The previous night,
Erin had brought Aiden to this room.
This was a secret space, known by only a few within the mansion.
It was a special room, equipped with several devices.
Erin entered and locked the door behind them.
Then Erin turned around.
Aiden, the focus of her gaze, had an expression of confusion, not understanding what was unfolding.
One corner of Erin’s mouth quietly lifted as she looked at him.
***
If everything had gone as planned, today the duchess would have been expelled from the house without being able to present any proper evidence, while under suspicion of trying to engulf the family.
The duke, who had unconditionally protected her, was as good as absent now, making this the perfect opportunity.
Was it not for that reason that they had constantly meddled to prevent the duchess from being alone with the duke?
Moreover, they had ceaselessly warned the duke to be wary of the duchess.
But now, they were facing a situation where all their plans could go to waste.
“Huh… She’s in there right now?”
Elder Diarn’s eyes trembled with rage.
“Has the duchess kidnapped the duke?”
“What an outrageous event.”
But, however unbelievable the event was, it had already occurred.
How on earth should one come to terms with this situation?
“Have you lost your minds!”
“What are you thinking, committing such an atrocity?”
The elders were furious.
“Open the door immediately.”
But after all, it was a room within Lienster’s own house. Such a room could simply be forced open if necessary.
Elder Diarn stepped forward and ordered the butler to do just that.
“It is somewhat difficult to open the door.”
The butler said with difficulty. At this, Elder Diarn furrowed his brows irritably.
“You can’t open the door?”
Elder Diarn’s lips twisted. There was something akin to madness rising in his eyes.
He completely turned away from the distressed butler and Felix.
Staring intently at the firmly closed door, he took a step forward.
“There is no such thing as a door that can’t be opened. If it comes to it, we’ll just have to force it open.”
As the elders attempted to lead the way to open the door, the butler and Felix urgently blocked them.
“This can’t be done!”
“Move aside!”
“This room should not be recklessly opened.”
“Why!”
Elder Diarn was already extremely agitated. His eyes were bloodshot, his nerves on edge.
Yet, Felix didn’t budge, and calmly stated the plain truth.
“This room is not an ordinary one.”
It would be hard to consider it a common room within the mansion just by its location.
The elders do not know about this room. Among the people currently at this mansion, only the master Aiden and Erin, the butler in charge of managing the mansion, and Felix, the aide prepared for emergencies, knew of this room and other special devices or spaces within the mansion.
It was natural that the fewer people who knew, the easier it was to maintain security.
Safety was the top priority within the space of the mansion. Even if they were elders, they were not supposed to know—and indeed could not know—about the secret spaces hidden within the mansion.
The butler, who knew of this place, had come here perhaps out of a vague sense of alarm, as they could not find it no matter how much they searched the mansion.
If he had not come to check, they would still be lost, unable to find the two people.
Felix continued to explain to the agitated elders about this room.
“This room was created within the mansion to prepare for any unfortunate eventualities. That’s why once it’s locked from the inside, it’s designed to be inaccessible from the outside.”
“……”
“No matter what you do, this door cannot be opened.” It could only be opened with a key made specifically for this room.
But of course, they did not have that key in their possession.
“Then just break it down.”
Elder Diarn’s eyes flickered as he spoke.
“If you don’t intend to kill everyone present, that is also impossible.”
“Why! What, does it explode or something?”
“Similar.”
Felix answered nonchalantly.
“What……?”
But the elders could not maintain such indifference.
“The mansion will collapse.”
“….”
“If it receives a strong impact from the outside, the entire mansion will collapse.”
“…. Is that even possible?”
They even thought that it might just be bluster to stop them.
Yet, they couldn’t easily reach out their hands towards the door.
The elders showed a noticeably flustered appearance.
It was then. The butler, who had been standing beside Felix, watching the situation with difficulty, opened his mouth.
“It’s all true. From the very beginning, when this mansion was built, it was designed that way.”
“From the beginning… then that means….”
Before they knew it, Elder Diarn’s face had turned pale. Even if he was unaware of the mansion’s secrets, he knew when and by whose hands it had been built.
