Chapter 17: The Hidden Truth

The office, though familiar from her memories, felt inexplicably daunting after such a long absence. Its inherent gravitas seemed to shrink her.

Towering bookshelves lined the two adjoining walls, soaring upwards as if to prop up the very sky. Each volume within was meticulously maintained; not a single speck of dust marred even the spines nestled highest.

The air was thick with the rich scent of aged paper and stately wood.

Through the drapes, which partially veiled the windows, a sliver of sunlight seeped in, casting golden patterns that danced across the surface of the office desk.

Selonia watched the motes of dust shimmer like a hazy mirage in the sunbeams. She then carefully placed the documents on the table before her and moved towards the desk.

Carved from dark ebony, the desk was so immense that two or three adults could comfortably recline upon its surface.

After a moment to compose herself and survey the room, Selonia gave a slight shake of her head. She then moved directly to the set of drawers beside the colossal desk.

Alix could burst in at any moment; time was of the essence.

Her heart hammered against her ribs at the daunting prospect of searching the office, knowing the door could swing open at any second.

Yet, she possessed a crucial advantage.

She knew precisely where he kept his most vital possessions.

[My treasure trove is hidden in the third drawer of the office desk.]

His voice, light and teasing, echoed in her mind. Though he had spoken it as a casual jest, she remembered his words with perfect clarity.

Her fingers traced the ornate reliefs carved into the jet-black drawers. She then pulled open the bottom-most one.

The drawer contained a collection of disparate items: a few documents, letters sealed with the impressive insignia of high noble families, a well-worn, gleaming fountain pen, a sealing stamp, and various lumps of sealing wax.

To the casual observer, it would appear to be nothing more than a mundane receptacle. However, Selonia, with her keen eyes, meticulously examined every inch, her fingers probing its depths.

Her fingertips brushed against the bottom panel.

Amidst the smooth grain of the wood, she detected a subtle, jarring sensation, as if something caught unexpectedly.

It felt like an additional seam, skillfully concealed.

Probing further beneath the drawer, she knew with absolute certainty: a deeper, hidden compartment lay concealed within.

Taking a deep breath, she carefully removed each item from the drawer, setting them gently onto the carpet.

Beads of cold sweat trickled down her temples as she meticulously worked, desperate to avoid creasing any paper or damaging the delicate wax seals.

A palpable tension seized her as she moved the glass ink bottles, terrified of shattering them.

Once the files, fountain pen, and ink bottles were all cleared, she diligently probed the section of the bottom panel where she had felt that peculiar sensation.

Click.

With a faint click, the bottom panel shifted.

Selonia, so engrossed she seemed to forget how to breathe, slowly lifted the small, protruding handle.

As anticipated, another hidden compartment beneath was revealed.

A complex tide of emotions, a mix of triumph and an inability to fully rejoice, swirled across her features. As Selonia peered into the newly revealed space, her expression swiftly darkened, becoming chillingly grim.

Inside the drawer, a glittering object lay, catching and reflecting the sunlight. As her trembling fingers closed around it, its sharp, pointed tip glinted ominously.

“This is…”

This was the very instrument Alix had wielded that night to draw her blood while she lay asleep. As the cold metal’s chill spread across her skin, a faint, prickly shiver crawled up her arm.

The memory of that night, sharp as the tip of a needle, sprang vividly back to life.

The sight that had greeted her eyes the moment she awoke to a stinging pain, utterly unaware.

Alix’s expression when he was discovered drawing her blood, and the unbelievable story he had then blurted out, as if confessing under duress—

Her vision momentarily swam, and Selonia pressed a hand to her forehead, drawing a shaky breath. With a supreme effort, she managed to retract her hand and replace the blood-drawing instrument.

Any further delay would only place her at a greater disadvantage.

Peering back into the drawer, her gaze landed upon a thick bundle of documents. The crisp sheen of new paper was unmistakable.

She hastily pulled out the papers, careful not to crease them, and began to read.

Her sky-blue eyes darted ceaselessly across the lines, then widened, utterly consumed by shock.

This was a document meticulously detailing every conceivable piece of information about her.

Yet, even as she read it with her own two eyes, the sheer volume of unfamiliar facts made it feel as though she were perusing someone else’s biography.

While some descriptions undoubtedly pertained to her, unsettlingly foreign details were interspersed throughout.

[…Highly likely to be of the Aetheria clan.

Their eyes appear ordinary at first glance, but upon closer inspection, possess characteristics distinct from common people.

Testimony secured from a servant of Count Brienne during his youth. Selonia Brienne’s mother also had a similar eye color, but was never observed wielding magic or mystical powers.

