Chapter 52
“……”
Alright, let’s start with the desk.
Floria tightly closed her eyes for a moment, bracing herself for the grim work ahead, then placed her hands on her hips, trying to appear calm.
The desk seemed like the emptiest place in the room, so she decided to start there.
‘But there’s no way the ledger is here.’
The High Priest had rushed out when Caspar called, so nothing would have been left in plain sight.
Still, Floria carefully flipped through each sheet, just in case—after all, in her previous life, she knew the saying “it’s darkest under the lamp.”
As expected, the desk held nothing.
Next, her hands moved to the drawers—six of them.
‘Why are there so many drawers?’
Three on each side of the long desk. Fortunately, none were locked. Floria quickly rifled through them.
Most were empty.
Hmm…
She scratched her head in disappointment. With so many papers and books in the room, maybe the drawers were stuffed with files—but no luck.
Then her eyes caught something—a small square box, slightly smaller than the drawers.
‘That’s the same box the High Priest held before.’
She couldn’t forget it—the day he had repeatedly asked if she wanted to become a saint, mumbling to himself as he lifted the box to his chest.
He had carefully brewed the tea from the leaves inside. Floria had nearly fallen under its effects, almost ready to say she’d become a saint, but had snapped out of it just in time.
Carefully, she opened the box. As expected, it contained tea leaves.
They looked just like normal dried green tea leaves.
‘The smell seems fine too.’
Still, she decided to take a handful, planning to have Shade and Caspar check it later. Luckily, there were enough leaves that this small amount wouldn’t be noticed. She tucked them into her pocket and returned the box to the drawer.
Desk search—done.
‘Now… onto the bookshelves.’
She stood and faced the towering shelves, dreading the task.
“When am I supposed to finish all this?”
Last time, at least the green cover was a clue. This time, she would have to check every single document.
Time would run out before she finished. Caspar might be talking with the High Priest, but she couldn’t stall.
She started flipping through papers one by one.
“When will I ever find it!”
Finally, she angrily tossed the pile aside. The ledger might not even exist, there were no clues, and she didn’t know when the High Priest would return.
She bent to pick up the papers, leaning on the wall between the first and second shelves to catch her breath.
Suddenly—
Koo-gu-kkung―!
The wall she leaned on began to move.
“Wha—what?”
Floria staggered but held onto the bookshelf. The wall wasn’t a wall at all—it slowly slid open, revealing a hidden room.
She froze, staring in disbelief.
This is it. Like in the movies—pressing a secret wall and a hidden room appears.
Inside, a blue lamp glowed from the ceiling, and at the center, a large black-bound ledger rested on a stand.
“The ledger…”
She stepped inside, staring at it. There was only this single stack of papers in the small room.
With trembling hands, she flipped through the pages.
…It’s really the ledger!
Her instincts had been correct. Names of nobles were listed, even more densely than the one she had found at the slave market.
This ledger explained why the High Priest held his position and why he still maintained it.
Flipping quickly, she breathed a huge sigh of relief.
‘Thank goodness… Caspar isn’t in here.’
No records of Caspar meant he hadn’t colluded with the High Priest. She could finally be certain.
Carefully, she checked the last page. Then she froze.
The emperor’s name was written there.
But she couldn’t look further.
“Now that I can use the prayer room, I’ll come back in a few days to check again.”
“This week, I’ll also…”
“Of course, it’ll be just you and Floria.”
From afar, she could hear Caspar and the High Priest talking.
