I threw my shoes away and started running away quickly.
I liked those shoes.
As soon as my useless thoughts ended, the thugs began to chase me fiercely, shouting. I now had many enemies. I'd forgotten this fact, caught up in my emotions.
Princess Erita, Admiral Claire, and even Elsa, the Prince's nanny, who had a war of nerves with me a while ago.
The phrase "When you go out, take Molly with you" in Noah's letter came to mind, and I felt the color drain from my face. He wasn't just telling me to go with the maid. He was telling me to go with Molly, who was a former soldier.
I was too complacent. Perhaps it was because there hadn't been any major incidents recently. It was a mistake for me, the enemy of all people, to have taken the precious young master out of the security zone.
I let my emotions get the best of me and made a foolish mistake by doing something I shouldn't have done. No, why didn't the Duke even give his son a bodyguard in the first place? Even if he didn't care!
Suddenly, a chill ran down my spine at the thought that the maid, Lenny, who had taken the Prince away, might actually be one of Princess Erita's subordinates.
My mind was racing, racked with thoughts of combining various possibilities, blaming myself, and even running away. If I continued like this, I would be caught without a fight.
If it's true what the slum child said, that no one will help you, then it's unlikely that people here will help me even if I ask them.
Certainly, people who passed by would often look at me with helpless eyes and immediately turn their heads away when they saw me being chased.
I needed a driving force to move those people and get them to act. I stood there, standing still, in the middle of a dark, dirty market street teeming with people.
Then I took out the earring from my ear, held it high in one hand, and shouted loudly.
"Everyone, pay attention! I'm throwing down an 800-pound earring!"
As soon as I finished shouting, all eyes turned to me, and a silence fell, as if cold water had been poured over the chaotic atmosphere.
The eyes of women who had come out to do the evening market, laborers returning from work, and merchants who had folded up their stalls or were sitting blankly to finish their business all turned in this direction.
“He who picks it up takes it!”
I flung one of my earrings at the pursuing thugs. The stillness that had flowed through the market shattered, and a scene of chaos unfolded.
A loud crash and screams erupted as everyone scrambled for the earrings. All the people from the nearby slums rushed towards them, throwing themselves at them with all their might. I took advantage of the opportunity to quickly escape.
“Oh, get out of the way! Get out of the way!”
The voice of the man, blocked by a wall of greedy people, gradually faded away. Before I knew it, the sun had completely set. Without even a streetlight, a pitch-black darkness began to descend.
“Where did Lenny go?”
I barely managed to escape the slums, following the city lights in the distance, through the darkness.
After making sure that the streetlights were clearly visible and that they were no longer chasing me, I stretched out and walked awkwardly.
Running through the filthy streets, covered in filth, in only socks, felt both uncomfortable and bitter. The discomfort was so great that I trembled, threw off my socks, and went to the nearest faucet to wash my hands and feet.
“Ha... Seriously, what should I do?”
Shouldn't I go to the police station first? I really want to cry. I crouched down by the faucet, catching my breath for a moment, lost in thought.
Could Lenny really be the Princess's person? I recalled how she actively encouraged helping children in the slums. Several of the servants at Chevant Manor were Medeas, provided by the royal family, and unlike Molly and Vincent, they weren't Noah's.
As I was getting more and more worried about the Prince getting hurt, I tried to calm myself down and stand up, but someone suddenly grabbed my arm.
“I found you.”
I heard a strange man's voice, and then my mouth was covered. I rolled my eyes, trying to look up to see who it was.
The man spoke again in a low voice.
“Easy, don’t struggle.”
Lenny and Daniel were also surrounded by a group waiting elsewhere.
“Give me the young master. I won’t hurt him.”
As one of the men surrounding him spoke, Lenny put down the boy she was carrying and blocked his way, asking.
“Who ordered it?”
It was a low, hushed voice, completely different from her usual lively and innocent appearance.
“Do you think I’ll tell you that? You’re a funny girl.”
At the man's laughter, one corner of Lenny's mouth twisted up strangely.
"Girl?"
"Yes. You're so arrogant, you don't even know what's going on with that little girl. I plan to sell you and that woman you serve, Diana, to that faraway island."
Lenny's dark green eyes flashed sharply at the man's mocking tone.
"You're selling Medea? That's stupid. You don't seem to understand the situation."