However, as she inherited the clan’s blood, the possibility of manifestation is high, thus further experimentation is required.]

“Aetheria clan?”

Her voice, uttering the unfamiliar clan name, was barely a whisper, trembling with disbelief. If the contents of this document were true, then her mother, whose face she had never seen, was of the Aetheria clan.

And by extension, Selonia herself was also of this mysterious lineage, with a high probability of some latent power manifesting.

Selonia, momentarily dazed by the sheer bewilderment of the information, bit down hard on the inside of her cheek. The coppery taste of blood jolted her back to a semblance of reality.

With each page she turned, the revelations grew more astounding. Her every recent activity, right up to the very moment she entered the imperial palace, was meticulously recorded.

Who she met, what she did from the moment she awoke until she finally slept, every conversation she engaged in, even what she consumed — all detailed with chilling precision.

It was as if someone had been secretly observing her every move.

Moreover, the final section explicitly stated that the surveillance had ceased once Selonia Brienne entered the Imperial Palace as a lady-in-waiting.

She let out a hollow, humorless laugh, setting aside the first document. Picking up the remaining papers from the drawer, she began to read them.

The preceding documents, detailing her own life, had been disturbingly clear. These, however, seemed to contain far more abstruse content.

At a glance, it appeared to be some form of experimental report.

She knew she needed to read it slowly, yet the gnawing anxiety that Alix could burst in at any moment made the normally legible words appear to float, disconnected, in the air before her.

As Selonia meticulously examined the floating words, as if grasping and arranging them into coherence, a sharp gasp caught in her throat, her breath abruptly halting. Her trembling hand immediately flew to cover her convulsing lips.

[Report on the Progress of Mana Infusion Experiments Based on the Correlation Between Mana Extraction Method and Amount of Mana Extracted]

‘What did all this mean?’

‘Extracting mana?’ Her face utterly devoid of color, she continued to read the sentences that followed.

The document’s contents were so utterly horrifying, she almost wished she couldn’t comprehend them. It detailed gruesome theories on mana extraction, complete with intricate procedures that suggested actual experimentation.

‘Could humans truly inflict such atrocities upon one another?’

And the implication that such a report lay hidden beneath her own personal dossier…

She now had a terrifying inkling of what Alix might have done with the blood he had been drawing from her for six years.

Selonia, having skimmed the report, closed it with trembling hands. Finally, she retrieved an old, worn book from the compartment. Its four corners were slightly frayed, and faded, peeling golden patterns adorned its ancient cover.

As Selonia meticulously examined the emblem, her brow furrowed in recognition. ‘Wasn’t this the symbol of the Grand Cathedral?’

Selonia lifted her head, her gaze darting to check the time. She had lingered longer than she intended, meaning Alix could enter at any moment.

With little time left, she could only hastily scan the book. Yet, the words and concepts listed within seemed alarmingly similar to the report she had just read.

Closing the book, she used her trembling hands to meticulously return all the documents and objects to their original positions, one by one.

She arranged them in precisely the same configuration as when she had first opened the drawer, then carefully closed the hidden bottom panel.

With a soft, decisive click, the drawer sealed shut, appearing perfectly undisturbed, as if no intrusion had ever occurred.

Smoothing out the creases in her dress, she rose and returned to the sofa, settling back into it as if nothing untoward had occurred.

Just as she did, the sound of the outer door opening reached her from behind, followed by the heavy tread of approaching footsteps.

She surreptitiously wiped the cold sweat from her neck onto the back of her pale hand.

The doorknob rattled as it turned. The smoothly oiled hinges rotated silently, and the heavy door slowly swung open, welcoming the room’s owner.

“Selonia.”

“……”

If she had delayed even a moment longer, she would have been caught red-handed. Her heart plummeted, yet Selonia forced a composed expression onto her face.

However, her mind had been raging like a storm-tossed sea for some time.

Slowly rising, she curtsied deferentially.

“I greet Your Majesty.”

Thankfully, her voice did not tremble, but her fingertips were already icy cold. Alix watched her for a moment, then a faint smile touched his lips as he approached her.

“My aunt said she sent you. I apologize for keeping you waiting so long.”

“Not at all, Your Majesty. I was so engrossed in admiring the office that I lost track of time.”

Indeed, she had been so lost in time, unearthing all sorts of shocking secrets. The more she replayed the report’s contents in her mind, the more his face seemed to morph into that of a demon.

Oblivious to the turmoil within her, Alix chuckled at her words and gestured for her to sit.

“With you here, the office appears much brighter. One could spend the entire day here and never grow bored.”