Rustle.
In the darkness, I carefully adjusted the hood pulled deeply over my head. Even in the dark, I had to completely hide my bright silver hair.
'Yes, I got out safely.'
Shocked by the news that my father was injured, I pretended to lie down in the bedroom, but the maids quickly turned their attention to me and started gossiping in the living room.
During that gap, I managed to sneak out and hide in the Empress's Palace.
'It's definitely quiet.'
I knew in advance that security would be lax today, but there were no soldiers on duty, to the point where I wondered if it was okay.
'Did everyone get called away somewhere?'
Did the Empress take everyone with her when she went to the palace?
'I don't know, but this is why they couldn't catch the thief.'
It was strange, but it was a good thing for me.
I walked quietly through the garden, trying to hide my presence as much as possible, and approached the Empress's Palace building.
Their small, slender build was quite advantageous for silent movement. They had no difficulty weaving between the branches of low-growing ornamental trees without disturbing them.
Hiding between the trees, I took a deep breath and checked my plan.
'The worst thing that could happen to me is if I get unlucky enough to be caught by the guards.'
In such a situation, it would be better to quickly give up the treasure and choose a safe path rather than arouse Kavala's suspicions, even if it is regrettable.
"Then I can tell them the excuse I prepared. I can't enter the Imperial Palace without permission, so I'll calmly say I came to find out some news because I'm worried about my father."
If you say so, would Kavala kill me, the Princess?
'Outwardly, Kavala pretends to like me, and the guards know my face, so they can't be too threatening.'
If I just keep my wits about me, I'll be safe.
'Because I prepared a sure route to avoid being caught when carrying the treasure.'
The only danger comes when I enter Kavala's bedroom to find the magic key.
At first, my heart was pounding and I felt like I was going to die, but as I moved forward, I became more and more confident in my movements.
I quickly approached Kavala's bedroom.
'I wonder if there's an open window somewhere.'
I was moving, hiding in the shade of a tall fir tree, its branches and pointed leaves growing densely, and touching each window of the hallway near Kavala's bedroom.
Rattling.
A small noise was heard from somewhere.
'What?'
Startled, I quickly crawled between the branches and crouched.
I looked through the branches and saw someone peering at the window in the hallway not far from where I was.
'Are you trying to open the window, maid?'
The hallway was dark with no lights, so I couldn't see the person's appearance clearly. All I could tell was the silhouette of a woman wearing a skirt.
I thought the maid was opening the window to ventilate the room.
I was lucky. As she passed by, I looked inside through the open window...
'Uh?'
I opened my mouth in embarrassment.
A woman jumps out through an open window.
At that moment, a thought flashed through my mind.
'Surely not, that thief?'
The woman, who had jumped out of the window as quickly as a squirrel, tightly rolled up her skirt and started running towards me.
And then the corridor where she appeared became brighter, and the guards were seen running towards her.
"Where are you?"
“Where are you hiding?”
“Over there!”
One of the guards pointed to the open window.
'Don't come! Don't come!'
I crouched between the branches as best I could, cursing the thief who had to run away this way.
However.
“...!”
“...?”
The moment the woman, who was running fast, passed the fir tree where I was, our eyes met.
As soon as I met her eyes, I could clearly see that the picture on the wanted poster was not an exaggeration.
In the field of vision brightened by the guards' lights, her red, voluminous curly hair was scattered like a flower in full bloom.
I was momentarily stunned and shocked.
I was so busy that I didn't even notice the cold blade wrapping around my wrist. It happened in an instant.
Clank.
"What!"
I jumped up and looked down at my wrist, and there was a pair of handcuffs dangling from it, the kind you'd use on a criminal.
What is this situation?
I looked at the woman in confusion. She smiled arrogantly and then suddenly started yelling at me. I didn't have time to stop her.
“Here it is! There’s a runaway woman here!”
"What...?"
I thought I knew what was going on.
This foolish woman didn't even know I was a Princess and was trying to make me a scapegoat.
“Hey! If we keep going like this, we’ll both get caught!”
I cried out in frustration, but it was already too late.
“Over there!”
“Stop her from running away!”
We were instantly surrounded by guards.
'I didn't know it would be like this if I got caught.'
I looked at the guards surrounding me and sighed softly.
This was exactly the worst situation I could have imagined.
'My treasure...'
It was a pity, but I had a plan in place, so I tried to keep my expression calm.
The guards must have already recognized my face.
In the first place, it wasn't easy to confuse that woman's gorgeous red curls with my straight silver hair.
I thought so, but something absurd happened.
