12 O’Clock Marionette

Marien, though puzzled, answered.

"The basement? There's a storage room, but there's no need to clean that. That's Philips' responsibility. Even he barely touches it—maybe once or twice a month."

"I was just curious. The house is really impressive."

"It’s nothing special, but if you're interested, I'll give you the key."

"Oh, and I have one more question."

"What is it?"

"Are there any other noble families in the capital with the surname 'Winter'?"

There was no guarantee that the name 'Winter' written on the note referred to a noble family, but now that I had a hypothesis, I wanted to verify it.

Marien smiled proudly.

"No, this is the only one. There used to be a few others, but they all moved to their estates, leaving us as the sole 'Winter' family."

"I see."

"That’s why some people call Winterbell the 'Winter of the Capital.'"

Oh!

I felt as if I had just heard a bell ringing, announcing the correct answer.

"Here, then, this is the key to the basement. There's an iron door leading down in the storage room at the back."

"Alright."

"Feel free to look around all you want before the Baron and his wife return."

"Thank you!"

With Marien’s permission, I headed straight for the basement.

The process of getting inside was fairly straightforward.

However—

"Hmm."

It didn’t look like a meeting place at all.

The dust, undisturbed for ages, billowed up with every step, marking clear footprints. There weren’t even any suitable hiding spots in case of an emergency.

There was only one entrance, and, more crucially, the connected storage room had a massive window.

No one in their right mind would use a place this exposed for a secret rendezvous.

"I guess this isn't the right place."

Then where could be lower than a basement?