It was impossible to tell if it was night or day, or whether a day had passed or not.

It was a place where not even a speck of light entered.

The only thing illuminating the basement was that small torch lit inside.

Count Ripe sighed deeply, his hands tied behind his back.

His gaze turned to the young servant imprisoned in the iron cage beside him.

‘He must have planned this, he must have planned it.’

He swore he had never ordered that servant to harm the young miss.

Yet that servant lied to the duke without blinking an eye.

‘It was all ordered by the Count, I am only guilty of following orders!’

There seemed to be no way out of this hopeless situation.

Originally, Count Ripe had a servant who always accompanied him.

However, as the servant had grown old serving the count for many years, the days he couldn’t work were increasing.

Today’s visit to the duke’s mansion was one such day.

He had received news that the servant had slipped and fallen in the kitchen that morning, causing his right foot to swell up badly.

Usually, Count Ripe was generous to his subjects and lived frugally.

As he only kept a minimum number of employees, there was no servant immediately available to accompany him.

In the end, he had no choice but to bring a servant who had only recently joined the count’s household.

But as it turned out, the servant he brought had attempted to assassinate the duke’s young miss.

While he didn’t know all the details, the fact that such an act was committed right in front of the duke’s eyes meant there was no way to prove his innocence.

“Oh dear, oh dear…”

As Count Ripe was lamenting his life and sobbing,

The sound of an iron door slowly opening was heard from the next room.

Startled, Count Ripe quickly raised his head.

With his hands still tied behind his back, he crawled on his knees towards the iron bars.

“Stop right there!”

Count Ripe urgently called out to the servant who was calmly opening the iron cage and coming out.

The servant glanced at Count Ripe.

“Old man, would you stop if you were in my place?”

Unlike himself, the servant appeared to have been tortured, limping on one leg and with one arm not fully functional.

How he had managed to unlock the iron cage was a complete mystery.

If that fellow escaped, the remaining count would have no choice but to take all the blame.

Knowing this, yet trapped in the cage, the count could do nothing as the man slipped out of the basement.

The old man, nearing sixty years of age, dropped his head helplessly.

He recalled when that young man first entered his estate.

‘So it was all lies when he said he was in a difficult situation and asked for work.’

How many times had he been deceived by people? It was his own fault for always believing, even after being fooled time and time again.

“Count, Count.”

Just then, a youthful voice brought him back to his senses.

It was a voice that didn’t match this damp and dark space.

“Count, here.”

A cup filled with clear water appeared before him.

He hadn’t had a single sip of water since being imprisoned.

The count hurriedly took the water and drank.

Only after emptying the cup could he properly see who was in front of the iron bars.

“Young miss? H-how did you come here? Did His Grace come with you?”

“No, I came alone… Ah! No, that’s right! The duke is outside too!”

At Diane’s words, the count’s face immediately brightened. He looked like a man who had found a ray of light in pitch-black darkness.

“Does that mean His Grace believes in my innocence as well?!”

Diane didn’t answer right away. However, the anxious count took her silence as affirmation.

“Young miss, then please call someone from outside immediately. The man who just threatened you has escaped. Please convey this fact to the duke. Then His Grace will surely know that I am not in league with that man!”

“Ah, that can’t be done right now.”

“W-what do you mean? Didn’t you say His Grace believes in my innocence?”

“Well, I mean, I know you’re not the culprit, but…”

Diane rolled her eyes. Actually, she had deliberately had the silver snake open the door for that servant to escape.

And seeing the servant fleeing alone, Diane was convinced. The count was not the culprit.

However, the duke wouldn’t know that. Of course. Unlike what the count thought, the duke wasn’t even outside right now.

She couldn’t honestly tell him all of that. Instead, Diane decided to tell only part of the truth.

“I let that servant go on purpose, because that’s how we can find out who ordered him.”

“If that’s the case…!”

The count already believed the duke was outside. Moreover, having been pushed into such a desperate situation, the count firmly believed the child’s words.

Diane spoke to Count Ripe, and as if reassuring herself:

“So don’t worry too much. I’ll definitely clear your name, Count.”

* * *

The next afternoon, I went out for a walk and barely managed to shake off Chrissy, hiding my body in the bushes.

‘Can I trust him?’

I kept glancing towards the main gate.

I was anxious as there had been no news for hours.

[If you make a contract with me, we could share thoughts, which would be more convenient!]

That’s what the divine beast had said before chasing after the assassin.

He said it would be much more convenient as we could communicate even when far apart.

‘It’s a pity, but I’m not going to make a contract anyway.’

I sighed deeply and leaned against a tree.

‘He should be back by now…’

I peeked around from behind the tree.

Actually, today it was Chrissy who came as my escort, not Yan. Yan had gone somewhere since dawn or something.

At first, Chrissy was firmly against my suggestion to play hide-and-seek.

