I picked up a picture stuck to the bookshelf and took a closer look.

The picture was thin and not framed.

It seemed to have some sort of magical treatment or coating, like a thin film covering it.

It was almost like looking at a modern photograph.

Anyway, that wasn’t important...

‘...Who is this?’

The woman in the lively, photo-like painting wore an elegant dress.

She wasn’t quite a stunning beauty, but her bright smile was very charming.

What was unusual was that she had black hair and black eyes at the same time—something rare to see in this world.

‘Somehow, she looks familiar...’

Or rather, a face I had seen often?

As I stared at the picture for a long time, I looked over at another painting where the figure’s figure was emphasized—and then I understood why I felt that way.

‘...She looks exactly like Ragna.’

Black hair and black eyes.

Apart from those two features, the facial features were very similar to Ragna’s.

‘Then... could this woman be Ragna’s biological mother?’

There wasn’t any clear proof or anything like that, but it was only natural to suspect it logically.

I mean, think about it.

Ragna’s middle name, “Litaniel,” is actually the name of the nurse who raised him, not his biological mother.

[So, what about his mother? Do you know what happened to her?]

[I heard she passed away on the day she gave birth to me.]

Then there’s Ragna, the marquis’s illegitimate child.

And the woman who looks exactly like her found in the marquis’s secret library.

‘But if he made a room like this... he must have really cared about Ragna’s biological mother...’

After looking around the paintings in the room once more, I finally took my attention away from the pictures and searched other areas.

There was nothing except writing tools near the desk, so I focused on the bookshelf...

[Royal Meeting Minutes 17~18]

[Explorer Status Report Year 02]

[11th Race Council Minutes]

[Draft Plan for Labyrinth Progress Year 117 IV]

[217th Dimensional Collapse...]

[...]

What were these books?

They didn’t look like ordinary books at a glance...

Actually opening and reading them, they felt more like public records than published books.

In the meeting minutes, the entire volume was filled with who said what.

The plans and reports were formatted like documents submitted by field workers to their superiors.

‘But why would the marquis gather all this here?’

I didn’t know, but as I flipped through the pages, some parts were underlined.

For example, in the ‘11th Race Council Minutes’:

[Before the dignity of the Immortal King, all race leaders prostrated and kissed the ground.]

That part was underlined.

Also in the ‘Draft Plan for Labyrinth Progress Year 117 IV’:

[Due to the much steeper than expected growth of current explorers, the Labyrinth Management Department must prepare separate countermeasures.]

That part was also underlined.

“Hmm...”

While roughly reading, I noticed small books under the desk connected to it.

‘...Are these diaries?’

The reason diaries came to mind right away was simple.

They were much smaller than the other books, and there were a lot of them...

And above all, the years were written on the covers.

‘If these are really diaries, that’d be amazing...’

With a hopeful heart, I pulled out the earliest year’s diary and opened it.

But what was this?

“...?”

Even though the pages were densely filled with writing from the very first page, I couldn’t read the contents at all.

It wasn’t just bad handwriting.

‘This isn’t Raphdonian or ancient language...’

It was a script I had never seen before.

It wasn’t Korean or English either.

What language on earth was this?

My mind was full of such questions when a sudden thought struck me.

‘Ah, could it be some sort of cipher?’

Even in modern times, it’s said that each country used its own cipher during World War II.

I’d even heard that Raphdonian army units used their own ‘ciphers.’

‘Better take it with me.’

I quickly packed it into my Aspace bag as something to decode later.

And...

‘There’s nothing else to see.’

Confirming there was nothing else to take, I finally approached the only framed picture in the room.

A woman’s name was written on it.

[Meirin Hyunvenia —————.]

For some reason, the last name was scratched out harshly with something sharp, making it unreadable.

Below the name were numbers likely representing birth and death dates.

And...

‘What’s this symbol?’

In the lower-left corner of the painting, there was a symbol similar to the Taegeuk.

A sphere combining red and blue.

‘...Could the marquis be some kind of evil spirit too?’

That thought suddenly crossed my mind, but I judged the possibility to be low.

The color scheme matched, but it was somewhat different from the Taegeuk symbol I knew.

“Hoo...”

Anyway, I thought I’d seen everything now.

Just as I turned around to leave—

Kwaaaaang—!

What was that sound?

Could it be that the marquis already sent troops after hearing the news?

I didn’t know, but I definitely heard it.

“Aaaah!”

A scream.

And that meant something was wrong upstairs.

Tatatatat—!

I hurried out of the secret space and ran up the stairs.

And...

Tat!

Just as I kicked off the last step,

I saw about a dozen people facing off against special forces blocking the secret room’s exit.

Surprisingly, quite a few faces were familiar.

“Thought there might be some unexpected variable.”

A man looked at me coldly and spoke in a dry voice.

“Again, it’s Bjorn Yandel.”

