In the storeroom floor, there were a few more floor doors similar to the one Ariante had fallen through.

They were mainly created to store materials that shouldn’t be exposed to light or oil, with a depth just enough for an adult to crouch down and enter. It was natural that Ariante, who was smaller in stature than her peers, could have fallen in.

However, the floor doors had round brass handles and could only be opened by pulling from the outside. Where Ariante had fallen, why that door had been open was unknown, but one thing was certain.

Even if Ariante’s fall had been an accident, the subsequent closing of the door was the definite act of someone else.

“The door is quite heavy, you know……. There’s no way the princess could close it herself. Maybe if it’s opened from outside, but closing it from inside is impossible.”

Mayana thought. She opened the floor door and looked down into the place where Ariante had fallen with a lamp. Strangely enough, it was completely empty. Other places were filled with oil bottles and boxes, but…….

“Someone deliberately trapped the princess here. And then closed the door.”

As her thoughts reached that point, she could no longer contain her anger. Who exactly was responsible, she didn’t know, but how could someone do such a thing to a child without being mad?

Her hand holding the lamp trembled. The light, which had been spreading roundly, also faintly flickered for a moment along with its shadows.

“Huh?”

A small moan escaped Mayana’s lips, unaware. For a brief moment, just a blink of an eye, something glittered in the light.

Where? Mayana hurriedly moved the lamp towards the place where the light had flashed. It was the moment when the wandering light pointed towards the stacked grain boxes.

“A button……?”

Mayana, who had picked up the hidden button from under the shadow, frowned and muttered to herself.

It wasn’t made of valuable gold or silver, but a cute button with a small rose embossed on white porcelain. The red jewel embedded in the center of the petals looked like imitation ruby. It certainly did not belong in a storeroom like this.

‘Whose could this be? It’s not something men would have. And it’s inside the mansion, so there wouldn’t have been a secret meeting here…….’

In the storeroom, there were mostly heavy objects, so the employees who entered this storeroom were mostly men. But having this here meant…….

‘Maybe the owner of this button is the culprit.’

Mayana clenched the button tightly, as if she wanted to crush it. She couldn’t even feel the chill of the protruding parts pressing against her palm.

“What are you doing here?”

Mayana, holding back a scream, quickly lifted the lamp. Then someone standing behind her let out a small cry of surprise.

“Gr, Greta?”

“It’s blinding, Mayana! The lamp a little…….”

Mayana quickly lowered the lamp. Greta finally rubbed her eyes, frowning as if it was strange.

“What are you doing here at this time?”

As Greta asked, Mayana slowly exhaled, clutching her pounding heart. It was good that it was her, if it had been Joslyn or someone else, she didn’t even want to think about it.

Mayana showed Greta her hand.

“Greta, do you know whose button this is……?”

Greta, with a puzzled expression, picked up the button from Mayana’s hand and examined it from side to side. Mayana hoped that Greta would provide the answer. If she had to question each of the maids one by one, it would surely make it more difficult to find the culprit…….

“Ah, I know! I remember.”

Mayana grabbed Greta’s hand as if lunging at her.

“Whose is it?”

“It’s Bainti’s. She said her lover gave it to her as a gift and she was cherishing it like a jewel without even sewing it onto her clothes. Was this here? What happened?”

“This button is Bainti’s? Are you sure?”

Greta nodded her naive head.
“I’ve seen it boasted about several times by keeping it in the pocket. But……. Why are you doing that? You don’t mean because the princess was hurt today, do you?”

Mayana exhaled as if trying to calm her anger. Then, she confided everything to Grete. From the words that Head Butler Joslyn had said to Ariante, to Ariante being discovered in this storeroom…….

Grete, who had heard the story, looked at Mayana with an uneasy expression.

“So you want to confront Vainti?”

Mayana shouted angrily.

“Confront? You think I will just confront? I won’t let it go. How could they do this to a sevenyearold?”

Grete said,

“They went too far, but……. Vainti will surely deny it was him. He might even say that you, Mayana, stole his button and framed him.”

“That’s not the issue, Grete. Don’t you see? It could have been a real disaster.”

“I know, I know……. but it’s just a sprained ankle. I don’t think His Grace the Duke wants to make a big deal of it. I’m saying this for your sake.”

“It doesn’t matter what the Duke wants. I’ll make Vainti kneel and beg in front of the princess.”