A Mage Reborn: Legacy of the Fallen Emperor
Chapter 45: Underground

Chapter 45: Chapter 45: Underground

"I, uh... I owe the deceased butler an apology."

"And why is that?"

"...When I left the mansion, I borrowed something of his."

A pretty way of saying she’d stolen something. Ian let out a short, humorless laugh, his gaze inviting her to continue. It wasn’t so much indignation he felt, but rather sheer disbelief.

"I had no choice. You yourself urged me to quit, Ian."

"Yes, yes. That I did."

"I had to leave the mansion, and I needed money until I could find a new job. But you see, you had me enter the butler’s room a few times on your behalf."

So she had taken something she’d had her eye on when she quit. Audacious, to say the least. Wouldn’t the culprit be obvious once the item was discovered missing?

"A dozen or so others quit around the same time. For different reasons, though. The mistress had become incredibly volatile. The beatings were getting worse by the day. The atmosphere in the mansion was terrible."

"Lady Mary? What happened?"

"I never got hit, so I wouldn’t know, but she seemed to be under a lot of stress. She had strange spots on her arms and legs. Anyway, it got to the point where I thought I’d be beaten to death if I stayed."

Since she was quitting anyway, she figured she could slip away unnoticed among the others. The butler’s belongings, the only thing kept under lock and key, seemed valuable enough.

Ian, guessing the outcome, asked, "But it wasn’t worth much, I gather. You don’t look too pleased."

"No. Turns out it was just a bunch of old letters and drawings. I feel like I stole someone’s memories. I wouldn’t feel this bad if it had been money."

Hanah confessed that her guilt had even been keeping her up at night. She set her younger brother down, opened the bottom drawer of a cabinet, and pulled out a stack of paper bags.

"If you’re going to hold a funeral, could you take these and burn them? I fear I’ll be cursed if I keep them."

Ian nodded, casually handing the bundle to Beric, who instinctively began rifling through the contents. He was always on the lookout for anything useful.

"Beric."

"Huh? What? Can’t I look?"

"Put that away. It’s not for your eyes."

Ian was about to click his tongue when a piece of paper slipped from between Beric’s fingers. It was a blueprint of the mansion, the kind a newly hired butler would use to familiarize himself with the layout.

"Give it here. Let me put it back."

"Hold on a second."

"Wow. He tells me not to look," Beric scoffed.

"Silence. Let me see."

It was a blueprint of the Bratz mansion, not much different from what Ian knew. It was detailed, divided by floor, with the location of each window and door in every room perfectly marked. But then why...?

"Why does it feel so... off?"

"Off? What’s that mean?"

"It means something’s not quite right. Out of harmony."

"Let me see. Hmm."

At Ian’s words, Beric and Hanah leaned in, eyes narrowed in concentration. Hanah, drawing on her memories of working in the mansion, meticulously compared the blueprint to her recollections but couldn’t find any significant discrepancies.

"There’s nothing particularly strange about it. It’s the same as it is now."

"The only difference is this. The garden was empty back then."

"The garden was empty?"

Beric pointed to a single tree drawn on the blueprint. It was a simple sketch, but Ian recognized it as the willow tree closest to the annex.

"Usually, these blueprints omit landscaping. It would take forever to draw every bush and tree..."

Ian trailed off. Yes, it was common for blueprints not to include landscaping.

But then why was this tree drawn here?

It could just be a meaningless doodle by the creator, but this document was meant for the mansion’s steward. It would be more natural to assign it some meaning.

"Beric. Let’s hurry back to the mansion."

"What? Why? Tell me too!"

"Hanah, I’ll contact you again. I’ll need help once the mansion is sorted out. If possible, I’d like the servants who quit to return."

"I’ll put the word out. I’d love to come back. I was just wondering how I’d make ends meet."

Ian smiled brightly at Hanah’s words and tore off a button from his sleeve. It was from the outfit he’d worn to the peace ceremony. The button alone should be enough to stave off immediate hunger, though whether any place would still be accepting jewels in this chaos was another matter.

"Consider this a down payment."

"Th-thank you. Young master, you’re truly remarkable. You always appear to help us when we’re starving."

"Perhaps that’s why I met you."

"Then I’ll find a reason to meet you again, Ian. I think the stable master is unharmed. I think I saw him pass by yesterday."

"Ah. Yes. I saw him too."

"Please, go ahead. I’ll contact you right away."

"Yes. Thank you."

Finishing his farewells with Hanah, Ian raced back towards the mansion. Without even dismounting, he went straight to the annex and found the tree from the blueprint.

’That must be it.’

Its branches drooped distinctively low. Beneath it, the Cheonryeo were gathered in small groups, burning and consuming gurue leaves.

"Ian?"

"What brings you here?"

"Could you keep watch for a moment?"

"Keep watch? Hey, you go."

The annex was scorched, and there were pits dug here and there. The bodies of the servants who died in the fire must be buried there.

Perhaps due to the eerie atmosphere, the central army and the investigation team hadn’t paid any attention to the annex, but one never knew.

"Make sure the central army and the investigation team don’t see."

"Hmm. Alright. You have business here?"

"Yes. Please step aside for a moment."

