Nathan Evenhart:
"Is that the sa crow you saw in the underground tunnels of Nikolaus Wolves’ castle?" Cylla asked, her voice cutting through the silence.
"I... don't know. Maybe?" I replied as I walked—almost ran—forward. My pace quickened, weaving between people in the crowd. The crow was a little far ahead, but we could still see it. Cylla jumped onto my shoulder.
"There it is!" she said, pointing with her paws.
No one else seed to see or hear the crow.
Despite the ongoing banquet, the hall was still filled with nobles engaged in conversations or listening to staff explain various artifacts. I wanted to run or use magic, but I had to keep a discreet pace to avoid drawing attention.
"CAW!" The crow cawed again before flying off. It turned down a corridor, and we hurried after it.
As soon as we rounded the corner, I froze in surprise.
The corridor led to a single door—an isolated room. There was no one around.
I stepped inside, still hearing the faint sound of flapping wings. But what really caught my attention were the objects surrounding .
"I don't rember passing by this room before…" I murmured. "Maybe it’s so out of place that I just overlooked it."
The place resembled a pawnshop, filled with display cases containing old artifacts. Most were wooden sculptures, but there were also animal skulls, round shields, and oddly shaped axes.
"These things look really different," Cylla comnted.
The atmosphere had a more rustic feel compared to the rest of the event. Fur coats were displayed next to nurous paintings.
"Yeah, these are... old relics," I replied while scanning the room, still trying to locate the crow. But it was gone.
There were also fragnts of scrolls protected under glass dos. So depicted strange paintings—one of which showed a grand feast.
"Oh! Looks like I have a visitor," a voice said behind .
I turned around to see a staff mber stepping out of a small room that looked like an office. He was carrying a stack of papers, and as he fumbled to reach into his pocket for his glasses, a few sheets slipped from his grasp and fell to the floor.
"Sorry, I think I ca at a bad ti," I said, trying to play it off.
"Nonsense," he chuckled, placing the docunts on a chair.
Straightening his uniform, he approached us.
"Not many people co here. Most rush off to see the spell demonstrations and weapon showcases. Hardly anyone is interested in history," he remarked with a light laugh. "Are you lost, by any chance?"
"No. Actually, I'm interested in the objects in this room. They're... different," I answered, still searching.
The last ti I had seen that crow, it had led to a hidden section of a mural.
Cylla leaped down and began exploring the area on her own.
"There are quite a few interesting pieces here. Well... to younger folks, they probably seem like nothing but antiques. But I find the history behind them fascinating," the man mused as he walked through the room, motioning for to follow. "May I ask your na, young man?"
"I’m Nathan Evenhart," I replied, stepping forward.
"Oh, Evenhart? One of the eight ducal families?"
"That’s right."
He quickly adjusted his clothing and glasses, then ran a hand through his hair to check if it was neat.
"I would’ve preferred not knowing your surna. Now I’m a little nervous," he said with a chuckle.
"You can treat normally," I replied. I was eager to learn more about so of the pieces in this little museum and didn’t care much for noble formalities.
He seed to ponder that for a mont before responding.
"I’m glad to hear that."
The man moved behind the counter.
"Unfortunately, my lord is quite overprotective of his collection and wants to start locking things up. He has a special fondness for every item in this place. I was actually heading toward the door to close up for the night when you surprised by coming in."
"I was just exploring different areas and happened to find this secluded room," I explained.
He continued sorting through so papers.
"Feel free to browse the items. If you have any questions, just ask. But fair warning—my ti is short. I need to close up soon and join the other staff for the dukes' speech. You might not get scolded for skipping it, but I certainly will," he said with a laugh.
"I’ll look for that crow," Cylla said as she padded through the room. "Maybe it’s hiding sowhere around here."
"Alright, we should split up," I replied in thought.
I glanced at the counter and noticed a few wooden carvings.
"Any recomndations on what’s worth looking at?" I asked.
He gave a knowing smile.
"The thrill of finding a treasure is in the search."
I began wandering through the space.
I passed by helts displayed in glass cases, swords, and gauntlets. There were also several sculptures—many of them broken. One in particular caught my eye: a bust of a man. Part of his face was missing, but the remaining details were remarkably well-preserved. It had likely been damaged long before it was discovered in so excavation.
Moving to another section, I found a collection of paintings—landscapes and family portraits.
"The paintings on the left are at least five hundred years old. They docunt the ancient lineage of kings and queens from the Three Kingdoms. An interesting sight to behold," the man comnted.
I nodded in agreent, though what I was truly looking for was sothing far older.
Leaving the counter, he approached as I studied the paintings.
"Did you know that the identities of all royal family mbers remain anonymous during their lifeti? It’s a security asure for the current generation. Usually, their nas are only made public fifty to a hundred years after their death," he said. "But of course, you must already know that, being a ducal heir," he added with a smirk.
"It’s just another system to protect the families and their branches," I replied. "I only learned who the prince was when he turned twelve and was officially introduced at his coming-of-age ceremony."
And the princesses… I only t them afterward. They didn’t even appear at the ceremony…
"I was practically anonymous in my duchy as well. It wasn’t until I turned fifteen that the other nobles began eting in person. Even now, to the public, they only know my na. My face remains unknown."
I continued wandering through the room, examining weapons, animal skulls, and even a few antique pieces of furniture.
"Do you have anything even older?" I asked.
He seed to think for a mont.
"There are weapons from the ancient wars between the continents," he said. "I know young people tend to like weapons."
