Chapter 186: Searching for Clues in the Old Cleaning Storage Room

The small cleaning storage room was even more uncomfortable to search through than it looked. The three of them could barely fit among all the clutter.

Max was crouched down, rummaging through a pile of old rags while Dorian pushed brooms aside with an expression of absolute suffering.

Seraphine, on the other hand, looked far too calm for someone investigating a possible interdimensional conspiracy.

The magical compass continued floating above her grimoire, pointing directly toward the center of the room.

And yet... there was nothing there.

Dorian lifted a bottle of cleaning solution and sighed dramatically.

"There are no signs of a beautiful drow woman hiding in here."

Max didn’t even look up.

"Stop complaining and keep searching."

"Searching for what exactly?"

"I don’t know!"

Max opened a tiny cabinet filled with buckets.

"Something weird!"

Dorian crossed his arms.

"That is not a useful instruction."

Seraphine let out a small laugh while lightly knocking on the wall with her knuckles.

"The magic is still pointing to this place."

She narrowed her eyes slightly.

"So there’s definitely something hidden here."

Max slowly stood up.

"A secret passage?"

"Possibly."

Dorian pointed toward the ceiling.

"What if it’s up there?"

Max looked upward.

There were cobwebs.

A lot of cobwebs.

"...I’m not climbing up there."

"Coward."

"I’m realistic."

At that exact moment, from the hallway behind them, they heard a fake cough.

"Ahem."

All three immediately turned around.

Don was standing in the doorway, watching them with one eyebrow raised and both hands behind his back.

"...Would any of you care to explain why you’re rummaging through the cleaning storage room?"

Nobody answered for a few seconds.

Dorian reacted first.

"Don, we can explain."

"That, coming from you, usually means you can’t," the faun replied.

Seraphine let out an amused laugh.

"Well."

She partially closed the floating grimoire.

"Now that you’re here, you don’t really have a choice but to help us."

Don blinked.

"Help you with what?"

Max stepped a little closer.

"We need to know if there’s some kind of hidden hatch, passageway, or secret room around here."

Don immediately narrowed his eyes.

"That sounds suspicious."

"It is," Max admitted.

The butler sighed slowly.

"And why exactly should I help you?"

Max quickly pointed at him.

"Because we promise it’s important."

"That doesn’t help me either."

Dorian smiled faintly.

"We could tell you, but we need you not to mention this to the king, the princess, or anyone else."

Don immediately raised a finger.

"Ah, ah."

He pointed at the three of them.

"First, I need guarantees."

Max already had a bad feeling about where this was going.

And sure enough...

"What do I get in return?"

Dorian exhaled through his nose.

"You truly never change."

Don ignored the comment and looked directly at Seraphine.

"If Miss Seraphine promises to teach me a magic trick to impress Arwen..."

He smiled in satisfaction.

"...then I promise not to tell either the king or the princess anything."

Seraphine studied him for a few seconds.

Then she smiled faintly.

"Normally, I only teach magic to Lady Elanor and little Moonlight."

Don proudly adjusted his clothes.

"It’s a tremendous privilege."

"But..."

The mage crossed her arms.

"I’ll make an exception this time."

The faun’s eyes immediately lit up.

"Excellent. Then we have a deal."

Max slowly shook his head.

"I can’t believe we just bought the butler’s silence with magic lessons."

"Everyone has priorities," Don replied.

Then he pointed toward the floor.

"The wooden floor you’re standing on is actually a smooth carpet."

Max looked down.

"A smooth carpet?"

"Exactly."

Don nodded.

"It’s not actually part of the floor."

Seraphine raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean?"

"It’s a kind of covering, but since it isn’t magical, you can’t detect it," the butler explained.

"There should be an old hatch underneath."

Max’s eyes widened slightly.

"So there really was something hidden!"

Don nodded proudly.

"This castle is full of secret passageways."

Dorian smiled faintly.

"That explains way too many things."

Don pointed toward the large shelf and furniture resting on top of the carpet.

"But if you want to move it, you’ll need to clear all the furniture first."

Max stared at the floor for a few seconds.

Then he slowly turned toward Seraphine.

The mage immediately noticed the look on his face.

"...What?"

Max grinned.

"Do you have that magical scissors spell?"

Dorian blinked.

"The what?"

Max pointed excitedly.

"I vaguely remember there being a spell that summoned giant scissors made of magical energy."

He moved his hands dramatically.

"They fought on their own."

Seraphine was already smiling.

"Of course I have it."

Max snapped his fingers.

"Perfect."

Don raised an eyebrow.

"...Where exactly is this going?"

Seraphine slowly lifted one hand.

A blue magic circle appeared in front of her.

And seconds later...

Two enormous scissors made entirely of magical energy appeared floating in the air.

They glowed intensely.

The metallic blades clashed together with a sharp sound.

Don’s eyes widened.

"What are you planning to do with those?"

He pointed at the carpet.

"...You’re not going to cut the carpet, are you?"

SNIP.

The scissors had already begun.

The carpet split open perfectly as though they were cutting through a sheet of paper.

Don let out a strangled sound of suffering.

"THAT CARPET WAS IMPORTED!"

Max was far too fascinated watching the scissors work on their own.

"This is amazing."

Even Dorian looked impressed.

"Okay, I admit that was actually pretty cool."

Within seconds, the entire carpet had been neatly divided.

And underneath...

A dark gray floor material appeared.

But the most important thing was something else.

A single ceramic tile that clearly didn’t match the rest of the floor.

It sat slightly lower than the others.

And there were marks around it.

As if it could be moved.

Seraphine smiled slowly.

"Ah."

Max immediately crouched down in front of it.

"That definitely doesn’t look like part of the floor."

Don was still clutching his chest dramatically.

"I’m going to have a heart attack."

He pointed at the ruined carpet.

"You’re fixing that later."

Dorian laughed.

"Yeah, yeah."

Max nodded quickly too.

"Don’t worry."

Even though he clearly had no idea how they were supposed to repair a carpet destroyed by magical scissors.

Seraphine slowly approached the strange tile.

She observed it for a few seconds.

Then she placed one hand on top of it.

Magical energy lightly flowed through her fingers.

And the mage smiled sideways.

"So..."

She looked up at Max and Dorian.

"...the hidden room should be underneath this."