The portrait Aiden had placed in the corpse’s embrace years ago was perfectly preserved, despite the underground humidity and temperature.
After a moment of hesitation, he crossed himself and reached out.
“Excuse me.”
Disturbing the rest of the deceased wasn’t a comfortable task, even for an atheist like him.
‘I’ll just check for a marriage certificate or any clues and return it to you, Father.’
He took out the portrait and examined it closely, but it was an ordinary painting with no peculiar details. Hoping she might notice something he didn’t, he handed the portrait to Anje.
“This is the portrait. Do you see anything unusual about it?”
“Hmm…”
The sketch was rough, lacking the finesse of a “masterpiece.” It depicted the profile of a young man who bore a striking resemblance to Aiden but appeared more arrogant. It felt more like a casual sketch rather than a formally commissioned portrait.
“The drawing itself doesn’t seem unusual… Ah!”
Anje exclaimed softly after flipping the portrait around several times.
“This iron frame is rather unique. Compared to the painting, it seems large and bulky.”
Not knowing the late emperor’s taste, she speculated cautiously that if someone were to choose a frame to match this portrait, it would more likely be a lightweight wooden frame rather than a heavy, prominent iron one.
If someone had intended to hide something inside the frame, such a design would make sense.
“Indeed.”
Aiden removed the painting from the frame, placed it back in the coffin, and carefully inspected the frame, turning it over and feeling its edges.
“Looking at it alone, the frame feels like a puzzle.”
“Can you open it?”
Confident in his dexterity, Aiden examined it briefly before responding with certainty.
“It’s a bit complicated, but with more light, I think I can figure it out quickly.”
“Great. I’ll go fetch a torch.”
Creak—
The stone coffin’s lid closed once again, and the deceased returned to his rest. Aiden and Anje sat on the cold stone floor, focusing on unlocking the frame.
Click, click—
After numerous attempts, a faint clunk echoed as something inside the frame shifted into place.
“It’s open.”
Click—
With trembling fingers, he twisted the puzzle frame and opened it. Inside the narrow space, a thin, aged piece of paper peeked out. Folded accordion-style, it extended into a long shape.
“Hurry and take it out.”
Anje whispered excitedly. Aiden nodded and carefully retrieved the fragile paper. Thanks to the metal frame, it had been perfectly preserved, though the corners were worn from the original owner’s frequent handling.
「ACTE DE MARIAGE」
The title in Francian read “Marriage Certificate.” It was exactly the document they and the Duke of Glasster had been desperately seeking.
The bride’s name was Nancy Dilton, and the groom’s name was Emperor Rudolf Cardiner. The date was precisely ten months before Aiden’s birth.
“We found it, Aiden! And on the first try!”
Anje couldn’t help but raise her voice in excitement.
“Indeed. This is… the evidence.”
Aiden stared at the paper in his trembling hands. The proof capable of wiping away the disgrace he had endured as an illegitimate child was now in his grasp. It felt surreal.
Clunk—
Their joy was short-lived as the cemetery door creaked open.
“Well, how considerate.”
The Duke of Glasster, who had just entered, briefly looked surprised but soon smirked, his tone sly.
“To think you’d find the certificate without me even asking. I guess I didn’t need to bribe the guards after all.”
His greedy eyes fixated on the old paper in Aiden’s hands. His thin, red tongue flicked out, licking his lips.
“Now, hand it over.”
His voice was sweet, as if coaxing a child.
* * *
Aiden, who had been peeking around the corner to ensure the hallway was clear, confirmed no one was there and led Anje by the hand.
“This way.”
Life was truly unpredictable. The skills he had honed while carefully navigating the palace to avoid Philip’s violent outbursts now proved invaluable in a way he never anticipated.
They were currently trying to escape the palace, evading Duke Glasster and the mercenaries he had hired. The mercenaries, with their bulky physiques, were a group Aiden couldn’t possibly face alone. Fortunately, the duke’s attention had been momentarily diverted by the marriage certificate, creating an opening for them to act.
Aiden had thrown a torch directly at the cloak Duke Glasster was wearing. The unexpected attack left the duke scrambling to extinguish the flames, giving Aiden and Anje enough time to escape unnoticed.
Aiden whispered softly to Anje,
“It seems leaving through the main gate, like before, isn’t an option.”
“You’re right. What should we do?”
The duke seemed determined to retrieve the certificate before attempting to turn Aiden and Anje to his side. Despite traveling on horseback, the duke’s men had reached the capital without much delay, even managing to find their way into the restricted underground crypt.
“There’s a small servant’s side door. It’s likely the duke isn’t familiar with it. Let’s head there.”
