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What kind of item could it be that's making its jump around so excitedly?
Each time Aqum's short hind legs bounced, the little bumps on its back glistened with tiny droplets of water.
"What kind of item is it?"
[A box! It has a lock on it, but when I looked closely, it seems like the key we found would fit perfectly!]
Judging by how its eyes sparkled as it spoke, it must be something important. But still, it was nighttime.
[It's because Julia once hid her treasure in that box.]
"Ohh."
My ears perked up. Grandma Julia's treasure chest?!
"Where is it?"
I started walking toward the Room of Reflection to put away the letter from Chief Baltar. Aqum trotted along behind me as it replied.
[Near Marian's house, in the greenhouse!]
"The Sapphire House?"
[Yeah! Inside the greenhouse storage! Remember that ancient fish I accidentally left behind last time because of the bushes? Since then, I've been exploring all the places I don't usually go to and that's when I found Julia's treasure chest on the storage floor! Little Quartz likes things like this, so I came running right away! I did well, right? Right?]
"Yeah! You did great, Aqum!"
I praised it with a bright smile, though something felt a little strange.
'Why would Grandma Julia's keepsake be in the greenhouse attached to the Sapphire House?'
It wasn't in the main residence, nor the Stone House.
Grandfather's first wife, Grandma Priscilla's children, still treated Grandma Julia as if she were nothing more than a mistress. Aunt Marian was no exception. So it was odd, why would Grandma Julia's belongings be lying on the floor of the Sapphire House's storage room?
'Hmm…'
I figured I should check on its condition. If it was being neglected, I ought to bring it back.
Dad wouldn't feel good if he found out it had been left there.
Fortunately, Dad hadn't returned yet from Goldport. It was nighttime, but since it wasn't too far away, I could sneak over quickly and come back without a problem.
'Besides, I'm curious what kind of treasure might be inside~'
After setting down Chief Baltar's letter, I took the key and left the Room of Reflection.
"Let's go check it out. Did you see anyone on your way here?"
[Nope~! Around this hour, only the knights on guard duty are moving around. I know everything that's going on!]
It being night actually worked in my favor.
By this time, except for the night patrols and a few resident servants in the main and separate houses, everyone who wasn't part of the Travel family would've already gone back to their quarters beyond the inner wall.
'It's best if as few people as possible see me heading to the Sapphire House!'
I changed into a dark-colored dress and slowly opened my bedroom door.
In the hallway, a single statue embedded with a luminous stone softly lit the surroundings.
[There's no one downstairs~]
Aqum, who had gone ahead to scout, reported back to me.
I was just about to sneak down the stairs to find the treasure chest, no, Grandma Julia's box, when…
"Berry, where are you going?"
"Eek-!"
Theon's voice came from above my head. Startled, my foot slipped off the next step, and my body tilted dangerously.
No way! I couldn't die from something like this-!
Thunk.
Before I knew it, Theon had rushed down and grabbed my wrist, pulling me upright.
"I-I'm alive…"
"Sorry for scaring you, Berry."
Theon, who still had a firm grip on my wrist, looked even more shaken than I was.
He helped me stand and examined me carefully from head to toe.
"Theon, did you just come down from upstairs?"
Theon nodded.
Dad's study was on the upper floor.
Lately, Theon had started reading not only the newspaper but also academic and general knowledge books. Dad had been tutoring him, turning the study into something like a classroom.
Even when Dad was away, Theon often studied alone in there.
Training, studying, eating, sleeping, then again, training, studying…
"Theon, aren't you going to sleep?"
"No. Teacher hasn't returned yet."
"Dad's going to be late tonight. Mr. Victor said he rented out the whole store, remember? So, Theon, you should get some rest. It's bedtime for kids~"
"……"
Theon silently looked down at me.
Ah, right. I was younger than Theon.
And the look in his eyes, he was starting to get suspicious.
[Little Quartz~! Aren't you coming yet?]
Aqum's voice urged me from downstairs.
So much for sneaking out quietly. Theon had already noticed that I wasn't dressed in pajamas.
'But this is my chance!'
It wasn't often that Dad went out at night.
As I racked my brain on how to convince Theon so I could still go outside, a good idea suddenly came to me.
"Theon, want to come outside with me?"
"It's dangerous to go out at night."
"That's exactly why. Remember? You said if I ever did something dangerous again, you'd do it with me."
I grinned mischievously, and Theon blinked at me.
***
The greenhouse attached to the Sapphire House was about a ten-minute walk from the Stone House.
