* * *
On closer inspection, the painting had a very small fireplace in the background.
I leaned in to examine it.
The design looked eerily similar to the one in this room.
I pressed my finger against the painted fireplace.
“……”
It didn’t sink in.
Just the rough texture of thickly applied paint on a flat canvas.
But—I thought I heard a faint click.
So soft, even a breeze could’ve drowned it out.
I rushed back inside the fireplace and placed my hand on the wall.
Slide—
“There it is!”
With just a little pressure, the wall shifted easily to the side, revealing a staircase leading downward.
I stepped in and pulled the wall shut behind me.
Darkness immediately swallowed everything.
I stood still, trying to remember exactly where the stairs had been.
Falling down them in the dark would be a terrible idea.
Not that I’d get hurt if I rolled properly—but still.
‘Three steps forward, I think…’
Just as I began to move—
“……!”
Soft lights began glowing from the walls along the passage.
Faint, but enough to make out my surroundings in the pitch black.
I started down the narrow staircase, barely wide enough for two people to stand side by side.
The air was thick, stuffy—heavy in a way that pressed against my lungs.
The musty smell, trapped without escape, burned my nose and nearly made me cough.
Clearly, not just anyone could use a passage like this.
The spiral stairway twisted dizzyingly for what felt like forever, until I finally reached level ground.
I had to lean on the wall and take several deep breaths—the air quality was horrendous.
“Damn… Who built this nightmare?”
Was this passage meant for escape or punishment?
After a brief rest, I kept moving.
Flat ground was better, at least.
But the air was still awful.
I must’ve descended pretty far underground.
I was just considering whether to break through the ceiling and leave when I finally saw stairs going up.
At the top of the stairs was a small stone door.
Thunk—
This door slid open easily, no switches needed.
And at last—fresh air greeted me.
“Phew…”
I inhaled deeply as I stepped out, filling my lungs with clean air.
Only then did my head feel clear again.
If someone attacked and things went south, I’d rather face them head-on than escape like that again.
I turned around and closed the stone door behind me.
With my mind calm again, I finally took in my surroundings.
I had emerged from the base of one of the decorative statues outside the building—a statue of a saint in prayer.
No one would smash it unless they were truly wicked.
A perfect place for a secret exit.
‘If only the air wasn’t so stifling…’
But then again, installing ventilation in a hidden passage would defeat the purpose.
‘The healer’s quarters… it was in the east tower, wasn’t it?’
If the reason my house arrest hadn’t been lifted was because the medicine wasn’t ready, I could just go get it myself.
I remembered the novel’s protagonist also visited the healer in the east tower.
I looked up at the sky.
Judging the sun’s position made it easy to figure out which way was east.
Crunch crunch—
“……?!”
Just then, hurried footsteps—barely muffled—brushed my ears.
I ducked into the nearby bushes without a sound.
A guard on patrol passed right in front of me.
“I’m sure I heard something…”
“……”
I held my breath.
The guard stopped, clearly convinced someone was there, and began carefully scanning the area.
I used the distraction to slip a few steps farther.
He didn’t seem to hear that much, so I continued sneaking eastward.
The tower wasn’t that tall—maybe about 15 meters?
Most of it was used as storage or for brewing medicine.
The healer occupied the fourth floor.
There were usually guards posted at entrances, but this place was oddly unguarded.
Maybe they wanted to make it feel open and welcoming.
That made it both a strength and a weakness.
As long as you passed the front gate, anyone could enter.
Thanks to that, I was able to walk right up the stairs without issue.
“Ugh…”
A strange scent wafted up from the entrance, tickling my nose.
That secret passage—twice now.
The bitter smell, mixed with the scent of herbs, felt like it filled my mouth.
The kind of thing that’s probably good for your body but terrible to taste.
Everyone on each floor seemed too caught up in their own tasks to pay any attention to who was coming and going.
“Ugh.”
The closer I got to the healer’s room, the stronger the smell became.
I could finally understand why the protagonist had covered his nose.
When I reached the fourth floor, I was greeted by the bubbling sound of something boiling.
In front of the large cauldron stood a figure with neatly tied-up hair, wearing a pale beige robe.
She was entirely focused on stirring the contents of the pot.
That must be the healer I’m looking for.
Unless it’s absolutely necessary, it’s best not to speak needlessly.
“How may I help you?”
“…!”
But before I could even open my mouth, she asked first.
“Adrian…”
“Oh, you’re here about Adrian Valuncio’s medicine, aren’t you?”
I am Adrian, actually.
Even though she interrupted me in her haste to answer, she never looked away from the cauldron, as if it required her full attention every second.
“Yes. I’ve been waiting for days, but the medicine still isn’t ready.”
“From what I’ve seen, Lord Adrian is in excellent health. Yet I heard you suffer from a chronic illness. And since you requested a tonic to help with your frailty, I’ve been struggling to decide what kind of medicine to make.”
“…”
So Klen asking her for medicine wasn’t a lie.
And it turns out, the reason I’m still banned from going out is truly because the medicine isn’t done yet.
It’s been days—has she really been just thinking about it all this time?
“Did you tell Klen that?”
“I haven’t told him yet… but I don’t think there’s any need to.”
I let out a quiet sigh of relief.
At least Klen hadn’t heard anything about how ‘remarkably healthy’ I am.
And now that I’ve come in person to pick up the medicine, she likely won’t bring it up either.
“I wasn’t sure if those ingredients would work well together, but I finally figured out what to make. Unfortunately, I ran out of one of the key ingredients, so I need someone to go and fetch it.”
“What ingredient is missing?”
Now that piqued my interest.
“It’s the leaves of a plant called ‘Lichel’ that grows outside the city. If you can bring back the fruit as well, even better. It’s not hard to find, but freshness is vital—it has to be picked and brought back immediately for the medicine to be effective.”
“I’ll go get it.”
Lichel bears very distinctive fruit—easy to identify.
If it’s nearby, I can fly out right away.
And if that’s all I need, then I can finally lift my damn outing ban.
“If you’re willing to do that, I’ll start preparing right away.”
She seemed to have been waiting for me to say that.
No need for either of us to wait any longer—we both get what we want.
The only issue is getting past this place and the city gates…
Wearing a hood and sneaking through the stables like last time might work, but getting to the stables is another matter.
* * *
