Granada and Brentian watched Chloe's back as she went up to her room after tidying up everything.
“...There’s something different about the Princess than meets the eye.”
Granada chuckled at Brentian's words.
“She is like a butterfly.”
“What do you mean?”
“Doesn’t a butterfly break out of an egg and become a caterpillar, then from the caterpillar, it becomes a pupa, and from the pupa, it finally becomes an adult and spreads its beautiful wings?”
“Are you saying that what I saw was nothing more than a pupa?”
"No, it was just an egg back then. The Prince brought me a butterfly egg. It just hatched."
Brentian shook his head as if it were nonsense.
"The Princess is a 22-year-old adult. Isn't she too old to be compared to a newly hatched caterpillar?"
"The time spent simply existing inside the egg is irrelevant. Butterfly eggs hatch only in the right environment. If the environment isn't right, they remain eggs forever. This one has only just woken up because it found a suitable environment for its growth."
“Are you saying Ronheim is a good environment for her?”
“If you don’t believe me, just watch.”
Confidence was written on Granada's face.
The certainty that one day Chloe will grow into a beautiful butterfly.
Brentian couldn't understand what it was about Chloe that so captivated Granada.
'Is she really someone I can trust?'
Callius felt good.
This was because immediately after dealing with Vanessa's case, the way the employees looked at Chloe had clearly changed.
As he hummed into the office, Brentian followed me right in.
Callius sat down at the desk and asked.
“Are you still suspicious of Chloe, Viscount Creep?”
“...”
“Even though she showed herself removing the weeds of Kavala?”
“...She just locked her in an underground prison, but she didn’t deal with her cleanly. It could have been a smokescreen.”
Whenever Callius spoke of Chloe, he felt Brentian's voice, which had been tense, soften slightly.
“It’s a smokescreen.”
Callius chuckled, remembering that he had recently heard that word from Chloe.
Chloe was spreading smoke to cover Kavala's eyes, and Brentian found it amusing that Chloe thought she was spreading smoke to help Kavala.
"Asshole."
“Are you talking to me?”
“You’ve been stubborn since you were little. You’re also very suspicious.”
“It’s disappointing that someone who has benefited from my suspiciousness says something like that.”
It wasn't a wrong statement, so Callius didn't harass Brentian any further.
'You admit that you're sick.'
Callius knew that it took Brentian a long time to trust anyone.
There are people in this world who trust others without hesitation, and there are people who only open up to others after observing them for a long time.
So he didn't force him to trust Chloe.
Callius trusts Brentian, but has no intention of telling him the details of his contract.
Actually, he doesn't know how Chloe got that much information, but telling Brentian that would only make him more suspicious.
Brentian is the type of person who needs to have all sorts of suspicions to feel better, so there's no need to increase the number of things he can suspect.
'He's not the type of person to go to Chloe and harm her just because he's suspicious.'
He guessed he could be a little unlucky, though.
'Besides, if I show that Brentian, who is closest to me, is suspicious of Chloe, I can distract the unknown traitor in Ronheim for a while.'
Brentian asked with a worried expression.
“By the way, if the Empress gave a separate order to the spy regarding the jewels, it’s highly likely that the wandering merchant’s work during the day was also related, right?”
Callius and Brentian had heard reports of a merchant who had come to the castle without an appointment and suddenly died, his eyes burning and his entire body burning.
It was clearly a sorcerer's curse.
On the same day, the Empress's spy committed murder under orders, and a wandering merchant entered the castle with a sorcerer's curse and died.
Given the circumstances, it was highly likely that it was the work of Kavala.
“I guess.”
Callius clicked his tongue as if he felt sorry for the merchant who had died so meaninglessly.
It's always like this with Kavala: there's circumstantial evidence, but no proof.
Brentian asked sharply.
“How did the Empress know there was a thief here?”
Although Chloe had been seen punishing the maids for being the Empress's spies, Brentian was still suspicious of her.
