The Damn Family Is Back Again - Chapter 341



341. Family (11)

-Ding!

▶You have entered the Duke’s study.◀

▶The danger level of this field is ＜Danger＞.◀

▶You must clear the mission within the given time.◀

[ Timer Activated ]

[ Remaining Time: 20 minutes 00 seconds ]

▶Find the three notes hidden in the study.◀

▶If you find all the notes within the time limit, you can move to the next location.◀

▶Be careful! If the noise level increases, an unexpected search of the study may occur.◀

▶Warning! If you fail to find the notes within 20 minutes and clear the mission, knights will storm into the study, triggering a chase event!◀

The study was a familiar field.

It was often visited for various reasons, such as performing sub-episodes, working on intimacy tasks, and studying.

However, the location of the notes did not seem easy to find.

Even if you searched the corners and shelves of the bookcase, if there were notes stuck there, the maids would have found them long ago. What does it mean that they haven’t been discovered until now?

It means they were deliberately and thoroughly hidden.

If there is a likely place, it would naturally be between the books in this study.

‘…So noise is the problem.’

There are three places where the notes are hidden.

And the number of books to be examined in this study is several hundred times more.

You have to open a book, not knowing which book it is or where it is, and find the hidden place.

Within 20 minutes, and three of them at that.

It was a tight condition.

Time was already short, so it was inevitable to be in a hurry, and considering the noise that would be generated, it had to be taken into account.

There is no other way but to search randomly…

It can’t be helped. Let’s discuss it.

“There is a book with something inserted in this bookshelf. We have to find it…”

Harnie looked around and then fixed her gaze on the stand coat rack.

“Harnie?”

“…It’s a bit strange. Why are these clothes here?”

I know those are the clothes of the librarian who managed the study. It should be the clothes worn by the servant who manages the study normally, but is there something strange about it?

-Swish. Swish.

She soon approached the stand and began to touch and examine the clothes here and there.

“It’s strange.”

“Yes?”

“Librarians don’t wear these kinds of clothes. Since they manage books, they have to be particularly careful not to damage the books, but if they wear these clothes, they could get stained or torn.”

“…!”

“That’s not all. The material itself is too poorly ventilated for clothes that librarians would wear. Even if we assume it’s because of the winter cold, this is… strange.”

As a merchant who sold clothes, Harnie would know better than anyone about the characteristics of clothes.

Considering humidity, temperature, seasonal changes, and even the job or place, unless it’s casual clothes, this has significant meaning.

‘Come to think of it… there was no one wearing those clothes when I visited the study.’

Of course, the maids had no reason to wear them.

I had never seen the librarians wearing them either.

They were always just hanging there, as if they belonged to no one.

That means.

-Ding!

▶You have discovered a mysterious item.◀

◆Librarian’s Attire.

[ Clothes that do not match the place and purpose. If you search, you might find something. ]

I immediately started rummaging through the nearby stand.

“I’ll check this side.”

“Okay!”

I moved my hands busily. I meticulously searched the inside to see if anything was hidden, and occasionally found something in the pockets.

▶You have obtained a stone.◀

…This is a total dud. It means to look for something else.

▶You have obtained a coin.◀

Why on earth would there be money all of a sudden?

▶You have obtained a love letter left by someone.◀

…I don’t think I should read this.

▶You have obtained someone’s underwear.◀

Harnié looked at me with a contemptuous expression. I spent some time explaining. I am absolutely not the kind of person who steals women’s underwear.

While I was continuously rummaging through the clothes.

I found something that completely caught my hand.

“…What is this?”

▶You have obtained ???.◀

At first glance… it looked like some kind of tile fragment.

Harnié immediately picked up the item and explained.

“This is a piece of a key.”

“A piece of a key?”

“Yes. It’s a special type of key fragment that emerged in the south a few decades ago.”

A key, huh. Then what on earth does the lock look like?

“The purpose of such a key is simple. It’s to hide something.”

“…!”

“…That’s why I had something prepared in advance. Karsein.”

Harnié walked a few steps and rubbed the tile floor below, then lowered her posture completely and tried to remove it with her hand.

…Huh?

“Locks like these are usually installed in inner walls. In other words, it’s a key to open the wall. Ugh…!”

“I’ll take it out.”

“Oh. Okay.”

When Harnié matched the pieces by force, they connected as if they were a key and a lock, and a crack appeared in the inner space, allowing it to be opened.

Inside it…

“It looks like a memo… There are numbers and names written on it.”

