I quickly moved my hand to attack my opponent's weak point. But...
“I will, Your Majesty the Empress.”
A familiar male voice. Who was it? It was a voice I had definitely heard before, but I was too flustered to think calmly. If there had been even the slightest hint of him trying to harm me, I would have attacked him immediately, but the man simply covered my face with a black cloth and made no threats. The cloth covering my face slowly came off. I realized that it was the robe the man was wearing.
"Who...?"
“Shh, just a moment.”
I raised my head to get a closer look at the man's face, and he grabbed my shoulder and made me crouch down. He spread out his robe and put it over my head again. Before I knew it, I was crouching down with the man. Fortunately, the white kitten was still in my arms. Since we were crouching together, I could see the man's face up close, wearing his robe over his head. To his surprise...
“Prince Norton?”
He nodded silently. I stared at him, wondering what was going on. Prince Norton mouthed, “Wait a minute.”
“I will, Your Majesty the Empress.”
A familiar male voice. Who was it? It was a voice I had definitely heard before, but I was too flustered to think calmly. If there had been even the slightest hint of him trying to harm me, I would have attacked him immediately, but the man simply covered my face with a black cloth and made no threats. The cloth covering my face slowly came off. I realized that it was the robe the man was wearing.
"Who...?"
“Shh, just a moment.”
I raised my head to get a closer look at the man's face, and he grabbed my shoulder and made me crouch down. He spread out his robe and put it over my head again. Before I knew it, I was crouching down with the man. Fortunately, the white kitten was still in my arms. Since we were crouching together, I could see the man's face up close, wearing his robe over his head. To his surprise...
“Prince Norton?”
He nodded silently. I stared at him, wondering what was going on. Prince Norton mouthed, “Wait a minute.”
When I nodded, he pointed somewhere with his finger. I followed his gaze to where he was pointing. In the distance, I saw a man and a woman dressed as a servant in a field. What are they doing there? Why am I doing this? What’s with this kitten that jumped into my arms? And Prince Norton who suddenly appeared...
I had many questions at once, but for now, I decided to watch the two people Prince Norton pointed at. They seemed to be having a conversation, but from the atmosphere, they didn’t seem to know each other very well. The servant was about to pass the man first, having finished talking.
“Ugh!”
“Ugh!”
A short scream escaped from the servant's mouth, which was blocked by the man's hand.
“Ugh...!”
The attendant, with her hair braided into two pigtails, dropped her forehead on the man's shoulder. After a moment, the man took a step back. The attendant raised one hand toward the man and fell limply to the floor.
"OMG."
I flinched in surprise at the sudden turn of events and fell backward. Prince Norton grabbed my arm and supported me. The man who had just killed the attendant heard our movements and began to walk slowly toward us. Prince Norton quickly put his hand on the scabbard at his waist. I also mentally prepared myself. I couldn’t let that man attack us, even if I didn’t know who he was.
Prince Norton and I held our breaths and listened to the man’s footsteps as he walked toward us. The man’s footsteps were very cautious. However, when there was no more noise from this direction, the man stopped coming and turned and ran toward the Empress’s Palace garden. Prince Norton and I crouched down, covered our heads with robes, and spent a few minutes. I thought it was time to get up, so I looked at Prince Norton, and he turned his head toward me at the same time.
“Shall we get up?”
“Yeah.”
We both got up at the same time.
“Are you alright, Your Majesty the Empress?”
“No, not at all. What the hell is going on here?”
I winked at the servant who seemed to have already lost her life and was lying in the middle of the field.
“I happened to see that servant running away from the West Palace through the Main Palace and here.”
“If it’s the West Palace, then there’s a high chance that she’s a servant in one of the concubines’ quarters. But you’re saying she was running away? To avoid that man earlier?”
It was a situation that was completely incomprehensible. Prince Norton paused for a moment and then spoke cautiously.
“Hmm, actually, I... I guess it would be correct to say that I came after the knight who was escorting Prince Tesla, who was chasing that servant.”
“Shall we get up?”
“Yeah.”
We both got up at the same time.
“Are you alright, Your Majesty the Empress?”
“No, not at all. What the hell is going on here?”
I winked at the servant who seemed to have already lost her life and was lying in the middle of the field.
“I happened to see that servant running away from the West Palace through the Main Palace and here.”
