A secret passage behind a bookcase. "It doesn't get much more typical than that..."

I gripped the bookcase on both sides and tried pushing, then pulling. Contrary to my expectations, it didn't budge.

There had to be a hidden switch somewhere. If I didn't care what happened afterward, I could simply smash the bookcase, but right now I needed to be as quiet as possible.

I examined it carefully. Its shelves were packed with dry reading—philosophy and history books. I'd read every one of them back home. The books in the baron's private study couldn't begin to compare with the collection the Duke was so proud of.

As I scanned the titles, one on a lower shelf made me tilt my head. "What's this book doing here?"

An odd book stood beside the complete [Life of Knight Carlos], about our kingdom's first king and the Duke's ancestor.

[The Return of Knight Carlos]

From its title, you might mistake it for part of the biography, but it was a novel about Knight Carlos's love life. Fan fiction, in a way. A romance about the first king was, naturally, officially banned, so hardly anyone recognized it. I only knew it because I'd seen a copy gathering dust in a storeroom.

"Anyway, why is a novel so out of place sitting here?" On a hunch, I took hold of it and pulled gently.

CLICK

Sure enough, the book didn't come out. Something clicked open behind the bookcase.

I let go and stepped back, watching expectantly. But even after a long wait, nothing changed. "In the movies, the bookcase swings open and reveals the secret passage." Had that book not been the switch after all?

I approached it again and tried moving it.

The bookcase slid smoothly aside. Unlike before, it moved with ease. Unfortunately, the secret door in this study wasn't automatic. That was a little disappointing, but behind the open bookcase I could see stairs leading underground.

The stairs were pitch-black, but with mana flowing into my eyes, going down looked easy enough. I kept my footsteps quiet as I descended. Before long, the stairs gave way to a passage.

Like the one at the marquis's mansion, this secret passage seemed to lead outside. Had the baron left the mansion? The thought flashed through my mind, but thankfully, before I reached the end of the passage, I spotted a closed door in its wall. Light leaked through the gaps around the wooden door, along with the murmur of a voice.

"... Just wait a little longer. He got away by luck, but my daughter will bring good news soon." It was unmistakably the baron's voice. He was talking to someone else. Was the person listening the one I expected?

I recalled what he'd whispered in my ear before I died. "I hear you had a hand in driving Maria out. How foolish of you to crawl beyond your family's domain. The Duke is hard to touch, but you crawled out of the mansion, and you're going to die right here. This is revenge for Maria." I'd been dumbfounded. It had happened years ago, and I'd long since stopped thinking about it. To be killed here, of all places, on the orders of the second Duchess I'd driven out—it was absurd.

There were no other eyes on us down here, and I'd heard the conversation. I saw no need to keep being careful. Gripping my greatsword, I filled my leg with mana and kicked the door.

BANG!

It shattered with a tremendous crash. My foot was small, but mana made up for that. I leaped through the splinters.

Beyond the door was a small room that looked like a converted storeroom. Various objects were piled on one side; on the other stood a bed and a table lined with wine bottles. The baron sat at the table, turning to look back in surprise.

I'd found the baron. I looked across from him and saw the woman he'd been addressing. No—not a woman. A painting of a woman hung on the wall. It depicted Duchess Maria, looking somewhat younger than she did now.

While I stared blankly at the painting, the baron caught sight of me. "How did you get here?" He reached for a sword beside him, and it flew into his hand. That snapped me back to my senses.

The sword had moved on its own. Did he have an ability like his daughter's? Damn it, that made this dangerous! Startled, I hastily raised my sword and braced for his attack. But instead of attacking, the baron stood there panting, sword in hand. It almost looked as if using that ability had exhausted him. Wait, was that it? Was his ability similar to hers, only much weaker?

Whatever the case, I couldn't let this chance slip away. I closed the distance in a single stride and swung my greatsword at him. He must have had some sword training, because he raised his blade to block it.

CRASH!

But there was no way he could properly stop a blow backed by at least knight-level strength and speed. His sword broke, and he was flung against the opposite wall. He slammed spectacularly into the pile of objects and tumbled across the floor, smashing them as he went.

