Under the Mansion

Treasure hunt, day two.

I climbed the suspicious tower outside the mansion, sweating profusely, all the way to the top.

“It’s a device that even the servants couldn’t find, Princess Sophia. And there’s nothing here. There’s no way there’d be something like that…”

“It’s okay! We can find it!”

A small, boring territory.

Scarl was the only peer worth interacting with.

Exploring the huge mansion in search of hidden devices was fun.

Even the ordinary countryside scenery before my eyes was filled with excitement and anticipation, as if something was hidden.

My brother had called it a device, but back then, I thought of it as treasure.

‘Where could the Hero’s treasure be?!’

“And just speak casually, I told you, brother!”

“How could I do that?”

“There’s no one here! And Scarl, you’re the Hero! I’m the sage, okay? It’s fine!”

We decided to take on roles because just searching for treasure was boring.

My brother’s role was the Hero. I was the sage of the party, following him around.

Day 3.

“Scarl, thank you for playing with our Sophia.”

“It’s nothing, Queen Mernia.”

Whenever my mother came out of her room, she always called Scarl and me together and spoke to us gently.

And with my mother, a real adult, saying a word about this role-playing, we could become real Hero and sage who had come to the imperial palace.

“Sage Sophia, don’t bother Scarl the Hero too much.”

“I don’t! We’re having fun together?!”

“That’s right. It’s always a pleasure playing with the Princess.”

Me too! It’s completely different from the imperial palace, where I only have to study! It’s just fun here!

“Brother! You have to call me sage too!”

“Ah, yes. Sage Sophia.”

“Good!”

My mother gave me a troubled smile as she watched me.

“Really. Who will take our tomboy Sophia away…”

Thinking about it now, she must have been worried about me being left alone.

“Who’s going to take me, Mother?”

“I’m talking about marriage.”

“Marriage?”

That was the first time I became aware of that word.

My mother gently stroked my hair.

“Oh dear. Was it too early to talk about that with our Sophia?”

‘I have to get married like my older brothers and sisters. But who should I marry?’

At first, it was just simple curiosity.

“Brother, you’re a descendant of the Hero. Who are you going to marry?”

I can still clearly see my brother’s face, flustered by my bold question.

And I can vividly recall the moment he spoke, while looking at my mother’s expression.

“…Someone destined? But that’s too far in the future. Sophia. Shall we go treasure hunting some more?”

“Okay!”

Before going to bed, I asked my mother again.

“Mother! Who should I marry?”

At that, Queen Mernia realized that her daughter had latched onto a word she had casually said during the day.

“My beloved Sophia. It’s not something you do with just anyone. You must do it with someone you Love.”

“Then what is Love?”

“It’s like the feeling this mother has for you. Like this, hugging you tight, cherishing you, tickling you.”

Mernia cherished and hugged her daughter, tickling her sides, during their precious time together, where every second mattered.

“Puhuhu! It tickles!”

“How was treasure hunting today?”

“We didn’t find it! But I’ll definitely find it tomorrow!”

The next day.

I asked Jeanne, whom I met while treasure hunting, what Love was.

“Jeanne! What is Love?”

“Princess Sophia, already! You must meet a reliable man. Someone who can protect you in any situation…”

Protect me.

Then should I marry a knight like Jeanne?

‘Knights are too common!’

I ran away from her long speech.

“I understand! Thank you!”

The question went back to my brother.

“Brother, what is Love?”

Scarl, who was flustered, was getting a headache from Sophia, who was now asking about marriage and Love, after he thought she was finally calming down about the treasure hunt.

“Another marriage story?”

“No. Not marriage, Love! I’m curious about what Love is.”

Scarl pondered for a while and brought up the story of the Hero in the fairy tale, so that Sophia could easily understand.

“I don’t know either… but the Hero in the fairy tale saves the princess at the end, right? Isn’t that Love? They get married after that too. And live happily ever after.”

I’ve heard that from the court ladies too.

My brother’s next words were shocking.

“More than anything, I heard that your heart has to beat fast when you see that person.”

Thump-thump.

“Ah!”

Day 5 or 6.

I could draw the Bernatore mansion on the palm of my hand.

I was tired of walking around until my feet were sweaty.

“Hero, you didn’t lie, did you?”

Scarl was flustered because he didn’t think Sophia would be so obsessed, as he had just heard about it himself.