“If it’s the West Palace, then there’s a high chance that she’s a servant in one of the concubines’ quarters. But you’re saying she was running away? To avoid that man earlier?”
It was a situation that was completely incomprehensible. Prince Norton paused for a moment and then spoke cautiously.
“Hmm, actually, I... I guess it would be correct to say that I came after the knight who was escorting Prince Tesla, who was chasing that servant.”
“Ah, that man earlier... was the Prince’s bodyguard?!”
I asked, thinking of Sir Ken, Prince Tesla's bodyguard.
“Yes, that’s right.”
“But why is the Prince’s escort knight chasing the servant of the concubine’s quarters?”
And why did Prince Norton go to the West Palace, where the concubines lived, in the middle of the night? The Prince looked like he knew something, but he seemed to be hesitating whether or not he should tell me.
“Could it be that the attendant witnessed something? So....”
I also had an idea, so I hinted at Prince Norton. He nodded obediently. Did that servant witness Prince Tesla meeting the spy he had planted in the Lapion palace? That's why Sir Ken chased after the servant and ended up killing him? Those crazy bastards...
“Then did you see where that servant was in the West Palace?”
“It was located in the middle of the concubines’ quarters... Ah, behind the palace, in the place where there was a large willow tree.”
"Aha."
I don't know where the willow tree is behind the palace, but if it's in the middle of the four concubines' quarters... Pescilini? Was she a spy?
“It looks like the palace of the Concubine Pesilini of the Astor family.”
"Yes "
Prince Norton wasn't particularly surprised. Well, he wouldn't be particularly surprised, since she wasn't his concubine.
“Prince Tesla’s knights chased down that concubine’s servant and even killed her. Isn’t that strange?”
He continued talking.
“Just being together wouldn’t have made him kill her. There must be some other reason.”
I just nodded. I couldn't tell Prince Norton that Pesilini was a spy planted by Prince Tesla to spy on me as the 'acting Empress'. He had saved me from danger earlier, but it would have been foolish to tell him about my situation.
“If Prince Tesla and his concubine were having a secret affair and the servant witnessed it, he would have had no choice but to order their murder.”
Prince Norton concluded that, as he had said, Pesilini might have been both a spy and a secret lover of the Prince.
“But, Your Highness, why did the servant run away to the back garden of the Empress’s Palace?”
I glanced at the place where the servant had fallen and asked.
“Hmm...”
Prince Norton rubbed his chin with a thoughtful expression.
“Meow!”
The kitten that had been quietly in my arms suddenly cried and hid its small head between my armpits.
“Quiet. You were just quiet until just now. Why are you doing this?”
I petted the kitten and looked back at Prince Norton. He stared at the place where the servant had fallen for a moment before opening his mouth.
“She must have escaped from the West Palace and ended up here. More importantly, how did Prince Tesla and the concubine of the Lapion Empire know each other?”
“That’s right...”
I was about to have a question about that part too.
“I, I think I know that!”
At that moment, an unexpected figure appeared at the corner of the Empress's Palace building.
“...Rosie?”
“Hello, Your Majesty the Empress!”
After she greeted me and Prince Norton, she ran towards me.
“Who are she?”
Prince Norton looked at Rosie and asked me.
“Second concubine, Rosie Adelid.”
She introduced herself.
“How much have you heard?”
Prince Norton asked, still looking Rosie up and down with wary eyes.
“Everything... But don’t worry. I won’t go around saying anything. I’m just a concubine who loves Her Majesty the Empress very much!”
“!”
“!”
Rose answered Prince Norton, who was looking at her suspiciously, with a trembling voice.
“Rosie, what brings you here this night?”
I spoke softly at first so that she wouldn't be scared.
“Because of that, that cat...”
Rosie quickly pointed to the white kitten in my arms with her hand.
“It’s my cat, and it disappeared while I was away for a moment, so I was looking for it.”
“Is the concubine searching alone?”
Prince Norton asked her questioningly.
“Actually, I shouldn’t have done that, but I was secretly raising a cat in my bedroom. I was worried that it would be a problem if I brought my servants with me and caught the other palace ladies’ eyes... I ended up here while looking for the cat.”
Rosie glared at the kitten and spoke to the Prince. Raising animals in the palace requires separate permission from the imperial family, but from Rosie’s words, it seemed like she was raising them secretly. Funnily enough, the kitten raised its two front paws and swung a cotton bat at Rosie just as it had done to Prince Norton earlier.
