The office was extremely peaceful when the boss didn't show up. Neil quickly opened the window and enjoyed the morning sunlight when Rhodnes, who usually spent the night in the office, was not there.
Ah.
When was the last time I had such beautiful morning sunlight all to myself?
Every day, he had to clean up the bottles, and he was so moved when he vividly remembered the days when he would fill the cabinet with new bottles instead of paperwork that had to be processed in the morning.
“Yes, this is the office.”
The slightly chilly but refreshing morning air felt like it would fly away as it entered the office. Neil, who had closed the empty office with a bang and was enjoying his leisure time sitting in the reception room, had been dreaming of starting every morning like this.
Bam-!
That was until his master, who would have been a little more relaxed when he came to work, came back. Neil, who had been lying on the sofa munching on cookies, quickly put away what he was eating and saluted at the sudden appearance of Rhodnes. He should have said, 'What are you leisurely eating?', but when he glanced over, Rhodnes was lost in thought.
'Phew.'
Neil naturally called over the servant outside, disposed of the teacup he had been drinking from, and brushed away the traces of cookies on the corner of his mouth before approaching Rhodnes, who was standing there blankly.
“Welcome, Your Highness. I see you slept well in your bedroom today.”
"Your Highness?"
Vincenzo, who had come in with a lot of work, also saluted and approached them. Rhodnes, who had been standing in the middle of the reception room, stared into space, glanced at them, and frowned.
“Neil.”
"Yes!"
“What happened to the things I took last time?”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“...These are the things that Countess Acacia sent me.”
Where is it if it's not in the boat?
“Why do you ask?”
Neil responded hastily to Rhodnes, who was looking at him with contempt.
“Give it all to me.”
“Oh, Your Highness. How can I give you something I ate the moment I received it? Your Highness, you don’t like sweets, do you? Would you like to open my stomach and take it?”
“Neil!”
He had just finished eating the last remaining cookie, so he ended up talking too long. Vincenzo called out to Neil, who was making excuses, but it was no use.
“Follow me to my office. I need to open his stomach and take it.”
Rhodnes's face was serious as if he was speaking sincerely.
“Your Highness.!”
“Vincenzo, Vincenzo! Say something!”
“Your Highness! I have some pudding left!”
As Vincenzo shouted urgently, Rhodnes, who was rushing to the office intending to draw his sword, stopped abruptly.
“Now. Bring them all.”
“Yes, you should have told me in advance that you like sweet things. Anyway, His Highness only wants to do nice things... Shut up and I’ll get them!”
As soon as Rhodnes's hand touched the sword hilt, Neil, who had been grumbling, ran towards the adjutants' office. Rhodnes's face, irritated, looked several times more tired than before, but strangely, it was the best it had been in the past few days. Rhodnes leaned against the desk in the office and rang the bell roughly, and the attendant came running in.
“Bring me water to wash my face.”
"Yes!"
A person who used to live like a loser was washing up early in the morning. Vincenzo opened his eyes wide in surprise at the sight of his master looking so neat and tidy after a long time.
"Your Highness...!"
And then, seeing Rhodnes' neck, who was unbuttoning his shirt with one hand, he approached him in surprise. At first glance, his neck was badly injured. It was a wound that looked like it had been cut by a sharp sword. He had bled so much that the front of his shirt, hidden inside his jacket, was soaked with blood.
'Phew.'
Neil naturally called over the servant outside, disposed of the teacup he had been drinking from, and brushed away the traces of cookies on the corner of his mouth before approaching Rhodnes, who was standing there blankly.
“Welcome, Your Highness. I see you slept well in your bedroom today.”
"Your Highness?"
Vincenzo, who had come in with a lot of work, also saluted and approached them. Rhodnes, who had been standing in the middle of the reception room, stared into space, glanced at them, and frowned.
“Neil.”
"Yes!"
“What happened to the things I took last time?”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“...These are the things that Countess Acacia sent me.”
Where is it if it's not in the boat?
“Why do you ask?”
Neil responded hastily to Rhodnes, who was looking at him with contempt.
“Give it all to me.”
“Oh, Your Highness. How can I give you something I ate the moment I received it? Your Highness, you don’t like sweets, do you? Would you like to open my stomach and take it?”
“Neil!”
He had just finished eating the last remaining cookie, so he ended up talking too long. Vincenzo called out to Neil, who was making excuses, but it was no use.
“Follow me to my office. I need to open his stomach and take it.”
Rhodnes's face was serious as if he was speaking sincerely.
“Your Highness.!”
“Vincenzo, Vincenzo! Say something!”
“Your Highness! I have some pudding left!”
As Vincenzo shouted urgently, Rhodnes, who was rushing to the office intending to draw his sword, stopped abruptly.
“Now. Bring them all.”
