It Seems Like The Infamous Trash Can is Right Here! - Chapter 174

Dantère, who had clearly been aroused by Vivian’s riding outfit, would no doubt try to go to bed with her the moment they were alone. It had been a while since they were left to themselves, and he’d be eager to indulge his desire.

If he missed this chance, there would be no next time.

Ardin rummaged quickly through his coat and gripped a key in his hand, something he’d managed to steal by exploiting Dantère’s carelessness.

Originally located on the third floor, the duke’s office had been relocated to the second during the remodeling of his fiancée’s quarters.

Apparently, it was to avoid any chance of the retainers running into the duke’s betrothed when visiting his office.

That a man who’d seized absolute power over this enormous noble house would regard that tiny woman as his highest priority.

Ardin could hardly comprehend it. Love, after all, was something he’d neither received nor given in his life.

All that had ever mattered to Ardin was survival.

He cast a silencing spell to suppress all sound, then quickly inserted and turned the key. He opened the door, stepped in, closed it behind him, and locked it from within. Fortunately, no unexpected complications arose.

Ardin had stolen information from the duke’s office more than once before, and without even needing to search the room, he went straight for the last drawer of the desk.

That was where the hidden compartment lay.

Had it not been a magical device, even he would have had a much harder time discovering it. But the Duke of Luanax had used magic to conceal the secret compartment.

With no mages among the mansion’s servants or retainers, he must have judged this the safest method.

Ardin could consider himself fortunate.

He pulled out the documents from the hidden space and skimmed through them.

Out of dozens of files, he had to select something that would be of use to Silias. As he flipped through the pages, tense and impatient, something caught his eye.

‘Mana stone mine?’

Lionel was planning to purchase a territory soon to be abandoned due to a short-lived gold vein.

Because of information suggesting the presence of a mana stone mine with massive reserves.

Considering the number of mana stone mines previously discovered and monopolized by the Luanax family, the credibility of the intel was high.

The final decision would be up to Felix Silias, of course, but to a family of mages, nothing was more valuable than a mana stone mine.

‘This alone should keep me alive for at least a month.’

Ardin duplicated the document with duplication magic and tucked the copy into his coat.

There were still many files he hadn’t checked, but as always, he didn’t let greed get the better of him.

After all, Ardin’s goal wasn’t to seize every last benefit from Luanax and revive his family name.

He only wished for the leash held in his elder brother Felix Silias ’s hand to remain intact, unbroken.

If your tail grows too long, it’s bound to be stepped on, so for now, this would have to suffice.

He returned the documents to their original places and funneled mana back into the magical mechanism he had temporarily disabled.

There were no presences detectable beyond the door, but with several people in this mansion capable of deceiving even Ardin’s senses, he couldn’t afford to relax.

He cast a silencing spell, opened the door noiselessly, and scanned the hallway.

Only after confirming it was empty did he step out of the office and lock the door behind him.

Even as he casually made his way toward the stairs, Ardin’s heart pounded uneasily in his chest.

From the moment he left the training hall to now, only about ten minutes had passed.

If things went as calculated, he shouldn’t have run into anyone. But variables had a way of appearing without fail.

“Sir Ardin, I thought you’d gone home.”