231 - Hidden Passage Exploration
By the next day the fever had gone down, and I was confined to bed for another full day just to be safe, but perhaps thanks to that, my condition had fully recovered. It was still the same that I ended up bedridden after a long journey, but the number of days until recovery was definitely decreasing, so I suppose my body was getting stronger as I grew.
...But still, the food seasoning is heavy.
I thought perhaps my tongue was off from being ill, but since I still felt it was heavy even after recovering, it really must be heavily seasoned. I wondered if this was the taste of the capital, but thinking about it, during the journey to the capital I had been eating meals prepared by the cook Alfred had arranged. Since I did not find it heavily seasoned then, it was probably more the taste of the detached palace's cook rather than the capital's food. Whether it was the cook's personal style or the previous master's preferred flavor, I still could not tell.
...The salads and freshly squeezed fruit juice are delicious, so I really do think the seasoning is too heavy.
Dishes that do not have much done to them are enjoyable to eat, so that must be it. The detached palace's cook, whether from the previous master's influence or not, just uses heavy seasoning.
...I want to eat Tabitha's stew.
And while I am at it, I want to eat Salisa's lasagna, and I want the Three Crows Tavern's teriyaki chicken sandwich too. The more I think I cannot have something, the more I want it -- it is a nasty disposition.
...How do you even change a cook's seasoning?
At the very least, since my tastes differ from the previous master's, I wonder if they could not make something different while I am staying at the detached palace. In this detached palace where I do not even know how long I will be staying, having meals that do not suit my palate every day is harsh.
"...Normally, complaints about the food should be conveyed to Nadine."
When I consulted Hermine about the taste of the food, her reply began like this. The cooks and the maids were all under the jurisdiction of Nadine, who served as the detached palace's coordinator, and if the master had complaints, points of concern, or requests for improvement, the master was supposed to convey them to Nadine, the coordinator. It seemed that having Hermine, who also served as a maid, interject was inappropriate, given that she was supposed to be the detached palace master's consultant. Because Hermine was my tutor for lady's education, she was interceding as part of her lessons, but apparently this was normally something I was supposed to convey to Nadine in a one-on-one setting. To put it more strictly, Nadine should notice before I even felt any dissatisfaction and re-educate the maids and cooks.
"In other words, for me to immediately rely on Hermine-sensei is displeasing for Nadine, is it not."
"I believe it would constitute a sort of overstepping of authority."
Of course, Nadine should not be able to go against the decisions of me, the master, so it was Hermine who would be seen as overstepping. It felt more than a little unreasonable. However, for the time being, even Nadine's side was deferring to Hermine, understanding that it was only natural for me to rely on Hermine, whom I had brought from Grenore. For a little while longer, interposing Hermine would probably be tolerated.
"I will convey it to the cook and Nadine myself. Please do not go to see Nadine alone, Tina-san."
"Why do you say I should not go alone?"
"Because she is the one who raised Dietfried-sama by spoiling him thoroughly. She may fire the cook, deeming one who has incurred the master's displeasure unnecessary."
"You do not wish for the cook to be fired, do you?" Hermine asked, and I hurriedly nodded. As for me, I just wanted the overly heavy seasoning improved. Unlike the maids who made eyes at Leonardo or the one who refused to tend to a sick person and pushed it onto others, I did not want to take away the job of a cook who sincerely prepared meals.
Hermine agreed to ask the cook to lighten the seasoning a little, and to explain to Nadine that the flavor should be lightened for a while on the grounds of my poor health.
...But since Aaron had already checked it out beforehand, there was not much of an exploration feel to it.
The promise to investigate the hidden door in the fireplace was finally fulfilled. It was an exploration spot in a very convenient location -- inside the detached palace itself -- but because I had been bedridden with a fever, I had not been able to embark on this adventure journey until today. There probably was not anything worthy of being called an adventure, but that was a matter of feeling. Since I was a child, I tried to get my heart racing over thrilling elements like a hidden door, as a child would.
"I have already reported to Leonardo-dono, but I will report to you as well, Tina-sama. In the fireplace of the Spring Room, there was indeed a hidden door, a passage, and a staircase as depicted in the blueprints."
