On the way to their destination, Kiole nearly flew out of his seat three times and bit his tongue twice. He’d tried his best to imitate Yuder, who sat without even the slightest sway, but could not for the life of him figure out the trick.

By the time he finally got out, he felt even more liberated than when he'd been told his forced labor sentence was over.

‘Ugh, my back... my tongue...’

“Wait here for a moment. I’ll go in and send the message!”

“No need. I’ll conceal my presence. Just focus on your part.”

Yuder replied flatly. His tone was cold, but Kiole knew by now that he only ever stated facts. So, without further protest, he slipped in through the back door of the candle shop. It was the same door he’d once seen the chief steward of House Diarca enter.

‘Not that I’ve actually been here myself before...’

Still, a place the Diarca chief steward regularly visited was bound to have someone assigned to greet him. When the door opened, Kiole quickly explained to the staff member who appeared that he urgently needed to contact the chief steward.

“Ah... Yes, I was informed. I was told to be contacted immediately if someone came asking for him.”

Thankfully, the employee didn’t judge Kiole by his appearance. He led Kiole to a quiet stockroom and told him to wait a moment. Watching the man disappear, Kiole finally let out a sigh of relief.

‘Whew. I never thought I’d feel this reassured just from someone believing what I say.’

He glanced around. From outside, he could faintly hear the candle shop’s ordinary customer chatter.

‘Yuder Aile must be nearby...’

Since he’d said he’d conceal his presence, he had to be close. But Kiole had no idea where. It was practically ghostly.

After what felt like an hour—but was likely only a few minutes—the door opened again.

In stepped the chief steward, his face partially concealed.

“Lord Kiole.”

The steward bowed respectfully toward him.

“I’ve heard that over the past few days, the First Prince has tried searching for you through various channels and failed every time. Seeing you healthy like this, it’s clear that none of his schemes left so much as a scratch on you.”

The moment he arrived, he opened with troubling news that made Kiole blink.

‘...Huh?’

Well, it made sense no one had found him—he’d been hard at work on a labor sentence the entire time.

“No, I—I really didn’t know. There... there were circumstances, you see...”

But the steward thought Kiole was speaking with calculated modesty, already fully informed and in control. It was a tone the black-hearted Duke Diarca often used.

Looking at him with affectionate eyes, the steward smiled warmly.

“Indeed. Humility is a virtue that befits the head of House Diarca. I’m sure the Duke would have been deeply pleased to see you as you are now.”

Father? Pleased?

Kiole didn’t understand, but the moment his father’s name was mentioned, the reflexive weight of pain in his chest hit harder. He clenched his fists, frowning, then summoned the courage to speak.

“...How is Father doing? Is he the same?”

“Yes. He’s regained consciousness a few times briefly since seeing you, but he hasn’t been fully lucid. For now, the best we can do is keep his condition from worsening.”

“I see...”

“You called me here urgently, so I assume there’s something you require. What is it?”

At last, time for the real reason. Kiole brushed his fingertips along the snuff case in his pocket, trying to steady his nerves.

“...I’ve been doing some thinking... and preparing, in my own way. I’m planning to go to my father’s secret vault—but I realized I was never told where it is. You know, don’t you?”

But to his dismay, the trusted steward gave a thunderous answer.

“To be honest, I don’t know the exact location either.”

“What?!”

A chill ran down Kiole’s spine. He could already imagine Yuder muttering “I knew it” and whacking him upside the head.

‘No way—there’s no way!’

“Haha... That can’t be right. You’re the person Father trusted most. Everyone knows that!”

“I’m honored by your words—but it’s the truth.”

There was no sign of deceit in the steward’s face.

“Though His Grace did trust me, he did not wish for me to know the vault’s precise location. Since that was his will, I had no choice but to remain blind to it.”

“Ah...”

Then why had his father given him this? Did he really think Kiole would just know the location upon seeing the key?

Kiole was about to explode when the steward added:

“However, while I do not know the exact coordinates, I do know the general vicinity.”

Hearing that, Kiole calmed down immediately. It felt like he’d clawed his way up from the bottom of hell.

“Where is it?”

“If you’ve looked at the key, you may have already guessed... but it’s the hometown of the Duchess—Lady Langretsi, your mother.”

Kiole’s eyebrows shot up at the completely unexpected answer.

‘Huh? ...My mother’s hometown? I had no idea.’

“His Grace engraved the crest of Lady Langretsi’s birth family—the one she used before marriage—on the back of the key. It stands to reason that the vault is somewhere nearby. But I’ve never been to that place myself, so I can’t say exactly where.”

Kiole hadn’t even realized the key had an engraving on it. And even if he had, he might not have recognized it anyway—he could barely remember what his mother’s family name had been before she married.

‘Wait... when Father called me Eschi—was that not a mistake, but actually a clue to the vault’s location?!’

Swallowing his confusion, Kiole finally spoke.

“It’s not exactly close to the capital... He really put it far out, huh.”

“There’s a road His Grace prepared. It’s not as far as you think.”

“A road?”

“There’s a natural cave route that was carved into a proper passage. If you take that shortcut, you can pass through the mountain in no time. It’s possible to go and return within a single day.”

There’s a road like that?! Kiole was stunned. The steward, not noticing the twitch in Kiole’s eyelids, smiled serenely.

“You likely didn’t even know such a shortcut existed. I will show you. Isn’t that what you called me for?”

It wasn’t, of course. Kiole still didn’t fully understand why the steward looked at him with such admiration and treated him so warmly—but he said nothing.

The steward pulled out the notebook and small magic pen he always carried, and wrote down the location of the secret passage before handing it over.

As Kiole received the paper, the steward’s smile deepened.

“Had you been the young master of the past, you would’ve left the moment you figured out the rough direction—without even calling for me. But now, even while fulfilling the task entrusted to you by the Duke, you first gather information thoroughly and act with complete caution. As the one who serves you, I am filled with joy.”

“......”

“I’m certain that once you arrive, you’ll quickly be able to locate the vault.”

“......”

“Then, having told you all I know—I’ll take my leave.”

Without even waiting for Kiole’s response, the steward turned and left. ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) Kiole stood there, blankly staring at the slip of paper in his hand... when suddenly, a human shadow dropped from above and landed in front of him.

“Gah!”

“Quiet.”

Of course, it was Yuder Aile—who, unsurprisingly, had been up on the ceiling the whole time.