Chapter 80
As Kina had mentioned, the villa was not too far from the Rosenvester estate.
However, it wasn’t exactly close either, so Seriniel and Lexion rode for about half a day.
They were not the only ones who left the mansion. Lexion had selected a number of soldiers from the duke’s private army and ordered them to follow discreetly.
By the time they arrived at the villa, it was already early evening.
“…What a beautiful villa.”
Lexion, who had dismounted first, carefully helped Seriniel down from the horse as he spoke.
Instead of answering, Seriniel simply looked at the villa.
The villa…
It wasn’t as large as he had expected.
It was cozy and modest, and as Lexion had just said, it was beautiful.
Like something out of a fairy tale.
“Do you remember coming here?”
“…”
“You said you came here often with your parents when you were little, even if you don’t remember all of it.”
Seriniel remained silent for a moment. Then, with a somewhat distant look in her eyes, she continued to gaze at the villa.
[Seri, my daughter…]
She almost thought she could hear her mother’s voice calling her name brightly. And she could almost see her father’s face, smiling quietly and kindly as he watched them play.
“I don’t remember everything…”
Seriniel’s dry lips moved slightly.
“But some of it is… coming back to me.”
“…”
“Just a little, though…”
Lexion gazed at Seriniel with a tender look, his heart aching slightly at her expression.
He knew well from what Kina had told him. Seriniel had deliberately avoided places and memories associated with her parents.
Confronting it like this now, he couldn’t help but worry.
However, instead of asking if she was okay, Lexion simply held her hand tightly.
“…”
Lexion’s large hand cast a shadow over Seriniel’s emerald eyes.
Yes, It’s okay now.
Taking a deep breath, Seriniel looked up at Lexion and spoke.
“Let’s go inside now.”
Yes.
Lexion replied in a low voice and began to walk towards the villa with her.
Shortly after the two entered the villa, a considerable number of soldiers who had followed Lexion quietly gathered in front of it.
⚜ ⚜ ⚜
The villa, which had lost its owners, seemed to have been devoid of human warmth for a long time.
“…”
Lexion’s cold black eyes reflected the quaint interior of the villa. On the surface, it was an ordinary villa both outside and inside.
Taking off his jacket, Lexion spread it on the dusty floor. Then he sat Seriniel down on it.
“You should sit here.”
He was worried about Seriniel, considering the long distance they had traveled, more so because they had left right after their wedding night.
“It won’t take long to look around since it’s not a big place.”
Lexion gently stroked Seriniel’s cheek and then straightened up.
His first destination was the large bookshelf next to the window. The bookshelf was filled with old books.
If Belles had really hidden the Magic stone in this villa… he wouldn’t have hidden it in an obvious place.
Thinking from his perspective, the most suitable place would be a secret spot within the villa. For example, as in the Verdellete mansion, it could be a basement or a concealed space within a piece of furniture like a bookshelf.
Lexion carefully examined the tops of the books covered in dust and pulled the bookshelf slightly to see if there was anything unusual behind it.
However, there was nothing particularly noticeable.
Putting the bookshelf back in place, Lexion began to thoroughly search the small villa. He inspected all the old furniture and felt along the wooden walls for any irregularities.
But he found nothing.
“…”
Lexion’s face hardened slightly.
According to Seriniel, there were several other villas besides this one.
Perhaps it wasn’t here but at another location. If they divided the soldiers waiting outside the villa and had them investigate other villas, they could save some time.
Lost in thought, Lexion suddenly looked at Seriniel, who was sitting in front of him.
However, Seriniel’s expression was a bit strange.
“…”
Seriniel’s gaze, fixed on the narrow living room, was unusually vacant. It was a look he rarely saw.
“…Seriniel?”
“…”
“Seriniel.”
[Seri, be careful.]
Lexion’s voice overlapped with someone else’s, echoing in her ears.
[Are you hurt?]
Reflected in her dazed emerald eyes was the old wooden floor that creaked with every step.
To be precise, it was the old rug covering the wooden floor.
[No, but the milk, the milk…]
The milk had spilled when she fell, soaking the brown floor.
…And the large, rectangular indentation that was exposed by the milk.
Seriniel slowly stood up.
She approached the far corner of the living room, under the window, and bent her knees.
[Daddy, but there’s something… here…]
[Ah, that. That’s…]
“A hiding place…”
[A place to hide important things.]
[Hide? Why?]
[Some people hide things in villas like this.]
[…But what if I find it like this?]
Her father had laughed at that.
[It’s okay. It’s empty because there’s nothing important I can hide here.]
And then he had told her.
[The most important and precious thing to me is you and your mother, Seri. But this place is far too small to hide you and your mother.]
[So is it always empty here?]
[Why, don’t you like that?]
[Yes. It’s just… It would make the person who built this place feel bad…]
[Then how about we do this?]
[How?]
[How about we…]
Remembering her father’s words, Seriniel roughly pulled away the yellowed rug.
There was a large, rectangular indentation.
Unlike her faint memory of that day, it wasn’t soaked in milk.
And unlike that day, it had a large padlock on it.
“…”
Lexion, who had been watching Seriniel’s inexplicable actions closely, quickly approached her.
Without hesitation, Lexion removed the sword from his belt, still in its scabbard. He then began to strike the padlock with the hilt of the sword.
The padlock was very sturdy, but it couldn’t withstand Lexion’s strength. Soon enough, the padlock was reduced to useless scrap metal on the floor, and Lexion wedged his fingers into the gap and pushed the floor up.
Inside the narrow space, barely big enough for a small child to squeeze into, was a box.
Lexion opened the box, and when Seriniel saw what was inside…
“This place was made to hide something important…”
She muttered, her voice cracking with anger.
“When I said that leaving it empty would make the person who built this place feel bad… My father said…”
Lexion paused.
[Then let’s hide today’s memories here…]
[Instead of hiding things like others do, let’s put today’s memories in here.]
[That way, the person who built this place won’t feel bad, and it will be a wonderful new secret between you and me…]
“…”
“But now… such a thing…”
Tears welled up in Seriniel’s eyes.
It wasn’t from sadness. It was tears brought on by anger.
…Belles had hidden the Magic stone in this villa because it was a place of memories for Seriniel and her parents.
He knew that Seriniel, unable to let go of her parents, would avoid this place in her grief.
Belles had been right. This villa was a place where Seriniel had spent happy times with her parents. It was a place where they joyfully talked about the distant future.
[Next time, you’ll be much taller, won’t you, Seriniel?]
The marks where her mother had measured her height were still on the doorframe.
[Look, Seriniel. This book is called a poetry book. It’s a bit different from a fairy tale. You might not understand it now, but you will when you grow older. I brought it with me, looking forward to that day.]
The bookshelf was filled with books her father had carefully chosen for his daughter.
In short, this place was filled with the former Viscount couple’s expectations for a happy future with Seriniel.
Yet, they had hidden that Magic stone here.
Of all places, here.
In that very spot…
Angry tears rolled down Seriniel’s cheeks as she bit her lip hard.
“…”
Lexion didn’t say anything. He just quietly, very quietly, held the trembling Seriniel in his arms, just as she had done for him when he talked about his mother not long ago.
And at that moment…
“Clear the area!”
A voice shouted from beyond the window.
“Kill all the Rosenvester soldiers and surround the villa! Now!”
It was a voice both Lexion and Seriniel knew all too well.
Belles Verdellete.