The men chuckled, thinking the little girl's bravado and bluff were just a joke. But it wasn't until they saw one of them fall to the ground with a gunshot that they realized her attitude wasn't just bravado.
It was because he saw the silver-glowing Royal Guard pistol in Lenny's hand.
"What, why does this woman have that? I've never heard of anything like it."
Two men, desperately pulling out old-fashioned revolvers from their inner pockets, were also shot and fell to the ground. Seeing the remaining man turn and try to run, Lenny quickly ran over and struck the man in the back of the head, knocking him down.
In an instant, the man's face became blank as he felt the hot heat of the gun barrel pressed against his forehead, lying beneath her.
“You, what are you!”
“You think I’ll tell you that? You funny guy.”
Lenny smiled leisurely and asked.
“I’ll count to three. Could you please tell me who ordered it?”
“I can’t say that because of circumstances, so please just let me go this once...”
"Three."
“A woman working as a nanny in the Duke family.”
I liked those shoes.
As soon as my useless thoughts ended, the thugs began to chase me fiercely, shouting. I now had many enemies. I'd forgotten this fact, caught up in my emotions.
Princess Erita, Admiral Claire, and even Elsa, the Prince's nanny, who had a war of nerves with me a while ago.
The phrase "When you go out, take Molly with you" in Noah's letter came to mind, and I felt the color drain from my face. He wasn't just telling me to go with the maid. He was telling me to go with Molly, who was a former soldier.
I was too complacent. Perhaps it was because there hadn't been any major incidents recently. It was a mistake for me, the enemy of all people, to have taken the precious young master out of the security zone.
I let my emotions get the best of me and made a foolish mistake by doing something I shouldn't have done. No, why didn't the Duke even give his son a bodyguard in the first place? Even if he didn't care!
Suddenly, a chill ran down my spine at the thought that the maid, Lenny, who had taken the Prince away, might actually be one of Princess Erita's subordinates.
My mind was racing, racked with thoughts of combining various possibilities, blaming myself, and even running away. If I continued like this, I would be caught without a fight.
If it's true what the slum child said, that no one will help you, then it's unlikely that people here will help me even if I ask them.
Certainly, people who passed by would often look at me with helpless eyes and immediately turn their heads away when they saw me being chased.
I needed a driving force to move those people and get them to act. I stood there, standing still, in the middle of a dark, dirty market street teeming with people.
Then I took out the earring from my ear, held it high in one hand, and shouted loudly.
"Everyone, pay attention! I'm throwing down an 800-pound earring!"
As soon as I finished shouting, all eyes turned to me, and a silence fell, as if cold water had been poured over the chaotic atmosphere.
The eyes of women who had come out to do the evening market, laborers returning from work, and merchants who had folded up their stalls or were sitting blankly to finish their business all turned in this direction.
“He who picks it up takes it!”
I flung one of my earrings at the pursuing thugs. The stillness that had flowed through the market shattered, and a scene of chaos unfolded.
A loud crash and screams erupted as everyone scrambled for the earrings. All the people from the nearby slums rushed towards them, throwing themselves at them with all their might. I took advantage of the opportunity to quickly escape.
“Oh, get out of the way! Get out of the way!”
The voice of the man, blocked by a wall of greedy people, gradually faded away. Before I knew it, the sun had completely set. Without even a streetlight, a pitch-black darkness began to descend.
“Where did Lenny go?”
I barely managed to escape the slums, following the city lights in the distance, through the darkness.
After making sure that the streetlights were clearly visible and that they were no longer chasing me, I stretched out and walked awkwardly.
Running through the filthy streets, covered in filth, in only socks, felt both uncomfortable and bitter. The discomfort was so great that I trembled, threw off my socks, and went to the nearest faucet to wash my hands and feet.
“Ha... Seriously, what should I do?”
Shouldn't I go to the police station first? I really want to cry. I crouched down by the faucet, catching my breath for a moment, lost in thought.
Could Lenny really be the Princess's person? I recalled how she actively encouraged helping children in the slums. Several of the servants at Chevant Manor were Medeas, provided by the royal family, and unlike Molly and Vincent, they weren't Noah's.
As I was getting more and more worried about the Prince getting hurt, I tried to calm myself down and stand up, but someone suddenly grabbed my arm.
“I found you.”
