Chapter 124: Duke Vault [4]

“The third basement floor,” I said, lowering my voice slightly. “That’s where the real relics are kept.”

Alice’s expression stiffened.

“Are you mistaken? Our family’s vault only goes down to the second floor.”

Alice’s voice was firm, laced with certainty.

Her eyes narrowed slightly, not out of suspicion, but from sheer disbelief.

She had walked these halls since childhood, accompanied her father here on multiple occasions, even hosted minor ceremonies of inheritance.

The second floor—this grand chamber of relics and memory—was the end of the line. Or so she’d always believed.

She wasn’t here to take anything, not really.

She had told me once that she simply enjoyed being around them. They were symbols—of history, of power, of lineage. The pride of House Draken, laid bare in glass and gold.

But a third floor?

Even she, a direct heir to the duchy, had never heard of such a thing.

Her disbelief, however, began to waver the moment I posed my question.

“Lady, do you feel the direction of the wind right now?”

Alice blinked, confused by the sudden change of topic. Her brow furrowed.

Wind?

That had nothing to do with relics. Or so it seemed.

Still, her military mind couldn’t help but turn. Wind mattered. Wind altered arrows, scattered flames, carried whispers across battlefields.

She knew its value.

“Of course,” she replied slowly, “it should be towards the first floor…”

Her voice trailed off.

A silence settled between us—brief, but heavy.

Then her gaze shifted to the tapestries lining the wall.

The tassels, light and delicate, were trembling slightly.

They were swaying inward.

“…No,” she murmured, stepping closer. “They’re… going the wrong way.”

It was subtle. Almost unnoticeable. But undeniable.

Instead of flowing back up toward the higher-pressure first floor, the wind was being pulled deeper into the vault.

“That’s the first sign of a hidden passage.” I said, my voice low.

Alice stood still, staring at the fluttering tassels as if they now held the secrets of her entire bloodline.

“Indeed,” she muttered. “Just as you say. It’s amazing how you found this out.”

“It’s a technique from the West. A trick used by tomb raiders and ruin thieves. Of course…” I gave a half-smile. “I only learned it through interrogation.”

…And of course, another lie on my part.

She turned to look at me sharply, then sighed. “That doesn’t seem like something to be proud of.”

I chuckled.

“Pride has little place in survival. And besides, it worked, didn’t it?”

Her eyes studied mine for a few seconds. Still unsure what to make of me, still weighing my words.

“Even if what you say is true,” she said carefully, “there are no recorded entrances, no maps or glyphs hinting at another level. And the mana barrier ends here—at the second floor.”

“I know,” I replied. “That’s why they hid it well.”

A beat of silence.

“Follow me,” I said quietly. “I think I know where to start.”

She hesitated.

Then, with a sigh that carried both reluctance and curiosity, she fell into step beside me.

We turned away from the main hall of displayed relics and headed toward the far end of the chamber, where the stone walls met with a forgotten alcove—a place draped in shadows and dust.

My hand reached out and brushed against the surface of the stone.

Cold.

But as I pressed along the edges, I felt it.

A faint line. A vertical seam. Invisible to the eye, but smooth to the touch.

“Here.”

Alice’s eyes widened ever so slightly.

Crrrrck—!

A sound like grinding stone echoed quietly.

The wall split open.

Dust hissed out from the cracks, and a thin gust of air—colder and older than anything above—brushed our faces.

Alice didn’t speak.

She didn’t need to.

Her silence was loud enough.

“…There really is a third floor,” she said finally, in a voice that sounded almost betrayed.

I didn’t respond right away.

Because the truth was, this was only the beginning.

We were about to step into a place even the ducal bloodline had forgotten.

A place where ancient history had been buried on purpose.

“After you, My Lady,” I said with a smile. “This one’s not in the brochures.”

—-

The air beyond the wall was colder—sharper, as if untouched by breath or time. Dust floated like tiny ghosts in the dim light, and the passage ahead narrowed into darkness.

Alice stepped forward first, her posture tall and confident, though the slight twitch in her fingers betrayed a touch of tension.

Her boots made soft echoes against the stone floor, each step resonating with eerie clarity.

Julies followed silently behind her.

The passage twisted as it descended, and the silence stretched long.

Neither of them spoke.

The walls were close enough to brush shoulders if they leaned just a little. Torch sconces long since extinguished lined the path, their iron frames rusted with age.

Then, something shifted.

Alice paused.

For a moment, she had the distinct feeling that something was missing. Or rather—someone.

She turned her head slightly. No footsteps. No shadow following hers.

Frowning, she stopped completely and turned back.

