Published: August 10, 2026
No matter what country you are in, the darkness of night is deep.
It was more exhausting than I had imagined to trail the small maid in the black cloak pulled over her head. Especially since I was a big man, far more conspicuous than she was. If I made even the slightest sound, she would instantly notice she was being followed.
Keeping to the absolute limit of what I could still make out, I followed after Bibi, the maid.
I suppressed even the sound of my breathing and sharpened my senses so I would not make a sound. I had never been so grateful for my dark skin as I was today.
Fortunately, the Duke's mansion grounds had many thick-trunked trees, so I was able to move while staying hidden.
According to the duke, this maid commuted from a residential district near the port. However, even after finishing work, she did not leave the grounds of the Duke's mansion. She crossed the garden and made her way around to the rear of the mansion.
—Hadwell's message, the word "help," and the mark on the map. If I interpreted that normally, then something Hadwell wanted rescued was hidden in this mansion. Of course, the one who hid it was Yan.
And while Yan was away, someone had to be watching over it. If it wasn't the owner, Cornelis Dutchman, then it could only be this maid, Bibi.
In the darkness, Bibi's steps held no hesitation. It was as if this were a route she walked every day.
Still, it had not taken her even five minutes. Her destination was a small building in the corner of the garden.
She stopped in front of the door and looked around. I kept my presence concealed.
...Was this a shed? It was a small building that could probably hold four horses. Built sturdily with a combination of stone and wood, it was tall enough to be two stories high.
Could this be the place the duke had mentioned, where Yan had supposedly been staying and sleeping recently?
If the maid had gone inside, then Yan had returned—no, the door had been barred with a wooden beam until Bibi opened it, sealed so it could not be opened from the inside. There was no way someone was in there. There was no light in the upstairs window either, so Yan was probably still away.
Then why had Bibi come here...?
Fighting the urge to storm in, I waited there for the maid to come back.
It had not even been a few minutes before Bibi appeared again. Nothing about her clothing or appearance had changed. But the basket bag she had been carrying a moment ago was gone.
...As I thought, someone was inside this building. She had stopped by here to deliver something to that person.
Bibi barred the door again, crossed the garden, and this time truly left the grounds, heading down toward the town. It looked like she was finally going home.
...I hesitated for a while over where to go, then headed toward the shed.
I removed the wooden beam as quietly as possible and slipped inside.
It was indeed a shed. It must originally have been for farm tools or something, because the first floor was a vast empty space. The ceiling was high.
Against the back wall, a large ladder was propped up. Looking up from where I stood, I saw a square opening in the ceiling—the floor of the second story.
Apparently, this was more like an attic than a second floor.
—There was no light. But I could sense someone's presence.
I made up my mind and hooked the ladder into the opening in the ceiling. After shaking it with my hands a few times to make sure it was secure, I put my foot on it.
The wooden ladder creaked.
Immediately afterward, a voice came down from the opening above.
"—Who's there?!"
—Oracle language. A frightened, tense woman's voice.
I did not answer and climbed the ladder.
At the top of the ladder was a prison.
There was no other way to describe it. Wooden, but seemingly sturdy boards were lined from floor to ceiling, and a small door that looked too narrow for a person to pass through had an iron lock hanging from it.
Unlike a beam, this could not be opened without a key. If I had the skill to pick locks, that would be one thing, but even the country's top merchant had not learned that ability.