Judging by my expression, he must’ve realized that answer didn’t satisfy , because he quickly reconsidered.
"Co," he finally said. "I think I have sothing here that might interest you."
I followed him, my eyes scanning the surroundings.
"My beloved, I feel sothing strange in this place," Cylla spoke through our telepathic link.
"Strange? What do you an?"
I kept walking, following the staff mber.
"Maybe sothing’s hidden here sowhere…" Cylla mused. From a distance, I could see her hopping around as she examined the objects scattered throughout the room.
I continued following the man until we stopped in front of a plaster model. It was impressive. The city’s structure was unlike anything I had ever seen, and even the miniature people were sculpted with ticulous detail.
"This was crafted by a skilled artisan—one who wasn’t a mage. He did everything by hand. A remarkable man," the staff mber said. "This is a faithful reproduction of a city that appears in an ancient painting. The artist managed to capture the intricacies of that civilization’s details."
I stepped closer, intrigued.
The model depicted a village with wooden and thatched huts. Tiny stone figures represented people wielding axes and wearing strange helts. There was even a tavern, where so of the miniature stone n appeared to be drinking and talking.
"Truly impressive…" I murmured, surprised. "From what era is this?"
"I believe it dates back to a few years before the Age of the Founding Emperor."
So it’s not from the Ancient Civilization…
I glanced around, but nothing here seed to match what I was searching for.
"You're a tough one to please, haha," the man chuckled. "But I get it. After watching that spell demonstration, it’s hard to compete."
"It’s not that," I tried to explain. "I do think this is incredible, but I’m looking for sothing… older. Sothing from the Ancient Civilization."
He scratched his head, thoughtful.
"Most people don’t really care about that kind of thing. At most, they’re interested in enchanted relics. But you seem to be after sothing purely historical," he observed with a reserved smile. "Well, I do have an old mural fragnt. No one’s ever shown interest in it. Would that be what you’re looking for?"
I struggled to keep my excitent from showing.
"My beloved, I found the mural!" Cylla’s voice rang in my mind, filled with excitent.
"I’d love to see it," I said, doing my best to contain my enthusiasm.
"Great!" The staff mber seed pleased. "I think my master will be happy to know that soone besides him has an interest in these ancient murals."
We made our way down the corridor as he searched for the piece.
We passed by elaborate sets of armor and an incredibly ornate battle-axe. The place housed a wide variety of items, from traditional clothing to shelves stocked with potions and elixirs.
After a few more steps, we finally reached the mural.
The display case was strategically lit to highlight the artifact. It was a large, weathered stone slab—clearly incomplete. At so point, it must have been part of a much larger mural that had been broken into pieces. So parts had been restored and glued back together, suggesting that the noble who owned it had tried to reconstruct it as best as possible.
"This is a rare find from the Ancient Civilization," the man comnted as he stepped closer. "It’s worth a fortune. Though, from what I’ve heard, the kingdom’s authorities like to keep so of these murals for themselves," he added with a casual tone.
I continued analyzing the details. The runes were so worn down that they were barely distinguishable. Even the few legible ones didn’t form complete words—just isolated letters.
"This piece was acquired at an auction," he explained. "Each noble took a fragnt of the mural."
In the end, it was practically useless without the full set.
"Seems like a dead end…" Cylla murmured in my mind.
A slight wave of disappointnt settled over .
"At least now I know there are more murals out there. I just need to keep an eye on future auctions," I said, trying to sound a bit more optimistic.
Suddenly, sounds began echoing through the room. The noise ca from the hallway and even from so points in the walls of the room. They were sound stones emitting a warning, requesting the presence of everyone.
"It looks like we all need to go see the Duke's presentation," the staff mber said, rushing to the counter and grabbing a large stack of docunts.
Cylla ran beside as we followed him.
"I'll have to organize these inventory docunts before I can go. I won't be able to join you," he said, apologizing.
"No problem. Thank you very much for your ti," I replied. "What’s your na?"
"My na is Siegfried Hraesvelgr VII," he replied. "It was a pleasure eting you, Nathan."
"The pleasure was all mine. I wish I had had more ti to see your collection. There are so many interesting objects. I imagine each one has an important story," I comnted.
"You have no idea," he said.
"Let's go," I said to Cylla, and we left the room.
The sound of the summons echoed through the ship. So people were rushing in a hurry. No one wanted the sha of arriving late, as it would be disrespectful to the dukes.
"Boy!"
A voice called to .
I turned and saw Siegfried running toward us.
"Here!" he said, handing what looked like a letter. "Before the mural was divided, they reconstructed as much as they could and transcribed the runes onto this letter. It's still imperfect, but at least they managed to recover as much as possible. It was left as a reminder for the nobles who bought the fragnts."
I took the letter, surprised and excited.
"Are you sure? Isn’t this valuable?"
"Nonsense. My master has the original docunt. This is just a copy. I should have left it next to the mural fragnt, but I forgot," he said, laughing awkwardly. "I hope it will be a nice nto for you. Maybe one day you can see my master’s entire collection."
"Thank you very much, Sir Hraesvelgr," I sincerely thanked.
"Just Siegfried is fine," he replied.
I stored the docunt in my storage bracelet.
"I hope it will be useful for you. Good luck," he said as he turned to walk away.
"Wait, what’s the na of your master? I really hope to visit his collection one day."
He looked at for a mont before replying.
"It’s a modest noble family, but they like old things. My family has served them for a long ti. I serve the Odinson family," he said with a smile before turning and continuing on his way.
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