“Yes, you should have told me in advance that you like sweet things. Anyway, His Highness only wants to do nice things... Shut up and I’ll get them!”
As soon as Rhodnes's hand touched the sword hilt, Neil, who had been grumbling, ran towards the adjutants' office. Rhodnes's face, irritated, looked several times more tired than before, but strangely, it was the best it had been in the past few days. Rhodnes leaned against the desk in the office and rang the bell roughly, and the attendant came running in.
“Bring me water to wash my face.”
"Yes!"
A person who used to live like a loser was washing up early in the morning. Vincenzo opened his eyes wide in surprise at the sight of his master looking so neat and tidy after a long time.
"Your Highness...!"
And then, seeing Rhodnes' neck, who was unbuttoning his shirt with one hand, he approached him in surprise. At first glance, his neck was badly injured. It was a wound that looked like it had been cut by a sharp sword. He had bled so much that the front of his shirt, hidden inside his jacket, was soaked with blood.
Rhodnes kept his mouth shut and buried his face in the golden basin that the attendant had brought. Vincenzo, who had hurriedly found a first aid kit, was stamping his feet in front of him. He was anxious because it seemed like a fatal wound at first glance.
“Why are you acting so crazy?”
“Your Highness! What on earth is going on? Have you been ambushed? Who would dare to take Your Highness’s neck...!”
“Why are you acting so crazy?”
“Your Highness! What on earth is going on? Have you been ambushed? Who would dare to take Your Highness’s neck...!”
“I did it.”
“!”
Despite the eerie words, Rhodnes calmly wiped his face with the dry towel he had received from his servant. His face, which had been washed cleanly, shone like porcelain in the morning sunlight.
“Don’t worry, I tried to die but failed.”
"Your Highness!"
Rhodnes took off his jacket and shirt without a care, and with the help of a servant who had brought him new clothes, he changed into his clothes that were stained with crimson blood. When the wounds that he had been unable to see were revealed, Vincenzo, whose face had hardened, hurriedly approached him, who was buried on the sofa.
“The bleeding seems to have almost stopped, but the wound is still wide open. You need to get treatment.”
“Don’t be so excited. You know I won’t die like this.”
“A normal human loses consciousness to that extent.”
The amount of blood on the clothes the servant had taken out was not ordinary. As Rhodnes let out a deep sigh and stretched out on the sofa, Vincenzo began taking medicine out of the first aid kit and laying it out on the table. Rhodnes, who was completely absorbed in the scene, rested his head on the armrest of the sofa and covered his eyes with his arms. When he closed his eyes, the events that had just happened came back to him clearly.
“Vincenzo.”
"Yes."
Vincenzo, who had been quietly disinfecting the wound and applying medicine, was clicking his tongue as he watched his master not budge even after applying the strong medicine.
“Is this reality right now...?”
“Yes, Your Highness, your blood is so clearly visible. It is brave of you to have walked all the way here.”
Vincenzo answered as he saw his master talking nonsense right away after he had asked why he was of sound mind. At that moment, Neil knocked on the office door and rushed in.
“Your Highness, I have brought it.”
“Shut up and put everything on the desk.”
“I brought the flower basket back just in case. Do you really need that?”
“Don’t make me say the same thing twice.”
As Rhodnes lay still with his eyes covered, Neil pouted openly. Vincenzo watched him as he moved his hands busily, nodding in reprimand.
“Oh, that’s right. And on the way here, I heard that Countess Acacia...”
Oh, you told me to ignore all the news about that woman.
“It’s nothing.”
As Neil quickly corrected himself, placing the packages on the desk, Rhodnes removed the arm that was covering his eyes.
"What?"
“This is a message from someone who was sent to monitor her activities. But it’s about that woman...You told me to ignore all news from her...”
“What did you do instead of cutting this guy, Vincenzo?”
"Sorry."
No, why this time! I did as I was told!
Neil, who had been looking at the two with a resentful expression, spoke a little bluntly as if he had given up.
“They say the lady went out alone without an escort.”
"What?"
Rhodnes immediately sat up.
“Your Highness! There is still no cure!”
“Why are you telling me that now?”
Rhodnes, who had turned pale, cursed softly and ran out of the office door. He was so fast that there was no time to say anything else.
“What, what is this? Vincenzo, His Highness is doing something different this time... Are you crazy?”
“Neil!”
When the dumb Neil pointed to his head with his finger, Vincenzo stopped him.
“Why did he come forward himself when he heard that that woman went out without an escort? He flatly refused to look into it himself, and now what the heck...”
Neil, who had been thinking seriously, immediately slapped his knee!
“...Are he planning on taking care of it himself when there is no escort?”
“They say the lady went out alone without an escort.”
"What?"
Rhodnes immediately sat up.