“Catch that woman and lock her up!”
One of the guards pointed at me and shouted.
Even though I had my hood turned upside down, you still couldn't recognize me.
I took off my hood in disbelief and frowned at the guards who were trying to grab my arm.
"What are you doing? Don't you recognize me? Open your eyes and look closely!"
She's red and I'm almost white!
It was so absurd that I forgot to even pretend to be intimidated, like I usually do.
But even though I showed my face, the guards didn't recognize me and just laughed at me.
“What is this ratty little bitch talking about?”
What? A year-like year...?
Even though I wasn't treated well in the palace, this was the first time I'd seen a guard swear like that in front of me, a Princess.
They gathered my wrists, which were wide open in surprise, and fastened the shackles that had been dangling from one of my wrists tightly to both of them.
Meanwhile, the thief who had sacrificed me was quietly running away.
"We have to catch that woman! Where do you dare lay your hands on her! I am Princess Chloe!"
I struggled and screamed.
Then suddenly, I saw a red curly head reflected in the window behind the guards.
The colors were so brilliant that even the reflection in the window was striking.
'What.'
The thief is clearly running away, but why do I see her being held by guards in the window in front of me?
And why does the thief reflected in the window mirror my movements?
'What the heck happened...?'
Could it be magic?
As I was lost in confusion, the guard who had caught me pulled my arm violently.
“How dare you, a gypsy, speak the name of Her Royal Highness, you filthy bastard!”
The guard who had grabbed my arm and tied me up shouted.
My weak body, devoid of any strength, swayed like a reed in the wind.
Meanwhile, I was very curious.
'A gypsy? Aren't you a thief? A part-timer? ...? But why does the guard speak as if he knows about the thief?'
Do the guards already know the identity of the thief who sneaked into the palace?
At that moment, another guard standing nearby brought his index finger to his lips and whispered.
"Knock her out so she can't make a fuss again. We have to do it quietly without anyone knowing."
Immediately after, before I could even explain the situation, I felt a strong shock on the back of my neck.
"Ah!"
I felt my body crumble limply, like a marionette with its strings cut off. My vision went pitch black.
Just before everything disappeared, the last thing I saw was the thief looking back as she disappeared into the distance.
She was smiling confidently at me, as if nothing I said would be of any use.
That's how I lost consciousness.
In the darkness, I carefully adjusted the hood pulled deeply over my head. Even in the dark, I had to completely hide my bright silver hair.
'Yes, I got out safely.'
Shocked by the news that my father was injured, I pretended to lie down in the bedroom, but the maids quickly turned their attention to me and started gossiping in the living room.
During that gap, I managed to sneak out and hide in the Empress's Palace.
'It's definitely quiet.'
I knew in advance that security would be lax today, but there were no soldiers on duty, to the point where I wondered if it was okay.
'Did everyone get called away somewhere?'
Did the Empress take everyone with her when she went to the palace?
'I don't know, but this is why they couldn't catch the thief.'
It was strange, but it was a good thing for me.
I walked quietly through the garden, trying to hide my presence as much as possible, and approached the Empress's Palace building.
Their small, slender build was quite advantageous for silent movement. They had no difficulty weaving between the branches of low-growing ornamental trees without disturbing them.
Hiding between the trees, I took a deep breath and checked my plan.
'The worst thing that could happen to me is if I get unlucky enough to be caught by the guards.'
In such a situation, it would be better to quickly give up the treasure and choose a safe path rather than arouse Kavala's suspicions, even if it is regrettable.
"Then I can tell them the excuse I prepared. I can't enter the Imperial Palace without permission, so I'll calmly say I came to find out some news because I'm worried about my father."
If you say so, would Kavala kill me, the Princess?
'Outwardly, Kavala pretends to like me, and the guards know my face, so they can't be too threatening.'
If I just keep my wits about me, I'll be safe.
'Because I prepared a sure route to avoid being caught when carrying the treasure.'
The only danger comes when I enter Kavala's bedroom to find the magic key.
At first, my heart was pounding and I felt like I was going to die, but as I moved forward, I became more and more confident in my movements.
I quickly approached Kavala's bedroom.
'I wonder if there's an open window somewhere.'
I was moving, hiding in the shade of a tall fir tree, its branches and pointed leaves growing densely, and touching each window of the hallway near Kavala's bedroom.
Rattling.
A small noise was heard from somewhere.
'What?'
Startled, I quickly crawled between the branches and crouched.
I looked through the branches and saw someone peering at the window in the hallway not far from where I was.
'Are you trying to open the window, maid?'