"I hit him with the flat. Don't tell me he's dead." He'd gone flying so easily that I worried he might have died too soon. "Ugh..." Thankfully, he seemed alive. I approached him as he twitched beneath the pile. It was time to hear the whole story.

* * *

The words the baron had spoken when I died last time came back to me. ["This is revenge for Maria, whom you and the Duke drove out!"] Because of that, I'd expected to find the second Duchess here. Instead, her portrait greeted me. Why was only her portrait here? I could ask the man himself.

I pulled the groaning baron out from under the heap. My body wasn't fully grown, but it was stronger than an adult's, and I dragged him free without trouble. "Ghk... khh..." He continued to gasp in pain. I could see several wounds from his broken sword; his arm appeared broken, and his ribs seemed broken too, making it difficult for him to breathe.

He still looked capable of talking, though. I tapped the chest of the baron lying there panting with the toe of my boot. "Urgh." As expected, that brought him sharply to his senses. "Hello. We've met again, but I haven't had the chance to greet you properly." I greeted him with a knight's salute, my greatsword planted against the floor. He grimaced in pain and stared at me as though I were something strange.

"Y-you... What on earth..."

"It's best to treat me courteously even when no one else is watching. I may be young, but as you know, I have knight-level skill."

Only then did he realize his mistake. He'd underestimated me because I was young, despite having no real ability of his own. Perhaps the sudden turn of events had rattled him, but that didn't excuse it. For me, though, it was a welcome mistake.

"Urgh. How did you find this place? And... how did you get back? I heard you'd left the domain." Now that his head was clear, questions seemed to be occurring to him. Apparently someone had been following and watching our party, too. He might have been surprisingly thorough in some ways. None of it mattered now.

"I'm the one who wants to ask questions. Why is there a painting of the second Duchess here, and why did you try to kill me?" From his perspective, he'd never actually killed me. But he'd tried to just moments ago, so it was close enough. And I truly wanted to know why her painting was here.

"How dare you! You little brat, breaking into someone else's home and spouting such nonsense! Urgh... Is the Duke so half-baked that he couldn't even teach you properly? Is that what comes of your low birth?" Perhaps his pain had eased a little. Still grimacing, he answered with insults disguised as an adult's lecture. Naturally, they had no effect. No, they did have an effect—just the opposite of what he wanted.

I turned my sword over and rested its point on the chest I'd tapped with my boot. Then I relaxed my sword arm slightly. The point pressed down.

"Nngh..."

The baron squirmed with a stifled cry. That pushed the blade a little deeper, drawing a trace of blood from his chest.

"With such low blood in my veins, I suppose I'll have to turn these questions into an interrogation."

"Urgh. Y-you..."

He raised an arm to do something, but the mana he'd gathered had already been scattered by the mana in my sword. "Let me ask again. Why did you try to kill me?"

"Urgh. You were the biggest reason the Duke drove Maria out! It's absurd, but it's reason enough for you to die!" His words didn't quite fit together, but I'd more or less guessed his motive from what he'd said when he killed me. "Did the Duchess complain to you, Baron? Tell you she'd been wronged and ask you to avenge her?" What I wanted to know was how involved she was. I'd driven her out and even put her out of my mind, only to be blindsided like this. Depending on his answer, I might have to change my plans.

"Are you trying to frame poor Maria again? What outrageous accusation are you going to make this time against someone so lovely and pure, like a delicate flower?" The baron's expression turned dreamy as he shouted. Looking at the painting on the wall, he went on. "I haven't seen her in so long, but I could feel her suffering vividly. She was sold to a Duke she didn't love and forced to endure a miserable life. As if that weren't enough, she was falsely accused of trying to kill a half-wit like you and driven out! Who would believe such a lie?" He poured the words out like a confession, his face showing no sign of pain.

"I loved her from the moment I saw her. She knew it, too. I staked everything on her. Killing you and ruining the Duke—that is my purpose in life now! And..." Was it the strange fragrance drifting through the room? Or some delusion born of his desire to escape the pain? He went on rambling without end.