Chapter : 109
Mirea wandered around the villa out of curiosity. Usually, estates and villas like this were managed by the lady of the family. Every piece of furniture and decoration bore the taste and touch of Aris’s mother, Ryu Eun-hyun. Although Mirea had never met her personally, she felt she could understand what kind of person Ryu Eun-hyun was—somewhat simple yet bold, gentle, and attentive to those around her.
Mirea looked at the framed photos above the fireplace in the living room on the second floor. There were a few pictures of Aris as a child and of his parents, the Duke and Duchess. Having seen photos of Emperor Mertius and Duke Marapines before, she immediately recognized the people in the frames.
Looking at the photos on the far left, Mirea could easily guess that they were from Aris’s early teenage years. Back then, according to Jin and Yulbine, he had been quite a handsome boy. The contrast with his current appearance made it interesting to look through the photos.
There was a gap in the photos for a certain period. Judging by the other photos, this period coincided with the time when Marapines and Mertius, the brothers, rebelled against the former emperor. After that time, photos of Aris at sixteen and seventeen were displayed again. In these later photos, his expression seemed somewhat bitter.
Comparing the atmosphere then and now, it was more than dark—it felt transcendent, as if he had given up part of his life. And yet, he was only twenty-two. Mirea thought it was too early for Aris to already have such an expression.
The fireplace display wasn’t just photos of Aris. There were pictures of his parents as well. Looking at Duke Marapines and Duchess Ryu Eun-hyun, it was clear that Aris inherited exactly half of each of their features. Marapines, being the twin brother of the current emperor, naturally looked identical to him. Unlike the emperor, who seemed arrogant due to his condescending gaze, Marapines appeared a little stern but not haughty.
Ryu Eun-hyun, being from Mairen, had long black hair, warm brown eyes, and dimples at the corners of her mouth. The couple seemed close; she leaned her head on her husband’s shoulder while their arms were linked.
Mirea picked up a few photos and called out to the others.
“Who wants to see photos of Aris and me when we were kids?!”
Aris, silent, lunged at her to snatch the frames. But Mirea, living up to her reputation as the fastest in the group, dodged him playfully.
“Haha! Look at this little snot-nosed kid!”
“Give them back!”
“Why? He’s cute!”
“Give them back right now!”
The photos in the living room didn’t just capture Aris’s dignified moments, which made him blush at some of the images. While chasing Aris around, Mirea tripped over a small door on the floor and fell with a thud. She sat up slightly and rubbed her knee, noticing the small recessed door handle that had caused her fall.
“Are you okay? Did you get hurt?”
Aris immediately helped her up before even looking at the fallen frames.
“I’m fine,” Mirea said, dusting herself off as she looked at the door she had discovered.
“What’s this?”
The door, usually hidden under the carpet, had never caught Aris’s attention. Realizing it now, he answered,
“Oh, it’s a shelter and basement.”
“We didn’t check this place earlier, did we?”
Aris nodded in response to Mirea’s question.
“Can we go in?”
“There’s probably nothing there…”
“But just in case.”
Mirea lifted the door, and a musty smell wafted up. As expected, the basement was dark. She took a gas lamp off the wall and carefully descended the stairs, feeling her way along. Aris followed behind, using the faint light to observe the surroundings.
Shelves lined the walls, storing various items. In one corner, they found some preserved food, but all of it had gone bad after five years. Only a few bottles of liquor had survived intact—not vinegar, but actual liquor. They were fairly high-quality, though Aris wondered if others would even be allowed to drink it.
Mirea shone the lamp around and stepped on a blanket that bulged slightly. Curious, she lifted it and screamed in shock.
“Ahhh!”
She stumbled backward into a shelf. Aris, sword in hand, paused upon seeing what she had uncovered. Under the blanket was a mummified body. He chuckled lightly.
“It’s just a human corpse.”
Mirea, clutching her pounding chest, protested.
“There’s a huge difference between being prepared to see one and having it suddenly pop out!”
At that moment, they heard a commotion above. People rushed in.
“What’s going on?!”
“Are you okay?”
Shio and Paulo drew their weapons, while Kundulen prepared his magic. Hearing Mirea’s scream, they had thought a monster had appeared.
“I-I’m fine. I just got startled by the mummy,” Mirea explained, feeling embarrassed.
“A ghost? Oh, a mummy?”
Shio frowned, seeing the mummy, but relaxed when he realized it was harmless. The group then carefully examined the basement.
“So this place existed,” someone noted.
“Yes, we missed it when checking the house earlier,” Aris said.
Examining the mummy more closely, Aris realized he recognized the face—it belonged to an employee who had managed the villa.
“They must have taken shelter here five years ago but couldn’t leave… and it went wrong.”
Aris covered the mummy with the blanket again.
“We should give them a proper burial when the sun rises.”
“What caused it?” Mirea asked.
Paulo, without thinking much, replied,
“Probably starvation.”
“But there was preserved food here… they could have eaten. Why starve to death?”
Everyone exchanged puzzled looks.
“Strange… they should have lasted a few months at least,” someone said.
“Perhaps the preserved food had spoiled, causing food poisoning or another infection…” Shio suggested, and the others shrugged in agreement.
“Luckily, there’s enough here to repair the truck. There’s gasoline and spare parts; we can use them tomorrow. We can’t eat the preserved food, but we’re not starving right now.”
Mirea picked up a few bottles of liquor and asked Paulo,
“I think this is drinkable… maybe…”
Her trailing voice was enough to make a flicker of greed pass in Paulo and Shio’s eyes. It was obvious the liquor stored at the Duke’s villa would be high quality, premium brands.
“Tasting a bit shouldn’t be a problem, right?”
Kundulen gave a look that said, “What are you talking about?” They were still near a contaminated dark zone, not a village, and it wasn’t a safe time to casually drink. Shio shrank back at Kundulen’s gaze.
“But taking a few bottles won’t hurt anyone, right…”
Paulo discreetly tucked a bottle under each arm and asked Aris out of courtesy,
“Is this okay, Master of the liquor?”
Aris waved his hand, giving them permission without concern. Though leaving a corpse in the basement felt unsettling, there was no choice. If Laila heard about it, she would freak out and be unable to sleep, so they decided to keep it secret. Who wants to sleep above a corpse?
After leaving the basement and locking the door again, they returned to the others.
“What happened?” the others in the living room asked.
“Nothing, I just got startled alone. More importantly, there were spare truck parts and gasoline down there,” Mirea explained.
“That’s great news. We can work on it tomorrow morning,” Laila said happily.
“Also, we found some liquor…”
At Shio’s words, Jin’s eyes flickered with the same greed as Paulo’s. Seeing the bottles, he pouted.
“There aren’t many people… just two bottles. If we take a sip each, it’ll be gone.”
“There’s more below, but we didn’t come here just to drink, right?” Aris scolded. Jin, not knowing much about liquor, shrugged. Surprisingly, Sephiros, also a connoisseur, examined the bottles.
“Take a sip. If it’s good, we take more; if not, we leave it,” he said, popping the cork. The pleasant aroma immediately filled the living room.
“Wow, the smell is amazing,” Jin exclaimed, sniffing deeply.
Sephiros poured some into a cup and tasted it.
“Delicious,” he said, then offered it to Paulo. Paulo drank and his eyes lit up.
“There’s more below—can we take it all?”
“Paulo, get a hold of yourself,” Mirea muttered, unimpressed. But after tasting the liquor, Paulo changed his mind.
“Let’s use preservation magic and take it all.”
