Before they knew it, the deep night had arrived, and the dark sky covered the Evergarden estate.
Until now, the servants had been busy moving expensive and heavy items to the storage room due to a seemingly sudden order, causing a stir throughout the estate.
But as the day came to a close, one by one, the lights went out, and the estate became quiet.
“Yawn…”
However, the day for Hams, a soldier stationed at Evergarden and on duty tonight, was not over yet.
“What’s wrong? Didn’t you sleep?”
“No, with all the things Lady had us do today… It was so noisy I couldn’t sleep.”
“It was loud, wasn’t it? I was asleep too, but I thought a cannonball had been fired or something with all that noise.”
“And our barracks are so close to the mansion, so the noise is even louder… Ugh.”
The soldiers of the Evergarden estate usually commute, but a temporary barracks near the mansion was set up for the night guards to rest.
Hams, who was on duty tonight, should have been sleeping there during the day, but because of all the noise from the mansion, he barely got any sleep and was feeling a bit dazed.
“Why did they suddenly decide to move all those things they’ve been storing so carefully?”
“You didn’t hear? They’re going to sell it all, apparently.”
“All of it? Suddenly?”
“Who knows? Who can understand the minds of nobles? Maybe it’s out of fashion, and they’re going to buy new things.”
“Hah… If I could just sneak one of those things and sell it, my life would turn around…”
“Don’t even think about it. If you get caught touching a noble’s stuff, you’ll lose your head. And it’s all really expensive!”
“I know, I’m just imagining.”
Hams and his partner, Chris, passed the time slowly with idle conversation, wondering why the Lady would suddenly do something like that and feeling envious of the nobles who could buy and sell treasures they could never afford even after a lifetime of work.
During guard duty, time often passed slowly, and it was boring.
Having someone to talk to was a blessing.
Just then.
Rustle—
“Huh? Did you hear that?”
“Hear what?”
“I thought I heard something moving.”
Hams, who had been fighting off sleep, leaning on his spear for support, perked up when he heard a sound.
“What? Where?”
“I’m not sure exactly, but I think it came from the bushes over there.”
“The bushes? Maybe it’s just a rat scurrying around.”
“…Is that it?”
“Probably. My friend who works in the kitchen was complaining recently about rats getting into the food storage.”
“…Yeah, I guess that’s it.”
“Of course! Who’d be crazy enough to sneak into a Count’s mansion in the middle of the night?”
“Damn… I got all worked up over nothing. I’m so tired.”
“Just hang in there a little longer. How about we grab a drink back at the barracks after patrol?”
“What? What if we get caught?”
“We won’t. We’ve done it a few times, and no one’s said anything.”
“…What’s the snack?”
Hams, startled by the rustling, soon found himself imagining sipping the wine his colleague had stashed, as they finished their patrol and watched the rising sun.
But.
“Damn… Damn…!!”
What they had dismissed as the sound of a rat was actually caused by a person.
If anything, this person was not so much an intruder as they were an escapee.
Indeed, that was the case.
Even if Common stepped up and told the head of the household everything in an attempt to save his life, with that erratic personality, he could only foresee a future where his head would be separated from his body.
“You, a mere beast, should have just been satisfied with the scraps you were given. How dare you, in your ignorance, dream beyond the bowl you were meant to eat from. But I won’t forget you, regardless—zzzzzt… Hmm. Maybe for about three more days? Heh.”
“What the…? Hey, you dog!”
Clang!
With that, Viscount Bjor left one last sneer directed at Gordon and cut off communication entirely.
Not only had he abandoned him in a classic “throw away the servant once they’ve served their purpose” betrayal, but he also made sure to swiftly block any incoming curses.
If he had lived in the modern world, Bjor’s cunning could have made him a true professional gamer in many ways.
However, this was a twisted fantasy world entangled with medieval times and magic, and Gordon could physically feel the blade of death pressing just below his throat as a result of Bjor’s betrayal.
“Damn you, Viscount Bjor…!”
After that, Gordon remained hidden, waiting for the right moment until the Evergarden mansion was fully shrouded in the dark curtain of night.
Gritting his teeth, he ground his massive body against the dirt floor, determined to escape.