“Your Highness! There is still no cure!”
“Why are you telling me that now?”
Rhodnes, who had turned pale, cursed softly and ran out of the office door. He was so fast that there was no time to say anything else.
“What, what is this? Vincenzo, His Highness is doing something different this time... Are you crazy?”
“Neil!”
When the dumb Neil pointed to his head with his finger, Vincenzo stopped him.
“Why did he come forward himself when he heard that that woman went out without an escort? He flatly refused to look into it himself, and now what the heck...”
Neil, who had been thinking seriously, immediately slapped his knee!
“...Are he planning on taking care of it himself when there is no escort?”
***
I was sitting on a nearby cafe terrace waiting for Annie. Annie came out of the envoy's office with a rather solemn expression on her face, which was visible right from the terrace. I rushed straight into the envoy's office.
“Here. There is a letter that was sent by mistake by the maid. Please collect the letters that are currently being sent immediately!”
The entrance attendant, who had a dumbfounded look on his face because of my sudden barge-in, immediately looked at the Grand Duke's carriage I was pointing at and came over in a panic.
“You’re making me suffer like this because you didn’t do your work properly.”
“Sir, madam! What is the matter?”
“The maid who just came to deliver the letter did the wrong thing. Since it is a matter related to the imperial family, I came here myself.”
I showed the Empress's official approval letter that I had brought with me. The employee, whose face turned pale upon seeing Her Majesty the Empress's seal, handed me a pile of letters. At the very top of the pile, I found a letter that was clearly from Annie.
“...I checked. I think I was mistaken.”
"Yes?"
I leaned close to the employee's ear and whispered.
“It is the royal will. You have not seen me today. Do you understand?”
The employee who had been blinking his big eyes nodded with a serious expression. And then as if he had been given an important mission, he shouted at the other employees to do what they were doing. I stared at him for a moment and then quietly left the office.
"Ha."
The reason I recognized Annie's letter among all the similar-looking envelopes was simple.
“It’s become really hard to just let it go.”
Because the seal on the wax seal that sealed the envelope was the seal of the 'Archangel.' Only with a seal exactly like that could she retrieve the letter from the envoy's office. To do that, she had to leave a record of her identity.
'You were wearing my seal? How dare you?'
Moreover, the recipient of the letter was Doris' father, the Duke of Castagna.
“Here. There is a letter that was sent by mistake by the maid. Please collect the letters that are currently being sent immediately!”
The entrance attendant, who had a dumbfounded look on his face because of my sudden barge-in, immediately looked at the Grand Duke's carriage I was pointing at and came over in a panic.
“You’re making me suffer like this because you didn’t do your work properly.”
“Sir, madam! What is the matter?”
“The maid who just came to deliver the letter did the wrong thing. Since it is a matter related to the imperial family, I came here myself.”
I showed the Empress's official approval letter that I had brought with me. The employee, whose face turned pale upon seeing Her Majesty the Empress's seal, handed me a pile of letters. At the very top of the pile, I found a letter that was clearly from Annie.
“...I checked. I think I was mistaken.”
"Yes?"
I leaned close to the employee's ear and whispered.
“It is the royal will. You have not seen me today. Do you understand?”
The employee who had been blinking his big eyes nodded with a serious expression. And then as if he had been given an important mission, he shouted at the other employees to do what they were doing. I stared at him for a moment and then quietly left the office.
"Ha."
The reason I recognized Annie's letter among all the similar-looking envelopes was simple.
“It’s become really hard to just let it go.”
Because the seal on the wax seal that sealed the envelope was the seal of the 'Archangel.' Only with a seal exactly like that could she retrieve the letter from the envoy's office. To do that, she had to leave a record of her identity.
'You were wearing my seal? How dare you?'
Moreover, the recipient of the letter was Doris' father, the Duke of Castagna.
***
After gathering my thoughts at the entrance to the envoy's office, I left the building.
"Ma'am-."
“!”
“You have to go with me.”
Several men dressed in black surrounded me like a huge wall.
“What's going on?”
I quickly looked around. I was aware that the security in the capital was not what it used to be, so I had instructed a few of the Count's knights to secretly accompany me.
“In these times when human trafficking is so common, you can’t let your guard down even in broad daylight.”
One of the masked men who had been laughing loudly suddenly approached. They say that copycat crimes have been on the rise since the disappearance of the woman, but was it serious enough to try to kidnap a noblewoman in broad daylight? I was waiting for the right time to send a signal to the knights who were hiding.
“What a windfall.”
“A beautiful lady is lonely all alone... Aaaahhhhhhh!!”
“What, what is it!”
A sharp sword suddenly shot out from behind the neck of the man who was trying to grab my wrist.
'Rhodnes!'
Didn't you go back to the palace?