When they tried to interrogate the wandering merchant, he was already dead.
Why on earth did the Empress suspect Ronheim?
Brentian recalled what he had argued a few days earlier.
“If it’s discovered that the Empress’s jewels came from Ronheim, the Empress will think we’ve set it all up!”
“That would give Arrental a pretext to completely destroy Ronheim!”
Brentian couldn't help but be suspicious of Chloe.
“Are you sure the Empress and the Princess aren’t colluding?”
“If that was the case, why would they sacrifice the maids?”
“I need to find out why. If you leave it to me, I will...”
“No, don’t worry.”
Callius said calmly.
“Because I had already prepared for the situation where it would be discovered that the jewel came from Ronheim.”
"Yes...?"
Kavala gritted her teeth as she looked at the jewels that took up not only her large desk but also every other table in her office.
They were things that Dnieper's men had found by searching through all the black markets and auction houses on the continent.
Things that had not been seen before the discovery of the dragon's eye suddenly appeared in droves on the market.
This happened as soon as she cast a spell on the wandering merchant and sent him to Ronheim.
“My jewels...”
Kavala held a handful of jewels.
The hand holding the precious jewel trembled.
Some of the jewels returned intact, as if they had been sleeping soundly in the treasure vault, but most did not.
A multi-layered diamond necklace had its diamonds partially disintegrated, and a pearl necklace had completely lost its shape, leaving only pearls in a basket.
The sapphire bracelet, which was characterized by its ornate silver decorations, was now missing the sapphire, and only the silver decorations remained.
“Who on earth would do something like this... ridiculous...!”
Kavala had to grind this out.
“This gypsy bitch...”
The gypsy who stole the treasures must have had no idea of their value.
This must have happened because a thief who didn't know how to appreciate a gem handed over her treasure to merchants who didn't know how to appreciate a gem.
Kavala looked down at the broken diamond necklace and closed her eyes tightly.
That necklace was a priceless item, enough to buy two mansions in the capital if entrusted to someone who recognized its value.
To tear something like that apart like that?
She felt like she was going crazy.
Unable to contain her overflowing anger, Kavala lashed out and threw the pieces of the now worthless diamond necklace in all directions.
“Ahhh! Aaaah!”
Some rings were so dented that they could not be inserted into the fingers, and some gold bracelets were found during the melting process, with only half of them remaining.
“You crazy guys... You crazy things!”
What ignorant craftsman would melt down a bracelet without realizing its value?
What ignorant merchant would dismantle a pearl necklace and try to use it for other decorations?
“Ouch! Aah!”
Things on the desk flew in all directions.
“I’m going to kill you, I’m going to kill you all! You worthless things!”
She will not spare even one blind and ignorant person.
Kavala made a fuss for a while and then shouted out the door.
“Look here!”
Then a frightened servant opened the door in a hurry and came in.
“Yes, Your Majesty!”
“Bring me Dnieper.”
As soon as Kavala finished speaking, Dnieper came inside.
Even when the treasures had already been found and laid out in Kavala's office, Dnieper had anticipated this situation and had been waiting in the hallway.
“Sister.”
"You want to know what all this is about? Bring in everyone who touched these jewels."
“I, sister.”
Dnieper, who usually acted immediately without hesitation at Kavala's orders, hesitated for a rare moment.
“There are more than one or two people, is that okay?”
“Bring them all! Bring them here and behead them in front of me!”
Dnieper closed his eyes tightly and swallowed a sigh.
He decided that the first priority was to calm Kavala, who was blinded by anger, and then signaled to his knight standing at the door.
“Are you ready?”
"Yes."
Dnieper guided Kavala.
“Everyone is outside. Let’s go out together.”
Kavala fiercely slapped away Dnieper's hand as he offered to escort her, and strode out after the knight.
It was a sinister gaze full of murderous intent.
However, Kavala, who had gone out to the front yard of the office, stopped walking and stood there dumbfounded.