Though he had managed to leave his room and sneak out of the mansion, the soldiers guarding the front gate, the back gate, and all the paths in between were too many.
In Common’s case, he could have boldly walked out the front gate, telling the guards he had business to attend to, and left the mansion with ease.
After all, Common had often gone out like that, slipping out for a night of enjoyment and returning early in the morning without issue.
But the problem was Freya.
Freya had already noticed the forged documents and might have even hinted at their existence.
Had she not given a heads-up to the guards who were assigned the critical task of securing the mansion?
If he tried to walk out in front of the guards again, boldly claiming he was leaving, he might get smacked on the head and dragged by his heavy body straight to Freya’s feet.
Sneaking past the guards and scaling the walls was also out of the question.
With a life spent glued to his desk, his heavy and bulky body made that impossible, even if there were no guards at all.
So, what kind of escape plan did Common have up his sleeve?
“There’s only one way.”
Despite the excess fat around his brain, Common wasn’t completely foolish.
Pulling off something this gutsy required at least some brainpower.
With that, he took out a map he had kept hidden in his jacket.
“The secret passage passed down only within the Evergarden family. There’s no other way…!”
While working in the head of household’s office, Common had accidentally discovered the existence of a secret passage and planned to use it to escape.
The first head of the Evergarden family had been a skilled warrior and had carved out secret passages throughout the mansion, preparing for emergencies.
Only the head of the household and the key heirs were supposed to know about this, but the current head didn’t even know it existed.
Dariann had never been a proper heir, and even when he became the head, he had no interest in such secrets.
Thus, the map that had been neglected in the corner of the master’s office had now become Common’s key to survival.
“I won’t let those idiots catch me! I’ll escape for sure…!!”
Recalling his plan, Common let out a sly grin as he dragged his heavy body across the ground and muttered to himself.
“Right, go right here, then left, and pull the third lever—”
Rumble—
“Oh, is this it?!”
Crawling through the garden and rolling beneath the walls, Common made his way toward the hidden secret passage near the mansion.
The tunnel, made of earthen walls, was extremely dark, but faintly glowing stones embedded here and there provided just enough light to see a few steps ahead.
Referring to the secret passage map he had copied beforehand, Common slowly made his way through the tunnel and finally reached the exit.
Pulling what appeared to be a torch holder lever, the secret door, which he had thought was just a wall, opened with a grand sound.
“Escape… I’m escaping!!!”
Thump thump thump—
The moment he saw the exit come into view, Common cheered and began running for his life, his heavy body lurching forward as sweat dripped from his feet.
‘First, I’ll use the secret funds I’ve stashed away to buy a carriage and get out of this territory! I’ve got enough money. With this, I’ll hide out in some remote region and prepare for a fresh start!’
Even while his sluggish body lagged behind, his mind raced, planning how he would use the jewels and gold he had secretly stowed away to start a new life.
“This Common… I will never fall like this… kuh!!”
Thud!
Just as he was shouting, having nearly reached the exit, something struck him hard on the head.
He collapsed backward, his round body rolling several times across the ground.
“What, what was that?!”
Shocked by the sudden blow, Common scrambled to his feet and looked ahead.
“Wow… you actually came out here? Guess it was worth the wait, huh?”
“Huff…!”
Emerging from the darkness, someone approached the fallen Common.
It was then that he saw the figure hidden in the shadows.
“You… you’re the Count of Evergarden!”
“Huh? Oh, right. Count of Evergarden. Geez, I keep forgetting that.”
The figure was none other than Dariann Evergarden.
“Hey, did this fool just talk back to a noble? Want to die?”
“H-how are you… here?”
Common, confused, couldn’t understand how Dariann, who wasn’t supposed to know about the passage, had found him.
“Hmm… never mind, this noble act feels awkward. Can’t do it.”
“But, you know, this part doesn’t feel awkward at all.”
Crack—crack—
Dariann clenched his fist tightly, the sound of his bones grinding together echoing ominously through the secret passage.
“Now, how about a punch?”
Wham—
The last thing Common saw before his consciousness faded was Dariann’s smiling fist coming straight toward his face.