perhaps he could delve deeper into his inner self.

‘I need to find the basement.’

A powerful desire surged up inside him. Without hesitation, Aeryl strode into the corridor and headed for the stairs to the third floor.

No one was in the Central Wing, so nothing stood in his way. Even so, Aeryl paused and looked up the main staircase. Some part of him still faintly recognized this was an impulsive act.

‘Maybe this will give me clues to resolve the Grand Duke’s psychological issues. It could help with his treatment. That makes this necessary as his physician. And if it concerns dynamics, it’s even more directly related to me.’

He rationalized his actions by making excuses to himself.

The third floor was originally designed for the Grand Duke’s direct family, so its layout was completely different from the first and second floors. Aeryl was only familiar with the Grand Duke’s bedchamber and knew little else, but fortunately, he had time—and no one watching him.

He began by thoroughly inspecting the entire third floor. The Grand Duke’s bedroom, the Grand Duchess’ room, dressing room, bathroom, study, reception room… As he passed through each space, he mentally mapped out the floor’s layout.

Then he overlaid it in his mind with the second-floor plan to see where the basement would line up beneath. It was a complicated and mentally taxing process, but Aeryl managed it with ease.

‘Roughly from here to there—that matches the size of the basement.’

He circled the presumed location of the basement once. Watching carefully for any sign of an entrance, he didn’t find anything at first glance. Still, he wasn’t disappointed—he hadn’t expected it to be obvious, since it was clearly meant to be hidden.

‘Even Lady Merel didn’t know about the basement until the previous Grand Duke showed it to her… So maybe it’s a place known only to the Grand Dukes.’

If that were true, then the entrance was likely in a place accessible only to them.

‘Assuming the entrance is near the basement itself…’

On the third floor, the most likely areas were the room where hunted animals were mounted and displayed, and the Grand Duke’s study. Aeryl found the exhibition room more suspicious—mainly because it didn’t fit the Grand Duke’s tastes.

‘If not, I can always check the study next.’

Aeryl entered the exhibition room. The stench was strange—a mix of dust and the odd scent peculiar to taxidermy. Fighting the urge to gag, he ran his hands along the wall and found the switch for the magic lamp, illuminating the space.

“Ugh…”

The room held not only regular beasts, but magical creatures as well. Some of them Aeryl recognized from the Great Purge. Stuffing and displaying monsters like these—what kind of taste was that?

And unfortunately, the taxidermy work was so expertly done that the beasts seemed as if they might move at any moment, ready to attack an intruder. Honestly, he wanted to just pretend he hadn’t seen anything and leave—but then, Aeryl sensed something odd.

‘The placement of these mounts is a mess.’

The stuffed creatures looked as if they’d just been tossed about, set up with no rhyme or reason. Some were too close together, others too far apart. Monsters and normal animals were all mixed together. And yet, for something that looked randomly arranged, it felt… deliberate.

‘Is that right?’

Uncertain, Aeryl walked deeper into the room, positioning himself for a broader view.

‘As I thought. There’s a pattern to this.’

He returned to the entrance, where he’d first stood. The moment he stood there, that same sense of consistency came rushing back.

‘All the monsters are looking at me.’

All the monsters were positioned to direct their gazes at that very spot. The sense of being surrounded hadn’t been a coincidence.

‘What does it mean?’

Suddenly curious, Aeryl wondered if the regular animals were arranged the same way. With a bit of hope and suspicion, he turned his attention to them.

The animals’ eyes were smaller than the monsters’ and lacked whites, so it was harder to judge—but by using the direction of their heads and imagining extended lines of sight, he looked for where those lines would meet.

Soon enough, he found a spot. He hurried to stand there—and sure enough, it worked.

‘Now all the animals are staring at me.’

If the monsters were watching an intruder, then who were these animals watching?

Aeryl looked around. The spot he now stood in was near the far left corner of the room when facing the door.

Behind him stood a glass exhibition case, just big enough for one person to stand inside. But there was nothing within, and the back was hidden by a curtain. Wondering what might be behind it, he lifted the curtain—only to find a wall. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

‘Usually, with stuff like this, there’s some kind of mechanism… you touch a taxidermy and a hidden door appears or something.’

He examined the glass exhibition from all angles, hoping to find such a mechanism, but found nothing. He checked the taxidermy again, but none of them seemed to have any moving parts or hidden switches. Thinking too hard about supposed patterns was only giving him a headache.

‘Now what?’

Aeryl crossed his arms and glared at the glass case.

‘Maybe I’m overthinking it.’

The front of the case was open, so he could easily step inside. He didn’t want to, but it seemed like a last resort.

Aeryl stepped inside the glass case. The animals stared him down like they’d come alive at any moment and tear into him.

‘There’s nothing in here.’

He touched the walls of the exhibition case, then absentmindedly turned around—and his jaw dropped. The back that had once been a solid wall was now hollow and open. The wall had disappeared.

‘So going inside was the trigger. A weight sensor, maybe?’

Amazed, he swallowed dryly. Before him stretched a staircase leading downward into the basement. The lower it descended, the more it vanished into shadow. Still, he had a magic lamp in hand to light the way, so he took a step forward.

“Phew.”

Just one step down was enough to draw a long sigh from him. He knew it was just one level down, but it felt like the stairs went on forever.

‘The basement really exists.’

Now it was undeniable—the Grand Duke had lied to him. Until now, Aeryl had left room for doubt, but that door was closed now. The shock hit him squarely.

‘Why lie about it?’

At the time, Aeryl had just woken up—he could have brushed it off with a vague answer. Instead, the Grand Duke had shut him down with a firm “no,” like he wanted to kill all curiosity.

‘Because of something in the basement…?’

His heart thudded violently. His mouth went dry.

‘Is it really related to dynamics? If so, why would he hide it from me?’

Dragging his heavy legs, he stepped down another stair. With each step, the tension and unease in him grew.

‘What secret is he hiding?’

Aeryl came to an abrupt stop.

‘A secret…’

He had one, too.

He never wanted anyone to find out he was the youngest prince. Even if he was dying, he’d rather thrash and scream than give it away. The thought of someone secretly digging into that was horrifying.

‘Maybe the Grand Duke has a secret like that too. If so, I should respect it… no. No, wait.’

Was it okay to respect “big” secrets and ignore “small” ones? That didn’t feel right.

The Grand Duke clearly wanted to keep the basement hidden. Whatever the secret was, respecting his wishes was the right thing to do.

No matter how noble Aeryl’s reasons—wanting to help, to treat him—if the Grand Duke didn’t want it, then it was all just selfishness.

“…What am I even doing.”

His burning curiosity faded in an instant. Trying to uncover someone else’s secret just because he wanted to know—it wasn’t respectful. Not to the Grand Duke.

If the Grand Duke had lied about the basement, the right thing to do was talk to him.

Aeryl regretted being swept up in impulse and coming all the way down here.

‘I should go back. When the Grand Duke returns, I’ll be honest and apologize…’

Whether he’d be forgiven or not, he didn’t know.

Listlessly, Aeryl climbed back up the stairs and stepped outside. He turned to reseal the basement entrance—

And found someone standing there who he least expected.

“…Your Grace.”

Standing in the doorway, watching him, was Grand Duke Asirion—who was supposed to be away on a trip until tomorrow.