Then Eggers Everhart said.

“Princess.”

“Yes.”

“Really, this is the first time.”

“…Pardon?”

Eggers Everhart took a deep breath and asked Iris if he could hold her hand.

When Iris agreed, Eggers said, holding her hand in both hands.

“Until now… no one in the royal family has offered to pay back the money they borrowed from Everhart.”

The words made Iris’s brows furrow.

“No one?”

“Yes. So when the princess said this, it really brought tears to my eyes. Really, really, we will wholeheartedly support the princess from now on.”

Hayer burst into laughter at the appearance of Eggers Everhart, who appeared with a fierce face and changed his attitude when Iris said she was planning to repay the debt.

Iris, on the other hand, was very shocked that no one in the royal family had ever tried to repay Everhart’s debts.

Eggers Everhart immediately took the party into Everhart’s castle.

But as soon as Iris was about to walk, Hayer suddenly hugged her body.

“Wait a moment.”

At Hayer’s words, Eggers turned around and said.

“You are Sir Hayer Asheri, indeed. I see you’ve noticed.”

When Eggers pressed down on a brick, a huge iron mace bounced in front of them, swinging in a semicircle.

Eggers first checked the position of the mace and said, crossing the aisle.

“My family has so many precious things… to catch the intruders…”

Eggers stopped talking.

Hayer was holding the mace and blocking it with his hand, as if he didn’t like Iris dangerously passing through the place where the mace was.

It was a tremendous strength. Eggers had never thought that was possible before.

He reflected on the fact that he had been prepared only for ordinary enemies so far. There were monsters like Hayer Asheri in this world.

He summoned the two people into the drawing room, thinking that other measures should be taken.

While sharing tea lightly, a boy who looked no more than three years old ran into the drawing room.

Eggers said, hugging the boy.

“My youngest son. He will succeed Everhart.”

Hayer’s eyes widened. That would be the case, even though the child was young, he looked too young.

Iris kept her composure and opened her mouth as if she had expected it.

“I know you have more children.”

“I had two sons and one daughter. As you know, the daughter became a member of a different family, and the eldest son is imprisoned for killing the second son. So what can I do? I saw a new child to succeed the family.”

Hayer looked at Iris as if he had a lot to say. But she was calm, like someone who already knew a three-year-old would pop out.

Iris greeted Eggers’s young son politely. The child also showed the best courtesy he could show at that age.

A moment later, when the child was gone, she said to Eggers.

“Can I talk to your eldest son, Ruben Everhart?”

“You can’t.”

Eggers shuddered, as if he was offended by the mere mention.

“Before he was my son, he was my son’s murderer. I’ll never let him inherit this family. He won’t be able to get out of that cell until he’s a corpse, no, until the corpse disappears.”

Hayer felt uncomfortable whenever the word ‘underground prison’ was repeated, so he forcefully bit his teeth together.

Iris paused for a moment at Eggers’s anger. And spoke to him in a quiet voice.

“I fully understand the head’s anger.”

“How do you understand? The feeling of sending my child first. How… how do you know that terrible feeling!”

“I said it wrong. I don’t understand, but…”

Iris paused for a moment and then went on.

“I’m sorry.”

She apologized sincerely, and Eggers nodded slowly.

Iris spoke again.

“But I would like to meet Ruben Everhart. As you may know, the royal family’s finances are extremely unstable right now. Of course, I know your young son will be a great family head, but the question is whether he is helping the head now.”

“……”

“Isn’t Everhart a family with a lot of obligations as well as a lot of possessions? Someday you’ll have to find a place to rely on.”

Eggers let out a low sigh at Iris’s words.

Persuasion took a long time. Iris went on to tell Eggers the need for a place to turn to, and eventually Eggers was persuaded by her words at some point.

Eggers said.

“All right. But as I get older, I feel a lot of burden when I retract what I say.”

Hayer, who had been fed up with the absurd situation throughout the whole time, said.

“If so, please put a condition on it.”

“Condition?”

“Yes. If we meet the condition, please allow us to meet with Ruben Everhart then.”

Eggers was a quick-witted, rule-loving man. Therefore, he liked this simple sequence of fulfilling the conditions and getting what he wanted.

Eggers, who pondered carefully about Hayer’s proposal, said.

“If it’s a condition, there is one.”

“What is it?”

When Iris asked with delight, Eggers replied.

“There are gold coins left behind by the ancestors in this house. But no one has ever been able to find the gold coins because the previous head passed away without telling anyone where it was. I sent a lot of men, but they couldn’t find it. Some didn’t even come back alive. If you find the treasure, I will let you meet my eldest son.”

On Eggers’s terms, the two agreed to do so without hesitation. There were many differences between Iris and Hayer, but they were similar in that they were competitive.

Before finding the gold coins of the predecessors, Iris was lost in thought. Meanwhile, Eggers asked Hayer.

“Really, can Miss Iris find things easily?”

“From what I’ve seen so far, it’s better than anyone else in Luwan.”

At those words, a little anticipation spread across Eggers’s face.

After a while, Eggers trusted Iris, a member of the Lepos family, and brought her a map of the castle where the Everhart family lived.

Iris checked the map calmly, then opened her mouth as if she was sure of something.

“I think there’s another space in the study.”

“The study?”

Eggers was horrified when Iris said that there was another space in the place where he spent a lot of time.

Iris immediately moved to the study, dragged a ladder, and began to take out the books from the bookshelf to the floor.

Iris, who was exhausted from taking out the books with such little stamina, found a book that didn’t fall out and pulled it again with force.

Iris left the study and headed for Hayer when it didn’t fall out.

“Hayer.”

When Hayer, who was searching elsewhere in the house, turned around at the feeling of his collar being pulled, Iris motioned for him to follow.

Hayer walked after her and said mischievously.

“Why are you quietly taking me away as if you were going to assassinate me in a place no one knows?”

“I’ve been caught, trying to assassinate you.”

Hayer burst into laughter when Iris muttered to herself like that.

On the other hand, Iris, whose heart was pounding as she watched the mace earlier, was nervous.

She turned her head a little to show her frown and then walked into the study.

Hayer followed her into the study and clicked his tongue at the sight of the mountain she made out of books.

Iris climbed up the ladder and pulled the book that didn’t fall out.

“This won’t come out.”

Hayer went up the steps.

He pulled the book gently forward. The end of the book was connected to a long iron rod.

Iris looked around the study and said.

“There will be a few more like this.”

Iris said, looking back at the enormous amount of books still on the shelf.

“So I think I’ll have to empty the bookshelves completely.”

“It’s good that I followed you.”

Hayer said, then pulled out a chair and pointed his chin at Iris.

“You sit down. I’ll do the rest.”

Hayer began to take out all the other books in the study.

Eventually, when he took out all the books and pulled the five books that didn’t fall off easily, there was a clicking sound from the corner of the study. These books seemed to have been the secret device of the safe.

Iris said as she walked towards it.

“It’s open.”

And it was when she was just about to reach the safe.

Iris’s feet sunk under all of a sudden.

afterword 

omg the mystery vibes were immaculate this chapter anyway 10 more chapters until our first kiss !!

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