Chapter 29
‘Well… at least before I leave this world, I can curse Caleb and Wyden as much as I want.’
While carrying Aletheia around at my side like a keychain, that is.
Aside from that, his nullification ability is nothing more than a pie in the sky. Aletheia’s marriage pressure is still squeezing the truly important task—finishing the original story.
“Ugh. Revenge or whatever, my head is killing me.”
Thinking about Aletheia and marriage at the same time must have overheated her brain. She didn’t even feel like getting revenge on the lovebugs anymore. Was that really important right now? Mio suddenly felt depressed.
‘Because of Aletheia, even hiding quietly in the garden bushes makes me nervous now…’
Just thinking that he might show up at any moment made the Kelt Ducal Estate feel unsafe. At this point, maybe going to the Moro estate would actually be more peaceful.
‘Wait. Peaceful? The Moro estate? What am I even thinking? If I go there, he’ll just start talking about marriage again. How am I supposed to handle that?’
As the same impulse kept resurfacing, Mio messed up her hair violently and even knocked her forehead a few times. If she didn’t do this, she felt like she’d completely lose her grip on reality. And how was she even supposed to move toward the final stage like this…?
Just then, small popping sounds—pop, pop—came from nearby.
“Master! I’m back!”
“Master! Me! I came back first!”
The foxes she had sent on errands had returned.
“Oh—welcome back.”
Rosa and Roy raced each other and jumped into her arms. For a while, Mio soaked in their cuteness therapy and recharged her energy. She felt like she could finally breathe again.
“Master, Count Duon told me to give you this.”
Rosa pulled an envelope out from her arms. At a glance, it was packed with long lines of writing.
‘Looks like he already finished investigating the safe.’
With bright eyes, Mio began reading Duon’s letter.
Lady Mio! This is Baphomel Duon!
I looked into it, and that safe turns out to be a relic from an ancient temple. Not that the safe itself is a relic—they tore apart a divine artifact and made it into a safe. Blasphemous, isn’t it? Perhaps because of that, the king who turned it into a safe grew sickly and died, and the kingdom collapsed. **
He died?
Then isn’t this a cursed item?
Suddenly, the pouch holding the key felt extremely unsettling. Duon added several rambling lines about how this was divine punishment for insulting the gods and how the blood of a devout priest flowed through his veins, so he could never forgive blasphemy.
[Anyway, after that, the safe wandered around and eventually entered the Empire as war loot. The previous owner was a woman named Lady Sailin. She died violently, and her estate was inherited by several children. The belongings were sold off here and there, and that’s how the safe ended up at that strange auction house.
Good heavens. The previous owner also died violently?
Mio quietly took the key out of her pocket. She wondered if she’d feel something ominous—but there was no aura at all. With no choice, she continued reading.
Now, here’s the real question! How did Lady Sailin become the owner of the safe? In fact, it wasn’t her who liked collecting antiques—it was her husband! Meaning the original owner of the safe was actually the husband. Sounds like exactly what you were curious about, right?]
Oh—yes. This was the information she wanted!
Mio hurried on.
[The secret is simple—she lost her husband early!]
… So Aletheia has to die?
That’s not happening. I can’t do that. I can’t kill him either.
[Hehe, but I wouldn’t let Lady Mio dirty her hands. There’s more to the story. Focusing on the two hints you gave me, I noticed something strange. Before marrying Lady Sailin, servants at that estate were constantly replaced. All were fired for the same reason—stealing items. And that reminded me of what you said about lost items vanishing completely!
Hmm. If they didn’t know the safe’s function, that would make sense. Unfortunate.
But do you know what’s really strange? One or two months after Lady Sailin married him, those incidents stopped completely!]
Mio’s eyes sparkled.
[The region of Souton had a famous story: the husband, once extremely irritable, became gentle after marriage. But who am I? I’m Baphomel Duon, hunter of stories! Digging deeper, I uncovered this—Lady Sailin herself started finding the lost items!
So—this means the safe’s owner changed from husband to Lady Sailin?
But how?
Mio’s focus sharpened.
**[Even after marriage, items kept disappearing, and the husband’s suspicion continued. Servants were still fired, and some even ran away in fear as soon as things vanished.
With servants scarce and rumors spreading, hiring new ones became impossible. Lady Sailin had no choice but to manage the estate herself—every corner felt her touch.
On top of that, her sickly husband often took to bed, so she nursed him as well. Writing this again, I must say—she was truly remarkable. Almost monk-like, wouldn’t you say?
Despite the mystery, the couple’s relationship was good. They ate together every day—it was sickeningly sweet. Perhaps the husband was incredibly handsome.
Anyway, one day, the husband suspected a young maid whom Lady Sailin cherished. Trusting the maid, Lady Sailin searched for the items herself—and after a week, she found them all in the attic.
Every single item that had ever gone missing—at once!
In my opinion, that was the moment the safe recognized a new owner.**
Mio agreed.
‘But it took one or two months…?’
Longer than expected. Still, not impossible if she committed to it.
‘This is tricky…’
She continued reading.
****
To summarize everything I found:
- The safe’s owner can be changed.
- When someone becomes the estate’s true master, the safe re-recognizes its owner.
- When the rightful owner searches for it, the safe naturally reveals itself.
So? Was my “comfort investigation” to your liking?
By the way, come visit my shop when you have time. The foxes you use for errands are fascinating, but my shop is so empty I’d like someone to chat with.
We didn’t get to talk enough last time! This time, don’t schedule anything afterward—I’ll tell you everything about what happened in prison! It all started when—**
The letter ended with Duon rambling about prison stories.
Mio folded the letter back into the envelope and thought about the key condition Duon mentioned.
‘Becoming the estate’s true master.’
Duon had described Lady Sailin caring for the estate and nursing her sick husband as becoming its true master.
‘Taking care of the estate… and nursing an ill spouse…’
Why does this fit so perfectly?
The Moro estate is empty, waiting for someone’s touch. And its owner, Aletheia, is an amnesiac patient. It’s eerily similar to Lady Sailin’s situation right after marriage.
‘So if I go there now and become the estate’s true master…’
The safe would re-recognize its owner. That damned oath document—and even the Wish Stone she wanted—might all become hers in one stroke.
‘One or two months, right? Fine. I’ll settle this within a month.’
Having made her decision, Mio looked ahead. Rosa and Roy—now back in their original fox forms—were chasing each other by biting each other’s tails.
In a solemn voice, Mio spoke to the baby foxes.
“Rosa. Roy. Starting today, we’re going to train.”
