Chapter 122
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122.
"Liarden's treasure?"
At Cassian's words, the Butler drew a deep breath before bowing with a grave expression.
"I shall guide you, young master."
Even knowing his true identity, he addressed him as young master rather than lord—a testament to the pride he held in Duke Lopez's House.
We were then escorted to the master's reception room on the innermost part of the second floor.
Parker removed the cloth draped over the sofa, instructing us to be seated momentarily, before he began extracting several books from the study shelves and rearranging them in various combinations.
"That's quite an archaic cipher method."
Cassian nodded at my observation.
"It certainly reminds one just how ancient the Liarden lineage truly is."
A bookshelf cipher of that sort consumed considerable space and, being puzzle-based, was tedious to memorize—few employed such methods anymore.
The primary reason was that it derived from ciphers created by Mages.
Though those eccentric Mages still employed miniaturized cube-puzzle ciphers, admittedly.
'It truly does feel like the Dragon's Land.'
Among the Temple's various claims, the one regarding the origin of Mages possessed considerable credibility in my estimation.
Soon the bookshelf rotated, revealing a door of visibly substantial thickness.
Just as I prepared to rise, Parker gestured for us to wait.
"I should have offered you proper refreshment while you waited—I do apologize for the discourtesy."
"Not at all."
"Please wait just a moment longer. This vault is normally something only the master can open."
Could such an important vault truly be opened merely by revealing oneself as Maribel Liarden's son?
Cassian wore the same skeptical expression I felt, his face growing slightly sullen.
Parker seemed to sense the atmosphere, clearing his throat briefly before speaking.
"To unlock this cipher, I require one condition: a direct descendant of Liarden must be present in this room."
"Ah...."
"Should you have deceived me, young master, the trap would have been triggered the moment you sat upon that sofa."
Parker was a formidable man, indeed.
When I glanced at him sideways, he shrugged as if to say there was no problem since no trap had activated.
He then disengaged the cipher on the small bookshelf that had been revealed alongside the heavy door once more.
A small safe appeared, from which he withdrew a key.
"From this point forward, you must do it yourself, young master. I, being no direct descendant of Liarden, can proceed no further."
"Is that a matter of authority, or of operational mechanism?"
Unable to contain my curiosity, I asked. Parker glanced toward Cassian.
His gaze sought permission to speak with me.
"She is my betrothed."
"As I suspected! I had heard news of you through the papers and wondered. So you are the infamous Winter Palace demon."
Why am I thinking of that first?
While I frowned, Cassian accepted the key from Parker with a delighted laugh.
He even made an unnecessary correction.
"Demons, the pair of us—Roselita and I come as a set."
"Oh my, I do apologize."
Please don't apologize over something so trivial, Manager!
Though I wore an exasperated expression, the Manager regarded me with warmer eyes than when we'd first entered the Grand Hall as guests.
"The Duke intended for me to be able to open every lock, just in case."
He then offered a kind explanation, as though understanding our confusion.
"However, this was established when Liarden first came into being, so he said no one could open it until the young master arrived."
"That's precisely why I'm asking."
"You may speak freely, Miss."
I felt somewhat awkward at those words, but nodded while recalling the butler of Salice Barony.
It seemed cruel to draw lines with someone who had barely seen the young master in such a long time.
"I was wondering if perhaps the Jamoti Family had already investigated the Manor."
"Truly as clever as the rumors suggest! That's correct—afterward, the Imperial Palace ordered it concealed, so only a few remaining servants know this fact."
At the butler's words, Cassian inserted the intricately designed key and turned it while asking.
"Was that on the Emperor's orders at the time?"
Parker's expression grew slightly puzzled upon hearing Cassian's question.
"It was, initially."
"Initially?"
The Manager offered a faint smile.
"There were simply so many Imperial directives issued then. I've collected all those documents, so I'll show them to you once we return to our lodgings."
Cassian nodded at those words and gently pushed the door open with a click.
Rather than creaking or groaning, he opened the remarkably heavy door as smoothly and lightly as an ordinary wooden one, and I found myself genuinely marveling anew at Cassian's strength.
It made me realize why he could so casually carry me about and leap nimbly from place to place.