I heard a strange man's voice, and then my mouth was covered. I rolled my eyes, trying to look up to see who it was.
The man spoke again in a low voice.
“Easy, don’t struggle.”
***
Lenny and Daniel were also surrounded by a group waiting elsewhere.
“Give me the young master. I won’t hurt him.”
As one of the men surrounding him spoke, Lenny put down the boy she was carrying and blocked his way, asking.
“Who ordered it?”
It was a low, hushed voice, completely different from her usual lively and innocent appearance.
“Do you think I’ll tell you that? You’re a funny girl.”
At the man's laughter, one corner of Lenny's mouth twisted up strangely.
"Girl?"
"Yes. You're so arrogant, you don't even know what's going on with that little girl. I plan to sell you and that woman you serve, Diana, to that faraway island."
Lenny's dark green eyes flashed sharply at the man's mocking tone.
"You're selling Medea? That's stupid. You don't seem to understand the situation."
The men chuckled, thinking the little girl's bravado and bluff were just a joke. But it wasn't until they saw one of them fall to the ground with a gunshot that they realized her attitude wasn't just bravado.
It was because he saw the silver-glowing Royal Guard pistol in Lenny's hand.
"What, why does this woman have that? I've never heard of anything like it."
Two men, desperately pulling out old-fashioned revolvers from their inner pockets, were also shot and fell to the ground. Seeing the remaining man turn and try to run, Lenny quickly ran over and struck the man in the back of the head, knocking him down.
In an instant, the man's face became blank as he felt the hot heat of the gun barrel pressed against his forehead, lying beneath her.
“You, what are you!”
“You think I’ll tell you that? You funny guy.”
Lenny smiled leisurely and asked.
“I’ll count to three. Could you please tell me who ordered it?”
“I can’t say that because of circumstances, so please just let me go this once...”
"Three."
“A woman working as a nanny in the Duke family.”
The man, standing on the brink of life and death, trembled and answered softly. After a moment of thought, Lenny pulled the trigger and shot him in the head. Then, she stood up lightly, looked back at the Prince, who was standing far away, and smiled innocently.
“He said he would only speak after counting to three.”
“Lenny?”
A terrified Daniel stumbled back, horrified at the sight of the men rolling around and blood splattering across Lenny's cheek.
"Don't be afraid. This is a secret I'm telling only to you, Prince. I'm the Queen's knight. Please keep what you saw today a secret."
“The Queen’s knight?”
Instead of answering, Lenny smiled innocently, her freckled nose twitching. She picked up Daniel, who was trembling like a baby bird, and began to leave the slums.
"Master!"
Just as the Duke's car, with its chauffeur waiting, came into view, Elsa, clutching her skirt, came running towards them from a distance. Lenny looked the Duke's nanny up and down with cold eyes.
“What’s so urgent? As if you know everything.”
Elsa's gaze wandered dizzily at the words that hit the nail on the head, and she hesitated before looking at Daniel, who was still in her arms.
“I can tell just by looking at your expression, Master.”
“Elsa, Diana is in danger.”
“Huh? What’s going on?”
Daniel couldn't continue speaking and started sobbing. Lenny clicked her tongue in disbelief at the sight of the nanny's shameless, astonished expression, as if something had happened without her knowledge.
Lenny held Daniel's hand and spoke reassuringly.
“Don’t worry too much, Prince.”
“Lenny. Is it all my fault?”
"No."
Daniel's red eyes sparkled, and tears welled up in his eyes. He rubbed his reddened eyes with his sleeve and sniffled.
"I just wanted to help people in need, so I don't know why this happened. Both my sister and Lenny were just trying to help others."
Lenny stroked his jet-black hair with affectionate eyes.
"That's just the way the world works. Some people take help for granted, while others deliberately exploit genuine sympathy. That's what it means to be an adult. Don't worry, I'll come to her rescue."
So, she couldn't help but become increasingly indifferent to others. Lenny was assigned the role of observing and reporting on Diana at the Queen's behest.
As Admiral Belford's daughter, the Queen needed to understand her. Diana wasn't morally evil, but she was aloof and uninterested in others.
She was suspicious, so she would often do things on her own without anyone to help her, and even leave changing clothes to Molly. Similar to Noah, she was a unique individualist, opening up only to a select few.