“As expected of you.”
Without another word, Aiden grabbed Anje’s hand and began to run.
“Huff… Huff…”
No matter how often Anje trained by running, it wasn’t easy for her short legs to keep up with Aiden’s long strides. Noticing her struggling behind him, he immediately scooped her up.
“S-Sorry. Huff… Am I too heavy?”
“You’re light, so don’t worry about it.”
Just as Aiden was about to make a playful joke about whether she was a person or a feather, they heard the sound of a mercenary spotting them and giving chase from behind. Aiden quickened his pace.
“Hey, stop right there!”
A strained, muffled shout came from behind. From within Aiden’s arms, Anje stuck out her tongue and muttered under her breath.
“As if we’d stop just because you told us to, you fool.”
“Hearing you call someone else a fool instead of me makes me a little sad, you know?”
“I’ll make sure to call you that twice as much later.”
As they dashed out through a side gate and exited the royal palace, they managed to avoid running into any other mercenaries and successfully escaped the palace.
As they dashed through the side door and out of the palace, they were relieved to find no other mercenaries blocking their path. But as they moved farther from the palace, one mercenary, seemingly less concerned about making a scene now, began drawing his weapon.
“Aiden! He’s loading a gun!”
“Tsk.”
Bang—
The mercenary’s intent seemed to be to threaten and stop them rather than to kill, The mercenary’s intent seemed to be to threaten and stop them rather than to kill, as his shots were carefully aimed to miss. Still, if one stray bullet hit Anje, it would be dangerous.
Aiden ducked into an alley and hid behind a large crate, pushing Anje deeper into a corner for safety.
“Damn it, I should’ve brought a gun too.”
“This time, leave it to me, my wife.”
While Anje grumbled in frustration, Aiden calmly loaded his gun.
Bang—
The mercenary, narrowly dodging Aiden’s bullet, shouted,
“Hey! I don’t mean any harm! Just cooperate, and—Ugh!”
With a pathetic scream, the man leapt behind a trash can as Aiden, having pinpointed his location after hearing his rough voice, began firing more aggressively.
Bang, bang—
“D-Do you think stalling like this will help? The others will hear the gunfire and come running! Compared to them, I’m pretty gentlemanly for a mercenary—ugh!”
Aiden fired another round.
“Wait, hold on! Let’s talk!”
Bang—
“Damn it, what the hell is—aaagh!”
A bullet grazed the man’s shoulder. Clutching the wound and spitting curses, he retreated, likely to call for reinforcements.
Aiden relaxed his shoulders in relief. If he had aimed to kill, it would’ve been over quickly, but he hesitated to take a life in front of Anje, which had cost him some time.
“He’ll bring reinforcements soon. We should move somewhere else.”
“Agreed. But… where should we go?”
Anje asked cautiously. In truth, she felt completely lost, unsure of where to go or what to do next. She hadn’t expected to run into Duke Glasster again at the exact moment they discovered the marriage certificate.
The original plan had been to hide the certificate in a place only they knew, but the fact that the duke now knew they had it made things far more complicated. They couldn’t just keep running from him forever.
Aiden was grappling with the same concerns, but he calmly made a suggestion.
“It would be better to stay off the main roads and hide in the alleyways until things quiet down. Let’s secure our safety first and then figure out what to do next together.”
“Alright. But, um… this area feels a bit… gloomy.”
Anje glanced around the dirty alley and moved closer to Aiden as they walked side by side.
“This place is near a district where many poor people live. It’s full of those who survive by scavenging the trash discarded from the imperial palace or begging from nobles and royals passing by.”
“Aha…”
Though she frequently went in and out of the imperial palace, this was the first time Anje learned of such a place, and she felt a bit shocked.
The tightly packed houses had all their doors and windows firmly shut, likely because the residents, hearing the gunfire outside, didn’t want to get involved in any trouble.
“Aiden, listen. That sound…”
“Yes, I hear it too.”
From the far end of the now quiet alley, the sound of hurried footsteps echoed, growing louder.
“We need to find somewhere to hide quickly.”
They quickened their pace, moving deeper into the slums. At the same time, the footsteps of the duke’s pursuing men also grew more frantic.
“Hey, you check over there. I’ll take this side.”
“No, I’m going this way. You take that side.”
“You idiots, what good will arguing amongst yourselves do? And keep your mouths shut!”
Anje and Aiden slipped into a narrow alley and crouched behind some old furniture, holding their breaths in tense silence.
The sounds of the pursuers drew closer and closer, and the grip between their tightly held hands grew stronger.
At that moment, someone suddenly tapped them on their shoulders.
* * * *
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