The door creaked. Slowly. As if someone were announcing "I am here," the iron door was pushed open from within. Alicia couldn't move from behind the shelf. She held her breath, her back pressed against the spine of a ledger. Calculation sheets lay scattered across the floor. In the candlelight, the numbers were starkly visible. (This is bad——) It was too late to hide them. Too late to pick them up. Light spilled in. The orange glow of a lantern. "……Alicia?" It was Valton Leon. The voice was low. Surprised, yet calm. Alicia slowly emerged from behind the shelf. Standing in the doorway was Valton Leon——Alicia's step-brother and acting head of the Valton household. A lantern hung from one hand, the other resting against the door frame. His golden hair gleamed softly in the flickering light. His pale blue eyes moved between the parchment scattered on the floor and Alicia's figure surrounded by shelves. At twenty-two, his face held a mixture of confusion and concern. "In the ledg