"Ugh!”
In an instant, the man and Rhodnes changed positions, and all I could see was his broad back. The things they were wearing on their waists were all cut-off, making a sound like they were falling. People passing by also screamed and retreated from the area, perhaps sensing the strange aura.
“Hey, it’s the Capital Guard!”
"Shit!"
"...This."
While they were running around in confusion, unable to escape, even with their pants ripped off, Rhodnes kicked a few of them away and grabbed my wrist tightly.
“Rhod...”
“Easy-.”
Rhodnes quickened his pace, perhaps anticipating that the Emperor would hear of his actions and become annoyed the moment he subdued the advancing capital guards.
“Catch him! Catch him!”
“Catch those who run away too!”
I, who had become a fugitive by accident, ran along with Rhodnes, who had been leading me. But that didn’t last long. Rhodnes, who had only known the palace, the academy, and the battlefield all his life, and I, who had been sick and had not had time to see the capital, neither of us knew the way well. Rhodnes led me straight to a dark alley. And then he immediately turned the red cloak inside out so that the dark blue lining could be seen, and put it on me.
“This way. This way!”
“No, it could have gone that way!”
I stood there, clutching my pounding heart, wrapped in Rhodnes’ arms like a child. As the footsteps got closer, we also slowly got closer. I grabbed Rhodnes’ jacket.
“Adrienne?”
I took off Rhodnes' cloak and put it over him instead. The hair color was not mine but Rhodnes's. Then, I leaned against the solid wall and put both arms around Rhodnes' neck, who had his cloak over his head, and pulled him gently.
“There’s a shadow of a person over there!”
“Check it out!”
As the footsteps got closer, I pulled Rhodnes closer to me. Rhodnes's wide eyes were shaking violently.
I came close as if I was going to kiss him and whispered softly.
“..Use me, Your Highness.”
Our noses brushed against each other for a moment, and our lips came so close that they almost touched. His hot, fragrant breath temptingly clung to my lips.
"Ma'am-."
“!”
“You have to go with me.”
Several men dressed in black surrounded me like a huge wall.
“What's going on?”
I quickly looked around. I was aware that the security in the capital was not what it used to be, so I had instructed a few of the Count's knights to secretly accompany me.
“In these times when human trafficking is so common, you can’t let your guard down even in broad daylight.”
One of the masked men who had been laughing loudly suddenly approached. They say that copycat crimes have been on the rise since the disappearance of the woman, but was it serious enough to try to kidnap a noblewoman in broad daylight? I was waiting for the right time to send a signal to the knights who were hiding.
“What a windfall.”
“A beautiful lady is lonely all alone... Aaaahhhhhhh!!”
“What, what is it!”
A sharp sword suddenly shot out from behind the neck of the man who was trying to grab my wrist.
'Rhodnes!'
Didn't you go back to the palace?
"Ugh!”
In an instant, the man and Rhodnes changed positions, and all I could see was his broad back. The things they were wearing on their waists were all cut-off, making a sound like they were falling. People passing by also screamed and retreated from the area, perhaps sensing the strange aura.
“Hey, it’s the Capital Guard!”
"Shit!"
"...This."
While they were running around in confusion, unable to escape, even with their pants ripped off, Rhodnes kicked a few of them away and grabbed my wrist tightly.
“Rhod...”
“Easy-.”
Rhodnes quickened his pace, perhaps anticipating that the Emperor would hear of his actions and become annoyed the moment he subdued the advancing capital guards.
“Catch him! Catch him!”
“Catch those who run away too!”
I, who had become a fugitive by accident, ran along with Rhodnes, who had been leading me. But that didn’t last long. Rhodnes, who had only known the palace, the academy, and the battlefield all his life, and I, who had been sick and had not had time to see the capital, neither of us knew the way well. Rhodnes led me straight to a dark alley. And then he immediately turned the red cloak inside out so that the dark blue lining could be seen, and put it on me.
“This way. This way!”
“No, it could have gone that way!”
I stood there, clutching my pounding heart, wrapped in Rhodnes’ arms like a child. As the footsteps got closer, we also slowly got closer. I grabbed Rhodnes’ jacket.
“Adrienne?”
I took off Rhodnes' cloak and put it over him instead. The hair color was not mine but Rhodnes's. Then, I leaned against the solid wall and put both arms around Rhodnes' neck, who had his cloak over his head, and pulled him gently.
“There’s a shadow of a person over there!”
“Check it out!”
As the footsteps got closer, I pulled Rhodnes closer to me. Rhodnes's wide eyes were shaking violently.
I came close as if I was going to kiss him and whispered softly.
“..Use me, Your Highness.”
Our noses brushed against each other for a moment, and our lips came so close that they almost touched. His hot, fragrant breath temptingly clung to my lips.
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