The dismantling process took roughly an hour.
Even that was with the minimal route in mind.
If we had to undo all the security magic cast over this mansion, a full day wouldn’t have been enough.
“…My dear friend sure has many talents.”
“Shh, lower your voice and follow me.”
The route we chose was the rooftop.
The plan was to enter through a chimney to the topmost floor and search from the top down.
It wasn’t certain if Madame Bichen was here, but with no other clues, there wasn’t much choice.
“This place is disgustingly extravagant.”
The room we entered through the chimney was filled with various luxury items.
Judging by the bed, it seemed to be used as a bedroom.
As we looked around for anything that could serve as a clue—
“This is…”
Gray picked up something on the table and examined it closely.
It looked like a badge or a button.
The letters “A.C.” were clearly engraved on it.
Judging by that, the owner of this mansion was likely a student of Arcane or someone related to it.
Since no signs of life were detected within the building,
Gray and I boldly left the bedroom and headed into the hallway.
‘A stuffed animal? Why are there eagles all over the place…?’
The hallway was surprisingly unremarkable.
It wasn’t as luxurious as the bedroom, just functional and straightforward.
However, one thing caught my attention.
“Gray, what’s this emblem?”
From the moment we stepped out into the hallway, there had been eagle emblems everywhere.
Not just the large stuffed ones hanging on the walls, but scattered all over.
It seemed to symbolize something.
“…An eagle emblem, huh.”
“Do you know anything about it?”
“Hmm, I’m not entirely sure. It seems to represent a noble house, though.”
Gray said it wasn’t a symbol of any specific organization.
It seemed similar to the emblems of noble families, but…
With so many noble houses around, distinguishing between them was difficult.
‘If it were a marquis or a duke’s house, it’d be easier to identify.’
The few prominent houses in the Empire were easy to recognize, but below that, unless you were involved in high society, it was hard to tell.
‘There are nearly a hundred count houses alone, so it’s no wonder it’s hard to distinguish.’
Although we hadn’t made any clear discoveries yet, we decided to keep searching.
We still hadn’t found any trace of Madame Bichen.
The 4th and 3rd floors were similar to typical mansions in structure, which meant there was nothing particularly noteworthy.
But things changed when we descended further.
On the 2nd floor, the sight that greeted us made both Gray and me frown deeply.
“Ugh…”
Where there should have been a carpet to welcome guests, there were bloodstains everywhere.
Instead of decorations to brighten the mansion, the area was densely packed with iron bars.
“…No wonder it felt eerie.”
The connecting doors to the rooms were gone, and everything was filled with iron bars.
It was practically a prison.
‘And torture tools, too…’
The torture tools were crude, reminiscent of medieval times.
Things like pulling out nails or water torture, perhaps.
“Gray, calm down.”
The more the mansion’s true nature was revealed, the paler Gray’s face grew.
I couldn’t shake off the unsettling feeling either.
“Let go, Theonar.”
“Wait, no—”
Gray, overwhelmed by growing unease, failed to stay composed.
He began searching high and low for Madame Bichen in a frenzy.
About thirty minutes passed as we searched.
We were about to give up, having found neither Madame Bichen nor any other person.
Boom!
At the end of the 1st-floor hallway, we discovered a staircase leading to the basement.
“Whoever they are, they’re a sick bastard.”
The staircase was hidden behind a bookshelf, and the analog design, free of magical measures, meant we might have missed it if we weren’t lucky.
“…Let’s head down.”
The basement’s layout was simple: a straight hallway lined with iron bars on both sides.
With each step, the thick dust stirred, and the faint smell of blood lingered in the air.
‘No guards in the basement?
Well, such a disgusting hobby isn’t something you’d show off to others.’
There were traces of blood splatter, but only a single set of footprints was visible amidst the dust.
It seemed like the owner hadn’t told anyone else about this place.
As my eyes adjusted to the dim basement, I began to clearly see the traces left within the cells.
The rising disgust became almost unbearable.
‘Chained them up and did all sorts of things to them, huh.’