‘It’s not allowed. I must keep watching you at all times, young miss. Instead, I’ll call someone else to play with you.’

‘But I want to play with Chrissy… I don’t need anyone else…’

‘Still, it’s not… No, alright, just for a little while…’

Even before we started hide-and-seek, Chrissy had earnestly pleaded with me.

‘Please don’t go too far.’

‘Okay, don’t worry!’

To be more thorough, I deliberately let myself be caught easily for the first two rounds.

And from the third round, when he had completely let his guard down, I hid myself completely.

‘Still, he shouldn’t be able to hold out for long.’

Even though the garden was large, it shouldn’t be too difficult to find a trace of my hidden presence.

As I was anxiously waiting for the divine beast to return, I heard a rustling sound from the nearby bushes.

Soon, it was the silver snake that emerged from the bushes.

[Hey, lesser being, I’m back!]

“You’re here!”

Unlike other times, I greeted him cheerfully, and the snake wagged its tail.

“How did it go? Did you find out who it was?”

[Of course!]

As expected! I looked at the divine beast with eyes full of anticipation.

“Who was it? Who was the culprit?”

[The culprit was a man wearing black clothes!]

“Black clothes? Who’s the man in black clothes?”

[His hair color was brown!]

“Brown? How many people have brown hair?”

[And he was really tall!]

“Tall? How tall?”

[This much?]

The divine beast raised its body straight up. I felt uneasy for no reason.

‘It must be my imagination?’

“And what else?”

[Ah, right! Also, his face looked really fierce!]

A man wearing black clothes, with brown hair and a fierce-looking face.

“…So who is it?”

[That’s it! And those humans had a nest, you know? Not above ground, but underground.]

The snake replied proudly. I smacked my forehead.

‘I shouldn’t have trusted this.’

What I had asked the snake to do was to follow the fleeing assassin.

To follow him and see who had ordered the assassin to do that job.

He did do as I said. The problem was that he really just followed and saw.

‘Should I have asked to find out who he was and where he lived?’

I wondered if I should have explained in such detail, but seeing his proud appearance now, it probably wouldn’t have made much difference.

I couldn’t help but sigh.

Of course, I had thought he would handle the task well since I entrusted it to the divine beast.

‘I had made grand promises to the count.’

Fortunately, when I went to see the count last night, it seemed he hadn’t been tortured, but at this rate, it was impossible to catch the real culprit.

This frustrating silver snake, completely oblivious to my feelings, said without any tact:

[I did what you asked, so give me that shiny thing quickly!]

I shook my head. The divine beast flared up.

[Why!]

“You didn’t find out who it was, did you? You need to find out the name. How am I supposed to know who the culprit is with such vague information?”

[I don’t know the name, ah! But it wasn’t just one or two people! About 10?]

“It wasn’t even one person but several? Did all those people have brown hair and wear black clothes?”

[Yes!]

“…”

It got even more complicated. I sighed deeply.

The divine beast seemed to have finally noticed the uneasy atmosphere. He approached cautiously and asked again.

[…So you won’t give it to me?]

I shook my head firmly. The divine beast’s mouth fell open.

[Y-you liar, you worthless and cowardly lesser being!]

The angry divine beast shook his head and barked beside me.

‘So noisy.’

I covered my ears out of habit, then realized anew. Ah, it’s no use covering my ears.

The voice that had been shouting for a while finally quieted down after some time.

[This is why they say you shouldn’t listen to humans you haven’t made a contract with.]

The grumbling divine beast habitually rested his head on my lap again.

I also rested my chin on my hand and sighed deeply.

Only after the divine beast closed his mouth did my mind become quiet. I thought quietly.

‘What should I do now?’

Not only had I failed to find the real culprit, but I had also set the innocent assassin free.

‘Surely he won’t come back for revenge on me?’

Since his right hand was ruined while trying to kill the duke, he probably wouldn’t target the duke again.

But there was a high possibility he might come back for revenge on me, who seemed easy prey.

The thought that I might face that assassin again sent a chill down my spine.

[Then do you want to see for yourself?]

Suddenly, the snake asked again. I tilted my head.

“What do you mean?”

[The tall man with brown hair wearing black clothes, is it okay if you see him directly?]

“How?”

[Wait and see.]

The divine beast slithered over and placed his head on the back of my hand.

Suddenly, the view full of green grass inverted, and dark shadows filled my vision.

“W-what is this?”

[The memory of what I saw.]

It was a view as if lying flat on the ground and crawling.

Ahead, I could see a black silhouette walking unsteadily, anxiously looking around.

‘It’s that assassin from earlier!’

After wandering through alleys for a while, the assassin suddenly stopped in front of a secluded wall.

Soon, as he fumbled around on the ground, he suddenly went down.

My view plummeted downwards along with him.

[He had dug a tunnel, it seemed to be his nest, so I followed.]

The divine beast explained in a triumphant tone.