Lenny fiddled with the ribbon that tied her hair back. She was quite fond of Diana.
"I'll go and rescue Miss Diana. Don't worry too much."
Lenny smiled trustingly at Daniel and then quickly ran away. Queen Grace II's orders to observe and monitor included protecting her.
***
On a Saturday morning, with heavy rain pouring down, Noah, who had left for a neutral country, returned to the Chevant mansion. Molly, who greeted him, was still expressionless.
She looked at Noah with eyes that were even more hardened than usual.
“The young lady went missing last Thursday evening.”
Noah took off his black trench coat and handed it to Molly, then tilted his head expressionlessly as if he had misheard.
"Prince Hessen, Lenny, and a police officer followed a slum child to help him, but they disappeared. Lenny and the Prince are safe, but the police officer who accompanied them is missing, as is the young lady. Police forces are already mobilizing to search for them."
“My Princess did something she never did before.”
It's a sentimental tone that doesn't fit the situation.
A normal person would have been either flustered or furious, but Noah's reaction was calm and composed, as if he had heard a weather forecast predicting rain.
“Where did Renier Elliot go? Did he return to the Queen?”
“He relayed the news to this side and left immediately. I don’t know where she went.”
Renier Elliot. Lenny's real name.
Noah had long known she was the kind of secret agent the Queen had planted in the mansion. He'd guessed it from the calluses on her hands and her body language.
She lied about her age, claiming to be a teenager with her small frame and youthful face, but she was actually a woman in her mid-twenties. This was further discovered by Molly, a former member of the Frogen Intelligence Command.
“The person who gave the order.”
"I've been told that she's the Duke's nanny. I think Lenny relayed this to the Queen, but since she's currently disguised as a maid, I think she's tacitly handed over the authority to investigate."
"Aha."
Noah, who had been answering monotonously, nodded and loosened his tie.
"I see."
Noah opened a hidden closet next to the fireplace and took something out; his lips curved into a sly smile. Unlike his usual elegant smile, it now had a chilling, almost eerie quality.
A cold current flowed through the room.
***
“Count Noah Rotsilt is looking for you.”
A palace maid came to Elsa, who was still in shock from that day, and told her.
“What is it...?”
Elsa's face became tense as she heard the news that Diana had disappeared completely, contrary to her plan to frame her.
“I don’t know. Go to your room.”
The maid hurriedly left, her steps ticking away. Elsa's steps toward her room felt heavy, as if someone were dragging her by the ankle.
It was the weight of her heart. She had no intention of causing such harm. She simply intended to frame her, embarrass her, and earn the Duke of Hessen's wrath.
What should I say if Count Rotsilt asks me with an unhappy expression about the day his fiancée disappeared?
It was something she couldn't even bring herself to say out loud that Princess Erita had planned. She simply pretended she knew nothing about it.
Of course, she felt guilty, but she steeled myself again to be weak, thinking that it was her fault.
Arriving in her room, Elsa grabbed the doorknob. A chill ran down her spine, and she turned her head sharply to look behind her. Every nerve in her body trembled and trembled.
A beautiful man with silver-white hair looked at her with a broad smile. He had a strange, eerie air about him. She couldn't understand what he was smiling at.
Elsa never expected him to come back with that face when his fiancée disappeared. He was beautiful and charming, but something about him felt out of place, giving her goosebumps.
“Oh, Count. Hello.”
Even though she had ignored him, saying there was nothing behind him, Elsa was overwhelmed by the pressure he gave her just by looking at her.
She bowed unconsciously, paying her respects. A meaningful smile played on his lips, and the man tilted his head gracefully, covering his mouth with one hand.
The strangely colored eyes, which were gently curved and narrowed, looked straight into Elsa's eyes.
“I can’t say hello.”
As soon as the soft, playful voice reached her ears, Elsa's vision became dizzy and her upper body fell backwards.
Her entire body buckled helplessly as an intense pressure focused on the back of her head. The moment she realized her lush, auburn hair was inexorably grasped by his hand, she was dragged into the room before she could even scream.
It was like a herbivore leisurely grazing on grass, being bitten on the back of the neck by a wild beast, and being dragged away in an instant.
The door slammed shut with a loud, floor-shaking thud, and the empty hallway soon fell silent as if nothing had happened. No one was near the hallway in front of Elsa's room, and no one witnessed this scene.
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