“What is all this...?”
“...There’s something different about the Princess than meets the eye.”
Granada chuckled at Brentian's words.
“She is like a butterfly.”
“What do you mean?”
“Doesn’t a butterfly break out of an egg and become a caterpillar, then from the caterpillar, it becomes a pupa, and from the pupa, it finally becomes an adult and spreads its beautiful wings?”
“Are you saying that what I saw was nothing more than a pupa?”
"No, it was just an egg back then. The Prince brought me a butterfly egg. It just hatched."
Brentian shook his head as if it were nonsense.
"The Princess is a 22-year-old adult. Isn't she too old to be compared to a newly hatched caterpillar?"
"The time spent simply existing inside the egg is irrelevant. Butterfly eggs hatch only in the right environment. If the environment isn't right, they remain eggs forever. This one has only just woken up because it found a suitable environment for its growth."
“Are you saying Ronheim is a good environment for her?”
“If you don’t believe me, just watch.”
Confidence was written on Granada's face.
The certainty that one day Chloe will grow into a beautiful butterfly.
Brentian couldn't understand what it was about Chloe that so captivated Granada.
'Is she really someone I can trust?'
***
Callius felt good.
This was because immediately after dealing with Vanessa's case, the way the employees looked at Chloe had clearly changed.
As he hummed into the office, Brentian followed me right in.
Callius sat down at the desk and asked.
“Are you still suspicious of Chloe, Viscount Creep?”
“...”
“Even though she showed herself removing the weeds of Kavala?”
“...She just locked her in an underground prison, but she didn’t deal with her cleanly. It could have been a smokescreen.”
Whenever Callius spoke of Chloe, he felt Brentian's voice, which had been tense, soften slightly.
“It’s a smokescreen.”
Callius chuckled, remembering that he had recently heard that word from Chloe.
Chloe was spreading smoke to cover Kavala's eyes, and Brentian found it amusing that Chloe thought she was spreading smoke to help Kavala.
"Asshole."
“Are you talking to me?”
“You’ve been stubborn since you were little. You’re also very suspicious.”
“It’s disappointing that someone who has benefited from my suspiciousness says something like that.”
It wasn't a wrong statement, so Callius didn't harass Brentian any further.
'You admit that you're sick.'
Callius knew that it took Brentian a long time to trust anyone.
There are people in this world who trust others without hesitation, and there are people who only open up to others after observing them for a long time.
So he didn't force him to trust Chloe.
Callius trusts Brentian, but has no intention of telling him the details of his contract.
Actually, he doesn't know how Chloe got that much information, but telling Brentian that would only make him more suspicious.
Brentian is the type of person who needs to have all sorts of suspicions to feel better, so there's no need to increase the number of things he can suspect.
'He's not the type of person to go to Chloe and harm her just because he's suspicious.'
He guessed he could be a little unlucky, though.
'Besides, if I show that Brentian, who is closest to me, is suspicious of Chloe, I can distract the unknown traitor in Ronheim for a while.'
Brentian asked with a worried expression.
“By the way, if the Empress gave a separate order to the spy regarding the jewels, it’s highly likely that the wandering merchant’s work during the day was also related, right?”
Callius and Brentian had heard reports of a merchant who had come to the castle without an appointment and suddenly died, his eyes burning and his entire body burning.
It was clearly a sorcerer's curse.
On the same day, the Empress's spy committed murder under orders, and a wandering merchant entered the castle with a sorcerer's curse and died.
Given the circumstances, it was highly likely that it was the work of Kavala.
“I guess.”
Callius clicked his tongue as if he felt sorry for the merchant who had died so meaninglessly.
It's always like this with Kavala: there's circumstantial evidence, but no proof.
Brentian asked sharply.
“How did the Empress know there was a thief here?”
Although Chloe had been seen punishing the maids for being the Empress's spies, Brentian was still suspicious of her.
When they tried to interrogate the wandering merchant, he was already dead.