“I just heard about it too… Then shall we go to Father’s study? That’s the only place we haven’t been.”

For some reason, Scarl was forbidden from entering that place.

‘Now that I’m taking you, it’s okay to go in.’

“Let’s go!”

At Sophia’s words, I took out the key to my father’s study and went inside.

Click.

The study, which had been neglected for over a month, was full of dust as soon as it was opened.

“Cough. Cough. Cough! The window first!”

Leaving Sophia, who had quickly run away, Scarl opened the window, and the dust subsided a little.

“You can come in now.”

A similar room structure with nothing special.

The only unique thing was that it had a thick carpet.

Scarl pulled Sophia, worried that the dust from the carpet would get on her.

“I’ll go get something to clean the carpet first. Stay still.”

“Okay!”

But Sophia, without thinking about getting covered in dust, went inside, curious about what was under the carpet.

‘Huh? I feel something strange?’

Scarl’s scolding followed.

“Sophia! This isn’t hide-and-seek! And I can see everything. Come out quickly.”

It was a coincidence that I discovered a secret space under the carpet in the Lord’s study.

“But there’s something here!”

When I lifted the thick carpet, I saw a faint gap that even a child’s fingernail could barely fit into.

A space that would have been impossible to find if it weren’t for the dust.

‘What is this?’

When I lifted the gap with a carpet cleaning tool, a small path appeared.

“Brother!”

Scarl seemed surprised when he saw the hole and muttered.

“It was really there…”

“I found it! Can I go in?”

Scarl, with a strangely nervous expression, held my hand tightly.

“Wait a moment, it’s dark, so let’s grab a lantern and go together.”

At the time of discovery, I was so happy.

It felt like I was going on an exciting adventure, like I had found real treasure.

“Okay!”

The inside was dark, but not humid.

Unlike the study, which was full of dust, it was clean as if protected by magic.

Scarl held a small lantern and walked under the mansion, holding Sophia’s hand tightly with his other hand.

To me, it was a disappointing space, unlike the grand entrance.

Just a room with portraits of people who appeared to be past Bernatores.

I was about to be disappointed that there was nothing but paintings.

“Hey, is this the end… huh?”

A toy.

Or should I call it a secret wall?

“Brother! I found it again!”

My brother, who had been carefully looking at the faces of the Bernatore ancestors, came closer at my call.

“What is it? What did Sophia find again?”

“This! Don’t you know about this either, brother?”

It was a real button.

The button under the portrait of the first Bernatore, which was only visible to me because of my low height, was cleverly designed and made me want to press it.

I ask for permission first.

‘Because I’m a good kid.’

“Can I press it?”

“…Okay. Sophia, you do it.”

When I pressed it, I heard the sound of gears turning and the portrait lifted up.

Click! Click! Clack!

What was visible inside was a door with elaborate patterns painted on it.

Scarl, who was drawn to it, inserted the Lord’s ring on his finger, and the door split open to both sides.

What was revealed was a mechanical device.

I couldn’t recognize the exact shape, but it was a device full of complicated parts that looked difficult to operate for anyone.

I looked at Scarl, wondering what this was, but he seemed to have no idea either.

“I didn’t receive everything from my parents. Actually… I didn’t even know there was something like this under the mansion. Thank you. Sophia.”

“Hehe. I found it for you?”

“Of course.”

My brother snatched my hand away as I carefully reached out to touch the device.

“Wait.”

“Why?!”

“Just in case. I’ll do it.”

Scarl pressed and pulled here and there on the device.

But unless he knew the exact method, the device wouldn’t work.

Rather, one of the loose parts fell off at his gesture, and Scarl, surprised, threw himself to cover me.

Thud!

My brother was hit by the lump of metal and fell, and I, who was under him, hit my forehead on the floor and bled.

The scar that still remains when I frown was created at this time.

“Brother? Brother!”

I barely crawled out and leaned against the wall, and the blood I shed from my forehead flowed a little into the device.

Destiny is Scarl. Destiny is Scarl. Destiny is Scarl.

Destiny is Scarl. Destiny is Scarl. Destiny is Scarl.

‘It can talk?’

I thought it was broken, but it wasn’t.

The method of use was to get blood on it.

I poked the head of my unconscious brother and put it on the mysterious machine again.

“Ugh… Sophia? Are you okay?”

“Yeah. Brother. But look at this. It’s making this sound after I put your blood on it!”

“This is…”