Chapter 138

When I first stepped inside, I couldn’t see a thing.

But then, at some point, the wall and ceiling nearest the entrance began to shimmer, and before long tiny sparks of light filled the entire stone chamber.

Like starlight embroidered across a night sky.

‘Just like the report said….’

I held Lycian’s hand tightly and moved forward with care. Not because I was scared. Absolutely not.

The chamber was enormous—large enough to hold three hundred people without feeling cramped.

And at the very center… two coffins rested side by side.

Dante muttered under his breath.

“So those must be the golden coffins the rulers emerged from.”

According to the raid report, “a sinister aura could be felt emanating from the two golden coffins.”

But now, there was nothing. No trace of that presence. Likely because the rulers were gone.

Once a dungeon’s ruler disappears, the place changes. What was once perilous becomes ordinary. Safe.

The traps scattered throughout vanish. The monsters that once swarmed like hornets are nowhere to be found.

‘Which means even a civilian like me can walk around without worrying.’

Civilian… Well, that might not be the right word.

Either way, it didn’t seem like anything terrifying would suddenly happen just because we approached those golden coffins.

Still holding Lycian’s hand—definitely not because I was too scared to let go—I crept closer to the pair.

“Hmm….”

Up close, the coffins were lavish, inlaid with jewels that gleamed under the starlike lights. But aside from their extravagance, nothing about them seemed particularly unusual.

An unfamiliar sentence was engraved on the lids, written in a script I didn’t recognize.

‘It doesn’t look like an ancient language… Then what is it?’

As I frowned slightly, a system message appeared in the air.

‘It can do that too?!’

I was just marveling at the system’s near-omnipotence when another pop-up appeared.

‘Oh….’

Considering this dungeon’s rulers had been the ‘Wraith Lord’ and the ‘Ashen Bride’…

‘I don’t know whether to say it’s fitting… or just… unsettling….’

It almost felt like we were the villains, barging into their tomb like this.

…Not “almost.” From the Wraith Lord and Ashen Bride’s perspective, we probably were.

Feeling awkward, I clasped my hands together and offered a brief prayer—for the two souls who had finally found their rest.

After that, we began examining the stone wall at the twelve o’clock position from the golden coffins.

Thump, thump—

Tapping the wall with the tip of his staff, Dante said, “This section definitely echoes differently. There’s a hollow space behind it.”

Walls like this usually required pressing certain bricks in a specific order, or solving some riddle before they would open.

Of course, I had a cheat method that would bypass all that hassle…

But I was curious to see how Dante would figure it out, so I decided to watch.

He walked back toward the entrance and slowly surveyed the chamber again, his expression serious.

His gaze lingered on the two golden coffins for a long moment.

Then he glanced up at the ceiling, as if something had clicked, and snapped his fingers.

Striding over to me, he asked,

“Lady Muriel, you have a Stiplum, don’t you?”

“Uh, yes. I have ten….”

As I answered, slightly dazed, Dante grinned and held out his hand.

“May I have just one? I believe that flower is the key.”

“Hmm… All right.”

I retrieved a single Stiplum from my inventory and handed it to him.

Holding the flower, he approached the golden coffins slowly.

Now that I looked more closely, only one of the two coffins had a vase placed before it.

With reverent care, Dante set the Stiplum into the golden vase.

Then he stepped back three paces and bowed solemnly.

And in the next moment—

RUMBLE—!

“…!”

The chamber shook as if struck by an earthquake, and bluish letters flared to life across the suspicious wall.

Once again, the system promptly translated the unfamiliar script.

Dozens of bricks shifted in perfect unison, forming a rectangular entrance.

Beyond it, gold and jewels glittered in a heap like a mountain.

‘Wow…!’

I stared in awe at the newly revealed treasure vault—but at the same time, I found myself glancing sideways at Dante, caught in a strange mood.

“Only one who knows the sorrow of bereavement,” it said….

‘…Better not bring that up.’

I’d keep that little detail to myself.

Schooling my expression, I asked in a tone of pure admiration, “Mr. Dante, how did you know the Stiplum was the key?”

“It was simple. Only one of the golden coffins had a vase placed in front of it.”

“Yes, that’s true.”

“And between the two coffins, the one without the vase appeared slightly more intricate in design. At first, I wondered if it was favoritism—but then I considered the possibility that the craftsman’s skill had improved over time.”

“So….”

“Yes. If my guess is correct, the coffin with the vase was made first. The one beside it must have been created years later.”

“Ah….”

