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Chapter 40

"It's exactly the same as the original, right?"

"I could do this in my sleep."

To a question anyone might have asked, Franz answered with confidence. It wasn't exactly a precise answer, but it seemed appropriate.

Angelina examined the treasure map again, still amazed.

"What exactly are we supposed to find on this map?"

"Nine diamonds. So we need to visit nine locations."

No matter how much his grandfather loved puzzles, this is too much.

She wondered if he really wanted his grandson to find the diamonds.

Giving up on deciphering the map, Angelina asked,

"Are all treasure maps like this?"

"This is my first time seeing one too. But it probably depends on the person who drew it."

"We should have asked the Duke of Lyon more questions. He might have had useful information."

"He was definitely an eccentric. A huge eccentric."

Alexei unfolded a map of the Tordi Empire beside the mysterious treasure map.

"Still, there are things we can figure out. These pictures—they must represent locations. This one is a bell tower, this one a theater. The others are the same."

As Alexei said, the illustrations directly indicated specific places. They hadn't drawn a bell tower as a deity or a theater as applause.

"Comparing this with the map, we should be able to confirm the burial sites."

"Seems so."

Alexei and Franz traced their fingers over the two maps, comparing them from top to bottom.

It wasn't difficult work. A total of eight locations were confirmed.

"One is missing?"

At Angelina's question, Alexei pointed to one spot.

"I'm not sure about this one. It looks like a mansion, but… Franz, what do you think?"

"It looks that way to me too."

"A wealthy merchant's house?"

"We'll know when we go."

"Then let's go."

Angelina concluded at Alexei's reply.

"But that alone won't be enough to find the treasure. It's too broad."

"Maybe we'll figure it out once we're there."

"These symbols might be clues."

Alexei pointed to the strange symbols drawn at each location.

"I have no idea what they mean."

"Let's just go first."

"We only have two months. In that time, we have to visit nine places. Rushing in blindly is too risky."

"Sitting still won't make the clues fall into our laps either."

"I'm trying to minimize trial and error. We also can't afford to look suspicious."

"So what is it you're trying to say?"

"We need to find out what these symbols mean first."

"We might find the answers at the locations themselves."

"I don't think that's likely."

"And I don't think we'll figure out these symbols just by staring at the map."

With each exchange, their voices grew louder.

The two stopped arguing and glared at each other. With neither willing to yield, Franz finally intervened.

"Wait, just a moment."

Feeling the sharp glances flying over his head, Franz tried to stop them again.

"Both of you have valid points."

"So Franz agrees with Alexei? That we should just stare at the map?"

"No, that's not it."

"Then are you saying we should go blindly, like Angelina says? Which of these places do we go to first? Dig up the ground or knock down walls?"

"That can't be right either."

Which beat is he supposed to follow?

Franz was flustered between the two sharp-faced people.

"You weren't like this last night or this morning. You should go back to that—better to tire your eyes than your heads."

A wife who willingly caught a mouse for her husband who was scared of them. A husband who covered his wife with a blanket and offered his thigh when she was uncomfortable sleeping.

At the time, it had seemed awkward, but now it was preferable.

At least he wouldn't have to mediate.

"We're usually like this. Last night was the exception."

"You said you hadn't seen each other in seven years. From the way you argue, I'd never guess that."

"Right. We didn't fight like this before. Angelina just did all the talking."

"Alexei was a blockhead. No matter what I said, he wouldn't even respond."

"I did respond."

"So you're saying you never fought before marriage, but you do after marriage?"

"We're not married. It was called off halfway."

"……"

"And we fought before marriage too. Big time."

Angelina glared fiercely at Alexei, arms crossed.

"Alexei never apologized or explained. That's why we cut ties."

"It was you who said we should cut ties."

"If you'd apologized right then, I wouldn't have. Or if you'd at least explained why, I wouldn't have."

"You know why."

"Is that really it? Just because I touched your book?"

"Don't you think that what you consider trivial could be important to me?"

"Even so, there's such a thing as common sense!"

"If you had common sense, you wouldn't have touched it."

"Excuse me, everyone… could I say something…"

"I touched it before, and you never got angry then. Why?"

"Do you think that justifies it?"

"You never said anything, so I assumed it was fine. It was tacit permission!"

"Stop! Just stop!"

Franz shouted.

The two froze like mice caught by a cat.

"Whatever grudges you have between you is none of my business. You can resolve it when you return home—whether you make up or break up, that's up to you. Right now, we're in a discussion. A discussion on which our lives depend."

"……"

"Debate is fine. But if you're going to fight over personal feelings, I'll wash my hands of this. I can't tell if this is an adventure or a honeymoon."

"It's not a honeymoon. We're not married," Angelina said hesitantly.

"We are married."

"She says we're not. There was no official declaration."

"Still, the ceremony was held, so it counts."

"So do we start from the middle? Or—"

Franz frowned.

"Are you really going to do this? Stop this lovers' quarrel."

"A lovers' quarrel? It's just a normal difference of opinion."

"Keep fighting like that, and you'll split up before you know it."

"It's normal to fight like enemies," Lara had said. So even if she saw the Crown Prince's other side, she should just take it in stride. Even if they seemed so incompatible she wondered how they'd last a lifetime—just take it in stride. That's how special a honeymoon was.

"Then it's a perfect example," Franz sneered.

"Sorry. I lost my temper for a moment. Where were we?" Alexei asked, coming back to his senses.

"You said we need to figure out what these symbols mean."

"Something just occurred to me—could they be ancient script?"

"That's possible."

"There should be books on ancient script. We need to find a library."

Fortunately, Is had a large library.

Since it was quite a distance away, they decided to get horses first.

To reduce risk, they split the travel funds equally into three.

The duke's map also marked the location of a horse rental stable. It was an optimal map for travelers—likely prepared in advance for the search for his grandfather's treasure.

The rental stable was near the inn.

The three wasted no time and headed out. They couldn't afford to slack off if they were to fulfill their promise to the duke.

"Welcome. Good Horse is Tordi's most diverse horse rental. What kind of horse are you looking for?"

"A gentle and sturdy one."

One that doesn't eat much feed, Angelina added silently from behind Alexei.

"Then you've come to the right place. We only rent horses perfectly trained by experts."

His bragging was a bit off-putting, but the horses looked healthy.

The two men each chose a horse.

"Pick one too, Angel."

Her turn came, but Angelina could only stand still.

She knew how to choose dresses, but not horses.

And more importantly, she couldn't ride.

When buying a car, don't you usually check if the person has a driver's license?

To Alexei, who urged her with his eyes, she asked the same with hers.

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