Chapter 27
Class was over.
Tedian, left alone, felt his heart pounding wildly.
He said he’d report to my brother that I lied to him?
“I’m disappointed, Tedian. I didn’t think you were that kind of person.”
“No!”
Tedian shouted without realizing it.
Just imagining it was horrible.
It was something that could never be allowed to happen.
He hurriedly checked the new assignment Wyatt had given him.
But unlike what Wyatt said—“It’s a similar problem”—he couldn’t understand a single question.
“……The laundry maid.”
I need to find that maid I met yesterday.
Panicking, Tedian rushed toward the laundry room.
Tedian trudged out of the laundry room.
“She’s not here……”
He had gathered all the maids working there.
Anyone whose hair was even slightly brown—he examined their faces carefully.
But nowhere among them was the maid he’d met yesterday.
No one knew who she was.
‘Shall I check all the servants in the mansion? Do you happen to know her name?’
The senior maid’s question made Tedian realize something—
he didn’t even know the woman’s name.
“She really was a thief, then.”
Otherwise, how could no one know who she was?
Tedian’s shoulders slumped.
Messing up tomorrow’s homework was a problem,
but worse than that was the crushing shame of having let a real thief go free.
“I’m hopeless.”
Hiding deep inside the garden, Tedian sniffled.
“I wanted to brag to my brother.”
Matthias, his eldest brother, had returned only a few days ago after being away for about a month on important family business.
And tonight—they were supposed to have dinner together.
Tedian had been planning to boast about how hard he’d trained and studied while Matthias was away.
But now, he was too ashamed to even face him.
Too ashamed to attend the dinner he’d looked forward to for so long.
Grrrrrrr.
“I’m hungry……”
His stomach growled as dinnertime came.
While clutching his empty stomach, Tedian suddenly noticed lights on in the training hall.
‘Come to think of it, why was that woman at the training hall anyway?’
There wasn’t anything there worth stealing—
no jewelry, no valuable paintings by famous artists.
All of that was kept in the main mansion.
‘Don’t tell me… she was a spy from another house, trying to steal information about the knights?’
It was just a sudden thought—
but it sounded oddly plausible.
Tedian’s face went pale.
“No way. That can’t be true.”
But the thought made him uneasy.
Anxious, he ended up skipping dinner and running straight to the training hall instead.
“Huff… Huff…”
Back at the place where he’d met the thief, Tedian looked around.
Yesterday, he had finished dinner early and returned to the training hall to practice.
That meant he’d been there since at least seven.
He’d met the woman close to midnight—
yet until then, he hadn’t sensed anyone approaching the hall.
His gaze drifted toward the storage room at the far end.
“She came out from in there.”
Tedian strode over and opened the door.
Inside were swords, shields, and all sorts of equipment used for knight training.
Nothing that looked worth stealing.
Still, he thought—just maybe he’d missed something.
“Huh?”
As he searched every inch, he suddenly stopped.
It was just an ordinary wall where brooms were kept—
except there were marks on the floor in front of it,
like the dust had been swept aside by someone’s steps.
Tedian narrowed his eyes and examined the wall closely.
Then he reached out and ran his hand along the surface—
Rrrrkk.
Thunk—
“W-what is this?”
Before his eyes, a hidden passageway opened.
It was pitch-black, so deep that not a single glimmer of light reached inside.
A cold draft blew out from the darkness—
and faintly, there was a metallic smell.
Gulp.
Tedian swallowed hard.
He didn’t hesitate for long.
He stepped into the secret passage.
At present, Eleanor had one maid assigned to her.
Matthias had said she was there to assist her—
but in truth, her real task was to watch her.
Eleanor had noticed this easily enough.
So she was sure the maid had already reported everything about last night.
She had separated herself from her baby for the first time by choice—
so Matthias was bound to react somehow.
But she hadn’t expected this kind of reaction.
“Mother of my child, are you feeling better? I heard you were sick all night.”
She had never imagined he’d go this far.
Eleanor blinked in confusion.
Matthias had come to visit her at sunset.
And he hadn’t come empty-handed.
He brought fruits, flowers, and all sorts of things—
so many that even the spacious room suddenly felt cramped.
Flustered, Eleanor asked,
“Why did you bring so much?”
“I knew it,” Matthias said, ignoring her question.
“Ever since you fainted and couldn’t wake up for days, I knew this would happen eventually.”
He reached out and placed his hand on her forehead.
Eleanor stiffened in surprise at the sudden touch.
“Still feels a little warm. Maybe you’ve got a bit of a fever left.”
He tilted his head, gauging her temperature.
Eleanor quickly composed herself and said,
“I don’t think I’m completely better yet. Cough, cough.”
Good thing I put that warm towel on earlier.
I’ll need to keep pretending to be sick tonight—
I can’t get caught before then.
“Did you take your medicine?”
“Yes.”
“And the fever still hasn’t gone down? Maybe I should call the doctor.”
“It’s just a cold,” she said quickly, alarmed.
If a doctor came, her act would be exposed.
“I usually take a day or two to recover from colds. It’s nothing serious. Just a bit more rest and I’ll be fine.”
“You’re too frail, Mother of my child.”
“Haha, I know. Cough, cough.”
Eleanor faked another cough and pulled the blanket up to her nose.
She’d never really pretended to be sick before—
turns out, it wasn’t easy.
“Abya-bya!”
The baby reached toward Matthias, giggling.
He smiled and picked the baby up.
“I heard you didn’t cry even when you were apart from your mother last night. Brave little one.”
“I was worried she might cry, but I’m glad she didn’t.”
“But back at the inn, you never once let me hold her. I guess you’ve changed your mind now?”
Matthias smirked teasingly.
Eleanor replied calmly,
“I didn’t want to give her my cold. Last time she had a fever all night, I was terrified.”
That much was true.
Last night’s illness had been an act to investigate the secret passage—
but if she ever truly did catch a cold, she would’ve done the same.
“And besides, I don’t think you’d ever hurt her. You protected her—and me—during the fire.”
Though you did imprison me afterwards.
Matthias’ eyes widened slightly, and then he smiled faintly.
What was going through his head, she couldn’t tell.
Eleanor changed the subject.
“Were you out somewhere?”
“Yeah. I came back with some news I think you’ll be happy to hear.”
“News I’ll like? Don’t tell me…”
Eleanor straightened up.
The only thing that could make her happy was news about Charlotte.
“Step outside for a moment,” Matthias said, dismissing the maid.
Once the maid left, only Matthias, Eleanor, and the baby remained.
“From the northeastern region of the Empire…”
Matthias began slowly—
Clunk.
Suddenly, a strange sound echoed.
It came from the secret passage Eleanor had used the previous night.
