Out of the three chairs that surrounded the table, two were tucked under it, leaving their backs outside. The third chair was pulled out though, and there was a pair of footprints before it.
Kieran followed the footprints and saw dozens of books in the room. The footprints were no strange finding. They belonged to the dead body on the stairs.
Almost instantly, Kieran painted a picture in his mind. The third person had noticed when the bladesman had invaded the house, so he had placed his things down abruptly and rushed out of the secret room in hopes of stopping the man. He had underestimated the bladesman's abilities though, which had far exceeded his imagination. The third man had not been able to stop the bladesman. Instead, he had lost his life trying
Or…
"Could the bladesman have known that the third man was inside here all along and purposely allowed him to notice his presence?"