The Cheonryeo moved aside without question and stood guard around the perimeter. Beric held the blueprint upside down, constantly comparing the tree to the drawing.

"Is this the right place?"

"It is. So stop standing there and start digging."

"Ugh. Digging, always digging. I sure know how to pick ’em!"

They had identified the tree, but that was it. There was something hidden, but there wasn’t a trace of it. Beric took out his dagger and meticulously scraped at the ground.

"By the way, if you find Mary and Chell, are you going to kill them yourself?"

"Of course not. I can’t kill them like that."

Ian ran his fingertips over the grass as he answered. The texture of the grass felt different.

"It’s better to keep them alive for a while."

"What do you mean?"

"So I’m going to make them run far, far away."

It was fake grass.

Ian took the dagger from Beric and slid it into a crack. The ground lifted like a lever. Even the Cheonryeo, who were just chewing gurue leaves from afar, looked on with curiosity.

Creak.

A staircase leading to a secret space appeared. A spiral stone staircase leading to an underground chamber. The floor was damp to the touch. It meant that a seam between the door and the ground had been formed recently.

In other words, someone had used this place recently.

"Found it. Beric, get ready."

"Alright, why are you in such a hurry?"

"You fool. We’re not the only ones chasing Bratz."

"Who else? Erica?"

"Yes. Bring a lantern without anyone noticing."

Mary stared blankly at the flickering flame.

Noises echoed along the ceiling and walls. It was likely the outsiders who had taken over the mansion. Otherwise, her husband, Derga, would have come to get her and their son.

In this underground tunnel, where not a single ray of light or breath of wind could enter, Lady Mary was experiencing the worst despair of her life.

"Mom. I’m hungry."

"Have some jerky."

"Is this all there is?"

Chell sat on the edge of the cot, whining. He was too old for this, yet those were the only words he could muster! For the first time, Lady Mary felt that her son was pathetic.

"Should we try to move the back door?"

"It’s sealed with molten iron. Don’t hurt yourself for nothing. Sit down and conserve your strength."

A space similar to an underground prison. The secret door to the outside had been sealed off by Derga’s father in case it was used as an invasion route. At the time, the atmosphere with the Cheonryeo was so bad that it was understandable, but what a self-defeating move it had turned out to be.

"How long are we going to stay like this?"

"Just a little longer. There will be an opportunity in a few days. You can rest well when we return to Fontroll, so be patient."

Mary planned to go to her family home via the Merelophe estate. She would have to live in hiding for the rest of her life as a traitor, but her family would surely help her somehow.

Mary picked off the jewels attached to her fingernails one by one and rubbed them on her dress. Who knew that the jewels she had considered cheap would be used as valuable travel money?

Step, step.

It was then. Suddenly, as if in a hallucination, she heard footsteps. Mary instinctively extinguished the lamp, and Chell hid behind the bed. In the pitch-black space, a faint yellow light flickered in the distance.

"Gasp!"

Someone had come! They had discovered the secret space of the mansion and were following their trail! Mary, with trembling hands, gripped her dagger tightly and held her breath.

’Derga, is that you? Quickly, quickly...’

If it’s you, send a signal.

But despite Mary’s desperate wish, the voice that came was both unfamiliar and familiar. A shadow stretched long on the stone wall.

"Are you in there? Mother, Brother Chell."

"...H-how did you get in here!"

Though she hadn’t heard it in a couple of months, she recognized it instantly. It was Ian.

Ian looked around the secret space, his eyebrows furrowed in surprise. The men who followed him in had red pigment painted on their faces... The Cheonryeo!

"Wh-what is the meaning of this..."

"Wow, they dug a tunnel. Derga is quite something."

"Imperial nobles usually have an escape route like this. They’re the type to run away rather than die fighting."

"But there doesn’t seem to be a way out in the back?"

"Uh. That’s right."

Mary felt as if her thoughts had stopped. She had assumed that the investigation team and the central army were stationed in the mansion. How did Ian and the Cheonryeo appear?

But that was only for a moment.

"Iaaaaan!"

Swish!

Mary reflexively let out a hysterical scream and rushed at Ian. She believed that Ian was the one who had met with Molin behind her back and accused Derga, and that he had also persuaded the Cheonryeo to break the alliance.

At the woman’s sudden attack, a Cheonryeo warrior quickly grabbed her wrist.

"Aaaagh! It hurts!"

She struggled to break free, but she couldn’t escape the warrior’s powerful grip. The warrior easily snatched the dagger and threw it away, then pinned Lady Mary against the wall.

Thump!

"What is this insolence! You lowly creatures! You have no origin!"

"Mother. I heard you had become a bit... intense, but this is beyond what I expected."

"Shut up! Shut up! It’s all your fault! It’s all because of you!"

Ian lifted the lantern and examined Mary’s face closely. Sunken eyes, dark, sallow skin, bloodshot yellow eyes. And lips that were a mess of chapped skin. There wasn’t a single healthy spot.

On the other hand, Chell had lost some weight and was covered in dust, but otherwise, he was not much different.

’...Why is this?’

Ian frowned, realizing that something was unusual about Lady Mary’s change.