[ Section 4, 12th bookshelf, 19th row, 3rd book. Drangsen’s ‘The Adventures of Asen’ page 37. ]

[ Section 22, 7th bookshelf, 5th row, 23rd book. Promen’s ‘Milord’s Fairy Tales’ page 55. ]

[ Section 9, 16th bookshelf, 1st row, 32nd book. Knight Roivan’s ‘About the Family Massacre, Arksus Felskraim’ page 200. ]

There was what I wanted.

*

“Ah. Here it is.”

-Ding!

▶You have found the three notes and cleared the mission.◀

▶By clearing the mission within the time limit, one of the chase triggers is deactivated.◀

The three books were exactly in their places.

It didn’t take long to gather the books detailed with sections, bookshelves, and positions.

Now, all that was left was to piece together and read these three notes.

‘Hmm?’

But for some reason, Harnie was eyeing one book.

That book… was the one with the last note.

One was a fairy tale, another was close to an adventure or heroic tale, but this book had a somewhat eerie title compared to the other two.

‘The title was Family Massacre, Arksus Felskraim, wasn’t it.’

It was a book I had set aside thinking it wouldn’t be helpful, but I remembered it to some extent.

Knight Roivan.

A retired knight who captured a significant number of criminals.

That book was a memoir about the man the knight ultimately failed to capture.

“Karsein. By any chance, do you… with your family…”

“Yes?”

“No, it’s nothing. I think I was too hasty.”

Harnie mumbled and suggested they read the note quickly.

…It bothers me.

The moment she saw that book, Harnie bit her lip.

There must be something.

Something only she knows that I don’t.

‘…I’ll have to find out later.’

When the time comes, I’ll ask Harnie.

-Ding!

▶The three notes inscribed with magic have automatically combined.◀

▶The Hidden Memorial effect is activated.◀

‘Again, the Hidden Memorial?’

With a bright white light.

My vision once again turned to the present day.

Unlike before, it is not raining.

What falls instead of the rain is snow.

*

The knights who had been wandering around the mansion upstairs eventually came down, sweating profusely.

They had no choice but to comply, as the master felt like he was being watched and protested that this was not confinement in any sense. The knights of the family follow their master.

Meanwhile, Claire, who was descending the stairs, stopped in her tracks.

“…”

Then, she turned around and fell into deep thought.

It was a very slim possibility.

It was true that she had discovered Radiel and Mark had hidden intentions and had attached themselves as her guards, but that did not guarantee contact.

Moreover, even if those two conveyed Claire’s plan in its entirety, there was still a question mark as to whether it would be accepted.

And the likelihood of everything going smoothly and someone hiding here was even slimmer.

From noble mtl dot com

But all of these things were happening in real-time.

It was a great fortune to have discovered a mysterious shadow entering the basement and a young lady disguised as a maid.

Claire asked an uncertain question, as if anxious.

‘…Did they get in safely?’

It was truly an uncertain question.

The interior of the duke’s mansion was quite vast. Even a single floor was divided into several sections, and the number of knights patrolling here was by no means small.

How many people were left?

Had a gap really appeared on that floor?

Had there been enough time to find and slip into that gap?

It’s difficult, no doubt.

Nothing can be known. How much is left, how many gaps have formed, how much time is secured to hide or escape.

Claire isn’t sure if all those knights were sent downstairs.

She wants to go back and check.

She wants to see it with her own eyes.

If not, she at least wants to hear the sound of the door closing.

She wants to wait here and be certain.

If it’s really him. And if he really listened to her opinion.

She wants to know everything.

But…

“…”

Suppressing those desires, she grabs the railing and turns her head.

Because Claire knows.

How impatient and hot-tempered she is.

She clearly remembers how many things she messed up because of this personality.

She hated feeling stifled, so she stepped forward, but that only made things worse.

She stepped forward thinking she should at least get some satisfying revenge, but that only ended up ruining things.

She moved hastily. Thoughtlessly. Acted first without asking the person involved.

But this time, she suppresses that frustration.

She hates just letting it go like this, but she endures it.

Calmly. Composedly.

Suppressing impatience, I regained as much composure as possible.

‘…Yes. The longer I stay here, the more suspicion will grow.’

This suspicion can’t overturn everything.

‘I’ve taken care of the moving knights well enough. I can sneak around as much as I want.’

As if nothing happened. I must go down without showing any signs to avoid suspicion.

‘Since it’s a probation order, it should be enough information. They must have heard it.’

That kid is smart, they’ll understand everything.

Someone like me doesn’t need to worry.

Let’s go down. So as not to be a hindrance.

Let’s stay out of it. So as not to be a burden.

Don’t worry. So as not to ruin things because of this.

-Click. Clack.

Claire’s footsteps gradually faded away from the stairs.