"That is amazing!"
"And while I am at it, inside there are..."
"That is enough! Please do not say anymore!"
It would spoil the fun, I said as I covered Aaron's mouth with both hands. All I wanted to know was whether the hidden passage itself was dangerous or not. If Aaron's prior inspection had found any danger, Leonardo would never have allowed me into the hidden passage.
Whether because it was summer now, or because the previous master had hardly used the detached palace, the inside of the fireplace was properly cleaned and tidy. Since the hidden door had already been opened once, it seemed unlikely to get very dirty either.
"It is a large fireplace."
"It is the fireplace of a royal detached palace, after all."
At the Mandez residence, I could barely even kneel in the fireplace, but the Spring Room's fireplace was spacious and tall in construction, perhaps because it housed a hidden door. Once past the low opening and inside, the vertical shaft leading to the chimney was built large, and Leonardo had to stoop as expected, but the ceiling was high enough that I or any of the maids could stand.
...This really would serve as the entrance to a hidden passage.
Since most of those granted a detached palace were minors, the opening mechanism for the hidden door that Aaron explained was placed within easy reach even for me. It looked like stacked stones, but when I touched it, one piece felt different, and I realized it was a tile, not a stone. When I slid the tile aside as Aaron instructed, a lever emerged from within. When I pulled the lever, a dull sound came from above, and the door portion opened just a little.
"...The fireplace opening serves as a blind."
I stood at the entrance of the hidden passage, which was slightly raised, and looked back at the fireplace opening. The low opening served as a blind, and unless someone peered inside from outside, this hidden door would probably remain invisible.
"May I go see further inside?"
"I have confirmed there is no danger, but I will go first."
Since Aaron had explored beforehand, it was confirmed that there was no particular danger, but still, having someone other than me go first was better. Since Leonardo said so, I stepped down from the passage once and switched places. The large-bodied Leonardo looked very cramped inside the fireplace.
"Come here, Tina."
"Yes."
Leonardo, standing in the passage, held out his hand, so I placed my hand in his. Pulled up and into the hidden passage, it was mysteriously bright enough to see ahead, and the ceiling of the passage itself was high.
"...Where is the light coming from, I wonder?"
"Because this passage was built when the detached palace was first constructed. The lighting was also part of the design."
"At this level of dimness, it seems there is no need to bring a light in during the daytime."
"Rather, it is designed so that if you bring a light in, you would be found by enemies. You have seen the mirrors set into the walls in the detached palace from time to time, right?"
Leonardo, who had apparently been reading materials endlessly near me while I was bedridden with fever, had become quite knowledgeable about the detached palace. He told me which corridors had mirrors, and that those mirrors were actually trick mirrors that brought in light from outside.
...Hmm, something like a magic mirror, I wonder?
It should be a mechanism that uses light refraction to look like a normal mirror from the front, but from behind, allows you to see the front like glass. In terms of principle, it was apparently similar to the thin lace curtains that were common in every household in my previous life. Curtains are just woven threads, but by placing one in between, during the day the sunlit outside is brighter and you cannot see inside the house, while at night the lit room is brighter and the inside of the house becomes fully visible from outside. This mechanism was probably why Leonardo said "if you bring a light in, you would be found by enemies." A lantern or lamp flame brought into a dark passage would be brighter than the natural light in the room. So even a conveniently placed hidden passage could, depending on the circumstances of its use, make the lantern light fatal instead.
"I compared the new floor plan with the old blueprints, and it seems this passage was intentionally left. The mirrors and windows for bringing light into other passages were all sealed up."
Having too many passages could conversely be used as routes for intrusion, he said as we moved through the passage. The dim passage was surprisingly long. There were occasional spots that were like small rooms, and those were explained to be stone benches or built-in shelves on the outside. From the outside, you would never be able to tell that a small room was hidden in such a place.
"...A door."
I did not know how far we had walked, but since we had descended stairs occasionally, I thought this was underground. What lay beyond the passage and the occasional small rooms was a single door. Perhaps considering corrosion, it was a metal door.
"It is locked."