The deputy chief of Orculis.

Maan, Roland Banonzant.

And beside them—

“Really amazing. How did Baron find out we were hiding here?”

A member of Orculis.

The Witch of Screams, Liranne Vivian.

And awkwardly standing above—

“This is quite troublesome.”

A member and also part of the Round Table.

“Pisit...”

Even the corpse collector, Abet Nekrapeto.

‘Looks like the others are Orculis members too...’

I had ordered the destruction of the marquis’s estate to find hidden Noarques.

I couldn’t help but be genuinely surprised.

‘Why the hell are these guys here?’

Is this really happening?

The standoff quieted the moment I appeared.

“Aaaah...”

Except for the scream of one of our men who lost an arm while going down the stairs, it was otherwise very quiet.

“Raven.”

When I muttered the name softly, Raven quickly finished explaining.

“While you were downstairs investigating, we found a hidden groove in the floor and opened it. The authors hiding underneath appeared.”

Right, that’s what happened...

The events while I was away started forming in my mind, but it still felt unreal.

I only thought we could legally(?) search the marquis’s estate, not that we’d really find these guys.

Well, they seemed as startled as I was.

“Randolph, didn’t you say the marquis’s estate would be clean in the search?”

The deputy chief asked in a reproachful tone, and the bespectacled man next to him awkwardly scratched the back of his head.

“Hahaha... yes, that’s right. When I calculated it, the chance of this happening was zero percent...”

Zero percent? What the hell.

I’m not so naive as to believe there’s zero chance of anything.

Just then—

“This means...”

The deputy chief turned his gaze to his comrades and emitted a murderous aura.

“It can only mean information leaked from the inside.”

Uh...

Could that really happen?

“Death to traitors.”

While feeling somewhat stunned by the current situation, having survived many adversities through quick thinking, I saw a way out.

Before I could organize my thoughts, words slipped out of my mouth.

“What is it? Nekrapeto.”

“...Pisit?”

“Come here quickly, we’ll protect you now.”

Until then, he seemed to have no clue what I was talking about.

But then—

“The information was really accurate. Thanks to you, we found them. With this, you’ll get a new identity in the city too—”

As I spoke quickly,

“W-what are you saying!!”

The moment he realized the situation, he panicked and waved his hands wildly.

“N-no! I...! Deputy chief! That guy’s just talking nonsense! You’re not really going to believe him, are you? Maan, who can see through the truth?”

When the deputy chief gave no answer, he spoke even more desperately.

“I-I would tear him to pieces a hundred times over if I could! R-right...? You’re not really believing this...?”

“...Of course not.”

“Phew...”

“But judging by how flustered you are babbling nonsense, I get the feeling you might suspect something.”

Words with some truth behind them, not just empty talk.

“Yes, if no one leaked info, this situation can’t be explained.”

The bespectacled man standing next to the deputy chief added a word, making Nekrapeto’s eyes go wide.

And then—

“Just to be clear, I have nothing to do with Nekrapeto.”

Even Vivian, who usually called him ‘brother,’ drew a clear line, making him look like he might jump out of his skin from frustration.

He must have felt utterly wronged.

Of course, that wasn’t my concern.

‘Well, you should’ve behaved better.’

Yeah, same here.

Do you think our comrades would flinch if the Noarques said something like that?

Right, so...

“What is it? Hurry up and come.”

“W-why should I go there?”

“Why? There’s no point in hiding anymore.”

“Then why don’t you stop talking nonsense!”

“Ah, are you feeling guilty about betraying your comrades right in front of their eyes?”

“Wh-what...!”

He took a step forward, getting excited as he tried to charge at me.

But I didn’t have to stop him.

Because someone else stepped forward faster.

Chachachat.

The bespectacled man next to the ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) deputy chief.

He moved quickly and blocked Nekrapeto’s way before he could get to me.

“...Huh?”

Nekrapeto looked quite surprised to be blocked by his comrade.

Seeing that, the bespectacled man continued in a businesslike tone.

“Please stop your sudden outburst. If you act like that, it could look like you’re trying to flee.”

“Uh... no, it’s not that... I was going forward because...”

“If it was for battle, Nekrapeto would have even less reason to approach the enemies.”

“I-I really wasn’t trying to fight...”

“Ah... so you mean you weren’t going to fight?”

“No, that’s not what I meant...”

“Deputy chief?”

When the bespectacled man briefly asked for the deputy chief’s opinion, the deputy chief nodded grimly.

“It’s better than fighting with a suspicious person behind your back. Detain Abet Nekrapeto. Make sure he doesn’t cause any trouble.”

“You heard that, right? So just come quietly.”

“N-no, what did I do wrong...!”

“Yes, yes. We’ll discuss that later. For now, just come here. Even if Nekrapeto goes missing, it won’t be a big problem, right?”

Okay, so one down for now?