<Chapter 68>

Of course, it was a lie.

That divine oracle still required a spoiler viewing token, which I don’t have.

‘But Temenos doesn’t know that.’

Even so, there was a reason for lying so blatantly.

The topic I was about to bring up couldn’t convince Temenos unless I claimed it came from a divine oracle.

“We need to visit the secret room in the Winstein Dukedom before heading to the capital.”

“Secret room? …Ah, you must mean the secret passage I told you about?”

“In a way, yes. But in that secret passage lies a hidden room containing the history passed down through the generations of the ducal family.”

Temenos stared at me with a look of shock, and it wasn’t hard to see why.

“Are you saying that God revealed the existence of this room through a divine oracle?”

“Yes. Including its location.”

Temenos’ eyes wavered as though rippling water. Soon, he hesitated, lips slightly parted, before lowering his head.

“I… I’ve heard of such a room, but I don’t know its location.”

In essence, this is a confession that Temenos hadn’t inherited the dukedom from his predecessor in the traditional way.

This isn’t exactly a secret—everyone already knows that the previous Duke and Duchess died in an accident, leaving the young Temenos to inherit the title.

‘The problem is… rumors started spreading that Temenos killed the previous duke and duchess.’

The nickname “Monster Duke” added credibility to those rumors, and in turn, the rumors inflated his notorious moniker even further.

As a result, the deaths of the previous Duke and Duchess became a trauma that haunted Temenos deeply.

Feigning ignorance of everything I knew from the novel, I spoke in a deliberately lighthearted tone, “If you don’t know, then perhaps God told me the room’s location to guide you. Don’t you think?”  

“Why would God deliver such a divine oracle…”

“We’ll find out when we get there. Now, let’s go.”

Judging by Temenos’ reaction, if we don’t head to the room soon, he’ll start digging tunnels out of frustration.

‘I can’t bear to see that handsome face clouded with worry again.’

Slapping Temenos lightly on the shoulder, I shouted energetically.

“Let’s move out!”

*  *  *

How did I know the location of the secret room, a place even Temenos was unaware of?

‘Of course, I read about it in the novel.’

Truthfully, I had always wanted to visit this secret room. However, I couldn’t bring it up before because I had no plausible explanation for how I knew about it.

‘I had been thinking of claiming I stumbled upon it by chance while exploring the secret passage.’

Fortunately, an ambiguous divine oracle appeared just in time, providing me with the perfect cover.

“Is there really a secret room hidden at the end of this passage?”

“God said so.”

The secret passage, accessed through a hidden entrance in the second-floor lobby floor, was so narrow that only one person could pass through at a time.

Carrying a lantern, I boldly took the lead, with Temenos closely following behind me.

“Be careful. The floor is uneven; you might trip.”

“That’s why I’m carefully watching where I step.”

In truth, I wasn’t looking at the floor out of fear of tripping on uneven ground.

‘There should be a scratch somewhere on the floor…’

In the novel, Beatrice had attempted to escape through various methods.

One of her successful attempts involved this secret passage. Wandering through it, she accidentally discovered the hidden secret room.

“By the way, have you ever been in this passage before?”

“I think I was about fifteen… I found a map marking the entrance and exit of the passage in a hidden drawer of the late Duke’s desk. I entered several times back then to map out the entire passage.”

“Oh… So there wasn’t a map of the secret room in that drawer?”

“No. Perhaps it’s in the secret room itself?”

It could have been.

‘But I know for sure it’s not there now.’

“That’s odd. I thoroughly searched every corner of this passage while mapping it out, but I never found any hidden room.”

“By ‘thoroughly searched,’ you don’t mean you examined the floor carefully, right?”

“What?”

“You had a map showing the entrance and exit locations.”

Knowing where the passage began and ended, Temenos likely focused on mapping its connections rather than inspecting the details of the floor.

But Beatrice had no such knowledge. She only stumbled upon one entrance and had no choice but to rely on luck to find an exit.

In her desperation, she combed the walls and floor with a lantern, eventually discovering…

“I found it!”

…a scratch on the stone floor.

Faint enough to be visible only when illuminated closely by the lantern, the scratch was proof that the adjacent wall had once opened like a door.

Believing that a mechanism to open the wall must exist nearby, Beatrice methodically pressed every brick until she found one that gave way under pressure.

“Step aside for a moment.”

After moving Temenos behind me, I pressed the brick firmly.

The floor and walls shook as if an earthquake had struck, and with a loud rumble, the wall opened.

“There really was a secret room…”

“You’ll be more surprised once we go inside. Come on.”

Snapping out of his daze, Temenos composed his bewildered expression and stepped into the secret room.

I stayed behind, watching his back. I already knew the devastation that awaited inside.

“What in the world…!”

Hearing Temenos’ voice filled with confusion and shock, I glanced into the room.

‘As expected, it’s a total mess.’

The room was pitch black—not because it had been painted that way, but because someone had set it on fire. The paper and wood had burned away, leaving the stone walls blackened with soot.

“…There’s nothing left.”

Temenos muttered in despair after thoroughly inspecting the room. In truth, there was nothing to inspect.

Everything had been reduced to ashes, leaving behind only the charred frames of bookshelves and desks.

Even the larger furniture had left behind fragments resembling broken firewood, while the books and papers hadn’t survived in any form.

After combing through the room, Temenos let out a bitter laugh, resigned to the fact that nothing salvageable remained.

“This wasn’t done by outsiders… Perhaps the late Duke was responsible.”

“What makes you think that?”

“Isn’t this room’s existence known only to the Winstein family heads? The late Duke didn’t want me to inherit the title, so it stands to reason he wouldn’t want me to claim the family’s true legacy either.”

I couldn’t refute his words. To do so, I’d need evidence, but even I didn’t know who had set fire to this room.

‘When Beatrice found this room, it was already in this state.’

Believing she had discovered an exit, Beatrice was disappointed to realize the room was a sealed chamber.

Hoping to find a map of the passage, she searched every corner but found nothing.

Before leaving, the last thing she saw was a half-melted statue of God.

‘Ah, there it is.’

Just as described in the novel, the metallic statue lay half-melted amidst the ashes.

Following Beatrice’s actions in the story, I picked up the statue and brushed off the soot.

While Beatrice had simply set it back down before leaving, I placed the statue on the ground and clasped my hands together.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m praying.”

The novel had stated that if Beatrice had prayed to this statue, she might have uncovered something.

However, having lost her pendant, she had never prayed again. As a result, the secret of the statue remained unknown.

‘According to the novel, this room holds the truth about the origins of the Winstein family.’

But that truth was destined to remain buried forever.

Beatrice never revealed the room’s existence to Temenos, and after learning of her escape through the passage, he had it sealed.

‘Dear God. What secret is hidden in this room? Please, let me know.’

The moment I finished my prayer…

-Travel to the capital and find the three holy relics.

“Huh?”

“What is it?”

“That voice just now. Didn’t you hear it?”

“What voice? I didn’t say a word…”

Temenos shook his head, only to stop mid-motion as his eyes widened in shock.

Following his gaze, I turned to see the statue melting completely.

“W-what is this?”

At that moment…

Sub-Quest Triggered!

 

*After 300 long years, the wish of the first Duke of Winstein has finally reached his descendant.

Travel to the capital and find the three holy relics.

 

Reward: 1 Spoiler Viewing Token

 

[Accept/Decline]

This was the second time.

A sub-quest with a reward that wasn’t a divine oracle token, aside from the wish token.
 

<To be continued>

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