I wasn't the only one impressed, for Parker too—
"Truly the young master's son!"
...reacted strangely.
Why would he call Cassian the son of that cotton candy-like person upon seeing such strength?
Did it mean only direct lineage could open the door...?
Since Maribel, as I'd seen her through the past, had always appeared only lovely or pitiful, I was puzzled when Parker spoke with a smile.
"The Duke possessed greater strength than most men."
Words that shattered my image of Maribel into pieces.
*
"I didn't realize you'd be so surprised. It's common knowledge throughout Reardon Territory."
"Was Maribel particularly strong?"
"The direct bloodline members generally were. The family head—the late Duke, that is—possessed the same trait."
It occurred to me that despite the Liardon Family's reclusive nature, they hadn't endured as a ducal house all these centuries without reason.
Indeed, a strong body spares the mind considerable suffering.
At my understanding, Cassian chuckled softly and whispered.
"Fortunate, isn't it, Roselita? I can continue to work you to exhaustion."
"The subject and object seem rather reversed, Ian."
What an unscrupulous employer he was.
Parker's contented expression at our banter only deepened my melancholy.
The Manager observed us briefly before guiding us deeper into the vault.
The space was remarkably expansive—almost impossibly so for a manor of this size.
Yet as we proceeded, I felt a peculiar sense of familiarity wash over me.
'...It resembles a lair, somehow.'
Perhaps because I'd become the proprietor of the Flare Dragon's lair, such intuition surfaced.
Indeed, the scroll proving my ownership of both the Flare Dragon's lair and Gaia's gift seemed to resonate faintly.
Even the elaborate conditions required to open this vault felt akin to those of the lair.
'Since I'm the owner of both the Flare Dragon's lair and Gaia's gift, I can adjust the conditions myself.'
Perhaps the reason Duke Liarden couldn't share this with Parker was that the original proprietor had imposed such restrictions.
Permitting access only to the direct Liardon bloodline.
Cassian, sensing the direction of my thoughts, asked.
"Will you share your conjecture with me?"
"After I see what Ian left behind."
Cassian nodded as though that sufficed.
In any case, the vault's considerable expanse contained treasures so dazzling in their abundance that they nearly blinded the eye.
And through the condition of these treasures, I could more strongly infer that this place was indeed a lair.
Not a trace of age marked any of them; all remained pristine and intact.
Such was the hallmark of treasures within a lair.
"This way, Young Master."
At last, Parker directed me to a crimson orb resting upon a pedestal.
'...A dragon's pearl?'
Having dwelt so long on thoughts of dragons, such an assumption came first to mind.
Though perhaps that belonged to the lore of serpents rather than dragons.
Yet....
"Is this its original state? It appears fractured to me—as though half is missing."
"No, it was originally a complete sphere. However, after the Young Duke took it to the Capital, it returned in this broken condition."
"The other half...."
"I regret to say it remains unaccounted for."
Parker's expression grew sorrowful.
"The Knight who brought this back was one the Young Duke took from the Territory. Reardon Territory had been rejoicing, celebrating the news that the Young Duke would soon bear a child."
At those words, Cassian's expression hardened as well.
"I harbor no resentment toward you, young master. Bearing a child has always been a matter of risking one's life. The previous Duke was simply overjoyed at your birth."
Even with that consolation, Cassian could not fully relax his expression.
Parker seemed to understand Cassian's inner turmoil, and rather than offer further comfort, he continued his account.
"In any case, while the Territory was in such a state of excitement, a Knight arrived in the deep hours before dawn. He came to me alone and asked that I tell no one of his arrival."
Upon hearing this request, Parker said he immediately escorted the Knight to the previous Duke.
There, the Knight left behind a sphere—only half of it remaining—with the Duke, then hastily departed the Territory.
It was only later, when Parker realized the Knight had fled the Territory without even learning of Cassian's birth, that he understood something grave had transpired.
"And it was but days after that the news arrived—word of the young Duke's death reached the Territory."
"That Knight..."
At my question, Parker shook his head, his face darkening.
"He vanished without a trace. And within mere months, the Clergy set foot in Reardon Territory for the first time."
"Clergy, you say..."
"Yes, they were Heresy Inquisitors."
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