NOVEL NEXT 
Chapter 10: Mundane...
(Syrilblia’s POV)
My worst fears were realized, as inside the study, it was just a normal one. And without any illegal within it. Well… maybe he hid some drugs in this room? I have no real idea.
Marina: “There doesn’t seem to be anything illegal on the surface, but I highly doubt that Martin kept this room locked up completely for no reason at all.” She said with a confident tone.
Carna: “I agree. There must be something hidden. If only our dear, Lady Syrilblia, could recall what the secret was.” She said with a knowing tone.
Syrilblia: “Yeah…” I nervously reply.
Damn… they’re so onto me. But that doesn’t matter. No matter how long it will be, I won’t be the one to admit that I am not actually Marina’s daughter. They’ll have to be the one to ask that of me. My pettiness refuses to give in and admit it!!!
Syrilblia: “Where should we even look?” I ask with a curious tone.
Carna: “I think that it will be unlikely that anything illegal is out in the open. Let’s just search everywhere.” She answered.
Just search everywhere? That I can do! The study wasn’t as small as it sounded. Instead, it had two floors, and each one was the size of a small house. Frankly, I am confused on why the wastrel husband gets such a nice place, while Marina just has a small personal study.
Granted, Marina’s study is nice as well. But it doesn’t come close to this size. Not to mention, there were various shelves that held books. All of which could easily be repurposed to hold Marina’s work.
Marina: “Find anything?” She asked.
Syrilblia: “Nothing yet, no. By the way, Marina?” I reply.
Marina: “What’s wrong?” She replied.
Syrilblia: “After we kill Martin, you should move into this study. The extra space will surely help you in the long run.” I suggest.
Marina: “Oh? Thinking so much about my wellbeing? I assumed that you’d only do that until Martin is dealt with. After all, I did agree to get rid of any evidence that would get you executed.” She replied with her arms crossed.
Syrilblia: “Huh? But I love you…” I reply with a sad tone.
Marina: “…”
Syrilblia: “…”
Marina: “Do you truly love me? Will you brave the opinions of the people who will surely detest if we get married?” She asked with a serious tone.
Syrilblia: “Absolutely! I didn’t have sex with you, and continue to do so for my own benefit. I love you and wish to marry you in the future. Marina… please don’t underestimate my feelings for you.” I answer with a confident tone.
Marina: “I see. And I am not playing with you, either. I will trust in your words now, and will hold you to them when the time comes.” She replied with a smile.
This conversation might seem odd, as we have made love many times by now. Is twice many times? Oh, so nevermind. Such words do make sense now. From Marina’s point of view, I am just some random woman in her daughter’s body, who she has started a sexual and romantic relationship with.
To ask her to trust my words, while I still haven’t admitted to not being Syrilblia, is an amazingly difficult thing to ask of her. In fact, her accepting my words right now makes me very happy.
Syrilblia: “Please do. Oh! I want us to both be wearing cute and beautiful wedding dresses!” I say with an excited tone.
Marina: “Of course. Nothing but the best for you, dear.” She whispered with a seductive tone into my ear.
Syrilblia: “…”
Carna: “Can you two please stop flirting so that we can get our work done? Martin will be back in just a few days…” She pleaded.
Being told off by a maid… it went without saying that both Marina and I had red faces. It was like we were schoolgirls caught slacking off in class, or something along those lines. That is to say, it was very embarrassing.
Later.
With the scolding of Carna, we went back to looking around the study. Even with such a large space, it didn’t take long for us to look through it all. We found nothing, so we just stood in the middle of the study, thinking.
Marina: “There weren’t even any documents about how he has embezzled coins within this study…” She said with a sigh.
Carna: “Nor were there any drugs, or anything else illegal.” She said with a sigh of her own.
Honestly, I was about to let out a sigh of my own. But I caught sight of something interesting…
Syrilblia: “You all need to think outside of the box.” I propose with a smug tone.
Marina: “What do you mean?” She said with a confused head tilt.
There was a bookshelf that jutted out from the wall and the rest of the shelves. Underneath it, to the left side, were very small marks. The marks looked as if you moved the bookshelf across the floor.
Of course, they weren’t that obvious. But the marks were still there, evident by the rug that was rolled up and placed to the side. I can only assume that Martin forgot to move the rug back, which would have completely hidden the marks. After all, only he and I should have access to this place. How careless…
Walking up to the bookshelf, it was very blatantly hidden. I don’t know why I can read and speak in this language, as it wasn’t English at all. But I could, and I will abuse that fact, and chop it up to magic bullshit. At least I got one cheat…
Anyway, the books on the shelf weren’t anything special. Neither dealing with work, most of them were history or military tactic books. A perfect disguise. Neither Marina, Carna, or I looked on this bookshelf for clues.
Trailing my hand across the books, I landed on one that was oddly solid. Rather than a book, it felt to be metal. Martin really did like to waste money. How much would it cost to make metal look like a book?…
Shaking the feeling of such a waste of money, I pulled the book downwards. And as it was a lever, the bookshelf then slide to the left, revealing a tunnel that was lit up by magical stones. Ah, right… I forgot that magic exists in this world.
Can you really blame me for constantly forgetting about this? It wasn’t like in a novel, movie, or game. After just a day, I had gotten used to the mana crystals that were used as a light source in this estate. I only now brought it up, as the mana crystals inside the tunnel were an ominous green color.
Syrilblia: “Ha! I knew that this estate had a dungeon!” I happily exclaimed.
Carna: “…”
Marina: “…”
Syrilblia: “What?” I say, looking back at the two oddly quiet women behind me.
Marina: “To think that there was a dungeon in this estate… I should have gotten my parents to fully explain more before they died.” She said with a regretful tone.
Syrilblia: “Eh, hindsight is twenty/twenty, you know. No use in regretting a past that you cannot change.” I say with a shrug.
Carna: “Hmph. How wise.” She said with a laugh.
Syrilblia: “Ah, thanks for the praise. But I much prefer Marina being the one who praises me.” I say with a cheeky tone.
Carna: “…”
Marina: “…”
With that little chat over, we three went inside the tunnel. Rather than it looking brand new, the walls looked to be somewhat old. Which would mean that Martin just repurposed the tunnel, and whatever it leads to. With great excitement, I ventured forth with a cute maid, and very cute milf, down a tunnel. What could go wrong?