The hallway was dark with no lights, so I couldn't see the person's appearance clearly. All I could tell was the silhouette of a woman wearing a skirt.
I thought the maid was opening the window to ventilate the room.
I was lucky. As she passed by, I looked inside through the open window...
'Uh?'
I opened my mouth in embarrassment.
A woman jumps out through an open window.
At that moment, a thought flashed through my mind.
'Surely not, that thief?'
The woman, who had jumped out of the window as quickly as a squirrel, tightly rolled up her skirt and started running towards me.
And then the corridor where she appeared became brighter, and the guards were seen running towards her.
"Where are you?"
“Where are you hiding?”
“Over there!”
One of the guards pointed to the open window.
'Don't come! Don't come!'
I crouched between the branches as best I could, cursing the thief who had to run away this way.
However.
“...!”
“...?”
The moment the woman, who was running fast, passed the fir tree where I was, our eyes met.
As soon as I met her eyes, I could clearly see that the picture on the wanted poster was not an exaggeration.
In the field of vision brightened by the guards' lights, her red, voluminous curly hair was scattered like a flower in full bloom.
I was momentarily stunned and shocked.
I was so busy that I didn't even notice the cold blade wrapping around my wrist. It happened in an instant.
Clank.
"What!"
I jumped up and looked down at my wrist, and there was a pair of handcuffs dangling from it, the kind you'd use on a criminal.
What is this situation?
I looked at the woman in confusion. She smiled arrogantly and then suddenly started yelling at me. I didn't have time to stop her.
“Here it is! There’s a runaway woman here!”
"What...?"
I thought I knew what was going on.
This foolish woman didn't even know I was a Princess and was trying to make me a scapegoat.
“Hey! If we keep going like this, we’ll both get caught!”
I cried out in frustration, but it was already too late.
“Over there!”
“Stop her from running away!”
We were instantly surrounded by guards.
'I didn't know it would be like this if I got caught.'
I looked at the guards surrounding me and sighed softly.
This was exactly the worst situation I could have imagined.
'My treasure...'
It was a pity, but I had a plan in place, so I tried to keep my expression calm.
The guards must have already recognized my face.
In the first place, it wasn't easy to confuse that woman's gorgeous red curls with my straight silver hair.
I thought so, but something absurd happened.
“Catch that woman and lock her up!”
One of the guards pointed at me and shouted.
Even though I had my hood turned upside down, you still couldn't recognize me.
I took off my hood in disbelief and frowned at the guards who were trying to grab my arm.
"What are you doing? Don't you recognize me? Open your eyes and look closely!"
She's red and I'm almost white!
It was so absurd that I forgot to even pretend to be intimidated, like I usually do.
But even though I showed my face, the guards didn't recognize me and just laughed at me.
“What is this ratty little bitch talking about?”
What? A year-like year...?
Even though I wasn't treated well in the palace, this was the first time I'd seen a guard swear like that in front of me, a Princess.
They gathered my wrists, which were wide open in surprise, and fastened the shackles that had been dangling from one of my wrists tightly to both of them.
Meanwhile, the thief who had sacrificed me was quietly running away.
"We have to catch that woman! Where do you dare lay your hands on her! I am Princess Chloe!"
I struggled and screamed.
Then suddenly, I saw a red curly head reflected in the window behind the guards.
The colors were so brilliant that even the reflection in the window was striking.
'What.'
The thief is clearly running away, but why do I see her being held by guards in the window in front of me?
And why does the thief reflected in the window mirror my movements?
'What the heck happened...?'
Could it be magic?
As I was lost in confusion, the guard who had caught me pulled my arm violently.
“How dare you, a gypsy, speak the name of Her Royal Highness, you filthy bastard!”
The guard who had grabbed my arm and tied me up shouted.
My weak body, devoid of any strength, swayed like a reed in the wind.
Meanwhile, I was very curious.
'A gypsy? Aren't you a thief? A part-timer? ...? But why does the guard speak as if he knows about the thief?'
Do the guards already know the identity of the thief who sneaked into the palace?
At that moment, another guard standing nearby brought his index finger to his lips and whispered.
"Knock her out so she can't make a fuss again. We have to do it quietly without anyone knowing."
Immediately after, before I could even explain the situation, I felt a strong shock on the back of my neck.
"Ah!"
I felt my body crumble limply, like a marionette with its strings cut off. My vision went pitch black.
Just before everything disappeared, the last thing I saw was the thief looking back as she disappeared into the distance.
She was smiling confidently at me, as if nothing I said would be of any use.
That's how I lost consciousness.
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