Julies was no longer beside her. He stood a few paces back, rooted in place like a statue carved from hesitation. His hand rested lightly on the wall, his eyes distant, not focused on her or the path ahead.

“What’s the matter?” Alice asked, her voice low but firm in the stillness. “Didn’t you want to take a relic? Go on, take one.”

Julies blinked, snapped from his thoughts, and met her gaze. He let out an awkward chuckle, scratching the back of his neck.

“Well… getting the relics out seems to be a separate issue,” he said, his tone lighter than his expression.

Alice narrowed her eyes, puzzled. “What are you talking about? We’ve already made it inside.”

Julies didn’t answer immediately.

He was sweating now—not from heat, but from something else entirely.

His gaze drifted, unfocused, as if trying to follow invisible threads in the air.

His lips parted, but no words came. It was the look of someone realizing they’d missed a step on the stairs, only to find no ground beneath them.

“Julies?” Alice asked again, sharper this time.

Again, he didn’t respond to her but stairs at empty space.

…What is going on with him?

—-

Julies Evans POV:

Getting inside the entrance wasn’t particularly difficult.

After all, I already knew the trick to accessing this hidden passage—one of the many perks of having played through this part of the game.

The real trouble began shortly after I stepped inside, following close behind Alice.

That’s when the system window suddenly flashed before my eyes.

[Restricted Area: Draken Duchy – Hidden Vault, Level 3]

[Access Denied: You lack the required recognition from the Draken Ducal Family. Entry will be treated as a hostile incursion into a classified zone.]

I froze.

Even though I was with Alice—the rightful heir of the Draken family—I was still being treated as an intruder by the system?

That was bad enough, but the next lines made my stomach sink even further.

[Level 3 of the Draken Vault contains confidential relics, classified artifacts, and secrets tied to the family’s lineage.]

[Due to the sensitive nature of these items, the area is guarded by one of the family’s most powerful beings—a protector second only to the Duke himself.]

[Anyone not formally acknowledged by the head of the Draken family will be treated as a threat and dealt with accordingly.]

Great. Absolutely fantastic.

So not only did I trigger dungeon status, but I also had to deal with a guardian-level monster designed to keep out even master-ranked invaders.

Even worse, because I was flagged as unauthorized, I’d essentially turned this entire floor into a high-level death trap… while following behind someone who was supposed to be my boss.

All because the damn system didn’t care about context.

“I was with Alice, you know…” I muttered bitterly under my breath.

But of course, no one was listening.

Not the system.

And definitely not the guardian that was likely waiting somewhere ahead, ready to tear apart anything that breathed.

My fists clenched.

This wasn’t going to be as simple as tagging along anymore.

I had just stepped into enemy territory—even if it technically belonged to the person I served.

And now… I had to survive it.

I sucked in a breath, trying to steady my thoughts.

Panic wouldn’t help.

I’d dealt with worse—or at least, I thought I had.

“MY Lady,” I said, forcing my voice steady. “We need to be careful from here on.”

She raised an eyebrow. “More careful than we already are?”

“Much more,” I said. “We’re probably not alone down here.”

Alice didn’t laugh. She didn’t scoff or dismiss me. Instead, she adjusted the grip on her gloves, one hand resting subtly near the hilt of the dagger at her waist.

“Explain,” she said simply.

I hesitated. I couldn’t just say ’Oh yeah, the system considers me an intruder and flagged this place as a kill zone’.

“Old vaults like this tend to be… paranoid,” I said instead. “They don’t just hide secrets. They defend them. Relics strong enough to rewrite history don’t sit behind unlocked doors. There will be traps. And maybe more.”

“Then we proceed cautiously,” she replied, tone crisp. “I trust you’ll alert me if you spot anything suspicious.”

Right. Like the death flag currently hanging over my head.

Still, I nodded. “Of course.”

She turned and kept walking, her steps even, unshaken.

But I lingered a moment longer, staring down the dim path ahead. The atmosphere was different now. The walls seemed closer, the air heavier. I could feel it—mana, thick and sluggish, like ancient blood that refused to move.

It coated everything.

And somewhere in that oppressive stillness… something else stirred.

My system pinged again.

> [Warning: Class-A Guardian Presence Detected.]

[Threat Assessment: Catastrophic.]

[Recommendation: Evacuate Immediately.]

Thanks for the helpful advice.

I tapped the screen away before Alice could notice the change in my expression.

I couldn’t leave. Not yet.

—-

Author Note:

Only one Chapter today.

I have fever and I can’t write more. I don’t know if I will able to update my other novel.

Sorry and thanks for reading it.

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