Why on earth did the Empress suspect Ronheim?
Brentian recalled what he had argued a few days earlier.
“If it’s discovered that the Empress’s jewels came from Ronheim, the Empress will think we’ve set it all up!”
“That would give Arrental a pretext to completely destroy Ronheim!”
Brentian couldn't help but be suspicious of Chloe.
“Are you sure the Empress and the Princess aren’t colluding?”
“If that was the case, why would they sacrifice the maids?”
“I need to find out why. If you leave it to me, I will...”
“No, don’t worry.”
Callius said calmly.
“Because I had already prepared for the situation where it would be discovered that the jewel came from Ronheim.”
"Yes...?"
***
Kavala gritted her teeth as she looked at the jewels that took up not only her large desk but also every other table in her office.
They were things that Dnieper's men had found by searching through all the black markets and auction houses on the continent.
Things that had not been seen before the discovery of the dragon's eye suddenly appeared in droves on the market.
This happened as soon as she cast a spell on the wandering merchant and sent him to Ronheim.
“My jewels...”
Kavala held a handful of jewels.
The hand holding the precious jewel trembled.
Some of the jewels returned intact, as if they had been sleeping soundly in the treasure vault, but most did not.
A multi-layered diamond necklace had its diamonds partially disintegrated, and a pearl necklace had completely lost its shape, leaving only pearls in a basket.
The sapphire bracelet, which was characterized by its ornate silver decorations, was now missing the sapphire, and only the silver decorations remained.
“Who on earth would do something like this... ridiculous...!”
Kavala had to grind this out.
“This gypsy bitch...”
The gypsy who stole the treasures must have had no idea of their value.
This must have happened because a thief who didn't know how to appreciate a gem handed over her treasure to merchants who didn't know how to appreciate a gem.
Kavala looked down at the broken diamond necklace and closed her eyes tightly.
That necklace was a priceless item, enough to buy two mansions in the capital if entrusted to someone who recognized its value.
To tear something like that apart like that?
She felt like she was going crazy.
Unable to contain her overflowing anger, Kavala lashed out and threw the pieces of the now worthless diamond necklace in all directions.
“Ahhh! Aaaah!”
Some rings were so dented that they could not be inserted into the fingers, and some gold bracelets were found during the melting process, with only half of them remaining.
“You crazy guys... You crazy things!”
What ignorant craftsman would melt down a bracelet without realizing its value?
What ignorant merchant would dismantle a pearl necklace and try to use it for other decorations?
“Ouch! Aah!”
Things on the desk flew in all directions.
“I’m going to kill you, I’m going to kill you all! You worthless things!”
She will not spare even one blind and ignorant person.
Kavala made a fuss for a while and then shouted out the door.
“Look here!”
Then a frightened servant opened the door in a hurry and came in.
“Yes, Your Majesty!”
“Bring me Dnieper.”
As soon as Kavala finished speaking, Dnieper came inside.
Even when the treasures had already been found and laid out in Kavala's office, Dnieper had anticipated this situation and had been waiting in the hallway.
“Sister.”
"You want to know what all this is about? Bring in everyone who touched these jewels."
“I, sister.”
Dnieper, who usually acted immediately without hesitation at Kavala's orders, hesitated for a rare moment.
“There are more than one or two people, is that okay?”
“Bring them all! Bring them here and behead them in front of me!”
Dnieper closed his eyes tightly and swallowed a sigh.
He decided that the first priority was to calm Kavala, who was blinded by anger, and then signaled to his knight standing at the door.
“Are you ready?”
"Yes."
Dnieper guided Kavala.
“Everyone is outside. Let’s go out together.”
Kavala fiercely slapped away Dnieper's hand as he offered to escort her, and strode out after the knight.
It was a sinister gaze full of murderous intent.
However, Kavala, who had gone out to the front yard of the office, stopped walking and stood there dumbfounded.
“What is all this...?”
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