KFDP Chapter 31

Chapter 31

A few days had passed since meeting Killian.

Now, I was descending the staircase leading to the basement, relying on the faint glow of a lamp.

“The winter ball ended safely, too.”

The mansion’s basement had three sections.

• A cellar for aging wine.

• A dungeon for punishing family criminals.

• And a storage room for miscellaneous items.

The stairs I was on led to the storage room.

“I should start preparing for an internal cleaning soon.”

Step by step, I walked down the long staircase and soon arrived at the storage room door, decorated with a small amethyst.

The amethyst contained a security spell, but I didn’t need a key. Security magic automatically deactivates when blood of the Alton family flows through it.

“There’s nothing especially valuable in a place for storing junk anyway.”

I grabbed the door handle and turned it. The heavy, rough door creaked open. Inside, magical lamps illuminated the space, so seeing wasn’t a problem.

The room was filled with old or broken furniture, worn curtains, and outdated decorations stacked neatly.

Usually, unused furniture would be donated elsewhere, but some items inevitably remained. My mother had stored these here before she passed, and over time, the accumulation had grown.

“What a mess. I should take a day to organize everything.”

But today wasn’t that day. I carefully maneuvered around the furniture and went deeper into the storage room.

As I inspected the furniture, I stopped in front of a dresser.

A dark mahogany antique dresser.

“Just like in the novel—the right handle is missing.”

Thankfully, it was easy to spot. I didn’t want to linger in this dusty, stifling storage room longer than necessary.

I slid my hand into the empty space where the handle should be and pulled out the drawer. Inside was a small rabbit-shaped stuffed toy.

I picked up the doll and squeezed it. Beneath the stuffing near its belly, I felt something hard.

“Found it.”

I held the doll and walked out of the storage room. On the stairs, I examined it.

It was a pale pink rabbit with a floral design, the kind you’d expect in a high-end department store toy section.

In the original story, it was Nescia who found this doll.

After being adopted by the Duke family, Nescia grew close to Meldor. One day, the two played hide-and-seek in the main building.

Nescia discovered the staircase leading down to the basement and arrived at the storage room door. Wanting to avoid being caught by Meldor, she decided to hide inside.

“There’s security magic on the door…but it wouldn’t activate against Nescia anyway.”

Inside, the curious child was fascinated by the piled-up junk. Forgetting the hide-and-seek game, Nescia explored the storage room and eventually found the doll in the drawer with the missing handle.

“Thanks to the original story, I found the doll easily too.”

With confident steps, I left the basement and headed to my room on the second floor.

Once there, I placed the doll on my desk and raised the paper knife used for opening letters.

Swish!

I sliced open the doll’s belly. Fabric tore, stuffing spilled out, and I felt something hard inside. Without hesitation, I pulled it out.

It was a ring with an unusual engraved pattern.

Made of gold, it didn’t hold a gemstone but a large piece of glass in the center.

I examined it briefly and tried it on my finger. It fit perfectly on my right middle finger.

Twisting the hand with the ring, I let out a small chuckle.

“Grandfather sure had a strange sense of humor.”

Or maybe I should say it was unnecessary? The heroine, Nescia, didn’t stumble upon this doll by accident.

To explain the doll, we had to go back in time.

“Grandfather is the one who put this ring inside the doll.”

Now resting in a southern island after passing the dukedom to my father, my grandfather had been a character in the original story who showed genuine affection for his granddaughter.

“Although I’ve only met him a few times.”

Unlike my cold father, he was cheerful and enjoyed pranks and events. This doll had been part of an event for my late grandmother.

At that time, it was trendy in high society to hide a ring in a doll or cake and reveal it later.

Grandfather planned to give this doll to Grandmother and magically reveal the ring inside.

“The problem was that Grandmother was as cold and rational as Father.”

So, his chance of success was almost zero.

Even in the original story, before Grandmother saw the doll, she criticized the idea:

• “Nowadays, people hide rings in dolls and give them as gifts.”

• “Ha! Yes, I’ve heard that too.”

• “It’s ridiculous. If you want to give a ring, just give it. Showing it after disappointment is cruel.”

• “I… I think so too!”

Grandfather ended up stashing the doll in a drawer and forgot about it completely. Over time, the drawer, with its missing handle, was sent to the storage room.

“And Nescia found it.”

Incidentally, Nescia discovered the ring while playing with the doll and showed it to Grandfather when he happened to visit the capital mansion. He, reminiscing, told her to keep it.

“Later, Nescia would gift this ring to my eldest brother on his birthday.”

Thus, the ultimate owner of the ring would be my eldest brother—me.

It’s cleaner if I find it myself rather than receiving it through Nescia.

Moreover, this wasn’t an ordinary ring.

“If it were just an expensive item, I wouldn’t have gone down into the basement to retrieve it.”

To test the ring’s power, I called the maid waiting outside my room.

“Did you call me, Bellady?”

The maid bowed politely.

I spoke lightly.

“Try lying to me.”

“Huh?”

I held out my hand with the ring.

“Any lie will do. Say anything.”

“Well… if I’ve done anything wrong, please forgive me, Bellady.”

The maid trembled in panic.

I clicked my tongue quietly.

“Why is she so scared? Have I been too strict with the maids?”

No… I’ve never scared them that much, at least from my perspective. Of course, from their position, it could feel different.

I wiggled the middle finger with the ring and spoke in my usual calm tone.

“You like the brown-haired maid among Meldor’s servants, don’t you?”

“No!”

The trembling maid jumped at my words.

At that moment, the glass in the ring turned green.

“Hmm, as expected, you like her.”

I retracted my hand and examined the glass.

The maid shook her head violently.

“No, Bellady! I don’t like anyone!”

Even as she blushed, she couldn’t lie. She was the youngest of my maids and couldn’t hide her feelings.

I watched the green-tinged glass and asked again.

“Then have you noticed anyone suspicious among the staff lately?”

“Suspicious behavior?”

“Yes.”

The maid thought carefully and shook her head.

“No, I haven’t seen anything.”

The glass returned to its original transparent state.

I nodded in approval.

“Good. You may go.”

“Yes.”

She left, tilting her head in confusion.

Once the door closed, I smirked.

“I was a little worried, but it works perfectly, just like in the story.”

Grandfather was a generous man. He wouldn’t pick an ordinary glass for a ring meant for Grandmother. This ring was a “Spirit Treasure.”

Long ago, spirits would give humans treasures to establish peaceful agreements. Over time, these treasures spread across the continent.

“The Spirit Sword I have is one of those treasures.”

This ring was the same. It contained the power of the earth spirit and could detect lies.

It was a truly useful treasure. And yet, after failing his event, Grandfather completely forgot about it. What a remarkable man.

“…I had almost forgotten it myself.”

If I hadn’t been thinking about rooting out a spy, I might have left it forgotten forever.

After the winter ball ended, I checked the employment records of the servants.

My mother had collapsed last summer. I suspected any staff hired after that could be a spy.

However, no one had been hired during that period.

So all the servants had been loyal to this household for a long time…

“How dare they betray the Alton family.”

A spy among the existing staff was certain.

Even though there was the case of William, it didn’t mean another wouldn’t appear.

Still…

“A dog of the Crown Prince hiding in my mansion?”

Impossible.

But with this ring, catching the spy would be effortless.

I tilted my head slightly and stroked the ring.