I tried turning the knob, but the door would not open. There was only a slightly rusted response and sound -- the knob turned, but the door did not budge at all.
"This is the exit of the passage connecting the detached palace to the outside, but..."
"In that case, it is useless as an escape route."
I asked Aaron, who should have investigated the hidden passage beforehand, whether he knew where the key was. To my question, Aaron quietly shook his head and replied.
"The key to this door has not been found. There is a record that the door itself was replaced when the detached palace was renovated, but the royal who lived in the detached palace at that time has already passed away, and the key's storage location cannot be confirmed."
Whether the master who ordered the renovation had managed the key and died of illness without telling anyone where it was, or it had fallen into someone's hands and gone missing, I did not know. The only certainty was that the current master of the detached palace did not have the key to the exit door.
"Let us replace the lock along with the door. As it is, it is useless as a door, and having a key unaccounted for is frightening."
"But a key for a royal detached palace... is it acceptable to change it without permission?"
"While I am alive, it seems this is my detached palace, so I would like to change the lock so I can live in peace."
Since Giselle looked uneasy about whether there would be problems, I suggested passing the responsibility -- if there was an issue with my idea alone, we could just confirm with Nadine, who seemed to be the detached palace's coordinator, and Alfred, a royal with the Royal Peerage. That way, it should not be my unilateral decision.
When I returned to the Spring Room after the hidden passage exploration, Nadine and Valerier were waiting. I had not noticed while in the dark passage, but when I came out into the bright room, my body was covered in dust and dirt everywhere. Getting my body dirty was fine since it would come off with washing, but the soot and dust on my clothes would not come off so easily. The screaming Nadine and the Valerier who picked me up without a word were quite contrasting.
...I see. The reason Valerier of the Staff Peerage was my personal maid was that, status-wise, it made it hard for even me to defy her.
Normally, a maid of this status would probably be assigned to a child of the king. A maid of the Staff Peerage like Valerier was someone chosen precisely because she could act resolutely toward royal children who would not listen, using their status as a shield. She was hardly the type of person who should be assigned to someone like me, who was merely a guest.
...And surprisingly strong?
Small as she was, I was already eleven years old. I thought it was more than a little unreasonable for a woman to pick me up and carry me, but Valerier carried me without even a hint of strain on her expression. And then, carried straight to the bath, I was scrubbed from the top of my head to the tips of my toes. I must have been so dirty that she could not help but scrub with single-minded focus.
After changing and returning to my room, I received a thorough scolding from Nadine. To summarize, exploring hidden passages was something that should be left to the guards, not something the master of the detached palace should do herself. Moreover, since I was a girl, I should not be poking my nose into danger. Having heard that Dietfried had been raised being spoiled to the point of being left to run wild, it somehow did not sit right with me that I was the one being scolded by Nadine. Thinking something was strange, I looked up, and there behind Nadine stood Hermine. Seeing Hermine standing there with the face of a refined lady, everything clicked into place.
...It was Hermine-sensei who told Nadine about the hidden passage exploration, was it not!?
I was shocked for a moment at such a betrayal, but then I realized belatedly. Hermine was my tutor for lady's education. The fact that she had not stopped me from the very beginning from engaging in an act unbefitting a lady like exploring hidden passages was already strange in itself. The fact that she did not do so meant that within the detached palace, the role of scolding me was being transferred to Nadine -- a change of roles was beginning in Hermine's mind. It was like the surprise test the other day. It was also a declaration from Hermine that she would not treat me like a child forever. She was telling me to realize when I was about to be scolded before it happened, and to correct my behavior.
...Has the educational level suddenly gone up...?
Or perhaps she had foreseen that I would rely only on Hermine, whom I had brought from Grenore, and try to shut myself away in a narrow world, and moved to prevent it. That it was also important to look outward.
...Hermine-sensei is Spartan!
In other words, this was also the second surprise test. I simply had not been able to behave correctly as a lady.
Magic mirrors have apparently been around for quite a while. How do I know? Well, a long time ago when I looked into magic mirror vans... unya unya. Good children, do not search for magic mirror vans.
Typos and omissions again another day. Fixed any typos and omissions I found.