No matter what Grand Duke Jericho was scheming, the arrival of a mere few dozen people—most of them women—would not be enough to shake Lagos Castle.

‘If Lagos Castle were to be unsettled by something so trivial, then the fault would lie with the castle itself.’

Moreover, Harrison had no interest in the relationship between the lord and his wife.

He firmly believed that a third party should never interfere in matters between a man and a woman.

At the end of the corridor, Harrison opened a door.

Cecilia followed him inside and was puzzled.

There was no staircase in sight.

Harrison approached the wall and placed his hand on a bluish stone slab embedded in it.

‘I’ve seen that before…’

She suddenly remembered.

When descending to the hot springs, she had seen something similar inside the lift mechanism.

Moments later, the wall split open.

Or rather, what had appeared to be a wall was actually a concealed stone door.

As it opened, a small chamber was revealed inside.

“This is the device that takes you underground. Please step inside.”

Having already experienced it once, Cecilia entered without fear.

To her perception, the descent lasted much longer than when she had gone to the hot springs.

When the stone door opened again, she was met with the sound of echoing shouts and the clash of metal.

Harrison gestured toward a man in the distance.

The man immediately approached with quick strides.

“Where is the Lord?”

“He is sparring with Andy.”

“Then it doesn’t look like he’ll be done anytime soon…”

Muttering to himself, Harrison turned to Cecilia.

“Madam, approaching too closely while they’re sparring would be dangerous. It would be best to wait.”

“I understand.”

Harrison spoke to the man.

“Escort the Madam to the skybridge.”

“Yes, Leader.”

‘Wow…’

The moment Cecilia stepped out from the corner where the lift was located, her eyes widened in astonishment as she looked around.

The underground space was nothing like the dark, cramped, and damp place she had imagined.

Instead, the underground levels of Lagos Castle housed a structure even larger than the ones above ground.

The center of the underground area was a vast open chasm that extended both upward and downward.

The surrounding floors were built in layers around this central void, allowing visibility both above and below from any level.

Because of this open design, the underground did not feel confining at all.

The air was not stale, nor was it even particularly dark.

Cecilia lifted her gaze.

The ceiling was far above, shrouded in impenetrable darkness.

Just as Harrison had said, this was a deep underground space.

‘That must be the skybridge.’

She recognized it immediately.

A bridge stretched across the massive central chasm.

There were multiple bridges at different levels, overlapping when viewed from below.

“Madam, we need to go up.”

Cecilia followed the man up the stairs.

She estimated that they ascended about two floors.

From there, they walked along a corridor leading toward the central void.

Soon, the skybridge came into view.

When they had crossed about halfway, the man pointed toward the railing.

“The Lord is down there.”

Cecilia looked down over the railing.

‘Ah…’

From this vantage point, she could see the underground arena clearly.

Only two people stood inside.

From above, their faces were barely visible.

She could only see the crown of his dark hair.

A sharp pang struck her chest.

At that moment, Cecilia realized—

She hadn’t come here out of curiosity about the underground training hall.

She had come because she wanted to see him.

Andy, who was facing Russell, suddenly charged forward, raising his sword to strike.

Cecilia flinched, covering her mouth with her hands.

A fierce exchange unfolded at a speed too fast for her to follow.

Both men wielded swords slightly longer than daggers.

They fought in close combat, slashing and striking relentlessly.

Russell blocked a thrust from the side, then parried a downward slash, countering each attack with fluid precision.

Clang! Clang—!

The ringing of clashing metal echoed without pause.

‘At this rate, someone’s going to get hurt.’

To Cecilia’s eyes, the fight seemed extremely dangerous.

The two fought as if they were mortal enemies, each attacking with relentless intensity.

One mistake, and the consequences could be disastrous.

She covered her mouth with both hands.

She even held her breath, fearing that the slightest noise from her might break his concentration.

Andy suddenly stomped the ground, leaping high into the air before bringing his sword down on Russell with all his strength.