The mansion was constructed 150 years ago. At that time, there was a genius architect whose legacy was still discussed.
His mind was so extraordinary that he could create what everyone else thought impossible. If such a man had designed it from the start…
‘It’s entirely possible. More than possible.’
In the end, standing before the door, the elders were powerless to do anything.
‘I thought everything would be settled today.’
They all bit their lips, the urge to tear the door apart right then and there overwhelming them. But a sense of anger at the impossible reality made one elder let out a sigh of resignation.
“Huh, the duchess is the same as ever, isn’t she?”
Stubborn and impetuous as always, she had always interfered with the elders’ plans.
The elders’ faces twisted with frustration. However, unable to retreat like this, the elders were not easily daunted.
“If it can’t be opened from the outside, then we must find a way to make it open from the inside.”
They called into the room several times, attempting to negotiate.
The details within were unclear, but it was obvious there was discomfort and wariness between the two people inside.
After all, Aiden, who had lost his memory, was a different person now.
Elder Diarn cleared his throat and bellowed with a voice as though he was expelling his breath,
“Lady Duchess, cease your senseless behavior and open the door!”
“……”
Elder Diarn also narrowed his eyes fiercely, casting a warning barb towards the duchess,
“Will you be able to take responsibility for all of these actions later!”
No matter what they said, not even an echo returned.
It felt as if they were being mocked by the silence.
“Duke! Can you hear our voices!”
“……”
But, once again, the response was nothing but silence.
Elder Diarn’s face turned a bright red as his patience reached its limit,
“Don’t tell me you have tied up the duke by force! No sound would be heard otherwise!”
He bellowed furiously, as if screaming his frustration.
“It seems the duchess must have done something to the duke!”
“It’s clear that the duchess was plotting a conspiracy!”
“…….”
The elders were enraged, but their anger did not reach its intended target.
They only raised their voices among themselves, as if echoing emptily.
In the end, the elders were exhausted, their energy spent, shoulders slumped.
They had waited by the door all day to no avail.
Another day passed.
With all plans up in the air, the elders gathered under the guise of a meeting, only to sigh.
“Everything has stopped.”
Completely paralyzed.
With Erin and Aiden, the main decision-makers, absent, nothing could move forward.
The elders’ anxiety grew with each passing moment.
What on earth are they thinking?
As there was no sign of movement from Erin and Aiden inside the room, the elders’ frustration simmered.
“We cannot just wait here until they come out.”
“We need to find another way.”
Elders Tenern and Hunen couldn’t hide their impatience and anxiety.
It was the unease of potentially losing this opportunity.
“But there’s no way to force the door open either.”
Elder Tenern was frustrated by the deadlock.
“If neither option works, then we must find another way,” declared Elder Diarn, his eyes narrowing.
“There must be other ways to get the stagnant family moving again.”
No one understood his words right away.
But after a moment, one by one, their eyes began to open wide in realization.
“What we need is someone to make decisions on behalf of the family.”
And they, the elders, could be the ones to do it.
Although they did not utter it aloud, their exchanged glances were enough to communicate their intent.
‘Maybe this is an opportunity.’
The elders’ hearts were already tilting toward using the situation to their advantage.
They thought it would no longer be possible to enjoy the former glory.
The Duke, unstable from lost memories.
The Duchess, whose link to the Lienster family would be severed as long as the Duke remembered not.
For the elders to exert complete influence in the Lienster house, there could be no better justification than this.
Ambitious smiles spread across their faces.
***
Meanwhile, within the room where Erin had confined Aiden, a slightly different scenario from what the elders had anticipated was unfolding.
The room was inaccessible from the outside.
Yet, surprisingly, the interior was quite ordinary. It differed not from other rooms in the mansion.
However, the inside was more spacious than it appeared from the outside, with various belongings piled up in one corner.
Erin had not entered this place without preparation or forethought.
In fact, it was quite the opposite.
Erin’s readiness was meticulous.
The room contained more than enough food and necessities to live comfortably for at least a month.
There was even a bathroom leading to the room, making it possible to live completely within these walls.
To call it confinement seemed too severe for the peace that prevailed within.
