Chapter 2-Suspicious Basement

The journey from Birmingham, where the Adam family home is located, to Bloomsbury, is long.

They had to travel for at least two hours. Matthew and Raymond were willing to clear their schedules to know the condition of their grandfather's house.

"Clare...?" Raymond reprimanded his sister and made sure she was still awake.

"What is it?" asked Clare as she enjoyed the spring scenery along the way.

"Aren't you afraid if suddenly Grandpa appears in front of you?" Raymond teased Clare again.

Clare rolled her eyes and snorted.

"What other trick are you going to play so that I feel scared and not stay there?

Just tell the truth, Ray. Aren't you afraid of losing the bet with me?"

Clare teased Raymond back while sticking out her tongue.

"Tsk, this brat, can't you just let me win once in a while? Dad, Mom, and Matthew always defend and make you win, even if you should lose," Raymond grumbled and made Clare chuckle.

"Of course, I can't let you win. I want to be there and make friendships in Bloomsbury!"

Matthew glanced at Clare, who seemed enthusiastic to stay at his grandfather's legacy.

However, somehow Matthew had a bad feeling.

All this because he had fallen into the basement and found many strange objects when he was a teenager and playing at his late grandfather's house.

He found a silver sword and dagger, a bow, and an arrowhead, also made of silver.

He even found a bizarre painting in which a man, dressed in all black and wearing a hood, aimed his arrowhead and killed a wolf more enormous than a human.

The basement is quite unusual because usually, the basement is damp, but the opposite happened at Grandpa's house.

The basement was arranged like a study room, all of Grandpa's ancient collections were neatly arranged there, and the place was warm.

He had also read strange books, such as The Legend of Hansel and Gretel, Witch Hunts, and so on, but in the form of ancient manuscripts and not story books!

Matthew could only sigh when Clare's intention to stay there became passionate after he conveyed the existence of these objects.

"Don't you know that I'm studying history too? Such mythology would greatly help me study the history of Europe in its entirety!"

Clare's eyes lit up when she said that.

"Don't be stupid. If you live there, that's all I have to say," said Matthew as he looked at his sister from the rear-view mirror of his car.

"Yeah, I know, Matt," said Clare as she looked back at her brother.

After nearly two hours of driving, their car entered the magnificent estate in the city of Bloomsbury, which is famous for its splendid buildings.

The British Museum, the British Medical Association, the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, various language and cultural institutions, and the two schools of the University of London-University College London and Birkbeck College, founded as London Mechanics' Institutions.

Since Grandpa's house was only about ten minutes away, Clare was even more excited by riding a bicycle.

She can be calmer and more focused on exploring her vocational field.

However, his family is worried about the only daughter in Adam's family.

Clare is too kind and naive, she is intelligent in every subject, and although she is sometimes very mischievous, sometimes she can still be tricked and taken advantage of by others.

Because of that, their parents finally sent Matthew and Raymond to ensure the house was safe and decent enough for their sister to live in.

Matthew turned off the engine and got out, followed by Raymond and Clare.

Their eyes looked here and there and noticed the big house, which had just been cleaned by the father's servant, but the Ivy plants were still allowed to propagate on the roof.

The house's courtyard was huge and had a small maze garden along the side of the fence, planted with red roses, which smelled very sweet. Behind the house is a relatively large swimming pool with a neatly laid-out courtyard.

A Holly tree was planted at the back end of the house. Every Christmas, Grandpa would ask people to put lights around the tree to make it look beautiful.

Clare bit her lip. She missed the cheerful old figure so much.

"Come on in," Matthew admonished his two brothers.

Clare flinched a little, and her daydream was interrupted instantly. She immediately followed her two brothers to enter the house.

They climbed the stairs to the door, the house's front door was quite large, and the terrace was lined with expensive marble.

Their grandfather was very ancient, but he had a high sense of art. He was similar to a humanist!

When they opened the door to the house, a long red carpet was spread out. The carpet was installed until the stairs went up to the second floor.

They can find ancient paintings in the living room at fantastic prices. Jars and ceramics on a polished wooden shelf.

They can find a classical piano, harp, and various ancient musical instruments in the family room.

The other rooms had the same design as well, but for some reason, precisely because of that, Clare felt very at home there.

"Are you sure, Clare?" Raymond asked his sister again.

"A thousand times you ask, I will still give the same answer!" Clare put her hands on her hips while looking at Raymond.

Raymond could only sigh and resign if Clare really insisted on this.

However, Matthew's behaviour actually made Clare suspicious. The man strolled towards the family library room. He seemed to be staring at something, which was located in the corner of the room.

Clare poked Raymond and then invited him to follow Matthew.

It wasn't long before Matthew crouched down and removed the carpet covering that part of the floor.

A secret entrance, right under the carpet!

Clare and Raymond squealed so that Matthew was taken aback by it.

He was about to close the carpet again, but Raymond quickly restrained him.

"What's this? Looks like you're the only one who knows this place?" Raymond groaned.

"That's right, you didn't tell us anything about this secret door! Since when did you find out?" asked Clare enthusiastically.

Matthew really felt trapped and could only follow the wishes of the two.

He then lifted the iron, which seemed to be the key to the room. He turned it to the left and…

CREAAAK…. The wooden door lifted upwards.

"I remind you two, don't act recklessly… Do you understand?" Matthew had to ensure that the two siblings didn't do anything wrong. After the two of them nodded solemnly, he immediately went down the stairs to the basement.

Raymond and Clare also slowly followed the steps of their Big Brother. When they were in the room, both were astonished because they never knew anything about the room!