[ You may need to tear down a few cobwebs, wipe away some dust, and move aside bits and pieces of used junk, but once you've given the attic a small dose of spring cleaning you will find a message painted somewhere on the creaky floor:
AWJX W QNL PXBCKA MHQF MEAX EG NL HAA BNIPXN CY YVTJQXO UNERXO MHQ HAAFX XS VWFXBIE JCM PC YKFYAWM PVXI OEH OM KBVA KAAFX UCN CC
If you look around some more you will discover three items, which look cleaner, newer, and brighter than all the others.
One is a white book, which contains only three pages. They are all blank. The back of the book, however, reads this: "TAKE THEM BOTH TO FIND A HIDDEN QUEEN. WHAT REMAINS WILL GUIDE YOU, JUST AS YOU WERE GUIDED BEFORE."
Another is a red book, with the text 'First Edition' engraved on the cover. Every single page is torn in some place or other, but piecing them together reveals that they all read the same thing: "MY OLDEST GUESTS GAVE THE SAME ANSWER ALREADY. CAN YOU TELL? THE FIRST FLOOR IS FINE, OTHERWISE".
Finally there is a Valentine's Day card, with beautiful hearts all over, and golden letters wishing you HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY! More hearts spring out when you open it, although the text inside is somewhat odd. "THIS IS ALL SHE HAD LEFT," is what it says. ]
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[ Want to think on that for a bit? Go ahead! Otherwise, proceed to the solution! ]
+ THE ATTIC +
AWJX W QNL PXBCKA MHQF MEAX EG NL
HAA BNIPXN CY YVTJQXO UNERXO MHQ HAAFX
XS VWFXBIE JCM PC YKFYAWM PVXI OEH OM KBVA KAAFX UCN CC
If you look around some more you will discover three items, which look cleaner, newer, and brighter than all the others.
One is a white book, which contains only three pages. They are all blank. The back of the book, however, reads this: "TAKE THEM BOTH TO FIND A HIDDEN QUEEN. WHAT REMAINS WILL GUIDE YOU, JUST AS YOU WERE GUIDED BEFORE."
Another is a red book, with the text 'First Edition' engraved on the cover. Every single page is torn in some place or other, but piecing them together reveals that they all read the same thing: "MY OLDEST GUESTS GAVE THE SAME ANSWER ALREADY. CAN YOU TELL? THE FIRST FLOOR IS FINE, OTHERWISE".
Finally there is a Valentine's Day card, with beautiful hearts all over, and golden letters wishing you HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY! More hearts spring out when you open it, although the text inside is somewhat odd. "THIS IS ALL SHE HAD LEFT," is what it says. ]
↓
[ Want to think on that for a bit? Go ahead! Otherwise, proceed to the solution! ]