Only then did the sentence engraved on the wall fully make sense.

“The one left behind likely visited this tomb often, mourning the one who passed first and offering flowers. Just a guess—but that would’ve been the Wraith Lord.”

Dante’s deductions flowed without hesitation.

“The Stiplum was probably the Ashen Bride’s favorite flower in life. That’s why it’s planted all throughout the palace.”

If you followed the clusters of Stiplum, they led straight to this tomb.

Which meant that, in life, the Wraith Lord must have walked that path often, recalling memories of his beloved, plucking the most beautiful bloom to lay at the Ashen Bride’s coffin.

The scene formed easily in my mind. Like something out of a film.

And suddenly, the space felt different.

A faint sorrow seemed to linger in the air of the stone chamber.

“It almost feels like we’re the villains for coming all this way,” Dante said. “Though it was the Holy Knights who defeated the wraith couple. In any case, now that the door’s open, shall we explore the treasure vault?”

I simply smiled and nodded.

Clearly excited, Dante hurried ahead, with Mikhail and Camilla quick on his heels.

They were dying to see what treasures awaited inside.

But Lycian didn’t follow. He remained quietly at my side.

“What’s wrong, Muriel?”

“Mm….”

When I didn’t move, he looked at me in puzzlement.

I gazed at the blue Stiplum resting in the vase, then turned to him with a small smile.

“It’s nothing.”

According to the Holy Knights’ report, the Ashen Bride had been dressed in wedding attire—literally as a bride.

Which likely meant… at the time of her death, she had not yet been queen.

She had married the king for love, perhaps, but due to differences in status or some other obstacle, she may not have been recognized as the official queen.

There was even a strong chance she had died shortly after the wedding. Perhaps she had been ill from the start—or perhaps someone had killed her.

And the king had built this tomb for the bride whose youth had been cut short.

When his own time came, he summoned the craftsman once more to create another golden coffin, and had himself buried beside her.

‘There weren’t any other tombs in this palace.’

Which meant the king had never married anyone else after her death.

‘If that really was their story… it’s strangely affecting….’

I bowed my head in silence for the tomb’s owners.

And with a vague, pointless sense of guilt, I murmured inwardly,

‘I’m sorry. We’ll put the dungeon’s treasures to good use.’

---

After safely completing the dungeon exploration, we returned outside.

Among the treasures discovered in the vault were several magical artifacts of immeasurable value.

Dante seemed far more interested in those than in the gold or jewels.

I placed a few of them into his hands and informed him that I would grant usage rights of the dungeon to the Veratis Guild.

“Thank you, Lady Muriel! I knew it! I knew you wouldn’t squeeze our guild dry and toss us aside like an empty fruit peel…!”

“On one condition.”

“Yes, please name it.”

“Don’t touch the Stiplum. Don’t touch the king and bride’s tomb. Leave the golden coffins alone. As for the treasure vault… leave the crown, the scepter, and anything that looks like the bride’s burial goods.”

“Of course. Honestly, I wouldn’t feel right taking those anyway.”

“And hunting Lupas is forbidden!”

“Wouldn’t dream of it!”

“That’s good. As for profit distribution, let’s make it sixty–forty. I’ll take sixty, and the Veratis Guild gets forty….”

“Good heavens, Lady Muriel! You’re giving us forty?”

“Isn’t… that normal?”

“Not at all! There are lords who won’t even give three—some only give two!”

Wow. That’s brutal.

Well, either way… I decided to give the Veratis Guild forty percent.

And I wanted to give half of my share to the Holy Knights who had worked so hard subjugating the dungeon—though I wasn’t sure they’d accept it….

‘The Parakai Church adheres to doctrine that severs itself almost entirely from worldly desires….’

Still, I had to at least offer.

Turning to the group, I said, “Shall we head back to Larkia now? Or take a quick look around the base city—”

That was when it happened.

Lycian, who had been standing quietly beside me, suddenly staggered.

“…!”

Startled, I caught him quickly and asked in alarm, “What’s wrong?”

“…That’s strange. I suddenly feel very dizzy….”

“Dizzy…?”

A descendant of dragons—renowned for their absolute vitality—feeling dizzy?

I had just begun to frown—

“—! Purifier!”

Someone in the distance was shouting for me, running toward us in a panic.

Even as his feet sank into the sand, he didn’t slow down. He appeared to be in his late forties.

His hair was disheveled, but his attire clearly marked him as a noble.

The moment he reached me, he threw himself flat on the ground and pleaded,

“Purifier! Please, you must save our territory!”