“That’s really...”
Rosie looked at me and clenched her teeth at the kitten. I said,
“I guess you were feeling suffocated because the cat was always in the bedroom? Oh, by any chance, that egg I saw in the bedroom that time. Isn’t that the one that came out of there?”
“Yes, yea?!”
“Meow?!”
My joke was so ridiculous that Rosie blinked her eyes repeatedly with a shocked expression on her face, raising her voice at the end. The cat, who had been acting cute and moving actively in my arms, suddenly sagged. I quickly covered it up with a laugh, reflecting on my joke that had even made the cat freeze.
“But Rosie, what was that story earlier? I think I know how Prince Tesla and Pecilini know each other.”
“Yes, Your Majesty the Empress. The Marquis Astor family runs a large merchant family. I understand that they had traded with not only the countries of the Northern Continent but also the countries of the Southern Continent before the war.”
“Oh, come to think of it, I think we briefly talked about that one day when I had lunch with the concubines at the Empress’s Palace... Right?”
“That’s right. Besides, Pesilini clearly said that she had visited the Shattonil royal court several times since her childhood.”
“If that’s true, then Prince Tesla and Concubine Pesilini must have known each other for a long time.”
Prince Norton muttered seriously.
“You two stay here for a moment. I will go and look into the servant.”
Prince Norton looked around cautiously and quickly ran to where the servant had fallen. After a while.
“Oh my, what is that Prince doing?”
Rose asked in a terrified voice, hiding behind me. Prince Norton tore a part of his robe. Using the hem of his robe, he pulled out the dagger that Lord Ken had stuck in the servant's abdomen and walked back here.
“I was right. Prince Tesla’s escort knights intentionally used the daggers carried by the Lapion Imperial Knights to avoid suspicion.”
“It probably wasn’t a planned murder, but it was thorough.”
I said, looking down at the bloody blade. Prince Norton wrapped the dagger in the torn cloth of his robe and put it in his bosom.
“Your Majesty, I will keep this for now.”
“Please do so.”
I answered quietly and looked around the Empress's Palace garden.
“If you hadn’t witnessed what happened today, Her Majesty the Empress would have been misunderstood! Was that what you were aiming for?”
Rosie spoke cautiously.
“That’s not it.”
Prince Norton answered her on my behalf.
“As I told Her Majesty the Empress earlier, the attendant seemed to be running away from the knight in a hurry. It is not easy to predict her escape route in advance.”
As I and Rosie nodded to Prince Norton’s words, the kitten in my arms giggled. As if it was mocking his words. Do cats laugh? Curious, I lifted the kitten by the scruff of its neck and looked into its face. When the cat met my eyes, it covered its mouth with its front paw and blinked its red eyes.
“Here, please, Your Majesty the Empress. I’m worried that he might scratch Your Majesty because he’s so rude.”
“Rosie said, quickly stretching out both hands.
“I guess you should go to your master now.”
I handed the cute kitten over to Rosie. Then the cat let out a pitiful whine and started to struggle against Rosie's embrace, flailing its front and back paws.
“Easy, good boy. I’m going to the Rosie to see you. So, just go home quietly today.”
I stroked the kitten's head to soothe it, and this time it seemed to understand what I said and stopped struggling violently, and became calm.
“Your Majesty the Empress, please go to your bedroom.”
At Prince Norton's words, I looked up at the terrace.
“Oh, that’s right.”
“The body will be found tomorrow at the earliest, or within a few days at the latest, so we’d better get out of here quickly unless we get rid of the body now. And if His Majesty wakes up, there might be some unnecessary misunderstandings.”
“But is it okay to just keep going like this...”
I turned my head to where the murdered attendant had fallen, my mind wandering to the place where she had fallen. The two of them also stared at the same place with expressions of pity.
“There’s nothing we can do for that servant right now. If the guards find her tomorrow or the day after, we’ll have to wait and see what happens then.”
“Yes, that’s right. Well, let’s talk about today’s events again.”
“Yes, Your Majesty the Empress.”
“And Your Highness, I’m sorry, but may I ask you to escort Rosie?”
I noticed that Rosie was glancing at the attendant who was still lying down, her shoulders shaking slightly.
“Of course, Your Majesty the Empress.”
Prince Norton responded as if it were a given.
"Thank you."
