The Villain’s Aide Has Run Away - Chapter 102.1
“…..”
“There’s no handle or lock.”
“It looks like a good place to hide weapons,” Kailos said.
Leslun, still unable to take his eyes off the hole, suddenly remembered the key he had put in his pocket.
“Could this key fit?”
When Leslun took out the key and asked, Kailos narrowed his eyes and examined the hole.
“We’ll know if we try.”
He reached out, trying to take the key from Leslun.
“I’ll do it.”
Robin quickly raised his hand to stop him. Leslun also hid the key from Kailos and stood beside Robin.
With the two aides blocking him, Kailos looked between them with an incredulous expression.
“What’s this? You’re treating me like a fragile glass doll.”
“You’re more precious than that, Your Highness. Do you have any idea how many lives are tied to yours?”
Robin shook his head as he spoke, and Leslun gripped the key tightly in both hands.
“I’ll open it.”
Leslun glanced at Kailos, then pulled the key back behind him.
“Leslun, I hope you understand that my life is at stake along with yours.”
Kailos poked Leslun’s forehead with his index finger as he said that.
“Then I’ll do it.”
Uncomfortable with the ticklish atmosphere between the two, Robin stepped forward first.
“We don’t even know if it’s the right key. It’s better to test it first. Besides, I’ve already pledged my life to Your Highness, yet you only care about Leslun. Our long friendship feels rather neglected.”
“Now that you’ve said that, I’m even less inclined to let you do it.”
Kailos spoke petulantly. It wasn’t the time for jokes, but bringing up “friendship” rubbed him the wrong way.
Just then, someone snatched the key from Leslun’s hand.
Leslun, who had only been on guard against the Crown Prince, was caught off guard and flailed helplessly as the key was taken.
“Step aside.”
At Lady Miroi’s clear and firm words, the three men fell silent at once. Robin was the first to regain his senses and reached out a hand.
“It could be dangerous, so I should—”
“I’ll do it.”
The pressure in her voice carried the authority unique to high nobility, leaving no room for refusal. Leslun, who had never seen Miroi this commanding before, froze on the spot.
Robin hesitated and stepped back a pace behind her. Kailos quickly grabbed Leslun’s shoulder and pulled him close to his side, leaving nothing to block Miroi’s way.
“I understand friendship and loyalty are all very touching, but if someone sees us like this, humiliation will come first.”
Shaking her head as if finding the men’s squabble ridiculous, she approached the frame and, without hesitation, inserted the key.
Silence fell.
Just when they thought it might not fit, a dragging sound broke out, like something heavy being pulled.
The wall split open, and a door-sized section about the height of an adult man protruded outward.
This time, Kailos didn’t hesitate and opened it.
Leslun instinctively wrinkled his nose at the scent wafting from within.
“It’s the same smell of oil from before.”
Robin raised his lantern toward the dark space inside.
“There’s… something in there.”
As his murmured words faded, the faint light pushed back the darkness, revealing several objects covered in cloth.
Kailos, his voice now sharp and cold, spoke.
“I’ll see for myself.”
Neither Robin nor Leslun could stop him from stepping inside. Kailos began lifting the cloths one by one.
Swords, spears, and crossbows.
The entrance was narrow, but the room itself was not. When they realized that every inch of the space was filled with weapons, no one could easily find words to speak.
“To think they dared to hide such weapons in the academy…”
Kailos’s quiet voice was laced with deepening fury.
The academy was a place he had taken special care in establishing.
Until its completion, he had forced himself to maintain cordial relations with the construction officials, but after that, it was different. Determined not to let the Empress seize full control, he had fought to ensure the academy opened according to his will.
Kailos’s gaze swept over the pile of weapons before he slowly picked up one sword. As the weight of it pressed into his hand, his eyes hardened.
“Arrest Count Maven.”
His voice, naming the man responsible for the academy’s founding, echoed low and steady through the hidden chamber.
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