"I heard there's a locked box in the storage room of the greenhouse. You remember that key we found in the crow's nest last time? It might open it."
Even though I didn't tell him where I got that information, Theon followed me without hesitation. He didn't even ask for details, so much that I felt compelled to check if he was really okay with it. He just nodded.
"If I can go with you, the reason doesn't matter much."
"Gasp, Theon."
"Because even if I tried to stop you, you'd go anyway. So if something dangerous happens, it's my job to help."
For a moment, I was touched by his loyalty, until I realized he only said that because he didn't trust me to stay out of trouble.
Apparently, he'd decided it was too risky to let me go alone.
"If I sense anyone nearby, I'll tell you."
[And I'll let you know if I see anyone along the way!]
Thanks to that, I felt much safer than when it was just me and Aqum.
Aqum couldn't detect people outside of its line of sight, after all.
"That's reassuring."
When I murmured that sincerely, Theon froze for a moment.
"…I'll do my best."
He was definitely embarrassed.
Before long, we reached the greenhouse. White cloths hung over the glass walls like curtains, hiding the inside from view.
When we opened the door and stepped in, moonlight filtered through the glass ceiling, faintly illuminating the space.
"Huh. Looks like no one's been using this place."
Aunt Marian didn't care for gardening, so maybe that's why the greenhouse had been abandoned.
The door stood open; the flowerbeds were empty; and the furniture was covered with dust cloths.
Theon scanned the large, classroom-sized greenhouse and asked.
"Is that the storage room?"
[Here, here!]
Aqum hopped excitedly toward a small shed in the middle of the greenhouse, it looked like it had been built to store gardening tools.
"Yeah. That's the one."
I nodded toward the storage room in response to Theon's question.
To think that Grandma Julia's keepsake had been left forgotten in a place like this…
"Let's go check it out."
I took Theon's hand and walked toward the storageroom.
Pushing open the half-closed door, we went to where Aqum had stopped.
I crouched down, tilting my head so low that my hair nearly brushed the floor.
There it was, a jewelry box about the length of two adult hands, resting on the ground.
"Berry, looks like someone deliberately hid this."
"Yeah… I think so too."
Even the items on the shelves looked fairly valuable, but this one had been hidden under a flowerpot on the floor.
If Aqum hadn't pointed out its exact spot, we probably wouldn't have found it, even knowing it was here.
"Should we take it out?"
"Yeah! Let's check if the key fits."
My eyes sparkled as I held up the key. Theon moved the flowerpot aside, revealing the keyhole of the lock.
Just as Aqum had said, the key looked like it would fit perfectly.
[Hurry up, Little Quartz! Open it already!]
Urged on by Aqum's excited voice, I inserted the key into the lock and turned it.
Click.
'Oh!'
Clack-
"Berry."
Theon stopped me, taking the key out and locking the box again. Then he quietly put the flowerpot back in place.
Still crouched on the floor, I looked up at him in confusion.
"……Why? We just opened it…?"
Grandma Julia's treasure chest.
We finally opened it, so why close it again?
"Someone's coming into the greenhouse."
"Gasp."
Theon whispered. And then I heard it too, the sound of footsteps entering through the greenhouse door…!
The steps were coming closer and closer to where we were.
This was bad. If we tried to leave the storage room now, we'd definitely be caught.
But if the person came inside, they'd see us for sure.
'Wh-what do we do?!'
Just as panic set in, Theon grabbed my hand and pulled me behind the shelves.
We hid behind a large trolley piled high with clutter.
The narrow space between the trolley and the wall forced me right into Theon's arms.
Thankfully, the storage room wasn't very bright, and with all the junk stacked around us, no one would notice unless they looked directly our way.
'Theon, I'll keep watch.'
'…Okay.'
Theon faced the wall, while I looked in the opposite direction.
There wasn't even enough room for him to turn his head, so it made sense that I'd be the one to peek through the gaps between the clutter to see what was happening outside.
Not long after, the greenhouse door creaked open and someone stepped in.
"Damn it… Why are they poking around about the past again?"
The storage room's ceiling was open, and when the moonlight fell on the man's face, my eyes widened.
That voice, its grumbling tone, wasn't something I was used to hearing.
Edgar Presto Travel.
Aunt Marian's husband, and my grandfather's son-in-law.
Uncle Edgar was known for his gentle looks and mild personality.
But now, his expression was twisted in anger...
'Eek!'
The next thing he did shocked me so much that I instinctively grabbed onto whatever was closest to me.
"……"
It was Theon's head.
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