I spoke to Prince Norton, feeling with my hand the nearest of the stone fragments jutting out from the wall of the Empress's Palace. As I spoke, I was calculating in my head how many stone fragments I would have to step on to get up to the terrace.
“I, I’m fine!”
Rosie jumped up and refused Prince Norton's offer.
“No, Your Highness Rosie. I will accompany you to your quarters in case there is any danger. By the way, Your Majesty the Empress?”
Prince Norton, who was talking to Rosie, called me.
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“What are you... doing right now?”
“I’m going to go up here too.”
I think I only have to step on three statues to get to the terrace.
“Are you trying to climb the wall?”
“Of course, against the wall... Ah.”
I answered without thinking, then stopped talking and looked back at them. The surprised Rosie and the bewildered Prince Norton were looking at me at the same time.
“I really respect Your Majesty the Empress! You were so cool when you beat up Concubine Catherine, but you climbed a wall!”
Rosie seemed so touched that she placed the kitten on her shoulder and clapped her hands quickly.
“...It’s nothing.”
Since it was too late to make an excuse, I muttered with an embarrassed expression.
“I know that Your Majesty is an extraordinary person, but I don’t think that is a good choice.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes, if His Majesty is awake?”
Oh, it's horrible to even imagine.
"Then..."
“Please enter through the door safely. Even if you get caught, wouldn’t it be better to pretend you went out for a bit?”
Prince Norton pointed to the door leading to the laundry room.
“That would be good. Since it leads to the door that leads to the costume shop anyway, if I get caught I can just say I went there and came back.”
“You are wise.”
He said, giving a thumbs up.
“Let me go in first. Please take good care of Rosie.”
I opened the laundry room door and asked Prince Norton again.
“Thank you, Your Majesty the Empress.”
“Meow.”
As Rosie thanked me, the kitten meowed as if greeting me as well. I stared into the kitten’s red eyes for a moment before closing the laundry room door. I entered the laundry room and quickly ran up the spiral staircase that led to the dressing room. The heat that had been on my face had disappeared.
“What are you... doing right now?”
“I’m going to go up here too.”
I think I only have to step on three statues to get to the terrace.
“Are you trying to climb the wall?”
“Of course, against the wall... Ah.”
I answered without thinking, then stopped talking and looked back at them. The surprised Rosie and the bewildered Prince Norton were looking at me at the same time.
“I really respect Your Majesty the Empress! You were so cool when you beat up Concubine Catherine, but you climbed a wall!”
Rosie seemed so touched that she placed the kitten on her shoulder and clapped her hands quickly.
“...It’s nothing.”
Since it was too late to make an excuse, I muttered with an embarrassed expression.
“I know that Your Majesty is an extraordinary person, but I don’t think that is a good choice.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes, if His Majesty is awake?”
Oh, it's horrible to even imagine.
"Then..."
“Please enter through the door safely. Even if you get caught, wouldn’t it be better to pretend you went out for a bit?”
Prince Norton pointed to the door leading to the laundry room.
“That would be good. Since it leads to the door that leads to the costume shop anyway, if I get caught I can just say I went there and came back.”
“You are wise.”
He said, giving a thumbs up.
“Let me go in first. Please take good care of Rosie.”
I opened the laundry room door and asked Prince Norton again.
“Thank you, Your Majesty the Empress.”
“Meow.”
As Rosie thanked me, the kitten meowed as if greeting me as well. I stared into the kitten’s red eyes for a moment before closing the laundry room door. I entered the laundry room and quickly ran up the spiral staircase that led to the dressing room. The heat that had been on my face had disappeared.
***
When I arrived at the dressing room, I looked in the mirror, combed my hair neatly again, and headed for the bedroom door. I pulled the doorknob to make as little noise as possible, opened the door just enough for me to enter, and then carefully closed the door again. I crept to the bed like a thieving cat. Fortunately, Linel was sleeping in the same position as before I left.
“Phew.”
Only then did I breathe a sigh of relief. I lay down on the bed, trying my best not to bounce off the mattress.
“Where have you been?”
“!”
My body froze for a moment at his voice.
“It was cold...”
Linel pulled me into his arms and whispered pitifully.
“Phew.”
Only then did I breathe a sigh of relief. I lay down on the bed, trying my best not to bounce off the mattress.
“Where have you been?”
“!”
My body froze for a moment at his voice.
“It was cold...”
Linel pulled me into his arms and whispered pitifully.
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