Each cell was filled with restraints and evidence of torture.
Few people could look at such things and remain unaffected.
‘But how far does this place go?’
As I continued to inspect the iron-barred cells, I couldn’t help but wonder just how long this narrow and endless basement stretched.
Even if our senses were slightly dulled by the darkness, the length of this passage clearly extended beyond the bounds of the mansion.
“Theonar.”
“Yeah, I felt it too.”
It seemed I wasn’t the only one who sensed something strange.
Gray also questioned the size of the basement.
“Gray, do you remember what was south of the mansion when you went straight down?”
“…I think there was a small house… Wait, no way?”
“Let’s just go all the way to the end. We don’t have time.”
A hypothesis formed in the back of my mind, just in case.
If she wasn’t in the basement, she might be somewhere connected to its far end.
Even as we meticulously checked both sides while crossing the basement, no one was to be found.
Despite the iron bars no longer being present, we kept running.
“Gray.”
“Yeah, it’s just like that.”
When we reached the end of the basement, the first thing that caught our eye was a bookshelf covered in thick layers of dust.
Remembering how we had to push a bookshelf to enter the basement earlier, this one was undoubtedly another hidden passage.
* * *
Fortunately, we found Madame Bichen in the place we arrived at after leaving the basement.
“Mm… mmm…”
Though her hands and feet were bound, and her eyes and mouth were tightly covered, there didn’t appear to be any serious external injuries.
“Sniff… Gray…”
The moment she saw Gray, she burst into tears, and Gray gently comforted her.
While mingling with widows might have been part of gathering information,
‘This feels strangely formal.’
It seemed different from the relationship I had imagined.
I thought Madame Bichen, at least, would look at Gray with affectionate eyes, but…
The current situation felt more like camaraderie or mutual respect,
Nothing more, nothing less.
‘Could it be that instead of using the widows for information… They, along with everyone else, are his informants?’
“Gray, we have a problem.”
“What is it?”
“The crazy Viscount who imprisoned us here plans to sell everyone he’s captured as slaves.”
“No way…”
“It’s true. He said he’s meeting a slave trader at the black market.”
‘That bastard.’
The black market is a place run by Elyon, the largest merchant guild in the empire.
Many nobles attend, and even members of the royal family occasionally visit.
As such, the imperial family tends to turn a blind eye to its existence,
Allowing it to operate just close enough to keep an eye on their activities.
Although certain illegal activities are tolerated,
There is one thing strictly forbidden: slave trading.
Since the abolition of slavery when the empire was founded, the practice has been nearly eradicated,
But lunatics like these occasionally appear.
Publicly, they claim to deal in exotic beasts,
But in reality, they are mentally deranged individuals trading humans.
While their reasons for using people as slaves vary, most are to satisfy their twisted desires.
“Madame Bichen, who is this Viscount you speak of?”
“…He’s a student at Delar Hyde Arcane.”
“And the people he had previously captured?”
“He said he would sell them off since he no longer needed fakes now that he had the real thing.”
‘So that’s what happened.’
All the rumors surrounding Madame Bichen were entirely false.
Delar Hyde had been targeting her all along.
After abducting her, he likely bribed the tailor to fabricate stories about seduction or coercion.
‘He planned to escape suspicion cleverly.’
However, this was nothing more than a shallow trick.
Once Madame Bichen was reported missing and an official investigation began, it would all be uncovered quickly.
The empire’s security forces weren’t that incompetent.
“He planned to sell them off and take me far away. He said he’d abandon his status as a student of Arcane and his title as Viscount Delar.”
If her words were true, Delar Hyde was undoubtedly a deranged lunatic.
“Madame Bichen, as difficult as it may be, could you accompany us to the black market?”
“Of course. Even if you tried to stop me, I’d still go.”
Now that I knew, I couldn’t just stand by while innocent people were sold into slavery.
Since we had to go to the black market anyway,
If we took her along and gathered sufficient evidence to report to the guards,
The matter could be resolved easily without us having to intervene directly.